Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.

SOLI DEO GLORIA!!!

(i.e.-TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!!!)

Hello...my name is Tony Castrataro - [i.e.- "Just one spiritual beggar telling other spiritual beggars where the Bread is." (cf. "Understanding Poverty of Spirit" and the Dec. 3rd, 2010 reading)]

This new website will deal with various heresies involving "works-righteousness" (which "opens the door" to boasting about things not wrought by Christ*) that have infiltrated various churches that call themselves "Christian". My "thesis" for this site is the above Scripture (Eph. 2:8-9) because I've found that that particular Scripture gives me an infallible test with which to test various "systems of salvation"! If a "system of salvation" in a particular school of thought leaves "room for boasting", then that "system of salvation" is, therefore, heretical and unchristian! (I have to say - works every time!)

OK, then!! Let's start with heretical teachings that (pretty much) "I was brought up on"...1) Armstrongism! Here's a page on Armstrongism (i.e.- churches that follow the doctrines (generally speaking) taught by Herbert W. Armstrong) along my corrections to their doctrines that, if implemented, will cause them to not be heretical anymore (esp. on the key doctrine of salvation by grace alone (aka sola fide))!

2) Catholicism (what I was "brought up on" until I was about 18)! This is an easy one (don't even have to have my own page on it)...one Joe Mizzi has created a superb website here that answers almost any question a Catholic may have about how one is truly saved and how Catholicism differs from Biblical Christianity. Also, this online book (NOTE: same as the one listed a couple paragraphs down) gives a very succinct explanation of the basic differences between Catholicism and Biblical Christianity and , in effect, why there was, at the time of Luther, a need for a Protestant Reformation.

[Update (5-27-10): Here's another great website with a lot of good info on Catholic doctrine and where exactly it departs from true Christianity:

http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/archives-rc.htm ]

3) A "stream" within 7th-day Adventism that believes one can become perfect in this life (aka "Perfectionism" - which is a general problem (basically with self-righteousness) that is not just limited to 7-day Adventist circles!). My suggestion (to help in counteracting this problem) is to first read "The place of the Law in the Believer's Life" (i.e.- the 2nd "quote of the day") below and then go HERE.

Update! (11/12/11) Here's a great quote from one of the 7th-Day Adventist founders (Ellen White) on this same subject that, I believe, all Christians can agree with: "Many have taken the position that they cannot sin because they are sanctified, but this is a delusive snare of the evil one. There is constant danger of falling into sin, for Christ has warned us to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. If we are conscious of the weakness of self, we shall not be self-confident and reckless of danger; but we shall feel the necessity of seeking to the Source of our strength, Jesus our righteousness. We shall come in repentance and contrition, with a despairing sense of our own finite weakness, and learn that we must daily apply to the merits of the blood of Christ, that we may become vessels fit for the Master's use..."

[The (above) quote (w/ my emphasis-Tony C.) by Ms. White from: http://dedication.www3.50megs.com/egw1888_2.html ]

4) the "self-esteem/ self-love" emphasis in a lot of Christian circles nowadays:

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

2Cor 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

2Cor 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

I also found these sayings on humility/ self-image [that I agree with and I think are biblical] by a guy named Ray Stedman [@ http://www.raystedman.org/biography.html ]

where he says.... "If we will admit our inadequacy, we can have God's adequacy... The greatest problem in the church is trying to do God's work with man's strength... The key to Christian sufficiency is realizing that everything comes from God and nothing comes from me."

..."In Ray's book Authentic Christianity, he tells the story of Paul's escape from Damascus by being let down over the wall in a basket. Ray commented that Paul was useless to God until he became a basket case! He adds that we also are useless until we are 'utterly bankrupt before some demand of life, and then discover it to be a blessing,' because it forces us to 'depend wholly on the Lord at work in you.' ...

I think the best book on the subject is: "The Danger of Self-Love" by Paul

Brownback. But, for our purposes, the links below say, pretty much, the same

thing:

http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/self-est/self.htm

http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/self-est/howdoi.htm

http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/dobson/self.htm

http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/self-est/key.ht

[However, if you can get the book, "The Danger of Self-Love" (by Paul Brownback) , you'll see the best argument (I've found) against "self-esteem/ self-love" propaganda...I recommend it!]

5)http://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/search-media?prog=&text=being+right+with+God&SearchBTN=Search This link leads to an audio file that, in a "nutshell", is what this website is all about (i.e - How one can be "right with God")!!! [Update! 11/8/11: You'll have to register with the "Truth in Action" website to hear the audio - if you haven't done so already! "Click" on the "On Being Right With God" link once you get there - to hear the file (after registering!).]

Update! (After clicking on the above link and hearing the first "Truth in Action" audio file, here's a couple more audio files... on "Holiness" that you should "check out"!!

http://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/search-media?prog=&text=holiness&SearchBTN=Search [NOTE: "Click" on the links for Holiness for 2/3/11 and then 2/4/11 (after that). Again, you'll have to sign up with the "Truth in Action" website to hear these files, but it's "worth it" (IMO)!!]

6) Check back soon for more!

*Rom 15:18 For I [Paul] will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

NOTE: I found a good basic Bible Study program that has some very useful copying and pasting (of Scripture passages) features in it (along with a good search function, also!). You can find and download this FREE PROGRAM from here: http://theword.gr/

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IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOU'RE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH SPYWARE AND VIRUSES ON YOUR COMPUTER HERE'S A COUPLE HIGH-QUALITY FREE PROGRAMS THAT CAN DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL ON YOUR COMPUTER TO HELP SAVE YOU A LOT OF UNNEEDED DISTRESS IN THOSE AREAS:

http://www.cloudantivirus.com/ [NOTE: This was named PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice" for best free antivirus software in 2011 (It's also what I have on my computer right now!)! ]

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46 [Note: Doesn't protect one from "attacks" well but cleans up malware on one's computer very well! (P.S.- Download the free edition as Panda Cloud antivirus (i.e.-if you installed that!) is good protection against various, nefarious (Hey, that rhymes!) real-time attacks!)]==========================================================================

May God richly bless you!!

NOTE: I also have another website here dealing with "pre-evangelism", if you will. There is a missing link to a book on that site that you can get here:

FREE online copy of book: Justified by Faith Alone by R.C. Sproul

(ISBN #: 1581340788)

Great links to sites and web pages that are (rightly!) antithetical to "works-righteousness":

SUGGESTION: "Check" the following link out first - especially if you don't have time (right now) to read the others!! http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/editors-choice/EC1003W2.htm

http://www.biblebb.com/files/macqa/SC2005-QA10-7.htm

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1988/661_Battling_the_Unbelief_of_a_Haughty_Spirit/

from http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ScriptureIndex/13/1085_Does_James_Contradict_Paul/

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/what-god-requires-christ-provides/

http://www.ccel.org/l/luther/romans/pref_romans.html

http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/roman-catholicism/RC1002W2.htm

http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/w/works_righteousness.htm

P.S.- If you have any comments or questions about this site, you can contact me at tonyc_ebay@yahoo.com .

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Quote of the Day (4-8-10):

"When disciples pray for pardon, they recognize that by God's grace they are now better than they were but not as good as they ought to be. Disciples are not yet perfect and must realize that their attitudes and activities fall short of Kingdom standards. As they admit spiritual poverty, and hunger and thirst for righteousness (5:3, 6), they pray for God to forgive their ethical lapses. Receiving his pardon is an unspeakable privilege, but it comes with a corresponding responsibility of extending pardon to others. A forgiven person is a forgiving person.
When disciples pray for protection from temptation to sin, they are praying for God to break the cycle that so often plagues them (cf. Josh 7:20-21; Jas 1:13-15). Disciples are tempted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Temptation leads to sin, and sin leads to the necessity of praying for forgiveness. And the cycle goes on and on. That is why they pray for protection from temptation and deliverance from the evil one's strategies (cf. 4:1-11)." - Comfort, P. W. (2005-c2006). Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 11. "With the entire text of the New Living Translation." (104). Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

Quote of the Day (4-11-10):

I. The Place of the Law in the Believer’s Life

(Chap. 7)

The apostle now anticipates a question that will inevitably arise: What is the relationship of the Christian to the law? Perhaps Paul had Jewish believers especially in mind in answering this question, since the law was given to Israel, but the principles apply just as much to Gentile believers who foolishly want to put themselves under the law as a rule of life after they have been justified.

In chapter 6 we saw that death ended the tyranny of the sin nature in the life of the child of God. Now we will see that death likewise ends the dominion of the law over those who were under it.

7:1 This verse is connected with 6:14: “You are not under law but under grace.” The connection is, “You should know that you are not under law—or are you ignorant of the fact that the law has dominion over a man only when he is alive?” Paul is speaking to those who are familiar with fundamental principles of law, and who therefore should know that the law has nothing to say to a dead man.

7:2 To illustrate this, Paul shows how death breaks the marriage contract. A woman is bound by the marriage law to her husband as long as he lives. But if he dies, she is released from that law.

7:3 If a woman marries another man while her husband is living, she is guilty of adultery. If, however, her husband dies, she is free to marry again without any cloud or guilt of wrongdoing.

7:4 In applying the illustration, we must not press each detail with exact literalness. For example, neither the husband nor the wife represents the law. The point of the illustration is that just as death breaks the marriage relationship, so the death of the believer with Christ breaks the jurisdiction of the law over him.

Notice that Paul does not say that the law is dead. The law still has a valid ministry in producing conviction of sin. And remember that when he says “we” in this passage, he is thinking of those who were Jews before they came to Christ.

We have been made dead to the law through the body of Christ, the body here referring to the giving up of His body in death. We are no longer joined to the law; we are now joined to the risen Christ. One marriage has been broken by death, and a new one has been formed. And now that we are free from the law, we can bear fruit to God.

7:5 This mention of fruit brings to mind the kind of fruit we bore when we were in the flesh. The expression in the flesh obviously doesn’t mean “in the body.” In the flesh here is descriptive of our standing before we were saved. Then the flesh was the basis of our standing before God. We depended on what we were or what we could do to win acceptance with God. In the flesh is the opposite of “in Christ.”

Prior to our conversion we were ruled by sinful passions which were aroused by the law. It is not that the law originated them, but only that by naming and then forbidding them it stirred up the strong desire to do them!

These sinful passions found expression in our physical members, and when we yielded to temptation we produced poison fruit that results in death. Elsewhere the apostle speaks of this fruit as the works of the flesh: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries” (Gal. 5:19–21).

7:6 Among the many wonderful things that happen when we are converted is that we are delivered from the law. This is a result of our having died with Christ. Since He died as our Representative, we died with Him. In His death He fulfilled all the claims of the law by paying its awful penalty. Therefore we are free from the law and from its inevitable curse. There can be no double jeopardy.

Payment God will not twice demand—

First at my bleeding Surety’s hand

And then again at mine.

— Augustus M. Toplady

We are now set free to serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. Our service is motivated by love, not fear; it is a service of freedom, not bondage. It is no longer a question of slavishly adhering to minute details of forms and ceremonies but of the joyful outpouring of ourselves for the glory of God and the blessing of others.

7:7 It might seem from all this that Paul is critical of the law. He had said that believers are dead to sin and dead to the law, and this might have created the impression that the law is evil. But this is far from the case.

In 7:7–13 he goes on to describe the important role which the law played in his own life before he was saved. He emphasizes that the law itself is not sinful, but that it reveals sin in man. It was the law that convicted him of the terrible depravity of his heart. As long as he compared himself with other people, he felt fairly respectable. But as soon as the demands of God’s law came home to him in convicting power, he stood speechless and condemned.

The one particular commandment that revealed sin to him was the tenth: You shall not covet. Coveting takes place in the mind. Although Paul may not have committed any of the grosser, more revolting sins, he now realized that his thought life was corrupt. He understood that evil thoughts are sinful as well as evil deeds. He had a polluted thought life. His outward life may have been relatively blameless, but his inward life was a chamber of horrors.

7:8 Sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. Evil desire here means coveting. When the law forbids all kinds of evil coveting, man’s corrupt nature is inflamed all the more to do it. For example, the law says, in effect, “You must not conjure up all sorts of pleasurable sexual encounters in your mind. You must not live in a world of lustful fantasies.” The law forbids a dirty, vile, suggestive thought-life. But unfortunately it doesn’t give the power to overcome. So the result is that people under law become more involved in a dream-world of sexual uncleanness than ever before. They come to realize that whenever an act is forbidden, the fallen nature wants to do it all the more. “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant” (Prov. 9:17).

Apart from the law sin is dead, relatively speaking. The sinful nature is like a sleeping dog. When the law comes and says “Don’t,” the dog wakes up and goes on a rampage, doing excessively whatever is forbidden.

7:9 Before being convicted by the law Paul was alive; that is, his sinful nature was comparatively dormant and he was blissfully ignorant of the pit of iniquity in his heart.

But when the commandment came — that is, when it came with crushing conviction—his sinful nature became thoroughly inflamed. The more he tried to obey, the worse he failed. He died as far as any hope of achieving salvation by his own character or efforts was concerned. He died to any thought of his own inherent goodness. He died to any dream of being justified by law-keeping.

7:10 He found that the commandment, which was to bring life actually turned out to bring death for him. But what does he mean that the commandment was to bring life? This probably looks back to Leviticus 18:5, where God said, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” Ideally the law promised life to those who kept it. The sign outside a lion’s cage says, “Stay back of the railing.” If obeyed, the commandment brings life. But for the child who disobeys and reaches in to pet the lion, it brings death.

7:11 Again Paul emphasizes that the law was not to blame. It was indwelling sin that incited him to do what the law prohibited. Sin tricked him into thinking that the forbidden fruit wasn’t so bad after all, that it would bring happiness, and that he could get away with it. It suggested that God was withholding pleasures from him that were for his good. Thus sin killed him in the sense that it spelled death to his best hopes of deserving or earning salvation.

7:12 The law itself is holy, and each commandment is holy and just and good. In our thinking we must constantly remember that there is nothing wrong with the law. It was given by God and therefore is perfect as an expression of His will for His people. The weakness of the law lay in the “raw materials” it had to work with: it was given to people who were already sinners. They needed the law to give them the knowledge of sin, but beyond that they needed a Savior to deliver them from the penalty and power of sin.

7:13 What is good refers to the law, as is specifically stated in the preceding verse. Paul raises the question “Did the law become death to me?” which means “Is the law the culprit, dooming Paul (and all the rest of us) to death?” The answer, of course, is “Certainly not!” Sin is the culprit. The law didn’t originate sin, but it showed sin in all its exceeding sinfulness. “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (3:20b). But that is not all! How does man’s sinful nature respond when God’s holy law forbids it to do something? The answer is well-known. What may have been dormant desire now becomes a burning passion! Thus sin through the commandment becomes exceedingly sinful.

There might seem to be a contradiction between what Paul says here and in 7:10. There he said he found the law to bring death. Here he denies that the law became death to him. The solution is this: The law by itself can neither improve the old nature on the one hand nor cause it to sin on the other. It can reveal sin, just as a thermometer reveals the temperature. But it cannot control sin like a thermostat controls the temperature.

But what happens is this. Man’s fallen human nature instinctively wants to do whatever is forbidden. So it uses the law to awaken otherwise-dormant lusts in the sinner’s life. The more man tries, the worse it gets, till at last he is brought to despair of all hope. Thus sin uses the law to cause any hope of improvement to die in him. And he sees the exceeding sinfulness of his old nature as he never saw it before.

7:14 Up to this point the apostle has been describing a past experience in his life—namely, the traumatic crisis when he underwent deep conviction of sin through the law’s ministry.

Now he changes to the present tense to describe an experience he had since he was born again—namely, the conflict between the two natures and the impossibility of finding deliverance from the power of indwelling sin through his own strength. Paul acknowledges that the law is spiritual—that is, holy in itself and adapted to man’s spiritual benefit. But he realizes that he is carnal because he is not experiencing victory over the power of indwelling sin in his life. He is sold under sin. He feels as if he is sold as a slave with sin as his master.

7:15 Now the apostle describes the struggle that goes on in a believer who does not know the truth of his identification with Christ in death and resurrection. It is the conflict between the two natures in the person who climbs Mount Sinai in search of holiness. Harry Foster explains:

Here was a man trying to achieve holiness by personal effort, struggling with all his might to fulfill God’s “holy and righteous and good” commandments (v.12), only to discover that the more he struggled, the worse his condition became. It was a losing battle, and no wonder, for it is not in the power of fallen human nature to conquer sin and live in holiness.²⁵

Notice the prominence of the first-person pronouns—I, me, my, myself; they occur over forty times in verses 9–25! People who go through this Romans 7 experience have taken an overdose of “Vitamin I.” They are introspective to the core, searching for victory in self, where it cannot be found.

Sadly, most modern Christian psychological counseling focuses the counselee’s attention on himself and thus adds to the problem instead of relieving it. People need to know that they have died with Christ and have risen with Him to walk in newness of life. Then, instead of trying to improve the flesh, they will relegate it to the grave of Jesus.

In describing the struggle between the two natures, Paul says, what I am doing, I do not understand. He is a split personality, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He finds himself indulging in things that he doesn’t want to do, and practicing things that he hates.

7:16 In thus committing acts which his better judgment condemns, he is taking sides with the law against himself, because the law condemns them too. So he gives inward assent that the law is good.

7:17 This leads to the conclusion that the culprit is not the new man in Christ, but the sinful, corrupt nature that dwells in him. But we must be careful here. We must not excuse our sinning by passing it off to indwelling sin. We are responsible for what we do, and we must not use this verse to “pass the buck.” All Paul is doing here is tracking down the source of his sinful behavior, not excusing it.

7:18 There can be no progress in holiness until we learn what Paul learned here—that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells. The flesh here means the evil, corrupt nature which is inherited from Adam and which is still in every believer. It is the source of every evil action which a person performs. There is nothing good in it.

When we learn this, it delivers us from ever looking for any good in the old nature. It delivers us from being disappointed when we don’t find any good there. And it delivers us from occupation with ourselves. There is no victory in introspection. As the saintly Scot, Robert Murray McCheyne said, for every look we take at ourselves, we should take ten looks at Christ.

To confirm the hopelessness of the flesh, the apostle mourns that although he has the desire to do what is right, he doesn’t have the resources in himself to translate his desire into action. The trouble, of course, is that he is casting his anchor inside the boat.

7:19 Thus the conflict between the two natures rages on. He finds himself failing to do the good he wants to do, and instead doing the evil that he despises. He is just one great mass of contradictions and paradoxes.

7:20 We might paraphrase this verse as follows: “Now if I (the old nature) do what I (the new nature) don’t want to do, it is no longer I (the person) who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” Again let it be clear that Paul is not excusing himself or disclaiming responsibility. He is simply stating that he has not found deliverance from the power of indwelling sin, and that when he sins, it is not with the desire of the new man.

7:21 He finds a principle or law at work in his life causing all his good intentions to end in failure. When he wants to do what is right, he ends up by sinning.

7:22 As far as his new nature is concerned, he delights in the law of God. He knows that the law is holy, and that it is an expression of the will of God. He wants to do God’s will.

7:23 But he sees a contrary principle at work in his life, striving against the new nature, and making him a captive of indwelling sin. George Cutting writes:

The law, though he delights in it after the inward man, gives him no power. In other words, he is trying to accomplish what God has declared to be an utter impossibility—namely, making the flesh subject to God’s holy law. He finds that the flesh minds the things of the flesh, and is very enmity itself to the law of God, and even to God Himself.²⁶

7:24 Now Paul lets out his famous, eloquent groan. He feels as if he has a decomposing body strapped to his back. That body, of course, is the old nature in all its corruption. In his wretchedness he acknowledges that he is unable to deliver himself from this offensive, repulsive bondage. He must have help from some outside source.

7:25 The burst of thanksgiving which opens this verse may be understood in at least two ways. It may mean “I thank God that deliverance comes through Jesus Christ our Lord” or it may be an aside in which Paul thanks God through the Lord Jesus that he is no longer the wretched man of the preceding verse.

The rest of the verse summarizes the conflict between the two natures before deliverance is realized. With the renewed mind, or the new nature, the believer serves the law of God, but with the flesh or (old nature) the law of sin. Not till we reach the next chapter do we find the way of deliverance explained.

²⁵(7:15) Harry Foster, article in Toward the Mark, p. 110.

²⁶(7:23) George Cutting, “The Old Nature and the New Birth” (booklet), p. 33.

MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ro 7:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Quote of the Day (4-13-10):

J. The Holy Spirit as the Power for Holy Living (Chap. 8)

The subject of holy living continues. In chapter 6 Paul had answered the question, “Does the teaching of the gospel (salvation by faith alone) permit or even encourage sinful living?” In chapter 7 he faced up to the question, “Does the gospel tell Christians to keep the law in order to lead a holy life?” Now the question is: How is the Christian enabled to live a holy life?

We notice right away that the personal pronouns that were so prominent in chapter 7 largely disappear, and that the Holy Spirit becomes the dominant Person. This is an important key to understanding the passage. Victory is not in ourselves but in the Holy Spirit, who indwells us. A. J. Gordon lists seven helps of the Spirit: freedom in service (v. 2); strength for service (v. 11); victory over sin (v. 13); guidance in service (v. 14); the witness of sonship (v. 16); assistance in service (v. 26); assistance in prayer (v. 26).

8:1 From the valley of despair and defeat, the apostle now climbs the heights with the triumphant shout, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus! This may be understood in two ways.

First, there is no divine condemnation as far as our sin is concerned, because we are in Christ. There was condemnation as long as we were in our first federal head, Adam. But now we are in Christ and therefore are as free from condemnation as He is. So we can hurl out the challenge:

Reach my blest Savior first,

Take Him from God’s esteem;

Prove Jesus bears one spot of sin,

Then tell me I’m unclean.

—W. N. Tomkins

But it may also mean that there is no need for the kind of self-condemnation which Paul described in chapter 7. We may pass through a Romans 7 experience, unable to fulfill the law’s requirements by our own effort, but we don’t have to stay there. Verse 2 explains why there is no condemnation.²⁷

8:2 The Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death. These are two opposite laws or principles. The characteristic principle of the Holy Spirit is to empower believers for holy living. The characteristic principle of indwelling sin is to drag a person down to death. It is like the law of gravity. When you throw a ball into the air, it comes back down because it is heavier than the air it displaces. A living bird is also heavier than the air it displaces, but when you toss it up in the air, it flies away. The law of life in the bird overcomes the law of gravity. So the Holy Spirit supplies the risen life of the Lord Jesus, making the believer free from the law of sin and death.

8:3 The law could never get people to fulfill its sacred requirements, but grace has succeeded where law failed. Let us see how!

The law could not produce holy living because it was weak through the flesh. The trouble was not with the law but with fallen human nature. The law spoke to men who were already sinners and who were without strength to obey. But God intervened by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. Take careful notice that the Lord Jesus did not come in sinful flesh itself but in “the likeness of” sinful flesh. He did no sin (1 Pet. 2:22), He knew no sin (2 Cor. 5:21), and there was no sin in Him (1 Jn. 3:5). But by coming into the world in human form, He resembled sinful humanity. As a sacrifice for sin, Christ condemned sin in the flesh. He died not only for the sins which we commit (1 Pet. 3:18) but also for our sin nature. In other words, He died for what we are just as much as for what we have done. In so doing, He condemned sin in the flesh. Our sin nature is never said to be forgiven; it is condemned. It is the sins that we have committed that are forgiven.

8:4 Now the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. As we turn over the control of our lives to the Holy Spirit, He empowers us to love God and to love our neighbor, and that, after all, is what the law requires.

In these first four verses the apostle has gathered together the threads of his argument from 5:12 to 7:25. In 5:12–21 he had discussed the federal headships of Adam and of Christ. Now in 8:1 he shows that the condemnation which we inherited from our identification with Adam is removed by our identification with Christ. In chapters 6 and 7 he discussed the horrendous problem of sin in the nature. Now he announces triumphantly that the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death. In chapter 7 the whole subject of the law was brought up. Now we learn that the law’s requirements are met by the Spirit-controlled life.

8:5 Those who live according to the flesh—that is, those who are unconverted—are concerned with the things of the flesh. They obey the impulses of the flesh. They live to gratify the desires of the corrupt nature. They cater to the body, which in a few short years will return to dust.

But those who live according to the Spirit—that is, true believers—rise above flesh and blood and live for those things that are eternal. They are occupied with the word of God, prayer, worship, and Christian service.

8:6 To be carnally minded—that is, the mental inclination of the fallen nature—is death. It is death as far as both present enjoyment and ultimate destiny are concerned. It has all the potential of death in it, just like an overdose of poison.

But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. The Spirit of God is the guarantee of life that is life indeed, of peace with God, and of a life of tranquility.

8:7 The mind-set of the flesh is death because it is enmity against God. The sinner is a rebel against God and in active hostility to Him. If any proof were needed, it is seen most clearly in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. The mind of the flesh is not subject to the law of God. It wants its own will, not God’s will. It wants to be its own master, not to bow to His rule. Its nature is such that it cannot be subject to God’s law. It is not only the inclination that is missing but the power as well. The flesh is dead toward God.

8:8 It is no surprise, therefore, that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Think of that! There is nothing an unsaved person can do to please God —no good works, no religious observances, no sacrificial services, absolutely nothing. First he must take the guilty sinner’s place and receive Christ by a definite act of faith. Only then can He win God’s smile of approval.

8:9 When a person is born again, he is no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit. He lives in a different sphere. Just as a fish lives in water and a man lives in the air, so a believer lives in the Spirit. He not only lives in the Spirit, but the Spirit lives in him. In fact, if he is not indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Though there is a question whether the Spirit of Christ here is the same as the Holy Spirit, the assumption that they are the same seems to fit best in the context.

8:10 Through the ministry of the Spirit, Christ is actually in the believer. It is amazing to think of the Lord of life and glory dwelling in our bodies, especially when we remember that these bodies are subject to death because of sin. Someone may argue that they are not dead yet, as the verse seems to say. No, but the forces of death are already working in them, and they will inevitably die if the Lord doesn’t return in the meantime.

In contrast to the body, the spirit²⁸ is life because of righteousness. Though once dead toward God, it has been made alive through the righteous work of the Lord Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection, and because the righteousness of God has been credited to our account.

8:11 But the reminder that the body is still subject to death need cause no alarm or despair. The fact that the Holy Spirit indwells our bodies is a guarantee that, just as He raised Christ from the dead, so He will also give life to our mortal bodies. This will be the final act of our redemption—when our bodies are glorified like the Savior’s body of glory.

8:12 Now when we see the stark contrast between the flesh and the Spirit, what conclusion do we draw? We owe nothing to the flesh, to live according to its dictates. The old, evil, corrupt nature has been nothing but a drag. It has never done us a bit of good. If Christ had not saved us, the flesh would have dragged us down to the deepest, darkest, hottest places in hell. Why should we feel obligated to such an enemy?

8:13 Those who live according to the flesh must die, not only physically but eternally. To live according to the flesh is to be unsaved. This is made clear in 8:4, 5. But why does Paul address this to those who were already Christians? Does he imply that some of them might eventually be lost? No, but the apostle often includes words of warning and self-examination in his Letters, realizing that in every congregation there may be some people who have never been genuinely born again.

The rest of the verse describes what is characteristically true of genuine believers. By the enablement of the Holy Spirit they put to death the deeds of the body. They enjoy eternal life now, and will enter into life in its fullness when they leave this earth.

8:14 Another way of describing true believers is to say that they are led by the Spirit of God. Paul is not referring here to spectacular instances of divine guidance in the lives of eminent Christians. Rather, he is speaking of what is true of all sons of God—namely, that they are led by the Spirit of God. It is not a question of the degree in which they are yielded to the Holy Spirit, but of a relationship which takes place at the time of conversion.

Sonship implies reception into God’s family, with all the privileges and responsibilities of adult sons. A new convert does not have to wait a certain time before he enters into his spiritual inheritance; it is his the moment he is saved, and it applies to all believers, men and women, boys and girls.

8:15 Those living under law are like minor children, bossed around as if they were servants, and shadowed by the fear of punishment. But when a person is born again, he is not born into a position of servitude. He is not brought into God’s household as a slave. Rather, he receives the spirit of adoption; that is, he is placed in God’s family as a mature son. By a true spiritual instinct he looks up to God and calls Him “Abba, Father.” Abba is an Aramaic word which suffers in translation. It is an intimate form of the word father—such as “papa” or “daddy.” While we may hesitate to use such familiar English words in addressing God, the truth remains that He who is infinitely high is also intimately nigh.

The phrase the Spirit²⁹ of adoption may be a reference to the Holy Spirit as the One who makes the believer aware of his special dignity as a son. Or it may mean the realization or attitude of adoption in contrast to the spirit of bondage.

Adoption is used in three different ways in Romans. Here it refers to the consciousness of sonship which the Holy Spirit produces in the life of the believer. In 8:23 it looks forward to that time when the believer’s body will be redeemed or glorified. In 9:4 it looks back to that time when God designated Israel as His son (Ex. 4:22).

In Galatians 4:5 and Ephesians 1:5, the word means “son-placing”—that is, the act of placing all believers as mature, adult sons with all the privileges and responsibilities of sonship. Every believer is a child of God in that he is born into a family of which God is the Father. But every believer is also a son—a special relationship carrying the privileges of one who has reached the maturity of manhood.

In the NT adoption never means what it means in our society—to take a child of other parents as one’s own.

8:16 There is a spiritual instinct in the newborn believer that he is a son of God. The Holy Spirit tells him that it is so. The Spirit Himself bears witness with the believer’s spirit that he is a member of God’s family. He does it primarily through the word of God. As a Christian reads the Bible, the Spirit confirms the truth that, because he has trusted the Savior, he is now a child of God.

8:17 Membership in God’s family brings privileges that boggle the mind. All God’s children are heirs of God. An heir, of course, eventually inherits his father’s estate. That is just what is meant here. All that the Father has is ours. We have not yet come into the possession and enjoyment of all of it, but nothing can prevent our doing so in the future. And we are joint heirs with Christ. When He returns to take the scepter of universal government, we will share with Him the title deeds to all the Father’s wealth.

When Paul adds, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together, he is not making heroic suffering a condition for salvation. Neither is he describing some elite inner circle of overcomers who have endured great afflictions. Rather, he sees all Christians as being co-sufferers and all Christians as glorified with Christ. The if is equivalent to “since.” Of course, there are some who suffer more than others in the cause of Christ, and this will result in differing degrees of reward and glory. But all who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior are seen here as incurring the hostility of the world, with all its shame and reproach.

8:18 The greatest shame we may endure for Christ here on earth will be a mere trifle when He calls us forth and publicly acknowledges us before the hosts of heaven. Even the excruciating pain of the martyrs will seem like pinpricks when the Savior graces their brows with the crown of life. Elsewhere Paul speaks of our present sufferings as light afflictions which are only for a moment, but he describes the glory as an exceeding and eternal weight (2 Cor. 4:17). Whenever he describes the coming glory, his words seem to bend under the weight of the idea.³⁰ If we could only appreciate the glory that is to be ours, we could count the sufferings along the way as trivia!

8:19 Now in a bold literary figure Paul personifies the whole creation as eagerly looking forward to the time when we will be revealed to a wondering world as the sons of God. This will be when the Lord Jesus returns to reign and we return with Him.

We are already the sons of God, but the world neither recognizes nor appreciates us as such. And yet the world is looking forward to a better day, and that day cannot come until the King returns to reign with all His saints. “The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own” (JBP).

8:20 When Adam sinned, his transgression affected not only mankind, but all creation, both animate and inanimate. The ground is cursed. Many wild animals die violent deaths. Disease afflicts birds and animals as well as fish and serpents. The results of man’s sin have rippled like shockwaves throughout all creation.

Thus, as Paul explains, the creation was subjected to futility, frustration, and disorder, not by its own choice, but by the decree of God because of the disobedience of man’s first federal head.

The words in hope at the end of verse 20 may also be connected with the following verse: “in hope that the creation itself also will be set free” (NASB).

8:21 Creation looks back to the ideal conditions that existed in Eden. Then it surveys the havoc that was caused by the entrance of sin. Always there has been the hope of a return to an idyllic state, when creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption to enjoy the freedom of that golden era when we as God’s children will be revealed in glory.

8:22 We live in a sighing, sobbing, suffering world. The whole creation groans and suffers pain like that of childbirth. Nature’s music is in the minor key. The earth is racked by cataclysm. The blight of death is on every living thing.

8:23 Believers are not exempt. Although they have the firstfruits of the Spirit, guaranteeing their eventual deliverance, they still groan for that day of glory. The Holy Spirit Himself is the firstfruits. Just as the first handful of ripened grain is a pledge of the entire harvest to follow, so the Holy Spirit is the pledge or guarantee that the full inheritance will be ours.

Specifically, He is the guarantee of the coming adoption, the redemption of the body (Eph. 1:14). In one sense we have already been adopted, which means that we have been placed into God’s family as sons. But in a fuller sense our adoption will be complete when we receive our glorified bodies. That is spoken of as the redemption of our body. Our spirits and souls have already been redeemed, and our bodies will be redeemed at the time of the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–18).

8:24 We were saved in this attitude of hope. We did not receive all the benefits of our salvation at the moment of conversion. From the outset we looked forward to full and final deliverance from sin, suffering, disease, and death. If we had already received these blessings, we wouldn’t be hoping for them. We only hope for what is in the future.

8:25 Our hope for deliverance from the presence of sin and all its baneful results is based on the promise of God, and is therefore as certain as if we had already received it. So we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

8:26 Just as we are sustained by this glorious hope, so the Spirit sustains us in our weaknesses. We are often perplexed in our prayer life. We do not know how to pray as we should. We pray selfishly, ignorantly, narrowly. But once again the Spirit comes alongside to assist us in our weakness, interceding for us with groanings which cannot find expression. In this verse it is the Spirit who groans and not we who groan, though that is also true.

There is mystery here. We are peering into the unseen, spiritual realm where a great Person and great forces are at work on our behalf. And although we cannot understand it all, we can take infinite encouragement from the fact that a groan may sometimes be the most spiritual prayer.

8:27 If God searches the hearts of men, He can also interpret the mind of the Spirit, even though that mind finds expression only in groans. The important thing is that the Holy Spirit’s prayers for us are always according to the will of God. And because they are always in accordance with God’s will, they are always for our good. That explains a lot, as the next verse reveals.

8:28 God is working all things together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose. It may not always seem so! Sometimes when we are suffering heartbreak, tragedy, disappointment, frustration, and bereavement, we wonder what good can come out of it. But the following verse gives the answer: whatever God permits to come into our lives is designed to conform us to the image of His Son. When we see this, it takes the question mark out of our prayers. Our lives are not controlled by impersonal forces such as chance, luck, or fate, but by our wonderful, personal Lord, who is “too loving to be unkind and too wise to err.”

8:29 Now Paul traces the majestic sweep of the divine program designed to bring many sons to glory.

First of all, God foreknew us in eternity past. This was not a mere intellectual knowledge. As far as knowledge is concerned, He knew everyone who would ever be born. But His foreknowledge embraced only those whom He foreordained or predestined to be conformed ... to the image of His Son. So it was knowledge with a purpose that could never be frustrated. It is not enough to say that God foreknew those whom He realized would one day repent and believe. Actually it is His foreknowledge that insures eventual repentance and belief.

That ungodly sinners should one day be transformed into the image of Christ by a miracle of grace is one of the most astounding truths of divine revelation. The point is not, of course, that we will ever have the attributes of deity, or even that we will have Christ’s facial resemblance, but that we will be morally like Him, absolutely free from sin, and will have glorified bodies like His.

In that day of glory He will be the firstborn among many brethren. Firstborn here means first in rank or honor. He will not be One among equals, but the One who has the supreme place of honor among His brothers and sisters.

8:30 Everyone who was predestined in eternity is also called in time. This means that he not only hears the gospel but that he responds to it as well. It is therefore an effectual call. All are called; that is the general (yet also valid) call of God. But only a few respond; that is the effectual (conversion-producing) call of God.

All who respond are also justified or given an absolutely righteous standing before God. They are clothed with the righteousness of God through the merits of Christ and are thereby fit for the presence of the Lord.

Those who are justified are also glorified. Actually we are not glorified as yet, but it is so sure that God can use the past tense in describing it. We are as certain of the glorified state as if we had already received it!

This is one of the strongest passages in the NT on the eternal security of the believer. For every million people who are foreknown and predestined by God, every one of that million will be called, justified, and glorified. Not one will be missing! (Compare the “all” in John 6:37.)

8:31 When we consider these unbreakable links in the golden chain of redemption, the conclusion is inevitable! If God is for us, in the sense that He has marked us out for Himself, then no one can be successful against us.³¹ If Omnipotence is working on our behalf, no lesser power can defeat His program.

8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. What marvelous words! We must never allow our familiarity with them to dull their luster or lessen their power to inspire worship. When a world of lost mankind needed to be saved by a sinless Substitute, the great God of the universe did not hold back His heart’s best Treasure, but gave Him over to a death of shame and loss on our behalf.

The logic that flows from this is irresistible. If God has already given us the greatest gift, is there any lesser gift that He will not give? If He has already paid the highest price, will He hesitate to pay any lower price? If He has gone to such lengths to procure our salvation, will He ever let us go? How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

“The language of unbelief,” Mackintosh said, “is, ’How shall He?’ The language of faith is ’How shall He not?’.”³²

8:33 We are still in a courtroom setting, but now a remarkable change has taken place. While the justified sinner stands before the bench, the call goes out for any accusers to step forward. But there is none! How could there be? If God has already justified His elect, who can bring a charge?

It greatly clarifies the argument of this verse and the following one if we supply the words “No one, because ... ” before each answer. Thus this verse would read, Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? No one, because it is God who justifies. If we do not supply these words, it might sound as if God is going to bring a charge against His elect, the very thing that Paul is denying!

8:34 Another challenge rings out! Is there anyone here to condemn? No one, because Christ has died for the defendant, has been raised from the dead, is now at the right hand of God interceding for him. If the Lord Jesus, to whom all judgment has been committed, does not pass sentence on the defendant but rather prays for him, then there is no one else who could have a valid reason for condemning him.

8:35 Now faith flings its final challenge: is there anyone here who can banish the justified from the love of Christ? A search is made for every adverse circumstance that has been effective in causing separations in other areas of human life. But none can be found. Not the threshing flail of tribulation with its steady pounding of distress and affliction, nor the monster of anguish, bringing extreme pain to mind and body, nor the brutality of persecution, inflicting suffering and death on those who dare to differ. Nor can the gaunt specter of famine—gnawing, racking, and wasting down to the skeleton. Nor can nakedness, with all it means in the way of privation, exposure, and defenselessness. Nor can peril—the threat of imminent and awful danger. Nor can the sword—cold, hard, and death-dealing.

8:36 If any of these things could separate the believer from the love of Christ, then the fatal severance would have taken place long ago, because the career of the Christian is a living death. That is what the psalmist meant when he said that, because of our identification with the Lord, we are killed all day long, and are like sheep that are doomed to slaughter (Ps. 44:22).

8:37 Instead of separating us from Christ’s love, these things only succeed in drawing us closer to Him. We are not only conquerors, but more than conquerors.³³ It is not simply that we triumph over these formidable forces, but that in doing so we bring glory to God, blessing to others, and good to ourselves. We make slaves out of our enemies and stepping stones out of our roadblocks.

But all of this is not through our own strength, but only through Him who loved us. Only the power of Christ can bring sweetness out of bitterness, strength out of weakness, triumph out of tragedy, and blessing out of heartbreak.

8:38 The apostle has not finished his search. He ransacks the universe for something that might conceivably separate us from God’s love, then dismisses the possibilities one by one—

death with all its terrors;

life with all its allurements;

angels nor principalities, supernatural in power and knowledge;

powers, whether human tyrants or angelic adversaries;

things present, crashing in upon us;

things to come, arousing fearful forebodings;

8:39 height nor depth, those things that are in the realm of dimension or space, including occult forces.³⁴ Then, to make sure that he is not missing anything, Paul adds:

nor any other created thing.

The outcome of Paul’s search is that he can find nothing that can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

No wonder these words of triumph have been the song of those who have died martyr’s deaths and the rhapsody of those who have lived martyr’s lives!

²⁷(8:1) The words “who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” are widely thought to be miscopied from v. 4. However, they do occur in most mss., and may simply give further description of those in Christ.

²⁸(8:10) The NKJV translators took pneuma to refer to the Holy Spirit, hence the capital “S”. The original mss. were in all “capitals” (uncials), so it is a matter of interpretation. We take it as referring to the believer’s (human) spirit.

²⁹(8:15) See note 28. Here the alternative meaning of Spirit is not the human spirit, but an attitude that is the opposite of slavery.

NT New Testament

³⁰(8:18) In Hebrew, the word for glory is derived from the verb to be heavy, hence the Jews would see a play on words, even though veiled by the Greek.

NASB New American Standard Bible

³¹(8:31) This was John Calvin’s life verse.

³²(8:32) C. H. Mackintosh (further documentation unavailable).

³³(8:37) A very literal rendering is “we super-conquer” (hupernikomen).

³⁴(8:39) These words were used in astrology, for example.

MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ro 8:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

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Quote of the Day (4-18-10):

I read about an instant cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn't understand why it didn't sell -- until their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that required only water. Apparently people thought it was too easy. So the company altered the formula and changed the directions to call for adding an egg to the mix in addition to the water. The idea worked and sales jumped dramatically.

That story reminds me of how some people react to the plan of salvation. To them it sounds too easy and simple to be true, even though the Bible says, "By grace you have been saved through faith...; it is the gift of God, not of works" (Eph. 2:8-9). They feel that there is something more they must do, something they must add to God's "recipe" for salvation. They think they must perform good works to gain God's favor and earn eternal life. But the Bible is clear -- we are saved, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy" (Titus 3:5). Unlike the cake-mix manufacturer, God has not changed His "formula" to make salvation more marketable. The gospel we proclaim must be free of works, even though it may sound too easy.

R.W.D. Daily Bread, June 2, 1992.

[from: http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/w/works_righteousness.htm ]

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Quote of the Day (4-26-10):

"(The Christian) does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us."
— C.S. Lewis

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Quote of the Day (4-27-10):

"It's not the perfection of your life [i.e.- that God is most concerned about with the humble and growing Christian], but the direction of your life." -John MacArthur Jr.

(commenting on the issues involved in a Christian's sanctification or "walk with God")

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Quote of the Day (5-12-10):

Great conversation on how true Christianity should be distinguished and preached as a third alternative lifestyle between legalism (aka Pharisaism) and libertinism (aka hedonism) [starting in minute 27!]:

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/resources/video/A-Conversation-Tim-Keller-John-Piper-and-Don-Carson

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Quote of the Day (5-15-10):

Several years ago a group of fledging students sat around the old oak table in Ruth Bell Graham’s kitchen, listening to her stories. They were lonely and homesick. College life had been ruder than expected. Ruth’s eyes glowed as she told of her own bouts with loneliness while a boarding student in Korea, and again during her husband’s extended absences while preaching. But the joy of God’s presence during Bible study helped ease the pain, she said. “Bible students are wide-eyed travelers in the midst of wonders.”

She showed them her little notebook, one she had worn out several times. “I’ve found a leather craftsman who rebinds it for me when necessary,” she explained. “Here I jot journal entries, stories I hear, and spiritual lessons God teaches me. As you record your Bible studies, over the years you’ll actually be compiling your own personal Bible commentary.”

The next day, one of the students opened his heart to her in private, admitting defeat in his Christian life. The depth of her wisdom was veiled only by the simplicity of her response. She told him of the twelve spies in Numbers 13. They were sent by Moses to scrutinize the Promised Land. It was theirs for the taking, for God had assured them of his presence and of his conquering power. But ten of the spies lost their nerve, seeing only giants, walled cities, and strong defenses. Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, were undaunted and full of faith. “Let us go up at once and possess the land,” they said, “for the Lord our God is with us.”

“Now,” asked Ruth, “what was the difference between the two sets of spies? Just this … ” She paused for effect. “The ten compared themselves to their problems, but the two compared their problems with God!”

Morgan, R. J. (2000, c1998). From this verse : 365 scriptures that changed the world (electronic ed.) (January 18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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Quote of the Day (5-31-10):

God tests us to bring out the best in us, but Satan tempts us to bring out the worst in us (James 1:1–15). Satan “baits the hook” with what seems good, and we take the bait and end up doing something bad. We can overcome the tempter by having faith and putting on the armor God provides (Eph. 6:10–18), by using the Word of God, by praying, by trusting God for the way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13), and by depending on the power of the Spirit.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1991). With the word Bible commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

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Thought for Today (6-2-10):

"The just shall live by faith" I (Tony Castrataro) have noticed that some people get "hung up" on the "faith" part of "sola fide" - as if faith has magical properties in and of itself! NO...the focus of faith (even on a human level) is in some object OUTSIDE itself (like faith in a particular person, e.g.- that he or she will do a good job in, for instance, their particular area of expertise.), so FAITH IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE OBJECT THAT ONE PUTS ONE'S FAITH INTO. This is analogous and true also with religious faith. TRUE RELIGIOUS FAITH (as opposed to FALSE faith) depends on what OBJECT that one puts one's faith into - i.e.-in this case, the TRUE GOD of the Bible. So...in the Bible when Jesus says to someone "Your faith has saved you", what is implied is, "Your faith IN ME has saved you". In conclusion, don't think that your faith IN YOUR FAITH will save you...only GOD can save you. So I say...(if you haven't done so already!) put your faith (or trust) IN HIM! In conclusion, then, if you're trusting in your own faith to save you, THEN YOU'RE TRUSTING IN YOURSELF - NOT GOD!

[Update (12/4/10)! Here's a great quote (below) by Benjamin Warfield (along these same lines - that confirms what I've been saying here!) that I found at: http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Five-Solas/Sola-Fide/

"It is not faith that saves, but faith in Jesus Christ.... It is not, strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves, but Christ that saves through faith. The saving power resides exclusively, not in the act of faith or the attitude of faith or in the nature of faith, but in the object (sic) of faith."
- B. B. Warfield

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Thought for the Day (6-23-10)

Galatians 3:1-4, 7...Justification— Faith versus Works: this passage begins the major teaching of the Book of Galatians, that a man is justified by faith alone and not by good works nor by law. Of course, a man should be good and do good, be as good as he can be and do as much good as he can. A man should live a moral and just life like the law says. But this is not the point; this is not what Scripture is saying. Scripture is saying that a person is not justified before God by doing good and keeping the law. No man can do enough good nor keep enough laws to become perfect and acceptable before God. God is perfect, and no matter how much good and how much law we keep, we do not become perfect. We are still short: we still fail, sin, age, and die. Good works and law do not perfect us; they do not make us acceptable to God, nor impart to us eternal life. Only God Himself can perfect us, accept us, and give us eternal life. Any thinking and honest person knows that there is nothing—absolutely nothing—on earth that can keep us from coming short and dying. There is absolutely nothing on earth that can give us eternal life in a perfect world where there is nothing but love, joy, and peace. If we are to ever inherit eternal life, then God has to give it to us.

- The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible (Commentary on Galatians)

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Thought of the Day (6-26-2010) Debunking "Christian" myths!

Is God's Love Unconditional?

http://www.acts17-11.com/cows_unlove.html

God helps those that help themselves?

http://www.acts17-11.com/cows_helps.html

Self-Esteem for the Christian?

http://www.acts17-11.com/cows_inflated.html

NOTE: Many other articles on the same site are "of interest"!

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Thought for the Day (7/3/10):

Forgiveness and Judgment

“Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God; thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions [evil deeds].” (Psalm 99:8)

This verse gives us the whole picture of how God deals with sin. Too often people only see half the picture, namely, the forgiveness part; but they do not consider the judgment part. But God’s attitude towards sin is not only forgiveness or only judgment. It is both. We see that in our verse in the compassion from God and chastening from God.

Compassion from God. “Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God; thou wast a God that forgavest them.” This part of the verse we like the best. It speaks of the fact that God in mercy hears the prayer of those who seek God’s forgiveness and forgives the people for their sinning. This part of the verse encourages people to cry unto God for forgiveness, for it promises that when we seek His forgiveness, He will grant it. That is great news, for we have all sinned and need Divine forgiveness. The message of the Gospel is to call upon the Lord for forgiveness of our sins. Christ died on Calvary that we might be forgiven of our sins. Let all sinners seek His forgiveness. It is the only way one will ever reach heaven.

Chastening from God. “Though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions [evil deeds].” We do not like this part of the verse as well as the first part. It says forgiveness does not take away all the consequences of sin. Moses was forgiven his sin of striking the rock, but he was not permitted to enter the promised land. David was forgiven his sin of adultery and murder, but God said “the sword shall never depart from thine house” (2 Samuel 12:10), and “I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and given them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun” (2 Samuel 12:11). The drunkard gets saved, but the ill effects of drinking upon his body are not removed. The immoral is saved, but the AIDS he contacted in his sinful living will take his life before he has lived long. God’s forgiveness will open heaven for you. But Divine forgiveness does not mean we can sin without any punitive consequences.

-Daily Bible Reading: Sermonettes #1 (John G. Butler)______________________________________________________________________________

Thought for the Day (7/5/10):

How does the branch bear fruit? Not by incessant effort for sunshine and air; not by vain struggles.… It simply abides in the vine, in silent and undisturbed union, and blossoms and fruit appear as of spontaneous growth.—Harriet Beecher Stowe, in her little booklet How to Live on Christ

Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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Thought for the Day (7/6/10):

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do." -Helen Keller

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Good places to get good inexpensive Bible software:

1) www.FreeBibleSoftware.com

2) http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Software-/18793/i.html?_catref=1&_fln=1&_ipg=25&_ssn=scott199186&_trksid=p3911.c0.m282 Esp. consider buying "Studies in the Savior" by John G. Butler - if he still has it available (It IS available as I type this - on 7-13-10)

3) Lastly, go to E-Bay (i.e.- http://ebay.com ) and search for "bible software" in the computer/ software section and you'll find many deals there (although some not "on the up and up" - so watch out for that!).

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Thought for the Day (7/7/10):

Connected with Him in His love, I am more than conqueror; without Him, I am nothing. Like some railway tickets in America, I am “Not good if detached.”—Corrie Ten Boom

Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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A couple good online books about problems with the theory of evolution:

http://members.core.com/~tony233/Fallacies_of_Evolution.htm

(NOTE: Don't necessarily agree with everything this next one says, but it's still, overall, a "good" book!)

http://evolutionfacts.com/Handbook%20TOC.htm

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Interesting Case Studies

Would you consider abortion in any of the following four situations:

1. There’s a preacher and wife who are very, very poor. They already have fourteen children, and now she finds out she’s pregnant with the fifteenth. They’re living in tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty and the excessive world population, would you consider recommending an abortion?

2. The father is sick with a bad cold, the mother has tuberculosis (TB). They have four children. The first is blind, second is dead, third is deaf, fourth has TB. She finds that she’s pregnant again. Given their extreme situation, would you consider recommending an abortion?

3. A white man has raped a thirteen-year-old black girl, and she became pregnant. If you were her parents, would you consider recommending an abortion?

4. A teenage girl is pregnant. She’s not married. Her fiancé is not the father of the baby, and he’s concerned. Would you consider recommending an abortion?

If you said yes to the first case, you just killed John Wesley, one of the great evangelists in the nineteenth century. If you said yes to the second case, you killed Ludwig van Beethoven. If you said yes to the third case, you killed Ethel Waters, the great black gospel singer who thrilled audiences for many years at Billy Graham Crusades around the world. And, if you said yes to the fourth case, you killed Jesus Christ.*

*This article has been circulating on the internet for some time without attribution.

Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (6). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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George Mueller’s Practice

The German Christian George Mueller, who developed highly successful ministries to homeless children in the nineteenth century, wrote this in his diary on May 9, 1841:

It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.…

Before this time my practice had been, at least for ten years previously, as a habitual thing, to give myself to prayer after having dressed myself in the morning. Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed.…

The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of public ministry of the Word, not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon, but for the sake of obtaining food for my soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to supplication; so that, though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer. When thus I have been for a while making confession or intercession or supplication, or have given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turning all, as I go, into prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to it.…

By breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart.

Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (67). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thought for the Day (7/16/10):

Mercy and Merit

“I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.” (Genesis 32:10)

Jacob is on his way back to Canaan after living twenty years with his Uncle Laban. When he came to Laban, he only had his staff and the clothes on his back. But after twenty years he had a large family (which at that time included eleven sons and one daughter) plus large flocks of livestock. God had truly blessed Jacob abundantly.

Jacob wisely realized that these great blessings were not a result of his merit but were totally a result of God’s mercy. Jacob had much sin in his life—he had deceived his father to gain the patriarchal blessing, and he was also guilty of much scheming and trickery with Laban. Jacob did not deserve the blessing, therefore, only mercy gave it to him.

We may not have sinned like Jacob, but our blessings are still a result of mercy and not merit. One of the greatest truths we can learn in life is that we are unworthy of Divine favor. We are all woefully short of merit in God’s sight. If we want blessings from God, plead His mercy. Do not ask God for blessing on the basis of merit, for you will not get much.

Especially do we need to remember this truth in regards to soul salvation. One thing the Bible teaches clearly is that salvation is all of grace, it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Salvation comes by the way of mercy. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). The best we can do is not enough for “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). The flesh wants to go the merit route for it is proud. But no one gets saved that way. Salvation is “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

Jacob knelt very low before God when he emphasized his great unworthiness by saying he was not worthy of the “least” of God’s mercies. No man will ever go wrong in bowing low before God. It is the only posture of the soul that will bring blessing. It is the mercy posture, not the merit posture.

Daily Bible Reading: Sermonettes #1 (John G. Butler)

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Thought for the Day (7/17/10):

The Obstinate Sinner

“He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. (Proverbs 29:1)

This verse is a strong warning to those who refuse to forsake their sin. This verse speaks about the sinners who refuse to heed Divine warnings about their sin and thus bring swift and severe judgment upon themselves. Three things are said in this verse about the obstinate sinner. They include the reproving of the sinner, the rebelling of the sinner, and the retribution for the sinner.

Reproving of the sinner. “He that being often reproved.” This statement speaks of the grace of God. When a person sins, God in grace reproves, warns, and rebukes the sinner to try to get the sinner to stop his evil ways. And note it is “often” reproved. God in grace reproves and warns a sinner a number of times and also in a number of ways. He reproves through the Scriptures. He reproves by the counsel of friends. He reproves by trials. He also reproves by giving the sinner a troubled conscience. If one goes to hell, he certainly cannot blame God; for God has done much to correct the sinner.

Rebelling of the sinner. “Hardeneth his neck.” Instead of heeding the reproving, the sinner rebelled and persisted in his sin. To harden your neck is an expression which says a person will not bow down or bend down in submission to corrective reproof but instead will persist and continue in their evil ways. Hardened necks come from hardened hearts. Many are those today who are stubborn sinners. They refuse all rebuke and correction and continue in their sinful ways.

Retribution for the sinner. “Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” God will not reprove forever (cp. Genesis 6:3) but will eventually bring retribution on the unrepentant sinner. Three things are said about the retribution here. First, the certainty of it. “Shall” says judgment is certain for the unrepentant sinner. Second, the celerity of it. “Suddenly.” It comes too fast to repent, to void it, or to stop it. Third, the conclusiveness of it. “Without remedy.” There are no more opportunities to repent. There is no more hope. The judgment is the final state of the sinner. It will never change.

Daily Bible Reading: Sermonettes #1. (John G. Butler)

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Thought for the Day (7/24/10):

One of Scripture’s finest cameos is of a wearied Jesus asleep in the stern of a rowboat as his frantic followers battle the elements. It paints itself vividly in our minds and leaps easily from the page to the pulpit.

Though I can’t confirm this story, I read once that this is the text used in Belfast on the Sunday following the sinking of the Titanic. The great ship had been built in Belfast, and a tremendous amount of local pride went down with the ship—along with sixteen skilled mechanics, all members of the local church. Even strong men meeting on the city’s streets, grasped hands, burst into tears, and parted without speaking a word.

That Sunday, the minister read this story and told his somber congregation that only one vessel in all history had been truly unsinkable: the frail boat occupied by the sleeping Savior. And, he added, the only hearts that can weather the storms are those in which the Lord likewise abides.

Morgan, R. J. (2000, c1998). From this verse : 365 scriptures that changed the world (electronic ed.) (July 24). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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August 5

Entering the Gate

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.

Titus 3:5

When you enter the narrow gate of salvation, you must do so alone. A turnstile perhaps best represents the concept of the narrow gate. Just one person at a time—with no baggage—can pass through a turnstile. God has ordained that people enter His kingdom singly, not in groups. You can’t ride in on the coattails of your church, your family, or your friends, no matter how godly those people are.

God’s gate is so narrow that you must go through it not only alone but naked. You can’t go through the gate clothed in sin and self–will. As the hymn writer said, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” That’s the way of the cross, which is the gospel. And the gospel is the narrow gate, which involves self–denial. Jesus said, “‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it’” (Matt. 16:24–25).

MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (238). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.

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November 6, 2010 I'm "back" (after having some computer issues (like my motherboard "frying" and needing to be replaced!) for the last 5-6 weeks!)!!

Here's a great link: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/resources/should-we-teach-that-good-works-come-with-saving-faith#/listen/full NOTE: This is similar to the discussion on 5-12-10 (above) but in it (in this case) John Piper basically summarizes the gist of that discussion (i.e.- after minute 27!).

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November 9, 2010

C. The King Clarifies the Demands and Rewards of True Discipleship (19:16-30)

SUPPORTING IDEA: Eternal life cannot be earned; it must be received as a gift from God.

The closer Jesus got to the cross, the higher he raised the stakes for those who would follow him. Much as the disciples' question of 18:1 revealed their misunderstanding of "greatness" in the kingdom, so also this man's question (19:16) revealed his misunderstanding of the "goodness" required for entrance into the kingdom.

19:16. The man respectfully addressed Jesus as Teacher. It is apparent from the conversation and his response that the man was sincere in his question about the way to get eternal life, but he was mistaken about how this might come about. He expected to earn eternal life by his own righteous acts (what good things must I do?) rather than through God's gracious endowment of righteousness (Rom. 3:9-31).

19:17. Jesus responded by driving the discussion toward the nature of true "goodness." His initial response seemed to bring his own goodness into question. However, by the time he finished the discussion, it was evident that this was one more claim to deity. It was not the goodness of Jesus that was in question here, but the man's assumptions regarding the goodness required for eternal life. Eternal life requires absolute goodness, and there is only One who is good enough to earn it on his (sic) own (see Pss. 106:1; 118:1,29; 1 Chron. 16:34; 2 Chron. 5:13).

Jesus final statement of 19:17 might be paraphrased like this: "If you insist on pursuing this impossible, self-dependent avenue toward eternal life, I will tell you just how good you must be. To begin, perfect righteousness requires absolute obedience to the Old Testament commandments." Of course, that is impossible. That was Jesus' point in the Sermon on the Mount (5:20). Even the best of Pharisees did not come close. Jesus contrasted the reality that only God is absolutely good with the man's foolish expectation that he could be good enough for eternal life.

19:18-19. The man's next question revealed his misunderstanding still further. He did not understand that God required absolute perfection. He seemed to presume that God graded on a curve and that his "goodness" was better than many. Jesus let this man know that anything less than perfection is no "good" at all. A righteous man would have to keep all of the commandments perfectly. The man, grasping for possibilities, assumed that there must be some special set of commandments that made a person particularly righteous.

Jesus listed some of the commandments. His listing of the fifth through the ninth of the Ten Commandments, together with love your neighbor as yourself from Leviticus 19:18 (cf. Matt. 22:34-40) was intended not as an exhaustive list of all commandments necessary for eternal life but as a representative sample. The man would need to keep all of the Old Testament commandments. Even this "short list" would be understood as impossible for anyone.

19:20-21. The young man still did not grasp Jesus' true meaning. He claimed to have kept all the commandments. Yet he knew that such observance was not enough. He asked, What do I still lack? No matter how good a person's life may be, if he examines his conscience honestly, he will know that there is still something lacking about his own righteousness (Rom. 2:12-15).

Jesus' answer went straight to this man's self-righteous god—money. He read him perfectly. He knew where his heart and treasure lay (Matt. 6:21). To make such a sacrifice would be to exchange earthly wealth for treasure in heaven (cf. 6:19-20). But Jesus also knew that this outward action would require first an inward transformation that was humanly impossible. Jesus attempted to drive the man to the point of seeing his real need.

19:22. But the man did not grasp Jesus' point. He had no sense of sin. And he certainly was not willing to give up his false god. Therefore, because the rich young man was not willing to have his heart transformed, he went away sad. He wanted wealth in both worlds, but Jesus' statement demanded that he choose between the two. As much as he wanted the wealth of eternal life, he could not give up his great wealth to obtain eternal treasure.

This should not be taken to mean that wealth automatically disqualifies a person from eternal life. Rather, the worship of wealth over God is the problem. There are rare individuals who are able to possess much wealth while keeping God on the throne of their lives, ready at any time to give it all up for him (e.g., Job). Paul made this same distinction in 1 Timothy 6:10, clarifying that it is the "love of money," not money itself, that is "a root of all kinds of evil."

19:23-24. After the young man left, Jesus saw a teachable moment for his disciples. He turned to them and made a statement about the lesson they needed to take from this episode.

I tell you the truth grabbed the disciples' attention and alerted them that Jesus was about to say something of great importance: It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Note that Jesus did not say such a thing is impossible; merely unlikely, because of the lure of earthly wealth. The rich young ruler had bought into a form of what is today called prosperity theology, which teaches that God blesses those who follow him with material riches.

But Jesus pressed home his argument as his restatement heightened to the point of impossibility. Such a thing is even harder than putting a camel (the largest animal of that region) through the eye of a needle.

19:25-26. The disciples were conditioned by their culture to believe that wealth was a sign of God's blessing on a person's life (Deut. 28:1-14). Therefore, they were astonished. Matthew used the specialized, superlative Greek adverb sphodra, amplifying the disciples' astonishment to an extreme. If the wealthy—so blessed by God—can never enter the kingdom, Who then can be saved?

The phrase Jesus looked at them added further emphasis to what he was about to say. The key to the whole dilemma was the One who is the source of righteousness. People in themselves do not have what it takes to enter the kingdom! But with God all things are possible. What a person cannot do to save himself, God does by providing a gracious entrance. Salvation is a supernatural gift.

-Holman New Testament Commentary - Holman New Testament Commentary – Matthew.

[Update! 12/4/2010] "Far too much of the church in our day is marked by cheap grace, or easy-believism. The message given too often is, "Come to Jesus, you don’t have to change a thing." But our Lord did not say that salvation was an easy thing; rather, He said that it was an impossible thing, as far as men are concerned (Matthew 19:26)."

-from: http://www.monergismbooks.com/Studies-on-Saving-Faith-A-Biblical-Response-to-Easy-Believism-p-18990.html

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November 10, 2010

Question: Should ministers preach about grace before preaching about the law or... (should it be) law before grace?

You can download and listen to the (what should be obvious -if you've read the Bible!) answer here (Note: answer given by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron in a "Way of the Master minute" taken from http://wayofthemasterradio.com ).

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November 11, 2010

Obedience

Obedience stands above all other attitudes. An obedient person does whatever God says to do. He does not compromise. If God says something, that’s it—there is nothing to argue about. It’s important for us to have God’s Word in our hearts and minds so that we know how to be obedient. Obedience is the sine qua non of all right attitudes. It is the all–pervasive attitude that makes other spiritual virtues possible. Behavior without an attitude of obedience is meaningless; internal obedience is better than any external act of worship (1 Sam. 15:22). Furthermore, obedience leads to other right spiritual attitudes.

There are several other important reasons to live an obedient life: to glorify God, to receive blessings, to be a witness to unbelievers, and to be an example for other Christians. Being obedient also allows us to be filled with the Spirit. When we’re filled with the Spirit, we’re able to reach out to unbelievers and set an example for those who watch how we live.

Jesus says in Luke 6:46, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” If Jesus is Lord of your life, you should do what He asks you to do. Matthew 7:13–14 says that the path to salvation is narrow. That’s because it is confined by God’s will, law, and Word. We are to affirm Christ as Lord (Rom. 10:9–10) and submit to His lordship. That means living a life of obedience.

A man who listened to our radio program sent a letter and a tape to me, telling me about a matter that was on his heart. During the first ten minutes of the tape, he talked about how he appreciated our study of the Bible on our radio program. Then he said he had many sins in his life that God was working on, one of which he wanted to ask me about. He said that he had never had normal feelings toward women; instead, he had a strong sexual attraction to large farm animals.

He went on to add, however, that he didn’t think his desire for animals constituted a problem because he didn’t feel guilty about it. He said that the Lord was refining him in other areas, not that one. A four–page letter was sent back to him explaining that his problem is a serious sin in the eyes of God. In fact, if he had lived in the Old Testament era, he would have been killed, for Leviticus 20:15 says, “If a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death.” The letter kindly expressed that God doesn’t select certain sins to work on and leave others alone. Every sin is an affront to His holy name. Several Scripture references were given in the letter to support what was said.

A while later, that man sent another tape to me. He said, “I don’t think anybody understands. Christians are so tangled up in the Bible that they don’t understand how God works and feels.”

That’s a revealing statement. Unfortunately, it reflects a widespread attitude. But it is disastrous theology. How are we going to know how God feels about something except by reading the Bible? That man didn’t want to listen to what God had to say about his problem because he didn’t want to be confronted with his own guilt. First John 2:5 says, “Whosoever keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; by this know we that we are in him” (emphasis added). A person who can tolerate that kind of abomination in his life and says he knows how God feels without reading the Bible has a problem. Sin causes a person to become self–justifying.

That’s an extreme illustration, but it points out the fact that God has called us to be obedient to His Word. We should know how He feels about things because He tells us in His Word. The goal of ministry should be to build an obedient people. That is what God intended to do in both the Old and New Testaments. When God speaks, we are to obey.

It is sad that when some people are confronted with divine truth that convicts them of something in their lives that isn’t right, they continue in their pattern of disobedience. For example: suppose you hear a sermon about forgiveness, and there is someone you know that you need to forgive. But you push that sermon out of your mind and continue to have a bitter, unforgiving spirit. That is disobedience. It is diametrically opposed to all that God wants to accomplish in your life.

Someone will say, “I go to church. Isn’t that enough?” First Samuel 15:22 says, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Ritual will never replace obedience. In 1 Peter 1 the apostle says to “gird up the loins of your mind” (v. 13). In other words, make sure your priorities are right. Be “obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance” (v. 14). Don’t live the way you did before you became a Christian. You are to be an obedient child.

Jesus said, “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:28). Paul, commending the Roman Christians, said, “Your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad” (Rom. 16:19). A pastor’s heart is made happy when the obedience of his people is manifest.

I once heard Howard Hendricks say that people who have been Christians for a long time and are more than fifty years old should be the most excited, committed, pure, servant–like people in a church. The very energy of a church ought to come from them. They should be on the forefront in evangelism and prayer. Why? Because they’ve lived with God the longest. They’ve applied the Word to their lives for so long that they’ve become more obedient and mature than those who have been Christians for only a few years.

It is wonderful that Grace Church has many young people. I like young people because they are energetic. But it’s sad if the energy of a church only comes from its young people. Often I hear young pastors say, “My church is good and is in a nice area, but it’s full of old people.”

If you’re a Christian but don’t apply God’s Word to your life, you’ll just become one of those inert older people. You’ll pass fifty years old, and you’ll want to retire spiritually. You’ll say, “I’ve been going to church for many years. I don’t want to get involved in evangelism; I’d rather leave that kind of thing for younger people.” Look at the Old Testament leaders of Israel: Many of them were older people! The early church found its energy in its mature saints. Today the church is deriving its energy from young people. We need the energy that young people have, but we also need the power that older believers have developed from long, obedient lives. An older believer should be ready to blast off into heaven from the energy he has built up! But because many believers don’t apply what they hear as they get older, their lives don’t change. They may know a lot of spiritual facts, but they have no power. I don’t want that to happen in my life. Perhaps the reason many people eventually stop serving Christ is that they allow themselves to hear the Bible without applying it.

We must be committed to obeying God’s Word. If the Spirit teaches you a truth, apply it. When you’re confronted with conviction, don’t say, “I wish So–and–so could have heard that sermon.” Apply the sermon to yourself. When you obey Christ, you grow in spiritual maturity and become more useful to God.

-MacArthur, J. (1991). The Master's plan for the church (32). Chicago: Moody Press.

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November 15, 2010

Cheerfulness is a friend to grace; it puts the heart in tune to praise God, and so honors religion by proclaiming to the world that we serve a good master. Be serious, yet cheerful. Rejoice in the Lord always. -Thomas Watson (Puritan preacher and non-conformist (note: Click HERE for more info on (and more quotes by!) Thomas Watson!))

Get the complete works of Thomas Watson in pdf format for less than $10 - less than $1 per book!! http://www.puritandownloads.com/swrb/categories/Thomas-Watson/

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November 19, 2010

Great article on "assurance" by Sinclair Ferguson!

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/greatest-all-protestant-heresies/

[Here's a great quote from the article that significant in terms of this website[!]: "...It is the good tree that produces good fruit, not the other way round. We are not saved by works; we are saved for works. In fact we are God’s workmanship at work (Eph. 2:9–10)... ]

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[Another great quote today!! ["Thank you, Jesus!!"]]

Augustine (of Hippo), “The Law was therefore given, in order that grace might be sought: grace was given, in order that the law might be fulfilled.”

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November 27, 2010

"He (i.e.-Christ) should be honored not only as the one who died to pardon us, and not only as the one who sovereignly works faith and obedience in us, but as the one who provided a perfect righteousness for us as the ground of our full acceptance and endorsement by God." -John Piper

from: [ http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/what-god-requires-christ-provides/ ]

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DECEMBER 3, 2010

What does "poor in spirit" mean? ...The proper meaning. The words "poor" and "spirit" are the key to what "poor in spirit" means. The word translated "poor" means literally "to cower and cringe like a beggar" (Lawlor), and it "conveys the idea of utter destitution which abjectly solicits and lives by alms" (Vincent). Twice the word is rendered "beggar" and once "beggarly" in the KJV. Three words are used for "poor" in the New Testament. This word is the strongest of the three.

The word "spirit" connects "poor" to the spiritual aspect of our life. It is poverty in the spiritual area which is spoken of in this first beatitude.

In understanding this first beatitude, we need to know that it is a very concise statement that implies a much larger statement. That is, we could freely translate the statement to say, "Blessed are those who recognize that they are beggarly poor spiritually and come to God for help." It is not just being poor spiritually, but recognizing the fact plus doing something about it, namely, coming to God for help.

To be "poor in spirit" involves first the recognition that spiritually one is utterly destitute apart from God. "To be 'poor in spirit' is to realize that I have nothing, am nothing, and can do nothing, and have need of all things. Poverty of spirit is a consciousness of my emptiness" (Pink). "Poor in spirit" means "a complete absence of pride, a complete absence of self-assurance and of self-reliance. It means a consciousness that we are nothing in the presence of God" (Martyn Lloyd-Jones). It is the condition needed for one to come to Christ for salvation. When one comes to this realization of his spiritual condition, it will drive him to Christ for salvation; for it will cause him to realize he has nothing in himself for salvation but must get it all from Christ.

Studies of the Savior - Studies of the Savior – Jesus Christ: His Sermon on the Mount.

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DECEMBER 4, 2010

"Grace is not a reward for faith; faith is the result of grace." - John Blanchard

"Saving faith is not a native product of the human heart, but is a spiritual grace communicated from on High." - A.W. Pink, http://bit.ly/drXWnO

"It is not faith that saves, but faith in Jesus Christ.... It is not, strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves, but Christ that saves through faith. The saving power resides exclusively, not in the act of faith or the attitude of faith or in the nature of faith, but in the object of faith."
- B. B. Warfield

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls...There is no gospel except that of Christ's substitution in our place whereby God imputed to him [sic] our sin and imputed to us his [ [sic] - note: "sic" is implied (from now on - on this page) when pronouns referring to Jesus aren't capitalized (about 5 more times in the next paragraph, btw!).] righteousness. Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God's children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in Christ's saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him. We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice. We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

[quoted from: http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Five-Solas/Sola-Fide/ [Note: Read the whole article, btw! (The last 1/2 or so of the article talks about how we can easily and erroneously "make faith a work" (as something we trust in for our standing (or salvation) before God) and thereby be "of the works of the law and under the curse." (Gal. 3:10)! (Important point!) ]

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DECEMBER 12, 2010

[[Most of the] entry on "Justification" from the MacArthur Topical Bible]

Justification

Promised in Christ.

Is 45:25 In the Lord all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”

Is 53:11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

Is the act of God.

Is 50:8 He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me.

Rom 8:33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Under law,

Requires perfect obedience.

Lev 18:5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

Rom 2:13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;

Rom 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Man cannot attain to.

Job 9:2–3 “Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God? 3 If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

Job 9:20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

Job 25:4 How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?

Ps 130:3 If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

Ps 143:2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Rom 9:31–32 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

Under the gospel,

Is not of works.

Acts 13:39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

Gal 2:16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Gal 3:11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

Is not of faith and works united.

Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Rom 11:6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

Gal 2:14–21 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. 17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Gal 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Cf. Acts 15:1–29

Is by faith alone.

John 5:24 “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.

Acts 13:39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Rom 3:30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Rom 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Is of grace.

Rom 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

Rom 5:17–21 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the name of Christ.

1 Cor 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

By imputation of Christ’s righteousness.

Is 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Jer 23:6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE Lord OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Rom 3:22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

Rom 5:18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

1 Cor 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

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

By the blood of Christ.

Rom 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

By the resurrection of Christ.

Rom 4:25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

1 Cor 15:17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

Blessedness of.

Ps 32:1–2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Rom 4:6–8 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Frees from condemnation.

Is 50:8–9 He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. 9 Surely the Lord GOD will help Me; Who is he who will condemn Me? Indeed they will all grow old like a garment; The moth will eat them up.

Is 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.

Rom 8:33–34 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Entitles to an inheritance.

Titus 3:7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Ensures glorification.

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified...

By faith,

Revealed under the Old Testament age.

Hab 2:4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Excludes boasting.

Rom 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Rom 4:2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

1 Cor 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

1 Cor 1:31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Does not make void the law.

Rom 3:30–31 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

1 Cor 9:21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;

Typified.

Zech 3:4–5 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.

Illustrated.

Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Exemplified in

Abraham.

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Paul.

Phil 3:8–9 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

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DECEMBER 12, 2010

“We … see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for every one” (Heb. 2:9).

²²²

In serving as our substitute, Christ humbled Himself supremely.

Jesus’ death on the cross was not easy or costless; it was a horrific death. It was not calm and peaceful; it was accompanied by outward torture and inward agony. The death He tasted was the curse of sin. In a few hours on that cross, He suffered the total agony of every soul for all eternity. He was guilty of no sin, and yet He chose to suffer the weight of all sins committed for all time.

God sent His Son, and His Son willingly came to die to redeem mankind. Paul writes, “When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law” (Gal. 4:4–5).

Only by tasting death as a man could He free mankind from death. Historically, kings have had someone taste their food and drink before they consumed it. Christ drained to the dregs the cup of poison rightfully meant for us before it could ever touch our lips. He substituted His death for ours, releasing us from the deadness of sin and bringing us into life with God.

What moved Jesus to suffer for us? Grace. What we did not deserve (salvation) we received, and what we did deserve (death) we did not receive. Unbounded love prompted Christ’s gracious work on our behalf: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

After He accomplished the work of His substitutionary death, He was “crowned with glory and honor” and was exalted to the right hand of the Father, where He will reign forever and ever. He is our great substitute, whom we can thank and praise throughout all eternity.

²²²

MacArthur, J. (1993). Drawing near. Includes indexes. (December 27). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

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DECEMBER 28, 2010

1 Peter 4:1-2 (NASB95)
¹Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
²so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

John Piper with a sermon and panel discussion on the subject of "suffering(s) for Christ":

http://www.ligonier.org/rym/broadcasts/video/how-supremacy-christ-creates-radical-sacrifice/

http://www.ligonier.org/rym/broadcasts/video/panel-discussion-6/

[My comments: These video files will only be available for the next 3-4 weeks so take advantage of them being on the internet right now; THEY ARE AWESOME PRESENTATIONS! (Yes, it's "just my opinion" but...see for yourself - if I'm not right about them!)]

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DECEMBER 30, 2010

Here's a helpful view of how godly sanctification takes place in the believer's life:

D. THE CONTRAST OF FLESH AND SPIRIT

Galatians 5:16-26

A great contrast exists between the conduct of the Spirit and the conduct of the flesh. This contrast speaks of the general behavior contrast of the saved and the unsaved and the higher character of conduct from the Gospel than by the law.

1. The Counsel About Our Walk (Galatians 5:16)

"Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Here is some wonderful counsel that needs to be heard more often. Worldly counsellors today certainly do not give such counsel.

• The walk in the counsel. "Walk in the Spirit." Walking speaks of the ordinary. It is not the spectacular. Where our Christian character is most tested is in the ordinary round of life. Anyone can act special under special circumstances, but the real test is how you act in the ordinary walk.

• The way in the counsel. "Walk in the Spirit." Walking in the Spirit is to walk in the way of submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Thus you will walk according to the Word of God, for the Holy Spirit guides according to the Word. We are not to guide our conduct by the culture of the day but by the counsel of the Scriptures.

• The why in the counsel. "Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." This counsel has a good purpose indeed. "The 'lust of the flesh'... incorporates all of the evil desires that originate within fallen human nature" (Gromacki). Though one is saved, he still has the old flesh and its vile appetites. They, however, can be subdued and conquered by being submissive to the Spirit through the Word of God. Believers are not exempted from temptation, but they do have a means of defeating every temptation, namely, walking in the Spirit. When a believer falls into sin, it is because he has not listened to the Holy Spirit as He guides the believer according the Word of God. The believer has no excuse for fulfilling the lust of the flesh.

- Analytical Bible Expositor (John G. Butler)– Galatians-Colossians.

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DECEMBER 31, 2010

Speaking of sanctification...let's "end the year with a 'bang' "! Here's the best sermon I've ever heard (up 'til now!) on the subject of sanctification in the Christian's life!

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/how-the-spirit-does-what-the-law-could-not-do

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JANUARY 1, 2011

Two great messages by Francis Chan (graduate of John MacArthur's Master's College):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBhqrtMqrv8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIgLOGlELnw&NR=1

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JANUARY 14, 2011

Fruitful Branch

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall.” (Genesis 49:22)

Jacob is giving the patriarchal blessing in Genesis 49 to his twelve sons. When he comes to Joseph, he has some wonderful things to say. The first thing he said was that Joseph was a fruitful bough (branch). In Scripture fruitfulness speaks of godly character. From this text we note three things about the fruitfulness of Joseph’s godly character.

Evidence of his fruitfulness. Jacob described his sons according to their character. Therefore it was fitting to describe Joseph as fruitful, for he was of noble character. Wherever we see Joseph in Scripture, we see fruitfulness. In the home as a boy there was the fruit of love and obedience. Before his brothers there was the fruit of patience, long suffering, and gentleness. Before Potiphar there was the fruit of faithfulness. Before the wicked wife of Potiphar there was the fruit of purity. Before the prisoners there was the fruit of faith in God. Fruit abounded in Joseph’s life. If you are a genuine Christian, fruit will evidence it. Those who say they are a Christian, but lack fruit to prove it, are simply phonies.

Energy for fruitfulness. Jacob said Joseph was a fruitful bough by a well. Without water there would be no fruit. But with water, fruit can abound. In the Scripture, water often speaks of the Word of God. And the Word is the well one must be near if he is to be fruitful spiritually. If one drinks deeply of the water of God’s Word everyday, there will be fruit in that person’s life. But if one drinks of the defiled waters of the world such as the filthy books and magazines and films, it will poison the soul and there will be no fruit.

Extent of fruitfulness. Joseph is described as reaching over the wall with his branches. Like a tree, his branches reached beyond the area around the tree and reached far out from the tree. Joseph was so fruitful that he touched many lives around him and also far off. In fact, Joseph literally touched the lives of all the then known world with his work. Our challenge and prayer should be to be so fruitful that we will bless an ever widening circle of people with our life.

Daily Bible Reading: Sermonettes #1. (John G. Butler)

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JANUARY 21, 2011

Great "eye-opening" (It was for me, at least!) sermon on "Dealing with Disappointment" by Moody Church pastor/ theologian Erwin Lutzer! Pt 1 Pt 2

(or...you can go to the page that I got the links from @ http://www.moodyradio.org/brd_programarchive.aspx?id=46499 and click on the "Listen" links on Dec. 10 and Dec. 13.)

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JANUARY 22, 2011

Kirk Cameron from "Way of the Master" interviews John MacArthur on his book "Hard To Believe" [Great info given here in answer to questions on "How is one saved?" and "How does one know he/ she is saved?"!!]:

http://www.myspace.com/video/paulis2cute2bstr8/kirk-cameron-interviews-john-macarthur/40021925

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JANUARY 23, 2011

Has God "abandoned" the USA?! Watch and "see" and judge (MacArthur's arguments) for yourself!!

http://www.myspace.com/video/paulis2cute2bstr8/abandoned-by-god/102633491

Here's the original complete sermon (audio and text only) - if you're interested.

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/GTY109_A-Nation-Abandoned-by-God?

Also, here's a similar sermon that MacArthur gave before that (where he says lot of good things about God as Creator (not mentioned in the previous sermon)):

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/80-184

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JANUARY 23, 2011

[NOTE: I recently came across this excellent , helpful article (by Leon Morris) on the topic of "Justification" from the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology and thought I share it with you "guys"]:

Justification. Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. It is a legal term signifying acquittal, a fact that makes it unpalatable to many in our day. We tend to distrust legalism and thus we dismiss anything that savors of a legalistic approach. We should be clear that our hesitation was not shared by the biblical writers. In their day it was axiomatic that a wealthy and important citizen would not be treated in a law court in the same way as an insignificant person. Indeed this was sometimes written into the statutes and, for example, in the ancient Code of Hammurabi it is laid down that if a citizen knocked out the tooth of another citizen his own tooth should be knocked out. But if the victim was a vassal it sufficed to pay a small fine. Nobody expected strict justice in human tribunals but the biblical writers were sure that God is a God of justice. Throughout the Bible justice is a category of fundamental importance.

It mattered to the biblical writers that God is a God is a God of perfect justice, a truth expressed in Abraham’s question, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25). God can be relied on to act in perfect justice and without giving preference to the wealthy and the highly placed in our human societies. “The Lord takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people” (Isa. 3:13–14). Over and over the punishment of evil is put in legal terms (Exod. 6:6; 7:4) and specifically Israel’s sin is brought out with the use of legal imagery (Mic. 6:1–2).

Accordingly it is not surprising that salvation is often viewed in legal terms. The basic question in all religion is, “How can sinful people be just (i.e., be justified) before the holy God?” Justification is a legal term with a meaning like “acquittal”; in religion it points to the process whereby a person is declared to be right before God. That person should be an upright and good person, but justification does not point to qualities like these. That is rather the content of sanctification. Justification points to the acquittal of one who is tried before God. In both the Old Testament and the New the question receives a good deal of attention and in both it is clear that people cannot bring about their justification by their own efforts. The legal force of the terminology is clear when Job exclaims, “Now that I have prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated” (Job 13:18).

Justification (dikaiosis) is connected linguistically with righteousness (dikaiosune); in the first century it is clear that all the words with this root were concerned with conformity to a standard of right. And in Scripture it is not too much to say that righteousness is basically a legal term. The law that mattered was, of course, the law of God, so that righteousness signified conformity to the law of God.

The Old Testament. We do not find the full New Testament doctrine of justification by faith in the Old Testament, but we do find teachings that agree with it and that in due course were taken up into that doctrine. Thus it is made clear that sin is universal, but that God provides forgiveness. For the first point, “All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Ps. 14:3). And when God looks down from heaven he sees that “they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Ps. 53:2–3). Many such passages could be cited. And for the second point, “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness” (Ps. 130:3–4). The end of Micah’s prophecy emphasizes that God is a God “who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance” and that he “delights to show mercy” (7:18–20).

Sometimes we find the thought that God imputes righteousness to people. He did this to Abraham, who believed God “and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Again Phinehas took decisive action so that the plague was checked and “This was credited to him as righteousness” (Ps. 106:31; Phinehas is described in the words, “as zealous as I am for my honor among them,” Num. 25:11). And the prophet can say, “He who vindicates (or justifies) me is near” (Isa. 50:8).

The New Testament. When we turn to the New Testament we must be clear that the righteousness and justification terminology is to be understood in the light of its Hebrew background, not in terms of contemporary Greek ideas. We see this, for example, in the words of Jesus who speaks of people giving account on the day of judgment: “by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:37; the word niv translates “acquitted” is the one Paul normally uses for “justified”). Those acquitted on the day of judgment are spoken of as “the righteous” (Matt. 25:37; they go into “eternal life,” v. 46).

The verb translated “to justify” clearly means “to declare righteous.” It is used of God in a quotation, which the New International Version renders “So that you may be proved right when you speak” (Rom. 3:4; the nrsv has more exactly, “So that you may be justified in your words”). Now God cannot be “made righteous”; the expression obviously means “shown to be righteous” and this helps us see that when the word is applied to believers it does not mean “made righteous”; it signifies “declared righteous,” “shown to be in the right,” or the like.

Paul is fond of the concept of justification; indeed for him it is the characteristic way of referring to the central truth of the gospel. He makes much more use of the concept than do the other writers of the New Testament. This does not mean that he has a different understanding of the gospel; it is the same gospel that he proclaims, the gospel that the death of Christ on the cross has opened a way of salvation for sinners. But he uses the concept of justification to express it whereas the other writers prefer other terms. He says, “Just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). We should not understand “were made sinners” in any such sense as “were compelled to be sinners.” It signifies “were constituted sinners,” “were reckoned as sinners.” Paul is saying that the whole human race is caught up in the effect of Adam’s sin; now all are sinners. Paul speaks of God “who justifies the wicked” (Rom. 4:5): it is not people who have merited their salvation of whom he writes, but people who had no claim on salvation. It was “while we were still sinners” that Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). But the effect of Christ’s saving work is that now all believers are “made righteous,” “accepted by God as righteous.”

Paul insists that people are not justified by what they themselves do. Justification is not the result of the infusion of new life into people, but comes about when they believe. The apostle points to the important example of Abraham, the great forbear of the Jewish race, as one who was not justified by works (Rom. 4:2–3). And, of course, if Abraham was not justified by works, then who could possibly be? Specifically Paul says, “a man is not justified by observing the law”; indeed, “by observing the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16; cf. also Gal. 3:11).

There is something of a problem in that, whereas Paul says quite plainly that justification is by faith and not by works, James holds that “a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone” (2:24). James chooses Abraham and Rahab as examples of people who were justified by works (2:21, 25). He points out that Abraham “offered his son Isaac on the altar” and that Rahab lodged the spies and sent them away.

But we should notice that both these Old Testament worthies are elsewhere singled out as examples of faith. Paul cited Abraham to establish the truth that we are justified by faith rather than by works. Indeed, he quotes Scripture, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3, citing Gen. 15:6; he cites it again in v. 22). In Romans 4 Paul has a strong argument that it was not works that commended the patriarch to God, but faith: Abraham is, for Paul, the classic example of a man who believed and who was accepted by God because of his faith. And the writer to the Hebrews says plainly that it was “by faith” that Rahab welcomed the spies (Heb. 11:31).

If we look more closely at what James says we see that he is not arguing for works in the absence of faith, but rather for works as the evidence of faith. “Show me your faith without deeds,” he writes, “and I will show you my faith by what I do” (2:18) and goes on to cite the demons who believe that there is one God as examples of the kind of faith he deprecates. James is sure that saving faith transforms the believer so that good works necessarily follow; and he complains about people who say they have faith, but whose lives show quite plainly that they have not been saved. When people have saving faith God transforms their lives and James’ point is that in the absence of this transformation we have no reason for thinking that those who profess to be believers really have saving faith. We should not overlook the fact that James as well as Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to make it clear that Abraham was justified by faith. And we should bear in mind that this was many years before he offered Isaac on the altar; indeed it was before Isaac was born. While the offering of Isaac showed that Abraham was justified, his justification, even on James’ premises, took place long before the act that showed its presence.

And we must say much the same about Paul. He certainly calls vigorously for faith, but he calls equally vigorously for lives of Christian service. And when he writes, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6), he is saying something with which James would surely agree. For James says, “I will show you my faith by what I do” (2:18).

Paul continually emphasizes the importance of justification by faith. In his sermon at Antioch in Pisidia he points out that “through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you” and immediately adds, “Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38–39). More than once he quotes the words from Habbakuk 2:4, “the righteous will live by faith” (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; cf. also Gal. 2:16; Heb. 10:38). He says explicitly that justification is by faith and not by observing the law (Rom. 3:28), or simply that “we have been justified through faith” (Rom. 5:1).

Paul does not, of course, argue that faith is a meritorious act that of itself brings about justification. He is not saying that if we believe strongly enough we somehow get rid of our sins. But real faith means trust in God and when we trust God we are open to the divine power that works in us to make us the sort of people we ought to be and to accomplish the divine purpose. When we insist on our own moral performance we cut ourselves off from the good that God works in believers.

At the center of Paul’s religion is the cross of Jesus, and faith means trusting the crucified Lord. Thus Paul says that Jesus “was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). We should not, of course, put too strong a distinction between the effects of Jesus’ death and the effects of his resurrection. Paul is saying that Jesus’ death and resurrection meant a complete dealing with sins and a perfectly accomplished justification. We are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24), which means that Jesus’ atoning death is critically important in our justification. Similarly we are justified “by his grace” (Rom. 3:24), “by his blood” (Rom. 5:9), “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 6:11), and “in Christ” (Gal. 2:17), which are all ways of saying that it is the saving work of Jesus that brings about the justification of sinners.

Salvation by the way of the cross was so that God would be “just and the one who justifies the man who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). This will be in mind also in the reference to God as presenting Christ “as a sacrifice of atonement (better, ”a propitiation”) through faith in his blood” (Rom. 3:25). That we are “justified by his blood” (Rom. 5:9) points to the same truth: It is the death of Jesus that makes us right with God. This is the meaning also when we read that we are “justified by his grace” (Titus 3:7). It was God’s good gift that brought justification, his “one act of righteousness” in Christ that effected it (Rom. 5:16, 18). Another way of putting it is that the saved are saved not because of their own righteousness (they are sinners), but because of the righteousness that is from God and which they receive by faith (Phil. 3:9; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21).

It is plain from the New Testament teaching throughout that justification comes to the sinner by the atoning work of Jesus and that this is applied to the individual sinner by faith. That God pardons and accepts believing sinners is the truth that is enshrined in the doctrine of justification by faith. -Leon Morris

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JANUARY 24, 2011

Another superb sermon (this time on how a Christian can break stubborn habits) by Moody Church pastor/ theologian Erwin Lutzer! Pt 1 Pt 2

(or...you can go to the page that I got the links from @ http://www.moodyradio.org/brd_programarchive.aspx?id=46499 and click on the "Listen" links on Dec. 14 and Dec. 15.)

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JANUARY 25, 2011

Best sermon I've ever heard on dealing with sin and having a good conscience before God, for the believer - called "Hacking Agag to Pieces":

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/80-128 [Note: if you think this sermon is "too much" or "too radical" (like I used to think!), then you probably don't understand what the Bible calls the "exceeding sinfulness of sin"! (Rom 7:13 (cf. Matt. 5:3-4, Is. 66:1-2)) aka the doctrine of "total depravity". [NOTE:This ligonier.org link only available for about a month or so (from this "writing")!]]

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JANUARY 26, 2011

Great short (It took me only about an hour to read it - and I'm not a fast reader!) book ONLINE by John Piper: Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce [Note: More great books by Piper available ONLINE here.]

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JANUARY 27, 2011

"Must see" video concerning abortion by Ronald Reagan (brought tears to my eyes!):

http://www.lifesitenews.com/blog/must-watch-abortion-speech-by-ronald-reagan

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JANUARY 30, 2011

Great sermon series by John MacArthur Jr.:

Essentials for Growth in Godliness, Pt 1 Essentials for Growth in Godliness, Pt 2

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FEBRUARY 5, 2011

THE DOUBLE — MINDED MAN

(by Charles Spurgeon)

LORD BYRON’S STATUE

BALAAM said, “I have sinned;” but yet he went on with his sin afterwards.

One of the strangest characters of the whole world is Balaam. I have often

marveled at that man; he seems really in another sense to have come up to

the lines of Ralph Erskine —

“To good and evil equal bent,

And both a devil and a saint.”

For he did seem to be so. At times no man could speak more eloquently

and more truthfully, and at other times he exhibited the most mean and

sordid covetousness that could disgrace human nature, Think you see

Balaam; he stands upon the brow of the hill, and there lie the multitudes of

Israel at his feet; he is bidden to curse them, and he cries, “How shall I

curse whom God hath not cursed?” And God opening his eyes, he begins

to tell even about the coming of Christ, and he says, “I shall see him, but

not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh.” And then he winds up his

oration by saying — “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last

end be like his!” And ye will say of that man, he is a hopeful character.

Wait till he has come off the brow of the hill, and ye will hear him give the

most diabolical advice to the king of Moab which it was even possible for

Satan himself to suggest. Said he to the king, “You cannot overthrow these

people in battle, for God is with them; try and entice them from their God.”

And ye know how with wanton lusts they of Moab tried to entice the

children of Israel from allegiance to Jehovah; so that this man seemed to

have the voice of an angel at one time, and yet the very soul of a devil in

his bowels. He was a terrible character; he was a man of two things, a man

who went all the way with two things to a very great extent. I know the

Scripture says, “No man can serve two masters.” Now this is often

misunderstood. Some read it, “No man can serve two masters.” Yes he

can; he can serve three or four. The way to read it is this: “No man can

serve two masters.” They cannot both be masters. He can serve two, but

they cannot both be his master. A man can serve two who are not his

masters, or twenty either; he may live for twenty different purposes, but he

cannot live for more than one master purpose — there can only be one

master purpose in his soul. But Balaam labored to serve two; it was like

the people of whom it was said, “They feared the Lord, and served other

gods.” Or like Rufus, who was a loaf of the same leaven; for you know our

old king Rufus painted God on one side of his shield, and the devil on the

other, and had underneath, the motto: “Ready for both; catch who can.”

There are many such, who are ready for both. They meet a minister, and

how pious and holy they are! On the Sabbath they are the most respectable

and upright people in the world, as you would think; indeed they affect a

drawling in their speech, which they think to be eminently religious. But on

a week day, if you want to find the greatest rogues and cheats, they are

some of those men who are so sanctimonious in their piety. Now, rest

assured that no confession of sin can be genuine, unless it be a wholehearted

one. It is of no use for you to say, “I have sinned,” and then keep

on sinning. “I have sinned,” say you, and it is a fair, fair face you show; but

alas, alas, for the sin you will go away and commit!

Some men seem to be born with two characters. I remarked when in the

library at Trinity College, Cambridge, a very fine statue of Lord Byron.

The librarian said to me, “Stand here, sir.” I looked, and I said, “What a

fine intellectual countenance! What a grand genius he was!” “Come here,”

he said, “to the other side.” “Ah, what a demon! There stands the man that

could defy the Deity.” He seemed to have such a scowl and such a dreadful

leer in his face; even as Milton would have painted Satan when he said —

“Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.” I turned away, and said to the

librarian, “Do you think the artist designed this?” “Yes,” he said, “he

wished to picture the two characters — the great, the grand, the almost

superhuman genius that he possessed, and yet the enormous mass of sin

that was in his soul.” There are some men of the same sort. I dare say, like

Balaam, they would overthrow everything in argument with their

enchantments; they could work miracles; and yet at the same time there is

something about them which betrays a horrid character of sin, as great as

that which would appear to be their character for righteousness. Balaam,

you know, offered sacrifices to God upon the altar of Baal: that was just

the type of his character. So many do; they offer sacrifices to God on the

shrine of Mammon; and whilst they will give to the building of a church,

and distribute to the poor, they will at the other door of their countinghouse

grind the poor for bread, and press the very blood out of the widow,

that they may enrich themselves. Ah! it is idle and useless for you to say, “I

have sinned,” unless you mean that from your heart. That double-minded

man’s confession is of no avail.

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FEBRUARY 8, 2011

"Sin in a Christian makes God seem distant, deaf. In the body, sin saps animation, as cancer. In the soul, sin stifles the affections; as corrosion in the spirit, sin solidifies the attitudes, as a callous." - American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot

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FEBRUARY 10, 2011

"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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FEBRUARY 11, 2011

[Note: Today's reading is one of the best expositions I've ever read on what it means to be "poor in spirit"!]

The Riches of Poverty

Matthew 5:1-3

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is so famous and powerful that we can hardly overstate its influence. St. Augustine, for example, described it as "a perfect standard of the Christian life." The great preacher-poet John Donne spoke of it in the most ornate terms:

As nature hath given us certain elements, and all our bodies are composed of them; and art hath given us a certain alphabet of letters, and all words are composed of them; so, our blessed Saviour, in these three chapters of this Gospel, hath given us a sermon of texts, of which, all our sermons may be composed. All the articles of our religion, all the canons of our Church, all the injunctions of our princes, all the homilies of our fathers, all the body of divinity, is in these three chapters, in this one sermon in the Mount.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer based his classic, The Cost of Discipleship, upon its exposition. The influence of the Sermon on the Mount is truly past reckoning.

The Sermon on the Mount has even exerted a great influence on those outside the Christian faith. Its influence upon Gandhi's political approach is a matter of common knowledge. Those who hate Christianity and its ethics likewise have made it an object of contempt. It is seen as the source of the "slave morality" that Nietzsche so hated. When Nietzsche's teaching bore its terrible fruit during the ascendancy of National Socialism in Germany, the Sermon was vigorously attacked by men like Alfred Rosenberg, and a modified version was produced for those who wanted to remain within the Christian tradition and accommodate themselves to Hitler's philosophy. So like it or not, everyone in western civilization has been touched in some way by the Sermon on the Mount. No one can legitimately minimize its influence.

For the Christian believer, it is simply the greatest sermon ever preached. Why is this? To begin with, it came from the lips of Jesus. The original sermon was probably quite long, possibly even several hours, and what we have in Matthew 5-7 (which takes about ten minutes to read) is a distillation of his teaching. The Sermon on the Mount is the compacted, congealed theology of Christ and as such is perhaps the most profound section of the entire New Testament and the whole Bible. Every phrase can bear exhaustive exposition and yet never be completely plumbed. Along with this, it is the most penetrating section of God's Word. Because the theme is entering the kingdom of heaven, it shows us exactly where we stand in relation to the kingdom and eternal life (see 5:3; 7:21). As we expose ourselves to the X-rays of Christ's words, we see whether we truly are believers; and if believers, the degree of the authenticity of our lives. No other section of Scripture makes us face ourselves like the Sermon on the Mount. It is violent, but its violence can be our ongoing liberation! It is the antidote to the pretense and sham that plagues Christianity.

For me personally, the Sermon has been the most important factor in my spiritual life. Every time I return to it, especially the Beatitudes, I am brought up short as I face the bedrock reality of this amazing revelation. My dream and prayer is that somehow the spirituality of the Sermon on the Mount will penetrate our hearts, lifting us from the mediocrity that characterizes our society.

We will begin with the Beatitudes, which someone has, not inaccurately, called the "Beautiful Attitudes" of the kingdom, for they give us the character of those who are true children of God. Many suggested titles say essentially the same thing: "The Character of the Kingdom," "The Manifesto of the Kingdom," "The Norms of the Kingdom." The first four Beatitudes focus on our relationship to God, and the second four on our relationship to our fellowman. Each of the eight builds upon the other, so that there is an amazingly beautiful and compelling progression. At the same time there is a profound unity. The first Beatitude (Verse 3) and the last Beatitude (Verse 10) end with the same reward, "the kingdom of heaven," which according to Hebrew style means that the Beatitudes between them all deal with that very same theme.

As we begin our study, we must envision the snowballing of interest in Jesus' ministry leading up to this event. He has been traveling around Galilee teaching in the synagogues, and people are coming to him by the droves for healing. News has spread all the way to Syria, and every kind of case imaginable is coming to him. Great multitudes were following him clear out into the wilderness beyond the Jordan. Matthew 5:1, 2 tells us: "Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying..."

In the midst of his escalating ministry, Jesus chose a prominent rise or hill, sat down in the customary teaching posture of a rabbi, surrounded by many disciples (that is, those who were at that time interested in learning), and began to teach them.

Those of us who grew up in the fifties are quite familiar with the name Mickey Cohen because he was the most flamboyant criminal of the day. Perhaps some have even heard of Cohen's becoming a "Christian."

The story goes like this: At the height of his career, Cohen was persuaded to attend an evangelistic service at which he showed a surprising interest in Christianity. Hearing of this, and realizing what a great influence a converted Mickey Cohen could have for the Lord, some prominent Christian leaders began visiting him in an effort to convince him to accept Christ. Late one night, after repeatedly being encouraged to open the door of his life on the basis of Revelation 3:20 ("I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with me"), Cohen prayed.

Hopes ran high among his believing acquaintances. But with the passing of time no one could detect any change in Cohen's life. Finally they confronted him with the reality that being a Christian meant he would have to give up his friends and his profession. Cohen demurred. His logic? There are "Christian football players, Christian cowboys, Christian politicians; why not a Christian gangster?"

The absurdity of what happened to Mickey Cohen dramatically underscores what is happening to untold numbers today. Though many ostensibly have "accepted Christ," they continue life as they always have. There is no repentance. They remain self-sufficient, even puffed up. Indeed, they are nowhere near the kingdom because they have not experienced the poverty of spirit that the first Beatitude insists is the initial ground of the kingdom of heaven.

What evangelical Christianity needs is an exposure to the life-giving logic of the Beatitudes and the blessedness of their fearsome surgery.

Blessedness: The Approval of God

Each of the eight Beatitudes opens with the word "blessed." So it is essential that we understand here in the beginning what this word means, because it bears on everything that will be said in the remainder of this book.

Contrary to popular opinion, blessed does not mean "happy," even though some translations have rendered it this way. Happiness is a subjective state, a feeling. But Jesus is not declaring how people feel; rather, he is making an objective statement about what God thinks of them. Blessed is a positive judgment by God on the individual that means "to be approved" or "to find approval." So when God blesses us, he approves us.

Of course, there is no doubt that such blessing will bring feelings of hap piness and that blessed people are generally happy. But we must remember that the root idea of "blessed" is an awareness of approval by God. Blessedness is not simply a nice wish from God; it is a pronouncement of what we actually are—approved. Blessedness indicates the smile of God or, as Max Lucado has so beautifully put it, The Applause of Heaven.

As we begin this study of the Beatitudes, let us realize that if God's blessing/approval means more to us than anything else—even the approval of our friends, business acquaintances, and colleagues—then the Beatitudes are going to penetrate our hearts, speaking to us in the deepest of ways.

The question is, do we really want his approval more than anything else? Not, do we want to be happy (as proper as that desire is) but, do we truly want God's approval above all else?

If so, then we must heed every word of the first Beatitude, for it gives us the condition of blessing in just three words: "poor in spirit." "Blessed/
approved are the poor in spirit."

It is so essential that we get off to a good start with the first Beatitude if we are to understand them all that I would like to encourage the following prayer.

Dear Lord,

I long for your smile upon my life. So please open my heart to the meaning of the Beatitudes.

I open myself to their light. Shine their rays into the deepest part of my life. Sear my soul. Heal me.

Build the character of the kingdom in me, so that you can call me blessed.

Amen.

Understanding Poverty of Spirit

Let us understand what poverty of spirit is not. It is not the conviction that one is of no value whatsoever. It does not mean the absence of self-worth or, as one theologian put it, "ontological insignificance." It does not require that we believe ourselves to be zeros. Such an attitude is simply not scriptural, for Christ's death on our behalf teaches us that we are of great value (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).

Neither does "poor in spirit" mean shyness. Many people who are naturally shy and introverted are extremely proud. Nor does "poor in spirit" mean lacking in vitality, spiritually anemic, or gutless.

Certainly, "poor in spirit" also does not refer to showy humility like that of Uriah Heep in Charles Dickens's David Copperfield, who kept reminding people that he was a "very humble person."

The great British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells of meeting such a man on one of his preaching missions. When Dr. Lloyd-Jones arrived at the train station, the man asked for the minister's suitcase and in fact almost ripped it from his hand saying, "I am a deacon in the church where you are preaching tomorrow... You know, I am a mere nobody, a very unimportant man. Really. I do not count; I am not a great man in the church; I am just one of those men who carry the bag for the minister."

Lloyd-Jones observes, "He was anxious that I should know what a humble man he was, how 'poor in spirit.' Yet by his anxiety to make it known, he was denying the very thing he was trying to establish. Uriah Heep—the man who thus, as it were, glories in his poverty of spirit and thereby proves he is not humble." We all have met this kind of person, who by his own self-conscious diffidence is begging for us to say that he is not really nothing but actually quite wonderful. When this attitude is present, there is an absence of poverty of spirit.

What, then, does "poor in spirit" mean? The history of the Greek word for "poor," ptochos, provides some insight. It comes from a verbal root that denotes "to cower and cringe like a beggar." In classical Greek ptochos came to mean "someone who crouches about, wretchedly begging." In the New Testament it bears something of this idea because it denotes a poverty so deep that the person must obtain his living by begging. He is fully dependent on the giving of others. He cannot survive without help from the outside. Thus an excellent translation is "beggarly poor."

Now, if we take this meaning and combine it with the following words ("in spirit") we have the idea, "Blessed are the beggarly poor in spirit." The sense is: "Blessed are those who are so desperately poor in their spiritual resources that they realize they must have help from outside sources."

"Poverty of Spirit, then, is the personal acknowledgment of spiritual bankruptcy." It is the awareness and admission that we are utterly sinful and without the moral virtues adequate to commend us to God. John Wesley said of the poor in spirit, "He has a deep sense of the loathsome leprosy of sin which he brought with him from his mother's womb, which overspreads his whole soul, and totally corrupts every power and faculty thereof."

It is the recognition of our personal moral unworthiness. The "poor in spirit" see themselves as spiritually needy. My favorite rendering of the verse is:

Blessed are those who realize that they have nothing within themselves to commend them to God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The World Rejects Poverty of Spirit

Poverty of spirit is the antithesis of the proud selfishness and self-sufficiency of today's world. The world has its own ideas of blessedness. "Blessed is the man who is always right." "Blessed is the man who is strong." "Blessed is the man who rules." "Blessed is the man who is satisfied with himself." "Blessed is the man who is rich." "Blessed is the man who is popular."

Today's men and women think that the answer to life is found in self. Actress Shirley MacLaine is not alone in her journey into self. Many in the church travel with her. Karl Jung is their Virgil, and the subterranean god of self is their Inferno. Christian narcissism is promoted as biblical self-love. King Jesus becomes the imperial self. When this happens, Christianity suffers a massive shrinkage, as David Wells explains:

Theology becomes therapy... The biblical interest in righteousness is replaced by a search for happiness, holiness by wholeness, truth by feeling, ethics by feeling good about one's self... The past recedes. The Church recedes. The world recedes. All that remains is self.

Someday, if history is allowed to continue, a perceptive artist may sculpt a statue of twentieth-century man with his arms wrapped around himself in loving embrace, kissing his image in a mirror.

To this, Jesus answers, "Blessed [approved of God] are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Poverty of Spirit Is Essential for Knowing God's Approval

We must understand and embrace a true poverty of spirit, for that is the only way we can ever know God's smile. David became the greatest king of Israel, and the key to his rise to greatness was his poverty of spirit. Listen to his words when it all began: "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?" (1 Samuel 18:18). Later in life, before his fall, he said, "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?" (2 Samuel 7:18).

Similarly, Gideon, whom we celebrate for his amazing deliverance of Israel with just 300 men, began with these words: "But Lord... how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family" (Judges 6:15).

Significantly, when Jesus began his public ministry he opened the scroll to Isaiah 61:1 and began with this opening line: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor" (see Luke 4:18). In Isaiah's context the poor were the exiled people of Israel who had not compromised and who looked to God alone to save them and establish his kingdom. These are always the people to whom he comes. The incarnate Son of God was born of a woman who sang, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant" (Luke 1:46-47). When Christ was born, the angels announced it to humble shepherds, not to the Establishment (Luke 2:8-15). And when Jesus was presented in the Temple, aged Simeon and Anna, representatives of the poor of Isaiah's prophecy, exalted God because of him (Luke 2:25-38). These are the people to whom Christ is born, and in whom he is born. Lay this to heart: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18). This is the way it will always be.

Poverty of Spirit Is Essential for Salvation

Poverty of spirit is an indispensable sign of grace. No one can truly know Christ without it. There are most likely scores of evangelicals in your own community, prominent "Christians," who do not know Christ. They are tares amidst wheat who perhaps do not even know it (Matthew 13:24-30). They have never come to a blessed emptiness, to the very end of themselves. They have never confessed, "There is nothing in me to commend me to God"; and thus they are lost.

The changeless truth is, no one can come to Christ without poverty of spirit. This is not to say that one must have a perfect sense of one's spiritual insufficiency to be saved. Very few, if any, come to this. Rather, it means that the spiritually proud and self-sufficient, those who actually think there is something within them that will make God accept them—these people are lost.

Positively stated, "Those who acknowledge themselves as spiritually bankrupt enter the kingdom of heaven." No one enters God's kingdom without such an acknowledgment, regardless of how many times he or she has walked the aisle, raised a hand, signed a decision card, prayed "the sinner's prayer," or given his or her testimony.

Salvation is by faith alone, sola fide (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:6); but poverty of spirit is the posture of faith. God pours out his grace to the spiritually bankrupt, for only they are open to believe and receive his grace and salvation. He does this with no one else. No one can enter the kingdom without poverty of spirit.

Poverty of Spirit Is Essential for Spiritual Growth

We never outgrow the first Beatitude, even though it is the basis by which we ascend to the others. In fact, if we outgrow it, we have outgrown our Christianity—we are post-Christian.

That is what was happening in the Laodicean church. Christ rebuked that failing church with these stern words:

"You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." (Revelation 3:17-18)

Just as no one can come to Christ without poverty of spirit, no one can continue to grow apart from an ongoing poverty of spirit.

Poverty of spirit is foundational because a continual sense of spiritual need is the basis for ongoing spiritual blessing. A perpetual awareness of our spiritual insufficiency opens us to continually receiving spiritual riches. Poverty of spirit is something we never outgrow. In fact, the more spiritually mature we become, the more profound will be our sense of poverty.

It is because of this that every believer should commit the Beatitudes to memory and make the first Beatitude, especially, his or her conscious refrain: "Blessed are the beggarly poor in spirit"; "blessed are the spiritually bankrupt, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

The Riches of Poverty

Now we turn to the statement of the reward: "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Theirs" is emphatic. It means theirs in the sense of theirs alone, barring all others who approach God with a different spirit than that of beggarliness. Again, none but those who are "poor in spirit" will enter the kingdom of heaven.

The reward of the kingdom is both now and future. It is present because all who have life are in the kingdom now. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places now (Ephesians 2:6). We are subjects of Christ now. We are overcomers now. We are a kingdom of priests now. This means we are kings and queens, and that we reign in life and exercise vast authority and power. It means that our poverty of spirit, our weakness, is a reservoir of authority and power. Our weakness is the occasion for his power, our inadequacy for his adequacy, our poverty for his riches, our inarticulation for his articulation, our tentativeness for his confidence (see 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10; Colossians 2:9, 10).

As kings and queens, we are also free. Pride makes slaves out of all whom it possesses; not so with poverty of spirit. We are free to be full of God, free to be all that he would have us to be, free to be ourselves. We reign now and for all eternity. The kingdom is ours—ours alone!

Crucial Teaching

The supreme lesson of this Beatitude is that without poverty of spirit no one enters the kingdom of heaven. Its prominent position—as the opening sentence of the Sermon on the Mount—declares for all time that no one is saved who believes there is something within him that will make God prefer or accept him.

Self-righteousness, moral pride, vain presumption will damn the soul! Jesus made this crystal-clear with the account of the tax-gatherer and the Pharisee who went up to the Temple to pray:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:10-14)

We must realize that:

The first Link between

my soul and Christ is

not my goodness

but my badness;

not my merit

but my misery;

not my standing

but my falling.

Fortunately, this truth can penetrate the most privileged of hearts, as it did to one of England's distinguished judges. The church he attended had three mission churches under its care. On the first Sunday of the new year all the members of the missions came to the big city church for a combined Communion service. In those mission churches, which were located in the slums of the city, were some outstanding cases of conversions—thieves, burglars, and so on—but all knelt side by side at the Communion rail.

On one such occasion the pastor saw a former thief kneeling beside the aforementioned jurist, a judge of the High Court of England. After his release the thief had been converted and became a Christian worker. Yet, as the judge and the former thief knelt together, neither seemed to be aware of the other.

After the service, the judge happened to walk out with the pastor and said, "Did you notice who was kneeling beside me at the Communion rail this morning?"

The pastor replied, "Yes, but I didn't think that you did."

The two walked along in silence for a few more moments, when the judge declared, "What a miracle of grace."

The pastor nodded in agreement. "Yes, what a marvelous miracle of grace."

Then the judge asked, "But to whom do you refer?"

The pastor responded, "Why, to the conversion of that convict."

"But I was not referring to him. I was thinking of myself," explained the judge.

Surprised, the pastor replied, "You were thinking of yourself? I don't understand."

"Yes," the judge went on. "It was natural for the burglar to respond to God's grace when he came out of jail. His life was nothing but a desperate history of crime, and when he saw the Savior he knew there was salvation and hope and joy for him. He understood how much he needed that help.

"But I... I was taught from earliest infancy to be a gentleman—that my word was my bond, that I was to say my prayers, go to church, receive Communion. I went up to Oxford, took my degrees, was called to the bar, and eventually ascended to judge. My friend, it was God's grace that drew me; it was God's grace that opened my heart to receive Christ. I'm a greater miracle of his grace."

Listen again to Jesus' words, "Blessed [approved of God] are the [beggarly] poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [now and forevermore]."

The question I must ask is, have you experienced true poverty of spirit? Can you say,

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

—Augustus M. Toplady, 1740-1778

Is this your heart's cry? Or are you a church attender without Christ? Are you an unregenerate evangelical? Are you a Christless "Christian"? If so, hear God's Word and take it to heart: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

The other great lesson for all who are born again, regardless of their spiritual maturity, is that poverty of spirit is necessary for continuing spiritual blessing.

I personally can say that the most profitable spiritual experiences of my life have come out of times of profound spiritual poverty, times when God has brought me face to face with the fact of my need, times when I once again realized there was nothing within me to commend me to him. Sometimes he has done this through professional failure, sometimes through intellectual shortcomings, sometimes through social or family pressures.

Whatever the case, in him my bankruptcy has been the opening for his riches. And it can be yours as well. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

- [from] Preaching the Word series– The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom (R. Kent Hughes).

[NOTE: I highly recommend the above book (as well as the book, "Are Evangelicals Born Again?") - both by R. Kent Hughes! -Tony C.]

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FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Charles Spurgeon on sin:

"Sin has been pardoned at such a price that we cannot henceforth trifle with it."

"To abstain from sin for any reason is, so far, good; but yet, you may abstain from sin
with a motive which will lend no virtue to your abstinence. Some abstain from sin
from fear of men, or from hope of gain: as the thief is honest when he sees the
policeman, and the beggar becomes pious when a dole is to be had at church."

"It may have been impossible for some of us to have sinned as others have done; let us
not take credit to ourselves on that account. The dog is not to be praised for not
straying if it has been chained up. If we have not done evil as we could, we need not
glory that we have not done that which was impossible to us."

"Never let a child of God think that his Heavenly Father will overlook his wilful
misdeeds. There is no special providence to shield you from eating the fruit of your
own ways."

"Man can commit iniquity, but even to know that it is iniquity so as to feel the guilt of
it, is the gift of the grace of God."

"Others wallow in transgressions, and make their shame their glory, but if the
believer falleth he is very quiet, mournful, and vexed. Sinners go to their sins as
children to their own father’s orchard, but believers slink away like thieves when
they have been stealing forbidden fruit. Shame and sin are always in close company
in a Christian."

"If you can sin and not weep over it, you are an heir of hell. If you can go into sin, and
afterwards feel satisfied to have done so, you are on the road to destruction. If there
are no prickings of conscience, no inward torments, no bleeding wounds; if you have
no throbs and heavings of a bosom that cannot rest; if your soul never feels filled with
wormwood and gall when you know you have done evil, you are no child of God."

"If you are sweet to God he will make sin bitter to you. He will not let you transgress
as other men do: the goats may wander with impunity, but the sheep may not."

"Christ never came to be the minister of sin. He came to save us, not in our sins, but
from our sins."

"Luther tells us of the devil appearing to him in a dream, and bringing before him the
long rolls of his sins, and when he brought them, Luther said, “Now write at the
bottom, ‘the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin:’” oh! that
blessed word “all”—“from all sin,”—great sins and little sins; sins of our youth, and
sins of our grey hairs; sins by night, and sins by day; sins of action, and sins of
thought,—all gone! Blessed Saviour! Precious blood! Omnipotent Redeemer! Mighty
Red Sea that thus drowns every Egyptian!"

"Have you ever thought how greatly you have sinned against Jesus, the ever-blessed
Son of God? No; you have thought of your sin as committed against yourself, or
against your neighbour, but not as against Jesus; yet this has been the greatest of
all your sins, that you have been the cause of his death."

"“He was made sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him;” and this it was which caused him such an agony. Sin to Jesus was
horror, torment, death. Jesus abhors sin with all the force of his holy nature. Saved
by Jesus, will you not hate sin as he did? Would any person here lay up in his drawer
as a treasure the knife with which his father was murdered? Our sins were the
daggers that slew the Saviour. Can we bear to think of them? Oh, that our tears
might flow at the very thought of our horrible conduct towards our Lord, whom we
slew by our sins; and may we never, never, never indulge any one of all our
iniquities, for no one of them is innocent of the murder of our best Beloved."

"Sin cannot be the little thing that my pride has helped me to imagine it to be. It must
be an awful thing if but one sin could ruin my soul for ever."

"Light thoughts of sin breed light thoughts of the Saviour."

"Then I do again put this question, and I put it very pointedly to you—“If you do not
prefer your sins to Christ, how is it that you are not a Christian?” I believe this is the
main stumbling-stone, that “Men love darkness rather than light, because their
deeds are evil.”

"The reason why sinners are not persuaded is, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred,
their sin—their love of sin! They see, but they will not see; for if they did see, they
would have to tear out that right-eye sin or cut off that right-arm lust, and they
cannot consent to that. Most of the arguments against the gospel are bred in the filth
of a corrupt life."

"His salvation is cleansing from sin, and if we love sin we are not saved from it. We
cannot have justification without sanctification."

"Remember you will thus be saved from the power of sin, and from the practice of sin
by being saved from the love of sin."

We make alliances of peace where we ought to proclaim war to the knife; we plead
our constitutional temperament, our previous habits, the necessity of our
circumstances, or some other evil excuse as an apology for being content with a very
partial sanctification, if indeed it be a sanctification at all. We are slow also to rebuke
sin in others, and are ready to spare respectable sins, which like Agag walk with
mincing steps. The measure of our destruction of sin is not to be our inclination, or
the habit of others, but the Lord’s command. We have no warrant for dealing
leniently with any sin, be it what it may."

"There is no alternative, if you do not die to sin you shall die for sin; and if you do not
slay sin, sin will slay you."

"The old man is not sent to the hospital to be healed, but to the cross to be crucified."

"You have not to stop the mouths of lions, but you have the equally difficult task of
stopping your own mouth when you are in an angry temper; you are not called to
quench the violence of fire, except as it burns in your own wrath; you have to smite
no Philistine but your own sins, and cast down no walls but your own prejudices. "

"There must be a divorce between you and sin, or there can be no marriage between
you and Christ."

"When a traveller is walking, a very small stone in his shoe will lame him; and a very
small offence against the integrity that God requires of his servants may do us great
mischief. Did you ever notice, in Gideon’s life, that he had seventy sons, his own
legitimate sons, and that he had one son who was the child of a harlot, and that one,
Abimelech, killed his father’s seventy sons? So it may be that a good man has seventy
virtues, but if he tolerates one wrong thing, it will be enough to rob him of the
comfort of all the good things of this life, so that, when he comes to die, he may go
limping and lame."

"If you and your sins part, Christ and you shall never part."

"There is no time for killing weeds in the garden of the soul like to-day. There is no
time for throwing salt upon the field which is fruitful with noxious poison like now.
Never imagine that you will get rid of sin by degrees. I know some people have been
cured of a taste for strong drink by degrees, and such things may be possible, but the
Christian will find it easier to wean himself at once by a sacred total abstinence from
everything that is sinful; for as long as you parley with the enemy the enemy will still
have power over you, and blessed is that man who does not begin to take off one
finger of his right hand and then another and then another, but takes the axe and
chops it off as one whole thing at once. “If thy right hand offend thee cut it off.” Some
think this enough—“If thy right hand offend thee pare the nails.” It is not so. "

"If it came to acts of positive commission of sin, I could possibly compare notes with
such brethren; for I endeavour to be blameless, and I trust I am: but when I
remember that sins of omission are really and truly sins, I bid “good-bye” to all
notions of perfection, for my many shortcomings overwhelm me. No man has done all
the good he could have done, and ought to have done."

"Brethren, I need not enlarge upon our omissions: how we omit to pray; how we forget
to study the Word with diligent care; how we are remiss in keeping up daily
fellowship with God; how slow we are in serving; how impatient in suffering; how
backward in almsgiving; how apt to compromise with the world! If the Lord should
mark iniquity, who among us could stand? When you think of what you have not
done, who among you can talk about perfection? It is not so much sins of commission
that trouble some of us—for by God’s grace we are for the most part kept from such
transgressions—but sins of omission bear terrible witness against us. Who can
number them?"

"I do not know any subject that so much depresses me, humbles me, and lays me in
the dust, as the thought of my omissions. It is not what I have done, about which I
think so much as what I have not done. “You have been very useful,” says one. Yes,
but might I not have been ten times more useful."

"The very easiest way to give resurrection to old corruptions is to erect a trophy over
their graves; they will at once lift up their heads and howl out, “We are alive still.” It
is a great thing to overcome any sinful habit, but it is needful to guard against it still,
for you have not conquered it so long as you congratulate yourself upon the conquest."

"The reigning power of sin falls dead the moment a man is converted, but the
struggling power of sin does not die until the man dies."

"If sin overcame angels, can we fight with it?"

"Microscopic holiness is the perfection of excellence: if a life will bear examination in
each hour of it, it is pure indeed. Those who are not careful about their words, and
even their thoughts, will soon grow careless concerning their more notable actions.
Those who tolerate sin in what they think to be little things, will soon indulge in it in
greater matters."

"He that carelessly offends in trifles shall fall by little and little. The greatest
catastrophes in moral life come not usually upon a sudden, but by slow degrees."

"Sin frequently comes as a bare suggestion, or an imagination; an airy thing, spun of
such stuff as dreams are made of. You do not think of committing the fault, nor of
even talking of it; but you think of it pleasantly, and view it as a thing bright and
lustrous to the imagination. The thought fascinates, and then the spell of evil begins
its deadly work: thought condenses into desire, and desire grows to purpose, and
purpose ripens into act. So slyly doth sin come into the soul, that it is there before we
are aware of it."

"They (regenerate men) judge themselves and their thoughts severely, and cannot be
induced to imagine that they are mere trifles. In this they are fully justified, for
thought is the foundation and formation of character. “As a man thinketh in his
heart so is he.” If thou hadst not thought of evil thou hadst never spoken it; if thy
thought had never conceived, thy hand had never executed. Thoughts lie upon the
anvil like rough iron, and time hammers them into actions. 1116.326
We begin with thinking of sin, and then we somewhat desire the sin: next we enter
into communion with the sin, and then we get into the sin, and the sin gets into us,
and we lie asoak in it. So David did."

"I doubt not it is true of all of us who are here, that in every hour of our existence in
which we are active, we commit tens of thousands of unholinesses for which
conscience has never reproved us, because we have never seen them to be wrong,
seeing we have not studied God’s laws as we ought to have done. "

"If all men knew all about us that might be known, we should hardly be able to look
them in the face." [My comment: Honest!]

"We ought in our daily life to walk as one who has to tread among eggs or delicate
china. Heedless and Too-bold soon rush into sin; but the genuine believer feareth
always. “You are very jealous of how you act,” said one to a saint of God. “Yes,” he
replied, “I serve a jealous God.” “You are too precise said another.” “That is a crime,”
said he, “that God will never charge any of his children with.”

"The holier the Christian becomes, the more readily he perceives his imperfections
and the wickedness of his sins, and sin, instead of becoming more bearable to a
Christian, becomes growingly more and more intolerable."

"And if to be overcome of evil were not occasional but were continuous, if it could be
said of our whole life that we were overcome of evil, it would prove that we were none
of Christ’s; for he that is born of God overcometh the world."

"There is no sin which a Christian cannot overcome if he will only rely upon his God to
enable him to do so."

"Not even in this world does sin pay its servants good wages." [My comment: Good point!!]

[NOTE: Most of these (above) quotes gotten from here: http://www.spurgeon.us/mind_and_heart/quotes/s3.htm#sin ]

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FEBRUARY 13, 2011

Check out the 6[!] messages that John Piper gave on the "Divided Man": http://www.desiringgod.org/searches/divided%20man?utf8=%E2%9C%93

This topic is probably one of the most misunderstood topics "out there" nowadays (even for professing Christians)!!

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FEBRUARY 15, 2011

Here's another one of the Beatitudes (along with the necessity of Christians to be "poor in spirit" ) that's counter-intuitive to "would-be" (as well as many professing[!]) Christians: Happy are they that mourn!

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FEBRUARY 17, 2011

The late Dr. James Kennedy used to say that non-Christians have a "pig nature" (i.e.-They like wallowing in sin.) and Christians have a "lamb or cat nature" (i.e.- wanting to clean themselves as soon as they recognize the fact that they're dirty (spiritually)). I have to disagree a little bit with Dr. Kennedy here in that Christians - in "this" life (as opposed to non-Christians having only one nature - the "pig nature") HAVE TWO NATURES - the "lamb or cat nature" AND the "pig nature". While the non-Christian can't initiate any movement toward God (cf. Rom. 8:7) in any way, the Christian can and SOMETIMES DOES get caught in a "sin trap" - if you will - where they still sin and succumb (temporarily - although "temporarily" may be for a while!) to a "favorite sin". The Christian still has what's known as "indwelling sin" that he needs to overcome. When and if the Christian succumbs to a "favorite" sin, then, many a time, God has to chasten that Christian to "wake him up" to the seriousness of that sin - so that, hopefully, he/ she will eventually confess and forsake it. This is not always a quick process! Paul, himself, illustrates what I'm saying here when he says in Rom 7 (NOTE: This is while he was still a Christian!) that he was "carnal, sold under sin" (Rom 7:14-15). So Paul himself knew defeat in his battle against the evil nature within. Yet he knew how to win victory over that nature that's "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer 17:9 (cf. Heb 3:13b)) - THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD (Rom 7:24-25)!!! Here's a suggestion: Ask God to cleanse you from every bit of wickedness (Ps. 51:2) and He'll see you through in your "struggle against sin" (Heb 12:4)! John the Baptists' rule for sanctification in the believer's life applies here - i.e.-when he said, "He [i.e.- Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease! (John 3:30)" It should go without saying (here - i.e.- if you been "reading along" here) that we can only overcome our wretched, indwelling sinful natures if we "abide in Christ" continually!! -Tony C.

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FEBRUARY 19, 2011

The young ruler who came running to the Lord saying, “What good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” was a perfect example of a legalist. Indeed, Nicodemus, beloved man, “understood not these things”—of being born again. Now, if a man is really a child of God by begetting and birth, he becomes indissolubly God’s heir! This is a fact of such overwhelming magnitude that our poor hearts hardly grasp it. It is said of no angel, cherub, or seraph, that he is an heir of God. Believer, if you will reflect, meditate deeply, on this, I am born of God; I am one of His heirs! [cf. Gal 3:29, Gal 4:7] earthly things will shrink to nothing. Now, J. D. Rockefeller, Jr., has inherited his father’s wealth: why? Because he was his father’s born son. The young ruler said, “What must I do to inherit?” a contradiction in itself!

-Romans Verse-by-Verse (by William R. Newell) [commentary on Rom. 8:17].

Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

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FEBRUARY 19, 2011

Question: Is justification (or salvation or...having the Holy Spirit being put by God into oneself so that he/ she is now a "child of God") something that has to be earned or is it a free gift (that is received by faith)?

Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Rom 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Rom 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Acts 8:20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 11:17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

2Cor 9:14-16 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that [i.e.-faith] not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

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FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Two great sermons by John MacArthur Jr. in 2005 on "the four functions of the Law"! [Should be "required reading" and/ or "required listening" to the vast majority of professing Christians nowadays!

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-304 http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-305

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FEBRUARY 26, 2011

Where to get good Christian books free (must pay for shipping, however) or at great discount off the price of "regular" books:

https://www.freebiblesoftware.com/

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FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Two more great sermons by John MacArthur Jr. - this time on the related subjects of "Thinking Biblically about homosexuality" and "God's Plan for the gay agenda" (Note: This latter sermon only available as a sermon transcript.).

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March 13, 2011

Listen to the following radio programs by John MacArthur Jr. (up to and including "Hacking Agag to Pieces" on 2/5 and 2/6 of this year - i.e.- from the top of the the page to "Hacking Agag to Pieces")

http://www.gty.org/Radio/Archive

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March 17, 2011

"In trying times, don't quit trying." and "Feed your faith; your fears will starve." (Both "sayings" on a sign outside a Catholic Church in Willoughby, OH on March 16th of 2011.) [Note: my corrections to those two "sayings" are as follows: "In trying times, don't quit trying because, God willing, there will be "Light at the end of the tunnel" (so to speak)". Secondly, "Feed your faith (and keep feeding your faith) with the Word of God (in other words,"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly".) and you will soon have the "perfect love that casteth out fear" - i.e.- when one is FILLED OR possessed by the Holy Spirit.]

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March 21, 2011

[What's below is taken from: http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/self-est/view.htm

also see http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/self-est/ for more good info on the same subject. ]

THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF SELF-ESTEEM*
Versus the Extreme "Wrong" & the Extreme "Right"

"Low" Self-Esteem	"No" Self-Esteem	"High" Self-Esteem
Self-degradation (false humility)	No self-concern (true humility)	Self-aggrandizement (pride)
Focus: Self (self-hate)	Focus: God and others	Focus: Self (self-love)
Result: Fear and Hiding; "Low" self-image; Destructive -- serve self	Result: Worship God; Biblical view of self; Productive -- serve God and others	Result: Pride; "Good" self-image; Destructive -- serve self

1 Cor. 9:19
Matt. 22:37-40
Jn. 15:13
Lev. 19:18 ...

1Cor 9:19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. KJV

Matt 22:37-40 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. KJV

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. KJV

Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. KJV ...

* Source: The Danger of Self-Love, by Paul Brownback (MBI:1982; 1987)

[My (Tony C.'s) Notes: I don't agree (with Mr. Brownback) that we should have no self-concern because, after all, the Bible DOES SAY it's "more blessed to give than to receive", so minimalist concern about "receiving" or having one's own needs met is probably the "way to go" for people as opposed to having absolutely NO concern for self. After all, we're to love our neighbor AS ourselves - not more (or less) than ourselves. (Still, that's a "pretty tall order" [Wouldn't you say?!] - i.e.- to love one's neighbor AS MUCH AS WE LOVE OURSELVES!! [Here's a suggestion: Meditate on the ramifications of that Scripture for a minute or two - especially if you've never done so before!] (BTW... Question: "Who is your neighbor?" or (if I'm asking the question of myself) "Who is my neighbor?" Answer: Read the parable of the Good Samaritan! (OK...if you're too lazy to go read the Bible, the "short" answer to the question is: Everyone!) ]

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March 22, 2011

Subject: the Salvation of others

"Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that." - Charles Spurgeon

"You have nothing to do but to save souls. [My comment: Nothing to do but save souls? 1) You can't save or draw others to Christ, in the first place - only Jesus Christ and God the Father can! You can witness to others to the best of your God-given ability and then one should "leave the results in God's Hands". Also, you need the fellowship of the Holy Spirit daily, so pray and encourage one another as the Day approaches. As an old COG minister used to say, "This (speaking of God's Church) is not a "parking-lot" but a "filling station"! ] . Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go not only to those that need you, but to those that need you most…It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care of this or that society; but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance." - John Wesley

"Evangelism is not a professional job for a few trained men, but is instead the unrelenting responsibility of every person who belongs to the company of Jesus." - Elton Trueblood

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March 23, 2011

Charles Spurgeon (on reading books):

Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come —
and the books, especially the parchments. (2 Timothy 4:13)

"We will look at his books. We do not know what the books were about, and we can only form some guess as to what the parchments were. Paul had a few books which were left, perhaps wrapped up in the cloak, and Timothy was to be careful to bring them.

"Even an apostle must read. Some of our very ultra-Calvinistic brethren think that a minister who reads books and studies his sermons, must be a very deplorable specimen of a preacher. A man who comes up into the pulpit, professes to take his text on the spot, and talks any quantity of nonsense, is the idol of many. If he will speak without premeditation, or pretend to do so, and never produce what they call a dish of dead men's brains -- oh! that is the preacher.

"How rebuked are they by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he want's books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, 'Give thyself unto reading.'

"The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible. We are quite persuaded that the best way for you to be spending you leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master's service. Paul cries, 'bring the books' -- join in the cry.

"Our second remark is, that the apostle is not ashamed to confess that he does read. He is writing to his young son Timothy. Now, some old preachers never like to say a thing which will let the young ones into their secrets. They suppose they must put on a very dignified air, and make a mystery of their sermonizing; but all this is alien from the spirit of truthfulness. Paul wants books, and is not ashamed to tell Timothy that he does; and Timothy may go and tell Tychicus and Titus if he lies – Paul does not care.

"Paul herein is a picture of industry. He is in prison; he cannot preach: What will he do? As he cannot preach, he will read. As we read of the fishermen of old and their boats. The fishermen were gone out of them. What were they doing? Mending their nets. So if providence has laid you upon a sick bed, and you cannot teach your class – if you cannot be working for God in public, mend your nets by reading. If one occupation is taken from you, take another, and let the books of the apostle read you a lesson of industry.

"He says, 'Especially the parchments.' I think the books were Latin and Greek works, but that the parchments were Oriental; and possibly they were the parchments of Holy Scripture; or as likely, they were his own parchments, on which were written the originals of his letters which stand in our Bible as the Epistles to the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, and so on. Now, it must be 'especially the parchments' with all our reading; let it be especially the Bible.

"Do you attach no weight to this advice? This advice is more needed in the world now than almost at any other time, for the number of persons who read the Bible, I believe, is becoming smaller every day. Persons read the views of their denominations as set forth in the periodicals; they read the views of their leader as set forth in his sermons or his works, but the Book, the good old Book, the divine fountain-head from which all revelation wells up – this is too often left. You may go to human puddles, until you forsake the clear crystal stream which flows from the throne of God. Read the books, by all manner of means, but especially the parchments. Search human literature, if you will, but especially stand fast by that Book which is infallible, the revelation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

[from: http://www.biblicalstudies.com/bookrev/noteson.htm ]

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March 24, 2011

(More) Notes on Reading Good Literature

[also from: http://www.biblicalstudies.com/bookrev/noteson.htm ]

C. S. Lewis
"If one has to choose between reading the new books and reading the old, one must choose the old: not because they are necessarily better, but because they contain precisely those truths of which our own age is neglectful."

Augustine Birrell
"An ordinary man can surround himself with two thousand books and thenceforward have at least one place in the world in which it is possible to be happy."

Daniel Webster, 1823

"If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; if God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy; if the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; if the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness, will reign without mitigation or end."

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March 28, 2011

Two articles from churchleaders.com that seem like they could be pretty helpful (esp. for Church leaders):

7 Ways to Avoid Sexual Sin

5 Reasons a Church Stops Growing

[Note on the above two articles: Just remember to "acknowledge God in all your ways" and pray for strength from above - before applying (or attempting to apply) any techniques you may use to combat sin - lest your efforts will prove to be unfruitful and a "waste of time". In other words, do all things for God's Glory and in the "power of the Holy Spirit" (and NOT in one's own strength!).]

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March 29, 2011

Authors Josh McDowell and his son Sean explain why the relationship between parents and their children is critical in determining whether children will keep or abandon their Christian faith when they become young adults: (NOTE: a recent "Focus on the Family" episode with a 32 second "plug" for "Focus on the Family" before the actual program starts.) Good stuff on Christian apologetics (including the excellent C.S. Lewis quote at the beginning of the program!)!!

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/radio.aspx?ID={C857F52F-62CD-40A9-93B1-91D307052F87} (Note: click on the "listen now" button)

Here's a link to an article in "Christianity Today" that was mentioned in the program:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/july/13.22.html

C.S. Lewis quote (from the beginning of the program):

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - C. S. Lewis

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April 2, 2011

Only One Life

Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life's busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, "twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, "Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Author Unknown

[from: http://www.accordingtothescriptures.org/doctrine/onlyonelife.html (cf.- John Piper's excellent book (and study guide) "Don't Waste Your Life" (both available as pdf files (free!) on this page: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/online-books/dont-waste-your-life ]

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April 3, 2011

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/how-gods-word-produces-our-work Great and inspiring sermon by John Piper given soon after he was diagnosed with cancer.

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April 8, 2011

Excellent teaching today by R.C. Sproul on how the Bible deals with the much-misunderstood subjects of "wealth and poverty"! [Note: Only available (i.e.- can only be listened to) for about a month on the ligonier.org website, so I suggest you make it a point to listen to it soon!]

http://www.ligonier.org/rym/broadcasts/audio/wealth-poverty/

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April 10, 2011

Great lecture by Dr. Michael Brown on "Are We (i.e.- Christians) using the Bible to sanction Anti-Homosexual Prejudice?"

http://vimeo.com/19998680 (Note: Has some the best arguments I've ever heard (or seen) against those who would distort what the Bible says about homosexuality!)

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April 16, 2011

Something especially for our Jewish friend(s) [Hey Lesley!-Tony C.] today: "Traditional Judaism says

you can't be a true Jew and believe in Jesus in the Messiah.Messianic Judaism says you can't be a true

Jew UNLESS you believe in Jesus the Messiah. The stakes are high, both communities say the choice

will effect your eternal destiny. Check it out and find out for yourself, who is the Messiah. Rabbi

Blumofe & Dr Michael Brown debate on if Jesus is who he said he is. "Is Jesus the Messiah of Israel and

the world?"

http://vimeo.com/2492529

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April 17, 2011

Great overview by Dr. Sproul of the most quoted book of the Old Testament, the Psalms:

http://www.ligonier.org/rym/broadcasts/video/psalms/ [Note: Also contains a helpful acrostic (that I've never come across before) concerning prayer - "ACTS" (cf. http://www.ehow.com/how_5301772_pray-acts-prayer.html . ]

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April 18, 2011

“Smog in My Soul”

One day, as I was caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic, my mind inhaled a dense cloud of “spiritual smog.” Feelings of guilt filtered through my heart like toxic fumes, choking it with regret and raw memories. I was en route to an early morning breakfast, and I hadn’t slept well. Too much on my mind. Too busy. My defenses were low, and the poisonous vapors seeped in.

I recalled a cruel word that I had written about a woman who was now dead. I saw the face of a man, name forgotten, whom I had struck in a moment’s passion. I remembered my failure to witness to a neighbor who later committed suicide. Acts, thoughts, and habits, some only recently confessed to God, came to mind. I felt sick.

Christians are often seized by guilt for sins that are already confessed and forgiven. Like many other believers, I have felt sadness, shame, lingering regret, wafting depression—smog in my soul. It’s one thing to confess sin; it’s another thing to accept forgiveness.

The Psalmist David said, “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.” David too lived with regret.

But as I gripped my steering wheel, another of David’s psalms came to mind—Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

The distance between east and west is infinity. The two never meet. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “If sin be removed so far, then we may be sure that the scent, the trace, the very memory of it, must be entirely gone.”

I pondered this. When God forgives sin, He forgives it completely—as though it had never occurred.

But when I continue to brood over sin that God has already forgiven, I underestimate His love, doubt His grace, and discount the scope of His pardon. It is as though I fear that the death of Jesus Christ is not adequate, that His blood is too weak to justify me.

Accepting God’s forgiveness, on the other hand, aligns my thinking to God’s Word. It separates my sin from my forgiveness by the distance of infinity.

Psalm 103:12 dispersed my noxious thoughts. As my mind cleared, so did the traffic, and I traveled on with joy.

^*Originally appeared in Decision Magazine, March 1998.

More real stories for the soul. 2000 (electronic ed.) (9). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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April 19, 2011

[My Note: Excellent explanation (and I believe it's biblical!) from "Mere Christianity" (by C.S. Lewis) on why Christ had to die...]

[from: http://christianity.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=christianity&cdn=religion&tm=113&f=00&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//homepages.paradise.net.nz/mischedj/ca_lewisatone.html ]

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

- C.S. Lewis Explains the Atonement

If you have wondered why God chose to redeem us in the way he did, why Jesus had to suffer and die, then perhaps this extract from CS Lewis' Mere Christianity (Fount Paperbacks, 1977) will help. The extract is from Chapter 4, The Perfect Penitent.

We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He disabled death itself. That is the formula. That is Christianity. That is what has to be believed. Any theories we build up as to how Christ's death did all this are, in my view, quite secondary: mere plans or diagrams to be left alone if they do not help us, and, even if they do help us, not to be confused with the thing itself. All the same, some of these theories are worth looking at.

The one most people have heard is the one about our being let off because Christ volunteered to bear a punishment instead of us. Now on the face of it that is a very silly theory. If God was prepared to let us off, why on earth did He not do so? And what possible point could there be in punishing an innocent person instead? None at all that I can see, if you are thinking of punishment in the police-court sense. On the other hand, if you think of a debt, there is plenty of point in a person who has some assets paying it on behalf of someone who has not. Or if you take "paying the penalty," not in the sense of being punished, but in the more general sense of "footing the bill," then, of course, it is a matter of common experience that, when one person has got himself into a hole, the trouble of getting him out usually falls on a kind friend.

Now what was the sort of "hole" man had gotten himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realising that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is the only way out of a "hole." This process of surrender - this movement full speed astern - is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. In fact, it needs a good man to repent. And here's the catch. Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it. The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person - and he would not need it.

Remember, this repentance, this willing submission to humiliation and a kind of death, is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off of if He chose: it is simply a description of what going back to Him is like. If you ask God to take you back without it, you are really asking Him to let you go back without going back. It cannot happen. Very well, then, we must go through with it. But the same badness which makes us need it, makes us unable to do it. Can we do it if God helps us? Yes, but what do we mean when we talk of God helping us? We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think: He puts a little of His love into us and that is how we love one another. When you teach a child writing, you hold its hand while it forms the letters: that is, it forms the letters because you are forming them. We love and reason because God loves and reasons and holds our hand while we do it. Now if we had not fallen, that would all be plain sailing. But unfortunately we now need God's help in order to do something which God, in His own nature, never does at all - to surrender, to suffer, to submit, to die. Nothing in God's nature corresponds to this process at all. So that the one road for which we now need God's leadership most of all is a road God, in His own nature, has never walked. God can share only what He has: this thing, in His own nature, He has not.

But supposing God became a man - suppose our human nature which can suffer and die was amalgamated with God's nature in one person - then that person could help us. He could surrender His will, and suffer and die, because He was man; and He could do it perfectly because He was God. You and I can go through this process only if God does it in us; but God can do it only if He becomes man. Our attempts at this dying will succeed only if we men share in God's dying, just as our thinking can succeed only because it is a drop out of the ocean of His intelligence: but we cannot share God's dying unless God dies; and he cannot die except by being a man. That is the sense in which He pays our debt, and suffers for us what He Himself need not suffer at all.

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April 20, 2011

How Does the Death of Jesus Save?

(by Chuck Swindoll)

One way to understand the meaning of the death of Jesus is to imagine a courtroom scene in which we are on trial for our sins and God is the judge. Our sins against God are capital crimes. God Himself is our judge, and according to divine law our crimes deserve the death penalty. Death, in a spiritual sense, means eternal separation from God in unending torment. That's a very serious judgment.

By shedding His blood on the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve and offered us His righteousness. When we trust Christ for our salvation, essentially we are making a trade. By faith, we trade our sin and its accompanying death penalty for His righteousness and life.

In theological terms, this is called "substitutionary atonement." Christ died on the cross as our substitute. Without Him, we would suffer the death penalty for our own sins....

The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way: "And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). For God to forgive our sins, His judgment had to be satisfied and that required the shedding of blood.

Some object, "Shedding blood seems so barbaric. Is it really necessary? Why doesn't God simply forgive us?" Because God is holy, He must judge sin. Would a just and righteous judge let evil go unpunished? At the cross, God poured out His judgment on His Son, satisfying His wrath and making it possible for Him to forgive us. That's why Jesus shed His blood for your sins, my sins, and the sins of the whole world....

God unleashed His wrath on His Son so that we might be spared that awful fate. This is the central message of the cross and the reason for our hope: God forsook His Son so that He might never forsake us. God assures us, "'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). Isn't that a wonderful promise?

Excerpted from "How Does the Death of Jesus Save Me?" by Insight for Living Ministries

[Note: The only major problem I have with this excerpt is his (Swindoll's) statement that "Death, in a spiritual sense, means eternal separation from God in unending torment." I agree with the "eternal separation from God" part but here's a question: "If Jesus suffered the just penalty for our sins in our stead and our just penalty includes unending torment, why isn't Jesus still suffering (i.e- unending torment)?! Granted, Jesus suffering during what's come to be known as "Passion Week" perhaps felt to Him like it was unending, but, in reality, it was temporary. Anyway, that's one reason why I have a problem with the "unending torment" theory. (For further information on this, here's an organization that believes similar to what I do here: http://www.ucg.org/booklets/AD/burninghell.asp ) ] P.S.- for a feel of what Jesus suffered for us during "Passion Week", I highly recommend people watching the movie "The Passion of the Christ" (by Mel Gibson) - at least once a year (and probably even more than that - esp. if one is forgetful of the great sacrifice that Christ went through for us. Why did He go through with that sacrifice? So that we (Christians) may now live our lives for God - i.e.- abundant lives empowered by His Spirit! (In other words) He died for us that we may live (and not only that, but to SHOW US HOW TO LIVE - as a "living sacrifice"!! (Rom. 12:1) ) ] P.S. again - Another article that I found that had some helpful ideas on this subject was found here: http://www.livingvinechurch.org/ds/q0202/q0202.html .

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April 21, 2011

[ from: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/how-should-we-deal-stubborn-pockets-sin-our-lives-/ ]

How should we deal with stubborn pockets of sin in our lives that won't seem to go away even after much prayer and honest heartfelt desire to change? (by R.C. Sproul)

One of the great Christian classics is a devotional booklet written by Saint Thomas à Kempis called The Imitation of Christ. In that book he talks about the struggle that so many Christians have with habits that are sinful. He says that the struggle for sanctification is often so difficult and the victories that we achieve seem to be so few and far between, that even in the lives of the greatest saints, there were few who were able to overcome habitual patterns. We’re talking about people who overeat and have these kinds of temptations, not those who are enslaved to gross and heinous sin. Now Thomas à Kempis’s words are not sacred Scripture, but he gives us wisdom from the life of a great saint.

The author of Hebrews says that we are called to resist the sin that so easily besets us and that we are admonished and exhorted simply to try harder to overcome these sins. You say, How do we escape these pockets of sin that we have such great struggles with, that we have an honest and heartfelt desire not to commit? If the desire not to do it is really honest and penetrates the heart, we’re 90 percent home. In fact, we shouldn’t be locked into something. The reason we continue with these pockets of repeated sins is because we have a heartfelt desire to continue them, not because we have a heartfelt desire to stop them. I wonder how honest our commitment is to quit. There’s a tendency for us to kid ourselves about this anytime we embrace a pet sin. We need to face the fact that we commit the sin because we want to do that sin more than we want to obey Christ at that moment. That doesn’t mean that we have no desire to escape from it, but the level of our desire vacillates. It’s easy to go on a diet after a banquet; it’s hard to stay on a diet if you haven’t eaten all day. That’s what happens particularly with habitual sins that involve physical or sensual appetites. The ebb and flow of the desire is augmented and diminished. It increases and fades. Our resolve to repent is great when our appetites have been satiated, but when they’re not, we have a growing attraction to practice whatever the particular sins may be.

I think what we have to do is first of all be honest about the fact that we really have a conflict of interest between what we want to do and what God wants us to do. I think we have to feed our souls with the Word of God so that we can get what God wants us to do clear in our mind and then build a strong desire to obey.

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April 22, 2011

[ Another helpful article on the subject of "Why did Christ have to die?" (esp. the part highlighted in green!) from: http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/a/whyjesushad2die.htm ]:

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Learn Why Jesus Had to Die

By Mary Fairchild, About.com Guide

A member of the Christianity forum, Jane recently asked, "Why did Jesus have to die? As a Christian I should know the answer to this but I can’t think of any convincing explanation. No exemplar of any other religion that I can think of ended up getting killed because of his beliefs. Why wouldn't it have been possible for Jesus to spread his message and gain adherents like Mohamed, Moses and Buddha? Does Christianity only make sense by God deciding that Jesus had to be crucified?"

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

This incredibly important question involves a matter central to Christianity, yet effectively answering it is often difficult for Christians. We will take a careful look at the question and lay out the answers offered in Scripture.

However, before we answer the question, "Why did Jesus have to die?" it's also important to understand that Jesus clearly understood his mission on earth involved laying down his life as a sacrifice. In other words, Jesus knew it was His Father's will for him to die.

He proves his foreknowledge and understanding of his death in these passages from Scripture:

Mark 8:31

Then Jesus began to tell them that he, the Son of Man, would suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, and three days later he would rise again.

(NLT)

Mark 10:32-34

Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him in Jerusalem. "When we get to Jerusalem," he told them, "the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, beat him with their whips, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again."

(NLT)

Mark 10: 38

But Jesus answered, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?"

(NLT)

Mark 10:43-45

Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."

(NLT)

Mark 14:22-25

As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take it, for this is my body." And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, "This is my blood, poured out for many, sealing the covenant between God and his people. I solemnly declare that I will not drink wine again until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God."

(NLT)

John 10:17-18

"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

(NKJV)

This last verse also explains why it is pointless to blame the Jews or the Romans—or anyone else, for that matter, for "killing" Jesus. Jesus, having the power to "lay it down" or "take it again," freely gave up his life. It truly doesn't matter then, who "killed" Jesus. The ones who nailed the nails only helped carry out the destiny he came to fulfill by laying down his life on the cross.

God is Holy

Though God is all merciful, all powerful and all forgiving, God is also holy, righteous and just.

Isaiah 5:16

But the LORD Almighty is exalted by his justice. The holiness of God is displayed by his righteousness.

(NLT)

Sin and Holiness are Incompatible

Sin entered the world through one man's disobedience - Adam, and now all of us are born into this "sin nature."

Romans 5:12

When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

(NLT)

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard.

(NLT)

Sin Separates Us from God

Isaiah 35:8

And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.

(NIV)

Isaiah 59:2

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

(NIV)

Sin's Punishment is Eternal Death

God's holiness and justice demand that sin and rebellion be punished. The only penalty or payment for sin is eternal death.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

(NASB)

Romans 5:21

So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(NLT)

Atoning Sacrifice

Our death is not sufficient to atone for sin because atonement requires a perfect, spotless sacrifice, offered in just the right way. Jesus, the one perfect God-man, came to offer the pure, complete and everlasting sacrifice to remove, atone, and make eternal payment for our sin.

1 Peter 1:18-19

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

(NLT)

Hebrews 2:14-17

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

(NIV)

Only Through Jesus Christ

Only through Jesus Christ can our sins be forgiven, thus restoring our relationship with God and removing the separation caused by sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

(NIV)

1 Corinthians 1:30

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

(NIV)

The Messiah - Savior

The suffering and the glory of the coming Messiah was foretold in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53. God's people in the Old Testament looked forward to the Messiah that would save them from their sin. Though he did not come in the form they expected, still their faith looking forward to his salvation saved them. Our faith, looking backward to his act of salvation, saves us. When we accept Jesus' payment for our sin, his perfect sacrifice washes away our sin and restores our right standing with God. God's mercy and grace provided a way for our salvation.

Romans 5:10

For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life.

(NLT)

In Summary, when we are "in Christ Jesus" we are covered by his blood through his sacrificial death, our sins are paid for, and we no longer have to die an eternal death. We receive eternal life though Jesus Christ. And this is why Jesus had to die. [UPDATE: (May 1, 2011) The fact totally "escaped me" that one of the best books I've ever read on this subject is available FREE online (in pdf format): Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (by John Piper) ...If you've never done so before, please do yourself a favor and "check out" that book!!! (I highly recommend it!!) ]

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April 26, 2011

[NOTE: Taking "time out" here to also highly recommend the "Preaching the Word" commentary series by R. Kent Hughes (see above for an example taken from this series) [Note: Usually available for over $300 for the 24 books but (for about the next week ONLY) available for only $149.95! ]

http://www.wordsearchbible.com/catalog/Preaching_the_Word_24_Volume_Commentary_Series_3384.html

"With this series, evangelicalism may now claim its own William Barclay. While remaining true to the text and its original meaning, Dr. Hughes helps us face the personal, ethical, theological, and practical questions which the text wants to answer in the presence of living God and his illuminating Holy Spirit."

—Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr, Colman M. Mockler distinguished Professor of Old Testament and President Emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts

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may 1, 2011

Excellent and important discussion (or, perhaps, more of a "dissection") of the theology of the popular Joel Osteen by John MacArthur Jr. (available online FREE only for a month or two on the Ligonier website (NOTE: Can also be downloaded as an mp3 file for $2 here -esp. if you miss hearing it in that 1-2 month period)):

http://www.ligonier.org/rym/broadcasts/video/becoming-better-you/ [P.S.- Here's another good critique of Joel Osteen that I also found recently: http://www.deliveredbygrace.com/?p=1541 ]

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may 5, 2011

Best-selling author Eric Metaxas discusses his biography of Nazi resistance leader Dietrich Bonhoeffer titled Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy on the Focus on the Family website [Note: a "three-parter"!]:

Pt1 Pt2 Pt3 (extra material: Article on Bonhoeffer on foxnews.com Two chapters from Metaxas' book on Bonhoeffer)

[My Comment: Very interesting guys ( Dietrich Bonhoeffer AND Eric Metaxas)! He (Metaxas) gives one of the greatest prayers I've ever heard (at the end of Pt3/ Day 3)! Btw, TODAY is declared (even by President Obama) to be a NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER, so I can think of no better way to help bring in this day than to let you "guys" hear that inspiring and moving prayer I'm speaking of by "clicking" HERE. (Also, I hope this "taste" of what Metaxas has to say (in the prayer) will inspire you to want to listen to all three parts of this excellent interview! (I think I might just buy the book, also!)]

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may 7, 2011

Quote: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years."
— Alexis de Tocqueville

Another quote (along the same lines) by de Tocqueville is this: "The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
— Alexis de Tocqueville (Democracy in America)

[My comment: So...according to the visionary de Tocqueville (and current trends!), America's time is about up!! (All the more reason everyone reading this (who hasn't done so already) needs to repent and believe the "gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24) asap!!! (I fervently pray that all of you (reading this) do!! As it says in Acts 2:40, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation!"))]

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June 21, 2011 (thought for today)

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth "thrown in"; aim at earth and you will get neither." Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis), p. 118

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July 1, 2011 (thought for today)

Freely Ye Have Received, Freely Give (Matt. 10:8b)

Luther, with Dr. Jonas, his attendant, Veit Diedrich, and some students who boarded with him, one day took a ride in the country. Luther distributed alms to the poor who gathered round him. When Dr. Jonas did the same, saying, "Who knows in what way God may return these alms to me?" Luther remarked, smiling, "Just as if God had not given it to you before. Freely we must give—out of pure love, and cheerfully."

Yet he used to say that "whosoever is fond of giving, to him it shall be given." "My dear Catherine," he said often to his wife, "do not grudge giving, if we expect to receive. I knew a woman at Zwickau who herself must now go begging, because she used to slight the poor country people."

[from: Luther Anecdotes: Memorable Sayings and Doings of Martin Luther.]

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July 2, 2011

Better-than-average program by R.C. Sproul on "How to Deal with Anxiety" : www.ligonier.org/rym/broadcasts/audio/how-deal-anxiety/

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July 4, 2011

Vitally important "Grace to You" program on getting and keeping a pure mind/ heart and a clear conscience! A "must hear", if you will!! [Declare your own independence [with God's Help, of course!] from sins of the mind!]

http://webmedia.gty.org/podcast/20110621.mp3

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July 5, 2011 (thought for today)

"Never look down on someone unless you're (in the process of) helping them up." (author unknown)

NOTE: I also have a facebook page that people can follow @:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1306625092 but the more important of the posts that i post there, I will continue to put here (i.e.-right here on this page)!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------July 22, 2011

Settling disputes is a lucrative business in our society. Lawsuits are an increasingly common way to get what we want. Even petty arguments end up in court! But in the church, we’re called to settle our disagreements differently. Learn how as we study 1 Corinthians 6. [excellent instruction by Alistair Begg!]

Forbidden Lawsuits and dealing with sexual immorality in God's Church

[from: http://www.truthforlife.org/broadcasts/2011/07/22/forbidden-lawsuits-part-a-/ ]

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AUGUST 22, 2011

OBJECTIONS TO BIBLICAL INERRANCY: 1. The Bible Is Only Authoritative for “Faith and Practice".

” One of the most frequent objections is raised by those who say that the purpose of Scripture is to teach us in areas that concern “faith and practice” only; that is, in areas that directly relate to our religious faith or to our ethical conduct. This position would allow for the possibility of false statements in Scripture, for example, in other areas such as in minor historical details or scientific facts—these areas, it is said, do not concern the purpose of the Bible, which is to instruct us in what we should believe and how we are to live.1 Its advocates often prefer to say that the Bible is “infallible” but they hesitate to use the word inerrant. (Until about 1960 or 1965 the word infallible was used interchangeably with the word inerrant. But in recent years, at least in the United States, the word infallible has been used in a weaker sense to mean that the Bible will not lead us astray in matters of faith and practice.)

The response to this objection can be stated as follows: the Bible repeatedly affirms that all of Scripture is profitable for us (2 Tim. 3:16) and that all of it is “God-breathed.” Thus it is completely pure (Ps. 12:6), perfect (Ps. 119:96), and true (Prov. 30:5). The Bible itself does not make any restriction on the kinds of subjects to which it speaks truthfully.

The New Testament contains further affirmations of the reliability of all parts of Scripture: in Acts 24:14, Paul says that he worships God, “believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets.” In Luke 24:25, Jesus says that the disciples are “foolish men” because they are “slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” In Romans 15:4, Paul says that “whatever was written” in the Old Testament was “written for our instruction.” These texts give no indication that there is any part of Scripture that is not to be trusted or relied on completely. Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 10:11, Paul can refer even to minor historical details in the Old Testament (sitting down to eat and drink, rising up to dance) and can say both that they “happened” (thus implying historical reliability) and “were written down for our instruction.”

If we begin to examine the way in which the New Testament authors trust the smallest historical details of the Old Testament narrative, we see no intention to separate out matters of “faith and practice,” or to say that this is somehow a recognizable category of affirmations, or to imply that statements not in that category need not be trusted or thought to be inerrant. Rather, it seems that the New Testament authors are willing to cite and affirm as true every detail of the Old Testament.

In the following list are some examples of these historical details cited by New Testament authors. If all of these are matters of “faith and practice,” then every historical detail of the Old Testament is a matter of “faith and practice,” and this objection ceases to be an objection to inerrancy. On the other hand, if so many details can be affirmed, then it seems that all of the historical details in the Old Testament can be affirmed as true, and we should not speak of restricting the necessary truthfulness of Scripture to some category of “faith and practice” that would exclude certain minor details. There are no types of details left that could not be affirmed as true.

The New Testament gives us the following data: David ate the bread of the Presence (Matt. 12:3–4); Jonah was in the whale (Matt. 12:40); the men of Nineveh repented (Matt. 12:41); the queen of the South came to hear Solomon (Matt. 12:42); Elijah was sent to the widow of Zarephath (Luke 4:25–26); Naaman the Syrian was cleansed of leprosy (Luke 4:27); on the day Lot left Sodom fire and brimstone rained from heaven (Luke 17:29; cf. v. 32 with its reference to Lot’s wife who turned to salt); Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness (John 3:14); Jacob gave a field to Joseph (John 4:5); many details of the history of Israel occurred (Acts 13:17–23); Abraham believed and received the promise before he was circumcised (Rom. 4:10); Abraham was about one hundred years old (Rom. 4:19); God told Rebekah before her children were born that the elder child would serve the younger (Rom. 9:10–12); Elijah spoke with God (Rom. 11:2–4); the people of Israel passed through the sea, ate and drank spiritual food and drink, desired evil, sat down to drink, rose up to dance, indulged in immorality, grumbled, and were destroyed (1 Cor. 10:11); Abraham gave a tenth of everything to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1–2); the Old Testament tabernacle had a specific and detailed design (Heb. 9:1–5); Moses sprinkled the people and the tabernacle vessels with blood and water, using scarlet wool and hyssop (Heb. 9:19–21); the world was created by the Word of God (Heb. 11:3);3 many details of the lives of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, and others actually happened (Heb. 11, passim); Esau sold his birthright for a single meal and later sought it back with tears (Heb. 12:16–17); Rahab received the spies and sent them out another way (James 2:25); eight persons were saved in the ark (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5); God turned Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes but saved Lot (2 Peter 2:6–7); Balaam’s donkey spoke (2 Peter 2:16).

This list indicates that the New Testament writers were willing to rely on the truthfulness of any part of the historical narratives of the Old Testament. No detail was too insignificant to be used for the instruction of New Testament Christians. There is no indication that they thought of a certain category of scriptural statements that were unreliable and untrustworthy (such as “historical and scientific” statements as opposed to doctrinal and moral passages). It seems clear that the Bible itself does not support any restriction on the kinds of subjects to which it speaks with absolute authority and truth; indeed, many passages in Scripture actually exclude the validity of this kind of restriction.

A second response to those who limit the necessary truthfulness of Scripture to matters of “faith and practice” is to note that this position mistakes the major purpose of Scripture for the total purpose of Scripture. To say that the major purpose of Scripture is to teach us in matters of “faith and practice” is to make a useful and correct summary of God’s purpose in giving us the Bible. But as a summary it includes only the most prominent purpose of God in giving us Scripture. It is not, however, legitimate to use this summary to deny that it is part of the purpose of Scripture to tell us about minor historical details or about some aspects of astronomy or geography, and so forth. A summary cannot properly be used to deny one of the things it is summarizing! To use it this way would simply show that the summary is not detailed enough to specify the items in question.

It is better to say that the whole purpose of Scripture is to say everything it does say, on whatever subject. Every one of God’s words in Scripture was deemed by him to be important for us. Thus, God issues severe warnings to anyone who would take away even one word from what he has said to us (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Rev. 22:18–19): we cannot add to God’s words or take from them, for all are part of his larger purpose in speaking to us. Everything stated in Scripture is there because God intended it to be there: God does not say anything unintentionally! Thus, this first objection to inerrancy makes a wrong use of a summary and thereby incorrectly attempts to impose artificial limits on the kinds of things about which God can speak to us.

Grudem, W. A. (1994). Systematic theology : An introduction to biblical doctrine (93). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House. [Excellent book, btw! (Note: Also available on CD from http://www.stilltruth.com/forum/logos-bible-software/great-finds/grudems-systematic-theology-sale for only $25 (at time of this "writing)! Click on "available for purchase" link to get it at the special $25 price! (You need recent Libronix or Logos software to use it, however!)] -Tony C.]

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AUGUST 23, 2011

OBJECTIONS TO BIBLICAL INERRANCY 6. "There Are Some Clear Errors in the Bible."

This final objection, that there are clear errors in the Bible, is either stated or implied by most of those who deny inerrancy, and for many of them the conviction that there are some actual errors in Scripture is a major factor in persuading them to challenge the doctrine of inerrancy.

In every case, the first answer that should be made to this objection is to ask where such errors are. In which specific verse or verses do these errors occur? It is surprising how frequently one finds that this objection is made by people who have little or no idea where the specific errors are, but who believe there are errors because others have told them so.

In other cases, however, people will mention one or more specific passages where, they claim, there is a false statement in Scripture. In these cases, it is important that we look at the biblical text itself, and look at it very closely. If we believe that the Bible is indeed inerrant, we should be eager and certainly not afraid to inspect these texts in minute detail. In fact, our expectation will be that close inspection will show there to be no error at all. Once again it is surprising how often it turns out that a careful reading just of the English text of the passage in question will bring to light one or more possible solutions to the difficulty.

In a few passages, no solution to the difficulty may be immediately apparent from reading the English text. At that point it is helpful to consult some commentaries on the text. Both Augustine (a.d. 354–430) and John Calvin (1509–64), along with many more recent commentators, have taken time to deal with most of the alleged “problem texts” and to suggest plausible solutions to them. Furthermore some writers have made collections of all the most difficult texts and have provided suggested answers for them.8

( 8. The interested reader may consult, for example, Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982); William Arndt, Does the Bible Contradict Itself? (St. Louis: Concordia, 1955); idem., Bible Difficulties (St. Louis: Concordia, 1932); and John W. Haley, Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible (1874; reprinted Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977). Almost all of the difficult texts have also received helpful analysis in the extensive notes to The NIV Study Bible ed. Kenneth Barker et al. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985)).

There are a few texts where a knowledge of Hebrew or Greek may be necessary to find a solution, and those who do not have firsthand access to these languages may have to find answers either from a more technical commentary or by asking someone who does have this training. Of course, our understanding of Scripture is never perfect, and this means that there may be cases where we will be unable to find a solution to a difficult passage at the present time. This may be because the linguistic, historical, or contextual evidence we need to understand the passage correctly is presently unknown to us. This should not trouble us in a small number of passages so long as the overall pattern of our investigation of these passages has shown that there is, in fact, no error where one has been alleged.9

(9. J.P. Moreland, “The Rationality of Belief in Inerrancy,” in Trinity Journal 7:1 (1986): 75–86, argues convincingly that Christians should not abandon the doctrine of inerrancy simply because of a small number of “problem texts” for which they presently have no clear solution.)

But while we must allow the possibility of being unable to solve a particular problem, it should also be stated that there are many evangelical Bible scholars today who will say that they do not presently know of any problem texts for which there is no satisfactory solution. It is possible, of course, that some such texts could be called to their attention in the future, but during the past fifteen years or so of controversy over biblical inerrancy, no such “unsolved” text has been brought to their attention.10

( 10. The present writer, for example, has during the last twenty years examined dozens of these “problem texts” that have been brought to his attention in the context of the inerrancy debate. In every one of those cases, upon close inspection of the text a plausible solution has become evident.)

Finally, a historical perspective on this question is helpful. There are no really “new” problems in Scripture. The Bible in its entirety is over 1,900 years old, and the alleged “problem texts” have been there all along. Yet throughout the history of the church there has been a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture in the sense in which it is defined in this chapter. Moreover, for these hundreds of years highly competent biblical scholars have read and studied those problem texts and still have found no difficulty in holding to inerrancy. This should give us confidence that the solutions to these problems are available and that belief in inerrancy is entirely consistent with a lifetime of detailed attention to the text of Scripture.11

(11. On the history of inerrancy in the church, see the essays by Philip Hughes, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, W. Robert Godfrey, and John D. Woodbridge and Randall H. Balmer in Scripture and Truth. See also the more extensive study by John D. Woodbridge, Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers and McKim Proposal (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982).)

Grudem, W. A. (1994). Systematic theology : An introduction to biblical doctrine (98). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.

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SEPTEMBER 11, 2011

Kent Hughes talks about one of the hardest things about being a Christian - loving one's enemies! http://preachingtheword.com/avms.asp?avstartid=219

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

Money Is a Root of All Evil

This verse (1 Tim. 6:10) is as often misquoted as quoted and is a great illustration of the importance of knowing what the text says and what it means. What the text says is, “The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.” The love of money—not money itself—is decried. It is not the only source of evil but it is called a root. The Greek text says “all evil,” but the idea of “all sorts” is implied by the phrase. That is what it says.

But what does it mean? The preceding verses introduce the subject of contentment with the essentials of life, and verse 9 says, in contrast, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare.” Verse 10 explains this by stressing the fact that there is a root which inevitably grows evil and is very hard to dig out. That root is the love of money. The phrase “all evil” is probably exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. The point in the text is that one should make sure this root does not grow into his life.

Geisler, N. L., & Brooks, R. M. (1990). When skeptics ask (164). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 [NOTE: More awesome biblical exposition from Kent Hughes!! - Tony C.]

"Seek and You Will Find"

Matthew 7:7-11

There are two ways to approach the Sermon on the Mount. One is proudly, believing that the Sermon is simply a list of exalted, though humanly attainable, moral precepts. Some who hold this view have said that the Sermon on the Mount is the only really necessary part of Scripture, the rest can be discarded, and people just need to give moral adherence to the Sermon on the Mount. They say they love it because it is from Christ and therefore is not cluttered with Paul's theologizing as in the epistles. According to such persons, with some moral education and some discipline, the world will be revolutionized. This view, dominated with fleshly presumption about the goodness of man and an amazingly shallow view of the Sermon on the Mount, always brings failure.

The other (correct) view, approaches the Sermon on the Mount humbly, with a deep sense of the need for God's grace. Far from finding the Sermon untheological, those who hold this view see that the teachings of the Sermon are amazingly theological and profoundly requiring. In fact they require perfection, as Jesus says after its first great movement: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (5:48). Those holding this view understand the first Beatitude though moralists do not. They know it teaches that poverty of spirit, a sense of moral bankruptcy, and the realization that one cannot live the Sermon on the Mount by oneself, is the key to living the Sermon on the Mount. Thus they approach God as beggars and receive grace to do the impossible—and they succeed!

In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus describes the way a man or woman prays who understands what the Sermon on the Mount is all about. The instruction in this text should not be lifted from its context in the Sermon and abused. All of us have heard this done. "The Bible says, 'Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.' Therefore, all we have to do is ask for it with faith and persistence, and we will get it. 'You do not have because you do not ask' (James 4:2). So go for it! Name it and claim it!" This view sees God as a celestial slot machine. Pull the handle enough times in prayer, be persistent, and you will get what you want!

Such thinking is entirely wrong! A text without a context is a pretext. Isolating this text from its setting in the Sermon on the Mount is deadly. The broad context of the Sermon sets down the surpassing righteousness, humility, sincerity, purity, and love expected of those who are members of the kingdom of God. These virtues are beyond human attainment apart from God's grace. The broad context underscores our need. In the immediately preceding context (vv. 1-6) Jesus has shown us the danger of condemning other people as if we were judges. He also has told us to get the plank out of our own eye before we attempt to remove a speck from someone else's. His warning is, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (v. 2). This standard is terrifying. Who is adequate for such things? How can we live up to such a high standard? We need to be cleansed. We need help and grace, but from where? Jesus answers, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (v. 7).

This famous text is not carte blanche for our material desires. Rather, it tells us how to pray for the character of the kingdom in our lives. It instructs us how to pray the Lord's Prayer. It teaches us to pray that our morals and ethics will be like Christ's. In a word, Jesus teaches us how to pray for our spiritual lives.

We Are to Pray with Persistence (Vv. 7, 8)

Jesus begins with some advice about our attitude.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Jesus' language is unusually compelling because the three verbs "ask... seek... knock" command an ascending intensity. "Ask" implies asking for a conscious need. The word also suggests humility in asking, for it is commonly used of one asking a superior. The next step, "seek," involves asking but adds action. The idea is not merely to express one's need, but to get up and look around for help. It involves effort. "Knock" includes asking plus acting plus persevering—like someone who keeps pounding on a closed door! The stacking of these words is extremely forceful, but the fact that they are pres ent imperatives gives them even more punch. In the Greek language there are two kinds of imperatives. The aorist imperative gives one definite command, such as "shut the door" or "pick up the newspaper." The present imperative, however, commands continuous action—"keep on shutting the door" or "keep on picking up the newspaper." So our text really reads: "Keep on asking and it will be given to you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you."

These opening verses are remarkably intense, and there is no doubt that our Lord meant for them to be understood that way. Luke records the same words, word-for-word, in his Gospel (11:9, 10), but he precedes them with Jesus' mini-parable in verses 5-8:

Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs."

Then comes Jesus' famous words, "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Luke 11:9, 10).

Jesus is driving his point home, and the point is this: We are to passionately persist in prayer. We naturally persevere in our prayers when someone close to us is sick. If one of our children becomes ill, we pray without ceasing. Likewise, if we are in financial trouble or if we are hoping for a promotion or if we have a frightening or dangerous task ahead of us, we generally find it easy to pray.

But do we persist in our prayers for spiritual growth for ourselves and others? Do we "ask... seek... knock" for a pure mind? Do we keep on knocking for a forgiving spirit or for the removal of an angry or critical spirit? I think that Christians usually do not! Consider what would happen if God's people understood what Christ is saying here and put it to work. More about that a little later.

We give ourselves to passionate prayer for our spiritual development only when we sense our need for God's grace. God's kingdom requires righteousness—perfection. We are called to be holy as he is holy (Leviticus 19:2). Only "the pure in heart will see God" (Matthew 5:8). We know that though we do good things, we are evil—that all of us, Jews and Greeks, are under sin (Romans 3:9). The sight of God's perfect standard and our sin drives us to our knees and to his grace. We learn that there is no hope apart from his unearned favor. There is no hope for spiritual improvement apart from his continuing love and mercy. The one who sees this rejoices when he reads Jesus' invitation to "ask... seek... knock."

We are to ask and keep on asking for those things that will make us more like Jesus. We are to seek and keep on seeking. We are to knock and keep on knocking. Perseverance is the key to God's treasure, just as it often proves to be with earthly treasures. When Howard Carter, the British archaeologist, peered wide-eyed into an ancient Egyptian tomb in 1922, at first he saw nothing. For more than twenty centuries archaeologists, tourists, and tomb robbers had searched for the burial places of Egypt's pharaohs. It was believed that nothing remained undisturbed, especially in the Royal Valley where the ancient monarchs had been buried for over half a millennium. With only a few scraps of evidence Carter carried on his pursuit, privately financed because nobody felt there was anything left to be discovered. But he was convinced there was one remaining tomb.

Twice during his six-year search he came within two yards of the first stone step leading to the burial chamber, and finally he found it. "Can you see anything?" his assistants asked, as Carter's eyes adjusted. He was seeing, but he had difficulty speaking because he saw what no modern man had ever seen. Wooden animals, statues, chests, chariots, carved cobras, vases, daggers, jewels, a throne—and a hand-carved coffin of a teenage king. It was the priceless tomb and treasure of King Tutankhamen, the world's most exciting archaeological discovery. Howard Carter's great perseverance brought him King Tut's treasure.

How much greater our rewards when we persevere in praying for God's spiritual treasures! King Tut's treasures brought him no happiness; and if you were as rich as he, the effect would be the same. Besides, King Tut left it all behind.

The treasures Christ gives are eternally ours and eternally satisfying. But perseverance is the key. We may wonder why God wants us to persist intensely for things he surely wants to give us. The answer is, he wants to give us great spiritual treasures, but he will not give it to us until we are ready. Persistent prayer prepares us for those treasures.

We Are to Pray with Confidence (Vv. 7-11)

Jesus' words teach us that we are not only to pray with persistence, but with confidence. The verses we have already studied shout assurance to us: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." The only condition for our receiving spiritual treasure is persistence. If we persistently ask for increased spiritual growth and understanding and intimacy with God, we will receive! I am grateful this verse is not a blank check for just anything we want in life. God knows much better than we do what we need.

I have heard Howard Hendricks say that when he was a young man, certain mothers set their hopes on him in behalf of their daughters. One mother even said to him, "Howard, I just want you to know that I am praying you will be my son-in-law." Dr. Hendricks asked us very solemnly, "Have you ever thanked God for unanswered prayer?" I am grateful that God has not answered all my prayers too! And so are you. On the other hand, how wonderful it is that he has always answered your and my persistent prayers for spiritual growth.

Jesus assures us that this is true with illustrations taken from earthly fatherhood. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?" (vv. 9, 10).

The illustration is deliberately absurd. In the Galilean setting for the giving of the Sermon on the Mount, the people were familiar with the flat stones by the shore that looked exactly like their round, flat cakes of bread, and with fish (more likely eels) that looked very much like snakes. Can you imagine your son coming to tell you he is hungry and you give him a stone instead of bread? "Here son, enjoy!" you say mockingly as he cracks his teeth. "Oh, you didn't like that? Here, have a fish," and you give him a harmful snake or eel. No first-century father would be as ignorant or cruel. Today we cannot always be sure. Nevertheless, the illustration holds. God always gives us what is good.

Our Lord also crowns our assurance with the illustration of our heavenly Father: "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (v. 11).

Here is the familiar a fortiori argument that Jesus is so fond of. If it is true of the lesser, how much more of the greater. God is our Father, our Abba, our Dearest Father par excellence! Think of our earthly fathers at their very best and multiply that by infinity, and you have it. Isaiah says:

Can the mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (49:15)

The "how much more" of our text has an infinite ring.

An earthly father would never give his child a stone for bread, but sometimes he makes mistakes. At times earthly fathers think they are doing the right thing only to discover they were absolutely wrong! God never errs, though it is his policy to give greater quality and quantity than we imagine in our prayers. Luke's parallel quotation of this gives us a remark able insight into the mechanics of God's giving greater "good gifts" to those who ask him.

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (11:13)

Luke's substitution of "Holy Spirit" for "good gifts" is no contradiction because it is the Holy Spirit who bestows what is good. Moreover, the Holy Spirit knows what we need better than we do! Paul informs us in Romans 8:26, 27:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

The result is, we get more "good gifts" than we ever imagined.

Our assurance is this: God will give us anything that is good for us spiritually (anything!) if we keep asking him for it! If you do not yet have eternal life through Jesus Christ, you may be sure he will give it to you if you ask with all your heart. If you are a believer but are short on Christian graces, you need to keep praying. If you often find yourself lying, if you begin to "ask" and "seek" and "knock," God will help you become a truth-teller. If you are not generous, make a habit of passionate prayer and he will give you a generous spirit. If you are not kind but persistently seek God for a kind spirit, he will give it to you.

Just think what would happen if we prayed for these things for ourselves and our brothers and sisters as intensely as we pray for our physical needs. The church would explode because a far greater proportion of its people would be living kingdom lives. Our pulpits would be filled with preachers of power. The mission fields would shrink as thousands more poured out to the harvest—with greater power.

Do we want the character of the kingdom in our lives through the fullness of the Holy Spirit? Then we have to do two things. First, ask persistently. Jesus says we are to ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. We are to beseech God constantly and passionately for spiritual blessing. Do we pray like that?

At the same time we are to ask confidently. Everyone who asks this way receives, and everyone who seeks like this finds, and everyone who knocks and keeps on knocking has the door opened to him. God will give us anything we ask for that is good for us spiritually. If we lack spiritually, it is our fault. As James says, "You do not have, because you do not ask God" (James 4:2). Over 200 years ago John Newton wrote the following hymn:

Come, my soul, thy case prepare;

Jesus loves to answer prayer;

He Himself has bid thee pray,

Therefore will not say thee nay.

Thou art coming to a King;

Large petitions with thee bring;

For His grace and power are such,

None can ever ask too much.

We can never ask too much spiritually. Let us ask and receive.

Someone once said, "Any discussion of the doctrine of prayer that does not issue in the practice of prayer is not only not helpful, but harmful." That is true. We would all do well to engage in the following actions:

1. Search out some spiritual qualities that you lack but would like to have. List them on your prayer list.

2. Pray passionately for them—keep asking, seeking, knocking.

3. Have confidence that God your Father will give them to you.

[from: the "Preaching the Word" 24-volume commentary series (by R. Kent Hughes): The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom.] NOTE: Again, get this book - if you don't have it yet! (esp. if you want to become a more spiritually-minded Christian!!) - Tony C.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Great "Focus on the Family" program on one person's (i.e.- Marshall Lawrence's) journey from having little concern for deaf persons to starting a ministry to preach the gospel to those who are deaf. [Interesting note obtained from the program: The are 25 million deaf persons in the USA and most of them have not had the gospel presented to them yet!]

www.focusonthefamily.com/radio.aspx?ID=%7B0028BAEF-574D-434F-A47F-E02261A84919%7D

[Side note: If you're wondering why I didn't refer to Marshall Lawrence as "Reverend" as it says on the page (linked to above), call to mind or notice (if you've never read it before) what it says in Ps. 111:9 (where is says that) "holy and reverend is HIS (God's) name"!! (Also... the apostles never called each other "reverend" and we're not instructed anywhere in the Bible to call ministers "reverend", so, for those reasons (AND, of course, Ps. 111:9!), I don't do it!)]

Update (Sept. 30, 2011)! Here's a good link that goes into more detail on why Church leaders shouldn't use the title "Reverend" in front of their names: http://bible-truth.org/TitleReverend.html

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october 17, 2011 [ Here's an excellent article on a subject that many people don't want to talk about (even in the Church!)...homosexuality from the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (edited by W.A. Ewell)! ]

Homosexuality. It is significant that the word “homosexuality” did not enter the English vocabulary until the early twentieth century. The word, and with it the concept of lifelong primary sexual orientation toward members of one’s own gender, was unacknowledged and probably unknown in the biblical world. Some today will therefore argue that what the Bible appears to condemn can be distinguished from homosexuality. They maintain that the homosexual orientation, to the extent that it develops in early childhood or even before birth, is not consciously chosen and is therefore not sinful. As long as this form of sexuality is expressed monogamously, it is argued, homosexual relations merely constitute an expansion of the biblical view of marriage. In order to assess the legitimacy of this approach, it is important to begin with an understanding of the view of same-gender sex in the ancient world.

The Ancient World. Because there is so little evidence of same-gender sex before the New Testament period, our view of “the ancient world” must focus more narrowly on the Greco-Roman period. Writings during this period demonstrate familiarity with sexual acts between members of the same gender, but these were not understood to result from an “orientation.” Sexuality was important in the ancient world only in terms of male progeniture. It appears that the rape of other males and the use of boys for sexual pleasure (pederasty) were performed as acts of dominance, violence, or experimentation by otherwise heterosexual men. As a phase or as an occasional act, sex between males did not detract from male progeniture. In some circles, most notably those of the intellectual elite philosophers and poets, relationships between men and boys were lauded as the highest expression of romantic love. These relationships were not reciprocal, however. Males who were (willing or not) the receiving partners in these acts, especially on a repeated basis, were socially outcast. Boys were bought as slaves and discarded when they reached puberty. Lesbians, who were by definition reducing the possibility of male progeniture, were scarcely mentioned but consistently condemned. Thus the modern supposition of a tolerant pagan society subsequently oppressed by Judeo-Christian taboos is a complete myth. It was, rather, a culture almost empty of regard for the sexual rights or desires of anyone but the small ruling class of men, who commonly exercised their almost limitless privilege at the expense of those young women and men in their power.

The Old Testament. Into this world of ruthless sexuality came the biblical message of restraint, justice, and sexual complementarity, which was revolutionary in its implications. From the beginning it is acknowledged that humankind is created in two genders that together bear God’s image (Gen. 1:27) and together constitute a unity of flesh (Gen. 2:24). The reaffirmation of these two notions in key New Testament passages on sexuality (Matt. 19:1–12; 1 Cor. 7:12–20) demonstrates the continuity and importance of sexual differentiation in the construction of a normative biblical sexuality. More simply put, humankind is created to find human completion only in the (marital) union of two sexes. While there may be legitimate conditions under which this union will not occur (e.g., celibacy), there are no conceivable conditions in which the union can occur fully without sexual differentiation. More specifically in terms of homosexuality, then, same-gender partners can at best pretend to effect a differentiation that is physiologically (and perhaps psychologically) impossible.

Some theologians have suggested that to be created in the image of God according to Genesis means to be in social fellowship with other persons. Others deduce that homosexual relations are merely an expansion of the category of marriage under this rubric of fellowship; that is, intimacy and not biology is the appropriate measure of conformity to the Genesis marriage model. But apart from the debatability of this notion of the image of God in Genesis (dominion is the probable focus of the term), the definition of marriage cannot be limited to the meaning of the image of God. However important the social and spiritual aspects of marriage may be, the physical aspect is no less fundamental to its definition. Sexual differentiation (1:27) intends physical union, the becoming of one flesh (2:24). Because a homosexual relationship cannot produce a unity of sexually differentiated beings, there cannot be a marriage.

Condemnations of sexual sin in the Old Testament focus on heterosexual acts, but it is important to note that all sexual sin, including homosexuality, is prohibited in relation to the positive model of marriage presented in Genesis. Thus, while the Old Testament describes homosexual activity as intrinsically unjust or impure, these condemnations do not differ qualitatively from condemnations of heterosexual deviations from the marriage model.

The first and most familiar Old Testament passage is the account of intended male rape at Sodom (Gen. 19). References to the city later become common extrabiblical Jewish euphemisms for sexual perversion in general and homosexual practices in particular (in the New Testament, see 2 Peter 2:6–7 and Jude 7). Some modern revisionists point to the subsequent Jewish tradition condemning Sodom for inhospitality and argue that the passage does not have homosexual rape in view. In this view, when the Sodomites demand to “know” Lot’s visitors, they want to interrogate them, and Lot considers this breach of hospitality as so objectionable that he offers to distract the men with sex, offering his own daughters. The major obstacle to this interpretation is the Hebrew verb “to know” (yāda˓), which, while not often used in a sexual sense, is used in just that sense in verse 8—only two verses after its occurrence expressing the desire of the men of Sodom. Clearly the Sodomites desired sexual relations with Lot’s guests. The later references to inhospitality in relation to Sodom are not due to a misunderstanding of the sin of Sodom on the part of the Jews, but to their habit of speaking indirectly of sexual matters out of modesty.

A parallel account of sexual violence occurs in Judges 19–20, where the men of Gibeah rape a man’s concubine to the point of death in substitution for the man himself. There can be no doubt that this is fundamentally an act of violence, but the initial desire for the man coupled with the sacrifice of the concubine to avoid “such a disgraceful thing” (19:24) suggests that same-gender sex, and not only inhospitality, is seen in a very negative light.

More obscure reference to same-gender sex may be found in Genesis 9:20–27, where the statement that Ham “saw his father’s nakedness” may be a euphemism for rape. There may be a connection here to two additional references to sexual sins involving one’s father (Lev. 18:7; Deut. 23:1), since Ham is the father of Canaan, the nation traditionally associated with same-gender sex and whose impure practices are condemned in detail in the context of these references.

Explicit condemnation of same-gender sexual relations occurs in two Old Testament passages. Leviticus 18:22 reads, “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” Leviticus 20:13 reads, “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” The wording here is ambiguous with regard to rape or manipulation versus mutual consent; instead, the focus is on the act itself as a mutual defilement. Modern revisionists often dismiss these strong passages on the grounds that they are part of the Old Testament purity code and therefore irrelevant to a gospel that frees believers from the constraints of Jewish cultural taboos. But the surrounding verses, which involve such concerns as care for the poor and respect of property show that it is impossible to make a simplistic distinction between purity laws and permanent moral principles. The reaffirmation of sexually differentiated marriage in the New Testament, as noted above, suggests that this levitical condemnation of the violation of differentiation retains its force throughout the entire biblical period.

The New Testament Message of Liberation. Some revisionists maintain that the message of Jesus is fundamentally a message concerning the liberation of captives (Luke 4:18–19). These captives, it is argued, are to be understood not in individual terms as sinners, but in corporate terms as those who are forgotten or oppressed by the proud and powerful. In this view, the place to begin a truly Christian consideration of sexual ethics is not with Genesis and the legal code but with Exodus and freedom from law proclaimed by Jesus. The homosexual community, with its long history of persecution, naturally sees itself described in the Beatitudes and other offers of hope to the downtrodden. It sees analogies to modern “heterosexism” in the historic subjugation of women and of blacks. There are, however, many problems with an approach that so simply makes biblical material a vehicle for experience. One objection is that the choice of one kind of sexual proclivity as “oppressed” is arbitrary: there is no definitive reason to exclude pederasty or sadomasochism or adultery. Furthermore, the analogies to other modern liberation movements are dubious. In the case of slavery, for example, the biblical message is ambiguous; in the case of homosexual acts, on the other hand, what little material we have is all decidedly negative. Finally, it is impossible to evaluate a behavior by means of its perception, as if disapproval by the majority automatically constitutes legitimacy on the part of a persecuted minority. At some point the behavior itself must be held up to a light other than the fire of its own passion. The light of revelation in the New Testament message offers liberation, but explicit in this offer is the provision of power to conform individuals to full humanity as God created it. In order to exercise responsibility in relation to such an offer it is essential for believers to take seriously both the construction of full humanity as the Scriptures describe it, and deviations from that full humanity as the Scriptures warn against them.

The Gospels. There is no explicit reference to same-gender sex in the Gospels, but there may be an echo of a reference in Mark 9:42–10:12 (cf. Matt. 5:27–32). A passage in the Talmud (b. Niddah 13b) links masturbation and pederasty together as violations of marriage, and in so doing makes reference to harming children, offending with the hand or the foot, and cutting off offending limbs rather than going down to the pit of destruction. These similarities of wording to the Gospel passages may suggest a common understanding in the first century that “putting a stumbling block before one of these little ones” involved sexual sin against them.

Paul’s Epistles. Two brief references in Paul’s letters, where same-gender sex is mentioned in lists of prohibited activities, are important especially for their link to the Old Testament. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 arsenokoitai are condemned. The word, a compound of “male” and “coitus” or “intercourse,” does not occur prior to the New Testament. Some modern writers have attempted to narrow its meaning from homosexual acts in general to male prostitution, solicitation of male prostitutes, or (coupled in 1 Cor. 6:9 with malakoi, another obscure word possibly meaning “the effeminate”) the active partners in homosexual relationships. These suggestions, however, ignore the Greek Old Testament (LXX) versions of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, which use both arsenos and koiten, the latter passage placing them side-by-side; literally, “whoever lies with a male, having intercourse (as with) a female.” This is the obvious source of the compound word. Perhaps Paul himself, who knew and used the Septuagint extensively, or some other Hellenistic Jew not long before Paul’s time, derived from the passages in Leviticus a compound word that described homosexual acts in general. This drawing in of Leviticus to Paul’s letters is also significant in that it provides further demonstration that he perceived a moral and not merely purity-based prohibition of homosexual acts in the Old Testament.

Romans 1:26–27. The remaining passage appears to be an unequivocal condemnation of homosexuality. While many modern revisionists simply disagree with Paul or discount his proscription as applying only to prostitution or pederasty, some have attempted to reinterpret the passage as tacit approval of homosexuality. The argument is that Paul portrays homosexual acts as impure but carefully avoids the language of sin; he intends merely to distinguish a Gentile practice considered by Jews to be “unclean” in order to draw Jews (or “weaker brethren”) into his subsequent explanation of the gospel. Careful investigation of the passage, however, shows this explanation to be untenable.

Paul’s general purpose in the context (Rom. 1:18–32) is to show the need for the gospel in the Gentile world. As a result of idolatry, God “gave them over” to all kinds of sinful behavior. The trifold structure of the passage is a rhetorical device to drive home the point: a general complaint (vv. 24–25), consideration of a specific vice (vv. 26–27), and a culminating list of various vices (vv. 28–32). The distinction between the second and third sections may follow another Greek-styled distinction of sins of passion and sins of the unfit mind.

Paul is accused of everything from extreme prejudice to repressed homosexual urges for choosing same-gender sex as his focus in verses 26–27. But the scarcity of other references and the use of impersonal, rhetorical language here suggests, on the contrary, considerable detachment. The choice of homosexuality in particular is due to Paul’s need to find a visible sign of humankind’s fundamental rejection of God’s creation at the very core of personhood. The numerous allusions to the creation account in the passage suggest that creation theology was foremost in Paul’s mind in forming the passage.

Paul’s terminology in the passage clearly denotes sin and not mere ritual impurity. The context is introduced by the threat of wrath against “godlessness and wickedness” (v. 18). Those in view in verses 26–27 have been given over to “passions,” a word group that elsewhere in Romans and consistently in Paul’s writings connotes sin. Words like “impurity” (v. 24) and “indecent” (v. 27; cf. “degrading,” v. 24) had in Paul’s time extended their meaning beyond ritual purity to moral and especially sexual wrongdoing. To do that which is “unnatural” (vv. 26–27) or “contrary to nature” was common parlance in contemporary literature for sexual perversion and especially homosexual acts. Paul uses several expressions here that are more typical of Gentile moral writers not because he is attempting to soften his condemnation but because he wishes to find words peculiarly suited to expose the sinfulness of the Gentile world in its own terms.

The substance of Paul’s proscription of homosexuality is significant in several respects. First, he mentions lesbian relations first and links lesbianism to male homosexuality. This is unusual if not unique in the ancient world, and it demonstrates that Paul’s concern is less with progeniture than with rebellion against sexual differentiation or full created personhood. Second, Paul speaks in terms of mutual consent (e.g., “inflamed with lust for one another,” v. 27), effectively including acts other than rape and pederasty in the prohibition. Third, the passage describes corporate as well as individual rebellion, a fact that may have implications for modern discussions of “orientation.” In other words, although Paul does not address the question here directly, it is reasonable to suppose that he would consign the orientation toward homosexual acts to the same category as heterosexual orientation toward adultery or fornication. The “natural” or “fleshly” proclivity is a specific byproduct of the corporate human rebellion and in no way justifies itself or the activity following from that proclivity. On the basis of any of these three implications, it is legitimate to use the word “homosexuality” as it is conceived in the modern world when speaking of Romans 1 and, by cautious extension, when speaking of the related biblical passages.

Responses to Paul’s Proscription. The discussion does not end with the conclusion that Paul condemns homosexuality. Some argue that a modern understanding of “natural” differs from Paul’s and requires that we absolve those who discover rather than choose a homosexual orientation. These, it is argued, should be seen as victims, or simply different, and our definition of allowable sexual activity expanded accordingly. The major problem with this response is that it shifts the meaning of “natural” from Paul’s notion of “that which is in accord with creation” to the popular notion of “that which one has a desire to do.” But deeply ingrained anger does not justify murder, nor does deeply ingrained greed justify theft or materialism, nor does the deeply ingrained desire of many heterosexuals for multiple partners justify promiscuity. Desire in all of these areas, chosen or not, must come under the reign of Christ. The action in question must be considered not in terms of its source in the person but in light of the relevant biblical principles. These principles often involve denial of deeply ingrained desires, for the heterosexual who desires multiple partners no less than for the homosexual who laments the option of celibacy.

There is considerable evidence that a homosexual orientation, and certainly the occasional homosexual experience, does not indicate a permanent state but an immature stage of sexuality that may be “fixed” at some point by physiological, psychological, or social factors, and by the individual will, all acting in combination. This has theological significance because it implies that movement toward completion or maturity will involve movement toward obedience to the biblical model. One need not conclude, then, that the homosexual orientation is an indication either of God’s approval of the orientation or that the orientation is God’s “curse” of the individual. It is, rather, a challenge to growth in discipleship, more or less difficult depending on individual circumstances, but accompanied by the promise of grace equal to those circumstances (Rom. 5:19–21; 1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 12:9).

Thomas E. Schmidt

Bibliography. J. Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality; L. W. Countryman, Dirt, Greed, and Sex; J. B. De Young, JETS 31 (1988): 429–47; idem, BSac 147 (1990): 437–54; G. W. Edward, Gay/Lesbian Liberation: A Biblical Perspective; S. Grenz, Sexual Ethics: A Biblical Perspective; R. B. Hays, Sojourners (July 1991): 17–21; idem, JRE 14 (1986): 184–215; R. Scroggs, The New Testament and Homosexuality; D. F. Wright, EvQ 61 (1989): 291–300; J. I. Yamamoto, The Crisis of Homosexuality.

Thomas E. Schmidt Schmidt, Thomas E Ph.D., Cambridge University. Professor of New Testament, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California.

JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JRE Journal of Religious Ethics

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. (1997, c1996). Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed.). Baker reference library; Logos Library System. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

[Note: Thomas Schmidt is also author of the excellent book: "Straight & Narrow?: Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexual debate" (available from amazon.com) Also, here's one person's positive review of that book...]

Hope this helps... i.e.- helps those who may be confused about and/ or may be struggling with this problem... - Tony C.

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november 8, 2011

Salvation: By "Faith Alone" or by "Faith plus Works"?

[NOTE: The problem I'm addressing today is a problem that is widespread - even some in evangelical churches mistakenly believe that they can earn their own salvation by works (or a combination of faith and works); however, the problem is more acute among cultic churches (like the JWs, Mormons, Catholics, Anabaptists, etc.)]

Cultic religions believe that they are justified by "faith AND works" (In fact, that's one of the "signs" that they are a cult!)...instead, we (as evangelical Christians - along with Paul and James!) believe that we are justified by a "faith THAT works"! (cf. Gal 5:6)

Quote:

"The difference between Rome [and other cults!- Tony C.] and the Reformation can be seen in these simple formulas:

Roman view

faith + works = justification

Protestant view

faith = justification + works

Neither view eliminates works. The Protestant view eliminates human merit. It recognizes that though works are the evidence or fruit of true faith they add or contribute nothing to the meritorious basis of our redemption.

The current debate over “Lordship/salvation” must be careful to protect two borders. On the one hand it is important to stress that true faith yields true fruit; on the other hand it is vital to stress that the only merit that saves us is the merit of Christ received by faith alone."

^{-R. C. Sproul, “Works or Faith?” Tabletalk (May 1991): 6.
[More Sproul!]
"Martin Luther insisted that the faith
that justifies is a fides viva, a vital and living faith that yields the fruit
of works. Justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.
Saving faith is not a “lonely” faith, having no works following as a companion."
-R.C. Sproul, in "Faith Alone" pg. 155
If you still think that salvation is by "faith PLUS
works", please read the following articles:

http://www.watchman.org/reltop/paulvs.htm

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/does-james-contradict-paul

http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/JamesPau.htm

http://www.reformedtheology.ca/faithworks.html

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Questions/QA81#.Tri-SnI3WuI

http://carm.org/verses-showing-justification-by-faith
Here's an example of a cult that believes you need to "add works to faith"
for justification (i.e.-salvation):
http://carm.org/works-salvation
A couple Bible verses that usually "come up" in discussions
with cultists (and also... those who, perhaps, don't realize they are
contradicting what Paul said about salvation being "not of works,
lest any
should boast" (Eph 2:9)) - who insist that salvation is by "faith PLUS
works" are:
1) Philippians 2:12 (NASB95)

¹²So then, my beloved, just as you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your salvation with fear and
trembling;
and
2) 2 Peter 1:5 (KJV)

⁵And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge...[etc.]

The answer to the first objection (using Philippians 2:12) is
the context given for that verse - in the very next verse!

Philippians 2:13 (KJV)

¹³
For it is God which worketh in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure.
***In other words...because "it is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure",
therefore,,, you can "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"
[NOTE: It doesn't say "work for" your salvation, it says "work out" i.e.-the
salvation you already have (i.e.-if you're a Christian)!]
Regarding 2 Peter 1:5, the context
of that verse is two verses prior to it in 2 Pet 1:3 where it says:
2 Peter 1:3 (KJV)

³According as
his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life
and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us
to glory and virtue:

***In other words, since "God
(through His divine power) hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life
and godliness", therefore you can..."^{add
to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge...(etc.)."}
Whatever the Christian does, he does (Correction! "should
do"!) in the divine "power of God" - NOT in his/her own strength. Doing
works (or thinking that you're required to do works) in your own strength is the Galatian heresy, which, in a nutshell, is summarized by Gal 3:3, where it says,

Galatians 3:3 (KJV)

³Are ye so foolish?
having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made
perfect by the flesh?
Here "in the Spirit" means "in
the (divine) power of the Holy Spirit" and "by the
flesh" means "in your own strength".
Lastly, here's an awesome link to a "Truth in Action"
(formerly called Coral Ridge Ministries) page that has a couple great
presentations by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy on the subject of "Justification
by Faith Alone or by Faith Plus Works?"! [Note: You'll have to register with
"Truth in Action" ministries, first, to hear the files (if you haven't done so
already) but it's "worth it"! - After registering, click again on the link below
and the listen to pts 1& 2 of "Justification by Faith Alone or by Faith Plus" on
9/20/10 and 9/21/10 OR
10/18/2007 and 10/19/2007 (They're both the same programs)
Listen especially for the analogy of "the rope and the spool of thread" - which
I thought summarized brilliantly (by analogy!) the issues involved with
this whole subject!! -T.C.]

http://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/search-media?prog=&text=faith+plus+works&SearchBTN=Search

P.S.- For further information regarding the truth of
the doctrine of salvation by "Faith Alone" (...yet not by a faith that
is alone!), I highly recommend that you get for
yourself (and study!) the book

"Faith
Works: the Gospel according to the Apostles" by John MacArthur Jr.

[To summarize (from a biblical standpoint) what I've been
saying here:
^{Titus 3:5

Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy
He saved us.}
...Hope this helps! -Tony C.]
(Update! Nov. 17a, 2011)
I mentioned (above) that cultic religions teach that they "are
justified by "faith AND works" ... ...instead, we (as evangelical Christians -
along with Paul and James!) believe that we are justified by a "faith THAT
works"! (cf. Gal 5:6)".

Now, that quote may seem to be like "splitting hairs", but...it's
important because it's the difference between relying SOLELY on God for
one's salvation VS. relying on God PLUS MYSELF for salvation. ("So
what?", you may ask.) Well...if I have
any part to play in my own SALVATION/ JUSTIFICATION/ "being made right
with God" (Note: NOT speaking here of sanctification - i.e.-growing
to be like Christ!), then I can BOAST of what I am doing (i.e.-my works) to
gain my own salvation. That's CLEARLY NOT BIBLICAL, as it says in Eph. 2:9!
As someone once said, "We're saved by grace but rewarded according to
works"!! Yes! Grace alone through faith alone BECAUSE OF CHRIST ALONE...yet
not by a faith that is alone. Saving faith must be a LIVING faith - a faith
that shows itself in good works (i.e.- done in the power of the Holy Spirit,
by the way- NOT with one's own strength! (cf. "Martin
Luther's Definition of Faith" in the Nov. 15, 2011 entry (below)). -Tony
C.
^{(Update! Nov. 17b, 2011)}

Great discussion (at the link below)
of James 2 and the doctrine of "sola fide" at a 2003 Ligonier conference in
Washington D.C.!

^{http://www.ligonier.org/learn/conferences/washington_dc_2003_conference/questions-and-answers-3199/

P.S.- I already posted a
great article on "justification" by the
great New Testament scholar Leon Morris from the Evangelical Dictionary
of Theology...go there if you still are having problems with the
concept of "justification by faith alone". (NOTE: Click on the link to go
there.) I think it will help clear this subject up for you, if I'm not
mistaken. (It did for me!)}}

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november 9, 2011

[from: http://www.wordsearchbible.com/catalog/sample.php?prodid=2566 ]

Scriptural Titles of Christ

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.—Matthew 1:23.

The following collection of scriptural names which refer to Christ is both curious and remarkable: Adam, Advocate, Almighty, Amen, Angel, Ancient of Days, Anointed, Apostle, Author and Finisher of Faith; Babe, Beginning of the Creation of God, Begotten of the Father, Beloved, Bishop, Blessed, Branch of Righteousness, Brazen Serpent, Bread of Life, Bridegroom, Brightness of the Father's Glory, Bundle of Myrrh; Camphire, Captain, Child, Chosen, Consolation of Israel, Corner Stone, Covenant, Counsellor, Covert, Creator; David, Day's Man, Day Star, Deliverer, Desire of all Nations, Dew, Diadem, Door of the Sheep; Eagle, Elect, Emmanuel, Ensign, Eternal Life, Everlasting Father, Express Image; Faithful Witness, Feeder, Finisher of Faith, Fir Tree, First Begotten, First Fruits, First and Last, Flesh, Fountain, Forerunner, Friend of Sinners; Gift of God, Glory of God, Glorious Lord, God, Gold, Golden Altar, Governor, Gracious, Guide; Habitation, Head of the Church, Heir of all Things, Help, Heritage, Highest, High Priest, Most High, Holy One of God, Holy One of Israel, Holy Child, Honey-comb, Hope, Horn of Salvation, Husband; I Am, Jacob, Jah, Jehovah, Jesus, Image of God, Immanuel, Immortal, Inheritance, Invisible, Israel, Judah, Judge; King; Ladder, Lamb, Lawgiver, Leader, Light, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Living God, Long Suffering, Lord, Lovely; Man, Master, Mediator, Melchisedek, Merciful, Messenger, Messiah, Michael, Mighty God, Minister, Morning Star; Nazarite; Offspring of David, Only Begotten, Ointment; Passover, Plant of Renown, Potentate, Prince, Prophet, Propitiation, Power of God, Purifier, Physician, Polished Shaft, Priest; Ransom, Reaper, Redeemer, Resurrection, Refiner, Refuge, Righteousness, Rock, Rod and Staff, Root of David, Rose of Sharon, Ruler in Israel; Sacrifice, Salvation, Samaritan, Sanctification, Sanctuary, Seed of Abraham, Seed of the Woman, Seed of David, Second Man, Servant, Shepherd, Shield, Shiloh, Solomon, Son of God, Son of Man, Spirit, Stone Refused, Strength of Israel, Strong God, Substance, Sun of Righteousness, Surety, Sharp Sword; Tabernacle, Teacher, Temple, Testator, Treasurer, Tree of Life, Truth; Vine; Wall of Fire, Way, Well of Living Water; Wedding Garment, Wisdom of God, Witness, Wonderful, Word of God, Worthy; Yesterday, Today, and Forever.

[NOTE: See also: http://home.earthlink.net/~mysticalrose/name3.html ]

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november 9, 2011

"If God, then Why Evil?"

(excellent video presentation (and book) on the "Problem of Evil" by Christian apologist Norman Geisler):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtOOPaNmJFY

http://www.amazon.com/If-God-Why-Evil-Question/dp/0764208128

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november 12, 2011

7th-Day Adventists have been accused of worshipping Ellen White (a charge that, I found (in my experience of attending many 7th-Day Adventist services on Saturday) to be definitely true - in some cases!), but... here's a quote from Ms. White herself that should dispel any notion that she should be worshipped:

"We should cling to the teaching of the Bible, and not follow the customs and traditions of the world, the sayings and doings of men. When errors arise and are taught as Bible truth, those who have a connection with Christ will not trust to what the minister says, but, like the noble Bereans, they will search the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so. When they discover what is the word of the Lord, they will take their stand on the side of truth. They will hear the voice of the true Shepherd saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it." Thus you will be educated to make the Bible the man of your counsel, and the voice of a stranger you will neither hear nor follow."

[(my emphases -Tony C.) from: Signs Times.1892-July, EGW (quoted from: http://dedication.www3.50megs.com/egw1888_2.html )]

NOTE: A "sneaky" way that some professing SDAs "get around" (NOTE: I'm speaking here only of those who continue -to this day- to worship Ellen White! -Tony C.) what Ms. White says here (in the above quote) is that they say that the Bible is the "last word" on doctrine, but in actual practice, Ms. White is the "last word" on doctrine! In that way, they're either 1) deceiving themselves that they're actually following God/ "what the Bible says" above all else or 2) they're worshipping (in the sense that they're putting their trust in Ellen White/ "what she says" above trusting in God/ "what the Bible says") Ellen White and they (apparently!) don't care what the long-term consequences of that idolatrous trust is - as long as it puts them in "good stead" in the SDA church now! People like that need to be exposed (cf. Eph 5:11)
(By whom? ...by real 7th-day Adventist Christians who trust in God/ "what the Bible says" above all else!) as the idolaters that they really are! [IMO - Tony C.]

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november 13, 2011

Pluralism: Is Jesus the Only Way to God? (Norman Geisler)

Contains (among other topics) how the average person can answer atheists! (Bonus! He also reveals the secret of how people who "walk on hot coals" (e.g.- Anthony Robbins) actually do it (about 3/4 through the presentation)!)

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november 14, 2011

Antony Flew's conversion to theism

Most famous atheist of the last half-century is converted to theism by the Intelligent Design argument!! (Must see! "Share" (e.g.-on Facebook) the above link with your open-minded atheist and agnostic friends!!)

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november 14, 2011 thought for today

To say “there is no absolute truth” is self-refuting because the statement is itself a claim of absolute truth. (cf. http://www.ligonier.org/rym/broadcasts/video/image-everything/ )

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november 15, 2011

[from: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/martin-luthers-definition-faith/ ]

Martin Luther’s Definition of Faith

by Martin Luther

"Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith. “Faith is not enough,” they say, “You must do good works, you must be pious to be saved.” They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working, creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, “I believe.” That is what they think true faith is. But, because this is a human idea, a dream, the heart never learns anything from it, so it does nothing and reform doesn’t come from this `faith,’ either.

Instead, faith is God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever. He stumbles around and looks for faith and good works, even though he does not know what faith or good works are. Yet he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many words.

Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they’re smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools. Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do."

An excerpt from “An Introduction to St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans,” Luther’s German Bible of 1522 by Martin Luther, 1483-1546

Translated by Rev. Robert E. Smith from DR. MARTIN LUTHER’S VERMISCHTE DEUTSCHE SCHRIFTEN. Johann K. Irmischer, ed. Vol. 63 Erlangen: Heyder and Zimmer, 1854), pp.124-125. [EA 63:124-125]

[my emphases - Tony C. (NOTE: Where Luther says, "Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever.", I think he's overstating the case (although, in his defense, he does seem to be describing an ideal faith (i.e.-those that bring forth fruit a hundredfold in Mark 4:20)!). Faith must produce some good (ie.-"grace-empowered" or "Holy Spirit-empowered") works in the believer or you only have the dead faith that James speaks of in James 2:17 and that type of faith can't save anyone (cf. James 2:14)! (Hope this helps! -Tony C.)) ]

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november 16, 2011 "on christ the solid rock i stand!!"

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less Great hymn!!!

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november 17, 2011 thought for the day

"A lie has speed, but Truth has endurance." -Edgar J. Mohn

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november 18, 2011

Why is the evangelical doctrine of "sola fide" important?

...Sola fide is important not merely because the church stands or falls on it. It is important because on it we stand or fall. The place where and the time when we will either stand or fall is at the judgment seat of God.

The doctrine of justification has to do with our status before the just judgment of God. That every person will ultimately be called into account before God is central to the teaching of Jesus. He warns that the secret things of our lives will be made manifest before the Father and that every idle word we have spoken will be brought into judgment. The whole world—every man, woman, and child—will come before the final divine tribunal. We will all come to that place, at that time, as either unjustified or justified sinners. Paul at Mars Hill warned: “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ‘because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained’” (Acts 17:30–31 nkjv).

This judgment will be a righteous judgment by a righteous God. Those who will be judged are unrighteous people. The universality of sin is clearly affirmed by Paul:

For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all [italics mine] under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one. . . .” Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Rom. 3:9–10, 19–20 nkjv)

Herein is our dilemma. There will be a judgment. It will be a righteous judgment. As fallen, we are not righteous.

The ominous warning of the apostle is that “no flesh will be justified in His sight.” Fortunately this is not the whole sentence. It is not an absolute denial of justification. If there will be no justification in his sight, then all disputes about the way of justification would be vain disputes, much ado about nothing. If there is no justification, then there is no gospel—no good news, only bad news.

But this is not the entire statement. Paul does not say there will be no justification. What he does say is that no flesh will be justified in God’s sight by the deeds of the law.

Paul does not exclude justification altogether. He does exclude it by virtue of our doing deeds of the law. Justification on the ground of our works is eliminated as an option. Christians were once debtors who could not pay their debts to God. The law of God requires perfection. It is a requirement sinners do not and cannot meet. Because of the universal reality of sin, Paul comes to his “therefore.” Our sin leads to the necessary inference contained in the conclusion that by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in God’s sight.

The verdict of the law on sinners was known in the Old Testament. Psalm 130 asks a question that is clearly rhetorical: “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (130:3 nkjv).

The answer to the psalmist’s question is abundantly clear. Who could stand? No one. Certainly not I. Certainly not you. If we are judged by the law in terms of our own righteousness, we will not stand; we are certainly fallen. If Luther rested on his own righteousness before the diet of heaven, he would have to declare: “Here I fall! I can do no other, God help me.”

Not only Luther would fall. The whole church—nay, the whole world—would fall.

Paul does not leave us falling without hope before the righteous law of God. He continues his teaching of the doctrine of justification with a single word that screams relief to guilty sinners: “But . . .” There is, to our everlasting benefit, a “however” to his declaration. This little however introduces a high and mighty exception to the dreadful conclusion that by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in God’s sight. Though justification is categorically denied by one means, it is now categorically affirmed by another means. That no flesh will be justified is not the final word. There is another word, which is the gospel itself:

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom. 3:21–26 nkjv)

Here Paul declares a way of justification different from justification by deeds of the law. It is not a novelty, proclaimed for the first time in the New Testament. This way of justification is witnessed to by the Prophets and by the law itself. It is justification through faith in Jesus Christ. This justification is not given to everyone. It is provided to all, and on all, who believe. It is based on the righteousness of God that is provided to and on the believer. It is given both freely and graciously by God through the redeeming work of Christ. This manner of justification demonstrates God himself to be both just and the justifier.

Again, the dilemma faced by the sinner summoned to the judgment seat of God is this: The sinner must appear before a divine Judge who is perfectly just. Yet the sinner is unjust. How can he possibly be unjust and justified? The answer to this question touches the eye of the Reformation tornado. For God to justify the impious (iustificatio impii) and himself remain just in the process, the sinner must somehow become actually just by a righteousness supplied him by another."

-Sproul, R. (2000, c1995). Faith alone : The evangelical doctrine of justification (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Baker Books, Ch. 4, "Justification and Faith".

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november 19, 2011

[Note: Here's the complete entry from MacArthur's Topical Bible on "Justification" that, I think, shows (beyond a reasonable doubt!) that justification is "by faith alone" - from a Biblical standpoint:]

Justification

Promised in Christ.

Is 45:25 In the Lord all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”

Is 53:11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

Is the act of God.

Is 50:8 He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me.

Rom 8:33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Under law,

Requires perfect obedience.

Lev 18:5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

Rom 2:13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;
[Note: Paul is saying the same thing as James here, faith must have works or it's not true faith! -Tony C.]

Rom 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Man cannot attain to.

Job 9:2–3 “Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God? 3 If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

Job 9:20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

Job 25:4 How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?

Ps 130:3 If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

Ps 143:2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Under the gospel,

Is not of works.

Acts 13:39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

Gal 3:11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

Is not of faith and works united.

Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Rom 11:6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

Gal 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Cf. Acts 15:1–29

Is by faith alone.

John 5:24 “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.

Acts 13:39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Rom 3:30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Rom 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Is of grace.

Rom 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

In the name of Christ.

1 Cor 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

By imputation of Christ’s righteousness.

Jer 23:6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE Lord OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Rom 3:22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

1 Cor 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

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

By the blood of Christ.

Rom 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

By the resurrection of Christ.

Rom 4:25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

1 Cor 15:17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

Blessedness of.

Ps 32:1–2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Frees from condemnation.

Entitles to an inheritance.

Titus 3:7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Ensures glorification.

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The wicked shall not attain to.

Ex 23:7 Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.

By faith,

Revealed under the Old Testament age.

Hab 2:4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Excludes boasting.

Rom 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
[Note: ***See below for John MacArthur's extended commentary on this verse.-Tony C.]

Rom 4:2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

1 Cor 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

1 Cor 1:31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Does not make void the law.

1 Cor 9:21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;

Typified.

Illustrated.

Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Exemplified in

Abraham.

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Paul.

MacArthur, J. (1999). The MacArthur topical Bible : New King James Version (827). Nashville, Tenn.: Word Pub.

[My highlighting added (above) - Tony C.]

***The Cross Exalts God's Grace

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (3:27-28)

The cross proves the utter futility of man's coming to God in his own way and power. Where then is man's boasting? Paul asks. In answer to his own question, he declares unequivocally, It is excluded.

Because the power of salvation is in the cross of Christ alone, man has no cause for self-congratulation or self-satisfaction—much less for the self-exaltation that is now so widely proclaimed under the guise of the gospel.

Paul reminded the Corinthian believers: "Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble" (1 Cor. 1:26). Paul was, of course, using those descriptions purely on the human level, because in God's sight and by His standard, no person is wise, mighty, or noble. He goes on to say "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God" (vv. 27-29).

By what kind of law is boasting excluded, Paul asks. Is it on the basis of works? Again answering his own question, he declares, No, but by a law of faith. Not even Abraham, the father of God's chosen people, was justified by works (Rom. 4:2). "For by grace you have been saved through faith," Paul declared to the church at Ephesus; "and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

The attitude of true faith is exemplified by the tax-gatherer in the Temple, who "was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me, the sinner!'" (Luke 18:13).

The greatest lie in the world, and the lie common to all false religions and cults, is that, by certain works of their own doing, men are able to make themselves acceptable to God. The greatest error in that belief is its sheer impossibility. But the greatest evil of that belief is that it robs God of His glory.

Paul completely cuts the ground out from under works righteousness by declaring, For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works, even the good works done in response to God's own Law.

What, then, is this saving faith that is completely apart from works? First we will consider some things that neither prove nor disprove true faith. Although they will be evident to some degree or another in true believers, they can also be evidenced, sometimes to a high degree, in unbelievers.

First is visible morality. A person can be outwardly moral and yet not be saved. Some pagans and cultists put many Christians to shame by their high standards of behavior. When a certain young man came to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?" Jesus told him to keep the commandments and then proceeded to list some of the major ones. When the man responded, "All these things I have kept," Jesus did not challenge his sincerity. According to outward appearance and his own human perception of obedience, the man probably was speaking the truth. But when Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor and then "come, follow Me," the man "went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property" (Matt. 19:16-22). By his refusal to obey Christ, the man demonstrated that his outward obedience to the law was not done out of love for God or for the purpose of His glory but was done out of self-love and for the purpose of his own self-interest. When commanded to give all of his possessions as well as all of himself to Christ, he refused. And by that refusal, even his seemingly good works were exposed as spiritually worthless works, because they were done out of selfish motivation.

Second, intellectual knowledge of God's truth is not necessarily a proof of saving faith. It is possible to have a great deal of knowledge about God's Word and yet be unsaved. Like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day, many scholars throughout the centuries have devoted their lives to careful study of Scripture. But because they did not believe or obey the truths they studied, those truths became a judgment against them, and they remained as lost as the primitive tribesman who is unaware that there is such a thing as Scripture. To his self-confident brothers in the flesh Paul said, "You bear the name Jew; and rely upon the Law, and boast in God,... [but] through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For 'the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,' just as it is written" (Rom. 2:17, 23-24; cf. Ezek. 36:20-23).

Third, religious involvement is not necessarily a proof of saving faith. In the Old Testament, the Lord repeatedly condemned the Israelites for their meticulous outward observance of the Mosaic ordinances and ceremonies while having no trust in Him. The ten virgins in Jesus' parable had the same outward dress and carried the same kind of lamps. The fact that all ten women were spoken of as virgins suggests that outwardly they were all morally pure and religiously faithful. But five of them had no oil in their lamps, and because they lacked the oil of saving faith, they were disqualified from meeting the bridegroom, who represented Christ (see Matt. 25:1-13).

Fourth, active ministry in Christ's name is no certain proof of saving faith. Outwardly, Judas was as active as the other disciples, witnessed by the fact that he served as their trusted treasurer. And obviously he considered himself a follower of Christ. But Jesus sternly warned, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'" (Matt. 7:21-23).

Fifth, even conviction of sin does not necessarily demonstrate saving faith. Mental institutions throughout the world are filled with people who are so burdened by the knowledge of their sinfulness that they cannot function in society. Their sense of guilt became so overpowering that it drove them to insanity—but it did not drive them to Jesus Christ. Others who are convicted of their sin determine to reform themselves. Many people who have been long and deeply enslaved by a particular sin have been able, sometimes through sheer will power, to rid themselves of it. But successfully forsaking that particular sin in their own power makes them even more susceptible to other sins, especially pride. They are like the man who managed to rid himself of an evil spirit. But after a while the spirit returned and found the man's life "unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first" (Matt. 12:43-45). Self-reformation drives a person further from God's grace and therefore further from salvation.

Sixth, assurance of salvation is not an infallible mark of saving faith. The world is filled with people who are sincerely convinced in their own minds that they are right with God and that their place in heaven is secured. If being persuaded that we are Christians makes us Christians indeed, we would need no warnings about being deceived by false hopes. If it were not possible to believe oneself saved when one is not, Satan would have no way to deceive people about their salvation. Yet Scripture is full of warnings to unsaved people who think they are saved (Matt. 7:21-23; James 1:22).

Seventh, the experience of a past "decision" for Christ does not necessarily prove saving faith. If no evidence of godly living results from that event, no matter how strong and genuine the profession seemed to be, it is no proof of salvation.

There are, however, some reliable proofs of saving faith. God does not leave His children in uncertainty about their relationship to Him.

The first reliable evidence of saving faith is love for God. "The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God," Paul says (Rom. 8:7). The unsaved person cannot love God and has no desire to love Him. The true child of God, however, despite his often failing his heavenly Father, will have a life characterized by delight in God and His Word (Ps. 1:2). "As the deer pants for the water brooks," so his soul pants and thirsts for God (Ps. 42:1-2). Jesus declared, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:37). The true believer will proclaim with Asaph, "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth" (Ps. 73:25). Love for God will be the direction of the true believer's life, if not the perfection of it. Peter declares, "Unto you therefore which believe He is precious" (1 Pet. 2:7, kjv).

A second reliable evidence of saving faith is repentance from sin and the hatred of it that always accompanies true contrition. This second mark of saving faith is the reverse side of the first. The person who genuinely loves God will have a built-in hatred of sin. It is impossible to love two things that are contradictory of one another. "No one can serve two masters," Jesus declared categorically; "for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other" (Matt. 6:24). To love the holy and righteous God is, almost by definition, to have a deep abhorrence of sin.

"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper," the writer of Proverbs declares, "but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion" (Prov. 28:13). This verse links the two inseparable parts of true repentance: the confession and forsaking of sin.

When confronted by Nathan concerning his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, David's repentance was genuine, as reflected in Psalm 51. "Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions," he prayed. "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight" (vv. 1-4).

The true believer often hates sin even while he is doing it and always after he has done it, because it is completely contrary to his new nature in Christ. Even though a believer's humanness sometimes draws him into sin and, like Paul, he does the very thing he knows he ought not to do (Rom. 7:16), he will have no peace of conscience until he repents of it.

True repentance is more than simply sorrow for sin. Judas became bitterly sorry for His sin of betraying Jesus, to the extreme of committing suicide; but he did not repent of his betrayal or ask Jesus' forgiveness. Paul commended the Corinthian believers for being "made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God" (2 Cor. 7:9). True repentance always involves godly sorrow, sorrow that one has disobeyed and offended his Lord.

No Christian becomes completely sinless until he goes to meet the Lord. "If we say that we have no sin," John says, "we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us." But he goes on to give the beautifully encouraging word that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9).

If a person's sin does not bother him and increasingly put him under conviction about it, that person's salvation is questionable. The test for true repentance is not simply sorrow for the way sin harms oneself (as it always does), but sorrow for the sin's offense against the holy Lord, which above all else leads a believer to implore God's forgiveness.

Someone has written, "When God touches a life, He breaks the heart. Where He pours out the spirit of grace, there are not a few transient sighs that agitate the breast, there are heart-rending pangs of sorrow."

A third reliable evidence of true faith is genuine humility. A person cannot be saved as long as he trusts in and exalts himself. Salvation begins by confessing one's poverty of spirit (Matt. 5:3) and the willingness to deny self and take up the cross of Christ (Matt. 16:24). Like the prodigal son, the true believer who sins will eventually come "to his senses," his spiritual senses that convict him of sin. He will then, again like the prodigal, go to his heavenly Father and humbly confess his sin and his unworthiness of forgiveness, while pleading for it on the basis of his Father's grace (see Luke 15:17-21).

A fourth reliable evidence of true faith is devotion to God's glory which is closely related to the love of God and repentance of sin. The true believer will say with Paul, "My earnest expectation and hope [is] that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death" (Phil. 1:20). As already noted, although that desire will not be seen in perfection in the true believer's life, it will always be evidenced in the direction of his life.

A fifth reliable evidence of true faith is prayer. "Because you are sons," Paul told the Galatian believers, "God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" (Gal. 4:6). The heart of a genuine Christian cannot help calling out to God, who is his heavenly Father and whose own Spirit is within him to generate that yearning.

Every genuine Christian will freely admit that he does not pray as often or as earnestly and persistently as he should. But in his innermost being, communion with his heavenly Father will be the desire of his heart. As Jonathan Edwards succinctly observed, "Hypocrites [are] deficient in the duty of prayer," which is also the title of two great sermons on the topic (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 2 [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1986 reprint], pp. 71-77).

A sixth mark of saving faith is selfless love, not only for God, as in the first mark, but also for other people, especially fellow Christians. "The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there no cause for stumbling in him" (1 John 2:9-10). Later in that letter John said, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death" (3:14). The person who does not sincerely care for the welfare of true believers is himself not a true believer, but still abides in spiritual death. Again in that letter John says, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and every one who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (4:7-8).

A seventh mark of saving faith is separation from the world. Believers are called to be in the world but not of it. They are in the world to testify to Christ, a central testimony of which is not to reflect the world's standards and ways (see John 17:15-18). "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world" (1 John 2:15-16). On the other hand, "Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5). The person who has saving faith has "received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God" (1 Cor. 2:12).

An eighth mark of saving faith is spiritual growth. The central truth of the parable of the soils (Matt. 13:3-23) is that true believers will always grow spiritually to varying degrees, because by faith they have genuinely received the seed of the gospel. "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil," Jesus said on another occasion; "and [he] goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows—how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head" (Mark 4:26-28). Like the farmer and his crops, the believer does not understand how he grows spiritually, but he knows that because he has spiritual life within him he will grow (see also Eph. 4:13; Phil. 1:6).

The ninth and final mark of saving faith is obedient living. "By this we know that we have come to know Him [Christ]," John says, "if we keep His commandments. The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him" (1 John 2:3a; cf. 3:10). Although no one is saved by his good works, those who are truly saved will produce good works, because "we are [God's] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).

MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Romans 1-8.

[Note: My emphases (as red letters with bold and/or italics) -Tony C.]

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november 21, 2011

Question: Did Paul try to add human works to faith or did he do everything (even after he was baptized!) by relying on God in faith alone (yet not by a faith that is alone)?

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
²⁰I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 (NASB95)
²⁰"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NKJV)
¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

[My comments: In other words, Paul was an instrument of God's grace; he didn't add human works (Is. 64:6) to faith. He lived by faith! (cf. Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11) - Tony C. P.S.- I must keep quoting Gal. 3:3 (for the sake of those tempted to adopt (or have wittingly or unwittingly "fallen into") a modern-day form of "Galatianism"!!)

^{Galatians 3:3 (KJV)

³Are ye so foolish?
having begun in the Spirit,
are ye now made
perfect by the flesh?}

^{Good question!!!}]

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december 8, 2011

jESUS' ENCOUNTER WITH The "rich young ruler" IN Matthew 19: is Jesus teaching "salvation by works"?

Matthew 19:16-30 (ESV): 16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,1 when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

(note: the following are the notes from the "esv study bible" on these verses.):

Matt. 19:16 a man came up to him. Verses 16–22 have been called the story of the “rich young ruler” since he is rich (v. 22), young (v. 20), and a ruler (cf. Luke 18:18). He may have been a religious lay leader, quite possibly a Pharisee (because of the diligence he displays in following the law). After addressing Jesus as Teacher, a title of respect, he asks what good deed he must do to have eternal life. “Eternal life” is virtually synonymous with expressions such as “entering the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20) and being “saved” (19:25–26); it is the first occurrence of this expression in Matthew (cf. v. 29; 25:46). In the parallel accounts (Mark 10:17–22; Luke 18:18–23), the wording of the question and answer differs somewhat, but there is no contradiction, and it seems to be a case of different Gospels reporting different parts of the same conversation.

Matt. 19:17 There is only one who is good. Only in understanding God as infinitely good can the young man discover that human good deeds cannot earn eternal life. keep the commandments. Jesus is not teaching that good works can earn eternal life, for in vv. 21–22 he will show the man how far short he falls of keeping the first commandment (cf. Ex. 20:3) and the first of the two greatest commandments (cf. Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:36–40). But obedience to the law is also an expression of belief in the truly good God who is the source of all good, including eternal life. Scripture elsewhere clearly affirms that salvation is a gift of God’s grace received through faith, and not by works (see notes on Eph. 2:8; 2:9–10).

Matt. 19:18–19 Which ones? Jesus gives a representative list of laws, including five commandments from the second half of the Decalogue (cf. Ex. 20:1–17; Deut. 5:7–21), and the second of the two greatest commandments (Lev. 19:18; cf. Matt. 22:36–40).

Matt. 19:20 All these I have kept. The man implies he has kept not only these, but the entire law, which they represent. He views his obedience to the law as complete, but he still senses that something is lacking.

Matt. 19:21 If you would be perfect. Jesus knows the man’s wealth has become his means to personal identity, power, and a sense of meaning in life—that it has become the idolatrous god of his life (cf. note on v. 17). Jesus’ strategy is to turn this man from focusing on external conformity to the law to examining his heart, revealing his ruling god. give to the poor. The man had no doubt given some money to the poor, as the giving of alms was considered a pious duty, especially among the Pharisees. But Jesus calls him to give everything away, exchanging the god of wealth for the eternal treasure found in following Jesus as the one true God. Jesus’ ultimate answer to the question posed in v. 16 (“What … must I do to have eternal life?”) is to follow him.

Matt. 19:22 went away sorrowful. Even though he wants “eternal life” (v. 16), the young man cannot bring himself to cease worshiping the ruling force in his life, his great possessions.

Matt. 19:23 only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Wealth is both deceptive and intoxicating: it fools a person into thinking that he or she is self-sufficient apart from God; and the rich person wants desperately to hold on to that supposed self-sufficiency. The general attributes of the “rich” are the opposite of those of a “child” (cf. 18:1–5; 19:13–15).

Matt. 19:24 camel. The largest land animal in Palestine. the eye of a needle. The smallest opening found in the home. Jesus paints a picture of something impossible in order to illustrate that even the seemingly impossible is possible with God. There is no evidence for the popular interpretation that there was a gate in Jerusalem called “the eye of the needle,” which camels had to stoop to their knees to enter. Such an interpretation would miss the point: it is not merely difficult for the wealthy to be saved; without God’s grace it is impossible (cf. v. 26).

Matt. 19:25 astonished. Wealth was often equated with God’s favor and blessing (cf. Deut. 28:1–14).

Matt. 19:26 For the wealthy to shift their primary allegiance to God is humanly impossible, but with God all things are possible, as evidenced by the conversions of rich men like Joseph of Arimathea (27:57) and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:9–10).

Matt. 19:27 we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? In response to Peter’s self-seeking and perhaps self-pity, Jesus acknowledges the rewards that his disciples will receive. But his parable in 20:1–15 will be a subtle rebuke.

Matt. 19:28 the new world (Gk. palingenesia, lit., “renewal” or “regeneration”). The term occurs in the NT only here and in Titus 3:5. In Titus it refers to present, individual regeneration, but here it looks forward to the future end-time renewal of the world (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10–13; Revelation 21–22). judging. In this new world, the twelve apostles (except for Judas, see Acts 1:12–26) will participate in the final establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth.

Matt. 19:29 receive a hundredfold. Cf. 13:8. Those who have given up the god of their lives to follow Jesus will receive abundant reward (the other Synoptics add “in this time”; cf. Mark 10:29–30 and note; Luke 18:30) and will inherit eternal life. Eternal life (which is a gift) is an inheritance, not an earned reward.

Matt. 19:30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. See note on 20:16.

(NOTE: My emphases in red, italics, bold and underlining (above) - Tony C.)

Also, here's some interesting comments on Matt 19:17 by Warren Wiersbe from his "BE" Series:

"...Why did Jesus bring up the commandments? Did He actually teach that people receive eternal life by obeying God's Law? If anyone could keep the commandments, he certainly would enter into life. But no one can keep God's Law perfectly. "Therefore by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20). Jesus did not introduce the Law to show the young man how to be saved, but to show him that he needed to be saved. The Law is a mirror that reveals what we are (James 1:22ff)..."

-Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) - New Testament, Volume 1.

Here's an illuminating comment from the "Bible Background Commentary" concerning the phrase "eye of a needle":

"...This image reflects a Jewish figure of speech for doing something impossible (a large animal going through a needle’s eye). The saying, a hyperbole, refers to a literal needle. (Those who think Jesus refers here to a gate in Jerusalem called the “eye of a needle” are mistaken, because that gate was built in medieval times.)..." -Bible Background Commentary on Mark 10:25- The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament.]

[My Comments: Without God (i.e.-for non-Christians (cf. Rom. 8:7)), it's impossible to "keep the law"; with God (i.e.- for Christians), it is possible to "keep the law" (Rom 8:3-4) "in spirit and in truth" (Jn 4:23) - yet not perfectly! (see Phil 3:13-14 and 1 Jn 1:8 and 1:10) THAT'S WHY WE NEED CHRIST'S IMPUTED (PERFECT) RIGHTEOUSNESS IN US - BECAUSE WE CAN'T KEEP THE LAW PERFECTLY (although that's your goal (if you're a Christian) (cf. 1 Jn 2:1)-Tony C.]

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december 9, 2011

righteous anger

There are times when a believer may be righteously angry, for instance, when the character of God is impugned. In such cases anger is commanded: Be angry. Anger against evil can be righteous. But there are other times when anger is sinful. When it is an emotion of malice, jealousy, resentment, vindictiveness, or hatred because of personal wrongs, it is forbidden. Aristotle said, "Anybody can become angry—that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not easy."

If a believer gives way to unrighteous wrath, he should confess and forsake it quickly. Confession should be made both to God and to the victim of his anger. There should be no nursing of grudges, no harboring of resentments, no carrying over of irritations. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Anything that mars fellowship with God or with our brethren should immediately be made right.

-MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Eph 4:26). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[My Scripture quotes for today:

Proverbs 28:13 (NKJV
¹³ He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV)
⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Leviticus 19:17-18 (NKJV)
¹⁷'You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
¹⁸You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Matthew 18:15 (ESV)
¹⁵"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

Matthew 5:23-24 (NKJV)
²³ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Luke 17:3-4 (NKJV)
³Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
⁴And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

Zechariah 7:8-10 (NKJV)
⁸Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
⁹"Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother.
¹⁰Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.' ]
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december 10, 2011

THE ROLE OF WORKS IN SALVATION AND SANCTIFICATION FOR THE CHRISTIAN-

1) SALVATION:

Titus 3:5-7 (ESV)
⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
⁶whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
⁷so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

2 Timothy 1:9 (ESV)
⁹who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV)
⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
⁹not of works, lest anyone should boast.
¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NKJV)
⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
⁵even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Romans 4:5-8 (NKJV)
⁵But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
⁶just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
⁷"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;
⁸Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin."

Romans 9:30-33 (NKJV)
³⁰What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;
³¹but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.
³²Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.
³³As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

Romans 10:3-13 (NKJV)
³For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
⁴For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them."
⁶But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above)
⁷or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
⁸But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
⁹that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
¹⁰For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
¹¹For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
¹³For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

2) SANCTIFICATION:

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV)
⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
⁹not of works, lest anyone should boast.
¹⁰For we [Christians] are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Titus 3:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV)
¹³For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

Philippians 2:12-13 (NKJV)
¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
¹³for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

[MY COMMENTS: We are saved by grace (alone! (cf. Eph 2:5)); salvation is all God's doing. We're rewarded according to works; anytime the Bible says "do" (like in Micah 6:8) or "work" something ( or some similar "take action" word), it is speaking to God's people - who alone can (see Rom 8:7) do God's work (which includes "keeping the commandments", btw - for all you antinomians "out there"! (cf. Deut.10:13, Eccl. 12:13, Matt 19:17, 1 Cor. 7:19, Rev. 14:12)) . Sanctification is synergistic - it's God AND you working, although, for the Christian, God gets all the glory, since "without Him we can do nothing" (Jn 15:5)! On the other hand, we "can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth" us (Phil 4:13)!! (Isn't THAT awesome?! We have the POWER OF GOD working in us - strengthening us, to do His will in all things (if we "abide in Him" 1 Jn 3:6, 2 Chron. 15:2), fellow Christians! Praise be to God for that!!!) :) -Tony C.]

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december 13, 2011

More good "stuff" on "faith and works":

James 2:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!

James 2:19—If the demons believe in God, then why are they not saved?

PROBLEM: According to the Bible, all that is necessary to be saved is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31), for “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Paul said salvation comes “to him who does not work but believes on Him” (Rom. 4:5). If this is so, then why are not the demons saved, since the Bible admits that “even the demons believe” (v. 19).

SOLUTION: The demons are not saved because they do not exercise a saving kind of faith. This is James’ very point, namely, not any kind of faith can save a person. Only the kind of faith that produces good works can save (James 2:17). While we are saved by faith alone, nevertheless, the faith that saves is not alone. It is always accompanied by good works. We are not saved by works (Eph. 2:8–9), but we are saved for works (Eph. 2:10).
The difference between saving faith and non-saving faith is that the former is only belief that God exists. The latter is faith in God. No one can be saved by believing that God exists and that Christ died for their sins and rose again. They must believe in Him (i.e., trust Him). In like manner, no one can get to the top floor by an elevator if she simply believes that elevators can get her there. She must believe in the elevator (i.e., trust it) enough to step in it and allow it to get her there. The demons do not believe in (trust God) for their salvation—they simply believe that God exists, but they continue in their rebellion against Him (Jude 6; Rev. 12:4).

James 2:21 (NKJV)
²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

James 2:24 (NKJV)
²⁴You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

JAMES 2:21—If Abraham was saved by works, why does the Bible say he was justified by faith?

PROBLEM: Paul clearly teaches that we are justified by faith and not by works (Rom. 1:17). He declared, “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:5). It is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). For “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).
But James seems to flatly contradict this by declaring, “a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (2:24), for “faith without works is dead” (2:26). Indeed, while Paul said Abraham was justified by faith (Rom. 4:1–4), James declares, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works” (2:21). Are these not flatly contradictory?

SOLUTION: James and Paul would be contradictory if they were speaking about the same thing, but there are many indications in the text that they are not. Paul is speaking about justification before God, while James is talking about justification before humans. This is indicated by the fact that James stressed that we should “show” (2:18) our faith. It must be something that can be seen by others in “works” (2:18–20). Further, James acknowledged that Abraham was justified before God by faith, not works, when he said, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (2:23). When he adds that Abraham was “justified by works” (v. 21), he is speaking of what Abraham did that could be seen by people, namely, offer his son Isaac on the altar (2:21–22).
Further, while Paul is stressing the root of justification (faith), James is stressing the fruit of justification (works). But each man acknowledges both. Immediately after affirming that we are “saved by grace through faith” (Eph. 2:8–9), Paul quickly adds, “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Likewise, right after declaring that it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5–7), Paul urges that “those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:14). The relation between Paul and James can be summarized this way:

          PAUL                                                                           JAMES
Justification before God                                               Justification before humans
The root of justification                                               The fruit of justification
Justification by faith                                                     Justification for works
Faith as producer of works                                          Works as the proof of faith

Geisler, N. L., & Howe, T. A. (1992). When critics ask : A popular handbook on Bible difficulties (526–528). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

[My highlighting added (in red and bold and underlining above BUT italics (in red or black) BY GEISLER AND HOWE!) - Tony C.]

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december 22, 2011

Quotes by C.S. Lewis (on a variety of subjects):

"Virtue-even attempted virtue-brings light; indulgence brings fog."

"Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues."

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair."

"In coming to understand anything we are rejecting the facts as they are for us in favour of the facts as they are."

"Theology is practical... If you do not listen to Theology that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones - bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas."

"Christ, because He was the only Man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only Man who knows to the full what temptation means."

"It is not your (i.e.-Christians) business to succeed, but to do right: when you have done so, the rest lies with God."

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist and a magician with the same delight."

"When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him."

"You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you," said the Lion.
-(from "The Silver Chair")

"The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is the hand over your whole self--all your wishes and precautions--to Christ.
-C.S. Lewis
[I disagree with C.S. Lewis here (a little bit!)...I would leave out the word "almost" (based on Matt 19:26).-Tony C.]

"For whatever else the religious life may be, it is the fountain of self-knowledge and disillusion, the safest form of psychoanalysis."

"If we retain only what can be justified by standards of prudence and convenience at the bar of enlightened common sense, then we exchange revelation for that old wraith Natural Religion."

"Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms."

"All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.

"How can I step out of God's will save into something that cannot be wished?"

"Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that is 'finding his place in it,' while really it is finding its place in him."

"Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man."

"Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God: the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger."

"In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him. It did not. After that the idea that prayer is recommended to us as a sort of infallible gimmick may be dismissed."

"He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God Himself."

"We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

"In reality, moral rules are directions for running the human machine. Every moral rule is there to prevent a breakdown, or a strain, or a friction, in the running of that machine. That is why these rules at first seem to be constantly interfering with our natural inclinations."

"Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful."

"When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now."

"Love is the great conqueror of lust."

"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."

"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."

"In the moral sphere, every act of justice or charity involves putting ourselves in the other person's place and thus transcending our own competitive particularity."

"We may note in passing that He (i.e.-Jesus) was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three results-Hatred-Terror-Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild admiration."

"The dangers of apparent self-sufficiency explain why Our Lord regards the vices of the feckless and dissipated so much more leniently than the vices that lead to worldly success."

"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst."

"This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practise ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people."

"You must not do, you must not even try to do, the will of the Father unless you are prepared to 'know of the doctrine'."

"You and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness."

"A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do."

"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
-["Seek first the kingdom..."-Tony C.]

"The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water."

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

"When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less."

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive."

"Whenever you find a man who says he doesn't believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later."

"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us..."

"The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance."

"No good work is done anywhere without aid from the Father of Lights."

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare."

"True friends face in the same direction, toward common projects, interests, goals."

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one."

"Eros will have naked bodies; Friendship naked personalities."

C.S. Lewis on articulating your faith to others: "Any fool can write learned language. The vernacular is the real test. If you can't turn your faith into it, then you either don't understand it or you don't believe it."

C.S. Lewis on giving to charity: "If our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our charitable expenditure excludes them."

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next."

"It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." [My comment: "Awesome!!!"]

"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.' "

"Tribulations cannot cease until God either sees us remade or sees that our remaking is now hopeless."

"If conversion to Christianity makes no improvement in a man's outward actions--if he continues to be just as snobbish or spiteful or envious or ambitious as he was before--then I think we must suspect that his 'conversion' was largely imaginary."

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date."

"We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country." [cf. 1 Thess 5:8]

"The very man who has argued you down, will sometimes be found, years later, to have been influenced by what you said."

C.S. Lewis on "faith": "Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done."

[All quotes obtained from: http://christian-quotes.ochristian.com/C.S.-Lewis-Quotes/ ]

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C. The King Clarifies the Demands and Rewards of True Discipleship (19:16-30)

Here's a helpful view of how godly sanctification takes place in the believer's life:

D. THE CONTRAST OF FLESH AND SPIRIT

1. The Counsel About Our Walk (Galatians 5:16)

Blessedness: The Approval of God

The World Rejects Poverty of Spirit

Poverty of Spirit Is Essential for Knowing God's Approval

Poverty of Spirit Is Essential for Salvation

Poverty of Spirit Is Essential for Spiritual Growth

The Riches of Poverty

THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF SELF-ESTEEM* Versus the Extreme "Wrong" & the Extreme "Right"

Only One Life

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

How should we deal with stubborn pockets of sin in our lives that won't seem to go away even after much prayer and honest heartfelt desire to change? (by R.C. Sproul)

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Learn Why Jesus Had to Die

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

God is Holy

Sin and Holiness are Incompatible

Sin Separates Us from God

Sin's Punishment is Eternal Death

Atoning Sacrifice

Only Through Jesus Christ

The Messiah - Savior

Freely Ye Have Received, Freely Give (Matt. 10:8b)

OBJECTIONS TO BIBLICAL INERRANCY: 1. The Bible Is Only Authoritative for “Faith and Practice".

OBJECTIONS TO BIBLICAL INERRANCY 6. "There Are Some Clear Errors in the Bible."

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 [NOTE: More awesome biblical exposition from Kent Hughes!! - Tony C.]

"Seek and You Will Find"

Cultic religions believe that they are justified by "faith AND works" (In fact, that's one of the "signs" that they are a cult!)...instead, we (as evangelical Christians - along with Paul and James!) believe that we are justified by a "faith THAT works"! (cf. Gal 5:6)

Scriptural Titles of Christ

Most famous atheist of the last half-century is converted to theism by the Intelligent Design argument!! (Must see! "Share" (e.g.-on Facebook) the above link with your open-minded atheist and agnostic friends!!)

To say “there is no absolute truth” is self-refuting because the statement is itself a claim of absolute truth. (cf. http://www.ligonier.org/rym/broadcasts/video/image-everything/ )

Martin Luther’s Definition of Faith

"A lie has speed, but Truth has endurance." -Edgar J. Mohn

***The Cross Exalts God's Grace

"Virtue-even attempted virtue-brings light; indulgence brings fog."

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair."

THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF SELF-ESTEEM*
Versus the Extreme "Wrong" & the Extreme "Right"