Don't be spun by false teachers!

While it is O.K. to be spun on a carousel, it is not good to allow false teachers to spin scared Biblical text......
Therefore, we should be careful that the exegesis we accept for a Scriptural text is based on a solid hermeneutics. This takes knowledge, wisdom, and most of all discernment.

Hermeneutics: The theory and methodology of interpretation, especially of scriptural text.

Exegesis: Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.

Spin: A distinctive point of view, emphasis, or interpretation.

Signs are inevitable

A free grace advocate on another blog has stated the following:

I serve Christ:
1. Out of obedience.
2. Out of gratitude.
3. To gain heavenly rewards, including the right to participate in Christ's heavenly government.
4. To avoid suffering chastening.

This is very interesting because the free grace view asserts that saving faith in some people will not produce any works or motivate a person to any action or service to the Kingdom of God. Yet this person is admitting that he has been motivated and even lists the reasons. I would like to consider reasons one and two in this post.

Why was he motivated due to reasons one and two, and why are others (the free grace carnal Christian) not so motivated? Is he smarter? Is he a better more loving person? Did God do a more thorough work in him? Why would one person with true faith do works and another do absolutely nothing?

It is understandable that Christians will have varying degrees of works or deeds. This is pointed out in the parable of the four soils where only one of the four soils produced true Christians and that soil produced Christians that produced fruit of varying amounts. I should point out that the free grace view of that parable asserts that three of the four soils produced true Christians. However, to go from varying degrees of Christian action to none whatsoever is a great leap.

For example, I am sure that fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers show varying degrees of interest, devotion, time, money, etc. in following their team. However, can you imagine someone claiming to be a Steeler fan and yet having no interest in the team’s record, or going to games, or watching them play on T.V., or reading about them, etc?

The truth is that a real fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers will inevitably show signs of being a fan. It will just result from being a true fan. I also think that a true Christian will inevitably show signs of his true saving faith. Therefore, this free grace advocate is simply showing the signs that he indeed does have a true saving faith. Sanctification happens!

Knowledge

Being on guard and having a knowledge and awareness of wind, slippery rocks, gravity, and most importantly body balance can keep a person from falling from a secure position. In a like manner knowledge is necessary in preventing a person from falling for false teachings, false religions, and cults…
The Barna research group does surveys in the United States to determine what Christians think about various subjects on Biblical and moral principles. On issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gambling, truth, marriage, etc. their research shows that a high percentage, and in some cases a majority, of professing Christians will espouse views that are unbiblical. They will be in accord with popular secular thinking but in direct opposition to Biblical teaching. The prophet Hosea said…. my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). In today’s culture, some people profess a love for Christ and a desire to sing and praise God but also express a total disinterest in gaining Biblical knowledge by studying or learning from preachers and teachers. Jesus said….If you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15). If a person is going to obey what Jesus taught, he must first know what he taught. This requires studying and acquiring knowledge. There are many passages in the Bible exhorting people to acquire knowledge. Paul said….Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2). The WWJD bracelets are popular in today’s culture. What would Jesus do in this or that situation is the message that the bracelet conveys. A person trying to determine WWJD can either rely on speculation and imagination or he can rely on knowledge. The importance of knowledge is shown extremely well in (Hebrews 5:11-14).

Prayer

Ask the Lord, because he can make it rain in the desert!
God speaks to human beings through his Holy Word contained in the Holy Bible. Men communicate with God through prayer. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man and we can carry our prayers and petitions directly to the throne of Grace in his name (1 Timothy 2:5, John 14:13-14, 1 Peter 2:5). When men pray for insight and understanding, it should be remembered that God does not lead or inspire a person to do anything that contradicts his Word as contained in the Bible. Throughout history, many people have been led astray and even lost their lives for false prophets that have claimed to have received special revelation from God which has conflicted with what Scripture teaches. Murder and all kinds of evil have been committed by people claiming that God told them to do it. The rule is simple. If anyone claims to have received divine revelation that contradicts the Bible, it is not from God. Since Satan masquerades as an angel of light, he is probably the source of such revelation (2 Cor. 11:14-15). Prayer is a form of worship to God and should be given to none other than God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to Him alone. The Westminster Confession of Faith teaches that prayer should be given according to His will, with thanksgiving, understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance (1 John 5:14). The Bible is full of passages about prayer. Jesus would spend the night praying (Luke 6:12). The angel Gabriel was sent to answer Daniel before he had even finished his prayer (Daniel 9:21-23). We are told to pray continually and to cast all of our anxiety on Him. The most important prayer a person can pray is a prayer for the salvation of his soul through faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. If a person asks God for faith and repentance to receive the gift of eternal life, God has promised that he will be saved (Acts 2:21).

Good Works

Due to our sin we all shrivel up like a leaf and our good works cannot make us right with God. After receiving the free gift of God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone, the good works we were created by God to do flow from us not to earn salvation but as a fruit of that salvation.
There is much disagreement, misunderstanding and confusion concerning the role of good works in the life of a Christian. Are sinners made right with God by being a ‘good Christian’ and being good? Is it faith alone in Christ or is it faith in Christ plus good works? The reformed doctrine of faith alone in Christ alone, with the accompanying fruit of good works, is taught in many places in the New Testament. The most concise statement in the Bible of the proper role and order of faith and works is….“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10). One, we are saved by grace alone. Two, faith alone in Christ alone is the way to take hold of this salvation, and it is a gift of God and not generated by human effort. Three, there is no human effort of works or even producing one’s own faith since the faith to believe is also a gift. This eliminates all boasting of a human being taking credit for anything in the salvation process. Four, it is all from God through the merit of Christ Jesus for the purpose of doing good works. These good works were planned and implemented by God through his sovereignty and providence. Praise God for providing the salvation that is impossible for humanity to achieve without God’s initiative and grace.

Antinomianism

A true Christian does not intentionally keep sinning and walking in darkness.
The belief that a person can be Christian and continue to live a self centered worldly life is a myth. This person is often referred to as a carnal Christian which is, supposedly, a Christian that accepts God’s grace and Jesus as savior but continues living for worldly concerns with no intention of obeying and submitting to the commands and teachings of the Lord Jesus. This doctrinal thinking is called antinomianism, which means anti-law. Antinomianism is the belief that faith alone is needed for salvation, and obeying the moral law of God is no longer necessary. While faith alone does secure salvation for a true believer, there will be such an accompanying change of heart that the person will willing submit and sincerely try to obey God’s moral law and Biblical precepts. This obedience will not be perfect and at times can be so weak as to grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) and bring God’s discipline to bear (Heb. 12:7-10). However, a true believer will show signs of being in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. James points out in Chapter 2 that claiming to have faith without any resulting action is dead. John says the same thing in (1 John). Paul teaches it in (Romans 6) and also when he says…. You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13). Paul in (Romans 8:5-17) gives more detail and states the principle very clearly in v. 12&13…. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. The Holy Bible gives no comfort to anyone that claims to have faith in Jesus Christ but has no Christian fruit in their lives. James gives us the bottom line by stating…. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22).

Legalism

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. This statue of Moses sits on top of the Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi.

The term legalism refers to a person seeking to establish his own righteousness before God based on strict conformity to the moral law of God. The result of such an effort will be the person trying very hard to follow rules to meet a performance standard that God will accept as righteous. The Bible offers no hope in this being successful. God does not grade on a curve and has clearly set perfection as the performance standard (Matthew 5:48). Paul is very clear that no one will be justified and receive eternal life based on his own righteousness... know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:16). The law leads us to Christ by making us aware of sin and our inability to be perfect in observing the law…. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin (Romans 3:20). Once led to Christ, a sinner understands that he is justified by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Does this mean that we can disregard God’s moral law and live a sinful life as long as we have faith? This would be antinomianism and the Apostle Paul says no…. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! (Romans 6:15).

We will look at antinomianism next.

Are you hungry?

Could Hitler be in heaven?

2 Peter 3:13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Is Hitler in heaven today?.............
In baseball the object is for the hitter to arrive safely home when his time comes to bat. A Christian also hopes to arrive safely at home in heaven when his time is complete on this earth.

Millions of human beings have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the way to achieve this goal. Millions have already died and know the answer. Is Hitler there? This sounds absurd to ask such a question. But, let us suppose for a moment that Hitler professed a sincere heartfelt profession of faith in Jesus Christ when he was 20 years old. Let us further suppose that he gradually fell away and in fact became an atheist and never changed his mind. The rest of his life unfolded just as history tells us. Could this sincere belief and profession of faith have been enough for him to have arrived safely home in heaven? Orthodox Christianity would say emphatically no because his profession was a false profession as 1 John 2:19 and many other verses testify.

However, there is a group and a people teaching an antinomian view that holds that a person who makes a sincere mental assent profession of faith is at that moment eternally secure as a believer no matter what they do from that moment own. They claim that no amount of bad deeds or apostasy would negate heaven if they were sincere when they called out to Jesus in faith. This would mean that a sincere profession by Hitler at age twenty would have assured for him a home in heaven period.

The Grace Evangelical Society of Bob Wilkin and the teaching of Zane Hodges are promoting this theology. The following is taken directly from the Grace Evangelical Society website:

1. Faith is the conviction that something is true. To believe in Jesus is to be convinced that He guarantees everlasting life to all who simply believe in Him for it

2. No act of obedience, preceding or following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, such as commitment to obey, sorrow for sin, turning from one’s sin, baptism or submission to the Lordship of Christ, may be added to, or considered part of, faith as a condition for receiving everlasting life

3. Good works, which can and should follow regeneration, are not necessary for a person to have assurance of everlasting life

4. Therefore, obedience to the Word of God, while not necessary for obtaining everlasting life, is the essential responsibility of each Christian. However, the Bible does not teach that this obedience will be manifested in all believers.

5 The aim of GES is to promote the clear proclamation of God's free salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, which is properly correlated with and yet distinguished from issues related to discipleship.

Mr. Zane Hodges has stated that someone that has professed faith and become an unbeliever and in fact a mocker of Christianity is eternally saved even if he never becomes a believer again......

I would urge everyone to be discerning when it comes to evaluating exactly what is being espoused in blogosphere.

The parable of the sower

A seed is a ripened plant ovule that contains an embryo that is used to produce a new crop. When a farmer or sower scatters grain seed it is for the purpose and objective of harvesting a crop of grain, cotton or something.

This parable gives three ways that the farmer's seed can fail to produce a crop. In all three ways the seed is worthless in producing a crop. The seed that the birds ate never even got off the launching pad and thus failed to produce a crop. The seeds that fell on the rocky soil sprang up quickly, but because the soil was shallow the sun scorched the plants and they withered and never lived to produce a crop. The third case of seed that failed to produce a crop was the seed that fell among thorns which choked the plants thus preventing any crop. In all three of these cases the only objective or purpose for the farmer planting the seed failed. Although two of the three soils were able to germinate and produce a plant, no more was accomplished for the farmer than the seed that were eaten by the birds. These plants were doomed from the beginning and they never had any chance to produce a crop. However, the seed that fell on good soil produced a crop of a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. This was the only soil that achieved the objective of producing a crop.

In the parable of the sower the seed represents the word of God or the gospel. The purpose of the gospel is to produce a Christian in the one who hears the word of God. The Christian that is produced will produce a crop yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. The first failed attempt is when the evil one snatches the word away before any reaction from the hearer. This is like the seed on the path. The second failed attempt is the hearer that receives the word with joy, but he has no root and lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes, he falls away. The third failure is the hearer that hears the word but the worries and deceitfulness of life choke it, making it unfruitful. Of these three, one never professed faith and the other two had false professions. The goal of the message is to produce Christians and just as there were three soils that produced no crop for the farmer, there were three types of hearers that did not produce a Christian. There was only one soil that produced a crop of grain and there was only one type of hearer that produced a crop. The point of the parable is to make a direct comparison of the four kinds of soils with the four kinds of hearers. No crop, no Christian in three comparisons. A crop, a Christian in one and only one comparison.

What is saving faith? What flows from saving faith?

Saving faith consists of knowledge, assent, and trust. Knowledge is awareness of the Biblical claim that faith in Jesus Christ secures eternal life. Assent is belief that this claim is true. With only these two points a person is no better off than demons (James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.) Trust is the final point that makes belief in Jesus Christ a saving faith. Trust is the gift wrought by the Spirit of Christ in a person’s heart that enables them to believe in the saving of their soul by the accepting, receiving, and resting in Jesus Christ alone. John Calvin in his Institutes of The Christian Religion says the following:

We shall now have a full definition of faith, if we say that it is a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit. Book 3 chapter 2 section 7

There is absolutely no works involved in this definition of faith. I would offer the following analogy to saving faith:

Suppose a medical doctor was practicing on a backward isolated island where the people’s knowledge of medicine was non-existent. Then say a native complained to the doctor that his head was always aching and the doctor determined that it was just a chronic headache problem. The doctor explained to him that he would freely give him two aspirin tablets that would cure his headache. At this point the native had knowledge of the cure but he did not believe it to be true. So, the doctor brought another native into the room that testified that he also had the same problem, took aspirin, and was cured. The native now had the knowledge that aspirin would cure a headache and also assented that it was true. However, he still had the headache. He needed to take the final step of receiving and resting his hope by taking the two free aspirin tablets from the doctor. At this point his knowledge, assent, and trust worked together to receive and apply the free aspirin that did cure his headache. There were no works required and his gratitude to the doctor was so great that he believed the doctor in other matters as well. Since his cure was absolutely free, he began to show his affection and appreciation by voluntarily serving the doctor in anyway that he could. This service to the doctor did not earn the free cure that was already his, but resulted or flowed from a cured body and joyful heart.

Saving faith is from grace and this grace will change a person’s life. (Eph 2:8-10)

Regeneration has to do something or it isn't needed.....

Having a correct understanding of the timing, necessity, power, and results of regeneration is important in understanding eternal life. I would make the following comparison with free grace theology and reformed theology on regeneration:

The free grace advocates see saving faith as preceding regeneration which means it really is not needed for salvation although they claim it is necessary. I believe regeneration comes first, which makes it 100 % necessary to salvation. I believe the power of regeneration is required prior to salvation, while they believe salvation can be achieved by human decision with the unaided free will. I believe salvation comes from a free will that flows from a new creation brought about by the awesome power of regeneration. I believe that this power of regeneration will always produce some fruit while they believe it is possible that a saved person will not show any love or obedience to Christ. Their guru, Zane Hodges has even said in a sermon that a preacher friend of his, that has denounced Christ, left the ministry and now openly expresses unbelief, is a saved person and will remain so even if he is never restored to faith. Hodges has also said that a person that has sincerely professed faith in Christ at one time can later deny the deity of Christ and still have eternal life.

In summary they believe regeneration is necessary but that it may show no results. This is pure nonsense. If a person can be saved without regeneration and regeneration in some saved people may accomplish nothing, then in those cases it would not be necessary. However, Jesus in John 3:3 says that that regeneration is necessary, so they have a huge problem to reconcile their theology to the doctrine of regeneration. I would submit that they must either give up saving faith preceding regeneration or the position that regeneration may possibly show no results.

Is it little wonder that advocates of the F.G. movement are at odds with orthodox Christianity. Amazingly, they call the Calvinism view of repentance a work but human generated faith not a work. However, they do affirm selfish works for heavenly rewards as a Biblical concept. They seem to have made a ‘Joseph Smith’ out of Zane Hodges and they expect to be taken seriously.

Satan

Always be on guard from spiritual as well as physical danger...
Satan is a fallen angel. In the garden of Eden, Satan tempted Eve by lying to her about God and the consequences of eating the fruit. Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit and plunged the human race into physical and spiritual death. This has brought about a world filled with evil, suffering and woe due to the evil influence of Satan. Satan is real and the Apostle Paul warned us of the spiritual warfare we face… For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). After this warning, Paul tells how to take a stand against the devil’s schemes by putting on the full armor of God. These principals are important in resisting Satan since he pretends to be good and can be very deceptive in his temptations… And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve (2 Cor. 11:14-15). With the full armor of truth, righteousness, faith, prayer, readiness, alertness, gospel, peace and the Spirit, a person will be able to resist the devil…. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Any weakness in any of these attributes leaves a person more vulnerable to Satan’s schemes. For example, a weak knowledge of Bible truth or a neglected prayer life would make a person an easier target for the evil one who is always on the prowl looking for someone to devour.

Revelation or Imagination

While Imagination, dreams and fantasy can be fun for a child playing in a sand pile, such things are dangerous when applied to religious thought and doctrine.

It is popular in today’s culture for people to bypass God’s revelation in the Holy Bible and form opinions based on their own, or someone else’s, imagination or whatever happens to be popular in the current culture. The passage above, from Ezekiel, shows that this is not anything new. Today, people will say things like, “My god is a god …….”, “My god would never…....” or “Paul just didn’t understand…..” and then proceed to proclaim attributes of God and doctrine totally different than what the Bible teaches. When they do this, their god is one of their own imagination which they have created to suit their own needs and desires. Their god is, quite simply, an idol which they have made in their fantasy image. Today, even some ‘Christian’ clergy are involved in relying on their imagination over Biblical teaching. Examples of this would be the Bible’s teaching on marriage between a man and woman, abortion, and Jesus being the only way to salvation. The prophet Jeremiah said…. This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD (Jeremiah 23:16). One thing remains true today, and that is anything that is believed or taught which contradicts the Bible comes from someone’s imagination and not from God. A person can choose to believe the Bible or these contradictory opinions. Choose wisely.

Jesus Christ

Jesus is the light, put your trust in the light.
WWJD bracelets, signs, etc. have been very visible the last few years in our culture. The question asked is what would Jesus do in this or that situation. While these things have been good in keeping Jesus as the focus of people’s lives, two questions and answers of more importance would be WIJ (Who is Jesus) and WDJD (What did Jesus do). Understanding, believing and trusting in the answers to these questions is the message of the Holy Bible and is crucial to a person receiving the gift of eternal life. The Apostle John tells us that Jesus is God…. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2). Jesus also confirmed that he was God when asked by the high priest, “Are you the Christ?”…..“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). The resurrection of Jesus was the proof for this fact, as Paul states in Acts 17:31. In today’s culture we hear a lot about the teachings of Jesus and his love and compassion. He also healed the sick and lame and even raised the dead. While these acts are true and more proof of the deity of Christ, they are not the reason he came to earth. The reason he came to earth was to save his people from their sins….. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). To make atonement and redeem a people he had to be fully God, so as to give the atonement infinite value, and fully man to perfectly satisfy the requirements of God’s law, thus becoming an acceptable substitute for sinners…. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Following the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus is the goal of every Christian, but that cannot save anyone. Trusting, through faith alone in the atonement that Christ made for our sins, has the power to save and is the infinitely most important thing Jesus did while on earth. Praise God for his Grace.

Holy Spirit

View of Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff from Wake Island showing the surface of the deep.

The third person of the Trinity is first mentioned in the second verse of the Bible. The Holy Spirit is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. David in (Psalm 51) pleads with God not to take the Holy Spirit from him. The Holy Spirit is said to reveal things to men, and men are said to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts, men received power from the Holy Spirit. This power from God, The Holy Spirit, is what enables disciples of Jesus Christ to accomplish great things for the Kingdom and glory of God. Being inspired to boldness, encouraged, given faith, instructed are all things the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Bible is God’s Word because of the inspiration and work of the Holy Spirit. The process of regeneration (being born again) is a work of the Holy Spirit, as is sanctification in the life of a Christian. In short, the Holy Spirit was active in creation, writing the Bible and was/is active in God’s providence and salvation. Paul says the following about a person who has the Holy Spirit living in him…. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9).

The family values of the religious left exposed by Jazzy Cat

The following in red are direct quotes from religious left sites.......
On the other hand, I have been starting my Clinical Pastoral Education for the past couple of weeks, working with the Night Ministry. The Night Ministry is a great program that drives a huge bus around to certain areas of Chicago, offers free, quick HIV/AIDS testing, condoms, cookies, lemonade, coffee, sometimes food and socks if we have it. Condoms rate second to cookies in popularity. Fortunately, the Night Ministry has a government grant to help with the purchase of thousands and thousands of condoms. The catch on the grant is that we can't give them to children younger than 13, who also cannot buy them. I've seen children with children on the routes wanting condoms and we have to say no.

Now there is some evangelism. Delivering condoms in the middle of the night to 13 year olds and wishing the minimum age was lower.

The following is a comment from a mother that approves of this lunacy....
Oh, I definitely would want my 12-year-old daughter to have access to condoms. I would provide them myself.

Unbelievable..... Now there is some family values!!!! Yet, we conservative Christians wonder why the religious and political left don,t understand us. You would think Matthew 18:6 would give pause to this kind of thinking.

Many of the controversies which you have with me, especially my denial of the Trinity as three co-equal persons in the Godhead (which I see as a denial of monotheism, though I know that many theologians do not) and the divinity of Jesus (which is connected to my denial of the Triune nature of God as being polytheistic) are not a part of the teachings of my church. If I said anything like that to my Board of Ordained Ministry it would almost certainly jeopardize my hopes for ordination. No longer pursuing ordination, however, I am free to speak my conscience.

Silly me, In the name of honest disclosure I would have thought that a pastor would have felt it important to acknowledge that he didn't believe in the divinity of Jesus without concern of over his ordination. Oh well, at least he has now come out of the closet and is boldly proclaiming a form of Christianity that does not believe Jesus was divine or the Trinity or hardly anything else in Holy Scripture. However, all was not lost as W.H. learned that his lack of educational training rendered him incapable of interpreting Scripture.

It is enough to make a humble Jazzy Cat lose an hour or two of sleep.

Does regeneration precede faith? part 5

Jazzycat's Post...........

You stated the following:

I don't quite know what to say about your assertion that "faith clearly follows God taking action in this passage." Faith is not mentioned until you get to v. 8, and I am sure you know that the syntax of the nouns, specifically their gender, and the demonstrative pronoun are not "clear." I'll write up another post about this, suffice it to say that there is nothing in the syntax of Ephesians 2:1-8 that will allow you to say that "faith clearly follows God taking action in this passage."

Eph. 2:4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

I am stating the following: At the instant God made them alive they were dead in transgressions and were unbelievers and without faith. Unbelievers do not have faith and you have agreed that they are unbelievers. (This text begins with a clear assertion that unbelievers are "dead in trespasses and sins.") You have also agreed that God alone gives life and unbelievers do not have the ability to give themselves life. (May 3, 7:19 am) So I'm not sure that we differ on our understanding of Ephesians 2:4-5. God alone gives life to the unbeliever; the unbeliever cannot give himself life because he's dead!

Therefore, in v. 4 & 5 God takes action by making unbelievers alive. Since as unbelievers they do not have faith at that point, then faith occurs at some point after “God made alive.” We can debate what dead in transgressions means and demonstrative pronouns in v. 8, but in this passage it is clear that God has acted by making unbelievers (people without faith) alive with Christ. If God first changes people who do not have faith, then it is very clear that this action precedes faith. Faith comes at some point after God has made them alive since they do not have faith when God makes them alive. Does this clear up my assertion that faith follows God’s taking action in this passage?

Considering what you have affirmed about Eph. 2:4-5 above, I am perplexed by your wanting to go to v. 8 and claim that the addition of ‘it is by grace you have been saved’ in verse 5 means they had come to faith even though it is not mentioned. Paul clearly states in v. 5 that nothing has changed from v. 1-3 they were unbelievers then and are unbelievers at the instant they are being made alive. It would have been easy for Paul to write your interpretation into the text. He could have replaced: even when we were dead in transgressions in v. 5, with: when we came to faith. But he didn’t and to assert that ‘even when we were dead in transgressions’ really means ‘when we came to faith’ is the ultimate in forcing Scripture through a theological template. In politics they call it spinning.

Does regeneration precede faith? part 4

Bud's post...............

You are still suffering from the root fallacy in dealing with "nekros." Words do not have "primary meanings." They have "fields of meaning;" and even if I were to grant the point - that they have a "primary meaning" I would not concede your point that it means "without life" but argue that it means "separation" or "alienation."

I am mystified by your remark about God's "taking the initiative unilaterally..." The parenthetical statement "for by grace you have been saved) at the end of v. 5 is clearly connected with the exact same statement in v. 8 where God's action is clearly conditioned upon the unbeliever's faith.

I don't quite know what to say about your assertion that "faith clearly follows God taking action in this passage." Faith is not mentioned until you get to v. 8, and I am sure you know that the syntax of the nouns, specifically their gender, and the demonstrative pronoun are not "clear." I'll write up another post about this, suffice it to say that there is nothing in the syntax of Ephesians 2:1-8 that will allow you to say that "faith clearly follows God taking action in this passage."

I'm going to resist the temptation to jump to the passages in John you cite because that will only get us sidetracked. We've still got a lot of work to do in Ephesians 2:1-8.

Does regeneration precede faith? part 3

Jazzycat's post...............

Your case for death having different meanings depending on the context was well done. However, the primary meaning of death is simply a state of being without life. Physical death would render a person unable to achieve physical life unaided and spiritual death would render a person unable to achieve spiritual life unaided. This is certainly on the table as a possible meaning in this text. You state that Paul is describing their lifestyle by using the word dead, however; in verse 1 he clearly says, “you were dead” and in verse 5 he says that God made them alive and states that God did this while they were still dead in transgressions. It is clear that God took action and changed them without any movement on their part toward God. If faith is not a gift and man is capable on his own to responding with faith why in this passage does God take the initiative unilaterally to make them alive? Faith clearly follows God taking action in this passage.

Perhaps as you did in your post, we should look to other scripture for confirmation of fallen man’s spiritual condition. Can he respond on his own with faith or does God have to take action? If God has to change people’s hearts before they can respond, then they are indeed unable on their own and thus spiritual death must mean an inability to come to faith on their own. Jesus said in John 6:65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” That seems clear enough. But, you may say that by reading the Scripture one becomes enabled and can then come to Christ unaided. Well let us look further to what Jesus said in John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. This verse gives more information that also points to man being incapable (spiritually dead) apart from God’s grace, but further states that the enabling will be 100% effective. From these two verses and John 3:3 we can glean the following:
1. No one can come unless enabled by God. (They are incapable)
2. All that have been given to Christ by the Father will come. (Not everyone is enabled)
3. I will never drive any who come to me away. (Refutes the common misconception of Calvinism that some who want to come are turned away)
4. The way men are enabled is by being born again (regenerated)

Summary of John 3:3, 6:37, & 6:65:All that the Father gives Jesus will come because they have been enabled by the Father through regeneration from a state of Spiritual death which means they are incapable of coming on their own. After this regeneration with power they come willingly to faith due to a new heart of flesh rather than the heart of stone they were born with. This fits perfectly with what Paul is saying in Eph. 2:1-5. Spiritual death = inability. Regeneration precedes faith which makes faith a gift as Ephesians 2:8-9 flat out states. Also see: Rom 8:30, Eph 1:10-11, 2 Thess 2:13-14, John 5:25.

Does regeneration precede faith? part 2

Bud's post...........


Jazzy;
It's good to hear from you again. I am sorry that it took me so long to get this post together.

I am glad to see that there is broad agreement between us on what is going on in this passage (Eph. 2:1-5). Paul is indeed describing the former spiritual condition of the Ephesian Chrisitans, who were believers by the time Paul wrote his epistle. And it is clear that any action that was taken, any work that was performed to bring about their salvation was performed only by God.

But I think you've missed the crux of our disagreement.

It is contained in the following two quotes from your reply: "... spiritual death has rendered sinners incapable of responding to the gospel message without God taking action" and "... making them spiritually alive was done so they could respond to the gospel and come to faith ...

"This may be what you believe, but you have not yet produced any exegetical evidence to support that belief. You are assuming that spiritual death means inability and reading it back in to the passage.

None of us are entitled to our own definitions of the words used in the Bible. That is the privilege of the authors who had benefit of the Holy Spirit's guidance as they wrote. Our job is to evaluate the lexicography, the context (at all levels) and the grammar and syntax of the passage under consideration to determine what the human author willed the word(s) under consideration - "death" in this case - to mean.

I've presented evidence that in this passage Paul used the term "death" to signal a lifestyle marked by alienation from and hostility toward God." You are still asserting that "death" means "incapable of responding."

Let' see your evidence.

Just to make the point clear, what I'm specifically interested in is solid exegetical evidence that in this context "death" means "unable to believe.

"We'll get to the grammar of Ephesians 2:8 later, so hold off on that. If you need to mention that as a passing reference in your exposition of the meaning of "death", go ahead, but don't hang your whole case on that for now. We'll get to that passage.

Does regeneration precede faith?

The following is from the comments of Jazzycat from another blog site where he is debating whether regeneration precedes faith which would make faith a gift of God. Jazzycat (actually Jazzycat's humble servant W.H.) is asserting the reformed view that regeneration precedes faith and that faith is a gift of God. Bud is taking the other view. The entire debate can be read at the Altitude site of Bud Brown at.........

http://spaces.msn.com/budmansedona/PersonalSpace.aspx

Bud,
One small correction in your explanation of Calvinism…. You said, “God must regenerate so that they can believe and be born again!” Leave off the, “and be born again” and the statement is correct.

I offered the following verses as proof of regeneration preceding faith:

Ephesians 2:1-5 (NIV):As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

In verses (1-3) it is clear that Paul is speaking to saved people and he is referring to their condition before they were saved. He describes it as dead in sin and goes on to tell who they followed and what their desires were. This is a clear picture of lost sinners and their desires, thoughts, and actions. Then in verse 4, he explains where their help came from while they were still in this lost condition. He says, “But God, who is rich in mercy” (KJV). They are lost and dead in sin and Paul tell us that God did something in verse 4 because of his love and mercy. He intervened unilaterally. In verse 5 he tells us what he did and re-emphasizes that they were still unsaved and dead in sin when he took action. Paul says that God made them alive with Christ while they were dead and says that this is grace. I believe this passage is clearly teaching that spiritual death has rendered sinners incapable of responding to the gospel message without God taking action. The action he took was clearly that he made them alive. God changed them from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. This making them alive was done so they could respond to the gospel and come to faith which he goes on to explain in verse 8 & 9. If God making an unsaved sinner alive with Christ in verse 5 is not an example of being born again (regenerated) that Jesus refers to in (John 3:3ff), then I don’t know what is. Jesus goes on and defines it as spirit giving birth to spirit. God making and unsaved sinner alive with Christ sure sounds like spirit giving birth to spirit to me. At birth one becomes alive. Jesus says that spirit gives birth to spirit and Paul says that God made a sinner alive with Christ…. Gives birth/makes alive sure sounds like the same thing. Since verse 5 is not talking about making physically dead people alive, it can only mean that God is making Spiritually dead people alive. This is quite simply the Spirit giving birth which is regeneration.

Conclusion:
Therefore, it is clear from Eph. 2:1-5 that God takes unilateral action and changes unsaved people by making them spiritually alive. This grace allows them to respond in faith to the gospel. If these sinners had the ability to respond in faith to the gospel, why did God have to intervene and make them alive. If unsaved sinners have the ability to come to faith without God’s intervention, then verse 4&5 should have said something like the following instead of but God: but you, because of the gospel, came to faith in Jesus and God who is rich in mercy provided this grace due to his great love for us. But it didn’t say that. The exact extent of spiritual death can be debated, but in this passage there is no doubt that God intervened and made unsaved sinners alive with Christ without any cooperation on their part whether or not they were capable. God takes action and saves sinners. The context here would sure suggest that ‘dead in transgressions’ means inability, or else why would they have needed for God to make them alive with Christ. This makes the whole salvation package a gift including the faith to believe.

God

Meeting with God with a thick cloud over the mountain.
The Bible reveals a lot about God and his attributes, such as the passage above which describes the Israelites trembling at Mt. Sinai. The Westminster Confession describes God as follows: There is but one only living and true God who is: Infinite, perfect, pure spirit, invisible, without body parts or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, most righteous, most loving, gracious, merciful, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, most just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, who will by no means clear the guilty. Also, the Confession adds, In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Certainly, the most favorite attribute of God is his love and the Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). It is certainly popular in America today to proclaim God’s unconditional love. Certainly, his love is enormous and worthy of praise and adoration by his creatures. It is interesting to note that the word unconditional does not appear at all in the Bible but the Bible is full of God’s precepts, commands and, yes, even warnings of wrath and consequences. The word unconditional, when preceding the word love, seems to imply that nothing a human being can do or fail to do will invoke justice, wrath and punishment from God. This, unfortunately, is not true as 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 makes clear, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.” There are many such passages that tell that God will and, indeed, must punish sin. Sinful human beings are left with two choices. One choice is to receive the eternal punishment for their sin themselves. The other choice is to accept God’s grace whereby Jesus Christ receives the punishment for their sins. This atonement by Jesus is a free gift from God that is received through faith. Praise God for his amazing love and grace.

Creation

God called the expanse “sky.”
If there was ever a time that nothing existed, there would still be nothing. Something exists; therefore, something must have the power of self-existence and cannot “not be”. Either matter (stuff) has the power of self-existence or a supreme being (God) has this power. To believe that un-intelligent matter has this power is the religion of evolution. To believe that the God of the Bible has this power is the religion of Christianity. The God of the Bible said the following: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:20-21)

False Prophets

Just as a butterfly can be attracted to a thistle,people can be attracted to false prophets and teachers.
The Bible is full of warnings to beware of false teachers. In the verse above, from the sermon on the mount, Jesus warns of false prophets and compares them to thornbushes and thistles. There are many Old Testament passages that warn of false prophets, and in the New Testament warnings come from Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Jude, James and, of course, Paul. Paul very clearly, in the book of Galatians, confronts false teaching and very emphatically states that any gospel, other than what he and the other apostles taught, is false teaching. Today, even in major denominations, false teaching is so rampant that churches and denominations that remain true to Biblical teachings are labeled as the ‘religious right, fundamentalist,’ etc. Members of these Bible believing churches are said to interpret the Bible too literally and are even called dangerous. For believing John 14:6 and other Biblical teaching, Bible believing Christians are accused of being narrow minded, exclusive, hateful, arrogant, and intolerant just to mention a few adjectives. Some political leaders suggest that certain Biblical teachings are hate speech and should be banned. This has already happened in Canada. Groups such as the Jesus Seminar (liberal Christian scholars) routinely deny or revise core Biblical teachings, including the resurrection and deity of Jesus Christ. Their views are presented on major network television specials as the authoritative last word on Christian theology with little mention, if any, of orthodox Christianity. The Presbyterian Church in America denomination separated from the larger USA Presbyterian Church about 30 years ago, and other denominations are now in turmoil over the same kind of issues. The following verses warn of false teaching: Jeremiah 5:31, Matthew 24:11, Acts 20:29-30, Romans 16:17-19, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Galatians 1:6-9, Colossians 2:8, 2 Timothy 4:3, 2 Peter 2:1-3, 1 John 4:1-3, Jude 1:3-4, Rev 2:2

Are there false prophets today? Part 3

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. In the reformed view, the Holy Spirit initiates this process by regenerating a sinner that is dead in sin. Being born again is the term used for regeneration and it comes from God with power and enables a person to willingly come to Christ and salvation through faith. This saved sinner has been so transformed and changed by God that he will now, through the power of this continuing grace, lead a life that has a new direction and focus. He will still sin and be far from perfect, but fruit will result. This is the message of Eph. 2:8-10 and verse 10 is called sanctification. Literally hundreds of other verses teach about sanctification.

Yet, when orthodox Christianity affirms this doctrine of sanctification, some modern day false teachers accuse them of teaching a works salvation. However, by denying sanctification always happens, they are denying the power of regeneration by God. Therefore, this theology holds that while fruit should and may result from a salvation of faith alone, it may never happen and a person may not be changed at all. The so-called carnal Christian is the result. You can be truly saved, but have no desire to follow or be a disciple of Christ.

Jude warns about these false teachers.

The following quotes are from a sermon by Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi on the text of Jude 5-16 titled The Contradiction of Unrighteousness:

We’ve said several times now that Jude is writing this letter out of a concern about the influence of certain false teachers. These false teachers, he tells us in verses 3 and 4, are on the one hand teaching cheap grace. They’re teaching that a person can be a Christian and live in immorality. The two are perfectly compatible……..

But the fact that they are teaching a grace that does not lead to a changed life and that they are denigrating Jesus, our Master and Lord, lets us know how incredibly timely this letter is for today. Jude is writing to problems 2,000 years ago which are still rife around us…….

There are many people today who are very happy to convince you of the safety and security of your spiritual condition and yet encourage you in immorality and loose living. We live in a day and age of license and antinomianism. People want God without rules, without responsibilities, without obligations. They want Christianity without commitment. They want the benefits of Christ and salvation without the cost of discipleship…….

Are there false prophets today? Part 2

No repentance required. No discipleship needed. No life changes necessary. Sound familiar. The theology of the Free Grace movement is to advocate the very things that Jude warns about in verse 4. The faith they believe in is man generated and seals one's ticket to eternal life. The regeneration they believe in has no power and thus no change in a persons life is a possibility that is acceptable. In fact it is held that no fruit may never occur over a long life, but a profession of faith (lip service) is all that it takes to secure eternal life.

Yes regeneration is required, comes after faith, and comes from God, but oh by the way it may be ineffective and accomplish nothing. It is required, but it does not have to accomplish anything. When a theology is built on nonsense rather than a systematic foundation, then such nonsense as this results. Repentance would be a work, but somehow faith is not a work. Just as Jazzy fits in the shoe above, this theology is what Jude 4 is warning believers to avoid.

More from Dr. Ligon Duncan's sermon on Jude 3-4.......
Jude is saying, ‘Here’s why I’m writing to you. There are people in your own congregation,’ he says, ‘who have the name Christian, who say that their teaching is Christian, but they’re leading you astray. They’re teaching you false things. They’re teaching cheap grace. They’re denying Jesus Christ.’ And, of course, that fulfills what Jesus Himself said to His disciples. When you look around and see false teachers in the church today, rejoice! Cheer up! It’s a proof that Jesus is divine. Jesus told His disciples that there would be false prophets in their own midst. Paul told the elders in Ephesus that wolves, ravenous wolves would come up even from their own number who would hairy the people of God. And so Jude reminds us of this. He says, ‘Look, there are godless persons already among you. They’re subtle, so be on the lookout. And these godless persons,’ he says, ‘they’re pre-condemned. God’s already passed His verdict on them long ago. So you look at them from God’s perspective. Yes, they’ll say that what they’re teaching is true and good and helpful, but it’s not in accord with the apostles’ teaching. It’s not in accord with Scripture, so you be on the watch. And you assign God’s verdict to them, not their own verdict to themselves.’

Are there false prophets today?

Are there false prophets today and what do they teach? The answers are yes and they teach unbiblical doctrine which is another way of saying false doctrine. false prophets teach false doctrine. False doctrine is taught by false prophets. Jude 4 gives a specific kind of false doctrine. It is being taught today. With just a little bit of discernment one can see that the same thing Jude was warning about is being taught today.

The following is from a sermon by Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi on the text of Jude 3-4:
And notice two things that he says that they’re teaching. “[They] turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord.” They do two things: they use grace as an excuse to live a life of indifference and sin, and they deny Christ, what the Bible teaches about His person and work. They say, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter how you live as long as you’re sincere. It doesn’t matter what your life is like. You’ve signed a card, prayed a prayer, made a decision. It doesn’t matter what you believe about Jesus as long as you’re sincere.’ That’s what they say. And Jude says, ‘Both of those are practical denials of Jesus Christ.’ One denies the result of His grace; one denies His person which is absolutely essential for grace. And Jude urges us here to contend for the faith and to beware of false teachers who make grace into licentiousness and who deny the Lord Jesus Christ, and he’s just reminding us that there are always false teachers amongst the church.
A false teacher this morning is a flip of the channel away, the opening of a book away, the turning of a radio dial or the punching of a radio pre-programmed button away from your ears. They’re everywhere. You need to be discerning because truth matters. What you don’t know can hurt you, and what you know that is false can hurt you. Theology matters and false teaching can destroy souls and lives.

For the entire sermon.........
http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/Jude/jude%203.4.htm

Jazzy defends Lewis the Cat

I could not help but hear during my nap on D.H.'s lap while she was watching Fox News that there is a feline brother in Connecticut by the name of Lewis that is in a bit of legal trouble because he allegedly attacks humans. To my knowledge there is no DNA evidence linked to his paws. I think this may be a case of an over zealous D.A. pandering to the canine vote with a total disregard for the evidence. The accessor's scratch marks could certainly have come from sources other than Lewis. Stay tuned as the feline community attempts to get a high profile protest march organized complete with a professional activist such as Jesse Jackson.

Sanctification

Reflecting the glory of the Lord
The process of sanctification in a believer is a work of the Holy Spirit that gradually transforms a sinner to increasingly mortify sin and live unto righteousness. It enables the person to participate in and perform good works. While it is primarily a work from God, a believer can and should co-operate in this process. Living the Christian life by obeying the teachings of Jesus Christ is a way that a believer can do this….“If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15 ). Certainly no person can be perfectly sanctified in this life, but progress toward the goal will be evident in a believer’s life. The Bible is full of warnings of things to avoid (Rom 12) and things to do such as love, forgive, serve, give, etc. These Biblical exhortations to good works are sometimes mistakenly thought to be the means to be justified by God. In reality, good works are the fruit of the justification by God that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. This fruit of obedience and good works always flows from faith in Christ. Quite simply, if there is no sanctification in a person’s life, there has been no justification. James explains this very thoroughly in his epistle. In America today there is a concept that is referred to as ‘carnal Christian.’ It refers to a person that claims to be a Christian but has no inclination or desire to be obedient to Christ. This carnal Christian concept is a myth because, while such a person may profess Christianity, he does not possess Christianity…..

Jazzy reports on a successful intruder intervention

At around 5 a.m. this morning I was on mouse patrol when I spotted an illegal alien mouse in our bedroom. W.H., D.H., and of course my lazy sister Cuffy were sound asleep. I immediately called Cuffy with a special feline alert call that I later found out woke up W.H. and D.H. Cuffy responded dutifully and after about an hour of cat and mouse the intruder expired from our constant barrage of feline brutality. I do not wish to get letters from PETA or other left wing kooks, so I would appreciate a little discretion on the part of everyone that reads this post. I would add that D.H. has a soft spot in her heart for critters including illegal intruders, and has on occasion had W.H. grab them in a towel and release them back outside in the woods. However, it is even more painfully obvious now that we have a problem with illegal intruders crossing our border and that something must be done. Any house or country for that matter that cannot or will not keep illegal intruders out is headed for some serious problems.

Jazzy and Cuffy discover illegal aliens near home turf

Cuffy and I were outside our home yesterday when we ran across a young mouse near our deck area. This probably was a mouse from the same extended family of mice that have been entering our home illegally during the past few months. Guard dog Chief sleeps so much these days and probably does not care that these illegal intruders are entering our home. I know they just want a better life for themselves, but Cuffy and I are not willing to share our food with what could become an enormous number of mouths to feed and a total disruption to our whole way of life. I think we need to beef up our perimeter so that illegal mice cannot cross uninvited into our home. I know that PETA will probably object to this plan, but I believe that feline security depends on our household getting a firm handle on this problem and doing it immediately.

Justification

The only access to the cat room for Duffy is through the cat opening, and the only access to justification from God is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Thus we simply interpret justification, as the acceptance with which God receives us into his favor as if we were righteous; and we say that this justification consists in the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. (from John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion”) Since a sinner must be justified by God to enter into heaven, the key question is how does a sinner become justified by God? One of the wrong answers to this question involves a person citing his record of good works and deeds as the basis. “I have tried to obey God’s law and the ten commandments” or “I try to love and help my fellow man” are examples of this type of answer. Good works do not earn God’s justification, ….“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:20). The correct answer involves the person receiving the gift of justification by trusting in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ alone as payment for his sins…. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10). Also incorrect would be the belief that God’s acceptance is based on a faith in the atonement of Jesus plus the addition of good deeds or works. Such a view seriously devalues the atonement to the point of making it ineffective to save sinners…. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21). Paul here makes the valid point that if obeying the law of God were possible for mankind, then Christ would not have needed to die for sins. The prophet Isaiah describes the value of works by pointing out that…. “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64-6)” The meaning here is that man’s best deeds are tainted with sin, worthless for justification and that man cannot save himself by his good deeds. Paul says….Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith (Galatians 3:11).” Justification requires that man’s sins be punished and that he receive the imputed perfect righteousness of Christ (Rom 5:17-19). Christ accomplished both of these requirements for sinners by his perfect life of righteousness and his atoning death. Justification is a free gift of God’s grace received by faith and not good works (Eph 2:8-9).

Comparing a true saving faith with a false, dead faith that does not save.

From James 2:14-26 We see James explain two different kinds of faith: James asks what good is it if a man claims to have faith but has no works and then asks can such a faith save him? Here there is no doubt that he is talking about “a saving faith” verses one that does not save. He compares a faith that inspires and results in deeds verses a faith that has no deeds. He even compares a fruitless faith with the belief in God that demons have. I am quite certain that demons do not have a saving faith. He then calls them foolish and gives them more evidence of a true faith having deeds that flow from the faith. He closes in verse 26 by repeating that faith without deeds are dead. If a faith is dead, it certainly is not a saving faith and will not produce any spiritual benefit any more than a dead kidney will have any physical benefit for the body.

I would also add that there may be dead works. Deeds that are done willingly and naturally out of a grateful Christian heart due to love for Christ and appreciation for the eternal life that faith alone secures are fruitful works. However, deeds that are done in an attempt to earn merit with God are dead works. Eph. 2:8-10 sums the whole process up and James is just saying the same thing as verse 10 in Ephesians 2.

From Matthew 7:21-27: Jesus in verse 21 finishes up the Sermon on the Mount to his disciples by warning that not everyone will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven who just merely professes faith by saying Lord, Lord, but that only he who does the will of the Father will enter. Doing the will of the Father means not only talking the talk of faith, but also following that up with action and deeds. Therefore, the ones who say Lord, Lord have a false profession and Jesus tells them in verse 23 to ‘depart from me, I never knew you’ and turns them away from heaven. In verses 24-27 he says that he who hears these words and puts them into practice is like one who builds his foundation on the rock (the rock being faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ) is wise. He hears the words and puts them into practice. The phrase, ‘puts them into practice’ would not be needed if the foundation were no more that a claim of faith. He thus acts on his faith by being obedient to the Word of God. He goes on to say in verses 26-27 that everyone who hears these words (Word of God) and does not put them into practice is like a man that built his house on sand…….. These are false professors as they hear the words (i.e. claim faith) but do not put them into practice. They simply claim to have faith, but their heart has not been changed so as to live what they claim.

Jesus is telling us that our faith will not be judged by our words (rhetoric), but by our actions. Just as you would expect that someone who claimed to be a believer in and supporter of the Boy Scouts to either give of their time or money, you would also expect that someone who claims to have faith and love for Jesus Christ would produce some kind of fruit (especially with the added power of the Holy Spirit). Jesus says elsewhere, if you love me, you will obey my commands (though not perfectly of course). Jesus is speaking to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, and there is no wiggle room to claim that these false professors will enter the Kingdom of Heaven as Jesus says point blank that they will not. There is also no doubt that Jesus is also talking about people who claim to be Christians. This passage in Matthew 7:21-27 gives the same message from Jesus that James gives in Chapter 2 of his Epistle.

Were believers regenerated before Pentecost

I your humble Jazzycat have gotten myself in a bit of a pickle over the Cuffy in the drawer incident. Therefore, in an attempt to insure my happiness and continued enjoyment of my 401K I am going to let W.H. post on my blog from time to time.

Were believers before Pentecost regenerated........
By W.H.
The answer to this depends on what the Bible teaches concerning the need, power, and source of regeneration. The view by non-Calvinists and Arminians is that faith in Christ can be achieved by man before being regenerated. This view would mean that regeneration is not needed to come to faith and that the source of regeneration is ultimately from man’s decision, since he must first come to faith before God grants regeneration. Regeneration does not have power for salvation if one has already been saved before regeneration occurs. Therefore, this view holds that man must do something before regeneration occurs, that regeneration is not necessary for salvation, and thus has no power in salvation. I do not understand exactly what regeneration accomplishes in this view. It seems that it would be like taking medicine for an illness after one had been cured.

The reformed view, that I believe the Bible teaches, holds that God through the Holy Spirit regenerates a sinner with power before he has any faith whatsoever and in fact this regeneration is necessary before faith can occur. Therefore, regeneration is needed, comes with power, and God is the only source.

I believe the Bible teaches that man’s condition changed one time at the fall, and that O.T. people were no different than N.T. people. Therefore, men in O.T. times needed the same regeneration that is needed today. Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about this necessity. The encounter that Jesus had with Nicodemus in John 3 happened well before Pentecost and Jesus does not speak of it like a future event. In fact, it sounds like it not only includes the present but the past well…. YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN! There is no qualification such as ‘starting now’, ‘in a short while’, ‘the day is coming when’. No Jesus says, “You must be born again to see the kingdom of God” period. In the O.T. God many times said, “I will reserve a remnant.” (example:1 Kings 19:18) This obviously meant that most of Israel was not saved as the remnant was small. If God were relying on the free will of the creature to come to faith without divine intervention, then how could he be sure there would be a remnant? The answer of course is that without divine intervention he would not know for sure and the passage would have said, “I hope there will be a remnant.” The book of Ester shows how God providentially preserved Israel from physical destruction. In this same way he intervened in spiritual matters to ensure a spiritual remnant. This was done through quickening by the Holy Spirit.

Jazzy reveals more about Cuffy being trapped

I cannot believe that W.H. and D.H. were still talking about Cuffy getting trapped inside of that drawer this morning. They kept looking at me and asking, “Jazzy, do you know how that drawer that Cuffy was in got shut?” I put on my best sweet adorable innocent look and pretended not to understand. Then D.H. mentioned the possibility of getting a paw print from the drawer and comparing it to mind. The loss of my 401K immediately flashed through my mind and fear began to creep through my very being. But then I remembered that my tail and hip was what sent the drawer sliding in and I knew that my secret was safe. Due to my spat with Cuffy, I have no regrets for closing the drawer, but I do feel a little remorse for pretending I did not know where she was when they were frantically looking and asking me for assistance. I am so glad my guilty conscience resets to blank every day.

Jazzy tells about Cuffy being trapped

I cannot believe what my sister Cuffy got herself into last night. After W.H. and D.H. got in from church, they acknowledged me as they usually do by saying, “Jazzycat how you doing. Have you been taking a little nap.” Well after a little while they noticed that Cuffy wasn’t asleep on the bed where she spends about 80 % of her time. They started looking for her everywhere. They looked under the bed, in all of the rooms and even went outside and looked, but to no avail. Well D.H. decided to go straight to the ole ace in the hole gambit and started hollering, “Cuffy, treat turkey lurkey." Still there was no sign of Cuffy anywhere. They then remembered that she sometimes liked to pull bathroom cabinet drawers open and get in them for a different place to nap. Cuffy is a equal opportunity napper. Sure enough they found her in a bathroom cabinet drawer. They thought it was amazing how she was trapped and yet remained silent and made no effort to alert someone to help her out. Then they started to speculate on how the drawer got shut. I very slowly and nonchalantly eased out of the room as I knew where logic would lead that line of thinking.
See March 18 post for photo of Cuffy in a cabinet drawer.

Internal Call

(Click on photo if scripture cannot be read)

When God spiritually calls a sinner out of darkness into his wonderful light, it is like coming out of a dark tunnel into God’s glorious creation.
The Holy Spirit makes the external call effective by reviving the spiritually dead, enabling them to see the light! This is the effectual or internal call that the Apostle Peter tells us about in the verse above. Just as a person born blind is not able to visualize the beauty that sun light reveals, a spiritually dead person cannot understand the grace that spiritual light reveals…. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14). The Bible in many places speaks of people being blind and captive to darkness. But there are also many Bible passages where God promises that he will intervene and make the blind see and free people from their darkness through his grace…. But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth (2 Thess 2:13). Man is not capable on his own to respond, but God makes it happen through this effectual call of the Holy Spirit…. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (Romans 8:30). Salvation is the free gift of God that he applies, through his initiative, using this effectual call. It does not depend on man at all….It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Romans 9:16). This is the amazing grace that we sing about, when we sing, ‘I once was blind, but now I see.’ The external call goes forth and many do not respond because they cannot (Romans 8:7). The internal call makes the external call effective to some, and all of these respond…. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (John 6:37). Grace is from God and applied by God.

Jazzy does some research on 'Big Gambling'

As I your humble Jazzycat was looking around the web today, I checked out how much money is lost in Mississippi casinos. Mississippi has casinos along the Mississippi River and the gulf coast. It was interesting to note that the coastal casinos, which were wiped out by hurricane Katrina, had 106 million dollars in August revenues. This figure fell to zero for Sep, Oct, and Nov. They started back in December and had 11 million in revenues.
In the last complete year before the hurricane, Mississippi’s casinos had 2.7 billion in revenues. This comes to over seven million dollars per day in lost money by our citizens. I wonder what the totals must be for the entire country. Why do we never hear the term ‘big gambling’ when we hear of businesses that make huge profits.

As the former basketball player mentioned on my last post has found out, it is very misleading to call this activity gaming or even gambling. There is no chance involved in gambling for the ‘big gambling’ operators. They are going to win billions this year. They have always won and will always win. As long as gravity will cause an apple to fall from a tree, so to will mathematical advantage insure without question that ‘big gambling’ will win. The proverbs tell us:
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly.
Now this is the advice that this former basketball player should have gotten from his agent instead of foolishness. This is the advice that people should be getting in general and especially from the clergy. There is sadly too much silence from pulpits on this subject.

Jazzy on how to have fun while losing millions gambling

While I was checking out the latest sports I ran across an amazing story about gambling. A former NBA player admitted to losing 10 million dollars and said in an ESPN interview, "Yeah, I do have a gambling problem. But I don't consider it a problem because I can afford to gamble.'' If that wasn't incoherent enough he also said, "My agent has really worked with me to try to get it where I can go and gamble and have fun." The death of logic in human beings in our post modern society continues to amaze this humble and focused cat. Let me explain this lunacy. He is saying that his gambling problem is not a problem since he can afford it and his agent wants him to have fun while he is losing millions of dollars. There we have explained the problem which is not losing millions of dollars. The problem is that he does not have fun doing it. Maybe he could achieve his fun by being happy about how much fun the casino owners are having due to his losing...... Maybe a how to book would help. How about, "How to be a gambling loser while having loads of fun."

External Call of God

In Christian Churches around the world, God calls sinners to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
The call to salvation through Jesus Christ comes with the preaching and reading of the Word of God. This is a good faith offer that is sincerely extended by God to all that will accept in faith. This is the external call and God would like that all men accept this invitation. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” is the way that John 3:16 states the offer. However, Jesus tells us…. “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14). This certainly indicates that men, on their own, do not accept this invitation. But God, who is rich in mercy, provides an internal or effectual call that makes the external call effective. Through the Holy Spirit, a person is enabled to respond to the call and accept the offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” (John 6:65). When a person comes to Jesus, he has been enabled through the effectual call of the Holy Spirit. This effectual (internal) call is covered on the next page (page 14).

Jazzy admonishes Cuffy for calling Miss. State University an Ivy League college

Cuffy said to Jazzy, “Jazzy today’s photo reminds me of what a Chapel at an Ivy League college must look like. You know W.H. went to an Ivy League college.” I responded to Cuffy with compassion and said, “Cuffy, you fool, Mississippi State University is not an Ivy League college and I think W.H. would consider it an insult to call MSU an Ivy League college.” Cuffy asked me why and I explained to her that most of the Ivy League schools had become politically correct left-wing propaganda institutions where free speech that does not fit their agenda is discouraged. Faculty members and even college presidents that do not conform to accepted thought are fired. No Cuffy, Miss. State is no Ivy League college.