Pride

1 John 2:16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.
The dictionary defines one form of pride as inordinate self-esteem. The Bible and history reveal that this kind of prideful self-esteem has caused much pain, suffering, and strife throughout human history and is no virtue. Yet, many touted experts think, and popular secular opinion seems to agree, that in materialistic self-absorbed America today low self-esteem is a problem, especially with young people. You will hear it said that teachers should be careful not to harm the self-esteem of their students. They believe America needs more of the very thing that has caused so many problems for the human race. Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, expressed a different view of prideful self-esteem. The first thing he said was…. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). The opposite of pride is humility and Jesus is saying that the humble are blessed. The Matthew Henry commentary on that verse says ….” The poor in spirit are happy…….They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them.” Paul also taught that humility is a characteristic of a Christian…. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2). Paul warned that in the last days people would be proud, boastful, and lovers of themselves (2 Timothy 3:2). A focus on self with pride is a value of the world; whereas, a focus on God with humility is a value of Christianity.

Gambling

1 Timothy 6:9-10 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
The dictionary defines gambling as betting on an uncertain outcome. Casino gambling is anything but uncertain because the mathematical advantage is held by the house, and the house will always win with repetition and time. They get plenty of repetition and are open 24 hours a day seven days a week which insures they will always win week by week, month by month and year by year. Just as a spider builds his trap bigger and better, casino operators build their traps with more lights, glitz and entertainment. Some people consider it harmless entertainment, but there is a percentage of people who will become addicted and bring devastation and financial ruin to their lives and also their families’ lives. Crime, divorce, and even suicide are all part of the cost of this ‘entertainment’. Entertainment was also very big in Sodom and Gomorrah, but it was not harmless there and it is not harmless in the United States. Las Vegas did not get the nickname Sin City without reason, and for a Christian, or anyone else, to view gambling as just another form of entertainment is pure folly. As Paul said…. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Galatians 6:7-8). Think of the good that could result if the money, lost every year to gambling by professing Christians, were instead invested to please the Spirit instead of the sinful nature. May God enable us to sow wisely.

Evangelism

Fly fishing in North Carolina
Jesus last command was to evangelize…. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Matthew 28:19). Jesus also told his disciples…."The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38). Paul in his letter to Philemon encouraged him to share his faith…. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith,…... (Philemon 1:6). Peter instructed Christians to not only share their faith but to be prepared…. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, (1 Peter 3:15). Being prepared means knowing the gospel, knowing how to effectively communicate it to others and, as Peter says, do it with gentleness and respect. Such ministries as Evangelism Explosion (EE) teach effective ways to present the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Knowing the gospel and knowing how to present it properly are two totally different things. The EE evangelism ministry always asks permission before sharing. It avoids arguments. It affirms the truth of the gospel without being confrontational. It keeps the gospel message from being side tracked and it precludes objections. The Apostle Paul used similar techniques…. Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious (Acts 17:22). To be successful in fly fishing it takes knowledge, planning, preparation, and discipline. It is no different in evangelism. The EE ministry depends on an outline that breaks the gospel into five parts: Grace, man, God, Jesus Christ, and faith.

Worldliness

Windsor Ruins near Port Gibson, Mississippi where a once beautiful home is no more.
The desires, goals and focus of a Christian are not on the things or pleasures of this world….Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). The world is presently controlled by Satan and he has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). Jesus told his disciples that they were chosen out of the world and would be hated by the world….If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you (John 15:19). Jesus also makes the point in this passage that the world will love people who belong to the world, and he even warns that when all men speak well of you, you have a problem (Luke 6:26). Jesus is basically saying that worldly people love the pleasures, things, and principles of this world and will love people of a like mindset. In A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, Jonathan Edwards explores the signs of a true Christian and said the following…..”those who are spiritual are set in opposition to natural men, and carnal men.” It is obvious that the secular world is not going to speak well of men and religious leaders who are in opposition to the prevailing politically correct standards of the world. This is currently evident in the debate of such issues as abortion, homosexual marriage, gambling, pluralism, etc. It is especially interesting to note the religious leaders that are spoken well of by the media and those that are not. Those leaders that are well received have adopted views that are in accord with the prevailing secular world view. The Bible says the following about their popularity: You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God (James 4:4). The early Christians were faced with a decision of whether to obey God or man. That is still true today. Choose wisely who you obey.

God's Wrath

Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Sin is why sinners need to be saved, Satan is involved, and hell is the final destination for unsaved sinners. But, what are sinners saved from? In Romans 5:9, Paul teaches that sinners are saved from the wrath of God. From Romans 1:18 through Romans 3-19 Paul explains the bad news about mankind and God’s wrath. The popular thinking that man is basically good is not the conclusion Paul presents. Paul makes the point that sin is pervasive, effects 100% of mankind and that God is very much offended by sin. Man may be considered basically good by human standards, but by God’s standard of perfect obedience to the moral law, man falls very short indeed. Jesus, in his sermon on the mount, taught that observing the law of God goes much deeper than outward observance (Matthew 5-7). He taught that the inward condition of the heart mattered and compared anger with murder and looking at a woman lustfully as adultery. With those kind of standards it is obvious that everyone is born under the condemnation of God’s wrath….All 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 (Ephesians 2:3). It is also obvious that man, by himself, is powerless to save himself and have peace with God. Paul came to that conclusion and said…..What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:24-25)! God’s wrath is real, and although man cannot save himself, faith alone in Jesus Christ alone can save completely…..Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus saves completely. It does not take Jesus plus baptism, Jesus plus works, or Jesus plus anything. Praise God for his Amazing grace.

Hell

Jesus descended into hell before he rose from the dead so that sinners would not have to receive the justice due for their sins. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.
In today’s culture it is not popular to acknowledge and consider the reality of the Biblical concept of hell. This is due primarily to a failure of human beings to understand the holiness and goodness of God and also the sinfulness and depravity of mankind. In short, man is considered to be ‘basically good’ and God is thought of as not being very serious about sin and as loving sinners unconditionally. God’s unconditional love implies that sinners do not have to worry about the consequences of sin or even make an effort to refrain from sin. This is an unbiblical concept of sin and God’s character. God is love and does not want to punish sinners, but he is also just and must punish sin to remain true to his character traits of truth, justice, and holiness. This sin is punished in hell as Jesus himself pointed out many times. The parable of Lazarus mentioned above is an example. Jesus, in his atonement, not only died a physical death to pay the penalty for sin, he also descended into hell and received the punishment of eternal death to pay the spiritual penalty for the sins of the redeemed. Through the atonement of Jesus, God executed his justice on sin in the person of Jesus Christ and justified those who have faith in Jesus …. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26). Jesus went to hell for those sinners that put their faith in him. Sinners who do not put their faith in the atonement of Jesus for their sin debt will have to make the one way trip to hell and pay their own penalty for sin. The sentence duration is eternity and there is no pardon or parole provisions. The better choice is to accept, through faith alone in Christ alone, God’s offer to be declared not guilty on judgment day.

Heaven

There will be no rust in heaven….
The Bible tells us the following about heaven: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21).” This is a beautiful picture of the glory of heaven and the joyful eternal life that those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enjoy….. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 21:27). The great news about heaven is that it is a free gift of God by the grace of God (Romans 6:23 & Ephesians 2:8-9). This free gift of eternal life is received by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. To quote from a great hymn…..’Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.’ After receiving this grace, the Holy Spirit will also move a person to a new focus and purpose in life. This new purpose and focus will mean that a sinner will be interested in storing up treasures in heaven. This will occur out of gratitude and love for Jesus Christ and not as an attempt to earn favor or merit.

Marriage

Mark 10:6-9 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Jesus in the passage above very clearly defines marriage. This definition by Jesus is under attack in the United States as the Supreme Court in Massachusetts has ruled that same sex marriages can not be prohibited by the state of Massachusetts. This puts Biblical teaching on marriage on a collision course with the state. Nevertheless, true Christian Churches can only recognize the marriage of one man and one woman as being legitimate and cannot perform these unbiblical marriages. Apostate Churches can perform as many same sex marriages as they want, but discerning Christians must obey God and not the state or false prophets…. Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29)! The Bible also gives other guidelines for marriage, such as a believer should not marry an unbeliever and that adultery or desertion should be the only causes sufficient to dissolve a marriage (1 Cor. 7:15,39, Matthew 19:9). The Biblical standard of commitment in marriage is much greater than the contemporary culture practices. There can be no doubt that the little boy fishing in the photo above is best nurtured by being in a family of one man married to one woman who are committed to providing an environment that will best convey the values and morals which have given our society the freedom and prosperity it enjoys. When one studies the development of western civilization, it is clear that the Christian model for a family is the best option for society. One goal of every Christian that enjoys this family blessing should be to reach out with compassion to help, assist, and pray for those that are not part of such a family unit. In our culture today there are many opportunities to minister and help such people as our savior Jesus Christ commanded us to do. The proper response to the ungodly forces at work in America today should be one of love to all people with an uncompromising commitment to Biblical teaching.

Abortion

Psalms 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Abortion is the killing of human life in its mother’s womb. It is not part of the woman’s body, and a short time after conception it has its own heartbeat and circulatory system. To justify abortion under the pretense of a right to privacy defies logic in that it justifies killing as a privacy right. Who can forget the photo of the 21 week (after conception) old baby that was operated on in its mother’s womb? The photo shows a tiny hand holding on tightly to a doctor’s finger and is a devastating indictment of the abortion culture. Not many people have seen this photo due to the liberal pro-choice leaning of the main stream media which ignored it and even directed one journalist not to show it. This particular journalist resigned over the censorship. This photo can be easily found on the internet. Most liberal political leaders overwhelmingly supports abortion, including the ghastly partial birth abortion procedure which kills a baby that is partially born. The most recent president (Bill Clinton) vetoed the bill banning this procedure. President George Bush finally signed the law after he took office. When John Kerry made the statement that he wants abortion to be, legal, safe, available, and rare, it was obvious that he realized it is wrong. Why should it be rare if nothing is wrong with it? It certainly has not been rare as millions of abortions have been performed since it became legal. While God has ordained whatsoever comes to pass, he is not the author of the sin. He has given people free will and allows them to sin, including the sin of abortion… This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Love

Jazzy Cat on the left with her sister Cuffy

Love one another….
The core value of the Christian walk of sanctification is love. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment in the Law he said…. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). Love is the first fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5. Chapter 13 of First Corinthians says... If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

One Way

There is only one way to this mountain top in Colorado and the road that gets there is narrow. Not many people find and use this road.
Just as there is only one way to get to this Colorado mountain top, there is also only one way to receive salvation and eternal life and that is through grace alone, by faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. The accusation is made that Christianity is being exclusive in teaching that this is the only way to God. Since the offer is made to all human beings, it is not exclusive at all (John 3:16). The complaint is not that God has made his chosen way of salvation exclusive, but that God has not accepted the other ways that human beings have devised as a means to salvation. Their thinking is that Christianity (God) is being harsh for not validating the Gods of their imagination as being equally acceptable ways to salvation. How dare God not accept false gods as a means to salvation is the absurdity of their thinking. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, died a cruel death so that men could receive eternal life. If there were any other way for God to reconcile mankind to himself, do we really think he would still have sacrificed his son to be just one of many ways to eternal life. That would be like a Doctor telling a father that his son had an infection in his heart and the father could either donate his own heart and die or give his son a pill that would cure the infection. The truth is this: The sin of human beings is so drastic to God that it required the atonement of a perfect person with an infinite worth. The Bible reveals that God’s chosen means for human beings to gain access to this atonement for their sins is through faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Men can devise all the false religions they want, but there is only one way to be right with God as Jesus himself said…. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Eternal Security

A dog may snatch a dog biscuit from a persons hand, but Christians with saving faith can be secure that no one can snatch them from their Heavenly Father’s hand.
Praise God for his glorious grace which includes the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ and his promise of eternal security which Jesus affirmed in many passages such as the one above and (John 6:37-40). Jesus, in his high-priestly prayer, prayed to the father that eternal life would be given to all that the Father had given him …..For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him (John 17:2). In this passage Jesus is very clearly praying that 100% of those that are born again by the will of God will be saved, and it is inconceivable that the Father would not grant this request of Jesus. The other doctrines of grace, which are also clearly taught in Scripture, fit together with eternal security in a coherent system. These doctrines are laid out in sequence by Paul who said,….For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (Romans 8:29-30). Notice that these verses are all about God taking action and accomplishing his will and not about man taking any action at all. They are not about God waiting and hoping that man will make the right decision and respond to God, but are all about God accomplishing everything in salvation. This is grace and it is mercy from God as Paul goes on to say…. It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Romans 9:16). These doctrines of grace are God-centered in contrast to a man-centered view of salvation which hold that man can will and work himself in and back out of the Kingdom of God. Even a faith plus works view of salvation would still make works rather than faith in Christ the deciding factor. Paul said in (Galatians 2:16 and Romans 3:20) that no one will be justified by their works. Paul points out that if righteousness could be gained by the law, Christ died for nothing (Galatians 2:21).

Persecution

Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Persecution against Christianity is ongoing and growing in the United States. Secular culture has no problem with apathetic, nominal, or liberal Christianity. However, Christians that believe and practice Biblical teachings are a problem to them and have come under attack in the United States. Stereotypical labels and personal attacks have been used to demonize these Christians by political leaders and liberals in general for several years. The terms religious right, fundamentalist Christian, fanatical fringe, born again Christian, are some of the names given to such Christians. When a prominent senator said in July, 2004, “The religious right has never looked so ridiculous,” he was continuing the slander and manipulation that has been directed at a particular segment of Christianity for at least a decade. His slander was due to the fact that Evangelical Christians were supporting a constitutional amendment to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. Also, a current United States senator publicly stated that speaking in opposition to the homosexual agenda is hate speech and such speech could incite hate crimes against homosexuals and should also be a crime. Christians should be alarmed at the danger that religious liberty would be under if speech upholding Biblical principals becomes a crime. Speech in favor of Biblical cultural values is often labeled as ‘hate speech’ by the secular left, while crude slanderous personal attacks against political conservatives and Christian leaders are called ’free speech’ by these same people. One city recently brought legal action against a group of people who were having a Bible study in their home under the pretense that they were violating a zoning ordinance. People are being asked not to wear crosses or place Bibles on their desks and the list goes on as the political correct thing has become to view Christians as intolerant, hateful, and divisive. Nativity scenes are being banned and the term Christmas is being replaced with ‘winter holidays’ in many places. However, the vile and the pornographic is being zealously protected under the guise of free speech. It has been gradual, but the loss of Christian religious freedom in the last thirty years, has been dramatic. The Bible has much to say about the Christian response to worldly secular principles such as the verse above.

Trinity

In complete harmony and unity, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three separate persons in one Godhead.
The doctrine of the Trinity is complex for the human mind to comprehend. The Bible teaches that there is one God. The New Testament clearly teach three personal agents in the godhead at the baptism of Jesus. Jesus, in his last words before his ascension, told his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three persons of the Godhead have distinct roles in the salvation of fallen sinners. God, the Father, from all eternity predestined sinners for salvation….. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— (Ephesians 1:4-5). Jesus Christ, from all eternity, redeemed sinners by paying their sin debt….for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,……(Romans 3:23-25). God, the Holy Spirit, quickens and makes spiritually dead sinners alive so they can respond to Jesus…..Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.' (John 3:5-7) (Also see Titus 3:5-7). J.I. Packer, in Concise Theology, says the following about two common heresies concerning the Trinity: They are not three roles played by one person (that is modalism), nor are they three gods in a cluster (that is tritheism). All non-Trinitarian formulations of the Christian message are, by biblical standards, inadequate and fundamentally false and will naturally tend to pull Christian lives out of shape.

Discernment

Philippians 1:9-10 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,

The dictionary has a lot to say in defining discernment, but perhaps the most important thing for a Christian to consider is that discernment stresses accuracy. This is important in Biblical theology because believing and following false teachers can not only have eternal consequences but, as the ‘Jim Jones’ tragedy illustrated, grave dangers in this world as well. The Bible has many warnings about false teaching and being deceived. Some of them came directly from Jesus who said…. "Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Mark 13:5). To be sure that no one deceives you requires a knowledge of Biblical doctrine. The best way to understand doctrine is through reading and studying the Bible as did the Bereans…. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Discernment requires knowledge. Knowledge requires prayer and study (Col. 1:9) (Heb. 5:11-14). Once a person has knowledge, the Apostle Paul tells us the following: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” (Ephesians 4:14). Therefore, a Christian should seek knowledge in order to attain the quality of discernment.

Doctrine

A rock climber must hold firmly to a vertical cliff to reach the top and the Apostle Paul exhorts us to hold firmly to sound doctrine.
The Bible’s teaching on man, sin, God, Jesus, salvation, grace, faith, love, resurrection, atonement, heaven, hell, etc. gives human beings knowledge and information about God. A person will inevitably form opinions about this knowledge and develop a system of belief based on those opinions. This is doctrine and it is unavoidable. For someone to say that he loves Jesus Christ and doesn’t care or get involved with doctrine is pure nonsense. He must believe something about Christ to love him and that is doctrine. The four gospels are packed full of the teachings of Jesus. If someone is teaching, it requires that someone must be learning. Jesus taught and people learned and continue to learn. The knowledge people acquire from the teachings of Jesus is processed into doctrine. Doctrine may be sound, contain some minor error, or possibly come from Satan and be deadly to the soul. That is why Paul told Timothy to….Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers (1 Timothy 4:16). Sometimes sound doctrine will not be acceptable to worldly wisdom and Paul goes on to warn Timothy…. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). While doctrine can get quite complicated on some issues, the things necessary for salvation are clear enough that the unlearned may attain a sufficient understanding of them. Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is the core and focus of the gospel message.

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)