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.

Free Will

God created man with the freedom to make choices!
When man was created he was given the will, ability, and power to make choices which pleased God. Man, in the fall into a sinful nature, retained the free will to make choices, but the power and ability to will spiritual good toward salvation has been lost…. “there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:11). This is not just some or most people but is all people. This means the sinner is dead in sin and unable to convert himself by his own strength. Yes, man has the freedom to make choices, but salvation is from God as Jesus said in John 6:44 and he re-emphasizes the point in verse 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.’” The ‘Father’ must make it happen or a person will not come to Jesus. The doctrines of grace, original sin, being born again and others all fit together and they lead to God and his will and not the will of man. Praise God for his marvelous grace.

Jazzy says to open your door...

The call goes out. The offer goes out. While we debate the depth of our bondage to sin over at Rose's Blog, and our ability to respond. The call continues to go out...

Rev 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Jazzy talks about faith debate at Rose's Reasonings

I am sorry I did not post yesterday, but my pet human was hogging the computer participating in the discussion going on over at Rose's Blog and using my name. They were discussing whether saving faith is a gift from God to access the grace he also gives, or the alternative which is that faith must come from a sinners free will to access the grace that God makes available to those that choose to accept it. There have been 116 comments and a lot of give and take from both sides that appear to be equally divided. Every now and then a little cat fight breaks out, but everyone does a good job of maintaining Christian love and respect. It is certainly several steps (make that many steps) more civil than what goes on at some of the liberal political blogs. Ole Jazzy has lost some fur at some of those demented blogs.

Providence

We learn from Scripture that it was no accident and not by chance that places such as Bodie, California, pictured above, are now abandoned ghost towns. The people are gone but the ruins remain as a reminder of what once was. The people, their time on this earth, and their activities, were all part of God’s plan.

Jesus said,…. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:29-30). The Holy Bible is full of passages and events that show that God is in control and has ordained whatever comes to pass by his decretive will. God even uses the evil and sin that men do to accomplish his plan, as in the story of Joseph and his brothers…. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Gen 50:20). This does not mean that God is the author of sin, but rather uses the sin that men choose to do of their own free will for his purposes. God at times works above and over the will of man to accomplish his plan, as was the case of Daniel in the lions den. In addition to God’s will of decree which is always accomplished, God also has a perceptive will that men, with their freedom of will and choice, can break. The ten commandments are an example of God’s perceptive will. He does not violate mankind making choices, but rather he works with and through these choices to accomplish his plan…. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross (Acts 2:23). The crucifixion of Jesus was God’s plan from all eternity. It was decreed by God and it was accomplished by God. That is providence, and it is a comfort to trust and believe in this doctrine rather than the alternative which would be total chaos.

Jazzy exposed by Cuffy to Lefty Leaner

I cannot believe that Cuffy called Lefty Leaner of Agendaweek Magazine and told him about my warning her about the consequences of not being loyal to our family (April 22 post). Anyway, Lefty Leaner called me for my comment and I decided to try the same strategy that Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see April 5 post) used when she told the media that they were ‘not permitted’ to use some audio they had of her. I told Lefty the same thing about what Cuffy had told him. I thought he was going to have a heart attack as he laughed for five solid minutes. He said, ‘yeah right’ and asked me how did that work out for Ms Mckinney. Lefty then said, "I know Ms McKinney is used to the extreme left wing media carrying the water for the democats, but it is unbelievable that she would think such a demand would have any chance of success." Later when W.H. saw it on the news, he laughed so hard it woke Cuffy up from her 35th nap of the day.

Righteousness

Man cannot fly unaided nor can he stand justified before God unaided. A flying machine is necessary for man to fly and the righteousness of Jesus Christ is necessary for man to stand justified before God.
The righteousness required to stand justified before God does not come from anything that man can do (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16). Sinful man does not have the ability to perfectly obey the law of God which is the standard required for man to establish his own righteousness…. 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). Therefore, the righteousness required to stand before God comes through faith in Jesus Christ…. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, (Romans 3:22). By dying on the cross, Christ not only paid the penalty for the sins of those with saving faith, he provided the righteousness needed for them to stand justified before God…. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). Comparing Adam and Christ further, Paul goes on to say in verse 19…. “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” Amazing Grace!

Jazzy regains control of blog

I your brilliant Jazzycat has regained the publishing control of this blog after my sister Cuffy hijacked it yesterday and slandered the leadership of the family with her unfortunate post of gossip. I have changed the password and regained my proper role as supreme cat. I have explained to her what happened in the movie Godfather II when a family member is not loyal to the family. I think with her recent home schooling education achievements she understands my drift and there should be no further problems. I then gave her a little catnip and sent her to bed for an extended nap. It is good to have W.H. and D.H. back because their is no substitute for loyal staff.

Cuffy hijacks blog from Jazzycat

Folks, this is Cuffy speaking and posting tonight in place of Jazzycat. Due to the very successful home schooling (see April 14 post) that I have been getting, I am now smart enough to hijack Jazzycat's blog and do my own post. I want to tell everyone about what a hypocrite and fraud that Jazzy has been after her speech to me yesterday where she said the following: "Cuffy I cannot stress the importance of feline manipulation of humans enough. It must be done to keep the universe in proper order." If you could have seen the way she responded to D.H. and W.H. when they got back today, you would have absolutely lost your lunch. While I followed her advice and kept my distance so as to punish them, she sucked up to them big time. She would get in W.H.'s lap and cuddle and purr like she was so happy to see them back, and then 10 minutes later she was back again. It was absolutely disgusting and the fact that she had made such a statement yesterday just infuriates me. I think I am going to start another Top Cat competition soon (see Nov. 10 post) and see if I can take over as queen of this house.

Jazzy and Cuffy anticipate return of staff

Cuffy said to Jazzy, "Jazzy, J.H. has really given us good service while W.H. and D.H. have been gone." I replied, "It is nice that he lives with us because there is nothing like live in staff to take care of our needs. I understand that W.H. and D.H. will be back tomorrow, so remember we have got to be united in giving them the cold shoulder when they come in. We should let them know in no uncertain terms that being avaliable at our beckoning call is more important than those photography trips. We should totally ignore them and when they pick us up, we are to turn our heads away and growl to let them know we want down. Cuffy I cannot stress the importance of feline manipulation of humans enough. It must be done to keep the universe in proper order."

Atonement

The Lamb of God
The core theme of the Old Testament is that God chose the nation of Israel to bring redemption to some of fallen mankind. Due to God’s justice, this redemption required atonement for sin in the form of a blood sacrifice. Thus, a system of animal sacrifice was set up by God, through his prophets, to prefigure the ultimate sufficient sacrifice that Christ would make for the atonement of sin since animal sacrifice cannot atone for sin. For God to sacrifice his own son to satisfy his justice is a most unbelievable display of his love and mercy. In Genesis 22:8 this is vividly pointed out when Abraham told his son Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” While Abraham was referring to what he thought was going to be the sacrifice of his son Isaac, it points to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Seven hundred years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah predicted in chapter 53, and elsewhere, this ultimate sacrifice. In verse 7 Isaiah said, “he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.” The sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ as a propitiation for human sin is the central theme to all of Christian theology. Doctrine after doctrine lead back to the cross and the crucifixion of Christ. The fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy about Christ is shown in its most concise form in Romans 3:19-31. Salvation is from God and is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Faith is the key that opens the door to heaven and eternal life. The following verses are but some in the Bible on the subject of atonement:
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
1 Chronicles 28:11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Colossians 1:22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--
Hebrews 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Romans 8:3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Hebrews 10:11-12 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Sin

This base runner is coming up short in an attempt to steal second base. He is, in baseball jargon, “a dead duck.” Human beings also fall short due to sin and are, likewise, dead ducks.
Sin is doing what God has forbidden or failing to do what God requires. Every human being is a sinner, as the doctrine of original sin covered on page 4 explains. Scripture verifies this, “There is no one righteous, not even one;” (Romans 3:10). Holy Scripture also tells us that sin is a very serious matter due to the fact that the holy and just God that created the universe has sworn to punish sin. “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8). For God to be holy and just, he must be true and execute justice on sin. The punishment that God has decreed for sin is: “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Scripture further tells us that man, without the aid of God’s mercy and grace, cannot respond…. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44 ). Therefore, it is apparent that man is a sinner and cannot save himself. The answer to this dilemma lies in Romans 6:23 which states: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Thank God for this amazing grace which rescues sinners from the grip and power of sin.

Jazzy discusses Cuffy's home schooling session

I ,your humble, wise and gracious Jazzy Cat, agreed to post a photo of Cuffy having a home schooling session with D.H. After her first session was over, Cuffy asked me, “Jazzycat why don’t you sign up for some home school lessons with D.H? I know you are certainly one of the smartest cats that God ever created, but it would not hurt to improve your knowledge base.” I replied, “Cuffy, while I know that D.H. can teach you much that will benefit you greatly, I have reached such a state of knowledge seasoned with feline logic and wisdom, that I need to spend my time dispensing said wisdom rather than attempting to soak up more knowledge. However, home schooling will be efficient for you as D.H. can bypass the public school indoctrination program and proceed directly to the core subjects.”

Repentance

Straight paths in the Desert.....
Repentance is a gift of God’s grace that goes hand in hand with saving faith in a sinner’s heart and mind. Just as a sinner looks with faith to the atonement of Christ for salvation, he will in repentance turn from a life of sin to Christ. Sin is the reason that the atonement of Christ was needed for salvation, and a sinner will regret and hate his sin. There will be a radical change of attitude and direction in his life as he endeavors to live for Christ. Repentance is not the cause of being born again but is a result of this new birth. When sincere repentance is given to God, he will forgive our sins…. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). Without repentance there is no forgiveness of sins and no salvation (Luke 13:3 and Acts 17:30-31). Repentance, like saving faith, is a gift from God…. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, (2 Timothy 2:25).