What Makes Something A Sacrament?

From Westminster Seminary California:

Michael S. Horton

First published in Evangelium, Vol. 4, Issue 1 (Jan/Feb 2006)

Someone has invited you to a new, cutting-edge worship service especially targeting the twenty- and thirty-somethings. Identifying itself as part of the “emergent” network, the group does not identify itself as a church (too many bad associations). It doesn’t look like church either, but more like a large living room, with different stations for various spiritual activities. These stations include perhaps a prayer labyrinth, incense, icons, and a cup and bread set on an end table. Eventually, someone begins speaking, as at least most of the folks find their way to couches and chairs. This is not a sermon (too hierarchical), but a heart-to-heart conversation, trying to “connect” with Christians and non-Christians alike in a way that is “vulnerable” and “authentic” in contrast to the canned pragmatism and hype that they knew in the megachurches (or wannabe megachurches) of their youth.

The setting I am describing can be found in literally hundreds of gatherings each Sunday, many of them non-denominational, but others at least informally connected with just about any denomination you can think of. Burned out on what they regard as inauthentic hype, many of these young people are starved for mystery and transcendence. They want to actually come into contact with God and not just their own “felt needs.” Their Boomer parents liked stage lighting; these folks like candles.

The assumption today often is that because faith is a direct, unmediated relationship with God within our spirit, outward forms don’t really matter. Therefore, we can do whatever we want in worship as long as the doctrine is right. In this setting, we too easily pick and choose our own “means of grace.”

New Measures?
While we can affirm the struggles and many of the impulses of this “emergent” generation, this movement risks becoming simply another verse of the same tired hymn, which we might call “An Ode to New Measures.” The nineteenth-century revivalist Charles G. Finney, a Presbyterian who disliked just about everything that defined Presbyterian faith and practice, sharply rejected the Calvinist teaching that human beings were totally unable to regenerate themselves. According to Finney, we are not saved from God’s just wrath and ingrafted into Christ’s visible church by a supernatural work of God’s Spirit working through the ordinary means of grace, that is preaching the gospel and administering the sacraments. Rather, since conversion is “not a miracle or dependent on a miracle in any sense, but is the philosophical result of the right use of means” (“new measures,” as he identified them), it is the job of the successful evangelist to find “excitement sufficient to induce repentance.” If salvation is in the sinner’s hands, then the conversion of sinners in the evangelist’s hands. (1)

America is a marketplace of desire, a super-store of consumer craving, and its do-it-yourself religious life is as much a testimony to that fact as any other aspect. In our culture, shopping is therapy. We are not so much Pilgrim making his way with the communion of saints to the Celestial City as individual tourists bouncing from booth to booth at Vanity Fair. As much as the “emergent” movement criticizes religious inauthenticity, it exhibits more than it disproves that thesis. Its most visible leader, Brian McLaren (named recently by TIME magazine among the most significant evangelical leaders), in addition to redefining or challenging core evangelical doctrines, says that he appreciates the “sacramental” world-view of Roman Catholicism. “Once we say there are seven sacraments, we can then begin to see everything as a potential sacrament,” he writes. To be sure, McLaren’s theology is different from Finney’s. Unlike the celebrated revivalist of yesteryear, McLaren eschews “hell-fire and brimstone.” Yet like Finney, he downplays the seriousness of sin as a condition from which nothing short of a substitutionary, vicarious sacrifice of Christ can alone redeem us. The theology may be described as “Finney-lite.” And practice cannot be separated from theory. Like Finney, McLaren and many in the “emergent” movement seem to think that it is up to us to decide what constitutes a “means of grace.”

Man’s Terms vs. God’s Terms
The Protestant Reformers recognized that if you start with a human-centered “gospel,” you will need human-centered methods. Even the ordained sacraments can become means not of divine grace but of human striving. Just as Finney looked for “excitements sufficient to induce repentance,” Rome offered various strategies for obtaining remission of sins through penance. The Reformers, by contrast, recognized the logic of Paul in Romans, especially chapter 10. In that chapter, Paul says that there are two answers to the question, How can I be reconciled to God? One answer is “the righteousness which is by works,” the other is “the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ.” One is founded on our zeal for God, the other on God’s zeal for us and for our salvation.

Paul recognized that the message creates its own methods, as he unfolds the argument in that famous chapter. Works-righteousness looks for ways of climbing up to pull Christ down or descending into the depths to bring him up, while faith-righteousness receives Christ as he has descended already to us and where he promises to be present to us for our salvation. For works-righteousness, faith comes by striving; for gospel-righteousness, faith comes by hearing Christ preached. One need not catch a plane for the latest “revival,” get caught up in the latest crusade or spiritual fad, go on a pilgrimage, fast and pray for it, walk through a labyrinth, bow before an icon, or follow the most recent “principles for victory.” Christ is never closer to us than when he is actually giving himself to us in the preached Word, in baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper.

Imagine a wealthy benefactor promised you a million dollars for a life-saving operation. He tells you to meet him at a certain spot, where he’ll give you the check. Dropped off by a friend at an inauspicious corner, in a derelict part of town, you locate the appointed coffee shop. This can’t be the place, you think to yourself, as the neon sign hangs precariously with letters missing. Entering, you seat yourself in a rickety booth, noticing that your cup is stained with coffee and smeared with lipstick, the saucer chipped, and the service is appalling. You look around and cannot imagine that anyone vaguely resembling a millionaire might be among the patrons. Just as you are about to leave, a man in shabby clothes saunters over to your table and addresses you by name and as you acknowledge him, he slides in the booth with you and joins you for a meal. Then and there he hands you the check and you celebrate your new-found friendship. Come to find out, this gentleman has frequented this coffee shop for years—it’s his favorite spot.

Like the idolatrous nations, we look for “god” at all the high places but the true God inhabits the low places, when and where he has promised to be present to dispense his gifts over a conversation and a meal. We find this God-for-Us at the cross, bleeding and dying for sinners—hardly the sort of “coronation” that the disciples were looking for in Jerusalem. Furthermore, this same God shows up precisely where we would not expect to find him in our lives here and now. If we’re going to fly up to heaven to bring God down to us, it will require some pretty powerful means, but God comes down to us in weakness. We look for the clever route, the path that makes the most sense—“excitements sufficient to induce repentance,” but God refuses to be found by us on our terms. He finds us on his.

The Sacraments
The Corinthian church was immature, always on the lookout for a slick “super-apostle” to deliver something more spectacular than the inauspicious ministry of this weak Apostle to the Gentiles. Yet, Paul demands, “What do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor 4:7). In his second letter he writes, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor 4:7). Like the benefactor in my illustration, the power lies in God’s promise to deliver his gifts when and where he pleases.

Not because of any inherent power or cleverness, sacraments are means of grace—and not of grace in general, but of redeeming grace. Reformed theology has long encouraged us to see the whole world as a theater of God’s goodness and providence. A magnificent sunset, a beautiful concert, the smile of a child, a wonderful meal with friends and the marital embrace are signs of God’s general care for all that he has made. Yet this care extends equally to believers and unbelievers alike (Mt 5:45). While general revelation reminds us of God’s power and majesty, the preached gospel communicates God’s saving grace. God is present everywhere, in all that he has made, yet he is only present to save where he has promised to meet us. While the Grand Canyon may fill us with awe, the preaching of Christ fills us with faith. Answering the question, “Where does this faith come from?”, the Heidelberg Catechism (Q. 65) answers, “The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it through our use of the holy sacraments.”

While God can create and confirm faith whenever and however he chooses, he has only promised to do so through the means he has appointed. In the sacraments, God unites the signs (water, bread and wine) to the things signified (regeneration, the body and blood of Christ), in order to deliver to us that same gospel promise announced to us through his Word, so that we both hear and see that God is good! God himself condescends to our weakness, attaching the royal seal of his covenant of grace. As Edmund Clowney wrote,

Spreading the sacramental over the whole creation dilutes its force. If everything is sacramental, then bread and wine are already sacraments before their consecration, and the mystery of the Eucharist differs only in degree from the sacramentality of an incarnate creation….The revelation of God in nature does display God’s ‘eternal power and divine nature’ (Rom. 1:20), making all humankind accountable to him, but God’s special revelation in word and deed provides the signs of his redeeming power (The Church, 270-271).

So should we try to be wiser than God? Do we know better how to receive Christ and all his benefits? When we do set out to scale heaven’s heights, to possess God as he is in all of his majesty rather than simply receive him as he condescends to us, we usually make golden calves. But this is to worship God on our terms rather than on his, to create an “experience” with God that we can manage and control through our own spiritual technology rather than to humbly accept the gift that he promises to give us.

Whatever feeds us with God’s Word and guides us by his law is profitable. Yet these are not, strictly speaking, the means of grace. Many things are required as duties in the Christian life, and many other things not required by God may be useful. Yet these are not, strictly speaking, means of grace but means of discipleship. In other words, they are appropriate means of responding to God, while preaching and sacraments are God’s means of reaching us. The Heidelberg Catechism calls prayer, for example, “the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us” (Q 116). It is indispensable to the Christian life, just as communication is for a fruitful marriage. Nevertheless, prayer is the response of faith, while preaching and sacrament create and confirm faith. As means of grace, sacraments communicate something from God to us, while in all exercises of Christian gratitude and obedience we respond in love to God and neighbor.

Conclusion
While there are many things for a Christian to do, nothing that we do can communicate grace to ourselves. There are, of course, many things that we must do in order to receive God’s Word and sacraments: getting dressed, going to church, spending the day in meditation on God’s riches in Christ. But the communication of these riches is itself entirely God’s act, not ours. The good news is that God has not only found his way to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, but in the weekly Sabbath he has carved out of this passing age time for his meeting with us. Indeed, the medium is the message. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 13:28-29).

Footnotes

1 Finney’s “new measures” and the revivalism that followed in his wake led to what historians have called the “burned-over district” in upstate New York, where the acceleration of “excitements” eventually led to spiritual exhaustion, both in the form of hardened unbelief and in the form of radical spiritualities. Many of the mind-science cults were born along the path of these revivals. Like a heroine addict, a victim of “bad religion” often discovers that there are only two options: to break the habit of religion altogether or to go deeper and deeper into cultic binges, trying desperately to satisfy the cravings. But whether the craving is for more immanence (sense of God’s nearness and familiarity) or more transcendence (sense of God’s majesty and mystery), idolatry is a perennial human temptation.

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There Is A Way To Be Happy, Even In Sadness

Godly Sorrow: Jesus' and Ours

By John Piper

Christian Hedonists embrace necessary sorrow for the glory of God. On the one hand, we are utterly committed to pursuing joy in God at all times. But on the other hand, we know there is more to the emotional life of godly people than joy. Joy is not the only good emotion. But without delight in God, no emotion would be good. Either as component or the concomitant of all godly emotions, it is joy in God that makes them good.

Consider sorrow. Neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit has ever sinned. But both have grieved. Both have been sorrowful. Therefore, godly sorrow is possible.

Not only that, godly sorrow is possible also for sinners. It is possible precisely because of our sin. One form of sorrow is sorrow for doing something wrong. So Paul writes to the Corinthians:

For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it. . . . I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:8-10)

At least two things govern what makes sorrow good. One is the cause, the other is the outcome. The cause of godly sorrow for our own sin is the spiritual perception of its moral ugliness, not just its negative consequences. We see it as morally repugnant. This repugnance is owing to our spiritual preference for the taste of the truth and beauty of God. Therefore our sorrow for sin is rooted in our savoring of God. Sin is a revolting flavor in the feast of godwardness. Therefore, sorrow over this is a signal that we delight in God. That is what makes the sorrow good.

The outcome of good sorrow for sin is repentance and holiness. In fact, repentance includes sorrow for sin and extends it to a more durable experience of holy living. This holy living is the outward form of delighting in God above all sin. Therefore delight in God is what makes the sorrow and repentance good.

But what about sorrow that is not for our own sin, but for the way we are sinned against or the way we are hurt by calamity and loss? Jesus sorrowed like this. For example, when he saw the Pharisees murmuring about his healing on the Sabbath, “He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart” (Mark 3:5). And in the garden of Gethsemane, he said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch” (Mark 14:34).

Jesus’ sorrow was not owing to his own sin, but to the sins of others. This is the way it is with the Holy Spirit as well. Paul calls us to put sin out of our lives so that we do not grieve the Spirit: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:29-30).

In the same way believers embrace godly grief not only for our own sins but for the sins of others and for the pain that loss brings us. For example, Peter speaks of our grieving over trials: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials” (1 Peter 1:6). Paul speaks of our grieving over lost loved ones: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). And Paul refers to his own grief over the lostness of his kinsmen: “My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart (Romans 9:1).

Nevertheless Paul makes the astonishing statement in 2 Corinthians 6:10 that what marks his life and should mark ours is “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” This is what makes our sorrow godly. I do not claim that this experience is simple or that we can even put it into adequate words—what it means to be joyful in sorrow. Heaving sobs at the loss of a loved one does not look like joy. Indeed is not joy in its fullness, as we will know it when “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Rather the joy that endures through sorrow is the foretaste of that future joy in God which we hope for in the future. When Jesus was “very sorrowful, even to death” in Gethsemane he was sustained by “the joy that was set before him” (Hebrews 12:2). This does not mean that he felt in the garden or on the cross all that he would feel in the resurrection. But it does mean that he hoped in it and that this hope was an experienced foretaste of that joy.

Therefore, we groan here, waiting for the redemption of our bodies and for the removal of all our sins (Romans 8:23). This groaning and grieving is godly if it is molded by our delight in hope of glory (Romans 5:2-3). The delight is muffled by the pain. But it is there in seed form. It will one day grow into a great vine that yields wine of undiluted delight.

So let us embrace whatever sorrow God appoints for us. Let us not be ashamed of tears. Let the promise that joy comes with the morning (Psalm 30:5) sustain and shape our grief with the power and goodness of God.

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Tim Conway - Confessing Christ As Lord

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John Piper - Be Couragous, President Barack Obama

Be Couragous, President Barack Obama



The Magnificance of the Human Being



It's a Baby



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My Lord, I Did Not Choose You

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Love One Another

1 Corinthians 13: If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.



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Can A Christian Lose His Or Her Salvation?

From CPRF:

- By Greg Johnson

1. Classic Arminianism

• One must persevere in faith to be saved.
• True believers can lose their faith.
• Those dying without faith in Christ are condemned.
“The believer who loses his faith is damned.”

2. Antinomianism

• One need not persevere in faith to be saved.
• True believers can lose their faith.
• Those who lose their faith are saved, since they once believed.
“The believer who loses his faith is saved.”

3. Classic Calvinism

• One must persevere in faith to be saved.
• True believers cannot lose their faith, since it’s God’s gift.
• Those dying without faith in Christ are condemned.
• Those who “lose” their faith never had it to begin with.
• God will preserve true believers and they will be saved.
“The ‘believer’ who loses his faith never really had it—or at least it wasn’t in Jesus.”

Proponents of the first two approaches quote biblical references, but each must strain to explain away the other group's biblical data. How can an Arminian read Romans 8, then tell true believers that they may screw up and go to hell??? Then again, how can Charles Stanley read Hebrews 6 and 10 and tell unbelievers who once professed faith not to worry, that they will be saved??? Any true biblical teaching must “fit” with ALL the biblical data, without pitting one text against another and without having to explain away a single “jot or tittle” of God's inerrant Word. I believe that only the classical Calvinist model takes into account all of the biblical data.

Arminians are right when they say the Bible teaches that only those who persevere will be saved, and they’re right in accusing Antinomians of easy-believism and cheap grace. Antinomians (they wouldn’t use the term) are right in telling committed believers that they are secure in Christ and “once saved, always saved.” But both of these views are wrong is assuming that a true believer can lose his faith and fall away from Christ. Faith is “a gift of God—not by works, lest any man boast.” Paul was confident that, since Christ had begun a good work in believers, He would continue that work until completion (Phil. 1). John said that those who fell away were never really true Christians, since true believers don't leave the faith (1 John 2:19).

Scripture teaches that believers must persevere until the end, but also that believers will persevere until the end by God's grace. As the Westminster Assembly concluded, Christians might temporarily yield to Satan's temptations, even to excess, but like Peter when he denied Christ three times, God will still restore and preserve the faith of the Christian, a faith which God gave in the first place! Peter went on to be chief among the apostles! Two biblical principles must be held side-by-side:

1. You Must Persevere until the End: God's Requirement of His People

God does not merely command us to begin to believe for a time, and then fall away. He requires us to continue to believe until the end, living lives of repentance and covenant faithfulness. Granted, He does not ask for a perfect faith, but He does ask for a real faith, one that produces real, lasting change.

• Colossians 1:21-23
• 1 John 1:5-10; 3:3-6
• Hebrews 10:26-31
• Hebrews 12:1

2. You Will Persevere Until the End: God's Preservation of His People

We will persevere because God preserves us. God will keep us from falling—not one will be lost of all those who belong to the Son. True believers are not able to leave Christ, for Christ is at work within them.

• John 6:38-40
• John 10:28-29
• Romans 8:28-39
• Philippians 1:4-6
• Philippians 2:12-13
• 1 John 2:19

This first set of texts cannot be used to refute the second (Arminianism); nor can the second set of texts be used to refute the first (cheap grace). The point that makes the two compatible is the biblical teaching that faith (while commanded of everyone) is a gift from God to His elect. If faith is simply a human action of a free will, then it can be lost. But if saving faith is God's gift, then it cannot be lost. Can professing Christians fall away? Yes, and they will perish. Can true Christians fall away? No, for they are kept by the invincible power of God in Christ. The Bible teaches us that professing Christians who leave the faith were never truly believers (1 John 2:19; and notice the qualification even in Hebrews 10:39).

“They, whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.” —Westminster Confession of Faith 17.1, drafted by the Westminster Assembly at the request of the British Parliament 1643-47

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John MacArthur - Repost - What Is The Heart Of The Gospel?

Every person needs to watch this video.



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Regeneration Precedes Faith

"I Believe in 'Free-will' So I Can Boast Myself."



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Paul Washer - End Of Shocking Youth Message

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John Piper - Preach The Gospel

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Tim Conway - What Is True Biblical Repentance?

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Tim Conway - Romans 10:9-13 - Are You Safe?

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



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Paul Washer - Jesus Christ Is Everything Or He Is Nothing

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Leonard Ravenhill - Sacrifice - There's Only One Way To Heaven; There Are A Million Ways To Hell

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Why Calvinism Is The Least Rational Option

From Parchment and Pen:

~ C Michael Patton ~

One of the dozens of reasons I am a Calvinist has to do with the tension that is allowed within the Calvinistic system that is not allowed in other options. You see, the issues of Calvinism primarily center on one issue: predestination. While the sovereignty of God has its place, it does not ultimately determine where one lands. An Arminian can believe that God is sovereign to a similar degree as a Calvinist. But an Arminian cannot believe in predestination the same way as Calvinists.

Both Calvinists and Arminians believe in predestination. In other words, whether or not God predestines people is not the issue. All Bible believing Christians believe this doctrine. The issue has to do with the basis of this predestining.

The Calvinist says that God’s predestination has no founding in the predestined in any sense. God did not choose people based on any merit, intrinsic or foreseen. This is called unconditional predestination because there are no conditions in man that need to be met. It does not mean that God did not have any reason for choosing some and not others, but that the reason is not found in us.

The Arminian says that God’s predestination has a founding in the faith of the predestined. In other words, God looks ahead in time and discovers who will believe and who will not and chooses people based on their prior free-will choice of him.

The Arminian chooses this position because, for them, it is the only way to reconcile human freedom and God’s choice. Both are clearly taught in Scripture. Therefore, in order to have a reasonable and consistant theology, one or the other must be altered. If God unconditionally choose people, then people don’t have responsibility in their choice, good or ill. Therefore, it is not human choice that is nuanced, but God’s choice. To make sense out of this, the Arminian says that God’s choice is based on man’s choice. Therefore, we have consistency. The tension is solved. There is no tension.

However, the Calvinist is not satisfied with a redefining of God’s predestination. To the Calvinists, man is fully responsible for his choice, yet God’s election is unconditional. Therefore, there is a tension that is created between human responsibility and God’s election. This tension is left in tact since, according to the Calvinist, it is best understood this way in Scripture. To redefine predestination to suit one’s need to alleviate tension seems to be a very rationalistic approach to doctrine. While there is nothing wrong with using one’s reason to understand truth, there are problems when reason takes priority over revelation.

This is one of the mistakes that I believe the Arminian system of conditional election/predestination makes. There is no need to solve all tensions, especially when the solution comes at the expense of one’s interpretive integrity. There are many tensions in Scripture. There are many things that, while not irrational, just don’t make sense. The doctrine of the Trinity, the Hypostatic Union, creation out of nothing all fit this category. So does human responsibility and unconditional election. God’s sovereign unconditional election can stand side-by-side with man’s responsibility without creating a formal contradiction. We may not know how to reconcile these two issues, but that does not mean God does not know how. Their co-existence does not take away from their collective truthfulness.

I believe that the Arminian system sacrifices biblical integrity for the sake of intelligibility and doctrinal harmony. The Calvinistic system allows tension and mysteries to remain for the sake of Biblical fidelity.

I have had people say to me (often) that they are not Calvinists because the system attempts to be too systematic with all its points for the sake of the system itself. I think that it is just the opposite. The Calvinistic system creates more tensions than it solves, but seeks to remain faithful to God’s word rather than human intelligibility.

Now, I must admit. I am confused as to why most emergers that I know of are more attracted to the rationalistic approach of the Arminians than the tension filled approach of the Calvinists.

Fire away…

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Mike Ratliff - Faith Without Works Is Dead

From Possessing The Treasure:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:14-18 ESV)

The passage I placed at the beginning of this article is one the most abused and misunderstood passages that I know of. If it is read casually, it can be easily misunderstood. If is exposited by someone possessing a faulty hermeneutic, it can be twisted to say what no other part of the Bible teaches, that faith plus works is required for salvation.

Works salvation is nothing new. Jesus’ earthly ministry took place in a religious environment that was oppressively legalistic and works based. What is a works based theology? It is a religious system built around one succinct point; salvation comes to those who earn it. If you have little or no works then you are out of luck. It brings people into bondage because it teaches that salvation is based on their worth or their goodness or their faithfulness. Under this theology, you live your life and try to be as good and faithful as you can and when you die if your good works outweigh your sins then you are in, but if it is the other way around you are not going to make it. Keeping rules is very big in a “works” theology. What was Jesus’ reaction to those who oppressed others with their legalism?

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you–but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.” (Matthew 23:1-7 ESV)

Who persecuted Jesus? It was the religious leaders of His day. They resented His teachings against their legalistic works based theology that saves no one and in fact kept people from believing unto salvation.

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” (Matthew 23:13 ESV)

What was Jesus solution?

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

In this passage, Jesus is speaking to the religiously burdened people who were mired in works based religious system. Let’s break down this passage into phrases and work through them so we can clearly see what Jesus was speaking about.

The first phrase is, “Come to me…” The first word in the phrase is actually a Greek adverb that means to “come hither.” It can also mean to “follow.” The word translated “unto” means to “move toward” or “ascend to” or “near.” The third word is of course the pronoun Jesus used referring to Himself. This gives a word picture of Christ calling all to draw near to Him. It says much more than simply coming to Him religiously then moving away to do our own thing. Jesus is calling to Himself those who will draw near to Him for eternal change. He is calling those who will believe on Him as Lord and savior. This is a call to those who will come near to Jesus as disciples. Those who seek a savior in Christ have come to the right place, but if they are not willing to submit to Him as Lord then they can not be His disciples.

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39 ESV)

The Son did not leave Heaven to become a man and live among His creation to draw a Church full of Soul-led pew-sitters into eternal glory. He came to “seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) He came to be the perfect blood sacrifice, The Lamb of God, to pay the price and penalty for the sins of all who will believe. His death on the cross paid that price as all sin was placed on Him as He died. He was raised from the dead on the third day then forty days later was ascended to the Heaven. Just before He ascended, He gave a command to His disciples and us as well.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

Jesus came to make disciples. He is telling us we need to be His disciples and be dedicated to making disciples as well. The remaining eleven apostles (Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ and killed himself) went from a group of Soul-led, vacillating, hardhearted believers who were mired in unbelief to eleven Spirit-led, faithful, tenderhearted believers who changed the World. They were able to do this because they devoted themselves to Christ and submitted to the control of the Holy Spirit. As they submitted, they were able to “go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

After the call to “Come unto me” Jesus tells us whom He is calling unto Himself in the next phrase. Who are they? They are “all who labor and are heavy laden.” Who is this? The Greek word translated “labor” means to “work hard.” The subject of this phrase is “all.” Jesus is calling everyone who “works hard.” Works hard at what? Look at the second part of the phrase. The words “are heavy laden” is a combined set of words that means the subject of the phrase is overburdened with ceremony. This implies spiritual anxiety. This implies someone who has an impossible burden of religiosity piled on them which they will never be able to accomplish with their own abilities.

Before we go to the rest of this passage let’s pull together what we have learned so far by paraphrasing the first two phrases. Jesus is speaking to a group of people in a “works” theology religious system. He says, “Come near unto me, all of you who are working hard at being spiritual.” Incredible! Here is a gem of a passage that specifically addresses those who are trying to be spiritual in their own strength. Who are they? They are the Soul-led. They are the spiritually bankrupt believers and non-believers who are striving after the wind in complete vanity. Many of them are working very hard at being religious, but it is by their own will power not within the grace of God.

What happens when the Soul-led come near unto Jesus? What do the Soul-led do when they encounter God? They flee. They cannot stand to be in His presence because of their sin and His Holiness. Their Hearts are hard and they are in unbelief. However, Jesus is calling them to come near to Him. Who responds? Well, I was Soul-led for a long time, but I was desperate and hungry. Who put that desperation and hunger in me? The Holy Spirit did that. He drew me unto Jesus for healing, teaching, and spiritual growth. My heart became tender and broken before the Lord. Those who respond to this call are the Soul-led who are being drawn by God unto Himself. They are the ones responding to Jesus call, “Come unto me.”

The third phrase in this passage says, “and I will give you rest.” This phase is simple to break down. Jesus is saying, because of someone coming near unto Him, He will do something for him or her. The words “give you rest” is another word grouping. The grammar in this phrase suggests the one speaking will “apply refreshing” to the object. Who is the object? The one who has come near unto Jesus is the object. What do they receive? Jesus gives them the gift of rest and refreshment. This passage is usually translated with this word grouping meaning “rest”; however, I am convinced as we “rest” in Jesus He refreshes us. He sure does with me. I come to Him in desperation and anxiety all the time and He will calm me down and fill me with joy and peace. That is refreshment.

Once more, let’s pull together what we have broken down. Jesus is calling all who are spiritually worn out (Soul-led) to come near unto Him. When they do, He will give them a refreshing rest. This implies, in Christ, the vanity of empty religion is revealed for what it really is and those who come near unto Christ are freed from it. However, that is not all there is to this passage. We have covered the first sentence, which is v28. This verse is a condensed statement by Jesus of what He will do for those who come near unto Him seeking relief from the burdens of Soul-led religiosity. Verses 29-30 are the expanded detail of v28.

In v29, we have the fourth phrase in this passage, which says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” Pardon me as I get a little technical. It won’t be bad, I promise. New Testament Greek is a wonderfully expressive language. It has many depths of possible meaning. For instance, Greek verbs have tense and voice as in English, but they also have mood. Therefore, when studying verb usage in New Testament Greek you must determine the tense, mood, and voice.

The first word in this phrase is “Take”. It means to take up an object and lift it up for use. The tense is aorist, the mood is imperative and the voice is active. Aorist imperative says this verb is a command that must be performed immediately. The Voice is active so the subject of the phrase must do this action. What is Jesus commanding? He was telling the ones who have come near unto Him who were spiritually worn out to pick up and put on His Yoke.

No one is forcing them to pick up and put on the Yoke of Christ, but it is a command. This command comes right after the promise of rest and refreshment for those who come near unto Him. This shows us that the taking up His Yoke is part of the process of gaining that rest and refreshment. This command is one of those either-or test questions. As we come near unto Christ for His rest, refreshment, and relief from our Soul-led walk He gives us a choice. The choice is either to submit to the Yoke of Christ (His Lordship) or to continue in self-will. If we choose the former, we will have His rest and refreshment. If we choose the latter, we will go right back to “chasing after the wind.” Once again, we have a picture of God showing us the way to true fulfillment.

The next phrase in v29 is, “for I am gentle and lowly in heart.” The way this is phrased it is clear Jesus is telling us the process of taking on His yoke and learning from Him will be a pleasant experience because He is gentle and lowly in heart. He is reassuring us that even though we are submitting to His yoke it is not hurtful or debasing. The word translated “gentle” could be translated as “meek” or “humble.” The word “meek” in English implies cowardice or timidity. In New Testament Greek, it does not mean that at all. The word actually implies one who is powerful yet humble and in-control. Jesus demonstrated his graciousness throughout the time He walked the Earth during His Earthly ministry. His character is God’s character. The gentleness of Christ should reassure those submitting to the Yoke of Christ they will not be treated in any way that is not in their best interests. We can “rest” in Christ’s gentleness because it is an outcome of His Love for us. Christ’s love for us is the highest form of love. Our word, “AGAPE,” is a transliterated Greek word. This word for Love speaks of a love based on the best interests of the one loved, not what the one who is loved actually desires.

The next characteristic of Jesus from v29 is “lowly in heart.” What does that mean? We must remember that our example for becoming Christ-like is Christ. When we become godly, Christ-like believers, we will have taken on His character. His character is one of humility that never seeks its own. This character always puts others ahead of self and God above all. Remember back in the first and second phrases of verse 29 Jesus commanded all who come near to Him to take up His yoke and learn from Him. What are those who do this going to learn? This is Jesus teaching us how to take on His character. This is Jesus showing us what we have to let go of and what we must take on. He will be showing us the steps to fulfillment. He will be teaching us how to walk the Walk by Faith. All of this will be what is best for us. This is Jesus giving of Himself entirely so we can be fulfilled in our obedience to His Lordship.

The last phrase in verse 29 gives us the outcome of our taking on the Yoke of Christ: “and you will find rest for your souls.” The outcome of submitting to the Lordship of Christ is rest for our souls. The word rest in this verse can mean “recreation.” It is based on the same root as the word “rest” from verse 28, but speaks of joy rather than refreshing. I have been so full of joy at times I would weep and weep and be totally fulfilled. The outcome was very enjoyable and lead to peace and contentment.

The last part of this phrase tells us where that rest or recreation will take place. This implies the Soul is where all of the hard work was taking place while being “heavy laden” from verse 28. Soul-led religiosity, which is all about “works,” takes place in the Soul. It is wearying. It will wear us out if we attempt to work and work for fulfillment rather than submitting to the Yoke of Christ.

This submission brings our focus to God. It places the Spirit in predominance over the Soul. It causes the believer to become Spirit-led. The Soul of the Spirit-led is crucified or denied. That does not mean it is locked up somewhere and is being punished. It means the Soul takes on its original function. What was that original function? God designed Man’s Soul to express and reflect Him. For our Soul to take on this function, it must come under submission to the Spirit. The Spirit-led believer walks the Walk by Faith. He or she lives their life seeking the will of God in all things. They fear God. They live their whole life continually turning to Christ in their walk in Repentance with Joy. They are wearing the Yoke of Christ in complete submission to His Lordship. They are constantly learning from Christ as they submit to His teachings. Their bodies are submitted as living sacrifices to the Lord. They are God’s empty chosen vessels. They keep the Lord’s commandments naturally. All of this is accomplished by the Lord’s mercy and grace.

In verse 30, Jesus finalizes this passage with a perfect description of the Walk by Faith. He says, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Those who are Soul-led will usually reject this verse. I have heard some say that they feel Christ’s yoke is not easy, it is hard, and the burden is heavy. Of course it is. That is, it is hard, heavy, difficult, and burdensome to the Soul-led because their Soul is trying to do it all. It will never work. The Soul was never designed to be spiritual. To submit to the Yoke of Christ we must become Spirit-led.

Living in submission to the Yoke of Christ is easy when living a life empowered by the Holy Spirit. All of the demands in that relationship with Jesus are simple and easy. Keeping God’s Commandments is easy. Being obedient is easy. Being Christ-like is easy. Why? The Spirit-led is yoked up with Christ. He or she simply turns everything over to the Lord. All problems and circumstances are handled that way. All Heart activities seeking fulfillment away from God are cut off at the pass and captured before they materialize into sin. This whole activity increases joy and peace continually due to being in God’s presence through it all.

I exposited Matthew 11:28-30 in an attempt to show that our salvation is not “works” based, but that works come forth from our submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When we do that we are taking on His Yoke. If we are yoked up with Him then we will do good works, but they will be no burden at all. Of course, there is another passage which completely negates “works” as part of salvation.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience– among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV)

Our salvation comes from God and is according to Him. He has designed it in such a way that it is impossible for any believer to boast. If we work for it then we can boast. Let’s return to James 2:14-18 and apply our understanding from Matthew 11:28-30 and Ephesians 2:1-10. Here is that passage again.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:14-18 ESV)

If we look at the negative things James speaks of in this passage, we see that people who neglect to do these good works have a spiritual problem. What is it? Their faith is dead. However, if a believer does good works as part of their submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ then they are proving that they are truly His disciple. The works have nothing to with saving the Christian; however, a believer walking the walk by faith, yoked up with Christ will do them.

Having dead faith means what? Does this mean that they are not believers? I believe that is what James is saying. The works are proof of the Holy Spirit working in the life of the believer. Let’s look at John 15.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:1-10 ESV)

What is the fruit that the branches bear? This is being fruitful in the Kingdom of God. Part of that is the Fruit of the Spirit and part is the result of that fruit being manifested in the heart of the believer resulting in good works. What empowers believers to do good works? It is by abiding in Christ and submitting to His Lordship. As a result of that we are pruned by the Father so we will bear more fruit. Just as in James, we see that there is a dichotomy. True believers abide in Christ and submit to His Lordship. By their good works they are proved authentic. The professing believers who do not abide in Christ and have never submitted to His Lordship cannot do good works and are thereby proven disingenuous. The Father takes them away and they are cast into the fire.

Some may say that I am teaching that submission to Christ’s Lordship is “works” and that is how we do the good works so I am teaching works based salvation as well. No, what I am teaching is that the truly regenerated believer WILL do these things, while the unregenerate professing believers can’t. Faith without works is dead. Faith is proved genuine by good works coming forth as fruit in the Kingdom of God. The false teachings that James 2:14-18 speaks of works based salvation become unsupportable if we utilize proper Biblical exegesis. There is simply no echoing teachings in the Bible to exegete back to so that scripture interpreting scripture will come up with that teaching. I pray for your forgiveness for such a long post, but I believe these truths will be helpful in our warfare against the false teachings permeating the Church.

End of post.

Jeremiah Burroughs - The Gospel

"The gospel of Christ in general is this: It is the good tidings that God has revealed concerning Christ. More largely it is this: As all mankind was lost in Adam and became the children of wrath, put under the sentence of death, God, though He left His fallen angels and has reserved them in the chains of eternal darkness, yet He has thought upon the children of men and has provided a way of atonement to reconcile them to Himself again...Namely, the second person of the Trinity takes man's nature upon Himself, and becomes the Head of a second covenant, standing charged with sin. He answers for it by suffering what the law and divine justice required, and by making satisfaction by keeping the law perfectly, which satisfaction and righteousness He tenders up to the Father as a sweet savor of rest for the souls that are given to Him...And now this mediation of Christ is, by the appointment of the Father, preached to the children of men, of whatever nation or rank, freely offering this atonement unto sinners for atonement, requiring them to believe in Him and, upon believing, promising not only a discharge of all their former sins, but that they shall not enter into condemnation, that none of their sins or unworthiness shall ever hinder the peace of God with them, but that they shall through Him be received into the number of those who shall have the image of God again to be renewed unto them, and they they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation."

End of post.

Quest For Joy

Did you know that God commands us to be glad?

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

1) God created us for his glory

"Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth,... whom I created for my glory" (Isaiah 43:6-7)

God made us to magnify his greatness - the way telescopes magnify stars. He created us to put his goodness and truth and beauty and wisdom and justice on display. The greatest display of God's glory comes from deep delight in all that he is. This means that God gets the praise and we get the pleasure. God created us so that he is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

2) Every human should live for God's glory

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

If God made us for his glory, it is clear that we should live for his glory. Our duty comes from his design. So our first obligation is to show God's value by being satisfied with all that he is for us. This is the essence of loving God (Matthew 22:37) and trusting him (1 John 5:3-4) and being thankful to him (Psalm 100:2-4) It is the root of all true obedience, especially loving others (Colossians 1:4-5).

3) All of us have failed to glorify God as we should

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

What does it mean to "fall short of the glory of God?" It means that none of us has trusted and treasured God the way we should. We have not been satisfied with his greatness and walked in his ways. We have sought our satisfaction in other things, and treated them as more valuable than God, which is the essence of idolatry (Romans 1:21-23). Since sin came into the world we have all been deeply resistant to having God as our all-satisfying treasure (Ephesians 2:3). This is an appalling offense to the greatness of God (Jeremiah 2:12-13).

4) All of us are subject to God's just condemnation

"The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23).

We have all belittled the glory of God. How? By preferring other things above him. By our ingratitude, distrust and disobedience. So God is just in shutting us out from the enjoyment of his glory forever. "They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

The word "hell" is used in the New Testament twelve times1—eleven times by Jesus himself. It is not a myth created by dismal and angry preachers. It is a solemn warning from the Son of God who died to deliver sinners from its curse. We ignore it at great risk.

If the Bible stopped here in its analysis of the human condition, we would be doomed to a hopeless future. However, this is not where it stops...

5) God sent his only son Jesus to provide eternal life and joy

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." (1 Timothy 1:15)

The good news is that Christ died for sinners like us. And he rose physically from the dead to validate the saving power of his death and to open the gates of eternal life and joy (1 Corinthians 15:20). This means God can acquit guilty sinners and still be just (Romans 3:25-26). "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). Coming home to God is where all deep and lasting satisfaction is found.

6) The benefits purchased by the death of Christ belong to those who repent and trust him

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out" (Acts 3:19). "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).

"Repent" means to turn from all the deceitful promises of sin. "Faith" means being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus. "He who believes in me," Jesus says, "shall never thirst" (John 6:35). We do not earn our salvation. We cannot merit it (Romans 4:4-5). It is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is a free gift (Romans 3:24). We will have it if we cherish it above all things (Matthew 13:44). When we do that, God's aim in creation is accomplished: He is glorified in us and we are satisfied in him - forever.

Does this make sense to you?

Do you desire the kind of gladness that comes from being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus? If so, then God is at work in your life.

What should you do?

Turn from the deceitful promises of sin. Call upon Jesus to save you from the guilt and punishment and bondage. "All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). Start banking your hope on all that God is for you in Jesus. Break the power of sin's promises by faith in the superior satisfaction of God's promises. Begin reading the Bible to find his precious and very great promises, which can set you free (2 Peter 1:3-4). Find a Bible-believing church and begin to worship and grow together with other people who treasure Christ above all things (Philippians 3:7).

The best news in the world is that there is no necessary conflict between our happiness and God's holiness. Being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus magnifies him as a great Treasure.

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11)

Appearances of the word "hell" in the New Testament

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:22 Jesus speaking)

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:29 Jesus speaking)

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:30 Jesus speaking)

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28 Jesus speaking)

And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. (Matthew 18:9 Jesus speaking)

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. (Matthew 23:15 Jesus speaking)

"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? (Matthew 23:33 Jesus speaking)

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. (Mark 9:43 Jesus speaking)

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. (Mark 9:45 Jesus speaking)

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, (Mark 9:47 Jesus speaking)

But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. (Luke 12:5 Jesus speaking)

In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. (Luke 16:23 Jesus speaking)

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:6 James speaking).

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; (2 Peter 2:4 Peter speaking)

End of post.

Are You A Christian?

From Truth For Today:

We have a solemn warning from the lips of the Lord Jesus: "Not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father."

It's worthwhile, then, considering: When do we have the right to describe ourselves as Christians? It's a crucial question!

According to Scripture, you are a Christian when you deal properly with sin, that is, the fact that you have broken God's law and consequently are under his condemnation.

Contrasted with world religions, the Christian faith is essentially for those who realize that they are indebted to God. When the angel announced the birth of Jesus Christ, he said, "You shall call him Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."

Have you dealt seriously with the fact that God has pronounced sentence against you as guilty? Have you awakened from sleep and considered how your Creator has every right, whenever it pleases him, to summon you into his presence and to give an account of every evil deed you committed, with which your soul is defiled?

The Lord Jesus gave us a penetrating picture concerning ourselves: "From within, from the heart of man, issue forth..." and on he goes by mentioning a whole list of sins that fill in the daily newspapers - blasphemy, pride, adultery, murder. Jesus says that the fountainhead of all this pollution is the human heart. It is the wellspring from which is drawn the filth and impurity we see around us.

Our heart is adumbrated as "sick unto death" - the source of every form of immorality and lawlessness.

Are you really worried about this problem of a evil heart? I am not asking whether you believe man is a sinner in theory. The question involves much more: did your debt and your evil heart ever drive you to see yourself as God sees you? Did you examine yourself in depth, from within? And have you arrived at the same verdict that God holds against you? Have you attempted to defend yourself? Or have you sided with God against yourself?

A true Christian does not stop here. A Christian is one who not only knows that God's condemnation is hanging upon him, but also has applied the only divine remedy for sin.

At this point extreme care should be exercised: the Christian faith is not some kind of religious first-aid just as if you're patching up some damage. It is not a percentage of help from above to add our own self-help to it. In his infinite mercy, God intervenes into our miserable situation, and does for us what we could not do for ourselves.

The divine remedy is Christ himself. The remedy is not found in a set of ideas, or in an institution or a particular church. The solution is found in Jesus Christ, who himself affirmed: "I am the way, the truth and the life: no man comes to the Father, except through me."

The remedy is Christ crucified, and raised from the dead the third day. "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." Jesus said: "I came to serve and give my life as a ransom for many." When the apostle Paul visited Corinth, that citadel of intellectualism and pagan philosophy, "I came to you," he reminded them, "not with elevated speech, for I had determined beforehand not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified."

For the benefit of his own enemies, Christ suffered the consequences of our disobedience so that we won't be condemned to hell, but instead will be granted forgiveness and become heirs of eternal life with him. Fix your eyes of faith upon the cross on which Christ offered himself, an innocent victim instead of all those who actually flee unto him for refuge.

He died as the substitute of his people - the verdict was against us, but he underwent the punishment and full condemnation instead of us. Isaiah fortells his sufferings on our behalf: "He was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."

The cross is the monumental exhibition how God can be just and at the same time forgive guilty sinners. He is fully satisfied with the perfect offering of his Son. We cannot supplement it with anything of our own, neither is there anything to alter. By his holy will, "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." It would be an insult to Christ if we imagine that we can add something to his perfect sacrifice. His death is of infinite value, well-pleasing to God, and thus should be adequate to us as well. And Christ's sacrifice cannot be repeated or renewed, for the Holy Spirit himself testifies: "Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. Now when there is forgiveness of sins there is no more offering for sins" (Hebrews 10:17,18).

The King came to die! Forgiveness is possible only because Christ paid our debt.

We enjoy this marvelous forgiveness only when we turn to him and trust him. We read how Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near: repent and believe the gospel."

What is repentance? In repentance, the sinner, aroused by a true sense of his sin, and drawn by God's mercy in Christ, turns towards God from sin and realizes that sin is open rebellion against him. In this action he expresses grief for his past ways and a hatred for his present sins. His understanding changes, and thus he flees to God with a sincere desire to obey him.

Repentance is the divorce of the soul from sin. But at the same time, in true repentance, the soul is married and joined to the Saviour Jesus Christ by faith. And what is faith? Well, when you return home after a long day's work, you confidently sit down on the sofa, without doubting whether the sofa is safe enough to hold you. That is faith. By faith the repentant soul leans confidently on Christ as he is offered to us in the gospel. You trust him completely, without any reserve, you behold in him all your need, you believe that he has accomplished for you what you could not accomplish for yourself. You anchor your intellect, your will, and your emotions in him, your whole personality. Your soul will be rooted in him. He will be the sole foundation for your life. The Bible declares, "Jesus is able to save completely all those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he is always lives to make intercession for them."

On whose merits are you going to meet God? On your own merits? On yours and somebody else's? On yours and Christ's? Or on the merits of Christ alone? It is written: "God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; and he who does not have the Sod of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life." If you desire to have eternal life you need to depend wholly upon Jesus Christ. Nobody except him.

With what can we compare faith? Imagine a glass of water on a table. You stand in front of it, wishing to drink. You touch it - but you're still thirsty. You draw it to your lips - still you are thirsty. And if you remain in this position, you simply cannot quench your thirst, although the opportunity is fully yours. You need to drink! And just as water satisfies bodily thirst, Christ satisfies your spiritual thirst. He said, "He who drinks from this well will thirst again; but everyone who drinks from the water which I shall give him shall be in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. If anybody thirsts, let him come to me and drink."

By faith we bring nothing to Christ except an empty hand to receive forgiveness. "To him all the prophets bear witness that all those who believe in him obtain forgiveness of sins in his Name."

The final proof whether you're a true Christian or not is this: are you showing that your repentance and faith are genuine by a holy conduct?

The Bible says: "For by grace are you saved, through faith, and this is not of yourselves; this is the gift of God, not of works, so that nobody would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." True faith always expresses itself in love. "He who has my commandments, and keeps them, he is the one who loves me. He who does not love me does not keep my word."

We are not going to heaven because we obey the Ten Commandments; we are going to heaven because we are trusting in Christ, who laid down his life for us on the cross. But a faith that does not produce love isn't real. Love is seen in the assistance you give to the poor, the widow, and the orphan.

The apostle John warns us: "He who says, I know him, and yet does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

This is the true Christian. How many of us are Christians, worthy of the Nazarene? It does not really matter by what label we are known: whether we are nicknamed Evangelicals or Catholics. The important issue is what we are before God.

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RE: The Dangers, Results, and History of Decisional Regeneration

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The Hopeless Dawn

From Christ Is Deeper Still:

"The Hopeless Dawn" by Frank Bramley shows a young widow, who has just found out that her husband was lost at sea, being comforted by her godly mother-in-law. Notice the altar-like table, suggesting the Lord's Supper. Notice the big open Bible on the seat by the window. The two suffering women are not alone. Christ is there.

Sooner or later every one of us is confronted with a hopeless dawn. Hopeless, as someone or something important to us is taken away forever. A dawn, because that very moment of overwhelming loss is the beginning of a new era. Christ is there.

I have met many men, in their 50s like me, who have simply lived long enough to get body-slammed by life in some unforeseeable, major way. Divorce, cancer, their business stolen out from underneath them, sued, a wayward child breaking their heart, and so forth. Previous successes make no difference and offer no protection. Sooner or later, the unimaginable comes and finds us. It's just a matter of time.

What I am learning is that such a moment is not when I should say, "Okay, now I begin again." Instead, it is when I can say, "Okay, now I begin." Christ is there.

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The Dangers, Results, and History of Decisional Regeneration

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Tim Conway - Hell Is Necessary

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Paul Washer - The Wrath Of God

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Wretched - Tim Conway

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A Saint's/Sinner's Prayer

From Agonizomai:

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with the humble is wisdom.




The more I press on in the Christian walk the more I am convicted about the matter of pride. I begin to see its ugliness and its pervasiveness in my being. It is a monster that crowds out the presence of the God of all humility. How can I possibly expect to recognize such a quiet, meek and lowly God through the screaming arrogance of my own restless heart?

O how I begin to actually see what God says about me is true! How the Word of His Truth slays me. Thank you God! Bring it on and cut down every lofty branch, bring down every tower, undercut every battlement of my willful flesh that blocks my view of You! Use that sword to kill me, for it is then that I will be made alive by the only One Who can do it...You Yourself.

I must humble myself under your mighty hand, as you have commanded...and I will strive for it...but, in the end, I know that it will be You at work in me by the Holy Spirit through the grace of Jesus Christ that will have the effect. I have nothing that I did not first receive. No power, no knowledge, no will to be anything but what I was. It is you Who are able and Christ Who had done all, leaving me only to walk in it...and even that by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, sent to me by Him.

But again the understanding that I am nothing, that I know nothing and can do nothing...far from making me languid actually motivates and energizes me. The unconditional excellency and unbounded love in which You do all for me draws me through the mystery of the faith You wrought and gave to me, to run after You and to desire that You do more in me than I could possibly hope or think. I am like the man with a load of useless junk in his knapsack staggering towards a distant oasis, tossing and shedding it all, piece by piece, in anticipation of that life-giving stream of flowing water that is Your Own beautiful Person.

This verse contains more than the simple idea that I must be humble. It announces the very purposes of God regarding that which is opposed to Him. For every lofty thought is an abomination to the Most Holy God. It rightly provokes His anger. How can we mere creatures who are so obviously not self-existent not only deny the One Who made us, and Who holds all of creation in His hand, but also raise ourselves up in our own thoughts until we lose all sense what we really are? How arrogant! How despicable! How ungrateful!

I do not excuse myself in this. Before I was saved I was as bad as any other person on earth in this regard. But after God has given me light I am actually worse. My unrepented arrogance and foolish pride is a daily affront to His grace. It is a worse sin than when I was in ignorance of my true condition. Yet grace upon grace is given to those who are in Jesus Christ, that His bounteous mercy and love may be seen and extolled for all eternity. To those to have is more given. Yet from those who have not will be taken away, even that which they have.


The aggravating sin of my unhumbled soul, even in the light of His grace and truth, is a horror more worthy of eternal death than anything I did before I was saved. Yet the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. He fills the cup of grace, presses it down and it runs over in an infinite surfeit that springs from the shed blood of Christ. The excellency of His Being, the boundlessness of His mercy is magnified by His forgiveness of the betrayals in the sins of the saints whenever they repent. His love for them is so over-sufficient, so superabundant that their salvation is prevented from becoming their damnation.

This is what Jesus bought when He died in my place. This is what He knew of me...that I would presume upon the very grace that sought and bought me. And that even God’s anger against that further debauchery was satisfied by the Christ Who knew it would be necessary, to the very last drop of His blood. This love knows no bounds. When He decided to save me He counted the cost to the last penny and gladly paid it. The only redeeming thing about me is the Redeemer Who is in me.

O God, let me not be found presuming upon such love!

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Paul Washer - For Him!

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Paul Washer - The Cost Of Discipleship

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True vs. False Conversion

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No Fear

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Fighting Error In The Church

From Institute For Nouthetic Studies:

Sometimes it may seem that we spend too much time refuting falsehood. All of us are chagrined at the preponderance of error both within and without the Church. We may write off those who attempt to combat it and set forth the truth in clarity over against it as “heresy hunters.” The term is used pejoratively; but should it be? Take a quick look at the Books of the New Testament, merely scratching the surface, and see what you think.

In the Gospels Jesus warns against false teachers, speaks of wolves in sheep’s clothing and the “leaven of the Pharisees.” The record of His ministry is one of conflict with those who refused to accept the teaching He set forth.

Acts contains the record of the church’s first major controversy over whether or not a person must become a Jew before he could qualify as a Christian. A church council was called to settle the matter. Paul goes to lengths to warn the Ephesian elders about wolves who would devour the flock and schismatically draw away disciples to themselves.

Romans is an entire doctrinal treatise about justification by faith alone in contrast to salvation by works, and how sanctification follows thereafter. In it, Paul also takes up the rejection of the Jewish church.

I Corinthians is loaded with problems; schism, misuse of gifts, church discipline, marriage and divorce, and on, and on, on.

II Corinthians takes on false apostles who had invaded the church and charged him with pretending to be an apostle. The place of apostolic authority is set forth, along with the qualifications of an apostle.

Galatians is a sterling defense of Justification by faith alone over against those who taught otherwise, and were upsetting the church by Judaistic legalism.

Ephesians is less controversial, being a universal epistle rather than directed to the adverse circumstances of an individual or a congregation.

Philippians deals with a split in an otherwise good church. But it has to do with self-centeredness and sets forth a key Christological passage.

Colossians is consumed with fighting Judaistic Gnosticism.

I & II Thessalonians take up false teaching about the Lord’s coming and eschatology.

I & II Timothy & Titus teach “healthy” doctrine over against many false ideas. And, in them, Paul doesn’t hesitate to name specific heretical individuals.

Philemon is a welcome exception.

Hebrews, in its entirety, combats all influences that would cause Jewish Christians to revert to Judaism.

James utterly destroys the idea that one can have genuine faith that does not result in good works.

I Peter explains how the New Testament church is no longer a physical political entity, but that the church is now the spiritual people of God, the new Israel.

II Peter warns against scoffers and libertines unsettling the church and reveals the true picture of final things.

I John argues quite effectively throughout the book against Gnosticism of a Cerenthian sort.

II John warns against hospitality for heretics.

III John deals with church discipline gone so far astray as to virtually destroy a church.

Jude throughout its entirety is an exhortation to contend against the libertines who invaded the church that failed to listen to the warnings in II Peter.

Revelation speaks of the warfare of God against apostate Judaism, the first persecutor of the church, and Rome, the second persecutor, and predicts the fall. It also mentions cults like the Nicolatians.

Now, in light of the above, if you can, tell me why we should not be prepared to detect and refute falsehood in the Church?

This article originally appeared in the Journal of Modern Ministry.

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