In Summation

"If any man ascribes anything of salvation, even the very least thing, to the free will of man, he knows nothing of grace, and he has not learned Jesus Christ rightly." 

- Martin Luther

"No true Christian is his own man." 

- John Calvin

"He came to set the prisoner free, a message of simplicity." 

-Ted Kirkpatrick of Tourniquet

I hope that through these last five posts it has become clear just what I believe. It is no secret that I am a Calvinist through and through. Make no mistake. I don't think John Calvin was some sort of crazy prophet. But I do think he pretty accurately systematized the theology of the Gospel. What I'm saying is that I'm no follower of Calvin. I'm a follower of Christ. Calvin just understood the words of Christ better than most back in his day.

But what we know today as Calvinism, the theology itself, predates John Calvin, the man. Another name for Calvinism could be classical Christianity, or true Christianity.

The will of man has always been hotly debated among...well...men. For every group of orthodox Christians, through the ages, there seems to be group of people on the fringe, claiming "freedom of the will". At times this group of outsiders has had control. Catholicism before the Reformation had nearly snuffed out true Christianity. And even now, Arminianism has a good grip on the hearts of men once again. Charles Spurgeon quoting George Whitefield said, 

 

"We are all born Arminians." It is grace that turns us into Calvinists."

Ultimately, if we can learn anything from a solid study of the Bible, we can learn that God is in complete and utter control. To the lost, who hates God, this is dark news indeed. I would wish the Wrath and Judgment of God on no man.

But to the believing sinner.

The one that God has saved.

His great goodness and mercy know no boundaries. There is no limit to the blessing for those in Christ Jesus. His glorious grace has saved you. His love is set upon you. Unconditionally and without merit.

Paul said,

"In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."

Do you number yourself with the elect of God? Have you learned of your sin? Do you put your faith in Christ for the removal of your guilt? If you have not, then do not delay. Christ will return for His church like a thief in the night. At a time when no man may know. Do not be bogged down in debates and arguing. Flee at once to Christ. There is no better time than now and there is no better God to serve.

He is truly the most gracious and good God-only-wise.

Sola Deo Gloria

Perseverence Of The Saints

 "Our perseverance is not dependent on our good works but on God's grace."

-Loraine Boettner

 "I shall lose none of them."

-Jesus Christ

I used to argue with my friends about this idea.

The idea commonly known as "Once saved, always saved".

Honestly (humorously) , it was always my Baptist friends.

There are a surprising number of people who would disagree with nearly everything I've written here, but would confidently assert that once you are saved, you cannot lose your salvation.

I didn't get it.

At least not back in those days.

It wasn't logical to me. It didn't make sense to believe that we are free to choose or reject God at anytime, until we become Christians. Then we are stuck. In my head it sounded like this:

Say we're all criminals (we are, so that's not hard). And say that in between our heinous crimes we sometimes run into a cop who tells us of our crimes, or we step in the Police Station every now and then just feel a little better about it all. But sometimes, some of us, the ones who aren't quite as bad, make the decision to actually step in the jail cell. We let them lock us up. We stare through the cold bars as we watch them throw away the key. Of course once we've settled into our caged life, we realize that it's not so bad in jail. It's actually quite wonderful. The bed is more comfortable, the friends are nicer, we all pray for each other, and it turns out the the "jailer" is really our savior. He loves us and we love Him, so we stay there forever, because once we're jailed, we're always jailed.

But you see, in my confused head, I thought that if we're choosing go to jail, we should be able to choose when to leave. We can be saved for as long as we want to be saved. I thought, we turn the key to lock ourselves in, but we put that key in our pocket, and if at some point, we decide we like our heinous crimes again, or we stop loving our savior, we just pull that key out of our pocket and we leave. Back to our life of crime and sin on the street.

This is a terrible analogy.

Here's a better analogy.

The reality is that we are born "dead" in that jail cell. Captive. Our sins have put us there. We all deserve to be there. We are lifeless rotting corpses. To our captive eyes the cell looks nice. We can't see the maggots eating everything around us. We don't even know that everybody sits on death row. We are happy, but we are chained. Blissfully waiting to be put to death for our crimes.

Bound.

Enslaved.

Dead.

Together we are worthless.

Then.

Our Savior comes.

He pulls us out of that cell. His Spirit breathes life into our spiritual lungs. We see the maggots and death as He brings us out of captivity. We have life. Our Savior tells us of how He served our jail sentence for us. He sat on death row. He died in our place. Death on a cross. Our will is changed. Where it was bound to sin, now it is bound to Christ. We are led out to freedom never to see that jail again. Never to feel the wrath and consequence of our crimes.

Free.

Alive.

Servant of Christ forever.

There is no going back once God has saved you. He has done the work of freeing you. You have no glory to share. It's all His doing. It's all for His glory.

Jesus said,

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (Italics mine)

Once God has given you to Christ, Christ will not lose you. Period.


The Book of Jude in the Bible is really quite short. It's one chapter. One page. Jude finishes his letter by saying this,

"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever."

Jude knew that the power of Salvation lay with God alone. Jude knew that man was not able to keep from stumbling, but that God is able to keep you from stumbling. God will present you blameless in the Glory of Himself.

There are 3 predominate ideas concerning this issue.

1. We decide when we are saved. We decide if we are not to be saved. (ultimate free-will)

2. We decide when we are saved. God keeps us from deciding not to be saved. (mix-n-match)

3.God saves us. We are saved. (God is the author and finisher of our Faith)

You should know by now I believe the 3rd option.

There are certainly sad situations of folks who professed faith, attended church, only to leave, and ultimately reject Christ in their heart. To these poor people Christ will say, "Depart from me for I never knew you." The wool was still over their eyes. If you know somebody who has left the faith, pray God would be pleased to draw them to Christ. Share the Gospel with them. It is the power unto salvation.

If you have forsaken the field of Christ's sheep, remember your first love. Peter said,

"...brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Seek the Lord. Only He has the power to save.

So once saved, always saved.

I still dislike that moniker. I don't feel it accurately represents the Gospel that is found in the Perseverance of the Saints. The Gospel is this...That while we were still sinners, Christ laid down His life for us. The penalty has been paid. Our sins are covered.

Christ has removed the guilty stain.

There is no new guilt.

If you can say this of your sins, then you can be sure of your calling and election. You can be sure of your salvation. You can be sure that because of God's mercy and grace, you will always be saved.



Coming Soon: In Summation.

It's Science Really

"Don't think you'll get away, no one ever has. Don't think He'll turn His back. It doesn't work like that. You're caught just like me, but it's not really all that bad."

-Scott Stiletta of Plankeye

"Twas blind but now I see"

-John Newton

The regenerative work of the Holy Spirit. 

That is our subject today.

When we talk about the work of the Holy Spirit in our  pre-christian existence we usually believe one of two things.

1. That the Holy Spirit tugs our heart strings in an effort to convince us we want Jesus.

2. That the Holy Spirit renews our heart and mind making us alive and finally able to actually see and believe that God is good and that Christ is our savior.

I'll go ahead and say from the get-go that I'm in favor of the latter of the two.

It's the only option if you've followed the logic thus far.

The Westminster Confession of Faith says,

" All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature to grace and salvation, by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ: yet so, as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace."

When some folks discuss God's sovereignty in salvation, they talk about "free will", and they think God would never encroach upon our will and things like this. I guess my issue with that is that the Bible does not teach that man's will is absolutely free. It does, however, talk about man's will being slave to sin and Satan. This is because of the curse of sin.

If I'm born with a will that is slave to sin, I want nothing to do with God. Sure is nice that He changed my mind.

Regeneration allows us to to love God. Without it we are hopelessly lost.

I've spent quite a bit of time during these discussions in the Gospel of John. It's served me so well, I'm going there today as well. I quoted some verses in John 6 a couple weeks ago. This is a great place to start. Jesus said,

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." (Italics mine)

Christ is making a point here. The point that God the Father must draw sinners unto Christ. Jesus says no one can freely choose Salvation.

Often I get asked (as often as I discuss this with people who don't agree with me), "If a person can't choose God and God chooses the person, why do you pray for anybody? Isn't God going to do whatever He's going to do anyway?"

This is an excellent question. It's actually two questions. I'll answer the second one first.

Yes.

God is going to do whatever He wills to do. We can be absolutely sure of this.

Job said,

"I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."

God purposes are the surest bet you can make. He created the universe with a word. He destroyed Pharaoh's entire army in one fell swoop of the biggest wave they ever surfed. He's coming back for His church and He's not going to miss a single person. Jesus said,

"For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

 
It has been said that "The Mountie always gets his man".

Well, maybe the RCMP will get his man. Maybe.

But I assure you, God will ALWAYS get His man.

The first questions asks "Why would you pray for anybody if God has already chosen?"

Well I ask you, Mr. Freewill Chooser, If God has limited His power in such a way as to never bend the will of man, what then, is the point of praying? Why would we pray that anybody be saved? God can't save them. At best He could influence their decision, but He can't do something to them they don't want Him to do.

That is not a biblical idea.

We pray because we're instructed to pray. We need no other reason. You can "logic" you way out of anything.

God MUST do a work that we don't ask for.

He MUST make us alive.

In my last post, I said that we are not saved because of our faith, we have faith because we are saved. If you have faith in Jesus Christ and believe that God has shown you grace on Christ's behalf, you have this faith because it was granted to you. Paul said,

"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."

It was a gift.

You don't deserve it.

You're not special.

But God, in His infinite Wisdom, has exercised His free will to save you. He has lavished his grace upon you. He gave you faith to believe and having believed you received grace. He did it just to make His power known and to show His great love for you.

One of the most dramatic examples of the irresistible call of the Holy Spirit is the story of Paul the Apostle.

Paul used to be called Saul. Saul was a very smart man. He was learned in Old Testament law and he counted himself a believer in god. His thing was that he didn't believe Jesus was anything special. In fact, he persecuted Christians for a living. It is generally agreed that Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen. Saul was happy to see him die. Saul hated Christ and all Christ's followers.

And this is how Saul lived.

Most of us (on the outside) were never this bad. We may have hated Jesus, but we weren't really going about killing people who do love Jesus.

Then as Saul is traveling toward Damascus, walking along, (probably keeping an eye out for any Christians he could kill or put in jail) Saul is met by the risen Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus spoke to him, asking him why he is persecuting the church. It was a pretty big deal. Saul was blinded by a crushing light, led by the hand to Damascus, met up with a dude named Ananias who touched Saul's eyes and Saul could see again. It's a great story, if you haven't read it in a while you really should. The point is that only after literal scales fell off his eyes did he get his vision back. And at the same time spiritual scales fell off his heart and he believed.

This is the regenerative work that the Holy Spirit does in every true Christian's heart.

When this work is done, your heart is no longer blinded, you are no longer dead in you sins.

You can see.

And you'll never be blind again.

It's science really.

What I mean to say, is that when the Holy Spirit calls you, melts the ice on your heart, and opens your eyes to the goodness of God...

You believe.

Coming Soon: Part 5. Perseverance Of The Saints. 

Love Of Christ So Rich And Free

 " Hard words, if they be true, are better than soft words if they be false."

-Charles H. Spurgeon

"She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

-Angel of The Lord

Hmm...

This one is interesting.


But it's important, and this is the week of Easter, so it's also timely.

If you've been keeping up you know that we've discussed how sinful we all are and how God must do the work to save us because of that sin. Today our thoughts turn to Christ and His work and what it accomplished for us.

When we talk about Christ's death and resurrection  I suppose we need to really get into what it means for God's people. I'll try to explain the greatness of this as best as I can. I'll probably end up using some multi-syllabic words that don't get used enough these days. I'll include definitions for each. When I studied this subject 7 or 8 years ago I had to look them all up because I grew up in a church that didn't really get terribly "explanational" in their teaching of Christ's work on the cross so I'll try to be more in-depth.

ANYWAY...

God's Wrath.

This may seem a strange place to start when we want to talk about Christ. But I think it's a perfect place to start.

We don't hear too much about this today. Or if we do, it's from some unqualified person yelling about God's wrath against the gays or against New Orleans because of the gays.  This is unfortunate because there is so much to be said about the subject that doesn't get said.

Let's try to say some of these things.

God's Wrath is a product of His Holiness and Justice. Where there is sin, it is in opposition to God's Holiness. When God's Holiness is opposed, his Justice is made known through His Wrath.

The best part about this news is that God's children are not subject to His Wrath. Because we have been justified in Christ through the substitutionary atonement of Christ's sacrifice. Since Christ died in our place, I believe His death actually secured something for me, not just made something possible. Christ's death has removed the curse of sin for the believer. His death did not remove the curse of sin for the non-believer. If this were a "universal" removal of the curse of sin then God would have no reason to send anyone to hell.

Rob Bell said something that really irked me. I quote:

"Heaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people. Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for. Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for. The difference is how we choose to live, which story we choose to live in, which version of reality we trust. Ours or God's."

- Velvet Elvis, p.146

Well...where do I start?

I think the only true thing about this statement is that Heaven is full of forgiven people whom God loves.

The reason Hell is not "full of forgiven people whom God loves" is because if somebody is forgiven then they have no debt to pay. Bell justifies this statement by saying it is up to the person to "live" in the correct "version of reality." You know...God's version of reality.


Hmm...

I believe the Bible teaches that if God has set His love upon you, and His Son has paid the price for your debt, and literally removed the curse of sin, you should not expect to find yourself in Hell paying for a debt that has been paid.

God is Just. This would be horrifically unjust.

We believe that the Bible teaches about Hell. We believe that people go there to pay the price for the curse of sin. So we must believe that some people's curse has not been removed.

But I can yack about this all I want. Let's see what Jesus said.

In John chapter 10, Jesus is speaking to some Jews. It was at the time of the Feast of Dedication and Jesus was teaching in the Temple so there were probably a pretty good amount of people listening to Him. These Jews argued about Christ's words. Some even wanted to stone Him. Let's not be confused as they were.


Here's are some of Christ's words: (Edited for brevity and clarity by me)

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep...I am the good shepherd. I know My own and my own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”

 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about Me, but you do not believe because you are not part of My flock. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

Like I said, I cut out some of the questioning by the suspicious Jews and some other stuff, but feel free to read the whole passage. I linked it up there. I think you'll agree I haven't changed the meaning of any of Christ's words.

So Christ has likened Himself to a shepherd. This means He has a flock. This also means that there are people who are not in His flock. He says this in Verse 26. That some do not believe because they are not part of His flock.

I think we should nitpick a little here. Jesus does not say they are not a part because they don't believe, He says they don't believe because they are not a part of His flock.

We're not saved because we have faith. We have faith because we are saved.

There's a difference.

So Jesus says in Verse 29 that His Father has given Him these sheep. This goes right along with John 6:37. In chapter 6 Jesus talks about who is the author of salvation (God). In chapter 10 He's talking about how these people will be saved (Christ Himself).

In Verse 15 Jesus says He lays down His life for the sheep. This is the point.

Jesus does not need to lay down His life for unbelievers. The sin of their unbelief will be paid for by their life. Jesus lays down His life for His sheep. Their sins are covered by His blood. He has paid the penalty for them.

The apostle Paul confirms this in his letter to the Ephesian church.

Paul says that Christ's love is for His church and He gave Himself up for His church. He says,

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."

Edwin H. Palmer comments on this passage. I didn't think I could beat it so I'll quote it.

"If the Arminian view was correct, that Christ loved the whole world equally and gave Himself up for the world, then the parallel between the bride of the husband and the bride of Christ would fail. For then the injunction would be that a husband should love and give himself up for other than his wife, just as Christ gave Himself up not for the church -His bride- but also for those outside of it. But this would be contradictory to Scripture, which teaches that man should have one wife."

Basically this means that because Christ's sacrifice is for His church only, then it makes sense to compare it to a husbands sacrifice for his wife.

What I'm saying is that Christ has died for only those that His Father in heaven has given to Him. This seems to be what Jesus is teaching throughout the Gospel of John. The Gospel of Matthew confirms this in the first chapter, verse 21, that Christ will come to save His people from their sins.

Why is this important?

Why would we even want to discuss this most divisive teaching?

Because Christ has taught this.

It is important to understand that God's love is so great for the world that He gave His only Son so whoever believes will have eternal life. When Christ died it actually secured the salvation for these people who would believe. Christ didn't die in hopes that some would believe. He died for His sheep knowing God had promised to draw them to Him.

No one can snatch them out of the Father's hand.

God always wins.

Remember up at the top when I mentioned the Wrath of God?

Christ's sacrifice is Christ suffering the wrath of God on the behalf of His people. If Christ died for all, then I believe all would be saved because God's wrath would be satisfied for all. It would be illogical and against God's Justice to punish both Christ and the non-believer. The non-believer is punished. But Christ is not punished for the non-believer. Christ is punished for the believer. It is Christ's sheep who He lays His life down for. Christ didn't die for the goats.

Matthew 25:31-34

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (italics mine)

 This is God's election made known through His salvation plan.

I've been accused of some interesting things when I've talked about this idea in the past. I remember one well-intentioned friend telling me that I was "raping God of His purity". Well, my response to things like that is that I truly believe Christ said this is what He came to do.

To save His people.

His sheep.

His church.

To die for them because He loves them.

He did not waste His blood.

Not a drop.

So this Easter season remember that Christ died with a specific group of people in mind. If your faith and trust is in Christ, if you believe that His blood has covered your sin, then count yourself among those He calls His sheep. Let His praises fill your heart for the sacrifice that has satisfied the Wrath of God on your behalf.

Ah...

Good ad infinitum.

Coming Soon: Part 4. It's Science Really.

Undeniably Lost Without God

"All that the Father gives to me will come to me."
-Jesus Christ


"I believe that nothing happens apart from divine determination and decree. We shall never be able to escape from the doctrine of divine predestination - the doctrine that God has foreordained certain people unto eternal life."
-Charles Spurgeon

This isn't easy.

Sometimes there isn't a very palatable way to explain God.

But God is very good. Eternally good. That's good ad infinitum.

Once when I was in high school, someone asked me if predestination was true. My response was that if predestination is true, and my actions don't matter, then why am I trying to do good? What's the point of following God's law at all if He's just going to do want He wants anyway?

I wish I had read the Bible instead of opening my dumb mouth. But I opened my mouth and I confirmed my rampant Arminianism to a tee.

I hope to affirm through these posts that predestination is true and that my actions do matter.

There are truly two reasons only why the idea of Predestination is hotly debated among Christians. Those reasons are because we naturally do not want it to be true. We want to choose. We want to commit to Him. We want to do something in favor of our Salvation. Secondly, we do not want a God who does not freely relinquish His control. We want our God to be of our making.

We want Him to be fair on our terms.

We want Him to love on our terms.

We want Him to save on our terms.

Reading the first post in this series we must come to a conclusion. That conclusion is that we as humans are sinful. And that our sinfulness separates from God. And that the wages of our sinfulness is our own death.

If we were to receive the just punishment for our sinful nature we would receive death.

Everybody.

No one can save themselves.

It would be to the praise of God's holiness and justice to sentence the entire human race to eternal death.

But obviously He doesn't do that. I am saved. I am sure of it. I am positive that God has saved me from my sins.

God is good.

So once I found out how terribly corrupt my human nature was I began to wonder. How does anybody "find" God.

If the Apostle Paul said that, "No one seeks God" and people are finding God, then it must follow that God sovereignly seeks sinners. One step further, He pre-ordained these particular sinners to eternal life. I could honestly stop here. The logic and reason make sense.

Everyone is a sinner.

Sinners can't save themselves.

God must save sinners.

Not all sinners are being saved.

God must save only some sinners.

But no theology may be accepted without Biblical evidence. So let's talk about what we know the Bible says about God.

God is absolutely, eternally Sovereign. He created this World and all that is in it. God has a plan for His creation. From the "foundations of the earth" He has set about accomplishing His will. I think this is the fundamental lesson we need learn about God. God has a plan. God is having no trouble at all accomplishing His plan.

God always wins.

Let's see what Jesus had to say about His Father.

"All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out...This is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day...No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day...It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

It seems to me that Jesus is making a point here about God's salvation plan.

When I read this the first time with questions in my head about this subject, I felt like my head exploded. It was like, here I am, I've grown up in church, faithful attender for 18 years and I've never heard an explanation or a sermon on this passage. I felt way behind the times. Like 2,000 years behind.

I want to break this section down a bit, but let's start with what's going on and how it is that Jesus even got this crowd excited.

John 6 is a great chapter that is jammed to the brim with goodness and doctrine. It begins with Jesus feeding thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish. It became apparent, to many people there, that Jesus was indeed the Prophet sent into the world. They were so stoked, they wanted to make him king by force, but Jesus slipped away. Later the disciples are crossing the sea by boat, to Caperaum, and they're having a rough time of it due to a strong wind. Jesus walks out across the water and hops in the boat. The disciples were scared when He first appeared, but Jesus said, "Do not be afraid." So they were glad when He joined them. Then they appeared at the other side of the sea immediately. The next day a crowd of folks had searched Jesus out on the other side of sea at Caperaum. That's when Jesus starts getting serious about teaching truth to these bread and fish eating followers.

Let's get serious.

Jesus begins to make the distinction between regular ol' bread and the bread of life that comes from God. The people were quite on board with this idea at first. They said, quite politely, "Sir, give us this bread always." But when Jesus said explicitly that He was the bread of life, that's when the people began to grumble. Their biggest problem was not with God being Sovereign over salvation, they understood that. They took issue with Jesus being the bread sent from God for salvation. These days, we don't have nearly as much issue with Jesus being sent by God and Jesus Himself being God, we have more issue with God's sovereignty over salvation. Let's dig into this most divisive teaching...

Jesus said, "All that the Father gives me..."

So right off the bat Jesus makes a distinction between those given to him by God and those who are not given to him by God.

Further He says, " ...will come to me."

So Jesus teaches that those given to him by the Father will come to him.

And later, "And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all He has given, but raise it up on the last day."

So the people given to Jesus by God, will come to Jesus, and Jesus will lose none of them.

Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him."

Now this makes perfect sense in combination with the idea that we are so very corrupted by sin that we do not seek God.

God Himself must draw us to Christ. God gives us to Christ. When God gives us to Christ, we go to Christ. When we go to Christ, we are raised up on the last day.

God always wins.

Let's rewind the tape back to Moses and the exodus from Egypt.

Here's a little scenario where Moses and Aaron are going back and forth to Pharaoh trying to get Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of slavery and to the land God had promised them. Moses is operating under strict instruction from God on how to do this. Basically the two guys, Moses and Aaron, are going to Pharaoh and telling him that if he doesn't let the people go under some certain stipulations, God's wrath and power will be made known through a series of nasty plagues. Nasty plagues. You've got blood for water, frogs, gnats, flies, dead livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and finally, all firstborn of Egypt, man and beast, were killed. Then later, as Pharaoh and the Egyptian army chase the people of Israel across country, God drowns the whole army in the Red Sea. Nasty.

Let's examine Pharaoh. He was a stern and terrible leader. He was fairly tough on his own Egyptians, but he was hell to the Israelites. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. They were not allowed to offer worship and sacrifices to the LORD and they were pretty much just making bricks and stuff all day. They had wicked daily quotas to meet and when Moses was stirring things up the slave labor got worse the for Israelites. It was a tough time.

But God had a plan to accomplish concerning Pharaoh. Pharaoh existed only to show the might, power, and glory of God. This is same reason we exist. God's will is not bound by His creature's will. God has purposed Himself to be free with His creatures. So different vessels (creatures) get different uses.

Like I said, Pharaoh was quite sinful. His heart was full of nothing but sin all the time. So Pharaoh wasn't used against his will, but his will was used for the glory of God. Explain?

If you read through the book of the Exodus in the Bible you will read about some exchanges between Pharaoh and Moses. Moses would go to Pharaoh and say, "Thus says the LORD, let My people go or I will afflict you with a plague of ____. Pharaoh would not relent. It says, Pharaoh hardened his heart. It actually mentions a number times in the English Standard Version of the Bible, either that Pharaoh's heart was hardened or that Pharaoh hardened his heart or that The LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart. Here's the countdown:

2 Times - Pharaoh hardened his heart.

5 Times - Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

5 Times - God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

1 -Time - God will harden Pharaoh's heart. And He did.

What are we to make of this?

I believe it would be an error to say that God looked down the corridor of time and saw Pharaoh's evil heart and made His plan accordingly. This would be an error because the Apostle Paul quite explicitly states the opposite. Paul said in his famous letter to the Romans,

"For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then He has mercy on whomever He wills and He hardens whomever He wills."

God's plan with His creature Pharaoh, was to raise him up, to harden his heart, and make him a display of God's power to the Israelites, and to the world. Pharaoh had no problem with this. Pharaoh was born sinful. His desires were evil all the time. God's perfect Justice is satisfied in His dealing with Pharaoh, while God's perfect Love is satisfied in His dealing with the people of Israel.

These are just two examples in Scripture where the sovereignty of God is displayed in detail. There are so many places in Scripture where God makes his power known. I could easily write for an eternity and not exhaust fully the richness and detail that is God's sovereign control over His world.

But let's finish on a really "up" note.

Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus...

"...He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will..."

God showed us through Pharaoh.

Jesus explained it to us.

Paul assured us of it.

God's will is made known in the election and predestination of His saints. His love is poured out on His elect in a way that no man can measure. Paul says God is rich in mercy. He said God has loved us with a great love. He made us alive when we were spiritually dead. We, who could not choose Him, have been chosen by Him. His love and mercy abound. He has taken dead dumb slaves and set them free. Free to love Him. Free to serve Him. Free from the slavery of our sins and set apart for glory with Him in the Heavenly realm.

Good ad infinitum.


Coming Soon: Part 3. Love Of Christ So Rich And Free.

Totally Unfamiliar With My Own Sin

"So she took of it's fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
-Genesis 3:8



"Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death?"
-The Apostle Paul

I remember talking about it.

Before I believed it.

I talked about it.

But mostly I talked about things like the old "age of accountability" and "how much sin is too much sin?" and "if a Christian commits suicide does he go straight to hell?"

You ever ask that one?

You ever hear about someone making it to heaven "by the skin of their teeth"?

I mean, you know, just barely. Like, if that guy had committed one more sin he would've been toast.

So inevitably, the conversation becomes a discussion of "how far is too far?" Once I'm a Christian, when does God say, "That's enough. Too much sinning. You've back-slidden too far. Repent once more or be doomed. Rededicate your life or lose your salvation. You choose."

You would think if anybody needed to rededicate their life, it would have been King David. Humble beginnings but God raised him up, blessed him and made him king. Then while David is enjoying the high life, he has sex with Uriah's wife. Then he sends Uriah into battle to die. And Uriah died. Do you think if David had slipped on a banana peel and died at the moment he had murdered another man after sleeping with that man's wife, do you think he would have died with sin in his heart and gone to hell?

If you had asked me that 10 years ago, I honestly do not know exactly what I would've told you. I would have certainly said something about it being "a tricky situation" or spouted something about not judging another man's heart in an effort to not have to answer.

But let's talk about sin itself.

David himself said something about sin that completely changed my view of sin. He said,

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." (psalm 51:3&5)

It seems to me that David had an idea about the fall of man that I didn't have. That idea was about the curse of sin itself.

I had previously thought people were born basically pretty good. We pop out cooing and being cute till one day...boom...we become accountable for our actions. And overnight our lives change. Sin is corrupting us. Tempting us. Now, if we hit our brother and then lie to our parents about it, God is mad at us. And we are held accountable. That's where we get the idea of an "age of accountability". It's just a terrible way to say, "at this age, God begins to judge you".

I don't think this is what David was talking about. David understood that he was sinful from birth. He said so. "Behold, I was born in iniquity. In sin I was conceived." This did not mean he was born out of wedlock or that he was the bastard son of a man on the move. It means he was born with sin in his heart.

He was sinful from conception.

This was his condition.

Let’s go to the Garden of Eden.

When God created Adam and Eve He gave Adam the job of tending the garden. Eve had the job of Adam’s companion and help-mate. This was a good job. I imagine it was quite a satisfying vocation.

Adam and Eve had one rule. Do not eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. He said as soon as you eat of it you shall surely die. God didn't mean "instant death from the poison apple", but that physically they were going to grow old and die. Also, their soul's suffered a kind of instant spiritual death.

For the first time, a human felt shame.

Regret.

The garden didn’t feel the same way after that.

What God meant was that through this sinful act, sin would enter the world. When Adam and Eve committed that sin, sin's curse distorted everything. The world became warped. Ever wonder why work isn't tending, it's toiling? Sin. Ever wonder why it hurts to bear children? Sin.

The societal decline was instant. After eating that fruit, Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden. They went to toil the ground and bear children. The effect of sin entering the world was so fierce that the first family was extremely dysfunctional. Their first child killed his little brother.

Not too many steps between taking fruit, and taking someone's life.

Cain wasn't taught to murder. He didn't watch violent movies or play Grand Theft Auto on his PlayStation 2. He was born under the curse of sin.

It was his condition.

Fast forward to David.

David was "a man after God's own heart." Yet David was born cursed and sinful.

The effect of this curse is the same today. I see it in myself.

I was born sinful...

So were you...

So were all of us. Every person starting with Cain (minus Jesus), has been born with sin corrupting his heart. So how bad is this corruption?

This corruption is best characterized with one word.

Inability.

We can't do it. We try to do good. But we can't. Even the things that seem good. Those things are tainted by sinful desire. Why is it that what we want to do is the wrong thing? It's because sin is in our heart. We do the wrong thing because we want to do the wrong thing. And when we want to do the right thing, we still find ourselves constantly doing the wrong thing.

Why do you suppose the Apostle Paul cried in anguish, "Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death?" Paul knew his problem. He said once in a letter,

"For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me."

Catch that at the end? He said, "sin that dwells within me."

The corruption of this sin is strong enough to make us want to do evil. You don't have to teach us. We know all about it from the get-go. And it separates us from God. We are far away.

Paul says we are dead in our sins.

There's an old metaphor that gets tossed around that speaks of our situation as sinners. It is said we are drowning in sin. We can barely even keep one nostril above the surface. We're treading water, gasping for breath, looking for help, going nowhere because of the ocean of sin in our hearts.

I don't believe this for a second.

I believe we are stone cold dead on the bottom of that ocean. Lifeless, rotted, eaten by sea creatures with no ability to move at all.

Hopeless in ourselves. Desperate and dead.

Paul said,

"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..."

We're all guilty. We've all done it. We were all born with it.

What does this say about our relationship with our Creator? What happened to us when were kicked out that garden? How badly does this sin separate us from a holy God?

On this Paul doesn't mince words. He said,

"For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

What are we supposed to do? This is quite the hopeless situation. How can somebody believe after reading these things that people are "basically good"? Paul quotes the Old Testament saying that no one is righteous.

Not one.

No one understands.

No one seeks God.



Coming Soon: Part 2. Undeniably lost Without God