Sola Fide

If you did not read the intro to Sola Fide, please read that first as it will give you an important look to the background of where we find this Sola. click here

Faith is a Gift from God

With Sola Gratia we hopefully challenged you in understanding that God grace is given to whom He chooses and whom He wills. If you remember we went through Romans 9 and answered some questions that are natural in the understanding of this doctrine.

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 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 does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
Romans 9:14-16

We looked at man’s deadness in sin. We saw that men were not merely sick, merely blind, almost dead; no, men are completely dead in sin without capacity to search for God as found in Romans 3:10. So, if all this is true, how can anyone believe?

We state that people are saved by faith alone, but how can they have a faith if they are totally dead in sin? Would not this faith be constituted as some good in man instead of the opposite? Here is the kicker: saving faith is given to God’s elect so that they will respond to the call of the Gospel.


I won’t completely exegete this passage, but look to John 6:37

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.

If faith was generic, given to all men equally, so that all could respond, how could Christ say that ALL that the Father gives Me will come to Me? Notice that further down in John 6:39 that Christ says that He loses none of them but will raise them up on the last day. So, we see that Christ gives some absolute statements here.

- All the Father gives will come
- Christ loses none of these that come
- Christ raises these up, or better put in John 10:27,28

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

Do you see the parallel here? How do the sheep come as spoken of in John 6:37? Jesus calls them with His voice and the sheep hear, and come.

John 6:44 continues to reveal this to us

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

So, now John 6:44 continues to tell us that only those that are drawn by God can come to Him, no one else is able to. This Greek word for “can” where we see “no one can come” is this:

to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom

So, no one is able to by their own power, ability or resources come to God unless He draws them. This also reveals that God does not draw all men, for if He did, all would come and all would be raised up, or saved.

So what does God do in order so that they can come when He draws them? He gives them the saving faith in Him.

We will look to two verses in particular to define this for us, but also, when you have time, look who Paul thanks when referring to the faith of those in Colossae and Thessalonica. If this faith was because of the people you would expect Paul to thank the believers, but since it is given by God, Paul thanks God for their faith, not the people themselves.

First verse is Phil 1:29

For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

Some have taken this verse and said that through Christ suffering is a possibility but not always a reality. So, Christ made faith a possibility but not a reality. First, rule in interpreting Scripture? Scripture interprets Scripture…

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted
2 Timothy 3:12

There is no doubt this is an absolute statement. If you want to live godly you will be persecuted, not maybe, not might be, but absolutely. Don’t blame Scripture if you are not persecuted for your faith, because the faith that God gives is always persecuted. Jesus even said in John 15:19 that the world will hate you, then the apostle John follows this up again in 1 John 3:13. Maybe if you are not being persecuted or hated, it is time to do some self evaluating to see if you are truly in the God fearing, God exalting, God proclaiming faith.

So, then if we can see this absolute, that it has been granted to us to suffer for Christ, then the proof lies that it has been granted to us to believe in Him, or granted to us to have the faith that saves.

This word “granted” is used in a lot of places in Scripture, but let me ask; What does a blind man do to receive sight from God? Does Christ use the little light or shades of light that the blind man has to restore his sight? Or did Jesus give the sight to the blind man freely by Christ’s power?

At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.
Luke 7:21

The word for “gave” when saying “He gave sight to many…” is the exact same word for “granted” when telling us that it has been granted to us to believe.

Notice the other proof text of this understanding: 2 Peter 1:1

Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

This word for received means: to receive by divine allotment

I don’t want to beat a dead horse but when we think of love, peace, wisdom, understanding and good; are these not all understood to have one that is given by God and one that is given or adhered to by man? Is there not a difference between a godly love, a godly peace, godly wisdom, godly understanding, and godly good, compared to human love, human peace, human wisdom, human understanding and human good….

We actually find this different, human faith in James 2:14

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

James goes on to prove that there is a difference between the human faith, that is dead and the God given faith that works. So, when we come to the doctrine of faith alone, Sola Fide, we must understand that our faith was given to us, when you believe this you cannot fall into the trap of thinking that your faith was anything meritorious for your salvation. How can it be? It was given to you, you did nothing to receive this faith.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Phil 1:6

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith
Heb 12:2a

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You Are the Homosexual: Part II

If you didn't read the first post on this subject, I highly recommend to as this won't make much sense without it. Click here to read the first post.

On the heels of the first post, here is the problem. Most of you right now, are thinking “okay, give me a way to get rid of my sin…just give me a list to follow”

How is this going to help? What do you want me to do? Tell you to not look at girls anymore? Not look at other people’s possessions anymore? Tell you to pray harder? Tell you to remove this or that from your bedroom? Don’t look at this site or that site? Think if you told a homosexual trying to come out of that lifestlye. What are you going to tell them..."Hey, just stop going to gay bars and then pray harder!" They would laugh at you if you thought that was going to stop their fundamental struggle with the sin of homosexuality.

While this might put a band aid on the problem, and can be somewhat helpful practically, it isn’t the fullest solution.

I have heard people that struggle with pornography told to get rid of their computers and to stop getting on the internet. Is this dealing with the problem or just masking it?

That would be like saying that a tree is bearing bad fruit, so just cut off the bad fruit and it will get better. The more bad fruit the more you cut off, the quicker it grows the quicker you cut.

The problem has to do with the roots of the tree, not just the fruit.

So, although lists might provide a band aid, it won’t get to the heart where all this fruit springs from.

Week in and week out, people ask me to pray about the same sins and the same struggles. I have done it myself, I will ask people to pray for the same struggle over and over again. Their first question should be, “what are you doing about it?”

I had a buddy who was living with my wife and I and he asked how I was doing, I told him that it had been a bad week. He didn’t ask what was going on, he didn’t tell me to do the 40 days of purpose, he didn’t tell me that I should come up with a list of things to do to make my life better, he simply asked, “have you been in the word?”

I said “no”

He said, “this isn’t hard to figure out” and he walked away.

We want Jesus, we want peace and hope, but we don’t want to do anything about it. Some of you have struggles with many things, but you aren’t willing to do anything about it. You are struggling in life, you are struggling with sin, you are struggling with spirituality, but you aren’t doing anything about it. Don't we believe Paul when he says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling?

You know what God says about this type of so called worship? The worship from a people who plead for peace and hope while sitting around like a crying 2 year old for lunch?

Then the Lord said,
“Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
Isaiah 29:13

Look to Isaiah 1:11-17

“A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
Luke 6:40

Who is your teacher? Are you trying to live like Jesus and do what Christ did or are you merely whining like a baby about your struggles all while doing nothing about it?

Think on this:

How many of you have a regular time in the word each week? This can be by reading the bible, listening to the bible, listening to sermons, studying certain biblical topics, etc.

How many of you pray daily and pray often?

How many of you serve others often?

How many of you ask yourself often, why you do the things you do? Whether it is the clothes you wear, music you listen to, people you hang with, movies you watch? Do you ask yourself why? Do you ask if you are glorifying God through them?

How many of you ask why you pray? Why you read the word of God? Why you read about theology? Why you memorize scripture? Is it so you will be able to know more than others? Is it so you can win a debate? Is it so you can beat others up with your knowledge?

I ask my son all the time, "Why are you memorizing scripture in Awanas?" I am harsh, because if he says to get his book signed off, to get a dumb patch or candy, I tell him that isn’t why we do these things and then I show him the gospel.

So, you can see that there is a hard balance here. On one hand you have the people that just say that they love Jesus, they live in their sin and just merely put it to the side. They don’t do anything about it…they don’t surround themselves with godly people for help, they don’t read their bibles, they don’t memorize scripture, they don’t serve others…these people are just as bad as a homosexual and a murderer who say, “I was born this way…screw it.” They are practical antimonians.

You also have the other side. This is the “do more” side.

They
memorize scripture,
they read scripture,
they pray for others,
they answer every question correctly,
they win debates,
they do everything they can right on the outside…but they do it merely because they are supposed to.

They are merely a monkey in a circus. They are a practical Pharisees. They simply ask for the rules and follow them. They will say things like, you must at least read the bible for an hour, you must pray like this, you must memorize this much scripture and if you want your life to be better just do more of this or that or follow this list or that list.

The problem with this is that sometimes, you read the bible like crazy, you pray like crazy and you serve others like crazy, and you still struggle mightily with sin and your spirit. Now what Pharisee?

They don’t know what to do, because they have this façade that says, “I did it, it worked…what’s wrong with you?” What happens when you conquer the list and you still struggle in sin, or find yourself in a dark place? The question is not where is the list, but where is your heart.

Do you love Jesus? Do you desire to be his child or not? I heard a pastor friend of mine say it like this:

What if I was married, but still lived like I was single? What if only hung out with my buddies late at night, came home and slept on the couch. What if I never spoke to my wife, what if everything about my actions looked like I was single. You bring this up and I point to my wedding ring. How would you respond? You would laugh.

On the other hand, what if I did everything right on the outside. What if I had bible studies with my wife, took her to church, supplied money for her, gave her children, but it was all done because I was supposed to and not because I deeply loved her…what now? You might think I love her, but she is in agony because she knows it is all a façade to put on for the world around me.

There has to be a balance. We must work, we must bear fruit, we must read our bibles, we must pray, we must serve, we must do all this though for the glory of our Christ and to know him more. Not merely because we are supposed to.

The reason we work, the reason we bear fruit, the reason we learn theology, is for the glory of Christ. If you struggle with sin, if it is tearing at you, if you wake up daily fighting it off, look to your Saviour, ask for his strength, ask for his mercy and forgiveness.

Is homosexuality wrong? Yes. What is the difference with you and the homosexual if you live in sin without doing anything about it? Nothing.

Some months ago I saw a transvestite on the bus and saw the reactions on the faces of everyone on the bus. My first thought, and this was no joke…I wonder how they would look at me if my sin was worn on the outside instead of hiding in my heart?

It amazes me at how much people will call out homosexuality, but wink at other sin that people just care less about.

If this is you…if you sin and continue to sin and you think that because your life is busy and you don’t really have time to worship God 7 days a week…I wonder what Christ will say to you when you see him face to face?

What are you going to say to him? You want to see me play my sport? You want to see my homework that I finished? You want to see my grades? You want to catch a movie? You want to hang out with my friends? You want to see my blog stats?

How about instead…we say, “Jesus you want to see the works that I did, the struggle with sin I had because of your righteousness? I only did the works because of how much I loved you, not because I was trying to gain your love or affection. I struggled with my sin because I know your perfection…I tried…but I know I failed, and I thank you so much for being my Saviour and using me, despite me.

But, don’t tell me you love Jesus and live like he is dead to you.

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Motivational Speech for Churches

Maybe if the coach in the video was the pastor, we would get more excited for fighting the fight of the faith...not sure...but love the movie Rudy...a classic.

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You Are the Homosexual

I know this post title seems to be one to merely draw attention to it. Now, that is definitely part of it, but it is also quite true for many people. I personally believe that homosuality is a sin and it is quite evident from Scripture. If you would like to see my post on this issue, click here.

What I want to do with a couple of posts is simply show a deeper understanding of our own sin, by looking to the sin of the homosexual.

I know you can’t wait to argue the points on why homosexuals are wrong. But, what a stupid way to take a theology and live it out. Do you defend the Bible? Yes. But people have made this sin above others and will vote people into office because of it, choose friends because of it and completely disregard people because of it.

The harsh thing to realize is that you are the homosexual.

This sounds odd the first time you hear it. This sounds like an overstatement. It can be, but the scary thing is that it could be true.

Let me ask you this question.

Will a homosexual go to heaven if they know it is a sin, if they continue to live the homosexual life without care and without struggle, so they have a partner and carry out all the things that are deemed as sin because of the homosexual lifestyle, they help people around them, they feed the poor, they read their bibles, the memorize scripture, they go to church, they sing the songs and they say that they love Jesus. Will this person go to heaven? No.

Can a person who has been a homosexual, has those temptations, fights those temptations, and struggles with the sin, but turns them to Jesus, loves Jesus and puts their trust in righteousness in Him alone, go to heaven? Yes. If this isn’t the case we have greater issues than the homosexual…let me show you.

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said,
“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
“The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
“But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.
“Now a traveler came to the rich man,
And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.
“He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”
Nathan then said to David, “You are the man!
2 Samuel 12:1-7

Do you have sin in your life?

Here is the thing that people love to read when they read about the homosexual lifestyle, they love to read the following verse with the emphasis only being on the part of homosexuality.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Isn’t that how most people read these verses…as though God highlighted homosexuals with his eternal yellow highlighter?

Notice the other things that are mentioned…fornicators and adulterers…Jesus said that any who lusts is a fornicator

Thieves are mentioned…covet in your heart…you have stolen

1 Timothy 1:8-10, which also mentions homosexuals, also mentions liars, sinners and immoral men

Let me ask you then…what is the difference between a homosexual or someone who is a liar, one who lusts, one who is angry, one who covets others in their hearts for their things or other things…what is the difference?

None!

So, why do you get all upset by transvestites and homosexuals yet, I know you have friends, if it isn’t you yourself, that lie without care, have pride without care, don’t do anything for God in regards to fruit without care…

What is the difference?

If you lie all the time, if you lust all the time, if you have anger in your heart all the time and you do not struggle with it, but just shake it off as something that is “just who you are” what is the difference between you and a homosexual? You like to tell gay jokes? I am going to start telling jokes about you and your sin…see how much that hurts.

The difference really is found in the struggle for righteousness. There is a difference between someone who is a liar, knows it, is fighting against it, taking it to Jesus, praying for it, asking others to pray for it, and someone who just lies without care.

The same is for the homosexual, or better put, the person who understands that homosexuality is a sin, is fighting against its lusts and temptations and trusting in Jesus for His righteousness and the person who just states, "God made me this way, therefore I am going to live in the way that God made me."

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Introduction to Sola Fide

We have entered into some of the most prevalent issues when dealing with some of our thoughts on the Five Solas and they have hopefully challenged you in your thinking of the true biblical doctrines of Scripture, Christ, Grace, man and the Gospel. As we continue, we come to the Sola that, behind Sola Scriptura, is probably the most fought between Rome and the Protestant Church. I must use Protestant loosely though, as some say “Sola Fide” but they really have a list of rules one must do to be saved.

Sola Fide is a Sola that, in reality, calls the church of Rome, heresy. We saw hints of this in Solus Christus and Grace alone, but Sola Fide comes right out and draws a line in the sand and makes sure that no one can blur that line with any dogma or any orthodoxy.

Our definition of Sola Fide is this:

Faith alone asserts that only faith is the substance of the gospel, not any merit or favor achieved. Faith alone is what saves, not any method or human understanding of how to persuade men to Christ.

Faith alone believes in the power of the gospel and that the power of the gospel alone is what saves, nothing else.

Faith alone is almost the conclusion to grace alone and Christ alone as these happen or happened first. First God in His grace chose not only that Christ should die for fallen man but also chose for Himself an elect people, and through Christ’s substitutionary atonement, or better put, propitiation, is anyone ever saved.

How are they saved? By the faith that is given by the Holy Spirit through regeneration and the power of the Gospel, and by this faith, given by God, alone. The gospel declares what Christ did for us on the cross, not what we need to do to reach Him.

To give you some background to this Sola, we find it in the life of Luther as he was studying Romans in the year 1515. The great reformation and the 95 theses would not come for another 2 years, but in this year, in this study, Luther was brought face to face with the Almighty God and the gift that God gives in Sola Fide. Luther read:

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
Romans 1:17

Luther saw that it was God’s righteousness that was given to man by and through faith alone, not by the man’s merit. Let the journey begin.

The whole of the 95 Theses is wrapped up in this Sola. Luther argued against indulgences and penances that were being sold to build St Peter’s Basilica, and John Tetzel angered Luther when he tromped through his city exclaiming: Once the coin into the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory heavenward springs.

Luther could take it no more. It all came to a head as explained by R.C. Sproul in his book, “Faith Alone”

April 17, 1521: On this day in history the Augustinian monk Martin Luther, already embroiled in controversy, under the condemnation of the papal bull Exsurge Domine issued by Leo X, stood before the imperial Diet of Worms. The newly elected Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, had summoned Luther to this place for a hearing regarding his teachings. Such a hearing had been urged by Luther’s protector, Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony.
Luther, in danger and in fear of his life, made the journey bearing letters of safe conduct issued by the emperor and various German princes. The trip, undertaken in a covered wagon, required fifteen days. Luther was accompanied by a few friends—colleagues from the university, a student, and a fellow monk. Luther arrived at Worms on April 16, a scene described by Gordon Rupp: “On the morning of April 16th, a trumpet sounded and the crowd pressed towards the gates . . . as a proud cavalcade of nobles and knights clattered by; at the end the little covered wagon swaying round the bend. The crowd stared and murmured their fill at the Black monk who stared back with quick, shining eyes.”
Luther came to Worms in fear and trembling. There was boldness and courage to be sure. But it was a courage required by the piercing fear that haunted the man. Rupp writes:
It was the climax of months of inner struggle. For Luther was no loud-mouthed fanatic with a hide like a rhinoceros. The taunts flung at him by his enemies found an echo in his own tormented self-questioning. “How often has my trembling heart palpitated—are you alone the wise one? Are all the others in error? Have so many centuries walked in ignorance? What if it should be you who err, and drag so many with you into error, to be eternally damned?”
Luther spoke openly to his friends Philipp Melanchthon and Georg Spalatin about his struggle: “‘I shall enter Worms under my Captain, Christ, despite the gates of Hell,’ he told Philipp, and ‘I come, my Spalatin, and we shall enter Worms despite the gates of Hell, and the powers of the air.’”
Luther later recalled the day: “. . . the condemnation had already been published in every town, so that the herald himself asked me whether I still intended to go to Worms. Though, in truth I was physically afraid and trembling, I replied to him: ‘I will repair thither, though I should find there as many devils as there are tiles on the house tops.’”

Then we have the following that would unravel the great protestant reformation, where we thank Luther and the faith that was given to him by our One and only Holy Father.

On the morrow Luther appeared once more before the diet. This hearing was held in a larger and even more crowded auditorium. The hall was dark, illumined only by smoking flares. Johann Eck began with a stern rebuke:
His Imperial Majesty has assigned this time to you, Martin Luther, to answer for the books which you yesterday openly acknowledged to be yours. You asked time to deliberate on the question whether you would take back part of what you had said or would stand by all of it. You did not deserve this respite, which has now come to an end, for you knew long before why you were summoned. And every one—especially a professor of theology—ought to be so certain of his faith that whenever questioned about it he can give a sure and positive answer. Now at last reply to the demand of his Majesty, whose clemency you have experienced in obtaining time to deliberate. Do you wish to defend all of your books or to retract part of them?
Luther responded with a lengthy speech in which he divided his writings into various classes and directly recanted nothing. Eck responded with annoyed irritation:
Luther, you have not answered to the point. You ought not to call in question what has been decided and condemned by councils. Therefore I beg you to give a simple, unsophisticated answer without horns (non cornutum). Will you recant or not?
To this direct mandate Luther gave his historic reply:
Since your Majesty and your Lordships ask for a plain answer, I will give you one without either horns or teeth. Unless I am convicted by Scripture or by right reason (for I trust neither in popes nor in councils, since they have often erred and contradicted themselves)—unless I am thus convinced, I am bound by the texts of the Bible, my conscience is captive to the Word of God, I neither can nor will recant anything, since it is neither right nor safe to act against conscience. God help me. Amen.

So this is our setting where we first find this Sola defended in the courts of the Roman Catholic church and forever we will continue to defend it against their gates.

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Tim Lien is a Loser

I had made a bet with Tim Lien on the March Madness bracket and he is now paying up. If UConn would have won...this would have been flipped. It was very close and I think that he actually got more games correct than I did...which is the only thing I have in common with George Bush, which would make Tim, Al Gore. I am posting his post here as it made me laugh.

Here is the post:

Seth McBee (of Contend Earnestly fame) approached me with this unholy proposition. Lose the March Madness bracket, I would pose with a sign stating “Credos are More Reformed than I am.”

(Definition: “Credos” are those new-babes in Christ who still disobey the God-given command to apply the sign of the covenant to our babies thru the sacrament of baptism. They love to mention “the age of accountability” as mentioned by the heretic Garfunkeles in his acid-laced vision transcribed in the 3 Volumes of Calastophaton)

If I were to win, he would pose for a photo holding a sign stating: “I am Credo. I might as well be Arminian.” UConn managed to dissapoint me, and I lost. Being nothing if not a gentlemen, I am now settling up with the house.

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Sola Gratia: Part III

As we left off in our last post I stated that Romans 9 answers some key questions for us while dealing with this idea of God choosing who He gives His grace to. Romans 9:11, in my mind, completely destroys any notion of God choosing based on “looking down the portal of time.”

for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls

Notice that the whole of God’s choice is NOT based on anything the boys did or would do, but only on GOD’S PURPOSE! Then Paul tells us that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. If you know the story of these two boys, and this is really the hinge on Calvinism and Arminianism, these boys were both evil. Just as we are all evil. God chose one of the two evil boys for His purpose. Is this not the great story of redemption? God in His grace, instead of allowing all evil people go to hell, chose some to worship Him forever. This is Calvinism. Arminianism says, “this isn’t fair, God should have chosen both boys then.” So, Paul answers their question before it is asked by saying in Romans 9:13 that, “there is no injustice with God is there? May it never be.” Paul then tells us this reason, why there is no injustice, notice God didn’t say anything about being FAIR!

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 does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
Romans 9:15,16

What is grace based on? God’s mercy and choice alone, not on ANYTHING we do or don’t do. Not on the man who wills or runs, but on God's mercy.

Paul continues to answer another question, “Why do people go to hell to pay for sin and disobedience they couldn’t help but do? If they aren’t chosen and can’t choose God, why does God make them pay for their sins in hell?” Basically, the question is focused on Esau instead of God’s grace in Jacob!

Here is Paul’s answer, Romans 9:19-23:

You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?”
On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,

Notice why Esau and all others that are the reprobate were created: so that God’s children, His sheep would know the riches of His glory. How do you know a good day is a good day? Because you have had bad days. How do you know a sunny day is a sunny day? Because of the rainy days. How do you know the surpassing riches of God’s grace to you? Because you know that you did absolutely nothing to earn God’s favor, yet He chose you for His grace and left some in their sinful state.

You see Sola Gratia states that not only is the actuality of the gift of salvation free but so is God’s choice of you: He freely gives the free gift

The Provision of God’s Grace

I am going to stay in one passage that really shows the provision that God granted to us: Ephesians 2:5-9

Notice first the stark contrast we see here. Why are we dead? Because of our transgressions. Why are we ever rescued from that death? Only by God and His grace through Jesus Christ.

You see when we realize that God, while we were yet sinners, sent His Son to die on the cross to save us and if we realize that the entire work of Him saving us through Grace is by His kindness and not what we have done, the provision of God’s grace becomes something to be marveled at, not scoffed at.

We can see in Ephesians 2 that:

He made us alive
By Grace we have been saved
He raised us up
He seated us with Him

If we realize these things there are two things that this should do:

Verse 7 tells us that we should understand the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness and verse 9 tells us that we will not boast.

The definition of grace is receiving something that you don’t deserve. If this is true how can you say that the provision of the Son was applied to you because of the goodness and knowledge in you to believe in Him?

The provision of the Son has taken us as Ephesians says, from death to being made alive together with Him. This starts now. We were once a people with no hope, not a nation and under God’s wrath. But, now we have a hope, we are a nation and our eternal life has started on the day of salvation.

This understanding of provision should drive us to our knees with thanksgiving and this is truly why Paul could say, Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.

If we understand that God freely gives us this grace, not based on works and we understand these surpassing riches and kindness, will we not be transformed to a life denying ourselves and worshiping Him? But, this point must be saved for Soli Deo Gloria.

The love of God to us in Christ is here proved, or again declared, to have had its origin in mercy. That he might shew, says he, the exceeding riches of his grace. How? In his kindness towards us, as the tree is known by its fruit. Not only, therefore, does he declare, that the love of God was free, but likewise that God displayed in it the riches, the extraordinary pre-eminent riches of his grace. It deserves notice, also, that the name of Christ is repeated; for no grace, no love, must be expected by us from God, except through his mediation.
John Calvin


Conclusion

Sola Gratia is not only talking about the gift itself, but also the reasons behind the gift. God’s freedom.

This was completely against Rome and their Aristotelian beliefs. To them, man is good enough to respond and God’s choosing is based on God looking to see who would believe and then choosing them. This gives too much credit to a dead man.

Ravi Zacharias said it best:

Jesus Christ did not come to make sick men healthy, but to give dead men life

The actuality is that Luther wrote his 97 Theses just one month before his 95 Theses stating the heresy of believing in free will and Aristotelian theology. It never took and Luther was upset that this thesis was not given more attention.

The clincher for me was. Do I believe more in myself choosing God or do I believe that God sovereignly chose me? I know myself and my sin. I know how wretched of a sinner I was and I cannot imagine that I would have ever chose God unless He first chose me.

1 John 4:19 states that; we love because He first loved us.

Sola Gratia states that God so loved us that He sent His Son to die for us, and He freely gave that grace to whom He freely chose.

God is not a beggar: He is a chooser.

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History of Religion in 90 Seconds

I first saw this over at Justin Taylor's blog a while back...wanted to share it again...pretty cool illustration.

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Should We Use Study Bibles?

If you look around your local church you'll probably notice that people are carrying around these huge books, covered in enough leather that took a whole cow, where they are so big the dorks out there are carrying them in their rolling briefcases, because they are so heavy.

These things you see taking over the church are called study bibles. They are huge. Each one needing their own pulpit so your arms don't get tired holding them up.

Last year, the ESV Study Bible was named as the best book of the year by most major bloggers and Christian publications. This has made study bibles even more accessible to even the Reformed folk who have held off so they didn't have to trust in Arminians and dispensationalists to give them sermon ideas.

Now this opening makes it sound like I am completely against study bibles, which I am not. What I do want to put forth is some thoughts on how to make sure we don't allow the notes in the study bible as infallible as the red letters that they are explaining.

I know that we all, or most of us, remember the days of the horrific bible studies where you read a verse and then everyone gave their opinion on what it meant to them. Sometimes, I remember hearing 10 different views on the same verse. I was in high school back then, caring less about Jesus but had to pretend because my dad was the pastor. I remember thinking, "Who cares what these guys think it means, what does it actually mean?" So, off those horrific "bible studies" I understand why more people like to have in their hands a short commentary on the Scriptures where ever they are. I get that.

But, what has happened, or what I see happening, is that instead of studying the bible for themselves, they simply read the notes and that becomes ex cathedra. I hate to bring this up, but those who do the notes in your Bibles...they are fallible. I know, it's crazy to think that they could be wrong and you are just a dumb sheep following dumb teachings, but it could be true. What is funny, and it shouldn't be, is that every time I hear someone read from their study Bible notes, I just hear, "baaaaaaaa, baaaaaaaa" I ask them, "well, what did you find in your own study of the passage?" They look at me like a hooker in a baptist church.

I just want to put forth some ideas to help make these study Bibles, a help and not a hindrance.

All these things that I list should come before one even looks at the study notes in their study Bibles.

1. Know who wrote the notes. Know their background and theological convictions. Try to have Bibles with differing views so you can have a good supply of ideas on different verses in the Bible. This creates one to think out differing views to think and study for themselves.

2. Study the passage yourself. I know, this sounds crazy. Actually study the bible for yourself? Sounds like I am asking you to try and form your own ideas on what the bible says. Well, I am. If you merely recite what others say, what makes you different than a parrot who asks if you want a cracker? How is this understanding the Christ in your heart and not merely head knowledge? Tear through the passage yourself, looking at context, looking at who wrote the passage, cross referencing the passage with other passages and verses in the NT and OT, compare your conclusions with the rest of the Scriptures, find where Christ is the hero in the passage, etc.

3. Pray over the passage. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us. Just to give you a hint. The Holy Spirit isn't code for John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul or J.I. Packer. I know we forget that, and these men know their Bibles very well, but they have searched the Scriptures and would ask you to do the same. Read a passage, read the verses and spend time in prayer that God would show you what it means and how it represents Jesus as the hero and how you should glorify God because of it. When was the last time you prayed over a passage that you read and studied?

4. Ask, "How does my interpretation work within the rest of the Scriptures?" If you have come up with an interpretation of the passage that contradicts the Bible in other parts, you might want to check yourself. This step requires one to be drenched in the word of God. But with someone who loves God, this step comes as they become more and more sanctified and grow in the knowledge of the Christ. A new Christian might have no clue on this as they are new to the Bible. This can take time. But any Christian, new or old, should do as much as God has supplied in this area.

5. Ask friends how they have interpreted the passage and how it has impacted their life for Christ. If you are homeschooled and have no friends, then start using what we call a computer and get on twitter and facebook so you can make friends. Kidding of course. But simply ask others that you love and see live for Jesus and ask them about it.

6. After all this, see what the study Bible (which I would recommend the ESV Study Bible) or other commentators have to say. You won't always be in agreement and sometimes this is okay. The only time this isn't okay is if you have come out completely opposite from all sources in professional training. You might want to take a second look. If you come out thinking that Jesus really has wool and hooves because he is called the Lamb of God, you might want to rethink your interpretation of those scriptures. Test their conclusions on the passage, making sure that you aren't merely reciting what they have said, but coming to a conclusion that makes you worship Christ instead of the human interpreter.

The reason I write this is that with the internet, cheap books and study Bibles, personal struggle with passages have become abnormal. Instead, what we find it a lot of reciting of famous preachers and teachers of today and times gone by. Although it is very profitable to study what the Holy Spirit has told others, we need the Spirit to test us and our spirit as well. We need to struggle through prayer and study on our own so that we can see the transformation of the Spirit in our lives. The passages that mean the most to me are the ones I have personally studied and prayed over like crazy and then having the Holy Spirit walk me through it to deeper understanding of how it should affect my love for Christ.

I don't hate study bibles, but I fear what they are doing to our congregations. I fear that if used improperly, we will grow into parrots reciting whatever the study notes say, and without knowing it, we have made them infallible and non-negotiable. The only persons who are those two things are the Trinity, not man.

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Watch the Lamb

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Bart Ehrman vs Stephen Colbert

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bart Ehrman
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

HT: The Drake and Ben Witherington

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Early Church Reflection on the Deity of Christ

This is an excellent summation on quotes from the early church on the deity of Christ. If you want to read more on this subject, I highly recommend "For Us and Our Salvation" by Stephen Nichols. This post was taken from The Village Church's theology section of their blog. Enjoy.

By: Geoff Ashley

If you are very familiar with pop society of the past decade you have probably heard the claim that the deity of Jesus was not a confession or belief of the early church, but was rather an invention of the fourth century in accordance with Emperor Constantine’s desire for imperial unity.

“Until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet…a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless.” (Teabing, The DaVinci Code: Dan Brown)

“Jesus’ establishment as “the Son of God” was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.” (DaVinci),

It is not my intent to provide a defense against Dan Brown’s work (for two reasons: 1. Others have already done a solid job of this – see Dr. Darrell Bock’s Breaking the DaVinci Code 2. The book was released 6 years ago and is no longer that culturally significant though I think Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are teaming up again to make another movie in the series). Rather I wanted to merely provide some early church quotations to highlight the historical fact that there is a consistent belief in the deity of Jesus Christ throughout the first four centuries of Christian history.


A.D. 66 —“Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)

AD 95—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1, 14)

AD 110—“There is only one Physician, who is both flesh and spirit, born and unborn, God in man, true life in death, both from Mary and from God, first subject to suffering, then beyond it—Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Ignatius of Antioch)

AD 165—“And because he was God and is God…this is the Man who was sent by the Father to the world because he is God, both Man upon earth and God in heaven, and he is God over all creation.” (Melito of Sardis)

AD 180—“For we speak of His Word as God too and Son, and of the Holy Spirit likewise, united into one by power and divided in order thus: the Father, the Son, the Spirit.” (Athenagoras of Athens)

AD 190—“Inasmuch as the Word was from the first, He was and is the divine source of all things…. This Word, then, the Christ, the cause of both our being at first (for He was in God) and of our well-being, this very Word has now appeared as man, He alone being both, both God and man—the Author of all blessings to us.” (Clement of Alexandria)

AD 200—“So from spirit comes spirit, and God from God, as light is kindled from light…. This ray of God…glided down into a virgin, in her womb was fashioned as flesh.” (Tertullian)

AD 245—“We do not fall into the opinion of those [monarchists], who reject that the Son is distinct from the Father… nor do we fall into the other impious doctrine which denies the divinity of Christ.” (Origen)

As you can see, it is simply untrue that the early church did not believe in the doctrine of the deity of Christ. The church did struggle with articulating the concept of the relationship between Father and Son, but there is a huge difference between wrestling with how to express a truth and not believing that truth.

In light of a spreading heresy 4th century heresy known as Arianism which taught that Jesus was not divine, but was rather a creature, an ecumenical (meaning universal – churches from all over sent representatives) counsel was held to seek consensus on the Christian confession of the person of Jesus Christ. Below is what was articulated:

The Nicene Creed (325 AD):
I believe in one God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son(1); who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

—————

1. The phrase “and the Son” was not accepted by the entire church and was a later addition which was a catalyst for the split between the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman Catholic) churches. Theologians refer to this as the filioque clause from the Latin for “from the Son.”

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When Missional Gets Weird

HT: Not sure if Pete really wants me to give him a hat tip on this...but I will anyways...Thanks Pete

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Some Resources

I wanted to post some resources for you for this week. I have been listening to a lot of Chandler and Tim Lien these past two weeks and wanted to highlight them along with some music downloads.

Sermons:

Matt Chandler's series on Repentance has been excellent: The Village Church (strongly recommend "A Theology of Struggle" if you only listen to one)

Tim Lien has been bringing it like usual. He has been going through 1 Corinthians. Riverwood Presbyterian Church

Mark Driscoll's two sermons on husbands and wives are excellent: Husbands click here; Wives Click here

Music (free resources):

Red Letter (One Righteous Man is a must download)

Ex Nihilo

E-Pop (Oh My God is a must)

Team Strike Force

Page CXVI

Church of the Beloved (more emergent in theology, but some good songs)

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Passover and Christ: Part II

Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.
Exodus 12:7-10

I will cover later the feast of unleavened bread to show how Christ is seen there, but here we see a peak of Christ in this part of Exodus 12. This part of the Passover, when speaking of Christ, is why early Christians were spoken of as being cannibals. Christ said, "this is my body, take and eat." Again, showing that he was the Passover Lamb who was to be eaten after he was slain. The lamb was to become part of their bodies, to be immersed within. The same is with Christ. When the Passover Lamb, becomes our Passover Lamb, he lives within us and immerses us with his Spirit. Just as there was nothing left of the Passover lamb after it was slain, neither was their life within Christ as he completely gave up his life on the cross.

Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:11-13

Just as the lamb was spread over the doorposts of the houses to cover them and sanctify them, so Christ's blood is given to us as a sign of his righteousness passed to us in exchange for our sin.

being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:24-26

The fulfillment in Christ as the Passover Lamb is simply overwhelming as he is made a public display of our sin as the lamb in the time of Egypt was publicly slain and its blood shown forth on each believer's house.

It is interesting to see that Christ is shown to be the second Adam to save us from our head just as the Passover lamb was to save the firstborn in each household. Christ is seen even more than the first Adam and the first passover lamb. Because unlike the first Adam and the Passover lambs, Christ didn't stay in the grave. So, not only did he fulfill these things, he went even further than they were able. Adam and the Passover lamb both condemned and reminded us of our sins, but Christ pays for our sins and rises again so that we might not die, but be brought to God.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Colossians 1:15-18

We can see that in this passage that he is not only takes the place of the firstborn of all creation, namely Adam, but he also takes the place of the firstborn of the dead, namely the Passover lamb.

This was so Christ would have first place, highest significance, in everything.

The question for you is: "Does he?" Has he been sanctified, or set apart, in your heart? Is Christ your Passover Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world?

This question must be answered.

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The Emerging Church Discussion Panel

I watched this today and found it to be just as Kevin DeYoung concluded: not much accomplished. The reason I still put it up on my blog is that it will show you some of the oddities that come when trying to discuss specifics with those in the emergent movement.

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Passover and Christ: Part I

I am going to be putting forth some writings on the Passover and Jesus Christ. For Christians, this is the most important week of our lives. Because of this week, we have hope, because of this week, we have meaning, because of this week, we have love given to us and shown before our eyes. I am going to first put forth the fulfillments we find in Christ that are shown in Exodus 12.

Before we start into Exodus 12, we must first understand that we see a lot of parrellels in the Israelites captivity and ourselves. The Israelites were slaves to the evil Pharoah, just as we ourselves are slaves to sin and do the will of our father the devil before we are saved. Then just as God saved the Israelites by His hand so God saves us from captivity of evil, death and slavery.

I will be putting forth Exodus 12 and then showing how Christ fulfills its entirety.


Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.
Exodus 12:1-2

We are told that when we become one of Christ's own, that it is our new birth. Our life, because of the Lamb of God, starts over and the day of our regeneration becomes the first day of the rest of our lives. We are a new creation, behold old things have past away, new things have come. Just as the Passover started the year for the Jews, Christ has started our lives over and this new life is the one that we have hope in because of the Passover Lamb: Jesus Christ.

Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. ‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb.
Exodus 12:3-4

Here we find the first actual look to the person of Christ. We are told that the Jews will choose for themselves a lamb for the slaughter of their sins. John the Baptist proclaims: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Further, we are told that this lamb was chosen 5 days before Passover (the 10th day). Interestingly, five days before Passover Jesus rides into Jerusalem readied to be the sacrificial Passover Lamb.

On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
John 12:12-15

Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.
Exodus 12:5-6

There are quite a few pictures of Christ found here. You will notice that the lamb must be unblemished. The father of the household would do a careful examination of the lamb to make sure it was the best, unblemished lamb that the family owned. They would find a lamb with no faults, no issues, no spot, absolutely nothing wrong with it. Meaning, there would be no reason for wanting this lamb to leave the household. Spotless lambs were the highest value and taken care of with utmost importance. The reason that it was to be a year old was that this meant that the lamb was now full grown. It was no longer a baby lamb, but a full grown lamb. It must be a male because it was to take the place as the propitiation, expiation and atonement for the first born male that was supposed to die.

Christ was our unblemished Lamb. Even Pilate said that he found no fault in Christ. Peter tells us that there was no deceit found in his mouth, that although he was reviled, he did not revile in return. He was without sin. He was the Righteous One, the Just One. He was a grown male, He was the second Adam, to save sinners from the their head, Adam, from their sin. Just as the Passover lamb was to be a male to take the place of those males who were to die, Jesus took the place of the whole world as the propitiation, expiation and atonement.

We'll continue this study tomorrow and also look further into the importance of the Passover.

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Sola Gratia: Part II

God’s Basis for Bestowing His Grace

So, if we are completely dead because of sin, if we are God haters, ungodly and doing the devil’s will, then on what basis does God give His grace?

God is not some sort of beggar with a sign on His grace that states, “free, take one” and then He stands by hoping and ringing His hands hoping that someone will take His offer. He is the almighty El Shaddai, the Creator of Heaven and Hell and it is based upon His will that decides who gets this grace and who does not. Not ours. Just think of how God chose Israel, or how God chose David, Moses or Jeremiah. Was it because of who they were or because God decided to show them kindness? Did God look down the "portal of time" and see that Jeremiah would be a prophet to Israel and do the work of a prophet, then decide: Now that's a prophet! I must choose him do be a prophet. Or was it that Jeremiah was a "fortified city" (Jer 1) and did the work of a prophet of God because God predestined and foreknew him? I don't think that Jeremiah 1:5 could be any clearer:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

What about Israel? Why did God choose them as His nation?

“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
Deut 7:6,7

I will not completely exegete Ephesians 1, but I encourage you to take a look at this powerful passage on God’s election, more in depth, when you have time.

When you take a look at this passage as a whole you can see that it is not the Ephesians who are praised for anything at all, but all praise is given to God because it is from God.

Notice some things in spoken of in Ephesians 1:

Grace to you and peace from God (v2)
He chose us (v 4)
He predestined us (v5)
To the praise to the glory of His grace
He freely bestowed (v6)
According to the riches of His grace (v7)
He lavished on us (v8)
He made known to us the mystery of His will (v9)

In these there is also listed the reasons that these things were given to those chosen, is it because of anything we did? The obvious answer is, NO. It is not because God looked down the “portal of time” to see who would choose Him and then in turn He elected them.

Look here:
Verse 5: according to the kind intention of His will
Verse 9: according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
Verse 11: according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will

God freely gives according to His purpose and will and counsels nothing besides Himself for this choosing. Did you catch that? God only counsels God! Who can counsel God? Next time we will take a look at Romans 9 and wrap up Sola Gratia.

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Zaccheus was a Real Dude

I was leading a study with some of the youth this past Sunday and we were reading through Luke 19 and the story of Zaccheus. Naturally, those who grew up in church started singing the song like a bunch of Pavlov's dogs. Surprisingly, one of the youth, who is a Senior in high school admitted that he didn't know that the story of Zaccheus was real. He thought it was some made up song.

A lot of people get on liberal theology because they don't believe in the literal stories of the Old Testament, but they aren't the whole problem, conservative Christians that believe in the infallible, inerrant word of God are as well. How so? Some preachers and teachers teach the Bible as though Jesus isn't present in the stories. Like Christ is some after thought and not central to the story. This is very dangerous and leads to a senior in high school clueless on the story of Zaccheus. I know what you are thinking..."I would never do that, I would never make a story in the Bible sound like a fable." Are you sure? The question comes in how you decide to teach the Old Testament and New Testament to your children and to those around you.

Take a look at this song about Zaccheus:

Zaccheus was a wee little man
And a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
And as the Savior passed that way
He looked up in that tree
And He said, “Zaccheus, you come down!
For I’m going to your house today
For I’m going to your house to stay”

What a stupid song. What's the point? What is interesting is what this song leaves out of the conversion story of Zaccheus and how Christ and His salvation to sinners is the center of the story. Look at the rest of Luke 19 that isn't included in the song:

And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 19:6-10

Amazing that this is left out of this (I am trying hard not to use "inappropriate" language here) stupid song that retards the salvific work of Christ. It robs Jesus as the center.

The question must come: How do you teach the Bible? When you come to stories like Jonah, David and Goliath, The Red Sea, Elijah, Joshua, Creation, etc. is Jesus at the center of the story or is he left out?

I always tell people: If a Jew can teach your same lesson with conviction, you aren't teaching Christianity and Christ crucified.

With those above stories who is the hero of them? Is Jonah the hero? Is David the hero? Moses? Elijah? Joshua? Who? If it isn't Jesus and the story of redemption, you aren't teaching the true stories of Christ, but you are telling fairy tales that don't matter. I have seen some bad teachings on this. I have seen where in the story of Daniel and Nebechudnezzar, that it was never about Jesus, but about how not to be like Nebuchadnezzar. I have seen how in Jonah, the theme of "Obey God" was the center. Obey God? That's fine, but what happens when the children find out that this is impossible to perfect? What then? 80% leave the church after high school...that's "what then".

I have had this conversation recently with others and they try and defend why they just merely teach the stories without the fullness of Christ. They have said, "Kids remember stories."

Kids remember stories? Who cares? I want my kids to remember Jesus and the redemption that he promised because of the cross. I am not a Jew and refuse to teach like one. When we merely teach stories, kids grow up not realizing that Zaccheus was real, was converted, sold his possessions, paid back 4 times what he stole and Christ said that he came to seek and to save that which was lost. The story of Zaccheus was a real redemption story that shows what happens when someone "receives Christ gladly."

If you merely teach a story, you need to repent because you are aiding children to believe in either a legalistic mentality of following mere men and their works or you are teaching them that these are just mere stories without you even realizing it.

Thomas Schreiner in his book, The Law and Its Fulfillment has this to say:

This explains, says Sanders, the emphasis in rabbinic literature on the fulfillment of commandments. Sanders' thesis on why the covenant is unmentioned may be granted in one sense. Presumably the rabbis did assume that God's covenantal mercies were the basis of all their behavior, and one must recall the nature of the literature found in the Mishnah and Gemara. Nevertheless, when one combines the failure to mention the covenant with the emphasis on obeying the detailed prescriptions of the law, one has a recipe for legalism. Such theology may not be legalistic in theory; it can always appeal to the covenant as the basis of all behavior. Theology, however, is not measured only by formal statements but also by what it stresses. Any theology that claims to stress God's grace but rarely mentions it and that elaborates human responsibility in detail inevitably becomes legalistic in practice, if not theory. This principle applies to rabbinic Judaism and to Christian churches. A church outwardly lauding grace as primary and fundamental may practice the most virulent legalism.
Schreiner, The Law and Its Fulfillment, p. 117

Here are some quick steps to follow when teaching:

1. What is the context of the story?

2. What is the practical lesson to be received? i.e. don't murder, lie, look at porn, etc.

3. Where is Christ at in the story? How is he pictured or pointed to in the story or passage?

4. In what ways can we train in righteousness and see Christ as the center of redemption because of this story?

These are just some quick things to think about as we teach, not just children, but adults. Without Christ as center, how are we different than a Jew or a story teller at the local library?

Make Jesus the center or you are helping others become Jewish or liberal in theology.

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Mark Driscoll's Video to Phil Johnson

I think this video really clears a lot of things up. It sounds as though there is a lot of communication between Phil and Mark on these things. Being that Steve Camp has already changed some views on Driscoll, and Camp and Johnson are friends, maybe these are the things that need to happen so that Jesus is exclaimed more than mere men.

HT: Jonathan Christman

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When Jesus is Abused

This preaching is brutal. This "preacher" has decided that instead of preaching the gospel of Christ, he wants to use Christ to make his convictions turn into law. But just because this is so obvious don't think this type of stuff can't happen with you and your convictions. Know that the gospel of Christ is the most important issue behind the pulpit, not your convictions of whether a woman can wear pants or not. When the convictions become greater than the Gospel we have some issues. When we try and preach on why we are right and why some one else of the faith is wrong, to simply make a point, instead of pointing to the glories of Christ and how he saves us from our sin and self righteousness, we have lost sight of why God has called us to preach.

If you are a preacher, you must ask, "Why am I called to preach?" Is it to win sides and debates for my convictions? Or is it to save sinners from themselves to the joys of the cross? When one uses Christ for personal pride, they have twisted the reason of the calling. When Jesus isn't the reason for our preaching, but a sideshow to make a point, we need to repent. I have seen this preacher do the same things with other topics, so this is a trend with him. I will be trying to find out who he is so I can send an email to him to just simply ask him to preach the gospel.

HT: Bob Hayton

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I am the Man!

You are probably thinking is some self proclaiming post about how great of a man I am, but it is actually quite opposite. There is a story in the Bible that most know, which is the story of David showing us that you can be a grave sinner and still love God because of a repentant heart. David had just went through having sex with another man's wife, getting her pregnant, getting her husband drunk, getting her husband killed, and then taking the woman as his wife. Crazy. What happened afterward is something that always hits me in between the eyes every time I read it. Here it is in its whole:

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said,
“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
“The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
“But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.
“Now a traveler came to the rich man,
And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.
“He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”
Nathan then said to David, “You are the man!"
2 Samuel 12:1-7a

This story always seems quite amazing that David is such a moron. The problem is that everytime I read it or hear it preached, Nathan seems to always yell at me: You are the man! For whatever reason I can easily discern everyone else's sins besides my own. I can see their faults as though I sit on some throne of righteousness. If you know any theology at all, you know, and I should know, how much I need Jesus more than any other person I know. I need to realize that I am the greatest sinner, not the most mature saint.

John Piper says that when he prays he starts by praying for himself, because he says that he is the greatest sinner he knows.

The apostle Paul said that he was the least of the apostles and chief of sinners.

Isaiah, the great prophet of God, said that he was a man of unclean lips and that he was undone.

As I look to others in their sins, I need to first know that I am far worse than they are. The second that I look past my own sins to the sins of others, I become a proud Pharisee awaiting judgment from my perfect Saviour.

The great thing is that God continues to forgive my proud heart, and continues to point to his cross where my sins were paid and my forgiveness shown.

We all like to be Nathans, but rarely do we realize that most of the time, if not all the time, we are the Davids instead. The sooner we realize this, the more we will be able to worship Christ and his cross instead of our own righteousness.

Know that I am, indeed, the man.

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Sola Gratia: Part I

This Sola was hardest for me to understand and adapt to when I first learned the theology. I had been taught my whole life the concept of a semi-Pelagian view of man, in that man had a libertarian free will and that man was left with a little good in them after the fall. I was taught that my life was determined by my actions and that I could even change God’s mind through my prayers and the way that I walk in this life. But, Sola Gratia shows us that God’s grace is freely given to whomever God desires, not the other way around.

Here is my definition of Sola Gratia:

This affirms that only by God’s grace is anyone saved. Not by any man’s merit because we are dead in sin and do not desire to even search for God as found in Romans 3.

This is completely against the forces of the self esteem gospel and the health and wealth gospel, where these two teach that what you do, you will receive from God, always and forever with no exception. Not only in your walk with God, but in your so-called pursuit of God before you are saved.

These beliefs tend to transform the gospel into a product to be sold, but Sola Gratia states as Titus 1:11, 2 Peter 2:3 and 1 Timothy 6:5 states; godliness is not sold for gain nor is it used for greed but God’s grace is freely given by our Lord who is in heaven.

God’s grace is given freely by God’s sovereign will not gained by any merit. This also stands against those who feel as though they can persuade men to Christ and who feel as though men are born with a little good in them to choose God. Yet, grace alone states that we are completely dead to sin and only by His grace can we ever attain so great a salvation.


Benjamin Warfield said this in his book titled, “Studies in Theology:”

The centre of the controversy for Luther, lay in the article in which asserts the sole efficiency of grace in salvation

Terry Johnson in his book, "The Case for Traditional Protestantism", puts it this way:

Luther, in his written response to the great Christian humanist scholar Erasmus entitled The Bondage of the Will, called the issue of grace ‘the hinge on which all turns.’ It is the hinge because, if faith is generated from within, if faith is an exertion of the will for which we can claim credit, then faith is a work, and salvation by grace is overthrown. The Reformers said that, in addition to “faith alone,” we are saved by “grace alone.”

Our Condition to Receive His Grace

Have you ever heard someone say about another, “they are such a good person!” or “they do so many good things.” Or a mother say in a court room about her son, “he is such a good boy!”

Are these true statements? For us humans we see a lot of good in people. If I am stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire and someone helps me, I see that as a good person and a good deed. We see this all over our society, whether with Ghandi, Mother Teresa, or Microsoft helping out with tuberculosis. But we must not fall into the trap of Aristotelianism. Which is “reason governs us.” To this Luther stated, and be forgiving here as he uses this in its actual intent, “Reason is a whore.”

You see reason and our experience with others will tell us that there is good in people and that people are good in general, but we must look to a heavenly perspective. We must look to God in understanding our condition.

We must look at the dichotomy of good and then the introduction of evil. You see, when God created man what did God say? Genesis 1:31 states that God saw all He created and said that it was very good. But then in Genesis 6:5 God states:

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually

And just so that you don’t get the idea that this was only pre-flood and things were differently afterwards Genesis 8:21 states again:

the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth;

The Greek word used here for “intent” means “framework or purpose.” So the framework and purpose of man’s heart is to do evil, not good.

But what happened? How did God go from saying that man was created good to saying that he was framed, inclined and purposed for evil?

Sin. What was the punishment for that sin? Genesis 2:17 states that if they ate from the tree that would “surely die” and every since then people have responded and taught like the devil taught when he said in Genesis 3:4, “You surely will not die!” This lie started with the devil and every since then we have had men like Pelagius, Erasmus and others that followed in this trap of the devil to state, “you surely did not die in your sin, you are merely sick.”

When we speak of Sola Gratia we must know where we stand, we are dead in sin, not almost dead, not sick, not blind, not lame, we are completely dead in our sin. We inherited this deadness from our father, Adam, as stated in Romans 5:12:

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

Again, what spread to all men because of sin? Death. This spiritual death is also spoken of in Eph 2:1 and Colossians 2:13 and we are told that we are slaves to sin, doing the will of our father the devil. Which is evil.

So dead in our sin that we are given man’s condition in Romans 3:10-18.

We find in this passage that we are not good, we don’t understand the things of God, we don’t seek God, we are useless, we do no good, we are continually deceitful and we don’t fear God. This last part is very important to understand. David and Solomon both taught us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The question then must follow: if Romans 3:18 states that there is no fear of God before our eyes, how do we ever attain the wisdom of salvation? The answer is through the understanding of Sola Gratia. To follow this up Isaiah 64:6 states that all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags to God.

These passages fly in the face of contemporary Christendom as we are told that we must look from within. I have heard Rick Warren say that if someone gives him the time to make his points that he could convert anyone at any time. This is why we must believe in Grace Alone. It is by Grace Alone that we are saved. He has to give this freely to whomever He chooses, because if He didn’t then no one would believe.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8

We are indeed helpless, ungodly and sinners. Could you imagine if God waited for us to be good or to see good in us before He sent Christ to die for our sins? He had to send His Son while we were still sinners because if He waited for our actions, He would have waited for eternity. Our condition is that we are dead in sin, haters of God, and doing the will of our father the devil before God bestows His grace to us freely.

Next time we will take a look at God’s basis for bestowing His grace.

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