The Kinsman Redeemer & Sandals

I'm going to quote Ruth from the NIV because it uses the terminology of a Kinsman-Redeemer instead of simply "close relative."

King David came out of this line, and so the Lord Jesus Christ was born out of it as well.

Ruth 4:1-12 NIV

¹ Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.

² Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. ³ Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line."
"I will redeem it," he said.

⁵ Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property."

⁶ At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it."

⁷ (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)

⁸ So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal.

⁹ Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"

¹¹ Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. ¹² Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

We read about the redemption of land in Lev 25:23-28

²³ ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. ²⁴ And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.
²⁵ ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. ²⁶ Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, ²⁷ then let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. ²⁸ But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.
²⁹ ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. ³⁰ But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. ³¹ However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. ³² Nevertheless the cities of the Lemvites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Lemvites may redeem at any time. ³³ And if a man purchases a house from the Lemvites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Lemvites are their possession among the children of Israel. ³⁴ But the field of the common-land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.

We read how this is done by Levirate Marriage in Deut 25:5-10

⁵ “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. ⁶ And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. ⁷ But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ ⁸ Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to take her,’ ⁹ then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’ ¹⁰ And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’

So I'm interested in how this relates to Jesus Christ, OUR Kinsman Redeemer.

Matthew 3 shows us that Judah was witness to John's baptism of repentance. I believe this would include Christ's baptism.

Matthew 3:1-17

¹ In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

“ The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘ Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.’”

⁴ Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ⁶ and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
¹⁶ When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

We read similarly in each of the Gospels. Mark 1:7 Luke 3:16 John 1:27

John felt he was not worthy to loose the Lord's sandals. Just like Ruth who uncovered Boaz's feet and laid down at them. Ruth 3:1-18 She didn't feel worthy, and indeed she was not.

However, Boaz did remove his sandals and become the Kinsman Redeemer. We read in Ruth 4 that there was another who was naturally the "close relative" who was not willing to pay the price of redemption. But Boaz was willing, so he took of his sandals. I believe the Lord would have taken off His sandals when He went into the river to be baptized.

It is at this moment that the Lord declared His intention before the witnesses of Jerusalem, Judea and all around and the Father declared His pleasure.

Fail-Safe For Fallacy at Amazon

Wow. This is one of those moments in my life that I won't forget. I just searched Amazon for my book and found it.

You can find it at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

A sure faith and a clear understanding of the Bible is available to every Believer, not just Pastors and theologians. There is no need for any of us to be led astray and have our hopes dashed because they have been built on fallacy. God who cannot lie has breathed out truth in His Word to us in such a way that we each really can understand it. We live in an age of unprecedented access to knowledge yet the popular media thrives by selling us news bites we seldom verify. Most church goers today get all their theology in 40 minute purpose filled messages on Sunday mornings. Many have almost no ability to "rightly divide the Word of Truth" and so leave the deeper things of God and the sure faith they build to be experienced by only those who have been to seminary. This makes us easy prey for false teachers, and prophets. Shockingly, it mostly goes unnoticed that the lost are being inoculated against Eternal Salvation by false conversion experiences. We need a fail-safe against all this error and God has given it to us in His Word. Fallacy lays in wait for every unprepared believer but the Bible was written to reveal truth to us. Fail-Safe For Fallacy can help anyone confidently learn this truth directly from the Scriptures. Every Believer really can cut straight through to the truth God has given us in His Word instead of being tossed to and fro by the various doctrines of men. You can know truth, and be sure of it!

When A Tower Falls

Why do bad things happen to people? Doesn't the World want to know the answer to that question?

We read the answer in Genesis 3, but people love to discredit Genesis don't they? We Christians in our zeal to have people like us often disregard that book too. We are willing to embrace Evolution if it will make people like us enough to come sit in Church with us. OK not all of us act that way, and the faithful few of us here have probably just cried out in our hearts with anger at being accused of doing that.

But popular Lordship Salvation proponent John Piper is denying the truth of Genesis.

Recently a tornado hit Central Lutheran Church, Piper's explanation?

6. Conclusion: The tornado in Minneapolis was a gentle but firm warning to the ELCA and all of us: Turn from the approval of sin. Turn from the promotion of behaviors that lead to destruction. Reaffirm the great Lutheran heritage of allegiance to the truth and authority of Scripture. Turn back from distorting the grace of God into sensuality. Rejoice in the pardon of the cross of Christ and its power to transform left and right wing sinners.

This is the conclusion, his whole article can be found at Desiring God.

It's a shame when even an Open Theist has a more Biblically sound answer than a Calvinist.

With view of John Piper's use of Luke 13:4-5 Greg Boyd says the following;

Far from supporting John’s speculation about why a tornado broke a church steeple, it seems to me this passage directly assails it! It makes me want to ask John, “do you think that the folks at Central Lutheran church are more guilty than you or any others living in the Twin Cities?” And the only answer this passage allows us to give is an unequivocal “no!” In the fallen world in which we live, towers sometimes randomly fall; bridges sometimes randomly collapse; and tornadoes sometimes randomly do property damage – even to churches. That’s all there is to be said about it.

Read all that Greg Boyd had to say about this at his website.

Genesis 3 tells us that God cursed Creation. That's why bad things happen to people. Good people, and bad people... that's why cars rust, people get cancer, people die, why towers fall over, and why tornadoes hit both good and bad churches.

Debates, Discussions and Discourse

I've found that debating things doesn't ever seem to win anyone over. Look up, ignoring some of his behavior, has validity in his posts about sticking to "preaching the Word."

I do not agree in the slightest that discussion is wrong. However, I don't see much in the way of good fruit coming out of many debates.

People learn as they discuss things, they discover the things they don't know and reinforce the things they do know. Deep discussions are needed.

It's clear that there was discussion in the Acts 15 meeting.

Acts 15:22-29

²²Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. ²³With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. ²⁴We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. ²⁵So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— ²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. ²⁸It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: ²⁹You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

They came together and "decided" to send... they "all agreed to choose"... it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...

They didn't just preach to each other, these Godly men came together and worked through these things. They laboured in the Word together, and that surely involved discussion. Am I arguing from silence here? You would be hard pressed to make a compelling argument that men (even if they were inspired) could evaluate what burdens should be placed on the Church. Such an argument would also be, and I believe more so, from silence.

However, I'm interested in the potential for growth. Is there a better way to reach and teach those whose theology doesn't match the Scriptures than debating?

BTW just because one is in error in some bit of Theology doesn't make them a False Convert.. so just preaching the Gospel to the one in error isn't the whole solution.

If The Scriptures Are True We Can Know What They Say

This article is a response to a comment in another thread. To discuss the comment there would distract from the intended conversation so I'm starting a new discussion here.

When I interpret Scripture I always start with three fundamental premises that are declared in Scripture. First that ALL Scripture is plenarily inspired by God the Holy Spirit Himself (this means that right down to every jot and title is inspired). Second that God cannot lie. Titus 1:2 Third that the Word of God does not have trickery, falsehood, all is plain. Proverbs 8.

If I am using a good translation of the Scriptures then I can confidently say that anything that I read that seems to falsify any of those three fundamental and declared premises is untrue and related to my lack of understanding.

There can be no in context disagreement between Jesus, Paul, Peter, Isaiah… and so on. If there is a in context disagreement between them found in the Scriptures then Christianity is a lie. Either God is true and every man a liar or He is not the God He claims to be which would make Him a liar unfit for worship and unable to save.

With this bit of business out of the way I’d like to reply to your post. First let me quote you in whole so as to maintain your context for our readers.

I have yet to meet, or read on line, a Bible-believing Christian who does not explain away some Biblical reference which fails to conform to their own view of what a Bible-believing Christian should believe. One example in my personal experience was the pastor who teaches that Christians should never drink alcohol, then said that surely our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would not have turned water into wine for the guests at a wedding feast. I have the same problem with explaining away James 2:14-26 as "about justification before men, not before God." That is not what James said. That is what someone who doesn't want to believe James is talking about justification before God would naturally suggest. Martin Luther had the same problem - he came close to arguing that James should be deleted from the Protestant version of the Bible, along with six books accepted by the Roman church which WERE deleted.

I believe that if two Bible verses conflict, we generally have to admit that no doctrinal explanation, which is necessarily a matter of human reasoning, can reconcile them. WE can't be the ones to chose which verse modifies the other verse, or vice versa. The only exception is, if Jesus said it, then it takes precedence over Paul, Peter, James, John... But we can only hope we understood Jesus correctly.

Since salvation is ultimately a matter of grace, not our own merit, I don't believe most of the criteria being discussed here are definitive. Does God have the power and authority to extend his grace to one who has not trusted that the Christ paid the full price of their sins? Could God of his mere grace and mercy forgive someone who seeks to please God on their own terms? Of course, whether we like it or not. God may even extend his grace to an atheist. If He does so, none of us will have anything to say about it.

Now I would like to reply on a though by though basis.

I have yet to meet, or read on line, a Bible-believing Christian who does not explain away some Biblical reference which fails to conform to their own view of what a Bible-believing Christian should believe

That’s quite a statement. I’d find it more believable if you were to say that you haven’t found someone you think is completely consistent. The classis “What do you DO with this verse then?” is along the same thinking as your statement here. Just because you don’t agree with someone doesn’t mean they are “explaining away” anything. I don’t mean to be offensive, but that question, and the statement you made says more about the person asking and making it than the person they are describing.

I challenge you to find a single instance of me “explaining away” any verse in the Bible, which is what you are accusing me of here. There are challenging portions of Scripture that require deep study, but that doesn’t mean one must explain it away. I might very well “explain away” someone’s understanding of a verse, but only if that understanding is not supported by Scripture. Such as the case with people claiming that James 2 indicates that Salvation is dependant on works. Scripture overwhelmingly destroys such a thought front to back. So to keep that understanding of those verses, in denial of the rest of Scripture, truly makes someone miss what James was inspired to write about. We miss the true value of these verses when we force them to mean what they do not.

One example in my personal experience was the pastor who teaches that Christians should never drink alcohol, then said that surely our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would not have turned water into wine for the guests at a wedding feast.

It is unfortunate that you’ve experienced inconsistent preaching…. But as you mention it is very common. Christians are “allowed” to drink alcohol of course. They were drinking “strong” wine at the Passover Feast (the last supper). Also if we actually read what Scripture says on the subject we find that alcohol robs us of wisdom but it is not prohibited. We suffer because of it but there is no law or command against using it.

I have the same problem with explaining away James 2:14-26 as "about justification before men, not before God." That is not what James said. That is what someone who doesn't want to believe James is talking about justification before God would naturally suggest. Martin Luther had the same problem - he came close to arguing that James should be deleted from the Protestant version of the Bible, along with six books accepted by the Roman church which WERE deleted.

If James 2 means that Salvation is by faith & works then it is not part of inspired Scripture and should never be included with Scripture. This is the reason the Catholic books are not part of the Bible, they are inconsistent with the rest of Scripture. However, James 2 does not mean what that, and it is inspired Scripture.

I believe that if two Bible verses conflict, we generally have to admit that no doctrinal explanation, which is necessarily a matter of human reasoning, can reconcile them. WE can't be the ones to chose which verse modifies the other verse, or vice versa. The only exception is, if Jesus said it, then it takes precedence over Paul, Peter, James, John... But we can only hope we understood Jesus correctly.

Then we are in a very bad way. “But we can only hope we understood…” This thinking puts us in the driver’s seat. We are no longer believing God Almighty, we are fashioning a god of our own making… that doesn’t go over very well with the True God of the Universe.

You should notes that Jesus didn’t pen any of the Bible, even His own words… Writers inspired by God the Holy Spirit wrote ALL of it. No Scripture is of any private interpretation – we are not involved in deciding what it means. We can’t pick and choose. It all fits together because it is all true. There is no portion of Scripture that takes authority over any other part. It is “all given” for study and correction.

Since salvation is ultimately a matter of grace, not our own merit, I don't believe most of the criteria being discussed here are definitive. Does God have the power and authority to extend his grace to one who has not trusted that the Christ paid the full price of their sins? Could God of his mere grace and mercy forgive someone who seeks to please God on their own terms? Of course, whether we like it or not. God may even extend his grace to an atheist. If He does so, none of us will have anything to say about it.

If God were to violate His own word then that would make Him a liar. He would no longer be righteous. Christ was able to pay our sin debt because He alone was qualified to do so. He was sinless. If God is a liar then Jesus is not sinless, and could not then have died “in accordance with the Scriptures” for our sins. He would have simply died like any other man hung on a cross.. and would have stayed dead.

If God lies, then Scripture is of no profit to men. If however, God is not a liar and His Word is perfectly true then we can actually trust it. If we can trust it then we can study what it says in the context of what it says and know for sure what it means.

These are the thoughts I had when I read the comment. How about you?

False Conversion

I'm interested in what you all think about False Conversion. If you will, would you answer the following questions?

It would be great if each answer were accompanied by a Biblical example.

1. Under what circumstances might a person think they are Eternally Saved, but actually still be bound for the Lake of Fire?

2. In such circumstances what would that person have to do to be saved?

This topic is surely an off-shoot of the last Lordship thread, but I hope we can leave that debate closed and focus on these two questions.

Hopefully there will be healthy discussion.

All are welcome to participate, just please try to discuss these questions not any previous debate. I'm really hoping some of those who were just reading the last few threads will post in this one.

How is faith being fully convinced?

We spend a lot of time chatting about faith here at this blog, and the others that I frequent. We talk about how it is simply believing, or being persuaded that something is true.

We generally don't talk about the "convinced" or "persuaded" part very much. Brother Fred Lybrand has started a valuable discussion over at his own blog.

I hope you'll visit and participate.

At the foot of the Cross, or seated in Christ in Heaven?

Thinking of Luke 5:8 and Luke 15:11-32 J.N. Darby wrote the following.

Does any Christian say, "I am at the foot of the Cross"? But Christ is not at the foot of the Cross--He is in Heaven. If you are really at the foot of the Cross, you have not come to Him yet. You are laboring about in the thoughts of your heart, and have not followed Him in faith to where He is. If you are at the foot of the Cross, you have not come in through the veil by the Cross. If you were inside the veil, you would know yourself worse--not one good thing in the flesh.

It is precious to see a soul exercised even in that way, as the prodigal son was when in the far country; but he had not come to his father then--he had not yet found out where he was. There was a mixture of self, not knowing the father, and talking about becoming a hired servant. It is not humility, as people think, to be away from God saying "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man." Is insensibility to God's goodness humility?

The prodigal could not dictate and prescribe when his father had his arms around his neck: he had no business at all to be in the house as a hired servant. Taking the position of hired servant is not humility--it is a mixture of self with the knowledge of having gotten away from God. There is one way of coming in; it is by Christ who is in the Glory. You must take the place Christ provides, or none. We have no title to any other place.

Death and judgement are gone; Christ cannot die again. The victory is complete. Sins are put away and He is gone into Heaven in consequence; and that victory is ours.

As I read that I think of Eph 2:4-6 and Phil 3:17-21

The summation of these thoughts is particularly striking.

The prodigal could not dictate and prescribe when his father had his arms around his neck: he had no business at all to be in the house as a hired servant. Taking the position of hired servant is not humility--it is a mixture of self with the knowledge of having gotten away from God. There is one way of coming in; it is by Christ who is in the Glory. You must take the place Christ provides, or none. We have no title to any other place.

What position is provided for you? What position do you seek? Are they one and the same, or are you still mixing self into what you trust?

What Is Faith? My Response To The LS Presentation.

EDIT: If you think I have a misunderstanding of LS Theology then I invite you to CLEARLY (without the use of terminology which you do not cleary define) explain what EXACTLY I misunderstand, and what EXACTLY the truth of LS Theology is. If you are UNABLE to comply with this then any comment about how I'm "misrepresenting" or "misunderstanding" LS is not welcome. Please keep this as peaceable as possible. My intention is to come to CLARITY not pick on people. Tempers flare up... but they shouldn't be the driving factor in our discussions.

EDIT 2: At the bottom of this article I'm going to give you Mark's latest itteration of his witnessing, in his own words. I ask the reader to see if what I have rendered varies at all from what Mark expresses. Please feel free to comment on this.

There is a fine line between being helpful and pride.

After spending some quality time with a Brother in the Lord this weekend past and listening to his counsel I’ve changed my course a bit. It’s not lost on me that this article must be helpful. If it is going to be helpful then it can’t just be about who is right and who is wrong. Those things will clearly enter the fray but they can’t be the focus. Realizing you are wrong, or telling someone they are isn’t really helpful until you equip them in some way to be “right.”

I confess that Mark’s Lordship Salvation (LS) presentation did not convert me to the LS point of view. Yet even still, I recognize how Mark’s passion could be compelling, especially in person. I totally relate to how those who seek Christians to live a victorious life and for the Lord to be exalted in our lives find Lordship Salvation theology to be enticing.

The issue at the start of all this was that Mark claimed there was not one single person who both understood LS theology and rejected it. I considered the likelihood of this being true as unreasonably low, but possible. What I was (and am) absolutely sure of is that from Mark’s point of view LS is so plainly true that he can’t imagine someone understanding it and rejecting it.

So I find myself looking at a massive article that includes four versions of Mark’s position in the form of witnessing, and 78 comments filled with details and definitions. There is a huge amount of information to sift through. I've done my best and I hope that is good enough to help the reader.

In order to understand what Mark was saying in his presentations I asked him to define the terminology he was using. I would then insert those definitions into his presentations. Mark mostly agreed, and finally didn’t offer any correction. However, he still indicates that my last interpretation of what he was saying showed signs that I didn’t understand.

That’s enough disclosure to give this article some context I think. If you need any more information about the discussion I had with Mark you can find it all right HERE.

We got into the definitions of many things that are important for a deeper study of LS and to show how LS theology expresses its self in the beliefs of the person who holds to it. Most of the things discussed in that thread don’t need to be brought up here again. I was striving for a full understanding. I wanted to understand LS as Mark believes it, and to understand Mark too.

The real discussion that is important is that which will have us answer the question: What is faith?

Mark declared that Salvation is by Grace through faith alone in Christ alone. He told me “Matthew 11:28-30 serves as [his] personal model for a salvation presentation.” In order to understand his presentation I asked him to define “faith” and he gave me answers to this on several occasions. Here are some of his explanations;

• Saving faith is that which is seen Heb 11:8-19

• Mark 8:34-38 is the definition of saving faith which he explained as a “faith that desires to follow after Christ.”

In Mark’s desire to ensure I properly understood what he believes to be the definition of “saving faith” he explained this;

Secondly, I've maintained all along that characteristics or evidences of saving faith are manifested in the taking of His yoke upon you and learning from Him. Any "coming" to Him that stops short of taking His yoke upon you and learning from Him indicates that there was no coming at all; and no "faith" at all.

Again, no evidences of faith - taking His yoke upon you, and learning from Him - then there is no true authentic saving faith.

Mark explained the concept of being yoked at length but I believe he was most clear at this point;

Take My yoke upon you... Kevin a yoke was a wooden beam that was placed across the necks of oxen in order to keep them together. In the Bible a yoke came to symbolize servitude. Christ wants to place His yoke on you so that He can direct your life. You are to respond to Him in obedience. THAT is what is at the core of the Christian experience; obedience to Christ.

One thing that Mark and I agreed with, at least on one level, right from the start is that Eternal Salvation has the requirement of having “right standing before Holy God.” The Bible calls this “Righteousness.” The person who attains, or is given Eternal Salvation must also attain or be given righteousness. Mark and I both describe this as a “gift.” I believe that Eternal Salvation is the natural result of being given right standing before Holy God, and that Eternal Damnation is the natural result of not having right standing.

One might say that Christians are saved from not having right standing. Mark indicates this when he answers my question about what we are saved from with “From God’s coming wrath.”

Both Mark and I quote Ephesians 2:8-9 with passion when we talk about Salvation being a gift.

Mark’s definition of Faith speaks of things like desiring to serve Christ, to being yoked to His directing your life, and obedience.

Mark tells me his presentation is based on Matthew 11. There however the Lord promises the one who takes on His yoke “rest” not work. The word rendered rest means a “cessation of motion” not to be “at ease” from worry but to be The Lord calls the hearer to be linked up with Him, because HE has done the work so the believer can merely “rest.”Such is the character of every answer given to any person who asks what they must do to be saved. When a person asks what work they can do, they are told to believe, not work.

Mark tells us that unless one has the same faith described in Heb 11:8-19 that a person is not saved. In actuality this passage describes Abraham’s willingness to obey God because he trusted God. Abraham had to have faith to do this, but it was not his faith that had inspired him to obey. His faith allowed him to do so. God inspired him to obey, it was his trust in God that let him actually follow through. His obedience demonstrates to us that he trusted God, but his obedience wasn't the trust. We read this same concept in James 2, where men are justified before other men by their works – but justified before God by faith alone.

The first verse of Hebrews 11 defines faith for us. It says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Faith is trust. So we read verse 8-19 knowing that it is because Abraham trusted God that he obeyed. His obedience isn’t his faith.

We also know this because Abram, which is the name that Abraham had before God changed it, was accounted as righteous before Holy God way back in Genesis 15. The Apostle Paul makes it plainly clear that faith and works are not the same using the Genesis 15 account. Paul tells us that that Justification before God not only is not “by works” but is “apart from” works. That the one who believes on God and DOES NOT WORK is saved.

He writes in Romans 4:1-4

¹ What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁴ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. ⁵ But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, ⁶ just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
⁷ “ Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
⁸ Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”

One must go back to the event of Abram being justified to see this plainly.

Gen 15:1 reads After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Abram was afraid, and did not trust the Lord. He says to the Lord in Gen 15:2-3 But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

The Lord God assured Abram with Gen 15:4-5 ⁴ And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

And then it happened.

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

This is exactly the same as how Heb 11:1 defines faith. He trusted God’s promise. He did not express desire to serve. He did not come under some yoke of obedience. He trusted God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.

Paul tells us clearly in Romans 4 that this is how we are justified before God.

All the theology that leads a person to adopt LS theology can be argued over in various venues. There can be cries of misrepresentation and misunderstanding coming from those who support and deny LS theology. None of it matters to our discussion here today. The logical end of those theologies is the Lordship Salvation position which does not define saving faith the way the Bible does.

I may or may not understand the doctrines of sin, regeneration, election or repentance as they pertain to Lordship Salvation. I believe that I do, and I believe this is evidenced very clearly through my discussion with Mark. All of these things are moving targets when you try to challenge them because people hold their beliefs close to their hearts. But none of it matters. The Bible tells us that Salvation is by grace through faith and LS defines faith in a way that does not match what the Bible says.

Mark noted absolutely no disagreement with regard to what Salvation is, or what Grace is. I have used his word for word definitions of what saving faith is. CLEARLY I understand the position of Lordship Salvation as presented by Mark. I believe I have honored my promises, and I’m thankful that Mark participated in honor of his.

The brunt of the argument is that the Bible says that saving faith is assurance. Lordship Salvation uses incorrect grammar and says that saving faith is a faith that desires to serve Christ. Faith can’t desire something. To say that faith desires something is to commit the logical fallacy of reification.

Any time I have pressed the LS advocates on this I’ve been met with accusations of misrepresenting. To give the LS proponent the benefit of the doubt, one might consider that they would say that the life of one who has faith would be characterized by a desire to serve. However, the Bible makes no demand of this type of desire to serve to attain Salvation on the sinner (or the Believer to maintain salvation for that matter). I have presented Mark's own words, and quoted Scripture so I will leave the reader to compare what he says to the Bible’s definition of faith which is “assurance.”

In light of this one issue, I can not accept Lordship Salvation as truth. There are many other aspects of the theology that are worthy of discussion but based on this one point I can unequivocally state that the Bible is at odds with Lordship Salvation and I choose Scripture over man.

As it says “Let God be true and every man a liar.”

How about some help then?

Again and again the words "You're dealing with a teenager" came up this weekend past. Not that Mark is in his teenage years... but that he's still growing up in the Faith. We are each where we are on our own "walk towards Christ." I'm where I'm at, you're where your at, and Mark is where Mark is at. It is obvious from Scripture that Christians are created for Good Works. And while I hold that the only "evidence" we are told will show us as Christians is our love for each other, I DO believe that we will see fruit of the Spirit in the lives of those who walk by the Spirit. As Christians mature, that fruit becomes more and more visibly consistent. There is no getting around that. However, these are not terms for Salvation. One is no more or less saved if they do good works, if they are willing to do good works, or if they are disorderly.

As Paul tells us, we are Justified apart from works. We don't have to desire to do anything, we simply trust.

And that brings up the last point. When Mark was witnessing to me he did share that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day. However, he did not share why this is "good news." Christ died for our sins "in accordance with the Scriptures." He died as a sacrifice that fullfilled the complete requirements for our Salvation. His sacrifice was accepted and so He rose to life again. When the Apostle Paul preached this message he shared why it was good news for everyone who receives it. Paul told us that if we receive this message that we are not only baptized into Christ's death, but also into His resurrection. That is our hope, that through dying in Christ we shall also live in Him for evermore.

What is saving Faith? It's trusting the Gospel of Christ. Period. No more. No less. No different at all. The Apostle Paul declares this Gospel and tells us the hope we have if we have received it.

1 Cor 15:1-11

¹But I make known to you, brethren, the glad tidings which I announced to you, which also ye received, in which also ye stand,

²by which also ye are saved, (if ye hold fast the word which I announced to you as the glad tidings,) unless indeed ye have believed in vain.

³For I delivered to you, in the first place, what also I had received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures;

⁴and that he was buried; and that he was raised the third day, according to the scriptures;

⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

⁶Then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the most remain until now, but some also have fallen asleep.

⁷Then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles;

⁸and last of all, as to an abortion, he appeared to *me* also.

⁹For *I* am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called apostle, because I have persecuted the assembly of God.

¹⁰But by God's grace I am what I am; and his grace, which [was] towards me, has not been vain; but I have laboured more abundantly than they all, but not *I*, but the grace of God which [was] with me.

¹¹Whether, therefore, I or they, thus we preach, and thus ye have believed.

Please compare the Apostle's presentation and my own descriptions with that of Mark's own words.

I used Acts 20:21 as the lead-off in my gospel presentation "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. I am convinced that salvation cannot take place without one coming to a place of realizing that their lives are completely in disobedience to the Word of their Creator, and their utter lostness that results from that. They realize it is time to stop in their tracks, which lead to certain judgment, and to embrace God's Word. (Repentance)

That one so convicted then comes to put their trust in the truth of God's Word that Christ paid in full for their sins. "It is Finished" were among His dying words on the cross. Indeed it was finished. There remained no more payment for sin. Christ bore The Father's wrath on all our sins. That individual, fully assured of these truths submits his life to Christ as his Master, Controler And Supreme One in authority. (Faith).

Hence my going to the center-piece of my gospel presentation - Matthew 11:28-30. There Christ summons those to come to Him and to take His yoke upon them ( a wooden beam, which came to symbolize servitude) and to learn from Him.

Fail-Safe For Sale!

Fail-Safe For Fallacy - EVERY BELIEVER CAN CUT STRAIGHT TO THE TRUTH

A sure faith and a clear understanding of the Bible is available to every Believer, not just Pastors and theologians. There is no need for any of us to be led astray and have our hopes dashed because they have been built on fallacy. God who cannot lie has breathed out truth in His Word to us in such a way that we each really can understand it. We live in an age of unprecedented access to knowledge yet the popular media thrives by selling us news bites we seldom verify. Most church goers today get all their theology in 40 minute purpose filled messages on Sunday mornings. Many have almost no ability to “rightly divide the Word of Truth” and so leave the deeper things of God and the sure faith they build to be experienced by only those who have been to seminary. This makes us easy prey for false teachers, and prophets. Shockingly, it mostly goes unnoticed that the lost are being inoculated against Eternal Salvation by false conversion experiences. We need a fail-safe against all this error and God has given it to us in His Word. Fallacy lays in wait for every unprepared believer but the Bible was written to reveal truth to us. Fail-Safe For Fallacy can help anyone confidently learn this truth directly from the Scriptures. Every Believer really can cut straight through to the truth God has given us in His Word instead of being tossed to and fro by the various doctrines of men. You can know truth, and be sure of it!

Check it out at the Xulon Press Bookstore.

Preaching The Gospel In Toronto

TCC has deviated from their previously statement of faith, and I have resigned from the organization. I DO NOT endorse this organization any more.

I went to Toronto this weekend past for the purpose of carrying out some local missions. We spent most of Saturday at the corner of Dundas and Yonge St. At the right here is a picture of me witnessing to a group of Muslims who had set up a table. These men were well prepared to argue and had some "canned" answers and positions that I had not heard from Muslims in the past.

Basically they were attacking the integrity of the Bible saying that it had been changed. They agree that the people in the Bible lived and that many of them were "Prophets" and "Prophet Messengers" from God but that the Bible had been changed.

This is how they get around why they can call Jesus a Prophet who claimed to be God. They simply say that the Bible quotes Him incorrectly. They also had some examples of what they say are errors in the Bible. I have not had time to look at the one they suggested I look at yet but I will in the next few days. It will be interesting to see how they devised it.

I spent about an hour with these men and it stayed friendly. The leader of the group declined to be interviewed on the radio. It seemed as though he thought I was going to set him up in the conversation. I had to keep assuring him that I just wanted to properly understand Islam and since he was the expert at a presentation that had signs claiming to be able to help people understand Islam that he seemed like the right guy for me to talk to.

I also spent a great deal of time talking with a few Agnostics. No one really went to so far as to say they were Atheists but there were many people who were hostile to even the idea of the God of the Bible.

Here are a couple of pictures of me witnessing to a man who apologized for his extreme sarcasm. He was a very New Age thinker. Sitting with me are two young Christians from Teen Challenge. We sat down so that we wouldn't be standing over him and looking down at him. All in all we had a wonderful time in Toronto and many people were given the chance to hear the Gospel.