Of Repentance Granted, and Disallowed

My blessing for a hot meal?

Heb 12:14-17

¹⁴ Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶ lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. ¹⁷ For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

In 2006 a local preacher explained this passage to his congregation in the context that God will not always accept someone back to Him, that He has a time limit on His offer. There's more than a little truth to the concept the preacher was trying to get across, but he ended up missing the mark. The preacher went on to explain that Esau wasn't able to repent, though he wanted to so badly he was moved to tears.

The preacher's view of repentance being turning from your sins, or stopping your sins, informed his view of the passage. He explained that since Esau couldn't change the fact that he had exchanged his blessing for a hot meal that he could not repent of it. He couldn't stop it, no matter how much he wanted to once the end result was realized.

But, what "repentance" did Esau seek after with tears? Read Gen 27:30-40. Esau wept for want of his father's repentance about which son he blessed. There was no place for repentance however, because Isaac his father had already blessed Jacob. Isaac, Esau and Jacob's father, explained that his brother Jacob would be blessed, and Esau would serve him. This has absolutely nothing to do with Esau being unable to repent, or needing God to gift him repentance.

It is an example of repentance unto blessing being disallowed, because the blessing was no longer available. What had been done had been done. It didn't matter that Isaac regretted what happened, his blessing had been given. God would honor the blessing and would not allow Isaac repentance to change what would happen. It didn't matter that Esau had repented about selling the blessing, the blessing was no longer available. It's interesting that in Rom 9:10-12 we find out that this was by design. God had chosen Jacob for the position of Firstborn. God actually disallowed repentance. He would not allow it to change His plan.

It is clear that God will accomplish all He sets out to do, that there are specific things He has intended to complete and that these same will be accomplished. Isa 46:8-11 tells us as much. Yet is is also clear that God does change His mind, He repents and or relents, in response to repentance and or faith of mankind.

We read in 1Cor 5:1-13 of a young man engaged in sexual immorality that the local assembly had not put out of fellowship. Paul instructs them to put him out where he'll suffer at the hands of Satan, "that he might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Which speaks of Judgment of works, not Eternal Salvation  We read about the shame of failure some will at His appearing in 1Jn 2:28 Here is more on the Judgment Seat of Christ before which all Believers will stand. Later Paul writes in 2Cor 2:3-11 instructing the assembly to welcome him back into fellowship. Here, repentance was granted by God, demanded by Paul, and actioned by the assembly. Not the young man's repentance, but the repentance of the assembly to welcome him back in. Paul explained that it is our duty to God to keep our assemblies pure. It is God who allows this young man to return, who grants the repentance of the assembly. Not who "gifts repentance to him or them" but Who grants or allows it. It was right to relent on the young man's punishment because God has allowed them to bring him back in. For this man repentance unto fellowship, and all that entails, was finally granted.

We run into a similar pattern over a very different issue in 2Tim 2:25. Taken by itself, and with a dose of preconceived theology, the verse may appear to say that God may "gift" repentance to "those in opposition." But does it really? Paul is telling Timothy how to minister, saying a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition. This last is conditioned on what God does however, if God grants them repentance so that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2Tim 2:24-26.

This is just like 1Cor 5 & 2Cor 2 again, these disorderly Brethren had become false teachers and had to be marked and separated from. Just like the young man, they were to be put out into the snare of Satan to teach them not to live by the flesh. In 2Tim 1 Paul talks about his ministry and how he has held fast his doctrine about the grace of God. In 2Tim 2:1-2 Paul tells Timothy to therefore be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ and to entrust this doctrine to faithful men who will also be able to teach it.  He continues with warnings to Timothy of the price to be paid to preach the Gospel, that he will also be treated like an evil doer, that he is to realize he is like a soldier in a war who will suffer at the hands of the opposition. 2Tim 2:3-13

Then in 2Tim 2:14-26 Paul talks about how to minister to the Elect, the Believers in Christ, warning them to stay away from error. He warns that tiny errors will grow like cancer! He even warns Timothy himself to be a workman in the Scriptures ensuring he rightly divides the Word of Truth. Paul is warning Timothy to be ware of even his own doctrine! Paul names Hymenaeus and Philetus saying their strange doctrine had over thrown the faith of many! Timothy is told to "shun" such vain babblings.

In 2Tim 2:20-25 Paul explains this shunning. He says that even in a great house there are vessels of honor and dishonour. There are faithful men to which teaching is to be entrusted, and their are unfaithful men who's words are to be shunned, and who are to be put out of the fellowship. He says "Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter (the vessels of dishonour) they will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." Paul then says to "flee also" youthful lusts, and to avoid foolish and ignorant disputes... this is Biblical Separation at work. Other reference verses would be: 1Tim 6:3-5, Titus 3:9-11, Rom 16:17, 2Jn 1:9-11

Finally, Timothy is to be able to teach these opposers of the truth, should God grant them repentance. Or like the young man in Corinth who had been sexually immoral, if God should allow Timothy to allow them back into fellowship, that they may learn the truth and be freed from the same snare of the devil that the young man in Corinth suffered.

If this passage were about God giving repentance and the knowledge of the truth to these opposers - as is often taught of the passage - then Timothy would not need to be instructed "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel bu be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition..." For if God "gave" them repentance so that they knew the truth, then Timothy would not be the one tasked with correcting them. It is apparently possible that God will either grant them repentance, or allow them to return to fellowship, or He may not. Yet, Timothy is to be prepared for God to allow it. While Acts 11:18 talks about granting repentance unto life, here we could say that God is granting repentance unto correction.

I'm well aware that many Calvinist readers will think I'm abusing the Text. I ask those same readers to examine the Text without their theology informing them. Does the Text say that God may "gift" repentance or that He may "grant" or "allow" it? The word didomi has a range of meanings which include both senses. Which does the Text support? Giving someone the truth and having them be corrected? Or allowing them to be brought back in safe from the snare of the Devil where they can be corrected? There is a third option which I must mention, out of integrity, but I fear some Calvinist interpreters will find appealing: Or is Paul ignoring all of his instruction to separate from false teachers, and saying that Timothy is to be such a minister that God can use him to correct the opposers and at the same time giving them this repentance. The only non-convoluted option, which does not add to the Text, matches Paul's instructions and does not assume the answer is that Paul is telling Timothy to be prepared to work with these people if God allows him to welcome them back into fellowship.

Israel is a very high profile example. When the Lord came to them He preached the Gospel of the Kingdom, repentance was granted. They were allowed to enter in to the promises given them. When they rejected the King, they were turned over and blinded as a nation. Individually they may be saved, but their is no opportunity for the Nation of Israel to be welcomed back in now. The Lord has set appart a time to bring them to their own repentance. This time is known as the Time of Jacob's Trouble, or the Great Tribulation. This time will bring the Nation of Israel to repentance, and repentance will be granted to them. They will then have the opportunity to say "Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the LORD!" and be welcomed back in. Ps 118, Jer 30:1-24, Mat 23:37-39, Luk 13:34-35, Luk 19:41-44, Rom 9, Rom 10, Rom 11... among many other passages. National repentance for Israel is not granted right now, but will be again soon.

Some extreme cases of repentance being disallowed include Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit and were immediately killed by God. Acts 5:1-11 Moses is even an example of the same! After he struck the Rock a second time God told him to go up on a mountain and die. Deut 32:48-51. You can read more about this example in the article Faith in the Flinty Rock.

What's true of all the above examples is that given particular conditions repentance is granted, and under different conditions repentance is disallowed. This brings us to our second last issue, and a passage some use to describe repentance as a gift from God.

Acts 11:18 is a similar pattern but an altogether different situation. Again, if you read it by itself and insert some theology into it you can get the impression that God is gifting repentance to people. I've heard it taught that this is an example of God gifting repentance to sinners several times, but is that what's going on here?

Israel is God's chosen nation. Deut 7:6-8 Even Jesus says that "Salvation is of the Jews" Jn 4:22 Throughout the NT the issue the Jews have is that God might fellowship with, and use people other than the Jews. It is an unthinkable thought to the mind of the Israelite. Jews could not even themselves fellowship with Gentiles. Throughout Israel's history anyone who would be saved would have to convert to Judaism and become part of Israel in order to do so. There was no access to God except through the Nation of Israel. Rom 9:4-5, Ruth 1:15-18 (for example), and so on.. The idea that the Gentiles could be reconciled to God without becoming Jews was astounding.

This is exactly the kind of opposition Peter faced when he returned to Jerusalem with news of his ministry among the Gentiles. He explains how he struggled with the same fears and thoughts, but that God convinced him to go to the Gentiles. Then he talks about the Gentiles conversion and it is then clear to his opposers that God indeed had allowed the Gentiles to be born again. He had granted repentance unto life to the Gentiles. This isn't gifting each of the people with repentance, it is allowing it to bring Gentiles to life directly without them becoming Jews. Such had not ever happened in all the history of Israel up to the Cross. But, by Peter's testimony of what had happened it was obvious, even to these Israelites, that God had indeed granted repentance unto life to the Gentiles.

I could go into detail about other passages on the subject of Repentance being granted, not given, but these two will suffice for now. First God commands all men everywhere to repent. It is God's command, not God's gift. Further, when Believers are judgmental about others being saved the Apostle Paul reminds us that it is the goodness of God that "leads" people to repentance. Rom 2:4. You don't lead someone to a gift. However, you might lead them to something you've commanded them to do, and that will have a result.


Finally we come to the most immediate, and currently important, issue: repentance granted to each individual in the world. 

Currently, repentance IS granted - we may enter in by the Door which is Jesus Christ, but that Door will be shut all too soon for many. Then repentance unto life will no longer be granted. Mat 25:10, Jn 10:9, Luk 13:24-27, Gen 7:1-24 Pay close attention to Gen 7:16 noting that the Lord shut the door to the ark and no one else could then get in. The next thing that happened was the flood. Repentance unto salvation was no longer granted, it was disallowed. The people could repent about their sin, but there was nothing left to save them even if they did. There is soon coming a moment where the Lord will remove the Church which is His Body from the face of the Earth and He will turn His attention to the Time of Jacob's Trouble which will draw Israel to national repentance. At that time, just like the national repentance of Israel is disallowed right now, everyone who has disbelieved in this age will be blinded. God will send them a strong delusion, and they will believe the lies of Satan and his anti-Christ. 2Thes 2:1-12

Now is the accepted time. Today is the day of Salvation. There may be no other for you. 2Cor 6:2

Church Order - Submit Yourselves One to Another

Don't let your assembly earn this warning.

Eph 5:15-21

¹⁵ See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, ¹⁶ redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
¹⁷ Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Over the years I’ve struggled to understand what “Church Order” is and what the implications of it are in the assembly I am joined with, and in my own life; perhaps you have too. Church order is established and maintained through submission; submission to the will of the Father, to the Lordship of Christ, to the promptings of the Spirit, to the revelation of Scripture, to the leaders of the local assembly and each believer one to another.

Having served for 20 years in the Canadian Forces I understand a thing or two about submission. From the outside the Church can look like a military, but this view is not accurate. It looks like we have a Great High General in God, and then various ranks down through to the individual soldier in the pew – but this is not how God has organized His Church. In a military organization one is submitted to a person of higher rank because of that higher rank’s authority over the lower rank. In the Church, the people who might be seen as having a higher rank are actually gifts to the people who might be seen as lower ranks; at least from a cursory look from the outside. In a military the higher ranked person is responsible for the wellbeing of the lower ranked person, and at least this much is the same in the Church – but in the military this is again a function of authority. The higher ranked person can impose their will on the lower ranked person, so they are ultimately responsible for imposing that will in a proper way. In the Church the higher ranked person has great influence on the lower ranked person – not imposable authority, but spiritual influence.

Have you ever heard people joking about not wanting to give to charities? They may say “Charity starts at home!” It’s a play on words, abusing the notion that giving should be a foundation of our lives to make it be about ensuring our own homes are prosperous before we give to anyone else. That concept is funny to the world, and rightly offensive to the mature Christian. However, submission does start at home – or with one’s own person.

In the Church we submit ourselves one to another. In a military the higher rank imposes their will, and those below must submit to it. This isn’t submitting one’s self to the higher rank, it is capitulating to their will. When we submit ourselves it is exactly that, people deciding to and willingly submitting to someone else. When someone actually out ranks me, has more power, has more authority, then I am submitted by their power and I can only surrender or capitulate. This is not how the Church is organized.  Eph 5:21 finishes Paul’s immediate thought with the words “submitting to one another in the fear of God.”  Willingly submitting ourselves one to another is actually submitting, or even capitulating to the will of the Lord Eph 5:17. I submit myself to each other believer as a wilful act of my own, based only on my own relationship with Christ – not based on the other believers whatsoever. I also am not to require any be submitted to me, I am only to be focused on my own submission.

Eph 4 makes it clear that the gifts given to each believer and most specifically the giving of people to hold offices in the Church are an explicit operation of the Lordship of Christ. 

Eph 4:7-16 

⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore He says:
      “ When He ascended on high,
      He led captivity captive,
      And gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first^[c] descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Verses 7 – 9 explains the basis for His giving gifts being that He is God – He alone has descended and ascended, He is Lord.

Verses 11 – 12 tell us why He gave us these people to hold offices; for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for edifying the body of Christ. And for how long; for as long as we are here in our bodies and not in Heaven with Christ when we will be “as He is” 1Jn 3:2 a “perfect man” in “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”

Verses 14 – 15 give us the result; mature believers

Verse 16 tells us how; according to the effective working of each believer edifying the whole.

This brings us back to Eph 5:15-21 where we are told that exercising the will of the Lord, or the Lordship of Christ is being controlled by the Spirit, worshiping God and submitting ourselves one to another.

Brethren, for the sake of the Angels (who desire to look in on this salvation we have 1Pet 1:12) we need to maintain order. 1Cor 4:9 1Cor 11:10 1Tim 3:16 1Tim 5:21 and for the sake of the great cloud of witnesses Heb 12:1 (the best examples of which are found in Heb 11) we need to recognize the Lordship of Christ over us and His Church by submitting ourselves one to another.

This is Church Order, and how we will each grow in godliness.

1Tim 3:14-16 

¹⁴ These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; ¹⁵ but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. ¹⁶ And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

      God was manifested in the flesh,
      Justified in the Spirit,
      Seen by angels,
      Preached among the Gentiles,
      Believed on in the world,
      Received up in glory.

Walking In The Light

1Jn 1:5-10

⁵ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

1Jn 2:1-11

 ¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

 ³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

⁷ Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. ⁸ Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

 ⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. ¹¹ But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Jn 13:1-10

 ¹ It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

 ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

 ⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

 ⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

   Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

 ⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

 ¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

Zech 3:1-10

¹ Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ² The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

 ³ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. ⁴ The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”

 Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

 ⁵ Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.

 ⁶ The angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua: ⁷ “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.

 ⁸ “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. ⁹ See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.

 ¹⁰ “‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” 

Saved people get dirty in the world but the Lord God Almighty loves us to the end. He cleanses us who expose ourselves to Him, as we are, and then we can go on to be used of Him as we are in fellowship.  If we do not do this, though we are saved - like Joshua the High Priest, or Peter the man who had already been bathed, then we cannot have fellowship and we cannot be used of the Lord. 

But let a man examine himself

The Lord's Table is for Believers only, and it is to be shared with only with Believers who are in proper fellowship. I will be leading the Family Communion service this Sunday and I'll be preaching from the following Scriptures.

Last week a Brother lead and reminded us that when we eat and drink at the Lord's Table that we are instructed to examine ourselves.  We read about this and why in 1Cor 11:23-34.

Note that this is clear instruction to Believers, and that the consequences of not obeying are dire. Believers who eat in an "unworthy fashion" are judged by God and can become sick even die. This is no small matter to be brushed aside. This is how seriously God takes the concept of "biblical separation."

But how are we to examine ourselves, what are we looking for, what are we to do about what we find? In some persuasions of theology we are told to look for the evidences of God's working in and through us. However, the Apostles Paul and John explain that we are to expose what we would rather have hidden, our sin, to the Light. We are to allow the Spirit, God's Word and our Brethren even to make manifest our sin so as to be cleansed from it and have true fellowship, rest and fruitfulness.

Eph 5:8-14 and 1Jn 1:5-10 are good examples.

The entire chapter of Hebrews 4 ( Heb 4:1-16 ) is about entering our rest in Christ. In order to do this we have to approach God "boldly." God who sees all, knows all and will judge all.

Heb 4:16 reads

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

But what does "boldly" really mean? How ought we expose our sin to the Light and then come boldly? Well consider the Tax Collector and the Pharisee of Luke 18:9-14

9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Tax Collector who was a great sinner approached God "boldly" because he knew he was a sinner but came anyway - in faith. Boldly didn't mean he marched up to God, but that he feared God but came anyway! The Pharisee looked only at his good works and thought they gave him reason to have assurance before God.

The cup that Jesus called the blood of the New Covenant was the Cup of Redemption. We drink it today to proclaim the death of Jesus Christ for sinners until He returns. When we drink this cup we must do so in a worthy fashion, knowing our need of the Saviour - else we make Him a liar and so drink it in an unworthy fashion.  We do not need to reform our lives to drink the cup, but we do need to expose our lives to the Light. He'll clean us up as He chooses.

I'll close with Hebrews 10:19-25

19   Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,  20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,  21 and having a High Priest over the house of God,  22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,  25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 

Faith is trust, not devotion or desire

Salvation in Christ Jesus is by Grace, through Faith.

Grace is unmerited favour, or someone doing something for you that they are neither compelled to do nor you deserve.

Faith is trust that is specific. To have faith in something I need to trust it, and it's working on my specific behalf. It must be trust worthy and effectual.

The extreme Reformed position is that a person must be devoted to Christ to be saved. However, devotion does not match the meaning of Faith. It is dedication, or consecration as Dictionary.com puts it. Not trust.

The GES position would have faith be desire. I desire to be saved. So I will believe Jesus for the fulfilment of my desire.

One goes beyond faith, the other falls short of it.

It comes down to reconciliation. We are reconciled to Christ when we repent to trust Him. Both devotion and desire are natural workings of the Spirit in the life of a Believer. Neither is the basis for Salvation.

Just a quick thought. I've been very busy trying to get the manuscript finished.

Christian, what do you consider yourself to be?

I've got a question to ask Christians. It's intentionally closed. It's a one answer or another thing. Each carries baggage, and there will be "more to the story" than what your basic answer will convey.

Being aware of all that, Christian do you consider yourself to be either;

a. A sinner saved by Grace

b. A saint being conformed to the image of Christ

You can comment here or you can consider it on your own, but I hope some will comment. If you do comment please answer first. It's OK to explain your answer but commit to one or the other. Note to those who don't like either or questions - this is not a trap.

Remembering our need

A thought occurred to me today that no matter how much God helps us our need for Him and His help does not diminish.

We are always strongest when we are weakest because it is those times that we recognize our need for Him and have no choice but to depend on Him. I've heard many men express, and have experienced it myself, that God keeps us in a place of need so we will learn to depend on Him alone.

Today God gave me help, and I thank Him for it. Yet, I will keep my continued need in mind. That one symptom is dealt with does not change the fact of the disease. So today God helped me, and I rejoice, but I will not forget my dependence. God willing, this time I will not forget.

Of course there are obvious things like my need of employment that will keep me on my knees. But, in the past, I've often experienced the illusion of independence right after He has helped me in some way. I think it is this independent notion in me that has brought me to much of the pain in my life.

Because He Was Raised

Just a quick, but important I think, thought tonight. The Lord Jesus Christ was raised from death after He died for our sins. The Bible says He took on all the sins of the world. He willingly became guilty for every sin. The Bible says this propitiated, or appeased, God for all those sins.

Because the one who became guilty was raised we know something pretty amazing. The wages of sin is death, complete separation from God who is the Life by the way. But God was propitiated by the death of one who had no guilt of His own. Because He was sinless Himself He was able to pay for the guilt of others, He had no debt of His own to pay. And that God took Christ's payment and then raised Him back to life tells us that the payment was accepted in full.

The very fact that Christ was raised from death is our proof that God will forgive any and every sin if we put our faith in Christ. That Christ is alive shows us we have Eternal Security in Him and that salvation can truly be by faith alone. If any sin were not yet paid for in full, if there was anything that God would hold against the one who is in Christ then Christ Himself could not have been raised for He took on all the guilt of everything we have ever done. If we are in Him, as the Bible says those who have placed their faith in Him are, then we too will be raised to Life because He was.

In Such A Rush

I want to depart from some of my specific writing against the Lordship Salvation message and talk about the health of the Brethren. Not that this is a complete departure, I guess it's more of an inoculation against all false teaching.  

Are you in a rush to be Spiritually "mature"? You know every child is in a hurry to grow up right? Do you not sometimes pine for your youth? Growing up takes TIME. To coin a phrase spoken to me many times as I went through a long fiery trial "It's a valley you can't go around. You
must go through it." There is no shortcut to maturity. Reading books by men explaining what it means to be a Christian will not make you one. Just as reading books about devotion will not make you devoted.

I'm almost done evaluating a book by an author who USED to intimidate me. He intimidated me for all the same reasons that he is lauded by his followers - prestige, academia, reputation, endorsement, position, and authorship of more books than I've likely read. All of this coupled with the fact that I am just a layman of the Word of God, a "kid in Christ" as it were. How could I dare disagree with such a man? And even if I were to happen to be right in my disagreement how could I ever endure the thrust of his flagship apologetic on his position?

Well I'm evaluating this book and as I have recently confessed to my near Brethren I started reading with the intention of being completely forthright in that IF it were to convince me I have been in error that I would come right out and say so. I would not try to cover up my mistake, error and arrogance. To my great surprise, or more accurately my absolute astonishment this exalted man's arguments are as weak as they are wrong. I do not know how his followers have not called him on them.

This leads me back to focus on maturity and our normal rush to reach it. Here's a thought to blow the young one's mind - maturity can not be reached. A very good musician was once mentoring me. He told me that the better he got the more he was able to see of what he didn't yet
know, what he couldn't yet do. That's as close to maturity as a human being will ever get prior to Resurrection. The closer we get to Christ Jesus the more we see of our falling short. The clearer we see, the more glorious He becomes in our eyes, and so how much more impossible the Mark is to hit.

In our desperate desire to be more mature, and let's be honest here - in our desire to appear more mature than we are - we will do just about anything to attain our goal. Often this means reading the "book of the month" that we are told by friends and family has "so impacted" their
walk. We want that. It's normal. But Brethren, are we feeding at the trough of man's wisdom blindly? Not everything with the word "Jesus" written in it's title exalts God. Not everything found in the local "Christian" store is actually helpful to us.

Wisdom and maturity come from the effectual working of the Holy Spirit in the believer, as He chooses and in His time. Heb 12. And you guessed it..that can take a great bit of our time.

Here's why I'm on about all of this today. The best defense against false teachers and false doctrine is KNOWING the Word of God. I don't mean knowing "doctrine" (which is just a fancy word for some guy's teaching) I mean knowing the whole Word of God. As I have been evaluating this book I have become SO MUCH MORE THANKFUL for the desperate lonely year and a half of my life when I only had God, my bible, and my wife. The many hours spent reading and taking notes have surely paid off. How? NOW, when I read a man quote a verse and insert his own context on to it I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can read the chapter, or chapters and see what the Word is actually saying. I know I can now. The Lord has worked that little bit of maturity into me. I trust that He really does reveal Truth (not opinion) in the Scriptures. That CONTEXT can be known, and shown - and I've also learned it can be ignored. The practice of quoting a single verse or even a few verses out of context to support a man made argument is called "proof-texting." Here is my argument, and here is the verse that proves it. That is the exact opposite of what the Student OF the Word should do. Finding validation of our argument in Scripture is called eisegesis. Having Scripture dictate our arguments is called exegesis and exegesis is what we should each aim for.

Do you know doctrines? Can you defend your position from the Word of God? That may seem good, it may even seem like you "know" the Bible. But can you read any verse in any chapter and see the context from the chapter instead of from the teaching? That's a great question, where is the "context" you're using coming from. Did the context exist before you read the rest of the chapter or did you let the chapter interpret the verse?

How do you get to this point? You read the Bible, over and over and over again. Read whole books at a time. Read a book, and then read it again, and again. Then read another book and read it again and again. And so on. IF you do this, if you take the large amount of time this takes, you will be blessed with being able to easily identify almost every false teacher and false doctrine. Because your view of the "proof-text" will not be limited to just what is shown to you by that teacher. You will have read the many parallel verses, you will have read the whole sections from which these verses are pulled.

This is the best defense against the Lordship Salvation movement, AND the Crossless Gospel movement and any other "movement"... reading the whole Bible over and over and over again. I will continue to counter false teachings specifically but my countering them will be of little value compared to your taking the time to read the whole Bible and to mature as God leads you.

If you do what I suggest you will see the false teacher's wrong usage of Scripture. And then if you study even just two Logical Fallacies you will be equipped to recognize and counter almost every false teaching you will ever encounter. Those two would be the Strawman Argument and the False Dilemma. There are many other Logical Fallacies but these two are most common in theological debates.

What if the Church loved each other like this?

Brother Robb asks a great question over at his blogcast "Good Morning, Jesus Christ!"

Submit to the Lordship of Christ to be saved?

I just ordered John MacArthur's newest book The Gospel According to Jesus: What Is Authentic Faith? It's his latest iteration of his defense of why he believes what many believe is a false gospel that has become know as "Lordship Salvation." Additionally I've also ordered Lou's In Defense Of The Gospel: Biblical Answers To Lordship Salvation. A work that is currently being revised, but I didn't want to wait any longer.

There are three records of an instance in the NT where the Lord announces the actual forgiveness of a person's sins and proves His authority to do so by healing him.

In Mat 9:2 we read Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

Clearly there is no submission to the Lord's "Lordship" there is no "turning from sins" and there is no confession of Jesus as "Lord of his life" in this account. What we see here is the Lord sovereignly forgiving a man his sins because the Lord saw he had faith in Him. The man actually had "repented" he had put his faith in the Lord, as apposed to some other thing.

This event is also recorded in Mark 2:3-5 and Luke 5:18-20 with the same absence of the requirements of Lordship Salvation, but all the same requirements as per the Gospel as preached by the Apostles 1 Cor 15:11

John MacArthur has done some very good work over the years as a teacher of the Church. He has a sharp mind and is very well versed in Scripture. However, he teaches a false gospel. I wish it were not so. I share in his call to holiness, and submission to the Lordship of Christ. But these are not requirements for salvation at all. These are works of the Holy Spirit in the saved believer after they have been saved.

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freedom! Today I have been overtaken by the blessings of the Lord!

Deut 28:1-10

1"Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

2"All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:

3"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4"Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

5"Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6"Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7"The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.

8"The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

9"The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.

10"So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you.

Thank you my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Repent With Joy

So I just picked up the 4 e-Books from Taste Heaven Now. Is it really possible to "repent with joy"? I believe so. Actually so far I've been amazed at the clarity and sense of the things I've been reading there. I decided it was well worth the $25 to get the books and investigate all the way.

I suggest giving some of the free material he has a read. It's already been beneficial in my life.