It takes trust

There can be no denying that it takes trust to obey God when He is growing you.  Hebrews 11 tells us of God's heroes of faith, or those He calls the "elders." It is sometimes called the "faith" chapter. I think I may start calling it the "by faith" chapter. 


Heb 11:1-2 tells us what faith is. 

¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

God says that these elders obtained a good testimony BY faith. Does this match what the Lordship Salvation(LS) proponent says about faith? They say that one will persist in good works, in submission to the Lordship of Christ (obedience) and good Christian character if they have true faith. 


One might say that the LS proponent says that one obtains a good testimony IF (or because) they have faith. 


See my previous articles Testing the Test and 'But' Theology for examples of LS proponents saying that IF you have faith you will have a good testimony. In fact they use a person's testimony as a test to determine if the person has faith. 


The question is this: Does God explain faith this way in His chapter on faith? In every example given God states that "by faith" (or through faith) a person (including all believers today in verse 3) DID something amazing. God then closes the chapter (though there were no chapters or verses in the original manuscripts) with these two verses. 


Heb 11:39-40 

³⁹ And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,⁴⁰ God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Now it would do the LS proponents some good to study the lives of these people and consider if they are truly good examples of their theology. What is evident is that these people trusted God and obeyed in these instances and that this had amazing results - yet God did not leave us out. He did not simply save them, He also has saved us and will save all who trust Him now. 


I started out by saying that it takes trust to obey God when He's growing you, and it does. But does trust = obedience? Or can you subtract obedience from my life and still have trust remaining? If I have trust will I automatically have obedience? If I don't have trust will I then be unable to obey? 


These are all huge questions!! 


I retired from the Canadian Forces recently. Military service is all about obedience. For a large portion of my career I could find few people in my Chain of Command whom I actually trusted, yet my obedience was full. I had to obey people I didn't really trust because they were in command of my service.  I believe this shows how trust and obedience are not intrinsically linked. I obeyed because of my desire for a paycheck, and because of my fear of punishment. I obeyed out of desire and fear - not out of trust. 


There are some UNSAVED people in the Bible like that you know, read John 6 to see what happened to the people who followed Jesus, obeyed Jesus in many things, feared Jesus, and desired the rewards of following Jesus - they were not saved because they could not put their faith in His broken body and shed blood. They were like hired servants, like slaves- they had no faith or trust but they obeyed. 


When I was a child I trusted my sister deeply. I had faith in her that she would look out for and provide for me. We were tight, and I needed her. However, I didn't seldom obeyed her even when she was caring for me. I didn't obey because I didn't fear her, and she had nothing to offer me for my obedience. I trusted her completely, but I did not often obey her. 


There are some SAVED people like that in the Bible too. Read 1st and 2nd Corinthians for some excellent examples. 


Sometimes my wife, whom I trust completely and whom I am head over heals in love with, will ask me to do something - and yet I won't obey. Usually there is something I would rather do, a competing desire. Sometimes I don't obey because of what other people might say - "look at Kevin, he does whatever his wife tells him heheheh."  Sometimes I just don't think the effort is worth it - I won't be recognized enough.. I won't get that new computer that I want anyway.... whatever it is - I don't obey because I don't value the return, or I have competing desires. 


There are SAVED people in the Bible just like this too! Peter comes to mind prominently. There is also several people who feared what other people would do and say so they only followed Christ in secrete.


It TAKES trust to obey God when He is growing you because God is going to tell you to do things you can't do. This idea that God will never give you more than you can handle is BUNK. It is nothing more than new age religion and man's evil self-glorification at play. Read the "by faith"statements in Hebrews 11 and see how many of those were things that those people could "do for God."

Obedience, when God is calling you to do something you can't do, takes trust and God calls you to do those sorts of things when He is growing you up in the faith - when He is perfecting your faith. James 2:22

But obedience doesn't happen because of faith, it is not the substance of faith. No! God says that faith is the substance of a good testimony, NOT that a good testimony is the substance of faith!

A person can have faith (trust) and yet be distracted by competing desires and so not obey. A person can have faith but not fear and so not obey. A person can have faith and not desire for God's reward and so not obey.

A person who trusts God, and is discipled (taught in the ways of God, corrected, inspired, motivated and empowered and so on..) will obey God when He tells them to do something they can't do. You can't obey God in that situation without first trusting Him - so by faith you obey. But a person may trust God but have some other lacking as detailed above and not obey Him. Not because they don't have faith or trust, not because they have a false profession of faith or trust, but because they have a matter of disobedience going on.

I do not see anywhere in Scripture where God says that one obeys BECAUSE they have faith, but I see in many areas that one must have faith to do the sorts of things that God tells us to do when He is growing us up in the faith.

This is already a long article, but I need to ramble just a bit more. I believe this is why we have such a problem with Evangelism (or the lack there of) in the Church today. Not because people don't love and trust God - but because they don't have the proper motivation. This is the number one task for the Church and it is hardly being done by anyone who believes. The LS proponent must then say that only about 2 - 5 percent of people who claim to believe are actual believers - or they ought to go back and read the Bible again.

Denying

When I'm interacting with someone who preaches Lordship Salvation I often get asked how one can be saved while "denying" Christ's lordship. Of course by "lordship" the person means the mastery of Christ over all aspects of one's life.

The conversation often degenerates from there. The person will often use this as the pivot point in the conversation and will stop listening while declaring a philosophical victory.  I have yet to find a single LS advocate who is able and willing to show in the Scriptures where submission to the mastery of Christ over your life is required to become saved in the Scriptures, but even if they would or could very few will continue the conversation after their philosophical victory.

They characterize my clear, and unchanging, statement that the Bible does not require this kind of submission for a person to become saved in the most philosophically offensive way they can manage and then take the distaste of their statement as an indication of victory.

So I would like to ask the three following questions, given that not requiring submission to something is equivalent to denying that thing.

Question 1. Where does the Bible explicitly state that one cannot be saved while denying Christ's mastery over all aspects of one's life?  Ref:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/explicitly

Question 2. What of the following things may one "deny" and still be saved? Please include an explicit reference in your answers.

Advocate ( 1 John 2:1 )
Almighty ( Rev 1:8 Mt 28:18 )
Alpha and Omega ( Rev 1:8 Rev 22:13 )
Amen ( Rev 3:14 )
Apostle of our Profession ( Heb 3:1 )
Atoning Sacrifice for our Sins ( 1 John 2:2 )
Author of Life ( Acts 3:15 )
Author and Perfecter of our Faith ( Heb 12:2 )
Author of Salvation ( Heb 2:10 )
Beginning and End ( Rev 22:13 )
Blessed and only Ruler ( 1 Tim 6:15 )
Bread of God ( John 6:33 )
Bread of Life ( John 6:35 John 6:48 )
Bridegroom ( Mt 9:15 )
Capstone ( Acts 4:11 1 Pet 2:7 )
Chief Cornerstone ( Eph 2:20 )
Chief Shepherd ( 1 Pet 5:4 )
Christ ( 1 John 2:22 )
Creator ( John 1:3 )
Deliverer ( Rom 11:26 )
Eternal Life ( 1 John 1:2 1 John 5:20)
Gate ( John 10:9 )
Faithful and True ( Rev 19:11 )
Faithful Witness ( Rev 1:5 )
Faithful and True Witness ( Rev 3:14 )
First and Last ( Rev 1:17 Rev 2:8 Rev 22:13 )
Firstborn From the Dead ( Rev 1:5 )
Firstborn over all creation ( Col 1:15 )
Gate ( John 10:9 )
God ( John 1:1 John 20:28 Heb 1:8 Rom 9:5 2 Pet 1:1 1 John 5:20 etc.)
Good Shepherd ( John 10:11 John 10:14 )
Great Shepherd ( Heb 13:20 )
Great High Priest ( Heb 4:14 )
Head of the Church ( Eph 1:22 Eph 4:15 Eph 5:23)
Heir of all things ( Heb 1:2 )
High Priest ( Heb 2:17 )
Holy and True ( Rev 3:7 )
Holy One ( Acts 3:14 )
Hope ( 1 Tim 1:1 )
Hope of Glory ( Col 1:27 )
Horn of Salvation ( Luke 1:69 )
I Am ( John 8:58 )
Image of God ( 2 Cor 4:4 )
Immanuel ( Mt 1:23 )
Judge of the living and the dead ( Acts 10:42 )
King Eternal ( 1 Tim 1:17 )
King of Israel ( John 1:49 )
King of the Jews ( Mt 27:11 )
King of kings ( 1 Tim 6:15 Rev 19:16 )
King of the Ages ( Rev 15:3 )
Lamb (Rev. 13:8)
Lamb of God (John 1:29)
Lamb Without Blemish (1 Pet. 1:19)
Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45)
Life (John 14:6; Col. 3:4)
Light of the World (John 8:12)
Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
Living One (Rev. 1:18)
Living Stone (1 Pet. 2:4)
Lord (2 Pet. 2:20)
Lord of All (Acts 10:36)
Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8)
Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16)
Man from Heaven (1 Cor. 15:48)
Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15)
Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)
Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)
Offspring of David (Rev. 22:16)
Only Begotten Son of God (John 1:18; 1 John 4:9)
Our Great God and Savior (Titus 2:13)
Our Holiness (1 Cor. 1:30)
Our Husband (2 Cor. 11:2)
Our Protection (2 Thess. 3:3)
Our Redemption (1 Cor. 1:30)
Our Righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30)
Our Sacrificed Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7)
Power of God (1 Cor. 1:24)
Precious Cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6)
Prophet (Acts 3:22)
Rabbi (Mt. 26:25)
Resurrection and Life (John 11:25)
Righteous Branch (Jer. 23:5)
Righteous One (Acts 7:52; 1 John 2:1)
Rock (1 Cor. 10:4)
Root of David (Rev. 5:5; 22:16)
Ruler of God’s Creation (Rev. 3:14)
Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (Rev. 1:5)
Savior (Eph. 5:23; Titus 1:4; 3:6; 2 Pet. 2:20)
Son of David (Lk. 18:39)
Son of God (John 1:49; Heb. 4:14)
Son of Man (Mt. 8:20)
Son of the Most High God (Lk. 1:32)
Source of Eternal Salvation for all who obey him (Heb. 5:9)
The One Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5)
The Stone the builders rejected (Acts 4:11)
True Bread (John 6:32)
True Light (John 1:9)
True Vine (John 15:1)
Truth (John 1:14; 14:6)
Way (John 14:6)
Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24)
Word (John 1:1)
Word of God (Rev. 19:13)

Question 3 is intended to be humorous.

Question 3: If the LS advocate comes to the conclusion that there is no Biblical authority given to allow anyone to "deny" any of these and still be saved, then how long is the ACTUAL LS Gospel then??? Do you schedule weeks or months to present it?

"No Sir! You cannot be saved and deny that Jesus is the Stone that the builders rejected!"   

"But what does that even mean???"  

"Submit!" 

To return to seriousness we could all take up a position called "Bridegroom Salvation" and argue it with all the same arguments that we hear about LS theology...

LS is about philosophy, not Scripture.

Interview with Textual Critic William Warren

Dr. William Warren

Brother Liam has an interview with William Warren at his Into This Grace blog about his work in Textual Criticism on the Scriptures. This is an important topic that I just recently realized has been greatly ignored in the Church to our own detriment.

Here's a snippet of one of the questions Warren answers that should show anyone who is concerned with the accuracy of their understanding why this field is worthy of our attention.

Question: How does textual criticism affect the translation process?

Dr. Bill Warren: Whenever someone picks up an English translation (or one in any other language for that matter), they become the recipients of a huge amount of "hidden" work that has been done to make that translation feasible. First, the manuscripts had to be studied to compile their data. Then that data had to be evaluated based on what seems to have happened in the transmission history of the text. And then the best Greek text is determined from these sources, a text that we would say as conservative Christians is virtually identical to the original form of the text, although of course there are some in the larger field of textual criticism that would highlight where the "virtually" part applies so as to say that it is not equal to the original text (like Bart Ehrman), but I'll say more on that below. After the resulting Greek text is published, that is what translators use as the foundation for their work. So all translations are built on the shoulders of textual critics who did the work that undergirds the Greek text on which the translations are based. One more facet of making a translation is that sometimes the translators don't agree with the textual decisions reflected in the published Greek text, in which cases they build the translation on their own conclusions about the right Greek text at a given point in the text. 

Preaching Ministry for the Weak

This is the message I preached this Sunday morning entitled Ministry for the Weak. It is about the restoration of Peter after he had denied the Lord. After establishing that salvation is absolutely free, I go on to explain how discipleship bridged the gap between where Peter was weak and unfruitful to his later great ministry - and how we can have that for ourselves as well.

Here are the passages I reference, in order.

John 21:15

John 21:16

John 21:17 

John 21:15 

I pronounce Agapao as "Agapeo" sorry... it should be pronounced Ah Gap Ah Oh. I knew this but was nervous. 

John 3:16 

John 21:16

John 21:17 

Eph 2:8-9

Eph 2:10 

John 21:18-19

John 21:20-21

John 21:22 

Rom 4:3-8

Psalm 32:1-11

Mat 11:28-30 

2Pet 1:5-11 

Street Witnessing and Open Air Preaching Tonight

It's been a while since I've been out on the streets but tonight I managed to get down town and get to it!! What a wonderful thing! The Gospel is still God's power unto salvation for all who believe!!!

It was my plan to just observe, but it was like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes - I had to walk in them!!! The open air preaching wasn't great - but it did lead to a GREAT conversation with a heckler!! What a beautiful warmup for my preaching on Sunday!

:)

Preaching this Sunday

I'm preaching at the main congregation gathering this Sunday. I'll be teaching about Peter's restoration in John 21, and what it means to us as believers. In particular I'll be preaching about how we can each have fruitful ministries despite our weakness and inability.  God has prepared works for us to walk in. How do we get over the fact of our weakness to do the work that He has prepared for us to do? That's the topic for this Sunday!

Woe to you who make entrance hard

Matt 23:13 ¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." 

These are harsh words of the Lord Jesus Christ.


Do you say one must "forsake" their sin in order to be saved? Woe to the hypocrite who has not forsaken his own sins. 


Do you say one must obey laws and commands in order to be saved? Woe to the hypocrite who has does not obey in all things himself. 


Some take great joy in preaching what they call a "strong" gospel or a "hard" gospel saying that it is "hard to believe!" They take joy in shutting the kingdom of heaven up against man so as to keep those who would enter by faith out. 

Romans 4 & Psalms 32

Romans 4 is a landmark explanation of Eternal Salvation by grace through faith alone. It clearly contrasts faith to works, and is absolutely clear that faith is not meritorious. Something that is meritorious has "merit" or is worthy of praise or reward.  As important as this is the chapter goes on to be clear that justification is by imputed righteousness, not imparted righteousness. That is to say that faith is accounted as righteousness, not that the one who has faith becomes or is made righteous in practice. 

This one chapter, even if it stood all by itself alone in the Bible which it does not, separates Christianity from every religion ever dreamed up by man. 

Last night at a men's Bible study I was searching for a Psalm and I ran across Psalms 32. I read the first few verses and I realized something I have missed. We'll start in Romans 4 and then look at the Psalm. 

Romans 4:1-8 
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. ³For 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.”

Perhaps you are familiar with the Rabbinical teaching method of speaking the first few lines of a passage in order to bring the entire passage to the mind of those who are hearing you? Jesus Christ did this from the Cross when He spoke "My God, My God! Why have You forsaken Me?" These words are often thought of as His being in despair in His flesh - but it was not. There was no "moment of doubt" on the  Cross. He remained obedient unto death, as we read in Philippians 2:8. He was declaring that the prophecy of Psalm 22:1-31 was being fulfilled before their eyes. 


With that in mind look at Romans 4:6-8 and then read Psalm 32 which I will now quote. 

Psalm 32:1-11

A Psalm of David. A Contemplation.

¹ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,  Whose sin is covered. ² Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.  Selah   

⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden.  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Selah 

⁶ For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found;  Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. ⁷ You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble;  You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Selah

 ⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or like the mule,  Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. 

¹⁰ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. ¹¹ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! 

This is an amazing teaching!!

It might be noted immediately that Paul's quote stops halfway through verse 2. Of course the Scriptures were not separated into verses in Paul's time.  Some will say that "in whose spirit there is no deceit" shows that the person has a "changed life" but look at the rest of the Psalm.  This deceit is defined as keeping silent about your sin instead of confessing it to God. David explains the misery of trying to keep this deceit, but offers the solution in verse 5. Psalm 32:5

David goes on to explain in verses 6 & 7 that God's faithfulness is why those who know Him pray to Him knowing that He hears and will act.

Psalm 32:8-9 switches to God's words to David and these words are most instructive with regard to the Lordship Salvation point of view, or the "become a slave to be saved" view as it is being presented so often recently.  David declares in Psalm 32:5 that he confessed his sin to God and that God forgave David. This is something that has happened already, and now God is telling David what He will do now.

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;  I will guide you with My eye. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you.

God tells David that He will instruct and teach David in the way he should go. Paul by pointing us to this passage in context of Salvation, faith and works shows us that God's words to David are also to us. So listen  up!

In verse 9 God tells David to not be like a mule that must be harnessed and overcome in order for it to come to it's master.

This is what Lordship Salvation, and the most recent love affair with the concept of slavery as an illustration of Salvation in Christ Jesus tells us. That we must become bridled, have our will overcome, and be drug to Christ as a slave in order for us to be saved.

Did you listen to God speaking? Do you hear His words? Do not be like that! This is not God's will. God's will is that you would be forgiven and that you would listen to Him and let Him guide you in the way you should go. Not as a slave, but as a disciple - a student.

Hear how the Psalm closes.

¹⁰ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. ¹¹ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! 

I hope this is a help to many!

On My Walk

So here I am a couple of weeks into my retirement from the Canadian Forces and I'm being recruited by a very large defence contractor to go back to work on the same base I retired from as a civilian. It's a new career that would build on everything I've learned already yet require me to step up and learn so much more. I've decided to follow the challenge and see where it takes me.

I'm also working on several books, with not a lot of progress this past week. I've been very sick for the last two weeks - retirement doesn't sit well with me perhaps?

The specter of Lordship Salvation raised its insidious head at my Brethren assembly recently.

We have unity on the Gospel at the assembly. We do not spend any time talking about "Free Grace" or "Lordship Salvation" or anything like that. Frankly, we just get on with preaching the Word.  Longtime readers of On My Walk will know that I am very uncomfortable with accepting a label or title for my beliefs. One cannot control what the label means to the person who reads or hears it. To some Free Grace is equated with the Brethren of old, with the likes of H.A. Ironside... to others Free Grace is associated with the Grace Evangelical Society. There is a gulf of difference between them. Likewise there is a gulf of difference between various interpretations of Lordship Salvation.  We are charged to 'preach the Word' and so that's what we do. Blogs, conventions and meetings are good places to deal with various heresies, the pulpit is for preaching the Word.

Anyway, someone brought the theology of Lordship Salvation in and I was afraid at how it was received  by many. Many didn't immediately recognize it because they don't spend near the time that I do examining it. Some did recognize it though, and I'm thankful for that. Discussion with the Elders led to a clear and decisive move to ensure such theology is not preached to our assembly met with my approval and great relief.

In short we retained unity in the Gospel, and that's a big deal.

I've found that since I'm retired from the military and so no longer subject to moving around the world, and since we've decided to stay here in this city that the importance of everything at my assembly has greatly increased. Everything matters, I mean really matters and this is a new development in my walk. I've always loved those I fellowship with, and it has always been important that they are doing well. Now though, this importance is overwhelming.

So that's where I'm at on my walk right now. How are you doing?

Make Your Election Sure

2 Peter 1:1-15 is a section of Scripture that stands in stark contrast to the concept that 'saving faith' is a faith that works, or a faith that perseveres, or a faith that DOES. Most specifically 2 Peter 1:5-9 indicates that works must be added to our faith, it is not our faith that works.

⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

I've written about this passage before, and made no small point of verse 9. That a person who has faith, but does not add these things to it can forget that they were saved. This is a shocking revelation for anyone who believes in the TULIP concept of "Perseverance of the Saints." However, today I want to talk about the one part of 2nd Peter chapter 1 that gets used to support the idea that "true saving faith works." 


2Pet 1:10 

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

A proponent of the view I'm opposing might say: 

If you're really saved you'll do all the things that Peter wrote about; so make sure you're really saved.

On the surface this statement and conclusion has an appearance of some validity; if the point is that one can have assurance of salvation by seeing these things happening in their life. The person might note that the one who forgets that their sins were purged (Verse 9) would have no assurance of salvation.

On the surface perhaps... but it's convoluted isn't it? This is taking all of what Peter wrote and twisting it two different ways. One that really saved people do these so if you're really saved then you'll do them. The other that this is about assurance.

Now I've had multitudes of conversations with people who hold to Lordship Salvation, and Perseverance of the Saints about these tests of salvation. I have consistently found that their arguments jump back and forth between testing the validity of one's salvation and offering assurance to those who are saved.  When the one is shown to be false they simply move to the other; wash rinse repeat ad nausuem.

Instead of continuing the cycle let's see what Peter says his point is.


2Pet 1:10-11 is the whole point, not just verse 10 by itself.

¹⁰ Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; ¹¹ for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

For so an entrance!!! The NIV renders this as a "rich welcome" into the eternal Kingdom. This whole passage is about ensuring fruitfulness and experiencing the nature of Christ in your own life while we are here - so that when we go to Heaven we will be greatly rewarded for bringing glory to the Name of Christ.

But instead of just reading a short snippet and hoping we have the context correct, let's look at the whole passage.

He begins the section with these precious verses 2Pet 1:1-4

¹ Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We may be partakers of His divine nature - according to His promises! Then of course we read how we can partake by adding the various things of His nature to our faith in 2Pet 1:5-9. (see above). Peter then finishes the passage with these encouraging words 2Pet 1:12-15

¹² For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. ¹³ Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, ¹⁴ knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. ¹⁵ Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

It is because of our promise of being able to partake, and the great rewards that await those who do that Peter will not be negligent to remind us always of these things - even though he knew those he was writing to were established. He is so passionate about this that he wants to make sure that his reminders continue even after he is deceased.

He's not concerned that these people may not really be saved. He's not concerned that they might not know if they are saved or not. He is concerned with the fruitfulness of their walk, and the richness of their entrance into Heaven.

So Brethren, add to your faith all the things of Christ's nature and you will have a rich entrance into Heaven.

New Free Grace Blog

Brother Liam Moran has a new (as of December 2010) Free Grace blog titled Into This Grace.  Liam has a Masters of Divinity, and a Doctorate of Ministry from Andersonville Theological Seminary and a BA in Pastoral Studies from Moody Bible Institute.

Please check Into This Grace out, Liam's passion for protecting and proclaiming the message of God's grace is a drink of cool refreshing water for anyone who also carries this same burden in their heart; like I do.

Right now he's looking at how assemblies of believers search for Pastors. Specifically dealing with search committees, transition and candidacy.  This is something I'm going to be reading this week with interest because my own assembly is considering a candidate for the position of Associate Pastor.

Please pray for Liam and for the ministry that God would have for him through his blog!

I've added Into This Grace to the links and blogs I follow here.

The Prodigal Son and the Slave Brother

http://www.cooneyillustration.com/zparable-prodigalson.htm

Much is said of the (so called) parable of the Prodigal Son, yet not nearly enough if you ask me! In fact the common name for the parable itself is a big part of the problem. It leaves out half the story!! It leaves out the part about slavery! Perhaps we should call in international conspiracy theorist Dr. MacArthur (Dr. Jones of the Bible perhaps??) who keenly picked up on how there had been an international, near double millennia conspiracy to coverup the concept of slavery in the New Testament scriptures. See The Bible X-Files? and my Final Thoughts on Slave (the doctor's latest book). 

Perhaps there has been a conspiracy to cover up the slavery concept that is clearly portrayed in the original Greek but not often revealed in the English translations of the New Testament? Let's crack the case by going to the source! 

The whole parable is found in Luke 15:11-32, but let's start with a few English translations of verse 29. In this verse we find the complaint of the elder brother to the father who had just accepted his lost son back into the warmth of the family with a celebration! I have bolded the words which are rendered from the Greek word douleuó which is a from the word doulos which Dr. MacArthur claims to have uncovered 'a conspiracy of biblical proportions' to cover up the true meaning of "slave." douleuó means "I am a doulos" or "I have been a doulos." Check out Strong's Numbers Greek 1398.

NKJV - which is my preferred preaching & teaching version because of its readability. 

²⁹ So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 

NIV (2011 - I'm not sure how the previous version rendered it) 

²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

ESV - The version Dr. MacArthur heaps praise on.

²⁹but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.

OK so what's my point? I have to admit I have more than one. Least important is the obvious incongruence between MacArthur's video about his new book Slave, and his video about his new ESV Study Bible. The ESV is said to be an accurate word for word translation, but it calls slavery service? 

More important is the fact that the elder brother had served his father like a slave, and the prodigal son had not - yet the father welcomed him as a son he was delighted with! Read the whole parable again. Luke 15:11-32. 

The younger son is horrendous to the father, takes off with his wealth and squanders it on his fleshly desires. No one can deny that this was a horrible thing for him to do. Things quickly got miserable for him. He was a Jew and it got so bad that he had to try to feed himself by looking after pigs - unclean animals according to Levitical Law; Lev 11:7 (for example). 

Then the ESV says that the young man "came to himself" Luke 15:17, and decided that even his fathers slaves/servants were more prosperous than he was! Much is said about the son's intent to serve his father, but he never actually said that to his dad. He only managed to say that he was not worthy to be called his son. At that point the father, who had already ran out to meet the young man before he could return home, sent his servants for the finest robes and put a ring on his hand. Then they had a huge celebration! 

Now there is much debate about the application of this parable to salvation. Is this about restoration of fellowship or is it about a sinner getting saved? Is it a son who was always a son who went away and was welcomed back or is it about a son who "was dead, and lost, but now is alive and found"? I actually tend to think of it as a salvation message, he was dead and is now alive.... but it really doesn't matter for the point of this article. 

The elder son had slaved for his father, and the younger son didn't and was not required by the father to do so. They both had full fellowship, and sonship. The only difference is that the younger prodigal one enjoyed the celebration because he knew he was not worthy to be called a son.  Luke 7:47 comes to mind.

God the Father doesn't require slavery for one to be saved. He requires us to see ourselves as we are, and see our need for reconciliation to Him met fully in His Son Jesus Christ. We are not worthy to be called sons and daughters, but He runs out to us and cloths us in the finest Robe anyway. 

Galatians 3:26-29 

²⁶ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

On Finishing Well

Last week I retired from my career of 20 years and 4 days in the Canadian Forces.  There is almost an endless amount of material from my career that might be worthy of comment, helpful in explaining some truth, or an example of what not to do in a particular situation; however it is my last year of service that truly defines my career.

Over the past few months, as I've been considering what to do next there has been ample time to review previous performance reviews and I've found that I can gladly include every review I can find (the last 7 years) with any resume I give out. I can honestly say that I have served my country well and that I was recognized for doing so. That being said for some time now it has been clear that it was time for me to move on to something new. A lot of situations in my life have changed me, changed my desires, dreams, ambitions and what I am dedicated to; not the least of which was getting saved and learning to help others hear about Christ. The last few years in the Canadian Forces were challenging for me on many levels. I didn't want to be there any more, but I had sworn an oath.

Now I want to be clear, I love the Canadian Forces. No matter what you might think of the concept, I am proud of the service I gave and of the Force I served in and with. I have been part of an organization that somehow mixes pride with pure unselfishness to stand between the citizens of Canada and danger.

I do not subscribe to "Lifestyle Evangelism" but can't deny that when you live and work as the Lord has instructed that people DO take notice.  I submitted my intention to release, and turned down all further contracts over a year and a half ago. Nearly everyone expected me to stop working, or do the bare minimum. Again and again it was commented that I should be slowing down. Instead, I caught my second wind and found joy in my work again. Overcoming challenges and accomplishing goals were no longer about getting promoted, now they were about me growing and truly working for my earthly masters as though I was working directly for the Lord. It made no sense to anyone - not even my superiors who seemed to be unsure what to do with me.

By the time my last week came around my superiors were no longer surprised that I was continuing to work harder than all my peers. As I was doing the final administration to retire a superior came to me and asked if I could finish a personnel evaluation report - a dreaded task! He was in a bind, and buttered me up by saying the "one guy I can always count on is leaving." I didn't even consider saying no to him, and not one single person in the organization was surprised to find me working away on it three days before I retired. It had become normal to see me to be going above and beyond.

So what's the pay off? Is it just so great to be admired? Hardly. The pay off is that while many of my other (truly saved) Christian co-workers will probably never get the opportunity to credibly share their faith with these supervisors - I did.

It took a lot of work. 

It is not the type of evangelism that I suggest be your primary style. 

It worked. 

As it played out a couple of times the day I left; as I stood in the office of a superior two ranks above me he asked me with a coy face - "Kevin, are you trying to change me?" 

I was able to answer truthfully and emphatically "I would do anything for that to happen, but it's not up to me." Acts 26:28-29

He knew it was between him and God, and that I wasn't asking him to join a club, or a religion. He knew I was serious, and that I wasn't just some flake. He knew God is serious. My mission was complete, those who believe will be saved and those who don't will be condemned. Mark 16:16

As much as I wanted to leave the Canadian Forces two years ago I'm glad the Lord kept me there - just long enough to finish well. 

Fail-Safe for Fallacy eBook Edition for $2.99

Fail-Safe for Fallacy: Every Believer Can Cut Straight to the Truth was written during a very challenging time in my life. I thought everything was falling apart. Looking back on that time now though; I see God clearing my schedule and focusing my mind so that I could share what He had taught me up to that point. Fail-Safe is my first book. God willing it will be my first of many.

The title may make the book sound intimidating, or worse pretentious, but the book is an easy read and I'm told by many people a very helpful work. Whether you're a new believer, or an old soldier wanting to sharpen your sword Fail-Safe is a great help.  The focus of the book is protecting the Church by protecting individual Believers from fallacy, or false teaching through learning to study the Bible above theology.

If this blog has been a blessing to you then I hope you'll check out Fail-Safe for Fallacy and ask someone else to do the same. The print book sells for $11.69 but the eBook is priced for everyone at $2.99.

Visit the Amazon.com Kindle eBook page to get your copy! 

If you don't have a Kindle eBook reader you can get the application free for PC, Mac, iPhone/iPod Touch, Blackberry... the list goes on.

Here's the product description from Amazon.com

This is the eBook edition of Fail-Safe for Fallacy, an easy to read book which helps the reader study Scripture above theology. 

Here is the original book description:

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!

A Discussion About Unconditional Election

So I'm reading Norman Geisler's Second Edition of Chosen But Free copyright 2001 for the first time. It is a discussion about Election seemingly from a "Moderate Calvinist" perspective. It would be reasonable to term myself as a "Moderate Calvinist" in that I tend to hold to a lot of what John Calvin wrote about, but I do not at all go beyond that. An "Extreme Calvinist" is someone who is more "Calvinistic" than John Calvin was, and that would include all 5 Point Calvinists, and many 4 pointers as well. I'm currently at page 69 of 290 (according to my Kindle).

For the most part up to this page I thought the book was presenting a view which is "more Calvinistic" than I am but it is extremely well thought out and presented so I have been enjoying it nonetheless. Turns out I was reading some of my ideas about Calvinism into what the author was writing. Also, he has opened my understanding and I believe my views have changed ever so slightly - functionally, but not practically - if that is clear at all...
I previously believed that Election was mostly about what we are elected to do BECAUSE we have been saved; ie works prepared beforehand for us to walk in, suffering, sanctification, glorification... and that also some people (perhaps John the Baptist and the Apostle Paul) were Elected to Eternal Salvation... that there is a group who were elected to Salvation, but that believing the Gospel was open to every person. I have discussed as much before. See Tripping TULIP Part 3: Unconditional Election. In that article I had these closing thoughts:

This is probably the doctrine I come closest to believing in TULIP. I believe that God has elected some to be Eternally Saved. Many are called, few are chosen sort of thing. However, I cannot let my thoughts decide what Scripture says. Scripture must always define what I think. Theology that is an inch deep and a mile wide comes from the presupposition that Salvation, Justification and Repentance are always about Eternal Salvation.

My struggle with the concept was clear back then, and has been on going since.

The Moderate Calvinist view of Election is well explained in a story shared on pages 68-69 of Chosen But Free. I'm going to quote that story here because I believe it is invaluable to understanding how God can "choose" who is saved, without also choosing who will be damned - and it is this very point on which our understanding either offends all of God's attributes or offends some or all of them.

Discussing a young Believer who is interested in marriage Geisler relates that the man (Jim) is interested in pursuing one of two women, Joan or Betty. Geisler states that the man has three possible courses of action. (1) to propose to neither of them; (2) to propose to Joan; or (3) to propose to Betty. He then notes that the man is under no compulsion to propose, or not to propose to either. It is his "free will" choice to make. Now here is the story, please read it carefully because without the context of the previous 67 pages one may jump to the conclusion that Geisler is making an Arminianistic argument that supposes God is dependant on the decisions of men; he is not.

Suppose further that the young man happens to konw that if he proposes to Joan she will say yes and if he proposes to Betty she will say no. Suppose then, in accordance with this foreknowledge of how she will freely respond, that Jim chooses to propose to Joan. Suppose even that he knew she would be reluctant at first but with persistent and loving persuasion she would eventually--freely--accept his offer. The decision on his part was entirely free, uncoerced, and not based on anything outside himself. But it was also a decision that was with full knowledge of the response and which respected the free choice of the person to whom he decided to propose. This is analogous to what the moderate Calvinists believe about God's unconditional election.

Note here that Jim's election was done according to his foreknowledge, that he determined, but she freely chose. She was not compelled, it was freely Joan's decision to accept. Jim also freely chose, soverignly chose. Yet he did not make his choice a violation of the one he chose. He did not force himself on her. He also did not choose that Betty would remain unmarried. It was not his choice, it was hers.

This view may be complicated to wrap your head around based on one short story, but note this: It lines up, I would say perfectly, with all election passages - including that God does not will that any will perish but desires all to come to repentance. Jim didn't will that Betty would be alone, she wouldn't accept him so she willed that she would be alone. Also - for those God foreknew he also predestined.... Jim foreknew Joan would accept, so he chose her - she wouldn't have been able to marry Jim if Jim didn't ask her. She was reluctant at first and he had to pursue her. She was not seeking him, he was seeking her. Sound familiar?

I find rest in my thinking, a removal of needless tension in the Scriptures, and clarity of understanding with this view.

So that's my take on it, what are your thoughts?