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Post by Admin on Jul 22, 2023 0:00:37 GMT -5
Sinclair Ferguson; Few chapters in the Bible so vividly depict the glory of the gospel in the humiliation and exaltation of Christ as Isaiah 53. Today, Sinclair Ferguson opens this passage to reflect with wonder on the Suffering Servant.
Transcript We’ve been thinking this week on Things Unseen about some passages in the prophecy of Isaiah, or more exactly, we’ve been thinking about someone Isiah wrote about. And yet, if you think about it, if Isaiah’s boys had asked who it was he was writing about, he’d have had to say he didn’t really know. He certainly didn’t know exactly who He was or when He would come. Peter reminds us of this in 1 Peter 1:10–12. The prophets wrote about the grace that others would experience in the future, and God especially enabled Isaiah to write about how the Messiah Savior would suffer before He entered His glory, even if he didn’t know who He would be or exactly when or how He would come.
And today I want to draw attention to the fourth song. It’s the best known one. I suppose most of us think about it as the Suffering Servant song of Isaiah 53. I remember having to memorize the whole chapter in the King James Version of the Bible when I was about eight or nine in the very ordinary state elementary school I attended. How times have changed. But what my schoolteacher didn’t know is that the song doesn’t begin at Isiah 53:1, but at Isiah 52:13.
It begins with the same words as the first Servant Song, “Behold, my servant,” and we should look, because the opening stanza in the song speaks first about the exaltation of the Servant. “He shall be high and lifted up,” and then it goes on to speak about his humiliation, “His appearance will be marred beyond human semblance” (Isa. 52:14). And then it goes on to speak about the effect of the Servant’s work “He will sprinkle the nations” (v. 15). That surely refers to His saving work. Even kings will become silent one day in His presence.
But then the song goes into the details with which most of us are more familiar. Chapter 53 explains why He will be so highly exalted: it’s because He was so profoundly humiliated for our sakes. And these verses not only fill out the picture of His sufferings, they also explain it. They tell us the reason for those sufferings was our sin, that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, that He died under the judgment of God, but it was our judgment He was taking. And because of that, He was raised up and exalted.
Almost every time I read these verses, I remember a morning assembly in my final year in high school, when one of my friends stood up to read the Bible lesson for the day. Again, it was just an ordinary state school. As I said, times have really changed. The passage for the day was Isaiah 53, and my friend introduced it with these words: “The reading this morning is from the gospel according to Isaiah.” I still remember my instinctive reaction: “Oh, Hugh, Isaiah isn’t a gospel, it’s a prophecy.” I’m sure he knew that, and it was just a slip of the tongue. But later on, I thought: “Hugh, you are absolutely right. You couldn’t be more right about Isaiah 53. It’s the gospel according to Isaiah. It’s the gospel of Jesus, the gospel of the Suffering Servant. It’s the gospel the Holy Spirit enabled Isaiah to write, even if he wasn’t able to understand what he was writing.”
So, centuries before our Lord Jesus came into the world, the pattern of His life was there in the Bible. Earlier in the week, we heard the Servant say to the Father, “You waken my ear each morning and open My ear to listen, and I commit Myself to You and to this plan of salvation.” And how wonderful it is to think that the Lord Jesus must have learned Isaiah 53 by heart when He was probably the same age I was and perhaps even younger and that He understood increasingly that this passage was speaking about Him and was telling Him what the Servant of the Lord was to be. And how wonderful that He committed Himself to doing the will of His Father, knowing that this would entail so much suffering, and that He did that out of love for His Father and out of love for us. That surely makes us want to sing:
Died he for me, who caused his pain? Amazing love! how can it be That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Or maybe we want to sing:
See, from his head, his hands, his feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down: Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Or perhaps this is what we should be singing today:
Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an offering far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands—and shall have—my life, my soul, my all.
I hope you feel that way too, today. Do have a blessed weekend, and if you can, join us again next week on Things Unseen.
Ways to Listen
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Post by Admin on Jul 22, 2023 12:54:43 GMT -5
THE REFORMED WITNESS HOUR "Emptied from Vessel to Vessel" Rev. Carl Haak The passing of another year reminds us forcefully that we are all creatures of time. Time-the unrelenting passing of moments, the changing of the present to the past-is a creation of God. And as with all of His other creations, time serves a purpose. Time is the workbench on which God prepares all men and women for eternity. Time is not some train which we ride going somewhere, somehow, by some way. It is not true that the earth is simply a spaceship hurtling through the galaxies somewhere. It is not true that each man is carving out his own niche or seeking his own fate. But time is in the hand of God to prepare all men and women for eternity. Each moment, in some way or another, shapes a person for eternity. That is true for all. It is true for the unbelieving and impenitent. Their life also relates to eternity. That is frightening. But it is also true for the believing and repentant sinner. Life is not a vacuum. We are not simply in a waiting room, waiting for heaven. But the Word of God tells us that we are being conformed to and we are being molded after the image of Jesus Christ. If you think that time is relatively unimportant, something you can simply spend and burn up, then you must cast that thought far from you. That thought is your enemy. Each second somehow relates to eternity. There is no such thing as an unimportant moment. In the Word of God we read of God's work in time, a work of grace for His children. One of the most beautiful figures in God's Word is found in Jeremiah 48:11. We read there, "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed." Jeremiah, in the last chapters of his prophecy, foretells the judgment which is awaiting heathen nations. In chapter 48 he is talking about Moab. Moab was of the same bloodline as Israel. They were the descendants of Lot, Abraham's nephew. But there was spiritual enmity between Moab and Israel. Moab had never ceased to plot against God's people. Moab was, mostly, prosperous, fortified, wealthy. They had filled their coffers with the things of this earth. Our text says that Moab has been at ease from her youth. From her very childhood as a nation she had been left alone in prosperity. And she had trusted more and more in her strength and resources. Then, using the figure of wine-making, God tells us that Moab had not been emptied from vessel to vessel but had been allowed to settle upon the lees or the dregs, and, therefore, they had become bitter in taste and sour in smelling. Left in their prosperity for the most part, given ease, they are now rocked in carnality. But it is implied that for God's people the very opposite has been the case. God has not been dealing with them so, He has not left His people at ease, He has not allowed them to settle down upon the lees or the dregs of their own indifference. But He has been busy with them, emptying them from vessel to vessel. He has sent them into captivity. And their scent and their taste have changed. God there compares Himself to a master wine-maker, a master husbandman. God has been at work with His people. And out of love and mercy He has been refining them, purifying them, in order that they might come forth sweet-smelling and pleasant to His own taste. God has a purpose with time. God's purpose is that especially through adversities and trials and through aging He will sift His people, He will mold and prepare His people in order that, at last, they might fill His courts with a holy scent and be pleasing to His taste. A figure, I said, is being used in that verse of the process of wine-making. Moab, we read, has settled on her lees and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel. Fermenting wine, from time to time, must be emptied from one wooden vat into another, for, in the process of fermentation, a bitter substance called the lees or dregs, a sediment, develops and drops to the bottom of the vat or clings to the sides. Those lees or dregs are bitter. In Psalm 75:8 God refers to the dregs or bitter wrath that the wicked must drink. It is a very bitter substance, lees or dregs, which remain in the vat. And the wine itself will take on that bitter taste and emit an unpleasant scent. That is why Jeremiah says of Moab that her taste remains in her. It has not changed. It has not improved. Its scent has become strong, foul, and bitter. But a wine-maker will, at set times, pour the contents of one vessel into another, strain that liquid, and put it into a clean vat in order that the lees might be strained out. This is repeated time after time until the fermentation process is finished and a tasty, pleasant-smelling wine comes forth. Even then, that wine purified of the lees must not simply be left alone, but it must again be placed into a glass vessel or it will take on the taste and smell of the wooden vat. A process of purification is taking place, of refining. The lees there refer to our sins, especially the sins of apathy and of indifference, the sins in which we are willing to sit still. To be settled down on our lees is to become comfortable with our sins. We become unconcerned. It really does not burn in our hearts that we have those sins that we are committing. In Zephaniah 1:12 the prophet speaks of Israel's spiritual indifference in these words: "And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil." Lees. Dregs. Spiritual indifference. At ease, undisturbed with besetting sins, allowing the mold of apathy to grow thick on the sides of the heart. And the result is that all of our life takes on that taste, that smell of indifference. It leaves off a bitter and foul smell in God's nostrils, a rancid taste in His mouth. But God will not allow that in His children. So He empties us from vessel to vessel. He upsets our life. He sends sickness. He sends the suddenness of death. He sends hardships. He sends troubles. Perhaps depression, widowhood, waywardness of our children. What the Bible calls trial, affliction, and tribulation. Why? Constantly to purify us from the bitterness of our own sins, to sanctify, to make us holy or, if you will, to make us taste good to Him and to be a pleasant smell to Him. God does not let you rest on your lees. But He empties you from vessel to vessel, affliction to affliction, so that the bitter taste of sin may not remain in you and take over, so that your spiritual taste may not be displeasing to His mouth, but that you might be changed to the sweetness of holiness. Although that is very painful and very frightening to us, it is necessary. And it is most gracious. It is the most important work of God in time. It is the most important work that God does for you when He empties you from one vessel to another. Looking at our lives from our eye of the flesh, we worry when the Lord sends us trials and problems, sickness and death. We say, what will we do? But, looking at it spiritually, I see that the very worst thing for me is not the future testings that must come. The worst thing for me would be that I would be left alone and allowed to settle on my own ease. Bad times spiritually for me are the times when I see little outward need for me to call upon God. We like to put up our "Do not disturb" signs before heaven. We crave our own ease. We do not want to be put down into captivity. Over those things that matter to us in the home, family, health, looks, we say, "Lord, don't upset that!" Like Moab we want to be at ease in our own way. To be emptied from vessel to vessel in health? To be emptied in our income? To be taken away from mental happiness? To be given more children? We say, Oh, no, don't do that Lord! The Lord sends to us adversity. And we say, Lord, bring it back the way it was before. Or we say, Lord, I've been through enough now; isn't it enough? Again and again, one thing after another in my life? Beloved, it is necessary that God empty you from one vessel to another vessel, because, without that work of God's wisdom and skill and grace, you would become settled down in your sins and you would become bitter in His taste. Our lives would take on a rancor taste and a putrid smell. It is very true, you know. David says in Psalm 30, At one time I boasted. I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. I soon was sorely troubled. I sought Jehovah's grace. Had God left David in the spacious vessel of prosperity, the bitter dregs of self-boasting would have made him obnoxious both to God and to others. So God hid His face in order that David might be emptied of that self-boasting and learn to seek Jehovah's grace. We read of this time after time in the Scriptures. We read of this in the life of Old Testament believers-about the bitter lees of their self-complacency, of the fact that they would fall into periods of proud indifference to God. They thought that their life was going along fine without Him. Then they would be emptied into the vessels of affliction and be purified from such self-complacency. It would become, then, a delight to do God's law. And it would become a joy for them to obey God. Do you know this? Do you cling to one vessel? Do you want your own ease, your own way? Is the most important thing in your life that your will be done? You could not imagine your life being happy if your will is not being done? Then you want simply to settle down upon your own lees and the bitterness of your own complacency before God will soon infect the taste of your whole life. God needs to scrape away the mold. He needs to strain out the self-complacency. It can be true in Christian families. Our families need refining and polishing. Let us not resist this work of God. Let us not fail to see how God does it. Let us teach our children that the worst thing in life is when one's own sinful will has its way. The worst thing in life is not adversity. There remains in us as Christian families much that is of the world. There is much of the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We have this urban ideal. We say that there should be no cloudy days. There ought to be more of the things of this life. And there is no end to it. Two hundred, three hundred, four hundred thousand dollars a year, cars and cars and more cars, and things of this life. Now, there is nothing wrong with earthly things. But is that what you think your life is? Have you settled down into your comfortable couch and do you believe that the way your life, with all of its plush luxuries, is what you absolutely need? What if God were to send cancer, sickness, the birth defect of a child? Do you say, "I can't see any good in that. It is just more for me to deal with." Or do you say, "Oh, it is good that I am afflicted, that I might learn to find my joy and my trust in God which will never fade away. It is good that God empties our family from vessel to vessel." God is blessing us when He does not let us drift into materialism but keeps us close to the worship of God and to a holy walk of life. It is very true for us also as churches of Jesus Christ. How necessary it is! Also churches sometimes collect sediment and dregs and lees. And if allowed to remain, it begins to affect the children. Soon the church gives off a bad taste to God. So the church must exercise discipline. There must be broader church discipline which does not soft pedal and minimize false doctrine and an evil walk of life. When the church begins to look like the world, then God, in His love, will purify that church and will disturb their ease. He will not allow His people to settle down on the lees of indifference. God says that this has not been done to Moab. God is speaking this verse as an explanation to Israel. Apparently Moab, their neighbor who worshiped idols and was constantly plotting to have Israel done in, prospered in wealth and peace, comparatively speaking. Although Moab had known a few dark days, yet, compared to Israel, ancient Moab had been at ease from her youth, from her childhood. When you looked at Israel from her childhood to her adult years you would have to say, in the words of Psalm 129, "many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, … yet they have not prevailed against me." According to our judgment, it appears that to be left at one's ease is a sign of favor. And to be constantly unsettled and to be turned upside-down is a sign of God's disfavor. But now God says to Israel, "That is the judgment of your human eyes. It is the very opposite. For a person to be left alone and at ease, given prosperity, is not a sign of God's favor." In Moab's case it was leading them to be a foul, bitter, rancid nation before God. Settled down upon her lees? Moab was secure in her sins, became sensual in her prosperity, thought her strength was in herself and in material things, and was led to utter destruction. To be left to your own ease is not a sign of grace. A little girl left alone from her childhood, not emptied from vessel to vessel by the hands of father's discipline and mother's correction-there is nothing in that little girl's life to upset her little will. She is left in her selfish, vain ways, and her own temper tantrums. She grows up to be covered up with the lees and dregs of jealousy, envy, and temper. She becomes a catty, calculating, self-serving woman. Then she enters into marriage for herself. And she brings up children like her. A little boy, a young man, left on his lees, allowed to be careless, lazy, flippant, materialistic, has everything his own way, whatever he would want? He grows up covered with mold, with spiritual fungi, and the smell of irresponsibility. A family prospers, treasures increase. And in those treasures they forget in their heart the Lord God and spend night after night after night in front of the TV and less and less and less with the Word of God. And the life of ease spills over into Sunday. Soon there is no time for church. It is a work of grace to empty you from vessel to vessel. You see, grace readjusts our thinking. It gives us to see life for what it is. We understand then that God must prepare us. God must send us through a process of purification. God must prepare us for our heavenly home. Job was emptied from a richly decorated and splendid vessel of tremendous wealth and ten loving children into a vessel so narrow that he would only sit in it by himself in his misery. He still lived, but he had no comforts of life. Yet, though all of that happened, God was teaching him wonderful lessons. And Job came out of that vessel of affliction a stronger man of faith and with deeper understanding of God's ways. He would never have learned those things if he had been left alone. He needed to be emptied from vessel to vessel. This is the work of grace which is working a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, as the apostle says in II Corinthians 4:17, 18. Do not look simply at your trial, at your affliction, at your hardship as the wrath of God upon you. Do not say, with Asaph in Psalm 73, "Clean hands are worthless and a pure heart is vain." Whatever God does to His people in Christ is done in grace to polish, to refine, to prepare for glory. Having begotten us to be His children, the almighty God will not rest until He leads us into those mansions prepared for us by Jesus Christ. He will not rest until we are prepared for our place in that mansion. If we are left in our ease, if we are left in our sinful self-complacency, we shall not be prepared for that place in glory. We need to be emptied from vessel to vessel. That is the grace of God. God desires good wine, something pleasing to His taste, something pleasing to His nostrils. He is working to change the way you taste and the way you smell. Just like a good wine-maker is working on his wine, He wishes to smell from you the scent of trust. He wishes to taste from you the taste of obedience and love. He wishes to rid you of the bitter lees of sin. So He empties you from health to sickness, from marriage to widowhood, from your idea of what is right and the way things have to go to the most burdensome way for you. And, one day, He will pour you into a vessel called "death" where He will strain out all of sin and the power of sin. And you will be most precious to His sight and most pleasing to His smell and most wonderful to His taste. He exercises much care over you. That is why He empties you at the right time from vessel to vessel. And He will disturb you, He will make you ill at ease with your sin. You will find that He puts into your soul the desire to have the bitterness of sin removed. Do not envy those who are at ease with their sins, who do not seem to be bothered by their sins, who say to you that you have too many hangups. Be thankful that He disturbs your life, that He sends you sorrow and affliction, that He sends His Word to trouble your conscience, that He raises up men in the church who will not compromise but preach the Word of God to you. God does this in love. God does this because in this present time, as a perfect husbandman, He is preparing everything that will be taken into His eternal home. He is preparing you. Rejoice when your life is emptied from vessel to vessel. It is a work of His grace and love. He is preparing you for a time when time will be no more. It will have served God's purpose, when He will empty you at last into a vessel of pure mercy in heaven, where you shall be a sweet taste and a pleasant smell to God. Let us pray. Father, we thank Thee for Thy Word. Empty us from vessel to vessel that we might be pleasing to Thee. Amen. Rev. Carl Haak
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Post by Admin on Jul 25, 2023 20:39:11 GMT -5
1689 8:2 The True Humanity of Christ the Mediator | Sam Waldron by Sam Waldron | Jul 25, 2023 | Systematic Theology
“The Son of God…did…take upon him man’s nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof…being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her: and the power of the Most High overshadowing her; and so was made of a woman of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham and David according to the Scriptures; so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together…which person is…very man…”
1689 8:2
Early heresies like Gnosticism and Docetism denied that Christ was a man. The Confession echoing the Creed of Chalcedon, asserts the opposite. Another early heresy said that Christ was mostly man. Rather, as the Confession says, he is “very man” “with all the essential properties” of human nature. The Bible grounds this teaching with at least seven affirmations about the humanity of Christ. He had:
The Promise of a Man The Designation of a Man The Consciousness of a Man The Appearance of a Man The Body of a Man The Soul of a Man The Limitation of a Man
7 Affirmations about the Humanity of Christ 1. The Promise of a Man—The prophecies of the OT promised that the Messiah would be a man (Gen 3:15; 17:7; Mic 5:2; Isa 7:14; 9:6, 7; 52:13-53:12; Jer 23:5, 6). Gen 3:15 is the first of these prophecies: “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head…”
2. The Designation of a Man—The Scriptures straightforwardly call Christ a man. Many of these speak of Christ as resurrected. Thus, they make clear he remains man forever. This is true of Acts 17:31: “because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed…” It is also true of 1 Tim 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
3. The Consciousness of a Man—Not just His disciples thought of Jesus as a man; Jesus himself thought of himself as a man. John 8:40 records Jesus saying, “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man (anthropos) who has told you the truth.” His favorite designation for himself was Son of man—using this title some 87 times.
4. The Appearance of a Man—Many passages teach that Jesus looked like an ordinary man. Of course, Jesus not only appeared to be a man but was really a man. It is basic, however, to know that He looked just like an ordinary man. Think of John 19:5: “Jesus then came out … Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!”
5. The Body of a Man–The earliest errors to assail the church argued that the heavenly Christ-spirit could not be flesh. Frequent assertions that he possessed a real body contradict this. Hebrews 10:5 says: “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “ … A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME,” 1 Peter 3:18 says: “For Christ also died for sins … having been put to death in the flesh …”
6. The Soul of a Man—There are several arguments for Christ having a human soul. (1) The death of Jesus implies a human soul. John 19:30 reads: “… He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” (2) Jesus possessed a human will. Matt 26:39 says: “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (3) Jesus possessed human emotions. Jesus displayed typically human emotions: compassion (Matt. 9:36), anger (Mark 3:5; 10:14), sighing (Mark 8:12), crying silently (John 11:35), loud wailing (Luke 19:41-44), gladness (Luke 10:21). (4) Jesus was tempted. Cf. Matt 4:1: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Heb 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” God cannot be tempted. Cf. James 1:13: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” Thus, it must be that Christ has a rational human soul! (5) Jesus underwent a process of intellectual, spiritual, and moral development. Luke 2:40 and 52 says, “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him … And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom …”
7. The Limitations of a Man–There are several clear assertions of this in Scripture. The primary assertion is this one. (1) The Primary Assertion: Surprisingly, Jesus confessed there were some things He did not know (Matt 24:36; Mark 13:32). Mark 13:32-33 But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (1) The Primary Assertion: Surprisingly, Jesus confessed there were some things He did not know (Matt 24:36; Mark 13:32). No explanation is sufficient except that of the Chalcedon in 451, reiterated in the 1689. Jesus had a perfect & whole human nature. Hence, speaking from the side of His human nature, there were some things Jesus as a man did not know. (2) The Secondary Assertions: Jesus had limitations besides a lack of knowledge which God does not have. He was hungry (Matt 4:2; Mark 11:12; Matt 21:18), but God is never hungry (Psalm 50:12). He was thirsty (John 4:7; 19:28), though God is never thirsty. He grew tired (John 4:6), though God is never tired (Isa 40:28). He fell asleep (Matt 8:24), but God never sleeps (Psa 121:4). Though these limitations are mostly physical, each has aspects that imply a human soul.
7 Reasons Why Christ’s Humanity is Important Why is Christ’s humanity important? Fundamentalism stressed Christ’s deity against Modernism. But this led to de-emphasizing & ignorance of His humanity. We must understand why it is so important.
1. It helps us take seriously His physical sufferings.
2. It helps us take seriously His spiritual sufferings. He experienced fear. He felt abandoned by men. He felt abandoned by God.
3. It allows Him to be our substitute. Hebrews 2:17 says: “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest…to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
4. It helps us take seriously His sympathy. Heb 2:18 says: “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
5. It helps us take His advocacy seriously. 1 John 2:1: “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
6. It helps us explain difficult passages. Like Mark 13:32; Luke 2:40, 52; Heb 5:8-9!
7. It helps us understand and appreciate the emphasis of the Bible on the ministry of the Spirit to the Mediator.
Sam Waldron Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
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Post by Admin on Jul 28, 2023 23:55:07 GMT -5
A CALL TO DISCERNMENT: Silencing False Teachers “Men that had understanding of the times” — 1 Chronicles 12:32 J.C. Ryle, The times require at our hands distinct and decided views of Christian doctrine. I cannot withhold my conviction that the professing church is as much damaged by laxity and indistinctness about matters of doctrine within, as it is by skeptics and unbelievers without. Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people afflicted with color blindness, they are incapable of discerning what is true and what is false, what is sound and what is unsound. If a preacher of religion is only clever and eloquent and earnest, they appear to think he is all right, however strange and heterogeneous his sermons may be. They are destitute of spiritual sense, apparently, and cannot detect error. Popery or Protestantism, an atonement or no atonement, a personal Holy Spirit or no Holy Spirit, future punishment or no future punishment, “high” church or “low” church or “broad” church, Trinitarianism, Arianism, or Unitarianism, nothing comes amiss to them: they can swallow all, if they cannot digest it! Carried away by a fancied liberality and charity, they seem to think everybody is right and nobody is wrong, every clergyman is sound and none are unsound, everybody is going to be saved and nobody is going to be lost. Their religion is made up of negatives; and the only positive thing about them is, that they dislike distinctness, and think all extreme and decided and positive views are very naughty and very wrong! These people live in a kind of mist or fog. They see nothing clearly, and do not know what they believe. They have not made up their minds about any great point in the gospel, and seem content to be honorary members of all schools of thought. For their lives they could not tell you what they think is truth about justification or regeneration or sanctification or the Lord’s Supper or baptism or faith or conversion or inspiration or the future state. They are eaten up with a morbid dread of controversy and an ignorant dislike of “party spirit,” and yet they really cannot define what they mean by these phrases. The only point you can make out is that they admire earnestness and cleverness and charity, and cannot believe that any clever, earnest, charitable man can ever be in the wrong! And so they live on undecided; and too often undecided they drift down to the grave, without comfort in their religion and, I am afraid, often without hope…..For your own soul’s sake dare to make up your mind what you believe, and dare to have positive distinct views of truth and error. Never, never be afraid to hold decided doctrinal opinions; and let no fear of man and no morbid dread of being thought party–spirited, narrow or controversial, make you rest contented with a bloodless, boneless, tasteless, colorless, lukewarm, undogmatic Christianity. Mark what I say. If you want to do good in these times, you must throw aside indecision, and take up a distinct, sharply cut, doctrinal religion. If you believe little, those to whom you try to do good will believe nothing.
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Post by Admin on Aug 1, 2023 11:04:33 GMT -5
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD Arthur W.Pink CHAPTER NINE -- GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY AND PRAYER "If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (1 John 5:14). THROUGHOUT this book it has been our chief aim to exalt the Creator and abase the creature. The well-nigh universal tendency now, is to magnify man and dishonor and degrade God. On every hand it will be found that, when spiritual things are under discussion, the human side and element is pressed and stressed, and the Divine side, if not altogether ignored, is relegated to the background. This holds true of very much of the modern teaching about prayer. In the great majority of the books written and in the sermons preached upon prayer the human element fills the scene almost entirely: it is the conditions which we must meet, the promises we must "claim," the things we must do in order to get our requests granted; and God's claims, God's rights, God's glory are disregarded. As a fair example of what is being given out today we subjoin a brief editorial which appeared recently in one of the leading religious weeklies entitled "Prayer, or Fate?" "God in His Sovereignty has ordained that human destinies may be changed and molded by the will of man. This is at the heart of the truth that prayer changes things, meaning that God changes things when men pray. Someone has strikingly expressed it this way: 'There are certain things that will happen in a man's life whether he prays or not. There are other things that will happen if he prays; and will not happen if he does not pray.' A Christian worker was impressed by these sentences as he entered a business office and he prayed that the Lord would open the way to speak to some one about Christ, reflecting that things would be changed because he prayed. Then his mind turned to other things and the prayer was forgotten. The opportunity came to speak to the business man upon whom he was calling, but he did not grasp it, and was on his way out when he remembered his prayer of a half hour before, and God's answer. He promptly returned and had a talk with the business man, who, though a church-member, had never in his life been asked whether he was saved. Let us give ourselves to prayer, and open the way for God to change things. Let us beware lest we become virtual fatalists by failing to exercise our God-given wills in praying." The above illustrates what is being taught on the subject of prayer, and the deplorable thing is that scarcely a voice is lifted in protest. To say that "human destinies may be changed and molded by the will of man" is rank infidelity-that is the only proper term for it. Should any one challenge this classification, we would ask them whether they can find an infidel anywhere who would dissent from such a statement, and we are confident that such an one could not be found. To say that "God has ordained that human destinies may be changed and molded by the will of man" is absolutely untrue. "Human destiny" is settled not by the will of man, but by the will of God. That which determines human destiny is whether or not a man has been born again, for it is written, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." And as to whose will, whether God's or man's, is responsible for the new birth is settled, unequivocally, by John 1:13-"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but OF GOD." To say that "human destiny" may be changed by the will of man is to make the creature's will supreme, and that is, virtually, to dethrone God. But what saith the Scriptures? Let the Book answer: "The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory" (1 Sam. 2:6-8). Turning back to the Editorial here under review, we are next told, "This is at the heart of the truth that prayer changes things, meaning that God changes things when men pray." Almost everywhere we go today one comes across a motto-card bearing the inscription "Prayer Changes Things." As to what these words are designed to signify is evident from the current literature on prayer-we are to persuade God to change His purpose. Concerning this we shall have more to say below. Again, the Editor tells us, "Some one has strikingly expressed it this way: 'There are certain things that will happen in a man's life whether he prays or not. There are other things that will happen if he prays, and will not happen if he does not pray.'" That things happen whether a man prays or not is exemplified daily in the lives of the unregenerate, most of whom never pray at all. That 'other things will happen if he prays' is in need of qualification. If a believer prays in faith and asks for those things which are according to God's will he will most certainly obtain that for which he has asked. Again, that other things will happen if he prays is also true in respect to the subjective benefits derived from prayer: God will become more real to him and His promises more precious. That other things 'will not happen if he does not pray' is true so far as his own life is concerned– a prayerless life means a life lived out of communion with God and all that is involved by this. But to affirm that God will not and cannot bring to pass His eternal purpose unless we pray is utterly erroneous, for the same God who has decreed the end has also decreed that His end shall be reached through His appointed means, and One of these is prayer. The God who has determined to grant a blessing also gives a spirit of supplication which first seeks the blessing. The example cited in the above Editorial of the Christian worker and the business man is a very unhappy one to say the least, for according to the terms of the illustration the Christian worker's prayer was not answered by God at all, inasmuch as, apparently, the way was not opened to speak to the business man about his soul. But on leaving the office and recalling his prayer the Christian worker (perhaps in the energy of the flesh) determined to answer the prayer for himself, and instead of leaving the Lord to "open the way" for him, took matters into his own hand. We quote next from one of the latest books issued on Prayer. In it the author says, "The possibilities and necessity of prayer, its power and results, are manifested in arresting and changing the purposes of God and in relieving the stroke of His power." Such an assertion as this is a horrible reflection upon the character of the Most High God, who "doeth according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" (Dan. 4: 35). There is no need whatever for God to change His designs or alter His purpose for the all-sufficient reason that these were framed under the influence of perfect goodness and unerring wisdom. Men may have occasion to alter their purposes, for in their short-sightedness they are frequently unable to anticipate what may arise after their plans are formed. But not so with God, for He knows the end from the beginning. To affirm God changes His purpose is either to impugn His goodness or to deny His eternal wisdom. In the same book we are told, "The prayers of God's saints are the capital stock in Heaven by which Christ carries on His great work upon earth. The great throes and mighty convulsions on earth are the results of these prayers. Earth is changed, revolutionized, angels move on more powerful, more rapid wing, and God's policy is shaped as the prayers are more numerous, more efficient." If possible, this is even worse, and we have no hesitation in denominating it as blasphemy. In the first place, it flatly denies Ephesians 3:11 which speaks of God's having an "eternal purpose." If God's purpose is an eternal one then His "policy" is not being "shaped" today. In the second place, it contradicts Ephesians 1:11 which expressly declares that God "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will," therefore it follows that, "God's policy" is not being "shaped" by man's prayers. In the third place, such a statement as the above makes the will of the creature supreme, for if our prayers shape God's policy then is the Most High subordinate to worms of the earth. Well might the Holy Spirit ask through the Apostle, "For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor?" (Rom. 11:34). Such thoughts on prayer as we have been citing are due to low and inadequate conceptions of God Himself. It ought to be apparent that there could be little or no comfort in praying to a God that was like the chameleon, which changes its color every day. What encouragement is there to lift up our hearts to One who is in one mind yesterday and another today? What would be the use of petitioning an earthly monarch if we knew he was so mutable as to grant a petition one day and deny it another? Is it not the very unchangeableness of God which is our greatest encouragement to pray? It is because He is "without variableness or shadow of turning" we are assured that if we ask anything according to His will we are most certain of being heard. Well did Luther remark, "Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness." And this leads us to offer a few remarks concerning the design of prayer. Why has God appointed that we should pray? The vast majority of people would reply, In order that we may obtain from God the things which we need. While this is one of the purposes of prayer it is by no means the chief one. Moreover, it considers prayer only from the human side, and prayer sadly needs to be viewed from the Divine side. Let us look, then, at some of the reasons why God has bidden us to pray. First and foremost, prayer has been appointed that the Lord God Himself should be honored. God requires we should recognize that He is, indeed, "the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity" (Isa. 57:15). God requires that we shall own His universal dominion: in petitioning God for rain Elijah did but confess His control over the elements; in praying to God to deliver a poor sinner from the wrath to come we acknowledge that "salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9); in supplicating His blessing on the Gospel unto the uttermost parts of the earth we declare His rulership over the whole world. Again; God requires that we shall worship Him, and prayer, real prayer, is an act of worship. Prayer is an act of worship inasmuch as it is the prostrating of the soul before Him; inasmuch as it is a calling upon His great and holy name; inasmuch as it is the owning of His goodness, His power, His immutability, His grace, and inasmuch as it is the recognition of His Sovereignty, owned by a submission to His will. It is highly significant to notice in this connection that the Temple wasn't termed by Christ the House of Sacrifice, but instead, the House of Prayer. Again; prayer redounds to God's glory, for in prayer we do but acknowledge dependency upon Him. When we humbly supplicate the Divine Being we cast ourselves upon His power and mercy. In seeking blessings from God we own that He is the Author and Fountain of every good and perfect gift. That prayer brings glory to God is further seen from the fact that prayer calls faith into exercise, and nothing from us is so honoring and pleasing to Him as the confidence of our hearts. In the second place, prayer is appointed by God for our spiritual blessing, as a means for our growth in grace. When seeking to learn the design of prayer, this should ever occupy us before we regard prayer as a means for obtaining the supply of our need. Prayer is designed by God for our humbling. Prayer, real prayer, is a coming into the Presence of God, and a sense of His awful majesty produces a realization of our nothingness and unworthiness. Again; prayer is designed by God for the exercise of our faith. Faith is begotten in the Word (Rom. 10:8), but it is exercised in prayer; hence, we read of "the prayer of faith." Again; prayer calls love into action. Concerning the hypocrite the question is asked, "Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call upon God?" (Job 27:10). But they that love the Lord cannot be long away from Him, for they delight in unburdening themselves to Him. Not only does prayer call love into action but through the direct answers vouchsafed to our prayers our love to God is increased-"I love the LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications" (Psa. 116:1). Again; prayer is designed by God to teach us the value of the blessings we have sought from Him, and it causes us to rejoice the more when He has bestowed upon us that for which we supplicate Him. Third, prayer is appointed by God for our seeking from Him the things which we are in need of. But here a difficulty may present itself to those who have read carefully the previous chapters of this book. If God has foreordained, before the foundation of the world, everything which happens in time, what is the use of prayer? If it is true that "of Him and through Him and to Him are all things" (Rom. 11:30), then why pray? Ere replying directly to these queries it should be pointed out how that there is just as much reason to ask, What is the use of me coming to God and telling Him what He already knows? Wherein is the use of me spreading before Him my need, seeing He is already acquainted with it? as there is to object, What is the use of praying for anything when everything has been ordained beforehand by God? Prayer is not for the purpose of informing God, as if He were ignorant (the Saviour expressly declared "for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him"-Matt. 6:8), but it is to acknowledge He does know what we are in need of. Prayer is not appointed for the furnishing of God with the knowledge of what we need, but is designed as a confession to Him of our sense of need. In this, as in everything, God's thoughts are not as ours. God requires that His gifts should be sought for. He designs to be honored by our asking, just as He is to be thanked by us after He has bestowed His blessing. However, the question still returns on us, If God be the Predestinator of everything that comes to pass, and the Regulator of all events, then is not prayer a profitless exercise? A sufficient answer to these questions is that God bids us to pray, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). And again, "men ought always to pray" (Luke 18:1). And further: Scripture declares that "the prayer of faith shall save the sick," and "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:15, 16); while the Lord Jesus Christ, our perfect Example in all things, was preeminently a Man of Prayer. Thus, it is evident, that prayer is neither meaningless nor valueless. But still this does not remove the difficulty nor answer the question with which we started out. What then is the relationship between God's Sovereignty and Christian prayer? First of all, we would say with emphasis, that prayer is not intended to change God's purpose, nor is it to move Him to form fresh purposes. God has decreed that certain events shall come to pass through the means He has appointed for their accomplishment. God has elected certain ones to be saved, but He has also decreed that these shall be saved through the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel, then, is one of the appointed means for the working out of the eternal counsel of the Lord; and prayer is another. God has decreed the means as well as the end, and among the means is prayer. Even the prayers of His people are included in His eternal decrees. Therefore, instead of prayers being in vain they are among the means through which God exercises His decrees. "If indeed all things happen by a blind chance, or a fatal necessity prayers in that case could be of no moral efficacy, and of no use; but since they are regulated by the direction of Divine wisdom, prayers have a place in the order of events" (Haldane). That prayers for the execution of the very things decreed by God are not meaningless is clearly taught in the Scriptures. Elijah knew that God was about to give rain, but that did not prevent him from at once betaking himself to prayer (James 5:17, 18). Daniel "understood" by the writings of the prophets that the captivity was to last but seventy years, yet when these seventy years were almost ended we are told that he set his face "unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes" (Dan. 9:2, 3). God told the prophet Jeremiah "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end"; but instead of adding, there is, therefore, no need for you to supplicate Me for these things, He said, "Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you" (Jer. 29:11, 12). Here then is the design of prayer: not that God's will may be altered, but that it may be accomplished in His own good time and way. It is because God has promised certain things that we can ask for them with the full assurance of faith. It is God's purpose that His will shall be brought about by His own appointed means, and that He may do His people good upon His own terms, and that is, by the 'means' and 'terms' of entreaty and supplication. Did not the Son of God know for certain that after His death and resurrection He would be exalted by the Father. Assuredly He did. Yet we find Him asking for this very thing: "O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was" (John 17:5)! Did not He know that none of His people could perish? yet He besought the Father to "keep" them (John 17:11)! Finally, it should be said that God's will is immutable, and cannot be altered by our cryings. When the mind of God is not toward a people to do them good, it cannot be turned to them by the most fervent and importunate prayer of those who have the greatest interest in Him: "Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me, yet My mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth" (Jer. 15:1). The prayers of Moses to enter the promised land is a parallel case. Our views respecting prayer need to be revised and brought into harmony with the teaching of Scripture on the subject. The prevailing idea seems to be that I come to God and ask Him for something that I want, and that I expect Him to give me that which I have asked. But this is a most dishonoring and degrading conception. The popular belief reduces God to a servant, our servant: doing our bidding, performing our pleasure, granting our desires. No; prayer is a coming to God, telling Him my need, committing my way unto the Lord, and leaving Him to deal with it as seemeth Him best. This makes my will subject to His, instead of, as in the former case, seeking to bring His will into subjection to mine. No prayer is pleasing to God unless the spirit actuating it is "not my will, but Thine be done." "When God bestows blessings on a praying people, it is not for the sake of their prayers, as if He was inclined and turned by them; but it is for His own sake, and of His own Sovereign will and pleasure. Should it be said, to what purpose then is prayer? it is answered, This is the way and means God has appointed for the communication of the blessing of His goodness to His people. For though He has purposed, provided, and promised them, yet He will be sought unto, to give them, and it is a duty and privilege to ask. When they are blessed with a spirit of prayer it forebodes well, and looks as if God intended to bestow the good things asked, which should be asked always with submission to the will of God, saying, Not my will but Thine be done" (John Gill). The distinction just noted above is of great practical importance for our peace of heart. Perhaps the one thing that exercises Christians as much as anything else is that of unanswered prayers. They have asked God for something: so far as they are able to judge they have asked in faith believing they would receive that for which they had supplicated the Lord: and they have asked earnestly and repeatedly, but the answer has not come. The result is that, in many cases, faith in the efficacy of prayer becomes weakened, until hope gives way to despair and the closet is altogether neglected. Is it not so? Now will it surprise our readers when we say that every real prayer of faith that has ever been offered to God has been answered? Yet we unhesitatingly affirm it. But in saying this we must refer back to our definition of prayer. Let us repeat it. Prayer is a coming to God, telling Him my need (or the need of others), committing my way unto the Lord, and then leaving Him to deal with the case as seemeth Him best. This leaves God to answer the prayer in whatever way He sees fit, and often, His answer may be the very opposite of what would be most acceptable to the flesh; yet, if we have really LEFT our need in His hands it will be His answer, nevertheless. Let us look at two examples. In John 11 we read of the sickness of Lazarus. The Lord "loved" him, but He was absent from Bethany. The sisters sent a messenger unto the Lord acquainting Him of their brother's condition. And note particularly how their appeal was worded-"Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." That was all. They did not ask Him to heal Lazarus. They did not request Him to hasten at once to Bethany. They simply spread their need before Him, committed the case into His hands, and left Him to act as He deemed best! And what was our Lord's reply? Did He respond to their appeal and answer their mute request? Certainly He did, though not, perhaps, in the way they had hoped. He answered by abiding "two days still in the same place where He was" (John 11:6), and allowing Lazarus to die! But in this instance that was not all. Later, He journeyed to Bethany and raised Lazarus from the dead. Our purpose in referring here to this case is to illustrate the proper attitude for the believer to take before God in the hour of need. The next example will emphasize rather, God's method of responding to His needy child. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12. The Apostle Paul had been accorded an unheard-of privilege. He had been transported into Paradise. His ears had listened to and his eyes had gazed upon that which no other mortal had heard or seen this side of death. The wondrous revelation was more than the Apostle could endure. He was in danger of becoming "puffed up" by his extraordinary experience. Therefore, a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, was sent to buffet him lest he be exalted above measure. And the Apostle spreads his need before the Lord; he thrice beseeches Him that this thorn in the flesh should be removed. Was his prayer answered? Assuredly, though not in the manner he had desired. The "thorn" was not removed but grace was given to bear it. The burden was not lifted but strength was vouchsafed to carry it. Does someone object that it is our privilege to do more than spread our need before God? Are we reminded that God has, as it were, given us a blank check and invited us to fill it in? Is it said that the promises of God are all-inclusive, and that we may ask God for what we will? If so, we must call attention to the fact that it is necessary to compare Scripture with Scripture if we are to learn the full mind of God on any subject, and that as this is done we discover God has qualified the promises given to praying souls by saying "If ye ask anything according to His will He heareth us" (1 John 5:14). Real prayer is communion with God so that there will be common thoughts between His mind and ours. What is needed is for Him to fill our hearts with His thoughts and then His desires will become our desires flowing back to Him. Here then is the meeting-place between God's Sovereignty and Christian prayer: If we ask anything according to His will He heareth us, and if we do not so ask He does not hear us; as saith the Apostle James, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" or desires (4:3). But did not the Lord Jesus tell His disciples, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you" (John 16:23)? He did; but this promise does not give praying souls carte blanche. These words of our Lord are in perfect accord with those of the Apostle John: "If ye ask anything according to His will He heareth us." What is it to ask "in the name of Christ"? Surely it is very much more than a prayer formula, the mere concluding of our supplications with the words "in the name of Christ." To apply to God for anything in the name of Christ, it must needs be in keeping with what Christ is! To ask God in the name of Christ is as though Christ Himself were the suppliant. We can only ask God for what Christ would ask. To ask in the name of Christ is therefore to set aside our own wills, accepting God's! Let us now amplify our definition of prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude–an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. Prayer is a confession of creature weakness, yea, of helplessness. Prayer is the acknowledgment of our need and the spreading of it before God. We do not say that this is all there is in prayer, it is not: but it is the essential, the primary element in prayer. We freely admit that we are quite unable to give a complete definition of prayer within the compass of a brief sentence, or in any number of words. Prayer is both an attitude and an act, an human act, and yet there is the Divine element in it too, and it is this which makes an exhaustive analysis impossible as well as impious to attempt. But admitting this, we do insist again that prayer is fundamentally an attitude of dependency upon God. Therefore, prayer is the very opposite of dictating to God. Because prayer is an attitude of dependency, the one who really prays is submissive, submissive to the Divine will; and submission to the Divine will means that we are content for the Lord to supply our need according to the dictates of His own Sovereign pleasure. And hence it is that we say every prayer that is offered to God in this spirit is sure of meeting with an answer or response from Him. Here then is the reply to our opening question, and the scriptural solution to the seeming difficulty. Prayer is not the requesting of God to alter His purpose or for Him to form a new one. Prayer is the taking of an attitude of dependency upon God, the spreading of our need before Him, the asking for those things which are in accordance with His will, and therefore there is nothing whatever inconsistent between Divine Sovereignty and Christian prayer. In closing this chapter we would utter a word of caution to safeguard the reader against drawing a false conclusion from what has been said. We have not here sought to epitomize the whole teaching of Scripture on the subject of prayer, nor have we even attempted to discuss in general the problem of prayer; instead, we have confined ourselves, more or less, to a consideration of the relationship between God's Sovereignty and Christian prayer. What we have written is intended chiefly as a protest against much of the modern teaching, which so stresses the human element in prayer that the Divine side is almost entirely lost sight of. In Jeremiah 10:23 we are told "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (cf. Prov. 16:9); and yet in many of his prayers man impulse presumes to direct the Lord as to His way, and as to what He ought to do: even implying that if only he had the direction of the affairs of the world and of the church he would soon have things very different from what they are. This cannot be denied: for anyone with any spiritual discernment at all could not fail to detect this spirit in many of our modern prayer-meetings where the flesh holds sway. How slow we all are to learn the lesson that the haughty creature needs to be brought down to his knees and humbled into the dust. And this is where the very act of prayer is intended to put us. But man (in his usual perversity) turns the footstool into a throne from whence he would fain direct the Almighty as to what He ought to do! giving the onlooker the impression that if God had half the compassion that those who pray (?) have, all would quickly be right! Such is the arrogance of the old nature even in a child of God. Our main purpose in this chapter has been to emphasize the need for submitting, in prayer, our wills to God's. But it must also be added that prayer is much more than a pious exercise, and far otherwise than a mechanical performance. Prayer is, indeed, a Divinely appointed means whereby we may obtain from God the things we ask, providing we ask for those things which are in accord with His will. These pages will have been penned in vain unless they lead both writer and reader to cry with a deeper earnestness than heretofore, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). –ARTHUR W. PINK _________________________
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Post by Admin on Aug 3, 2023 19:30:21 GMT -5
Ken Kovach · 18 hours ago · Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: IF THEY SPEAK NOT ACCORDING TO THIS WORD, IT IS BECAUSE THERE IS NO LIGHT IN THEM. Re 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, IF ANY MAN SHALL ADD UNTO THESE THINGS, GOD SHALL ADD UNTO HIM THE PLAGUES THAT ARE WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK: De 4:2 YE SHALL NOT ADD UNTO THE WORD WHICH I COMMAND YOU, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH OUGHT from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. De 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: THOU SHALT NOT ADD THERETO, NOR DIMINISH FROM IT. Pr 30:6 ADD THOU NOT UNTO HIS WORDS, LEST HE REPROVE THEE, AND THOU BE FOUND A LIAR. Ga 1:8 BUT THOUGH WE, OR AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN, PREACH ANY OTHER GOSPEL UNTO YOU THAN THAT WHICH WE HAVE PREACHED UNTO YOU, LET HIM BE ACCURSED. Ga 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Numbers 23:19 (KJV) God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: HATH HE SAID, AND SHALL HE NOT DO IT? OR HATH HE SPOKEN, AND SHALL HE NOT MAKE IT GOOD? Psalm 89:34 (KJV) MY COVENANT WILL I NOT BREAK, NOR ALTER THE THING THAT IS GONE OUT OF MY LIPS. Isaiah 40:8 (KJV) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: BUT THE WORD OF OUR GOD SHALL STAND FOR EVER. 1 Peter 1:25 (KJV) BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURETH FOR EVER. AND THIS IS THE WORD WHICH BY THE GOSPEL IS PREACHED UNTO YOU. Joh 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD. John 1:14 (KJV) And THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 1 John 5:7 (KJV) For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, THE WORD, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. Revelation 19:13 (KJV) And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and HIS NAME IS CALLED THE WORD OF GOD. Heb 13:8 JESUS CHRIST THE SAME YESTERDAY, AND TO DAY, AND FOR EVER
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Post by Admin on Aug 3, 2023 19:52:54 GMT -5
WONDER OF GRACE CHAPTER 7 – BELIEVING THROUGH GRACE ... and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.- Ephesians 2:8 We are saved by grace and through faith. Another way than that of faith in Jesus Christ, the Christ of the Scriptures, Who was delivered for our transgressions and raised for our justification, there is not. This is the clear testimony of Scripture throughout. For "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:14-16) "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18) And again: "He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36) When the Jews inquire of the Savior what work they must do in order to obtain the bread that never perishes, the Lord answers: "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29) And to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, the Lord addresses the marvelous words: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" (John 11: 25, 26) Hence, when the kingdom of God is at hand, the summons goes forth: "Repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15) And the apostles go out into all the world with the message, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16: 31) Paul is "not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Romans 1: 16) And "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9) The sole way of salvation, according to the Scriptures, is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and raised from the dead. It is an important question, therefore: what is this faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and what does it mean to believe in Him? Is it a natural power, something which every man possesses and which he may either use or refuse to employ? There is, indeed, a certain natural faith, which is not unto salvation. It is a mere, intellectual assent to the truth. Every man, even the most pronounced and profane atheist, believes in his deepest heart that God is: the devils believe, too, and they tremble. And so one may believe the facts of the gospel, without ever being concerned about them. I may believe that the Son of God came into the flesh without knowing Him as the light of the world and of my soul. I may assent to the truth of His crucifixion without fleeing to that cross for my personal redemption and washing my garments in His blood. And thus, one may believe that the facts of revelation are true without having any spiritual part in them. Such faith is no power. It is a faith of the head, not of the heart. Or rather, it is a faith of the natural man, not of the regenerated child of God. It is barren, it bears no fruit. Such natural faith does not reveal itself in true sorrow after God and repentance, and it is not the power of a new life. But true faith, through which we are saved, is different. It is, let us notice first of all, faith in Jesus Christ. That means that it is faith in God through Christ, or faith in God as He revealed Himself in our Lord Jesus Christ as the God of our salvation. Christ is the revelation of God. In Him God makes Himself known to us as JEHOVAH-SALVATION. The center of this revelation, the focal point of this glorious light of salvation that shines from the face of God, is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Notice that the apostle writes in Romans 10:9 that he who "believeth in his heart that God raised him from the dead, shall be saved." In creation God reveals Himself as the Lord Omnipotent, Who calls the things that are not as if they were; in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, He makes Himself known as Jehovah-Salvation, Who quickeneth the dead. Hence, in the fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians, the apostle emphasizes that if Christ were not raised, our faith would be vain, and we would still be in our sins. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the precious cornerstone of our salvation. Of course, this resurrection must not be conceived as an isolated fact, but as an inseparable element of the whole revelation of God in Christ. He who believes that God raised Jesus from the dead also believes that Christ is the only begotten Son of God, sent by the Father into the world, God with us, Immanuel. To believe that He was raised from the dead by the Father implies the faith that God laid our iniquities upon Him, and that He bore them as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, so that "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." It implies that the death of Christ on the accursed tree was vicarious, substitutional, that He died instead of and in behalf of all whom the Father had given Him; and that this death was atoning, fully satisfying for all our sins, so that the guilt of our sins is blotted out, and we are clothed with an eternal righteousness before God in Christ. For never would God have raised Him from the dead, Who bore all our iniquities, if He had not fully satisfied for them. And this Christ, Who was delivered for our transgressions, and raised for our justification, is exalted in the highest heavens, and sitteth at the right hand of God, clothed with power and majesty. To Him was given the promise of the Holy Spirit, that by His power all for whom He died might be drawn unto Him and obtain righteousness and life forever. This Jesus Christ, the Son of God in the flesh, crucified and raised, exalted at the right hand of God as the Lord of glory, is the revelation of the God of our salvation. And faith that saves is faith in God through Him. He that believeth that God raised Jesus from the dead shall be saved! Secondly, we must observe that this saving faith is faith in or into Jesus Christ as the revelation of the God of our salvation. This is often emphasized in Scripture. We do read sometimes of believing on Jesus, and then the idea of faith as confidence appears to have the emphasis. But the true character of saving faith is expressed in the phrase: faith in Christ. He who has the true faith believes into Christ. What does this signify? It means that faith is that altogether mysterious and wonderful spiritual power whereby the soul strikes its roots into Christ, to cling to Him, appropriate Him, and draw out of Him all the glorious blessings of salvation which are in Him - the forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and life. The difference between a believer and an unbeliever is not unlike that between a living young tree and a dead fence post. You can plant that fence post deep into the ground, but you do not expect that it will show signs of life and develop branches and fruit. On the contrary, it will rot in the soil in which it is planted. But plant a young sapling in the same soil, and it will strike its roots into the ground, draw nourishment from it, grow and bear fruit. The same is true of a living, saving faith in relation to Christ. Bring the unbelieving, dead sinner into contact with Christ as He is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and there will be no saving reaction. On the contrary, there is a reaction of unbelief unto damnation. But if the believer is led to Christ through the preaching of the Word, he will take hold of Him, cling to Him, strike the roots of his entire soul into Him, and draw out of Him all the spiritual nourishment necessary unto eternal life. What the roots are for the young tree, saving faith is for the believer in Christ: by faith the∑ believer is rooted in Him. And since Christ is revealed to us in the Scriptures, true faith always turns to them, has its delight in the Word of God, is called into activity through the Word preached, and constantly grows according as it increases in the knowledge and understanding of all that God has revealed to us in His Word. The activity of a true and conscious faith, therefore, engages the entire soul, with mind and will and all our desires and inclinations. Through faith the whole soul fastens itself upon Christ. Hence, faith is first of all a true spiritual knowledge of Christ as the revelation of the God of our salvation. This knowledge of faith must not be confused with a mere natural knowledge about Christ such as anyone may acquire by studying the Bible or by applying himself to dogmatics. This knowledge about Christ is indispensable, but itself is not the knowledge of a saving faith. The latter is spiritual, experiential. A scientist, whose stomach is full of cancer, may be able to tell you all about the ingredients and their food value of a gorgeous dinner you prepared before him; but the food is nauseating to him, and he cannot partake of it. The uneducated laborer, returning from his day's work, may know nothing about calories and vitamins; but he sits down at the table and takes delight in the food you prepare. So the unbeliever may know all about Christ. He may even be a scientific theologian, able to instruct others in the knowledge of salvation. But his knowledge is purely intellectual, natural, theoretical. He does not know Christ spiritually. He does not have his delight in Him, partake of Him, eat and drink Him. But the true believer, even though he may be far less equipped with theological knowledge, knows Christ spiritually. He does not merely know that he himself is a sinner; but he has a spiritual knowledge of his sin, is filled with true sorrow after God, repents and cries out, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" He knows the Lord Jesus Christ, not merely in the sense that he knows all about Him, but as the fulness of his own emptiness, as the righteousness of his own unrighteousness, as the light of his own darkness, as the life of his own death, as the bread of life for which he hungers, as the water of life for which he thirsts, as the way, the truth, and the life, by which he longs to come to the Father. He recognizes Him as his own Savior and Redeemer, longs for Him, eats and drinks Him unto righteousness and life. The believer knows Christ with the knowledge of love and delight! And so, true faith is also a sure and hearty confidence, a believing on Christ, a relying on Him in life and in death, for time and for eternity. If I confide, trust in someone completely, I surrender myself entirely and unconditionally to him, assured of his love and good will toward me, and of his ability and wisdom to seek my good. If I must travel through a strange, mountainous country, where I do not know the way, and the danger of hidden ravines lurks on every side, and I employ a guide, I surrender myself entirely to him, trusting in his good will and ability to lead me through safely. But if I suspect his good intentions toward me, or doubt his knowledge of the right way, I will not confide in him and follow where he leads. Thus, saving faith is a hearty confidence. Its basis is the assurance that God is filled with an eternal and unchangeable love to me, a sinner, and that He is able to save to the uttermost. I am assured of this because He revealed His love in the cross of Jesus Christ, my Lord, as a love that is willing to go into the deepest woe of death and hell for me, while I was still an enemy of God. And He gloriously manifested His power to save in the resurrection of Christ from the dead. In that God of my salvation I trust. On God through Christ I rely, in life and in death, now and in the day of judgment, fully assured that all my sins are forgiven me, and that He gives me eternal righteousness and life for Christ His Son's sake. This spiritual knowledge of love and delight, this wholehearted and unconditional surrender to and reliance upon, the God of our salvation in Christ is the activity of saving faith. From all that we have said about the nature and activity of saving faith it also should have become evident what is the relation between faith and salvation. He that believeth shall be saved, have everlasting life. But why? What is the relation between salvation and faith? The impression is often left by preachers who present the matter of faith as something that depends on the sinner's own will and choice, as if faith were a condition unto salvation. God is willing to save us on condition that we believe. But there are no conditions to salvation. We are not saved on condition of faith, or on the ground of, or because of our faith. The only ground of our salvation is Jesus, crucified and raised. Nor are we saved through faith because faith is regarded as a good work, or because through faith we are able to do good works and obtain righteousness before God. For we are saved by grace; and if it is of works, it is no more of grace. It cannot even be said that faith is the hand whereby we take hold of the salvation that is offered us. Salvation is not an offer, but a wonder work of God; and the sinner has no hand to accept it. But faith is the means, and that, too, God's means, whereby we are implanted into Christ. It is the spiritual power whereby we cling to the God of our salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord, our righteousness and perfect redemption forever! By grace are ye saved, not on condition of, nor because of, but through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Yes, faith is by grace. It is the gift of God! This, too, should be perfectly evident from all that has been said about its nature and activity; but it is not superfluous to accentuate this truth. How often this truth is distorted in our day! How many there are who, even though they do not literally preach that faith is the work of man, leave the impression by their way of preaching, their pleading and begging, that it is in the power of any sinner to believe in Christ whenever he pleases, and to reject Him as he pleases! 0, the matter is so simple and easy, say they. Just say that you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, and the thing is settled! And so they change the wonderwork of God into an arbitrary whim of the sinner's will. But it is not so. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. (Romans 9:16) Only when the Holy Spirit accomplishes the wonderwork of faith in the heart can the sinner accept Christ. And he in whom the Spirit has wrought the marvelous work of faith neither can nor will ever reject Him. And through that faith he is surely saved. Saved he is now: for he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And saved he shall be in the day of the revelation of Jesus Christ: for he shall then be made like Him in resurrection glory. By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God! HERMAN HOEKSEMA
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Post by Admin on Aug 4, 2023 12:21:44 GMT -5
GOD’S EFFICACIOUS DECREES We should understand that God’s decrees are not some plan on paper tucked away in a pigeonhole somewhere in heaven, but the living and powerful will of God. His decrees are not something that God consults from time to time to see what it was he planned to do, but they are the thoughts of his own unchangeable mind, which is the source and cause of all that happens. When God wills something—and he does will all things—then what he has willed must come to pass and does come to pass because he willed it. Scripture is very clear about this. In Isaiah 46:9, 10 God says, “I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” In Psalm 73:23–28 Asaph speaks of being guided by the counsel of God, not because he knows what is in the will of God beforehand and then follows it, but because that counsel has determined his whole life and all its circumstances. Acts 2:23 emphasizes this same truth in connection with the death of Christ. It says that he was delivered into the wicked hands of his enemies by “the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.” What was true of the death of Christ is also true of our obtaining an inheritance from God. We obtain it, “being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:11). No one, therefore, can ever thwart or change God’s will. There are those who think they can. Some think they can change God’s mind and will through prayer, either by praying often or by getting sufficient people to pray. Others think they can manipulate God and get him to do their will by silly religious tricks, but it is not so. God’s will is almighty and unchangeable. Of this, too, Scripture clearly testifies. In Daniel 4:35 Nebuchadnezzar, an ungodly king, is forced to acknowledge that no one can say to God, “What doest thou?” Romans 9:19, 20 tells us that nothing can resist his will. God is sovereign even in the acts of his thinking and willing creatures—men and angels. Proverbs 16:9 tells us that although we plan our way, the Lord directs our steps. The preparations of the heart and the answer of the tongue are also from him (v. 1). Even the king’s heart is in God’s hand, and he turns it to his own purposes (Prov. 21:1). That God’s decree is all-powerful and unchangeable is of great comfort to those who believe. It is the reason, above all others, why their salvation is sure. Their will may change and their mind fail, but God’s will and mind never change. This is the reason for their believing that all things must work together for their good (Rom. 8:28). God has sovereignly and unchangeably decreed all things, and in decreeing their salvation, he will not be thwarted or fail because of angels or principalities or powers or things present or things to come or life or death or any creature (Rom. 8:38, 39). Of him, through him, and to him are all things. What a great God and Savior he is! Rev. Ronald Hanko This article extract from “Doctrine according to Godliness” is posted with permission from its publisher, Reformed Free Publishing Association, Grandville, Michigan. Next: Part I God and His Word - GOD’S UNCONDITIONAL DECREES
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Post by Admin on Aug 4, 2023 12:25:08 GMT -5
The Eternity of God’s Decree The Bible always emphasizes the fact that God ordained all things and knew them from before the foundation of the world. God knew his own and ordained them to be conformed according to the image of his Son before the foundation of the world (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:3–4). When presently they inherit the kingdom, it will have been prepared for them from before the foundation of the world. When all things in heaven and on earth will be united in Christ, it will be nothing but the perfect realization of the counsel of him who works all things according to that same counsel (Eph. 1:10–11). This counsel of God is eternal, as God is eternal. Never was the Lord without his counsel. Indeed, the counsel of God is free and sovereign, an act of his own will. In the abstract it may possibly be said that before the infinite God there existed an infinite number of possibilities in regard to a world that was to be created, and that the sovereign God with an absolutely free dispensation of his will determined to create the world as it actually exists and develops. But however this may be, God’s counsel may never be presented as if there were ever in God a period in which he was without his decree and only with infinite riches of thoughts and conceptions, from which at a later period he chose or decided to realize that counsel in creation and glorification. On the contrary, known unto God are all his works from eternity (Acts 15:18). The decree of God is as eternal as the eternal God himself. ---Herman Hoeksema
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Post by Admin on Aug 9, 2023 23:10:50 GMT -5
Rod Bongat VITAL QUESTION: IS CONVERSION THE WORK OF MAN, OR OF GOD IN CHRIST? The correct answer to this question is this: conversion is that work of God in man whereby the sinner repents and walks in all good works. God converts the sinner, and then the sinner turns. Conversion is, first of all, a gift of grace. He gave repentance to Israel (Acts 5: 31); but also to the Gentiles He granted repentance. (Acts 11: 18) In Jeremiah 31: 18, 19 we read: "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh." That expresses the true relation between God's work of conversion and our turning from darkness to light, from sin to righteousness, from the devil to God in Christ. No man is able or willing to convert himself, unless God converts him first. Nor does God's work of conversion leave the sinner inactive, like a "stock and block." In conversion God changes the mind, and the sinner sees all things in a new spiritual light; God turns the will, and the sinner begins to hate sin and long for righteousness; God works in the heart of the sinner true repentance, and the sinner repents; God draws and the sinner comes; God calls the sinner to turn from his wicked way, by His Word of irresistible grace and power, and the sinner obeys, turns, and finds that God is abundantly merciful. Always God is first in the whole work of salvation, and man's activity is only the fruit of the grace God works in the heart. For we are saved by grace, through faith, and that not of ourselves: it is the gift of God. And the converted sinner will never boast of his work in conversion but give the glory to Him of Whom and through Whom and unto Whom are all things! He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord! —Herman Hoeksema
THE TEST OF THE BELIEVER’S TRUE IDENTITY Here is the test of whether we have such a self awareness: “old things have passed away, behold all things are become new.” My old life has passed away! The term passed away means “to loosen or dissolve.” Through salvation we have been loosed from our former life in which we were given over to sin and unbelief. That life has been dissolved when we were through salvation grafted into Jesus Christ. That life has become old to us, antiquated, no longer having any worth except to be cast away from us. What used to be of value to us when our old identity was that of damnworthy sinners is of no value to us with our new identity. The attitude of the believer has changed. He no longer lives to please himself. He lives to please God. His narcissism has been crushed through the hammer of God’s grace. He no longer sees the world as centering in him and his own desires. He no longer simply does what is right in his own eyes with no consideration of what the Creator demands of him as one of His creatures. He now hates sin and eschews the evil. When asked by the unbeliever why his values in life are so much different than the rest of the world, the believer answers, “It is who I am!” That translates into particulars too, does it not? — Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma
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Post by Admin on Aug 10, 2023 22:35:07 GMT -5
WHAT IT MEANS TO WORK OUT OUR OWN SALVATION Salvation, as you know, is the deliverance from all evil, from the guilt and dominion of sin and corruption, and from the power of death, and the being made heirs and partakers of the highest good, namely, eternal righteousness, life, and glory in God's heavenly kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who was delivered for our transgressions, and raised for our justification. Of this salvation the saints of Philippi and all believers are partakers. They are redeemed by the blood of Christ; they possess the forgiveness of sin; and the imputed and perfect righteousness of God in Christ; they are implanted in the Savior and partake of all His benefits by faith; they are reborn children of God; they are called out of darkness into the marvelous light of God, translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. That is "their own salvation." But this salvation they must work out. They must let that gift and power of salvation serve the purpose for which it was freely bestowed upon them. They must bring that glorious gift of salvation by grace to manifestation in their whole life. In their entire walk, and that, too, in the midst of the world that lies in darkness, they must reveal themselves as those who have been delivered from the dominion of sin and liberated unto righteousness. From the principle of their new life in Christ Jesus they must live in every walk of life, representing the cause of the Son of God in the world. Thus the salvation that was wrought within them will be worked out by them. In this they are imitators of God, as dear children. This does not mean that they must now work for the improvement of this present world, which is quite impossible. They need not and they cannot "turn the world upside down." Nor does it mean that they must all be busy in a special sense in the work of the Lord. We do not all have to be preachers or missionaries, or bring souls to Christ, or be elder or deacon in the church, or Sunday-school teacher, in order to cause our salvation to reach its purpose and to reach the end for which it was given unto us. On the contrary, the mother in her home and in the midst of her children, the father in his place of work, whatever it may be, the clerk behind the counter, the cobbler at his bench, every one in his own position and calling, will work out his own salvation when in that calling, and with his whole soul and mind and heart and strength he serves the Lord Christ and lives through faith from the principle of the regenerated life that has been wrought in his inmost heart. To let the light that is within us shine that our Father which is in heaven may be glorified - that it is to work out our own salvation. That this is, indeed, the meaning of this exhortation is evident from what follows it: "Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." (verses 14, 15) You may, perhaps, remark that there is no need for an exhortation of this kind, seeing that when God works His grace in our hearts, we will naturally and spontaneously work it out and walk in sanctification of life. And there is truth in that statement. But, in the first place, we must always remember that God deals with us as His rational and moral children, and that the working out of our salvation is, therefore, a matter of obedience to His Word. "As obedient children," writes the apostle Peter, "not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy for I am holy." (I Peter 1: 14-16) It is Christ Who bears fruit in us when we work out our own salvation, even as the vine bears fruit through the branches; and we have nothing to boast in ourselves. But we bear this fruit, too, with joy and delight, and enjoy the privilege of being His co-workers. Hence, the Word of God treats us as God's free and obedient children and as such addresses us: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." —Herman Hoeksema
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Post by Admin on Aug 11, 2023 12:37:03 GMT -5
GOD’S WISE DECREES That God is wise is the clear teaching of Scripture, but it is not often remembered by God’s people, especially when they are suffering or when things do not go well for them. It is difficult to see the wisdom of God, and one must at such times believe without seeing. In wisdom God has decreed everything. That is the reason all things work together. They do not happen at random and independently of other things, but all the things that happen fit together and work together like the parts of a well-oiled and well-running machine. They do that because God is wise. He knows how to make all things work in perfect harmony according to his own purpose. It must be so, for all things must serve the glory and honor of God. That is his own high purpose. Included in that purpose, however, is our salvation, for there are few things that bring as much glory and honor to him as the revelation of his grace in the salvation of his people. Thus through God’s wisdom all things work together for good to those who love him and who are the called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). This is what we must believe in our afflictions and troubles. Not only must we see that there is a purpose in all things, a purpose we usually cannot discern, but also we must believe this purpose to be wise and good. If we believe this, we will not complain or be afraid, troubled, or discouraged by what happens to us. Our God is wise and knows far better than we do what is best for us and what is necessary for our salvation. Indeed, if we know by faith the wisdom of God, we will in the end be thankful for everything that happened to us, even the troubles. We will find that the valley of Baca—what seemed to us a dry and desert valley—was, in fact, a well full of pools of living water and of grace (Ps. 84:6). As one of the versifications of Psalm 131 has it, a knowledge of God’s wisdom teaches peace: Not haughty is my heart, Not lofty is my pride; I do not seek to know the things God’s wisdom hath denied. With childlike trust, O Lord, In Thee I calmly rest, Contented as a little child Upon its mother’s breast. Ye people of Lord, In Him alone confide; From this time forth and evermore His wisdom be your guide. DISTINCTION BETWEEN GOD’S WILL OF COMMAND AND WILL OF DECREE This distinction is sometimes used in defense of the idea that God has two contradictory wills: that he commands (wills) all who hear the gospel to believe in Jesus Christ, while he has decreed (willed) that some will not believe. This, we believe, is playing with words, since command and decree are two different things, though the word will is used to refer to both. In the case of the decree, the word will refers to what God has eternally determined. In the case of his command, it refers to what is acceptable and pleasing to him. These two are not the same thing, yet there is no conflict between them. It may be true that God commands what he has not decreed, but even then there is no conflict. Why? Because the command is not an empty word, but something that God uses to fulfill his decree.
13. Psalter 366, based on Psalm 131, as found in The Psalter with Doctrinal Standards, Liturgy, Church Order, and Added Chorale Section. Rev. ed. (PRC) (Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998). Rev. Ronald Hanko This article extract from “Doctrine according to Godliness” is posted with permission from its publisher, Reformed Free Publishing Association, Grandville, Michigan. Next: Part I God and His Word - THE WILL OF GOD
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Post by Admin on Aug 12, 2023 20:16:29 GMT -5
ONLY ONE FINAL JUDGMENT In its teaching concerning the last things, Scripture has more to say about the judgment day than about anything else. Let us look briefly at that testimony. First, Scripture teaches that there will be but one judgment. The judgments of the sheep and the goats (Matt. 25:31–46), of the great white throne (Rev. 20:11–15), and of other judgments mentioned in Scripture are not different judgments, taking place at different times in history, but all one and the same final, public judgment. There is, of course, a certain judgment that takes place throughout our lifetimes and at our death, but we are speaking here of the final, public judgment of every man, angel, and devil. There is only one such judgment, not many, as some teach (the notes of the Scofield Study Bible teach seven). It is not our purpose to refute in detail the contentions of the dispensationalists and premillennialists concerning multiple judgments. We give just one example to show the kind of flimsy argument that is used to support such teaching. It is said that the judgment of Matthew 25:31–46 is a judgment that precedes the end of the world by one thousand years and is a judgment of the then living nations in relation to Israel. These nations, so it is said are judged only with respect to their treatment of Israel during the times preceding this judgment. Scripture, however, does not speak of living nations in Matthew 25, but of all nations (v. 32), and it clearly shows that this judgment is not of nations, but of each individual and according to that person’s works, just as the judgment of Revelation 20. Matthew 25:46 speaks of everlasting punishment and of life eternal, like the other passages that speak of the final judgment. This judgment follows the coming of the Son of man in his glory, a coming also described in Matthew 24:30, 31, which takes place at the sound of a trumpet. That trumpet is the final trumpet mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52, 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17, and Revelation 11:15–18. According to Matthew 24:29, 30, this coming of Christ that is announced by the darkening of the sun and moon is with clouds and is visible to all eyes—all of which describe Christ’s final appearance at the end of all ages (2 Pet. 3:10–17; Rev. 1:7; Rev. 6:12–17). Clearest proof, however, for one final judgment is found in Scripture’s teaching that all shall be judged when Christ returns, not some now and some later (John 5:28), and that there is but a single judgment, not judgments (Matt. 5:21, 22; Matt. 12:41, 42). Is it important to believe this? We believe it is, not only because it is bound up with our view of Israel and of the resurrection and of the coming of Christ, but also because it is for that judgment, and that alone, that we must prepare ourselves, in obedience to 2 Peter 3:10–18. Rev. Ronald Hanko
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Post by Admin on Aug 15, 2023 8:49:29 GMT -5
The Believer's True Identity By Bruinsma, Wilbur THE REFORMED WITNESS HOUR Message title: The Believer’s True Identity, 2 Corinthians 5:17 Broadcast date: October 2, 2022 (No. 4161) Radio speaker: Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, Pittsburgh PRC Dear Radio Friends, Introduction Much thanks to the RWH for having me back again to speak for the next several months. And thank you for inviting me into your home to listen. Today we consider a passage of God’s Word that teaches you and me who we are. It clearly points out the spiritual identity of a believer as opposed to those yet lost in sin and unbelief. We consider II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” This passage is of extreme importance to the child of God, given what we find in our modern world and society. The sinful world in modern times is rapidly redefining itself as it increases in sin and immorality. It presses hard against the church in its education, entertainment, and social media in an attempt to persuade the believer to redefine who he is too. Unbelievers want us to identify ourselves with them in their sin. A huge push today is to differentiate between the idea of sex and gender. The former, it is said, is biological while the latter, that of gender, is psychological. For example, I may be a male according to my biological makeup but my identity is that of a female. I am a woman caught in a man’s body. I am a woman. That is who I am. If I try to live like a man, I am living a lie. Because I am a woman! It is who I am. Self-identity, you see? How may a person identify himself or herself? But what the world insists is a biological or psychological question really comes down to a spiritual question. Who am I spiritually? Fallen man in his unbelief attempts to redefine himself because he refuses to bow before the objective standard of God’s Word and the identity God has given him. He cuts himself loose from God and seeks to determine for himself who he is. This is why it is so important for us to determine what our true spiritual identity is. This is a pressing matter. The wicked are in our face not only as we work and live in this world, but now also in their entertainment, especially in its games, movies, commercials, and social media. How long can God’s children today withstand the criticisms leveled against a holy life of dedication to God. Satan delights when the believer asks the question, “What’s wrong with this or that,” instead of asking the question out of the principle of the new life in him or her, “How can I please God in what I am about to do?” This is exactly where the world of unbelief leads us. Over against this pressure of the world in identifying itself with almost every conceivable sin stands the Word of God before us. Who am I? Who are you? “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature!” Old things are passed away and all things are become new for the believer. Such we bear in mind today as we learn from God’s Word who the believer is—our true spiritual identity. The Believer’s True Identity I. A New Identity Few people even in the church are given to introspection, that is, to look inside themselves, to examine what makes them think the way or feel the way they do. That is introspection—an inner self-examination. What is it that I live for? What is it that lends purpose to my life? What motivates me to do what I do? What makes me happy? All of this has to do with an awareness of self—with who I am. All this has to do with our spiritual identity. These questions need answering, and the answer is found in properly identifying who we are. The first—the very first—answer that must come to mind when asked who we are must be: I am a servant of Jesus Christ! That is our spiritual identity. It answers every important question we ask. What is my purpose in life? To serve Christ. What makes me happy in life? To serve Christ. What motivates me in life? What makes me think the way that I do or feel the way that I feel? My service to Jesus Christ. This is why the apostle Paul in his salutations to many of the churches identified himself as “Paul, a servant [or literally, slave] of Jesus Christ.” This is the point of the apostle in the Word before us today too: “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.” But in order to identify ourselves properly we must first take a close look at who we were. Who was I before my salvation? David in Psalm 14 explains what God sees when He looks down from heaven upon the fallen human race. There is none that is good. There is none that understands and therefore seeks after God. There is none that does good, no, not one. This self-evaluation is necessary to understand our new identity in Christ. We were totally given over to sin. Our eyes were blinded to the things of God’s kingdom. Our hearts were darkened by unbelief. We hated God. We were His enemies who despised His commandments. Anything short of this description of who we were would end up in denying who we are now. In short, when man fell into sin he became a narcissist. This word describes to a “t” what is true of fallen man, especially in the day and age in which we live. Narcissism is to be totally absorbed in self. It results in men doing what is right in their own eyes. This was the very temptation that led Adam and Eve to fall into sin. They thought that by eating of the forbidden fruit they would be able to determine for themselves what was good and evil. But Adam and Eve were creatures of God’s hands. I emphasize the word creature. We learn in God’s Word we are studying that those who are in Christ are new creatures. The emphasis here is that man is, in fact, a creature of God’s hands. He is a creation of God. God alone is Creator. As Creator He has the sole rule and authority over His creation. No one can question His rule. Can the thing formed say to him that formed it, why have you made me thus? Of course not. Every creature is subject to the rule of his Creator. God made all things for Himself and determines for His creatures what is right and wrong. Man as a creature has no right to question God or rebel against God. But he did. When he did, man ever since does what he wants to do and not what God tells him to do. Man has become a narcissist! He is infatuated with himself. His thought process is given over to self. He fulfills his own desires. This is the spiritual identity of fallen man! He fulfills his own desires! The immorality that abounds in our world is here because man is a narcissist. He does whatever he thinks will make him happy—even if it means giving in to the basest desires of his flesh. There is no objective standard to which he must conform himself. There is no rule of morality. There is no rule of righteousness. This is who we were when lost in our sin! We were without Christ in this world and alienated from God. We rolled around in the mire of sin as a pig in the mud and enjoyed every minute of it! But now in Christ the believer has a new identity. Believers are new creatures. Our old identity has passed away and we are re-created after the image of God’s own Son. The light of salvation has shined in our hearts. This is our new identity! This is who we are. This is true of us because of a wonder-work of God’s grace. How did God give to us our new self? How did He give to us our new self-awareness? We who were dead in sins and trespasses have been made alive through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Christ has destroyed the power of sin over us when He died on the cross. He conquered sin and Satan. Then, by God’s grace, each of us has been efficaciously called by the Spirit of Christ and renewed in heart, soul, mind, and strength. Now, our risen Lord lives and reigns in us by His Spirit and grace. We who were wholly given over to sin are now become the servants of Christ. The question then arises: is this who you are? Is this who I am? Is it, I am here in order to satisfy my Lord and not follow after my own desires? I ask this question at this point because what Paul writes in the passage we consider is—well—quite exclusive. Notice who are new creatures: “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature!” In other words, it is not our attachment to the church, or to our families and friends in the church, that makes us new creatures. But God’s Word specifically points out that we must be in Christ! That preposition “in” tells us a lot. To be in Christ means that we are united to Him. We have become one with Him. This is what makes a person a new creature, after all. We become one living organism together with Him. His life flows into us. All the benefits He earned on the cross become part and parcel of our lives—in fact, they are the very life that flows through us. This means, of course, that God performs a powerful work in us. He binds us together with Christ. He takes us whose identity was loathsome and unites us to Jesus Christ by the bond of faith. By His power God grafts us into Jesus Christ. Then, having grafted us in, God by His grace also makes us fully conscious of this new life in us. Faith is a certain knowledge, that is, a heartfelt knowledge, a knowledge that gives us an inner peace. Faith is a hearty confidence, a conviction, a persuasion that causes a believer to look to the cross in every circumstance of life. That is what it means to be in Christ. A self awareness of who I am in Christ. I have been radically changed in my identity, who I am. Christ is now become the purpose of my life. Can you say that? II. A New Life Here is the test of whether we have such a self awareness: “old things have passed away, behold all things are become new.” My old life has passed away! The term passed away means “to loosen or dissolve.” Through salvation we have been loosed from our former life in which we were given over to sin and unbelief. That life has been dissolved when we were through salvation grafted into Jesus Christ. That life has become old to us, antiquated, no longer having any worth except to be cast away from us. What used to be of value to us when our old identity was that of damnworthy sinners is of no value to us with our new identity. The attitude of the believer has changed. He no longer lives to please himself. He lives to please God. His narcissism has been crushed through the hammer of God’s grace. He no longer sees the world as centering in him and his own desires. He no longer simply does what is right in his own eyes with no consideration of what the Creator demands of him as one of His creatures. He now hates sin and eschews the evil. When asked by the unbeliever why his values in life are so much different than the rest of the world, the believer answers, “It is who I am!” That translates into particulars too, does it not? The apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 6:9-11, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” And such were some of you! This was true of our lives in the past—some of these things characterized us. That was when we were old creatures lost in sin. But now we are washed, sanctified, justified in the name of our Lord and Savior. These sins are no longer true of one who is in Christ! I know that many of us or at least some of us listening were born into the church and saved in infancy. But let it never be said that there was never a time in your lives that you were not old creatures given over to sin! According to our first births we are conceived and born in sin. Every one of us must be born again, regenerated by the Spirit, in order to be in Christ! Just because you cannot point to that time in life when you were regenerated, never forget that from which you have been delivered by the grace of God. We are believers! We are now servants of Christ and no longer slaves to sin! Do not take this new identity for granted. It is ours only by a work of God’s grace! Oh, it is true, as we said, some in the church of Christ attach themselves to the church for the sake of family and friends and are not truly in Christ. These lead a life of hypocrisy, outwardly professing to be believers but who privately are fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, abusers, drunkards, and such like. The more the church increases in wickedness the more these will be found. These have lost their spiritual identity. But we must not lose our spiritual identity, fellow believers! We must know who we are and must live who we are. Who are we? We are servants of Christ in whom all things are made new! We have a new and joyful life in Christ. Yes, we know our sin and misery. The sins of this world are appealing to our sinful flesh too, are they not? We have our struggles with the sins and temptations of this present world. But we must also understand that our sins are forgiven us in the cross of Jesus Christ. He has redeemed us from sin. He has made us righteous through His perfect work on the cross. We are deeply aware that we belong to that faithful Savior and He has removed our guilt. We know what He has done for us. We now know that we belong to Him and are servants to do His will. We bask in that knowledge of our salvation. That makes us happy in this life. In that knowledge we in thankfulness for our salvation fight sin. Life is made new. Our lives must go in a different direction than that of the world. Consider what I brought up at the beginning of today’s broadcast. Oftentimes when confronted with temptation by others we want to ask ourselves, “Well, what’s wrong with it?” That is the wrong question. Instead, when we face temptation we must ask the question: who am I? What is my spiritual identity? Am I a servant of Christ who seeks to please Him and not myself? Then we find the correct answer to what we are contemplating doing. May I make one who despises God and His commandments my companion and friend? The answer is this: what fellowship has light with darkness? What friendship is there between one who is still an old creature and one who is in Christ a new creature? Can two walk together unless they are agreed? What’s wrong with the immorality and the extolling of man’s power and greatness that we see in the movies of today? What’s wrong with listening to the ungodly music of today? I suppose we can try to go through all the reasoning and implications that prove these are wrong. But the answer is a lot less complicated: why would I who have been cleansed in the blood of Christ, sanctified and holy, why would I want to dig around in the filthy garbage dump of this wicked world for my entertainment? Or the question that children and youth often ask: why do have to go to church on Sunday. I could point out all kinds of passages that prove we need to. But the answer is quite simple, is it not? If I am in Christ and a new creature, it is my very desire to be in the house of God! There is no better place to be. Who am I? What is my identity? That will determine how I live. You understand what God’s Word is teaching us here? III. A New Hope Now, there is incentive for us in our self-awareness. Our text gives us this incentive. It speaks of the hope of every believer. It does so when Paul writes of the believer as being a new creature or creation in Christ. If we were to examine this concept just a little deeper, we soon discover that having been shaped and molded now in the image of Jesus Christ, there is a new creation that awaits us as new creatures in heaven. We learn in Revelation 21 that in heaven former things are passed away. The sin that still so easily besets us, the temptations this world casts in our pathway, will all disappear. There will be no more sin. Our true identity as God’s people will be able to shine with no more old man in us to disturb our peace. We will find that our true purpose in this life, our true striving, our true joy will be finally fulfilled. All things will indeed be made new. We will dwell in Christ perfectly and we will bask in the joy of a new creation: the new heavens and earth—a perfect place for new creatures. That joy and expectation of heaven gives us incentive to live as new creatures in an old creation cursed by sin. It gives us incentive because we now have hope. As new creatures in Christ we long for and wait for that new creation. We live for that home that awaits us in glory. It is the place of our desires, after all. Who are you? How do you identify yourself? Has the old life passed away and has life been made new for you? Are we in faith bound to Jesus Christ? Then as servants of Christ we have our hope in heaven. Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma
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Post by Admin on Aug 16, 2023 15:08:10 GMT -5
PROOF OF ELECTION HOW CAN ONE KNOW THAT HE OR SHE IS AMONG THE ELECT OF GOD? To one seeking ultimate comfort in life and death, no knowledge can be more critical and of invaluable worth than "knowing" the biblical grounds! John Calvin, in treating Romans 8:16, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God,” writes: _________________________ The Spirit himself, etc. He does not simply say, that God’s Spirit is a witness to our spirit, but he adopts a compound verb, which might be rendered “contest,” (contestatur,) were it not that contestation (contestatio) has a different meaning in Latin. But Paul means, that the Spirit of God gives us such a testimony, that when he is our guide and teacher, our spirit is made assured of the adoption of God: for our mind of its own self, without the preceding testimony of the Spirit, could not convey to us this assurance. There is also here an explanation of the former verse; for when the Spirit testifies to us, that we are the children of God, he at the same time pours into our hearts such confidence, that we venture to call God our Father. And doubtless, since the confidence of the heart alone opens our mouth, except the Spirit testifies to our heart respecting the paternal love of God, our tongues would be dumb, so that they could utter no prayers. For we must ever hold fast this principle, — that we do not rightly pray to God, unless we are surely persuaded in our hearts, that he is our Father, when we so call him with our lips. To this there is a corresponding part, — that our faith has no true evidence, except we call upon God. It is not then without reason that Paul, bringing us to this test, shows that it then only appears how truly any one believes, when they who have embraced the promise of grace, exercise themselves in prayers. But there is here a striking refutation of the vain notions of the Sophists respecting moral conjecture, which is nothing else but uncertainty and anxiety of mind; nay, rather vacillation and delusion. There is also an answer given here to their objection, for they ask, “How can a man fully know the will of God?” This certainly is not within the reach of man, but it is the testimony of God’s Spirit; and this subject he treats more at large in 1 Corinthians 2:6, from which we may derive a fuller explanation of a passage. Let this truth then stand sure, — that no one can be called a son of God, who does not know himself to be such; and this is called knowledge by John, in order to set forth its certainty. (1 John 5:19.) God, indeed, is always true and steadfast in his promises, and has always his Amen, as often as he speaks. But as for us, such is our vanity, that we do not utter our Amen in return, except when he gives a sure testimony in our hearts by his word. This he does by his Spirit. That is what Paul means here. He had previously taught, that this is a befitting harmony — when, on the one hand, the calling of God is without repentance, (Romans 11:29,) and we, in our turn, with an unwavering faith, accept of the blessing of adoption that is held out to us. That God remains steadfast to his promise is not surprising; but to keep pace with God in the steadfastness of our faith in return — that truly is not in man’s power. He teaches us, also, that God cures our weakness or defect, (as they term it,) when, by correcting our belief, he confirms us by his Spirit. Thus it comes, that we glorify him by a firm steadfastness of faith. He associates himself, however, with the Corinthians, expressly for the purpose of conciliating their affections the better, with a view to the cultivation of unity. Who hath anointed us. He employs different terms to express one and the same thing. For along with confirmation, he employs the terms anointing and sealing, or, by this twofold metaphor, he explains more distinctly what he had previously stated without a figure. For God, by pouring down upon us the heavenly grace of the Spirit, does, in this manner, seal upon our hearts the certainty of his own word. He then introduces a fourth idea — that the Spirit has been given to us as an earnest — a similitude which he frequently makes use of, and is also exceedingly appropriate. For as the Spirit, in bearing witness of our adoption, is our security, and, by confirming the faith of the promises, is the seal, so it is on good grounds that he is called an earnest, because it is owing to him, that the covenant of God is ratified on both sides, which would, but for this, have hung in suspense. Here we must notice, in the first place, the relation which Paul requires between the gospel of God and our faith; for as every thing that God says is more than merely certain, so he wishes that this should be established in our minds by a firm and sure assent. Secondly, we must observe that, as an assurance of this nature is a thing that is above the capacity of the human mind, it is the part of the Holy Spirit to confirm within us what God promises in his word. Hence it is that he has those titles of distinction — the Anointing, the Earnest, the Comforter, and the Seal. In the third place we must observe, that all that have not the Holy Spirit as a witness, so as to return their Amen to God, when calling them to an assured hope of salvation, do on false grounds assume the name of Christians. —John Calvin
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