Reasoning from the Scriptures

Will Others Believe Through You? (John 1:6-8)

2012-01-23T07:57:00.003-06:00

Let me ask you a question. What do you think is required of a person for others to believe in Jesus through him? Does it mean that the person will have the most pleasant personality of anyone you have ever met? Does it require that the person compromise the truth in order to show compassion? Is it required of a person for others to believe in Jesus Christ through him that he never have conflict with others; never call for repentance; never challenge the false assurance of salvation of others; or never question a person’s commitment to Christ?

Let me ask you another question. What does the Bible say is required of a person for others to believe in Jesus through him? We will answer that question through looking at the ministry of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was sent from God (John 1:6) – he had a mission. As we read the prologue to the Gospel of John, at first it seems strange that the flow of the prologue is interrupted with the introduction of John the Baptist. However, as we consider what might be the reason for this interruption we can learn a couple of truths from it. First, God had promised in His Word that there would be a forerunner to the coming of the Christ to prepare people for His arrival (see Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1). Second, this is God’s way – He entrusts the Gospel to men. So actually there is nothing strange about the flow of the prologue – it is perfectly in line with the Word of God and the ways of God.

The mission of John the Baptist was to prepare the way of the Lord (John 1:23). This means that the Baptist was to clear the way, make a straight highway, for the reception of the King. When clearing the way to make a straight highway there are obstacles that have to be removed. Trees will need to be cut down, stumps removed, holes filled in and hills lowered. The Baptist was to clear the way for the reception of the Lord.

There are obstacles and stumbling blocks that keep people from receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. One obstacle that keeps people from receiving Christ is their love for their sin (John 3:19). That is why the first word of the Gospel is “Repent.”

Another obstacle that keeps people from receiving Christ is religious phonies – children of the devil who disguise themselves as children of God (Matthew 3:7-8). One of the characteristics of religious phonies is that they claim to be sent from God but God says that He did not send them and that they are not proclaiming His truth but instead are deceiving others (Jeremiah 23:21-22). There are more religious phonies in the world proclaiming false gospels than there are true preachers (1 John 4:1). That is why we must protest against religious phonies.

A major obstacle that keeps people from receiving Christ is their false profession of faith and false assurance of salvation (Matthew 3:9-10). This is why we must be sure that others are not depending upon anything other than grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for salvation.

The mission of John the Baptist was to prepare the way of the Lord and that entailed being sent by God to confront men in their sin and to confront those not sent by God but claiming to be His servants.

John the Baptist came so that all might believe through him (John 1:7) – he had a message. The message of John the Baptist was not his own but came from God. The Baptist did not manufacture the message but repeated only what God said (see 1 John 4:5 concerning the message of false teachers and 1 John 4:6 concerning the message of true teachers).

The message of John the Baptist was Jesus Christ as the innocent, spotless, blameless lamb who would be slaughtered as an offering for sin in the place of death deserving sinners which of necessity requires repentance from the sinner. The sinner is to be sorry for his sin and turn from his sin because of the high cost and wickedness of sin. Our sin required the incarnation of the Son of God to live a perfectly flawless life of obedience so that He would be qualified to die as a substitute to satisfy the wrath of the Father against sinners. So not only did our sin require the incarnation of the Son of God (God became a man), it also required His crucifixion (the living one died). God raised Him from the dead because He had done no wrong and so that He could justify us on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ.

The message of John the Baptist then was, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) and “Repent” (Matthew 3:2). The truth that Jesus is the Lamb of God implies not only His deity (John 1:34) and Lordship (John 1:23) but also the truth that eternal life is in Him alone (John 3:36). The Baptist testified of these things and more about Jesus Christ and we read, “Everything John said about this man was true” (John 10:41).

Others don’t believe in Jesus Christ through us when we are not being true to the message about Him. The mission of John the Baptist was to prepare the way of the Lord and the message of John the Baptist was to proclaim the Word of the Lord.

John the Baptist was not the Light but testified about the Light (John 1:8) – he had a method. The method of John the Baptist was to point to the worth of the Lord. This entailed that the Baptist be careful that he not become guilty of either having a Messiah complex or robbing the Lord Jesus of His glory. For the Baptist it was all about Jesus and not about himself.

John the Baptist confessed that he was not the Christ (John 1:20), that he was not Elijah nor the Prophet (John 1:21), that he was only the herald of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:23), that he was not worthy to untie the Lord’s sandal (John 1:27), that the Lord was the preeminent one (John 1:30), and that the Lord’s ministry was the one that mattered (John 1:33; 3:30). John was constantly pointing people to the worth of the Lord – that was his method.

What does the Bible say is required of a person for others to believe in Jesus through him? (1) We have learned that our mission must be preparing the way of the Lord by confronting men in their sin and by protesting against religious phonies. (2) We have learned that our message must be proclaiming the Word of the Lord by preaching only that which is true about Jesus as revealed in the Word of God. (3) We have learned that our method must be pointing to the worth of the Lord by confessing the superiority of His Person.

The Deity of Christ (John 1:1-5)

2012-01-21T11:30:00.004-06:00

The first eighteen verses of John’s Gospel are the prologue to the book. A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting or theme. We know from John 20:30-31 that the purpose of the book is to persuade people to the point of trusting that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God; and that believing (trusting) they may have life in His name. In his prologue John declares that Jesus is God, that He became a man, that He dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and that He explained the Father.

It is my conviction that John was showing Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Tabernacle. John purposefully related events from the life and ministry of Jesus to show Him as the fulfillment of Old Testament concepts moving from Jesus as the lamb of God and culminating in Jesus as the fulfillment of the Mercy Seat (see John 20:12). For Jesus to fulfill these Old Testament concepts He would have to be nothing other than God in the flesh.

The prologue (John 1:1-18) sets the stage so to speak for the unveiling or revelation of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Tabernacle. Since the Tabernacle stood as the heart of the Old Testament sacrificial system and the only way that sinners could approach a holy God, John reveals Jesus as the only way to the Father (John 14:6) because He is the only One who could and did make substitutionary atonement. Jesus is the only hope for man. What you do with Jesus Christ determines your eternal destiny.

The parallel between John’s prologue and the book of Genesis is striking. Just as Genesis sets out in seed form all the major doctrines of the Bible that will be developed later in their mature form so it is with John’s prologue. John will develop the doctrines that he sets forth in the prologue to their full meanings.

In this post, The Deity of Christ (John 1:1-5), we will only cover the first five verses of the prologue to John's Gospel which parallel the beginning of the Bible.

Christ is the eternal Word (John 1:1-2). Christ is the uncreated eternal Son of God. He is equal to God and is God. “In the beginning” means before the beginning began. He is timeless -He had no beginning because He has always been and always will be.

John used the term “Word” for a particular reason - the Jews would have readily understood its background in the Old Testament that God sends His Word to accomplish His purposes (Isaiah 55:10-11). It is interesting that the Old Testament says that (1) God sends His Word in order to accomplish a particular divine purpose, (2) God’s Word unfailingly accomplishes God’s purpose, and (3) God’s Word returns to Him after accomplishing God’s mission. This seed truth will sprout and grow in John’s Gospel as Jesus refers to God as His Father who sent Him (John 3:17; 6:38); as coming to accomplish the Father’s will (John 4:34, 6:38); as having accomplished the Fathers will (John 17:4); and as returning to the Father (John 17:5, 13).

In these first two verses we note three divine attributes that the Word shares with God: (1) He is equal to God in time – He was in the beginning with God. (2) He is equal to God in rank – He was literally face to face with God – that is the meaning of “and the Word was with God.” (3) He is equal to God in essence – “and the Word was God.” The doctrine of the Trinity lies at the heart of John’s exposition. God is one, but his unitary essence is complex, not simple. God is a complex unity, not a mathematical cipher.

Christ is the living Word (John 1:3-4a). Christ is the giver of life – He created everything that has come into being. This verse points out the fallacy of evolution which believes that life arose from nothing – that life came from non-life. Evolutionists and naturalists believe in “spontaneous generation” but they say they do not believe in miracles! The Bible teaches that life came from life – “In Him was life.” Life does not arise from non-life no matter how many billions or trillions of years you allow.

Not only is Christ the giver of life in the physical realm, He is also the giver of life in the spiritual realm and this should be of utmost importance to spiritually dead sinners. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in yourselves” (John 6:53). Once again the seed truth in the prologue is developed into maturity in the remainder of the Gospel.

Christ is the revealing Word (John 1:4b). Both life and light reveal. Life reveals deadness and light reveals darkness. The sinless life of the Lord becomes the light that illumines or reveals our deadness and our darkness. Light will reveal blindness, badness, and beauty. The blindness of men was revealed by the Lord when He came into the world and the world did not know him (John 1:10). The badness of men was revealed by the Lord when He came to His own and His own did not receive Him (John 1:11). The beauty of the Lord was revealed to those who did receive Him and were saved (John 1:12-13). Light reveals.

Christ is the accomplishing Word (John 1:5). Light is powerful. Darkness cannot overpower it. The darkness desires to snuff out the light. John 12:35 uses the same word that is used in John 1:5. There Jesus said, “Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you.” Jesus is the accomplishing Word. The darkness could not overpower Him. John 1:4-5 are the seed truth concerning the epic battle between Light and darkness. Before His crucifixion Jesus told the corrupt religious establishment, “This hour and the power of darkness are yours” (Luke 22:53). Satan and sinful men did everything in their power to snuff out the Light but the darkness did not overpower it. In Him was life and on the third day He got up and walked out victorious over darkness and deadness. Jesus is the accomplishing Word.

Let me show you the striking parallel between the John 1:1-5 and Genesis 1:1-3.

I. Christ is the eternal Word – In the beginning

II. Christ is the living Word – God created

III. Christ is the revealing Word – Then God said, “Let there be light”

IV. Christ is the accomplishing Word – and there was light

Context, Context, Context!

2012-01-09T10:30:00.003-06:00

Any time we endeavor to interpret the Word of God we must be careful that we understand the original author's intended meaning. To miss the intended meaning of any text is to misinterpret the text. Proper interpretation of any portion of Scripture always requires that we understand both its immediate context and overall context. The immediate context of any portion of Scripture is found in the verses that are immediate to it - the verses that immediately precede and immediately follow.

The mantra for proper interpretation should be in the hearts and minds of all Christians but especially of those who have the responsibility of preaching and teaching and that mantra should be, "Context, context, context."

Here is a video that gives and example of what I am speaking of using John 3:16 as the text.

Please One Another: The Sovereign's Glory (Romans 15:5-7)

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

The highest motivation a man can have is to give God glory. The reason that this is the highest motivation a man can have is because the desire to give God glory flows from a heart of love. Christians, whether strong in the faith or weak in the faith, desire to give God glory because they love Him for first loving them. This section of Scripture gives us three ways to give God glory.

First, Christians give God glory by having unity of mind (Romans 15:5). Christians are to be unified in the essentials and give liberty in the nonessentials. The nonessentials are to never be allowed to become issues over which Christians divide. Since all Christians, whether strong or weak in the faith, are in the faith, they are to be of the same mind toward one another (Romans 12:16) and their unity is to be based upon their agreement in the essentials of the Gospel. Unity of mind means that we believe the same thing about the Gospel. If we do not believe the same thing about the Gospel then we cannot have unity of mind. If we do not have unity of mind about the Gospel then we cannot strive together for the Gospel. This is why we are told to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ...standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). Striving together for the faith of the Gospel means that we believe the same thing about the Gospel (unity of mind) and that we are standing together defending the Gospel (see Jude 3) as the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Christians give glory to God by having unity of mind in the Gospel and by not allowing disagreements in the nonessentials divide the church.

Second, Christians give God glory by having unity of voice (Romans 15:6). Unity of mind in the essentials of the Gospel leads to unity of voice in declaring and guarding the Gospel. When Christians have unity of mind they also have unity or harmony of voice (literally, mouth). This means that in a cliché, “We are all singing off the same page in the Hymn book.” Disagreement in the nonessentials is to never interrupt the unity of mind or unity of voice among Christians. The Gospel is God’s tuning fork for His children and it gives us unity of mind and unity of voice so that God gets the glory for His amazing orchestration and harmonization of sinners saved by His grace. Christians give God glory by having unity of mind and unity of voice in the Gospel and by not allowing disagreements in the nonessentials divide the church.

Third, Christians give God glory by having unity of purpose (Romans 15:7). Unity of mind and unity of voice leads to unity of purpose. When we are unified in these three ways, we accept one another rather than fight one another. Christians cannot stand firm against those who corrupt the Gospel when they are fighting each other. Christians are to be of the same mind, maintaining the same love [accepting one another], united in spirit, intent on one purpose [striving together for the faith of the Gospel] (Philippians 2:2). The real purpose of the church cannot be achieved if our unity is something other than the essentials of the Gospel or if we do not accept one another when we disagree in the nonessentials.

When we disagree in the nonessentials, we please one another on the basis of the Sovereign’s glory. We get back to the basics and have unity of mind, voice, and purpose for the glory of God.

Please One Another: The Scripture's Instruction (Romans 15:4)

2011-12-08T09:05:00.005-06:00

When we disagree with one another as Christians, first of all we are to please one another on the basis of the Savior's example. Second when we disagree with one another as Christians we are to please one another on the basis of the Scripture's instruction (Romans 15:4).

The principles found in Scripture are forever relevant. The Word of God is continually contemporary. Therefore it instructs us through how God has dealt with the men and women of faith in the past and how they suffered for their faith, laid aside their liberties, and were used by God for His glory.

When we disagree with our brothers and sisters in Christ in the gray areas we are to look to the permanent principles revealed in God's continually contemporary Word so that we can be instructed from the Scripture on how to please one another.

First, when we look to the Scriptures we find that God is faithful. God is unchanging. He is immutable. He humbles those who exalt themselves and he exalts those who humble themselves. We have examples in the Scriptures of how God deals with the unrepentant in severity and the repentant in kindness. Those men and women of faith in the Bible found God to be absolutely, utterly, totally faithful. Knowing that God is faithful enables us to please one another even at the expense of our own liberties.

Second, when we look to the Scriptures we are given perseverance. We can look at the men and women of faith in the Bible and see their suffering and their perseverance and be strengthened to persevere just as they did. This will enable us to endure all things for the sake of the elect (2 Timothy 2:10). Laying aside a few liberties for the sake of God's children isn't such a big thing when compared to the suffering endured by the faithful in Scripture. God is faithful and that gives us perseverance in difficult circumstances.

Third, when we look to the Scriptures we are given encouragement. We are encouraged by the Scriptures when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances and are reminded by God's Word that these difficult circumstances are actually a sign of salvation (Philippians 1:27-29). This is to give us encouragement in Christ (Philippians 2:1-3). God is faithful and that gives us perseverance and encouragement in difficult circumstances.

Finally, when we look to the Scriptures we are given hope. The Scriptures give us certainty (biblical hope) that we will be glorified after suffering for a while for our faith. Giving up a few liberties for the sake of the elect is nothing in light of suffering persecution for the faith and yet both are working for us a greater glory than the sufferings we are experiencing (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). God is faithful and that truth gives us perseverance and encouragement and hope so that we are able to lay aside our liberties for the sake of our weaker brothers and sisters in Christ. We learn this from the Scripture's instructions.

How to Test the Spirits (1 John 4:1-6)

2011-11-10T09:58:00.006-06:00

Testing the spirits to see whether they are from God is clearly commanded in Scripture because of the grave danger of the reality of the multitude of false prophets that have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1). Testing the spirits to see whether they are from God is commended in Scripture when it is properly done so that false teachers are not allowed a platform in the church to spread their destructive heresies (Revelation 2:2). However, the question remains as to how we are to test the spirits to see whether they are from God.

Before I begin explaining how to test the spirits biblically I want to share the unbiblical way for testing the spirits that will have disastrous results if used:

It is unbiblical to test the spirits through judging by appearance (John 7:24). This is the deadly mistake of looking at results as the criteria for determining whether or not someone is from God. Many in our day believe that because a man is popular, inspiring, successful, and loved by almost everyone that he surely has to be from God. Such a pragmatic approach to discernment is rejected by the Bible (see Luke 6:26). Inference from observation of “positive results” that a man is from God is unbiblical. When a person tests the spirits in this manner, he has set himself up as the final arbiter of truth and is in essence claiming that he knows truth intuitively.

The Bible, which is truth (John 17:17), gives us several ways to test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1) and in so doing to make a righteous judgment (John 7:24). What I am going to share is not exhaustive on the subject but is sufficient for guarding against error in testing the spirits.

First, the Bible gives us the quantity verses quality test (Matthew 7:13-27).

Quantity! The false prophet interested in quantity (numbers are what matter) will use the wide gate that leads to destruction to achieve his pragmatic results (Matthew 7:13). The false prophet’s message is geared toward quantity. The false prophet, because he is interested in quantity and not quality, also is illustrated by Jesus as one who builds houses on the sand without taking the time to lay a solid foundation (Matthew 7:26-27).

Quality! The true prophet interested in quality (true conversions) will use the narrow gate that leads to life to achieve his Lord’s results. Logically speaking the narrow gate will not be as effective numerically as the wide gate but the effectiveness of its end result is worth it. The true prophet is the one who, interested in quality, builds his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25).

Second, the Bible gives us the world verses the Word test (1 John 4:1-6).

The world! The false prophet, claiming that he is speaking from God’s Word, actually speaks from the world (1 John 4:5). The false prophet may quote lots of Scripture but he will twist it (2 Peter 3:16) and violate clear biblical principles. For instance, since the Bible says that the false prophets speak as from the world and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5), then to list Scripture to show that Jesus knew what unbelievers were thinking in order to teach that we are to learn to think and speak like unbelievers to attract them is to twist Scripture and violate the principle of 1 John 4:5 – failing the test and being shown to be a false prophet.

Test this statement according to 1 John 4:5: “If you want to advertise your church to the unchurched you must learn to think and speak like they do.” Does this pass the test as one who is a true prophet from God speaking from God’s Word or does this fail the test as one who is a false prophet speaking as from the world? Also apply the quantity/quality test to this same statement and see how it fairs.

The Word! The true prophet actually speaks from God’s Word (1 John 4:6) and does not twist the Scripture nor violate clear biblical principles. The true prophet ends up not being loved by everyone (Matthew 5:10), being falsely spoken evil of (Matthew 5:11), and being hated just like the prophets of old (Matthew 5:12).

Third, the Bible gives us the orthopraxy verses orthodoxy test (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

Christian unity must be based on agreement in the orthodoxy (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Any disagreement in orthodoxy is grounds for separation. True prophets maintain this biblical principle and false prophets violate this biblical principle. The false prophets are interested in an ecumenical movement. In order to achieve their ecumenical movement, the false prophets seek to do away with doctrines that divide (orthodoxy) and unite over secondary matters (orthopraxy). The false prophet does not require agreement in orthodoxy for unity but instead seeks to unify over agreement in orthopraxy.

To see how this test works see Orthodoxy Determines Orthopraxy. Using these three tests will give you the biblical way to test the spirits to see whether they are from God and to be guarded from the many false prophets who have gone out into the world.

Please One Another: The Savior's Example (Romans 15:1-3)

2011-11-02T08:44:00.003-05:00

Romans 14:1 – 15:7 is dealing with what we could call the gray areas of the Christian life. These are the nonessentials that have no bearing on whether or not someone is saved. These are matters that are strictly between the child of God and his Lord. Since this is true then Christians can and will disagree in the nonessentials.

Since these are gray areas of the Christian life, we are not to judge one another nor hinder another’s obedience to the Lordship of Christ. The weak in the faith are not to be bossy, trying to impose their beliefs on the strong and the strong in the faith are not to be bullies, trying to force-feed their beliefs down the throats of the weak. This is what this section is about and it gives us three principles to maintain unity when Christians disagree:

(1) Accept one another (Romans 14:1-12). When Christians disagree in the gray areas of the Christian life we accept one another because God has accepted us (Romans 14:1-3); we accept one another because Christ is Lord of each and every child of God and we are lord of none (Romans 14:4-9); and we accept one another because God is judge and we are not (Romans 14:10-12).
(2) Build up one another (Romans 14:13-23). When Christians disagree in the gray areas of the Christian life we build up one another because we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Because we are brothers and sisters in Christ we don’t cause a child of God to stumble (Romans 14:13); we don’t hurt a child of God (Romans 14:14-15); we don’t forfeit our witness to a watching world through family quarrels (Romans 14:16-18); we don’t tear down the work of God in a child of God by hindering his or her walk with the Lord (Romans 14:19-21); and the strong Christian does not flaunt his liberties (Romans 14:22-23).
(3) Please one another (Romans 15:1-7). When Christians disagree in the gray areas of the Christian life we please one another and not just ourselves. This third principle for maintaining unity when Christians disagree is our subject under investigation. There are three aspects to this principle that we will take one at a time in separate posts.

First, we are to please one another on the basis of the Savior’s example (Romans 15:1-3).

The strong are to have regard for the weaknesses of others (Romans 15:1). The strong are not to just think of their rights and their own pleasures but are to think of how they can use their strength to help others. Those without strength need help and the strong can either give them the help they need or selfishly only help themselves. The Bible says that “love does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:15) and that “love bears all things” (1 Corinthians 15:7). The strong Christian who does not have regard for the weaknesses of others is unloving and not following the Savior’s example.

Think of our Lord’s example in this area. For our sake, while we were helpless (without strength or ability to help ourselves), at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6). To accomplish our salvation, the Lord “did not look out for His own personal interests but also the interest of others, and although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped [utilized], but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:4-8).

Let’s make some application with this. The strong Christian knows that eating meat is not condemned in God’s Word. The weak Christian believes that eating meat is condemned in God’s Word. The strong Christian then is to lay aside his liberty for the sake of the weak Christian. The strong Christian is to have regard for the weaknesses of his brothers and sisters.

The strong Christian knows that drinking wine is not condemned but that getting drunk is condemned in God’s Word. The weak Christian believes that drinking wine is condemned in God’s Word. The strong Christian is to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and he is to lay aside his liberty for the sake of the weak Christian.

The strong are to have regard for the weaknesses of others.

The strong are to have regard for the good of others (Romans 15:2). Isn’t this very logical? Not having regard for the weaknesses of other family members is to not have any regard for their good either. Having regard for the weakness of other family members is to have regard for their good also. If one believes that it is wrong to drink wine and a stronger Christian disregards that weakness, will he not cause the weaker Christian to either judge him as an unbeliever (which is sin) or to violate his own convictions (which is sin).

Knowing that something is not condemned in Scripture does not mean that it is commanded in Scripture. This simply means that Christian liberties can be set aside for the good of others and to build them up rather than tear them down. Improper exercise of Christian liberties will indeed tear down others who believe that those liberties are wrong.

The strong are to have regard for the good of others.

The strong are to have regard for pleasing others (Romans 15:3). Pleasing others entails self-denial. However this is a characteristic of the strong that have a heart of love. The strong are never more like Jesus than when they are not seeking their own pleasure but instead are laying aside their privileges to have regard for the weaknesses of others and the good of others.

The strong are to have regard for pleasing others.

Atheism's Real Problem with the God of Christianity

2011-10-31T08:43:00.006-05:00

In the previous post where I reviewed Challenging the Verdict by Earl Doherty, I promised that I would address the deep rooted and real problem that atheists have with the God of Christianity. Allow me to catch you back up to speed. In his book, Doherty unknowingly revealed the inability of evidential apologetics to answer his deep rooted and real problem with Christianity, namely, that the God of Christianity is unjust and His method of atonement is both illogical and immoral. Doherty said, “Should we not expect a just Deity to fashion a punishment fitting the crime? . . . What, after all, was Adam and Eve’s purported ‘sin’? Eating fruit, even a forbidden one, hardly sinks to the depth of depravity” (124). A few pages later Doherty said, “But why did he require such an ultimate sacrifice in order to forgive humanity its sins? Is there not, indeed, some logical if not moral contradiction in ‘redeeming’ men of sins like murder through an act of murder on their part? Why did he not embody the act of redemption in something more exemplary, perhaps by having Jesus perform a few thousand hours of community service? What a moral example that would have set” (126). No amount of external evidence (empirical facts) can give an answer to these objections. God’s revelation of the meaning of these facts is needed to answer Doherty’s deep rooted and real problem with Christianity.

Since God is being accused of injustice, immorality, and ignorance for both His stance toward sin and His method of atonement, we must allow Him to speak and justify His actions (Romans 3:4). So to understand and see the justice, morality, and wisdom of God in both His stance toward sin and His method of atonement, we will have to consider God’s revealed meaning of redemptive history as it specifically pertains to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

First, the resurrection of Jesus means that God is Creator and transcendent Lord. This means that naturalistic evolution is false, because the resurrection of Jesus is only possible in an open system in which God intervenes and miracles are possible. The resurrection of Jesus, since it means that God is Creator and transcendent Lord, also means that there are no “brute facts.” The facts do not speak for themselves but must be interpreted only by God’s revealed meaning for them. As Dan Phillips says of God as Creator and transcendent Lord, “He created all things in heaven and on earth, including heaven and earth themselves. In doing so, God created all facts. And thus God assigned meaning, value, and significance to everything. That means, then, that there are no “brute facts,” only created facts, with their meaning designed and assigned by God” (Dan Phillips, The World-Tilting Gospel: Embracing a Biblical Worldview and Hanging on Tight, Kindle Edition, 91).

Second, the resurrection of Jesus means that Adam was the first man created by God as both the progenitor of and representative for all people born through his seed. This means that theistic evolution is false because of the solidarity of all people with one man. To believe in the resurrection of Jesus as revealed by God as the means by which He saves sinners from among humanity is to believe in solidarity with an original, historical, first man. There could be no solidarity on the basis of theistic evolution because there would be no definite, definable place where the head of the human race, as its sole representative, plunged the race into sin. Therefore no one would be born with a sin nature traceable to an original ancestor.

There would be no solidarity under the system of either naturalistic or theistic evolution. Without solidarity, Jesus could represent no more than one person. The ratio, without solidarity, becomes a one for one ratio. Each individual sinner would have to have a different individual Savior or else Jesus would have to continually come and offer Himself over and over again for each individual sinner.

Third, the resurrection of Jesus means that God is covenant maker who promises life for obedience to and death for disobedience of His covenant. One of God’s assigned meanings of the resurrection of Jesus is that He keeps His promises. He is a covenant keeping God. He is truth and in Him there is no darkness at all. It is impossible for God to lie since to get anything out of something, it has to be in it. There is a reason one cannot get “blood out of a turnip.” Since God is truth there is no lie in Him. Therefore it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). God keeps His promises. He gives death for disobedience (Romans 6:23).

Adam, as the progenitor and representative of all men earned death for breaking God’s covenant and in order for God to remain true, death reigned from Adam on (Romans 5:12). On the other hand, Jesus, the progenitor and representative of all who have faith in Him earned life for keeping God’s covenant and in order for God to remain true, He raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:24) and will raise all who are in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:21-23). God keeps His promises. He gives life for obedience (Leviticus 18:5).

Fourth, the resurrection of Jesus means that Adam was a covenant breaker who earned death for himself and all his offspring through their solidarity with him. Adam transgressed and disobeyed God’s command and became a covenant breaker. Adam became a capital offender. One may question why disobedience to God’s covenant is a capital crime. The human mind, even among atheists, can determine that murder is a capital offense that deserves capital punishment. However, “lesser sins” that the laws of the land do not consider capital offenses are considered capital offenses in God’s kingdom. From this truth the unregenerate human mind recoils and objects.

Why is murder a capital offense? Is it because there is something so unloving about the act of murder that it is hideous? Is it because the murderer is so unloving that he is dangerous to society? Is murder a capital offense because there is no greater display of hatred toward humanity? Murder is the greatest crime that can be committed against humanity because it violates the greatest commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” in the grossest manner and is therefore a capital offense deserving capital punishment.

What is the greatest crime one can commit? Logically, the greatest crime a man can commit is the violation of the greatest commandment. Is there a commandment greater than “love your neighbor as yourself”? Surely, and logically, the greatest crime that a man can commit is a violation of the greatest commandment against the greatest Being. What is the greatest commandment? Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).

Should the crime of murder, of not loving a fellow man, an equal being, be greater than any crime of not loving God, the greatest Being? Logic demands that there is no greater crime than not loving God and therefore any crime that violates love for God is a capital offense that deserves capital punishment. When Adam disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit he committed a capital offense because of the nature of his crime. Adam failed to keep God’s commandment, violated God’s covenant, and earned death because not loving and obeying God is a capital offense that is greater than not loving and killing a fellow human being. All men who are born naturally into Adam’s race naturally have the same hatred for God and His commandments.

Fifth, the resurrection means that Jesus is the second Adam, born without the agency of a human father in order to bypass imputation of Adam’s sin nature. In order to accomplish obedience to God’s covenant and thereby confirm the covenant promises of God, Jesus would have to live in perfect obedience to the Law of God. However, if Jesus were a natural born descendant of Adam, He would also inherit Adam’s sin nature. Here the purpose of the virginal conception of Jesus is made clear by the redemptive- historical context of the resurrection.

The virginal conception of Jesus also implies the divinity of Jesus. Here the mystery of the hypostatic union or the two natures of Jesus is revealed as one of God’s meanings of the resurrection of Jesus. He is the Son of man and the Son of God in one person. He is fully God and fully man in the one person of Jesus Christ. In order to accomplish God’s covenant with man, the Son of God, with supreme love for God, would have to become the son of man, without a sin nature.

Sixth, the resurrection of Jesus means Jesus is the covenant keeper and redeemer who earned life for Himself and all his offspring by their solidarity with Him through faith. “In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that he might redeem those who were under the Law” (Galatians 4:4-5). Jesus lived perfectly under the Law of God, kept His covenant, and earned life. Jesus lived in perfect obedience to God because of His perfect love for God doing what Adam did not do and what no natural born descendent of Adam could ever do. As Phillips says, “So we must recognize in Jesus the quality that every other human being since Adam has lacked: utter, comprehensive, all-consuming love for God that flowed from a sinless heart and issued in a flawlessly, perfectly holy life” (The World-Tilting Gospel, 117).

Adam failed to love God with all his heart and as a result he violated God’s command, became a capital offender, and earned death for himself and all his offspring. God’s covenant with Adam was that if he disobeyed he would die. The wages of sin is death. By implication, God’s covenant with Adam meant that if he obeyed he would live. The wages of obedience is life. This truth is expressed in God’s Law given to Israel before the time of Christ. “So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them” (Leviticus 18:5).

There is a one major problem though. Adam has already failed to love God and committed a capital offense. All of Adam’s offspring have inherited his sin nature to the point that none are able to obey God and therefore none can earn life (Romans 3:20, 28). All are doomed, unless God has a solution for the dilemma of how He can pardon capital offenders and give them life instead of death, while He remains true in the process.

Here is where the Gospel really becomes offensive and is viewed by those who are perishing as foolishness. God’s solution for the dilemma of how He can pardon capital offenders, giving them life instead of death, is through Penal Substitution. Someone would have to live a perfect life of loving loyalty to God and then suffer the penalty of capital punishment as a sacrifice for and a substitute of capital offenders.

Earl Doherty objects, “But why did he require such an ultimate sacrifice in order to forgive humanity its sins? Is there not, indeed, some logical if not moral contradiction in ‘redeeming’ men of sins like murder through an act of murder on their part? Why did he not embody the act of redemption in something more exemplary, perhaps by having Jesus perform a few thousand hours of community service? What a moral example that would have set” (126).

Others object and say that it is illogical and immoral to execute and innocent man and to set free a capital offender. How can God do this without committing two injustices? After all, God’s Word says, “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 17:15). The answer is the resurrection! The resurrection not only makes Penal Substitution logical and moral, it is an absolute necessity for God who is truth. God promised life for the one who obeyed His Law. Jesus did obey God’s Law perfectly. The death of Christ was at the hands of sinful men. Men in violation of God’s Law were responsible for the execution of Jesus so that it was not the Law that promised life executing Jesus but godless men (Acts 2:23). Since Jesus was innocent and was dying by God’s plan as a substitute for sinners, His resurrection from the dead was an absolute necessity and certainty (Acts 2:24). The Law of God based on the Word of God owed Jesus life and since it is impossible for God to lie, it was impossible for death to hold its prey.

Penal Substitution is a logical and moral impossibility for any court system in this world. No human court can accomplish justice through Penal Substitution. In its attempt, any human court would become guilty of two injustices. Executing an innocent man is unjust even if the innocent man is willing. Setting free a guilty man on the basis that an innocent man has died in the place of the guilty man is unjust. Without the power to raise men from the dead, Penal Substitution cannot be a justice serving means of pardon. However, with the ability to raise men from the dead, Penal Substitution becomes the only means by which a righteous God can pardon sinners while He maintains justice in the process (Romans 3:23-26).

Doherty’s solution for maintaining justice while pardoning a capital offender is “having Jesus perform a few thousand hours of community service” (126). However, even atheists know that justice has not been served when the punishment does not equal the crime. Doherty’s question, “Should we not expect a just Deity to fashion a punishment fitting the crime?” now needs to be asked to Doherty instead of being asked by Doherty. Under Doherty’s scheme of atonement, God would allow capital offenders to go free without the penalty matching the crime as Doherty claims God should do.

Jesus lived a perfect life under God’s Law to fulfill its precepts, died a sacrificial death to pay the penalty of breaking God’s Law for sinners, and experienced a supernatural resurrection to fulfill the Law’s promise of life for the one who obeyed it. Jesus earned life for Himself and all who have solidarity with Him through faith.

Seventh, the resurrection of Jesus means that He is both Lord and Judge. No explanation needed! God is just, moral, wise, and loving!

Book Review: Challenging the Verdict

2011-10-28T11:39:00.000-05:00

Doherty, Earl. Challenging the Verdict: A Cross-Examination of Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ”. Ottawa Canada: Age of Reason Publications, 2001.

After opening the front cover of Challenging the Verdict, one finds an advanced review of the book written by Lee Salisbury, a former evangelical church pastor; now writer and speaker for atheist groups. In his advanced review, Salisbury claims that Strobel and his “expert witnesses” in The Case for Christ sacrifice intellectual integrity, speak half-truths and misrepresentations in defense of Christian doctrine. On the other hand, Doherty is praised by Salisbury for his reasoned refutation and maintenance of intellectual integrity. If Salisbury’s review is accurate then Doherty will have proved with reasoned refutations, truthful representations, and intellectual integrity that the Gospels are not history and that Christianity is a myth. Challenging the Verdict will have, as is claimed on the back cover, demonstrated the deficiencies, the fallacies, and the selective and misleading use of the evidence inherent in The Case for Christ.

Enough of the “atta boy” awards until the claim of Doherty’s superior reasoning powers are validated. Doherty has claimed that he will “expose the fallacy, distortion of evidence and extensive misinterpretation of the record inherent in the ‘case’ for Christian orthodoxy . . .” (2). He has claimed that Strobel’s “overall case has been marked by shallow argument and deficient reasoning; special pleading (meaning a selective adoption and interpretation of evidence); and techniques that can be said to be fundamentally misleading, in that a particular conclusion has been established ahead of time, and evidence and argumentation is often selected and applied in light of this desired conclusion” (6). It is only fair that the reader hold Doherty to the same standards of logic, honesty, and integrity that he claims Strobel violates.

Did Doherty achieve his purpose? No! Instead of reasoned refutations, truthful representations, and intellectual integrity, Doherty used shallow argument and deficient reasoning; special pleading; and techniques that are fundamentally misleading and violate intellectual integrity.

However, before establishing these failures of Doherty, his accomplishment in his book needs to be verbalized. Doherty unknowingly revealed the inability of evidential apologetics to answer his deep rooted and real problem with Christianity, namely, that the God of Christianity is unjust and His method of atonement is both illogical and immoral. Doherty said, “Should we not expect a just Deity to fashion a punishment fitting the crime? . . . What, after all, was Adam and Eve’s purported ‘sin’? Eating fruit, even a forbidden one, hardly sinks to the depth of depravity” (124). A few pages later Doherty said, “But why did he require such an ultimate sacrifice in order to forgive humanity its sins? Is there not, indeed, some logical if not moral contradiction in ‘redeeming’ men of sins like murder through an act of murder on their part? Why did he not embody the act of redemption in something more exemplary, perhaps by having Jesus perform a few thousand hours of community service? What a moral example that would have set” (126). No amount of external evidence can give an answer to these objections. God’s revelation of the meaning of these facts is needed to answer Doherty’s deep rooted and real problem with Christianity.

The failures of Doherty are threefold: (1) he failed to provide reasoned refutations, (2) he failed to provide truthful representations, and (3) he failed to provide intellectual integrity.

Instead of reasoned refutation, Doherty resorted to shallow argument and deficient reasoning. Doherty attempted to prove that changes have been made to the original text (also called by Doherty both original eyewitness accounts and source material) of which he admits we do not possess (7) through the postulated source document known as Q (12) of which he admits that we do not actually possess a copy of it (85). We do have copies of the Gospels; we do not have a copy of Q; and Doherty expects us to believe that he is demonstrating through reasoned refutation that the evangelists made wholesale changes to their source material (7). No thanks! I am not into myths.

Instead of truthful representations, Doherty resorted to special pleading. Here Doherty attempted to prove that the Scriptures are inconsistent and contradictory (145). Doherty presumed from the outset a fixed interpretation of the Gospels (146) to show them inconsistent and contradictory. He especially pitted the Gospel of John against the synoptic Gospels. Here is one of Doherty’s representations of inconsistency and contradiction in the Scriptures: the synoptic Gospels record that Jesus stumbled while carrying His cross to Calvary because of His weakened condition and had to receive help by Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross. Yet John’s Gospel says, “He went out, bearing his own cross” (John 19:17). Because of this Doherty said, “Yet another indicator, by the way, that John is fashioning his Jesus character the way he wants him, and not the way any tradition said” (151). ROFL – that means that I am “rolling on floor laughing.” Does “he went out bearing his own cross” contradict the other Gospels that record he began the journey carrying his own cross?

However, that is not the thrust of Doherty’s argument to truthfully represent the inconsistencies and contradictions in the Scriptures. To make his case, Doherty attempted to show that the Gospel of John is inconsistent with and contradicts the synoptic Gospels by claiming that the Gospel of John does not portray Jesus’ death as an atoning sacrifice for sin (17). Doherty’s argument rests on the assumption that the Lord’s Supper in John 13 is not the same as the Lord’s Supper in the synoptic Gospels because it lacks the Eucharist elements (229). But wait! The Gospel of John establishes that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial system beginning with Him as the tabernacle (John 1:14), the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and proceeds to Him making atonement on the Mercy Seat (John 20:12 compare to Exodus 25:18).

Doherty is under no illusion as to the significance of the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist). He knows that it portrays Jesus’ death as an atoning sacrifice for sin and that it declares him to be that very thing (p. 17). Doherty even went so far as to say, “In fact, there are elements within the Gospels that are decidedly un-Jewish, such as the Eucharist, which involves the eating and drinking of Jesus’ flesh and blood” (p. 169). One wonders how Doherty can then say, “The establishment of the Eucharist…is notably missing in John and elsewhere” (p. 233), since John 6:54 says, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” This oversight by Doherty is so astonishing that one must conclude he is guilty of special pleading.

Instead of intellectual integrity, Doherty resorted to misleading techniques. Doherty completely ignores the literary genre of the epistles (that these are letters to churches or Christians) and treats them as though they should be the Gospels (Christological biography). This is a misleading technique that confuses categories for the sake of making arguments and marshalling evidence in ones favor. In so doing, Doherty is able to make the claim that the epistles do not speak of Jesus Christ as a historical, human figure but as a cosmic Son of God who shares in God’s nature. As an example, Doherty said, “The death and resurrection of their Christ is never placed in an historical, earthly setting. A crucifixion on Calvary and the empty tomb story, the rising from the grave outside Jerusalem, are not to be found outside the Gospels” (55). In this way, Doherty can postulate a mythical Christ in the epistles with a contradictory historical, human Christ in the Gospels as an “evolution in Christian traditions within the first few generations of the faith” (39).

Having conveniently confused categories, Doherty is then able to demand evidence from the epistles that does not belong in the epistles. The mantra in Challenging the Verdict becomes the Jesus of the Gospels is not the Jesus of the epistles because the epistles do not repeat the Christological biography of Christ (21, 24, 28, 29, 39, 55, 64, 66, 83, 94, 99, 101,103, 104, 105, 135, 139, 159, 162, 170, 171, 176, 200, 210, 218, 225, 231, 235).

Not only does Doherty violate intellectual integrity by conveniently confusing categories, treating the epistles as though they should be the Gospels, he also violates intellectual integrity by conveniently creating categories in which to put any opposing evidence so that it can be declared inadmissible. For instance, coherence becomes either reading the content of one set of documents into another (104) or “the evangelists constructed their story by drawing on scriptural elements in the process known as midrash” (134). Midrash is the practice of copying and reworking passages from the Old Testament in order to build up a new story based on old material (112).

Another conveniently created category by Doherty is close correspondences become plagiarisms. Speaking of the close correspondences between the Gospels, Doherty said, “Most scholars have concluded that the close correspondences between Mark and the later evangelists, overall and in many small ways, does indeed make them technically plagiarisms” (173). What happens when there seems to be no correspondences? No correspondences become radical revisions and contradictions (17).

Confusing categories by treating the epistles as though they should be the Gospels and creating categories by which to declare as inadmissible any evidence to the contrary, is an exercise in misleading techniques and is not intellectual integrity. Doherty has failed to provide reasoned refutations, truthful representations, and intellectual integrity. Naturalism will have to continue its search for its hero – Doherty has failed.

I have not forgotten Doherty’s deep rooted and real problem with Christianity. I will address that problem in the next post.

Build Up One Another (Romans 14:13-23)

2011-10-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

The first principle for maintaining unity when Christians disagree (accept one another - Romans 14:1-12) has to do with our remembering that we are not the master of other Christians and that they are not our servants but the Lord’s servants. God is the head of the family and those whom He has accepted are His children. Since we are children in the family and not the head of the family we don’t try and tell the others what our Father’s will for them is in the gray areas. We accept those whom God has accepted because they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The second principle for maintaining unity when Christians disagree (build up one another - Romans 14:13-23) has to do with our remembering that we are brothers and sisters with other Christians. Not only do we accept one another, we build up one another. Here we discover five responsibilities to build up one another in the family.

First, don’t cause your brother to stumble (Romans 14:13). Instead of judging each other, Christians are to determine (judge) this – not to put an obstacle or stumbling block in a brother’s way.

Second, don’t hurt your brother (Romans 14:14-15). The apostle Paul was a strong Christian. He knew his liberties in Christ. He knew that he could enjoy anything the Lord hadn’t declared sinful. But he also knew that there were weak Christians who thought certain things were unclean and not permissible although the Lord had not declared it so. So the strong Christian is completely right in his conviction that he is at liberty to enjoy anything the Lord does not declare to be sinful. The weak Christian, on the other hand, is wrong in his understanding about some of those things. But he is not wrong in the sense of being heretical or immoral. He is wrong in the sense of not having complete and mature understanding of the Word of God in these areas, which causes him to believe that something is sinful when it isn’t really.

However, if he believes something to be sinful and then is enticed by a strong believer to partake in it, he violates his conscience and his submission to the Lordship of Christ, he stumbles and is hurt (see 1 Corinthians 8:7-13). The strong Christian, then, is no longer walking according to love. This is harmful and not helpful. It will seriously impair the spiritual growth of the weaker Christian (15b).

Third, don’t forfeit your witness (Romans 14:16-18). A strong Christian can lose his witness if he uses his liberties in a manner that puts an obstacle or stumbling block not only in a brother’s way but also in the way of men outside of the faith.

Fourth, don’t tear down the work of God (Romans 14:19-21). A strong Christian can also misuse his liberties to the point that his good thing can become an evil thing because he gives offense through it.

Fifth, don’t flaunt your liberties (Romans 14:22-23). The strong Christian who knows his liberties must be so concerned for his weaker brothers and his own witness that he keeps his conviction between him and God. The strong Christian then is to exercise his liberties in private. He is not to force his opinions on anyone else. That goes for the weak Christian also. The reason is that whatever is not from faith is sin. I can’t give another Christian permission to do something he thinks is wrong. His permission must come from his understanding of God’s Word because his obedience obedience must be to the Lord and not me.

When Christians Disagree: Accept One Another (Romans 14:1-12)

2011-10-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

Romans 14:1 – 15:7 is dealing with what we could call the gray areas of the Christian life or the nonessentials. All Christians are to agree upon the essentials of the Gospel because we are saved by the knowledge of the truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Failure to agree upon the essentials of the Gospel means that there can be no union or partnership with those with whom we disagree (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). But there is to be liberty in the nonessentials and we are to maintain Christian unity with those who agree on the essentials but with whom we may disagree on the nonessentials. So this section of Scripture gives three principles of guidance to maintain unity when Christians disagree: (1) Accept one another (Romans 14:1-12); (2) Build up one another (Romans 14:13-23); and (3) Consider one another (Romans 15:1-7).

For now we will examine the first principle of guidance for maintaining unity when Christians disagree.

Accept one another (Romans 14:1-12). When Christians disagree over the nonessentials they are to accept one another. With those whom we agree on the essentials of the Gospel but disagree over the nonessentials we are to put out the welcome matt and not the wrestling matt. We do wrestle against the spiritual forces of wickedness that seek to corrupt the Gospel and cause us to compromise it (Ephesians 6:10-17). We do war against speculations and every lofty thing raised against the Gospel (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). We do separate from those with whom we disagree over the essentials of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). We do not wrestle with, war with, or separate from Christians with whom we agree in the essentials (a necessity for even being a Christian) but with whom we disagree in the nonessentials. Instead we accept one another. Romans 14:1-12 gives us three reasons for maintaining unity with other Christians when we disagree in the nonessentials.

First, we accept one another because God has accepted us (Romans 14:1-3). These verses make it plain that agreement in the nonessentials is not the basis of God’s acceptance of us and it should not be the basis or our accepting one another. Both the strong and the weak in the faith are in the faith and should accept one another because God has accepted them or else they would not be in the faith. In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty!

Second, we accept one another because Christ is Lord as we are not (Romans 14:4-9). The main point of these verses is that no Christian has the right to “play Lord” in another Christian’s life. How the Lordship of Christ works itself out in another Christian’s life is the Lord’s business and not ours (Romans 14:4). My business is to be sure that whatever I do, I do for the Lord’s sake, being fully convinced that this is what he wants me to do (Romans 14:5) and that He very well may want another Christian to serve Him in a different way (Romans 14:6-9). This truth is illustrated in John 21:15-25 where the Lord told Peter the kind of death he would die in order to glorify God and Peter turned around and saw John following them and Peter asked the Lord, “What about this man?” to which the Lord responded, “If I want him to remain until I come [live], what is that to you? You follow me!” So our concern is to be busy doing what we are convinced the Lord wants us to do and not worry about what he wants someone else to do.

We accept one another because Christ is Lord and we are not. In the essentials, unity; in the nonessentials, liberty. Another way of putting it is this: in the essentials, we must agree; in the nonessentials, we must allow Christ to be Lord. We accept one another because God has accepted us and we accept one another because Christ is Lord and we are not.

Third, we accept one another because God is Judge and we are not (Romans 14:10-12). Since we are not the Lord, then reason demands that we are not the Judge either. These verses quickly put us back in our places as servants of the Lord who are not God and who are not the Judge. Instead of standing in judgment over our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must all stand before the judgment seat of God. For Christians, the judgment seat of God will be a time when we will give an account of how well we lived under the Lordship of Christ. Faithfulness to the Lordship of Christ will result in praise from the Lord when He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Lack of faithfulness to the Lordship of Christ for Christians will result in shame and loss of reward but they will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). The Lord will judge His servants and their service or lack there of to Him. As servants, we are not to judge the service of another.

We do not have the ability to accurately judge the service of another to the Lord because we are not God. That is why we are told, “Do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Notice that the Lord has the ability to bring to light the things hidden in the darkness. This is another good reason to wake up, lay aside the deeds of darkness, and behave properly as in the day (Romans 13:11-14). The Lord is not going to allow us to get away with hidden sin. You can hide your sin from me and I can hide mine from you but we none can hide it from the Lord.

Notice also that the Lord has the ability to disclose the motives of men’s hearts. Here the Lord will reveal the reason we do or do not do something. Whether our actions are because we love the Lord and are submitting to His Lordship, whether we were making provision for the flesh under the pretense of living for the Lord, or whether we were seeking the praise of men under the pretense of dying for the Lord.

The Lord will judge us and He has the perfect ability to do it. We will not judge each other because we are not God and do not have the ability to judge accurately. That is why we shouldn’t be doing it now. In the essentials, unity; in the nonessentials, liberty; in all things charity. When Christians disagree we accept one another because God has accepted us in Christ Jesus; we accept one another because Christ is Lord and we are not; we accept one another because God is Judge and we are not.

The Lordship of Christ in Gray Areas (Romans 14:1)

2011-10-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

The Lordship of Christ in the life of the Christian is exactly the same in many areas for all Christians. In other words there are specific commands which apply to all Christians and the observance of those commands are clearly spelled out. For instance, all Christians are commanded to avoid fellowship with false teachers and their teachings (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Second John 10); all Christians are commanded to abstain from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7); and all Christians are commanded to lay aside falsehood, stealing, and unwholesome words (Ephesians 4:25-29) just to name a few.

However, there are also some areas in which the Lordship of Christ in the life of the Christian will not look the same as for other Christians. Here I am speaking of gray areas. These gray areas can be a cause for disagreement among Christians and even stumbling if not handled properly. The Bible classifies Christians as either strong or weak in faith and where a person is in his understanding of God’s Word will determine how he lives under the Lordship of Christ. This is what this section is about.

The Problem (Romans 14:1) – two opposing opinions. There are two opposing opinions among Christians because there are strong and weak Christians. The Bible says that the weak are weak in faith – literally “weak in the faith.” The weak are saved but not convinced of Christian liberty. Christ is his Lord so his motive for not doing something is loving loyalty to Christ and not legalism.

The strong in the faith are convinced of Christian liberty (Romans 14:14). Their motive for doing something is loving gratitude to Christ, knowing that what they are doing is not forbidden, and therefore they are not guilty of libertinism.

The problem is that with weak and strong Christians we have two opposing opinions or convictions. The weak genuinely believe that it is wrong to do certain things that the strong know and understand are perfectly acceptable. This may lead the weak to judge the strong as libertines and the strong to judge the weak as legalists. The text specifically says that the weak will judge the strong and that the strong will regard with contempt the weak (Romans 14:3).

The Solution (Romans 14:1). The strong are to put out the welcome matt and not the wrestling matt. The strong are not to accept or receive the weak for the purpose of passing judgment on their opinions. While the strong will want to build up the weak in the faith (Romans 14:19), he is not to attempt to do it by accepting or receiving him to straighten out his misconceptions in gray areas. Since the weak do what they do “for the Lord” (Romans 14:6-9) they are acceptable to God (Romans 14:3, 18). The strong are to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and build them up (Romans 15:1-21).

This is how the strong are to disciple the weak – “please his neighbor for his good, to his edification” (Romans 15:2). This means that the strong are not to abuse their liberty and attempt to push it down the throats of the weak. The strong are to set aside their liberties to not cause a weaker brother to stumble – not passing judgment on his opinions or deliberately indulging in liberties to try to convince the weak of Christian liberty.

The rule for both parties but especially for the strong is to walk according to love (Romans 14:15). In both cases, the weak and the strong are living under the Lordship of Christ. None of us are the Lord of another Christian and therefore we should be careful to not play God in the life of another Christian (Romans 14:4).

We should all seek to live under the Lordship of Christ remembering that each one of us will give an individual account of our lives to the Lord (Romans 14:10-12).

In Non-Essentials, Liberty! (Romans 14:1-12)

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

“In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity!” This quote is often attributed to the great theologian Augustine, of the fourth century, but it actually came from a lesser known German Lutheran theologian, Rupertus Meldenius, of the early seventeenth century. The phrase occurs in a tract on Christian unity written (circa 1627) during the Thirty Years War (1618 – 1648), a bloody time in European history that initially began over religious differences. Although this statement is a slogan, it captures the guiding principle of Romans 14 and 15.

However, some explanation of the slogan is needed for balance and clarity so that we can see that its principle is indeed scriptural and fits our text.

“In essentials, unity...” means that there are certain doctrines and convictions upon which there can be no disagreement among genuine Christians. Specifically, this applies to the Gospel and the saving work of Christ. There must be agreement on the exclusivity of the Gospel – that there is no other way for God to forgive sinners and remain just in the process except through faith in Jesus Christ – which means that God is not saving anyone any other way. There must be agreement on the work of Christ as all-sufficient for our salvation including His sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection so that nothing is either added to or taken away from the Gospel. There must be agreement on the power of the Gospel – that it changes everyone who believes into a new creature and that one cannot be saved and remain unchanged. Disagreement in the essentials is grounds for separation and commanded in Scripture (for examples see Romans 16:17-18; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 1:6-8; Philippians 3:2; 2 Timothy 3:1-5). “In essentials, unity!”

“In nonessentials, liberty...” means that there are certain convictions genuine Christians have and disagree on but these are not essential for salvation. Genuine Christians can disagree on a variety of convictions that are nonessential for salvation and still be Christian; still love the Lord; and still love each other. When we say that a conviction is nonessential we are not saying that it is not important. What we are saying is that if a conviction is not essential for salvation then there is room for disagreement and liberty in those beliefs while we maintain unity over the essentials. For example, as long as someone believes in the exclusivity of the Gospel, the sufficiency of the Gospel, and the power of the Gospel, then I can disagree with him over what we believe about the end-times; which version of the Bible should be used; whether or not to eat meat; whether or not to drink wine; and whether or not one day is more important than another while still being in unity over the essentials and yet disagreeing on the nonessentials.

Disagreement over the nonessentials only means that there will be diversity among Christians in how the Lordship of Christ over their lives works itself out. We are not to play Lord in another’s life by demanding that their convictions be the same as ours in the nonessentials. There are two dangers we are to avoid: (1) we are not to make an essential into a nonessential or else we will have sinfully compromised the Gospel. (2) We are not to make a nonessential into an essential or else we will have sinfully corrupted the Gospel. Remember, in the essentials unity; in the nonessentials, liberty. We are to agree on the essentials but we are to allow disagreement in the nonessentials.

Notice how if you read Romans 14:1-12 with the principle, “In nonessentials, liberty” in mind, that the principle is crystal clear and captures the essence of the text. We are not to be divided or separated over nonessentials. Division or separation is only to occur from disagreement over the essentials. Therefore we must know the difference between essentials and nonessentials. In essentials, agreement is necessary; in nonessentials, disagreement is allowable.

“In all things, charity...” means that if we do not agree on the essentials we are not going to fellowship, partnership or be in harmony with infidels but neither are we going on a crusade to kill them. We will protest against reprobates but we will not persecute them. We will not give in to the spirit of our age which wants fellowship between light and darkness by attempting to reverse the principle and get us to give liberty in the essentials while we unite with lawlessness over the nonessentials. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6). We will not reverse the principle for to do so would be unloving by rejoicing in unrighteousness while not rejoicing with the truth.

Not only are we to not harm reprobates who do not agree on the essentials but we are not to hurt our brothers and sisters in Christ who do agree on the essentials but disagree on some of the nonessentials (Romans 14:15). We are to walk according to love (Romans 14:15) and build up our brothers and sisters in Christ by not only giving them liberty in the nonessentials but by setting aside our liberties for their good (Romans 15:1-2). “In all things, charity.”

Wake up; Clean up; Dress up! (Romans 13:11-14)

2011-10-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Over and over in the Bible, Christians are exhorted to be on the alert, to wake up and warned against apathy, drowsiness and being unprepared. Christians are to live in light of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our love for our Lord and certainty of His return is to motivate our faithfulness to Him so that we are ready for His coming. Our readiness for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ will affect how we live in this world. If we are awake and ready for the return of the Lord we will not be like the poor deceived and deranged souls who believed the lies of Harold Camping about the day and hour of Christ’s return and many of them sold their belongings, emptied their bank accounts, quit their jobs, and got rid of their pets. No dear friends, instead we will be disciplined in our lives and diligent in the Lord’s work.

In Romans 13:11-14, the apostle Paul exhorted the Christians in Rome to wake up, clean up, and dress up because of the certainty of the return of Christ and their love for Him for saving them. We are to wake up, clean up, and dress up because of the return of Christ and our love for Him for saving us.

First, we are to wake up because the return of the Lord is nearer than when we first believed (Romans 13:11). God the Father has set the date for the return of Christ and He is the only one who knows when that day is. But this one thing is for sure – since the return of Christ is a certainty set on God’s calendar, each passing day brings us one day closer to that day. Just as our text says, “Salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” The opportunity for us to express our love for our Lord through our faithfulness to Him is passing away with each passing day.

So what should we do to express our love for our Lord? The Bible says, “Do this....” Do what? Do Romans 12:1 – 13:10 which is summed up in loving the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength by presenting your bodies to Him as living sacrifices and loving your neighbor as yourselves by loving the brethren, loving others, loving your enemies, and by being the very best citizens this world has ever seen.

Why should we “do this”? We should do this, “knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep, for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” We should love God and love others because the return of the Lord is closer now than ever. Because His return is drawing nearer and nearer we are to awaken from sleep. We are to wake up! Those who are asleep are not alert, they are not expectant, and they are not ready for the return of the Lord. It is our love for the Lord Jesus Christ and His coming that will wake us up. When we are excited about and anticipating the Lord’s coming we will wake up.

Second, we are to clean up because the return of the Lord is nearer than when we first believed (Romans 13:12-13). Romans 13:11 is speaking of our need to wake up because of the Lord’s certain return. Romans 13:12-13 are speaking of our need to clean up because of the Lord’s certain return so that we are prepared when He gets here. Have you ever noticed that getting out of bed before daybreak and getting ready for something or someone you are excited about is much easier than waking up and getting ready for something or someone you don’t really care about? We are to wake up and clean up because we are excited about the Lord’s coming and we do not want to disappoint Him. Jesus said that we are to be alert (awake) and ready for His coming (see Matthew 24:42 – 25:13).

Part of our cleaning up is taking off the garments in which we were sleeping – “Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness...” (Romans 13:12-13). Before we dress up we are to clean up because dressing up without cleaning up is disgusting. We are not to put on clean clothes over dirty clothes. We’ll talk more about dressing up in just a moment but for now we must understand that the logical order for dressing up is to clean up first. We get prepared for the Lord’s return by waking up and taking off the deeds of darkness. The deeds of darkness (garments of the night) are improper behavior such as carousing and drunkenness, sexual promiscuity and sensuality, and strife and jealousy.

To attempt to cover up the garments of darkness with the armor of light is to be like the devil who disguises himself as an angel of light. To still be wearing the garments of darkness means that the Christian still hasn’t woke up because he still hasn’t seen his need to clean up. We are to wake up and then clean up by laying aside the deeds of darkness.

Third, we are to dress up because the return of the Lord is nearer than when we first believed (Romans 13:14). We wake up, we clean up by taking off the deeds of darkness, and then we dress up by putting on the armor of light (Romans 13:12) or to put it another way, by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14). To put on the Lord Jesus Christ means to become more like Him. To put on the Lord Jesus Christ means that we walk in truth and love and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.

We are not to provide our sinful natures with what it needs to succeed.

Love Fulfills the Law (Romans 13:8-10)

2011-10-18T09:33:00.004-05:00

At the root of all sin is an unloving attitude of the heart that may or may not express itself outwardly. Regardless of whether or not an unloving attitude is expressed outwardly, it is still sin (Matthew 5:27-29). The Law of God is actually an expression of love. It is designed to reveal just how unloving we sinners are. For instance, murder is a capital crime because it is a violation of the obligation to love one's fellow man or men. At the root of murder is an unloving attitude that turns into an unloving act. This expresses the truth that the violation of any of God's Laws is a violation of the moral obligation to love. Love therefore fulfills the Law. This is what Romans 13:8-10 is all about.

The debt of love (Romans 13:8)
Owe nothing to anyone – Paul has just been speaking of paying taxes so the focus is still on the Christian’s financial obligation. However, neither the Old nor New Testament categorically forbids borrowing money. There are verses throughout the Bible that deal with lending and borrowing. But the principle set forth in Scripture is that the borrower is a slave to the lender and that the debt must be repaid as agreed upon both promptly and fully. The Scripture does not justify borrowing for the purpose of purchasing unnecessary things, especially luxuries that cannot be afforded. The ideal however would to be completely out of debt and live within your means. So the financial principle here is to pay what you owe to whomever you owe so that you do not owe.

Except to love one another – is a constant obligation. It is a debt we are constantly paying and constantly owing. We are to pay this debt everyday and forever owe it because of the love given to us by God through Jesus Christ. Our love for God because of His love for us is to motivate our love for others whether they are brothers or sisters in Christ or unbelievers or government workers or enemies. Our ability to love one another only comes through our presenting ourselves to God as living sacrifices because of His love for us. We can give ourselves to every humanitarian and social cause and still not love one another (see 1 Corinthians 13:3). To fulfill Romans 13:8 we must fulfill Romans 12:1-2. Stanza four of At the Cross says, “But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself away, ‘tis all that I can do” (157).

For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law – will be further developed in the next two verses. Just before we move into these next two verses let me say that when we practice love, there is no need for any other laws. As believers, we do not live under the Law; we live under grace. Our motive for obeying God and helping others is the love of Christ in our hearts. As we love others because we love God we fulfill the law.

The discharge of love (Romans 13:9)
Love is discharged not only by what we do for others but also by what we don’t do. Love is discharged when we don’t commit adultery (this includes looking on another person with lust). Love is discharged when we don’t commit murder (this includes being angry with your brother). Love is discharged when you don’t steal (this includes not paying taxes or debts and being a free-loader). Love is discharged when you don’t covet. Love is discharged when we love our neighbor as ourselves.

There are many other ways to demonstrate godly love. Of supreme importance is to teach and live God’s truth (1 John 5:2). Godly love never turns its freedom into an opportunity for the flesh (Galatians 5:13). Love never rejoices in anything that is false or unrighteous (1 Corinthians 13:6). Love refuses to do anything, even things that are not sinful in themselves, that might offend a brother’s conscience and cause him to stumble (Romans 14:21). Love is kind and forgiving (Ephesians 4:32). Love is patient, kind, not jealous, does not brag, is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

The definition of love (Romans 13:10)
Love does not wrong to a neighbor and therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. When Jesus was asked by a lawyer (one skilled in the interpretation of God’ Law) what commandment was the foremost of all He answered, “The foremost is Hear O Israel! The Lord Our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31).

The first and greatest law is to love God.

Christian Civic Duty (Romans 13:1-7)

2011-10-07T07:43:00.002-05:00

Romans chapter twelve begins the practical section of the book of Romans which is based upon the doctrinal section of the first eleven chapters. Understanding and experiencing the love and mercy of God through faith in Jesus Christ changes our relationships. God’s mercy motivates us to love Him and offer ourselves to Him as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2). God’s mercy motivates us to love our neighbors as ourselves beginning with our brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 12:3-16). We have received mercy and so we show mercy. We are sinners saved by grace and not by our own good deeds or superiority so we do not think too highly of ourselves nor look down on others. God’s mercy also motivates us to love non-Christians and even our enemies (Romans 12:17-21) even as God loved us while we were sinners and His enemies.

After dealing with how God’s mercy affects those relationships, the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, focused on how God’s mercy is to affect the Christian’s relationship to civil government (Romans 13:1-7). As Christians, the effect of God’s mercy on us is to affect our citizenship in this world – we are to be the best citizens in whatever nation God has planted us. Whether one lives in the United States of America under a system of democracy or in China under a system of communism; no matter where one lives, as a Christian, he or she is to be the best citizen of that nation.

We must not forget that Romans 13:1-7 are universal in their application regardless of the form of government in which one lives. We must also remember that God in His sovereignty determines where men will live – there are no accidents. “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:25-27). So the application of these verses is universal regardless of the form of government one lives under. Following God’s guidelines for civic duties Christians can maintain both their witness and their conscience.

What, then, are the Christian’s duties to civil government? Primarily there are two civic duties for Christians found in this text. It is the Christians civic duty to submit to government authority (Romans 13:1-5) and it is the Christians civic duty to support government authority (Romans 13:6-7).

First, it is the Christian’s civic duty to submit to government authority (Romans 13:1-5). There are two main reasons that Christians are to submit to government authority: One, because it has a divinely appointed position (Romans 13:1-2); two, because it has a divinely appointed purpose – to praise or punish (Romans 13:3-5).

Christians submit to government authority because it has a divinely appointed position (Romans 13:1-2). Government is ordained by God – it is divinely appointed – it is instituted by God (Romans 13:1). The word “subjection” means to submit to the absolute authority of a superior officer. Paul gave no qualification or condition for this command to be obeyed. Every civil authority is to be submitted to willingly. Submission is not based on the personality or performance of those in authority but on love for and trust in God – He is sovereign and in control. We submit to government because it is from God and established by God.

Resisting government is equivalent to resisting God (Romans 13:2). Since all authority comes from God and those which exist are established by God, government is His institution and rebellion against government is rebellion against God. Opposing the laws of the government will bring condemnation upon the law-breaker and if the person is a professing Christian it harms his or her witness and conscience. Christians can and should submit to government without condoning whatever evil it may be guilty of perpetuating. God will deal with the evil of governments – Christians are to be the best citizens of their government through their submission.

Christians submit to government authority because it has a divinely appointed purpose (Romans 13:3-5). God established government and gave it authority for the purpose of maintaining order and justice in this world of fallen mankind. Government is to praise its citizens of good behavior (Romans 13:3). Government is intended by God for your good and is His minister whether it knows it or not and whether we believe it or not (Romans 13:4a). But government is also to punish its citizens of evil behavior (Romans 13:4b-5). Government is to execute wrath upon evil-doers (Romans 13:4). Since it bears the sword, government is a tool in the hand of God and has the authority to carry out capital punishment as a minister of God and His vengeance. Government has the divine right to punish through fines, imprisonment and even execution. We submit to government because of its right to punish and for the sake of our consciences (Romans 13:5). To resist government is to defile the conscience.

As Christians it is our civic duty to submit to government authority because of its divinely appointed position and divinely appointed purpose.

Second, it is the Christian’s civic duty to support government authority (Romans 13:6-7). There are two main ways that we support the authority of our government: One, we support it with our resources (Romans 13:6-7c); two, we support it with our respect (Romans 13:7d).

Christians support government authority with their resources (Romans 13:6-7c). Because government has a divinely appointed position and purpose, it is God’s servant and we pay taxes (Romans 13:6). We support government with our resources understanding that God is using it as a minister for our good. With our resources, we render to all what is due them (Romans 13:7a): tax to whom tax is due (Romans 13:7b); custom to whom custom (Romans 13:7c). We support government with our resources.

Christians support government authority with their respect (Romans 13:7d). Since government is God’s servant we support it with our respect. Not only are our minds to be renewed concerning the church, they are also to be renewed concerning the state. It is our civic duty to submit to government authority and support government authority for the Lord’s sake.

Relationships to Friends and Foes (Romans 12:14-21)

2011-09-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

In Romans 12:1-2 we see how we are to love and serve God because of His grace shown to us in the salvation He has provided for us. Since God sacrificed His sinless Son in order to redeem us from sin, we are now to give Him our bodies as living sacrifices – living for Him and no longer for ourselves and the world.

In Romans 12:3-13 we see how we are to relate to other believers in the church because of the grace shown us by God. The grace given to us is to guide our relationships to one another in the church as we respond to each other in grace. The way we relate to others is a pretty good indicator of whether or not we are living as children of God and the starting point is in our relationships to other believers.

Now we come to Romans 12:14-21 where we will see how we are to relate to all people whether friend or foe. Since we are saved by grace, God wants us to live by grace. Since we have received grace, God wants us to give grace. Sounds easy, right? Well, let’s see how we are doing in reflecting the character of God in our relationships with either friends or foes.

First, we are to bless those who persecute us instead of cursing them (Romans 12:14). This exhortation is completely contrary to our sinful human nature – bless those who persecute you! Yeah right! We don’t just get mad, we get even! That’s not living by grace though is it? That isn’t how God treated us and that is not how we are to treat others. We are to bless those who persecute us and do not curse. This is precisely what Jesus said in would mark those who belong to Him – (Matthew 5:43-45). To truly bless those who persecute us is to treat them as if they were our friends.

Second, we are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). We are to rejoice in the blessings, honor, and welfare of others rather than resent their happiness or success. The same is true for those who are facing disappointments, hardships, or sorrows – we are to weep with those who weep. We are to enter into their suffering. This is what the Lord Jesus did – not only did He enter into the happiness of others such as His presence at the wedding in Cana of Galilee where He performed His first miracle of turning the water into wine which was a symbol of joy (John 2:1-11); He also wept at the tomb of Lazarus entering into the sorrow of Lazarus’ family and friends (John 11:1-35).

Third, we are not to show partiality or high-mindedness (Romans 12:16). The virtue expressed in the words, “Be of the same mind toward one another” is that of impartiality. God doesn’t show any partiality and neither should we. When we begin to show partiality we are no longer living by grace but by merit. This is dangerous because it moves one into the realm of using people rather than loving people and is a result of being haughty in mind or high-minded. The person haughty in mind will show partiality and will be interested in only those they perceive can further their status or cause. Instead we are to associate with the lowly and not be wise in our own estimation.

Notice that this is the second time in this chapter alone that the Holy Spirit has warned against thinking more of ourselves than we ought. When we properly understand grace and our need for it we will begin to better understand that we are no better than anyone else no matter how rich or how wise and we are no worse than anyone else no matter how poor or uneducated. The ground is level at the foot of the cross! A conceited, self-promoting Christian is a serious contradiction. Just as there is to be no social aristocracy in the church, neither is there to be an intellectual aristocracy in the church. A church that is seeking to faithfully serve Christ will pursue and eagerly accept all genuine believers regardless of superficial human distinctions.

Fourth, we are not to fight fire with fire (Romans 12:17a). “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.” Two wrongs don’t make a right. Paying back evil for evil is operating by merit rather than by grace. How easily we forget that God hasn’t dealt with us according to merit but according to grace.

Fifth, we are to have regard for what is honorable (Romans 12:17b). “Respect what is right in the sight of all men.” We are to be honest and forthright in our dealings with others whether they are friends or foes. Notice that the right or good that we do is to be visible to all men – in the sight of all men. This principle is illustrated in 2 Corinthians 8:20-22 – “Taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things....” We should handle every situation with an honorable manner.

Sixth, if possible, we are to be at peace with all men (Romans 12:18). The believer who seeks to obey God is going to have his enemies. However, the Christian is to be a peacemaker not a troublemaker. Offending others with the truth of God is unavoidable for the uncompromising Christian. This truth is clearly seen in Matthew 5:9-12. We are not to compromise the truth in order to have peace but neither are we to hold a crusade to war with infidels. Short of compromising God’s truth and standards, we should be willing to go to great lengths to build peaceful bridges to both offended friends and foes.

Loving Consideration of Believers (Romans 12:9-13)

2011-09-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

Romans 12:1-2 deals with our relationship to God after He has saved us by His mercy and grace. We love God because He first loved us and we offer our bodies to His service. Our love for God and desire to reveal His love to others affects all other relationships that we as Christians have. The first area that our relationship to God affects is our relationship to other believers.

Paul wrote Romans 12:3-13 in order to instruct the Christians at Rome to practice honest evaluation of self (12:3), to practice faithful cooperation with each other (12:4-8), and to practice loving consideration of each other (12:9-13). This passage instructs us that in light of God’s love and mercy toward us, we are to practice honest evaluation of ourselves, faithful cooperation with each other, and loving consideration of each other in the church.

First, in light of God’s love and mercy toward us, we are to practice honest evaluation of ourselves in the church (Romans 12:3). The truth that we have none earned salvation is to humble us and keep us from having an attitude of superiority. When God saved us He gifted us so that we could serve Him in His church. Each Christian must know what his or her spiritual gifts are and what ministries he or she is to have in the local church. We are saved by grace, we are gifted by grace and we serve by grace. We are to practice honest evaluation of ourselves in the church.

Second, in light of God’s love and mercy toward us, we are to practice faithful cooperation with each other in the church (Romans 12:4-8). Each believer has a different gift and God has bestowed these gifts so that the local body can grow in a balanced way. We are interdependent by God’s design. We have unity of purpose and diversity of ability. Just like the members of our physical bodies have different functions and yet work together, so we are to have faithful cooperation with each other. We have different functions and yet we work together as a team. We are to practice faithful cooperation with each other in the church.

Third, in light of God’s love and mercy for us, we are to practice loving consideration of each other (Romans 12:9-13). Here the emphasis is on the attitudes of those who exercise their spiritual gifts. It is possible to use a spiritual gift in an unloving and unspiritual way. Love is the circulatory system of the spiritual body, which enables all members to function not only in faithful cooperation with each other but also in loving consideration of each other. Here we see how we are to practice loving consideration of each other.

First, our love for each other is to be sincere love – “Let love be without hypocrisy” (12:9a). Hypocrisy means to “play the part or play-act.” There is to be no pretense in our love for each other nor is there to be any ulterior motives that would cause us to “use” each other for selfish gain under the pretense of love.

Second, our love for each other is to be discerning love – “Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good” (12:9b). “Abhor” means to detest with horror. The word for “evil” means that which is injurious or harmful to someone else – it is a relationship word. Love hates! Love hates that which would cause harm to those it loves. In this context, we are to hate that which would cause harm to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Not only are we to abhor what is evil, we are to cling to what is good. The word “cling” is the word for glue. The word “good” is another relationship word and it is the word for that which would benefit or help others. So we are to detest with horror the evil that would injure our brothers and sisters in Christ and we are to be glued to the good that would benefit or help them. Our love for each other is to be discerning.

Third, our love for each other is to be family love – “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love” (12:10a). We don’t see each other as just a group of people who come together, sing some songs, and hear a message – we see each other as family – as brothers and sisters in Christ no matter our social status, education, nationality, or race. We are to be glad to be part of the family of God and we are to love each other with family love.

Fourth, our love for each other is to be showcasing love – “Give preference to one another in honor” (12:10b). The words “give preference” mean to outdo by taking the lead. The word “honor” means to put others higher than self. So we are to “outdo one another in putting others higher than ourselves.” We are to regard one another as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). We are to showcase the importance and value of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Fifth, our love for each other is to be enthusiastic love – “Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (12:11). “Not lagging behind in diligence” means to not be lazy – don’t fall behind. “Fervent in spirit” means with zeal or boiling intensity. We are to be enthusiastic in our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. What makes it possible for us to have this enthusiastic love for them? It is how we serve the Lord because they are members of His body. Our love for each other is to be enthusiastic.

Sixth, our love for each other is to be persistent love – “Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer” (12:12). Let’s face it; loving each other isn’t always easy. This is why our love for each other must be persistent. As we deal with others and love them out of our service for the Lord we are to rejoice in hope. The word “hope” in the original has the definite article “the” in front of it. We are to rejoice in “the hope.” What is “the hope?” It is the certainty that every believer will be just like Jesus one of these days. When our brothers and sisters seem unlovable we are to persist in loving them because one day we will all be set free from the presence of sin.

We are also to persevere in tribulation. I believe that the context here is dealing with the burden of loving others in the body of Christ and having that love rejected or spurned. “Persevering” means to bear up under just like you would in a family with a rebellious family member. The word “tribulation” means crushing pressure. We are to bear up under the crushing pressure of the problems of a rebellious member in the family. We don’t leave the family or give up on the family member – we persist and continue to love the family and all its members.

We are to be devoted to prayer. To rejoice in hope while persevering in tribulation means that we must be devoted to prayer. It’s hard to talk to others about someone in the church when we have been talking to God for them in prayer. Our love for each other is to be persistent.

Seventh, our love for each other is to be participating love – “Contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality” (12:13). The word “contributing” means to participate with or share with others. We are to participate with or share with the needs of the saints. On one level this means to share in the hurts and heartaches of the saints among us. On another level it means giving money or goods to meet the needs of the less fortunate among us.

“Hospitality” means to show kindness to strangers. We are to practice showing kindness to those among us that we don’t know as well as we do some of the others. One of the primary ways this is done is to invite them over for a meal, get to know them, and speak of the things of the Lord together. Our love for each other is to be a participating love.

The Church is an Organism (Romans 12:3-8)

2011-09-28T09:12:00.004-05:00

Romans 12:1-2 deals with our relationship to God after He has saved us by His mercy and grace. We willingly give our bodies to God as living and holy sacrifices for His service because of our love for Him for what He has done for us in our salvation. Romans 12:1-2 are the fulfillment of the first and greatest commandment – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (see Mark 12:30).

It is our relationship to God that becomes the well-spring from which all our other relationships flow. Being in a right relationship with God will affect how we relate to others. If we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength because of the mercy He has shown us, we will love others as ourselves (Mark 12:31). This is always the proper order – love God; love others.

The first area that our relationship to God affects in regard to our relationship with others is in our relationship to other believers. Paul was writing to Christians who were members of the local church in Rome. The first place our love for God will manifest itself is in the context of our relationship to each other in the body of Christ. If our relationships in the church are not right then we are not living what we say we believe.

Paul wrote Romans 12:3-8 in order to instruct the Christians at Rome to practice honest evaluation of self (12:3) and to practice faithful cooperation with each other (12:4-8). This passage instructs us that in light of God’s love and mercy toward us, we are to practice honest evaluation of ourselves and faithful cooperation with each other in the church.

First, in light of God’s love and mercy toward us, we are to practice honest evaluation of ourselves in the church (Romans 12:3). We are saved by grace and we are not to forget it! The truth that we have none earned salvation is to humble us and keep us from having an attitude of superiority. When God saved us He gifted us so that we could serve Him in His church. Each Christian must know what his or her spiritual gifts are and what ministries he or she is to have in the local church. It is not wrong to recognize and exercise your gifts. It is wrong to have a false evaluation of yourself. Nothing causes more damage in a local church than a believer who overrates himself and tries to perform a ministry that he cannot do. We are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. We were saved by grace, gifted by grace, and must serve by grace.

It is also just as wrong for a believer to deny his giftedness and refuse to exercise it under a pretense of humility. False humility is just another form of pride but more cleverly hidden. The second part of verse three says, “But to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” To have sound judgment means that we are to be sober in our assessment of ourselves. We are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought and we are not to sell ourselves short on what God has gifted us to do. We are to exercise the gift God has given us to the degree that God has allowed us to trust him in that area.

So we are to avoid both thinking to highly of ourselves claiming giftedness we do not possess and thinking too lowly of ourselves claiming no giftedness at all. We are to practice honest evaluation of ourselves in the church.

Second, in light of God’s love and mercy toward us, we are to faithful cooperation with each other in the church (Romans 12:4-8). Each believer has a different gift and God has bestowed these gifts so that the local body can grow in a balanced way. We are interdependent by God’s design. We have unity of purpose and diversity of ability.

Romans 12:4 uses the example of our physical bodies having many members but the members have differing functions to illustrate the truth of unity and diversity in the body. Just as the different members of the body have different functions yet cooperate to fulfill the purpose of the body.

Romans 12:5 ties the way the church is to function to the illustration of a physical body given in Romans 12:4 – “So we.” Just like the members of our physical bodies have different functions and yet work together, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another, are to have faithful cooperation with each other. We have different functions and yet we work together as a team.

Romans 12:6-8 give seven categories of gifts that differ in function but are to work together in faithful cooperation with each other:

First, prophecy – means to tell forth. Prophecy means to declare the revelation of God through His Word. Here in Romans 12:6, prophecy is a spiritual gift for preaching and not the office of prophet. The gift of prophecy has to be in relation to and in proportion to the Word of God. The phrase, “according to the proportion of his faith,” is literally, “in agreement with the faith.” The one with the gift of prophecy is to remain in the bounds of the Word of God. He is not to add to it or take away from it. The motivation of the person with the gift of prophecy is to confront with truth. The motivation of teaching is to clarify with truth.

Second, serving – a menial and practical service. The word for serving is the word from which we get the words “deacon and ministry.” This is a person who supernaturally seeks to meet the practical needs of other people. The people with the gift of serving do not have to be appreciated by anybody. They know that they can believe God and their service to others is their service to God.

Third, teaching – the gift of teaching means taking something that you know and communicate it to someone else. Remember that the motivation for teaching is to clarify the truth. The motivation for prophecy is to confront with truth.

Fourth, exhortation – it means to comfort or to encourage. The person with the gift of exhortation comes alongside someone to comfort or encourage them. The person with this gift doesn’t just come alongside and put his arm around but he comes with “words” and his words are instructions from the Word of God.

Fifth, giving – means to give with good intentions. Liberality means to be sincere and pure in motive. There are to be no ulterior motives in giving. The person with the gift of giving turns loose the gift without worrying about where it went because he has given it to God.

Sixth, leading– to stand out before and lead. The one with the gift of leading is to do it with diligence. Diligence means with an earnest effort. Those with this gift do not complain about something going undone or needing to be done – they take the lead and do it!

Seventh, mercy – means to be sensitive to others and their needs. This gift has to be shown with cheerfulness.

We are to practice honest evaluation of ourselves and practice faithful cooperation with each other. The church is an organism and not just an organization.

God's Mercy: Motivation for Dedication (Romans 12:1-2)

2011-07-19T07:51:00.004-05:00

The apostle Paul, moved by the Holy Spirit, wrote the book of Romans as an explanation of the Gospel of God’s grace and mercy through Jesus Christ toward undeserving sinners. The first three chapters of Romans establish the universality of sin (all are sinners both Jew and Gentile); the offensiveness of man’s sin to God; and the inability of sinful man to justify himself through his own efforts before God. It is the backdrop of the magnitude of our sin and offensiveness to God that the multitude of God’s mercies toward us are highlighted or displayed from Romans 3:21 to 11:36.

God in His grace sent Jesus Christ, His only Son, to accomplish for us what we cannot accomplish for ourselves. Jesus lived a sinless life under God’s Law upholding the Law perfectly and obtaining the Law’s promise of life – “So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them” (Leviticus 18:5). This we did not and cannot do. We are sinners by nature. This the Lord Jesus Christ did do. He is holy by nature.

Then Jesus died a sacrificial death to pay and uphold the penalty of the Law for those who had earned death by breaking the Law – “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the Law, to perform them” (Galatians 3:10); and, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Jesus, the sinless man, was crucified, died, and buried all for crimes that He did not commit.

Then Jesus experienced a supernatural resurrection from the dead to uphold the Law’s promise of life for the one who never sins and so that God could justify sinners on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ. Now sinners can receive mercy from God and be justified by the sinless life of Jesus, the sacrificial death of Jesus, and the supernatural resurrection of Jesus.

The first eleven chapters of Romans clearly show us God’s mercy towards sinners and the benefits of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans chapters twelve through sixteen show us the practical outworking of having received God’s mercy through faith in Christ. These chapters show us what God’s mercies motivate us to do.

Paul wrote Romans 12:1-2 in order to motivate the Christians at Rome by God’s mercies to dedicate their bodies, minds and wills totally to God for His service. This passage instructs us that we are to be motivated by God’s mercies to dedicate our bodies, minds, and wills totally to God for His service. God’s Mercy is the motivation for Christian dedication to God.

First, we are to be motivated by God’s mercies to dedicate our bodies totally to His service (Romans 12:1). Paul “urged” the Christians at Rome to present their bodies a living and holy sacrifice to God for His service. The word “urge” means to come alongside and help. Paul’s reminder to the Christians at Rome of God’s mercy toward them in the Gospel was his way of helping them to be motivated to dedicate themselves to God.

The word “present” means that this is to be a once for all commitment to God’s service. This is the language of the Old Testament priesthood and sacrificial system. The sacrifice was offered to God as a gift and it was not taken back – it was once for all.

The sacrifice God is looking for is to be “living” and “holy.” This means that we are to be dead to sin and alive to God. This is acceptable or “well-pleasing” to God. The reason it is “well-pleasing” to God is because we are dedicating our bodies to live for Jesus a life that is true based on His great sacrifice for us. We are being motivated by God’s mercies to serve God out of loving loyalty and not by legalistic manipulation. This is well-pleasing to God. This is also our “reasonable” service of worship. Dedicating our bodies to God because of His mercies to us is logical. We are to be motivated by God’s mercies to dedicate our bodies totally to His service.

Second, we are to be motivated by God’s mercies to dedicate our minds totally to His service (Romans 12:2a). Whoever controls the mind controls the body. The “world” or “spirit-of-the-age” wants us to “conform” to its ways and reflect its values. The world seeks to press us into its mold by bombarding our minds with its ungodly values and ungodly ways. Christians are pressured from every side to compromise with and conform to the world. The remedy for conformity to the world is not self-abasement or severe treatment of the body (Colossians 2:23); the remedy for conformity to the world is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind by dedicating your mind totally to God for His service.

Whoever controls the mind controls the body! This is why the world bombards the minds of men with its sinister thoughts and ideas. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The word “transformed” is where we get the word, “metamorphosis.” We are to be changed from the inside out by the renewing of our minds. This is why self-abasement and severe treatment of the body are of no value against fleshly and worldly indulgence (Colossians 2:23). We dedicate our minds to God by filling them with His Word and meditating on His Word and treasuring His Word (see Philippians 4:8). We are to be motivated by God’s mercies to dedicate our minds totally to His service.

Third, we are to be motivated by the mercies of God to dedicate our wills totally to His service (Romans 12:2b). Technically this phrase is a purpose clause – “So that you may prove what the will of God is....” We dedicate our bodies and our minds totally to God’s service so that we may prove what the will of God is. However, this does have to do with dedicating our wills totally to God’s service. By dedicating our bodies and minds totally to God for His service, we no longer do the will of the devil but now we do the will of God; we no longer to what “we will” but we do God’s will. We say and pray, “Not my will but Yours be done.” As we submit to God’s will, we experience the liberating truth that His will is good, acceptable, and perfect.

We are to be motivated by God’s mercies to dedicate our bodies, minds, and wills totally to God for His service. We are to live for Jesus a life that is true because of His atonement for us.

The Wonder of God in Salvation (Romans 11:33-36)

2011-07-18T05:57:00.003-05:00

The apostle Paul ended Romans 11 with a doxology. A doxology is a brief formula for expressing praise or glory to God. Doxologies generally contain two elements, an ascription of praise to God and an expression of His infinite nature. This is true of Paul’s doxology in Romans 11:33-36. Here Paul begins with an expression of God’s infinite nature and then gives an ascription of praise to God. The final analysis is that God gets the glory for His ministry.

This doxology is based on how God has not and will not fail to keep His promises to Israel and how God is using Israel’s failure and turning it into salvation for the world. Understanding God’s plan of salvation for the Jews and the Gentiles should result in worshipping God and giving Him glory. Theology becomes doxology! Only a wise and worthy God could take the fall of Israel and turn it into salvation for the world. This doxology is based on the wonder of God in salvation. In it we see three wonders of God.

First, we see that God’s wisdom is unsearchable (Romans 11:33). Paul speaks of the depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge. The word “depth” means the extreme depth of something or that which does not have a bottom. Paul is saying that finite man cannot get to the bottom of God’s infinite wisdom. This infinite wisdom of God can be glimpsed in God’s plan of salvation but it cannot be plumbed. Just the truth alone that God is using the fall of Israel to save the Gentiles should give us a glimpse of God’s wisdom. Since the promises and covenants of God belonged to the Jews, if they would have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, God would have sent Jesus to restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 3:19-21) and the Gentiles would not have a chance to be saved. In His wisdom, God has seen to it that the first would be last and the last first. In this way we Gentiles have the opportunity to be saved and God is able to accomplish His promises to Abraham (Galatians 3:14).

Not only does Paul speak of the depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge which has no bottom, he also speaks of the judgments of God that are also unsearchable. The opposite of unsearchable is searchable or apparent. What Paul is saying is that God’s judgments are not apparent; they are not searchable. Since the judgments of God are unsearchable, then we must be sure that we do not attempt to discern them by appearance. When it appears to us that God doesn’t know what He is doing, we can rest assured that He does and that it is we who don’t understand what God is doing. Since God’s wisdom and knowledge and judgments are unsearchable then it must be revealed to us in His Word. As we study God’s Word we do not get to the bottom of God’s wisdom but we do see that He knows exactly what He is doing. God’s wisdom is unsearchable.

Second, we see that God’s ways are untraceable (Romans 11:33-35). Unfathomable means that something cannot be traced out. God’s ways cannot be explored. God’s ways are incomprehensible. The word for “ways” means a road that is not heavily traveled. Doesn’t this mean that the way God does something will not be readily apparent to man? This is why God said, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). The ways of God are superior to the ways of man and are not easily understood.

We cannot trace or comprehend all of God’s ways because His ways are higher than ours. Since God’s ways are higher than our ways, we don’t give God advice for the way we think things should be done (Romans 11:34). Has God ever awakened you in the night to ask your advice on how He should do something? Me neither! We are not to argue with God and think that we could have a better plan of salvation than He has. We are to look and see that the wisdom and ways of God are infinitely perfect. Since we cannot get to the bottom of God’s wisdom or trace out His ways, we are to trust them completely because of who He is. We are to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). We don’t become God’s counselor and give Him advice for the way things should be done.

We have never given anything to God so He doesn’t owe us anything (Romans 11:35). What have you ever given to God that makes Him feel like He owes you back? What share do we have in causing God to be more God? What wisdom have we given God? What wealth have we given God? What worth have we added to God? None! God is completely sufficient in His own being. Nothing can be added to God and nothing taken away from Him. He is perfect in wisdom. He is perfect in love. He is perfect in power. He is perfect in His ways. God’s wisdom is unsearchable and His ways are untraceable. We cannot add one iota to better God’s wisdom or ways.

Third, we see that God’s worth is untouchable (Romans 11:36). Since God is perfect in His wisdom and ways and we cannot improve Him, His worth is untouchable. All the glory goes to God for His wisdom and ways in His plan of salvation. God’s wisdom and ways are from Him – they are out of Him – and absolutely have no other source than God Himself.

Salvation is based on the wisdom of God. It is from Him. He has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all (Romans 11:32). Salvation is accomplished by the ways of God. It is through Him. Salvation was offered to the Jew first whom God knew would reject his offer of grace. Now it is being offered to the Gentiles until the fullness of the Gentiles come in. After that it will be offered to the Jew and their fullness will come in (Romans 11:25).

Salvation witnesses to the worth of God. All the glory goes to Him. God owes no man salvation but He gives it to the one who believes the Gospel. And then, those saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light; for they once were not a people, but now they are the people of God; they had not received mercy but now they have received mercy.

His glory is great in thy salvation. We proclaim the excellence of God’s wisdom, the excellence of God’s ways, and the excellence of God’s worth. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Israel's Rejection is Passing (Romans 11:25-32)

2011-06-03T09:47:00.001-05:00

We have already studied the truth that Israel’s rejection is partial (Romans 11:1-10). Paul, a past remnant and a present remnant all proved that Israel’s rejection is only partial. We also have seen the truth that Israel’s rejection has its purposes (Romans 11:11-24). God is using Israel’s rejection for the purpose of giving the Gentiles the opportunity to be saved by His grace and God is using Israel’s rejection for the purpose of graciously warning the Gentiles of His severity. Now we see that Israel’s rejection is passing (Romans 11:25-32).

Paul began leading into the truth that Israel’s rejection is passing in Romans 11:23-24. Paul pointed out that if Israel did not continue in their unbelief that God would graft them in again (Romans 11:23). This establishes the truth that God will not reject anyone who repents and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile. Paul also turned to the Scriptures to show that the day is coming when Israel will not continue in unbelief and God will graft them in again (Romans 11:25-27).

So the Gentiles who are now being shown mercy are not to be arrogant (Romans 11:18), conceited (Romans 11:20), or wise in their own estimation (Romans 11:25) against Israel because Israel’s rejection is passing (Romans 11:25-32). This section gives us three very good reasons to praise and glorify God:

First, we are to praise and glorify God for His sovereignty (Romans 11:25).
In God’s sovereign plan, Israel’s hardening is not total but is partial – “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uniformed of this mystery (a truth which in other generations was not made known but has now been revealed) – that a partial hardening has happened to Israel.” Not every Jew has been or will be hardened. God in His sovereignty has graciously preserved a believing remnant of Israel so that His promises to them can be fulfilled. In God’s sovereign plan Israel’s hardening is not total but is partial.

In God’s sovereign timing, Israel’s hardening is not permanent but is temporary – “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Here we notice God’s perfect sovereign timing – He will not bring Israel to national repentance until He has saved the fullness of the Gentiles. Israel’s hardness will last only for God’s divinely determined duration. There is a fullness for Israel (Romans 11:12) and a fullness for the Gentiles (Romans 11:25). The fullness of the Gentiles will come first because when the fullness of Israel comes in then Christ will return and set up His millennial Kingdom and usher in eternity. Today, God in His grace is visiting the Gentiles and taking out a people for His name (Acts 15:12-14). A remnant of individual Jews are being saved, but this present age is primarily a time when God is saving Gentiles and building His church. When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then God will once more deal with the nation of Israel. In God’s sovereign timing, Israel’s hardening is not permanent but is temporary. We are to praise and glorify God for His sovereignty.

Second, we are to praise and glorify God for His faithfulness (Romans 11:26-29). God is faithful to His promises (Romans 11:26). God has promised in His word that He will save all Israel (Isaiah 59:20) and He will keep His promise. This is a promise for national conversion. It does not mean that every Jew that has ever lived will be saved but that the Jews living when Jesus returns will receive Him and be saved (see Zechariah 12-13 especially 12:10). God’s promise to save all Israel is preceded by His promise to take out from among the Gentiles a people for His name and is followed by His promise to restore Israel afterwards through the appearing of the Deliverer (Acts 15:12-18).

God is faithful to His covenant (Romans 11:27-28). God chose Israel in His grace and not because of any merit in her (Deuteronomy 7:6-11; 9:1-6). Since the nation was not chosen because of its goodness, God has made a covenant to take away their sins (Romans 11:27). This quote is from Isaiah 59:21 and emphasizes that when the promise is fulfilled by the appearing of the Deliverer, God will then be faithful to His covenant to take away Israel’s sins. God’s covenant with Abraham was unconditional and therefore God will accomplish this totally by His grace through the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in God’s sovereign timing. However, because Israel is right now partially hardened and enemies of the Gospel it appears that they have been rejected by God and that God is not going to be faithful to His covenant. That is not true. They are enemies of the Gospel right now so that we Gentiles can be saved (Romans 11:28). But God is not through with them and from the standpoint of God’s choice and for the sake of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they are beloved (Romans 11:28). God will keep His covenant with Israel.

God is faithful to His nature (Romans 11:29). Since God does not change, His gifts to Israel and His calling of Israel cannot be changed. God is immutable. He is unchanging in His nature. God will not change His plans for Israel’s spiritual regeneration. This verse speaks of gifts. If something is a gift then it must be by grace or unearned. This verse also speaks of calling. Paul has already established the truth that God’s calling is also by grace. Just as God’s gifts and calling cannot be earned, neither can they be overturned – they are irrevocable. They are irrevocable because God is faithful to His nature. We are to praise and glorify God for His faithfulness.

Third, we are to praise and glorify God for His graciousness (Romans 11:30-32). Paul’s explanation of God’s grace has gone full circle. First, because of Israel’s unbelief, the nation was partially and temporarily set aside, and the Gospel of salvation was extended to the Gentiles (Romans 11:30). Second, if God extended His grace to pagan Gentiles even while they were in unbelief, how much more surely will He extend His grace again to His chosen people Israel while they are in unbelief (Romans 11:31)? Finally, God has completed the full circle of His grace by shutting up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. God has included all in unbelief so that all may have the opportunity to be saved by grace (Romans 11:32). There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are to praise and glorify God for His graciousness.

We are not to be arrogant, conceited, or wise in our own estimation against Israel because Israel’s rejection is passing. This gives us three reasons to praise and glorify God. We are to praise and glorify God for His sovereignty, for His faithfulness, and for His graciousness.

Israel's Rejection: Warning to the Gentiles (Romans 11:16-24)

2011-06-02T06:24:00.005-05:00

Romans 11:1-36 is establishing the truth that God has not forever rejected Israel because of their rejection of Christ, but that God is a promise keeping, wise, and redeeming God who is worthy of worship and praise. We have already considered the truth that Israel’s rejection is only partial (Romans 11:1-10). We have began considering the truth that Israel’s rejection has its purposes (Romans 11:11-24). There are two main purposes that arise from Israel’s rejection of the Gospel and God’s rejection of the majority of the nation. First, Israel’s rejection is bringing salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11-15). Second, Israel’s rejection is serving as a warning to the Gentiles (Romans 11:16-24).

We have already considered the first purpose of Israel’s rejection – that it is bringing salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11-15). Since the majority refused to believe in salvation by grace through faith in Christ, it opened and has extended the opportunity for Gentiles to be saved. The Bible makes it clear that when Israel believes in Christ, He will come again and the door to salvation will be closed (Acts 3:19-21). Now we will begin our consideration of the second purpose of Israel’s rejection – that it is serving as a warning to the Gentiles (Romans 11:16-24).

We are living in the day of what I term, “Positive Christianity.” Over the last century there have arisen more and more proponents of a positive Christianity who insist that preaching should be positive and never negative. In our day, what is needed preaching is often called negative preaching. The motto of the day is, “You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.” After all, we are living in the dispensation of grace, which according to the proponents of positive Christianity, leaves no room for anything negative in the preacher’s message.

It is precisely here that positive preachers fail to accurately communicate the grace of God. Even the warnings of God are expressions of His great grace and mercy. Negative preaching that warns of the severity of God is as needed as positive preaching that woos with the kindness of God. We have already been wooed with the kindness of God where we have seen that He is using the rejection of Israel to bring salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11-15). Now let us consider three warnings of the severity of God to the Gentiles through His rejection of Israel (Romans 11:16-24).

First, God in His grace warns us against arrogance toward Israel (Romans 11:16-18). We notice the word arrogant twice in verse 18. The word “arrogant” carries the idea of “to brag or to boast against.” The KJV uses the word “boast” instead of “arrogant” – “Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.” Arrogance is over-exalting one thing at the expense of another which results in wrong conclusions. This is boasting with a sense of false superiority. So in these verses we as Gentiles are warned against arrogance toward Israel. Let’s follow Paul’s argument and take heed to the warning against arrogance toward Israel.

First, we must understand God’s overall plan for Israel (Romans 11:16). The apostle Paul used the principle of the offering of first-fruits to establish Israel’s future revival in God’s plan of salvation. The principle of the offering of first-fruits was that the Lord’s acceptance of the first piece offered was an “earnest” or pledge on His part of a full and final acceptance of the remaining harvest. Not only was this principle symbolized in the offering of the first sheaf of barley presented to the Lord at the beginning of the harvest season (Leviticus 23:9-14) but also in the offering of the first piece of dough when Israel entered the Promised Land (Numbers 15:18-20).

Paul used the concept of the first-fruits pinched from the dough as an offering to God to teach that since God has accepted the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He will also accept the remaining harvest of Israel who have the same faith of the patriarchs. God is not through with Israel because His promises to Abraham concerning them and the principle of first-fruits have not been fulfilled yet. God is going to bring in a full and final harvest of Israel (Romans 11:25-27). There is no need for Gentile arrogance toward Israel.

Second, we must understand God’s overall place for Israel (Romans 11:16-18). Salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22). There is no getting around this truth. The promises of God for salvation are in His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through whom is the Christ. It is in Christ Jesus alone that the blessings of Abraham come to the Gentiles (Galatians 3:14). This means that the patriarchs are both the first-fruits in God’s overall plan for Israel and the root in God’s overall place for Israel.

The root provides nourishment to the branches, not the branches to the root. God did not graft in the Gentiles to provide nourishment to the root but so that the root could provide nourishment to the Gentiles. It is connection to the root that determines fruit. God did not graft in the Gentiles because they were fruitful but so that they would become fruitful.
Who in his right mind believes that the root is dependent upon the branches rather than the branches upon the root? No branch supports the root – the branch either partakes of the rich root or perishes. The branch does not impart life to the root or improve the life of the root. All that the connected branch can do is bear the fruit of the root (John 15:1-11).

Branches were broken off – some, not all (Romans 11:17) – not because they failed to provide life to the root but because they failed to receive life from the root. We as Gentiles are not to over-exalt a false superiority over the branches that were broken off. We are not to boast against the cut off Jews. Arrogance is a false claim of superiority and worth. Arrogance denies salvation by grace and exalts salvation by works or worth. To claim Jewish unworthiness and Gentile worthiness is to make the same mistake that the broken off Jews made concerning their false superiority over the Gentiles. God doesn’t change. If He judged the arrogant Israelites He will judge arrogant Gentiles. God in His grace warns us of the dangers of grace rejecting arrogance toward Israel.

Next, God in His grace warns us against conceit toward Israel (Romans 11:19-20). Both arrogance and conceit are forms of pride. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling (Proverbs 16:18). Pride is the antithesis of grace. The person full of pride would believe that he is saved because of his worthiness and not in spite of his wretchedness. He would misinterpret God’s grace as a sign of his own goodness.

Paul anticipated the prideful response of the Gentiles toward Israel and that there was real danger for the Gentiles to misinterpret God’s grace as a sign of their own goodness or worth (Romans 11:19). We are not to misinterpret God’s grace as a sign of our own goodness.

Paul answered the prideful response of the Gentiles toward Israel and gave a warning against conceit (Romans 11:20). Paul explained the reason for the broken off branches – their unbelief! The broken off branches stumbled because of unbelief. The grafted in branches stand because of faith. Since pride is the antithesis of grace it is a manifestation of unbelief. The branches were broken off for unbelief which means they thought too highly of themselves and saw no need for grace. They were conceited.

So Paul issued a warning against conceit. “Do not be conceited, but fear.” Conceited means having an excessively favorable opinion of oneself. It is to be wrongheaded and wrong-hearted about your own ability or importance. Instead of being conceited, we should fear. The word fear comes from the word phobia. It means “to put to flight; terrify; to frighten.” We should be terrified or frightened of any trace or evidence of arrogance or conceit toward those who are perishing. We should especially be terrified if we are prideful toward broken off Israel. The Gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ doesn’t puff up – it humbles; it doesn’t make you conceited – it makes you contrite. God in His grace warns us against grace rejecting conceit toward Israel.

Finally, God in His grace warns us of His immutable holiness (Romans 11:21-24). The word “immutable” means that God does not change. This is speaking of His essence and His nature. The holiness and righteousness of God will never change and will never be compromised. On this basis, Paul issued a warning to the Gentiles from the example of God’s dealings with Israel.

Paul antidoted the prideful response of the Gentiles toward Israel and warned of God’s impartiality (Romans 11:21). Here is a powerful antidote for Gentile pride – “For if God did not spare the natural branches [physical descendants of Abraham; Israel], He will not spare you [Gentiles], either.” Pride is the antithesis of grace and is outright unbelief. If God did not spare Israel for their pride and unbelief, He certainly will not spare the Gentiles for pride and unbelief. We are to learn from Israel’s mistakes and not repeat them. God is no respecter of persons. He does not show personal favoritism. No man will ever be able to boast before God and therefore we should never be arrogant or conceited.

Paul analyzed the perfect righteousness of God toward both belief and unbelief and warned of God’s severity (Romans 11:22-24). If there is one thing we should learn from Israel’s pride and unbelief, it is the severity of God toward pride and unbelief – no matter who is guilty. The immutable holiness of God which shows itself in the perfect righteousness of God has both a positive and a negative outworking.

First, Paul analyzed the negative side of the perfect righteousness of God (Romans 11:22). God is unchanging in His dealings with pride and unbelief. Since pride and unbelief are rejections of the grace of God, God in His perfect righteousness gives the unrepentant what he or she deserves and has earned – eternal destruction. All men are sinners and all men have earned death and eternal destruction as sin’s wages. God has provided the only remedy by which He can give sinners who have earned Hell what they have not earned – Heaven – while still upholding His perfect righteousness. God saves by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ. Salvation is by the kindness of God and not the works of man. Those who do not see their need for God’s grace through faith in Christ will receive the severity of God’s perfect righteousness.

Second, Paul analyzed the positive side of the perfect righteousness of God (Romans 11:22-24). God is unchanging in His dealings with humble repentance and belief. Since repentance and belief are receptions of the grace of God, God in His perfect righteousness gives the repentant and believing sinner what he does not deserve but what has been earned for him by Another – eternal life! “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). That’s grace! As long as Gentiles repent and believe they will be grafted in and given eternal life. If the Gentiles ever get to the point that they no longer repent and believe they will be cut off (Romans 11:22). If Israel ever gets to the point where they no longer are prideful and unbelieving, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again (Romans 11:23-24).

God is immutable in His holiness and perfect in His righteousness. His mercy is for anyone who believes whether Jew or Gentile. His wrath is for anyone who does not believe whether Jew or Gentile. We must never forget or lose the doctrine of both the kindness and severity of God.

God’s dealings with unbelieving Israel clearly show His unchanging nature toward pride and unbelief. Since He didn’t spare them, He will not spare anyone else either. Is God going to destroy all who have not been humbled and brought to repentance and belief through the Gospel? Yes!

God’s dealings with the believing Gentiles clearly show His unchanging nature toward humble repentance and belief. Since He grafted them in, He will certainly graft in anyone else who believes. Is God going to redeem all who have been humbled and brought to repentance and belief through the Gospel? Yes!

Israel's Rejection is Bringing Salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11-15)

2011-05-22T08:28:00.003-05:00

In Romans 11:1-36, the apostle Paul proves that God has not rejected Israel and that He is not through with them as a nation. God is faithful! He keeps His promises and nothing or no one can stop Him from doing what He has said He will do. This is the thrust of Paul’s argument from Romans 9 through Romans 11. Paul is proving in these chapters that Israel’s past election was by God’s grace and not their deeds (Romans 9 – God’s sovereignty); that Israel’s present rejection of salvation by grace is by failure to submit to God’s Word (Romans 10 – human responsibility); and that Israel’s future reception of salvation by grace is by God’s faithfulness in spite of Israel’s rejection (Romans 11 – God’s wisdom and ways).

So Romans 11:1-36 is proving that God has not forever rejected Israel and that He is a faithful, promise-keeping God. We could outline Romans 11 like this: Israel’s rejection is only partial (Romans 11:1-10). Israel’s rejection has its purposes (Romans 11:11-24). Israel’s rejection is passing (Romans 11:25-32). Israel’s rejection is to the praise of God’s glory (Romans 11:33-36).

Romans 11:1-10 proves that Israel’s rejection is only partial. Paul gave three proofs in those verses that Israel’s rejection is only partial: (1) Paul was proof - Paul was a saved Israelite so God hadn’t totally rejected Israel (Romans 11:1). (2) A past remnant was proof – in Elijah’s day of widespread apostasy God reserved for Himself 7,000 (Romans 11:2-4). (3) A present remnant was proof – there were other saved Israelites in Paul’s day and continue to be to this day (Romans 11:5-10).

Romans 11:11-24 proves that Israel’s rejection has its purposes. There are two main purposes that God is accomplishing through the rejection of Israel: (1) Israel’s rejection is bringing salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11-15) and (2) Israel’s rejection is serving as a warning to the Gentiles (Romans 11:16-24). For now we will consider that Israel’s rejection is bringing salvation to the Gentiles.

Israel’s Rejection is Bringing Salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11-15).

Not only is Israel’s rejection partial – God is preserving a remnant so that He can fulfill His promises to them – Israel’s rejection has its purposes. God is using Israel’s rejection to bring salvation to the Gentiles.

We can praise God’s wisdom and ways because Israel’s fall is not permanent – “They did not stumble so as to fall did they” (Romans 11:11). The word Paul used here for “fall” is a word that means to fall completely out of sight or beyond recovery. In other words, did their stumble injure or paralyze them beyond healing? Perish the thought! That could never happen or else God’s Word will fail.

We can praise God’s wisdom and ways because Israel’s fall is for a purpose – “But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous” (Romans 11:11). Israel’s transgression – her rejection of the Gospel of salvation by grace through Jesus Christ – has brought salvation to the Gentiles. Israel refused it so God offered salvation to the Gentiles – “To the Jew first and then to the Greek.” In one of His parables, the Lord Jesus said that those who had been invited to the King’s wedding feast refused to come so He sent His servants to the main highways to invite as many as they found to the feast (Matthew 22:1-14). He was speaking of the rejection of the Jews that would precipitate the invitation to the Gentiles.

We can praise God’s wisdom and ways because if Israel’s fall is profitable, then their fullness will be perfection (Romans 11:12). Here Paul argues from the lesser to the greater – he is saying that if Israel’s fall (transgression) is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles then their fullness will mean the restoration of all things (see Acts 3:17-21)!

We can praise God’s wisdom and ways because Israel’s fall and Gentile blessing is provoking some of Israel to salvation (Romans 11:13-14). When Israel sees others receiving their promises and their blessings by faith rather than by works – some of them will get saved.

We can praise God’s wisdom and ways because if Israel’s fall is reconciliation of the world then their acceptance will be resurrection (Romans 11:15). God will revive Israel! He is going to grant Israel repentance (Zechariah 12:10); deliver Israel from ungodliness (Romans 11:26; Isaiah 59:20); and keep His covenant with them (Romans 11:27; Isaiah 59:21). The Lord will come and set up His kingdom and Israel’s acceptance will be resurrection from the dead (Revelation 19:11 – 20:6).

One of the purposes of Israel’s rejection is to bring salvation to the Gentiles. We can praise God’s wisdom and ways and for the glory of His grace.

Israel’s fall is not permanent but has the purpose of bringing salvation to the Gentiles, restoration to the world, revival to Israel, and resurrection from the dead.

A Present Remnant is Proof God Hasn't Rejected Israel (Romans 11:5-10)

2011-03-04T07:46:00.004-06:00

Have you ever made a promise that you did not keep? For that matter, have you ever made a promise that you did not intend to keep? Sad to say but both of these are situations that are common in the human experience because of our common fallen condition. These are serious offenses for people created in the image of God for the express purpose of accurately reflecting the nature and character of God. Every time we make a promise and don’t keep it, we are reflecting something that is absolutely not true about God. No matter what vow we have made, if we break it we are liars and prove ourselves to be untrustworthy – even if we had our fingers crossed when we made the promise.

Has God ever made a promise that He did not keep? Has God ever made a promise that He does not intend to keep? God is truth and there is no lie in Him at all. It is impossible for God to lie, therefore it is impossible for God to fail to keep His promises. The apostle Paul knew that there would be people who would interpret his preaching of Israel’s failure to believe the Gospel and the hardening of the majority of the nation as a sign that God had rejected Israel (Romans 11:1) and failed to keep His promises (Romans 9:6). So in Romans 11:1-10, Paul gave three proofs that Israel’s rejection was only partial in order to help the Christians at Rome (both Jew and Greek) understand that God keeps His promises and men need God’s grace.

The first proof that Paul gave to show that God has not rejected Israel was his own salvation as an Israelite (Romans 11:1). The second proof that Paul gave to show that God has not rejected Israel was Elijah and the remnant of 7,000 (Romans 11:2-4). The third proof that Paul gave to show that God has not rejected Israel was the present remnant that received grace while the rest were hardened (Romans 11:5-10). All of this was to show that God keeps His promises and therefore we can trust and serve Him because of His great faithfulness. This portion of Scripture shows us three reasons we can trust and serve God.

First, we can trust and serve God because He graciously preserves a remnant of Israel so that He can keep His promises to them (Romans 11:5). From the fall of man into sin in the Garden of Eden, the devil and his demons have done everything in their power to thwart the promises and purposes of God. Their first attempt was to defile the entire human race through cohabitation so that they could destroy the godly, believing line of men and women through whom Christ would come into the world. God sent a flood and destroyed the whole world except for Noah and his family. God preserved a godly line to keep His promises to Adam and Eve.

After the earth was repopulated, God entered into a covenant with Abraham and promised to bring the deliverer through his descendants. Once again there was an attempt to thwart God’s promises and purposes with an attempt to destroy the Hebrew race by destroying all the male Hebrew children. But God rescued Moses and raised him up as a deliverer from Egyptian bondage.

When Christ was born an attempt was made to take His life through the killing of all the male children two years old and under in the region where He was born – but God warned Joseph in a dream and sent them to Egypt ahead of the slaughter.

All through Israel’s history the nation was tempted and led into apostasy and idolatry but God kept for himself in every generation a remnant of Jewish believers. Nothing can stop God from keeping His promises.

Second, we can trust and serve God because salvation is by grace and not works (Romans 11:6-7). If our blessings depend upon our efforts; if our salvation is determined by our works; if our pleasing God is decided by our abilities then we are all doomed. If these things were true then we could never trust and serve God because in the end it would all be for naught. If salvation is conditioned upon our works rather than God’s grace in Jesus Christ then the promise of salvation is one that God doesn’t intend to keep because no man can be saved by the works of his own hands.

Those who seek to be saved by works rather than by grace will not be saved because the promise of God for salvation is in Jesus Christ in whom all the promises of God are “yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20). The problem with the majority of Israel was that they sought salvation as though it were by works and therefore didn’t enter into the promises of God (Romans 11:7) and proved themselves to be children of the flesh rather than children of the promise (Romans 9:8). Thank God salvation is by grace!

Third, we can trust and serve God because His judgments are righteous (Romans 11:8-10). The context of these two quotes from the Old Testament gives us the setting for God’s just judgment on the majority of the nation. First, Paul quoted from the writings of Moses to show that Israel rejected God’s miraculous signs (Romans 11:8; Deuteronomy 29:1-4). The Psalmist in Psalm 106:7, giving commentary on Israel’s rebelliousness, added the truth that Israel rejected God’s multitude of mercies – “Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders [miracles]; they did not remember Your abundant kindness [multitude of mercies], but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.” Next, Paul quoted from the writings of David to show that Israel rejected God’s Messiah [King] (Romans 11:9-10; Psalm 69:22-23; Psalm 35:1-7).

In light of the truth that Israel rejected God’s miracles, His mercies, and His Messiah, we see that the judgments of God are righteous, that He will judge the world in righteousness, and that He always does what is right.

We can trust and serve God because He preserves a remnant so that He can fulfill His promises; salvation is by His grace, not our works; and His judgments are righteous. God keeps His promises and men need His grace.

A Past Remnant is Proof that God Hasn't Rejected Israel (Romans 11:2-4)

2011-02-16T08:01:00.004-06:00

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, in the eleventh chapter, is dealing with the question of whether or not God has rejected Israel. He opened up this chapter with this question: “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has he?” This question is of utmost importance because if God has made specific promises to this nation that He is not going to keep then the trustworthiness of God is on the line. If God cannot be trusted to keep His promises to Israel, then logic would dictate He cannot be trusted to keep any of His promises. This would mean that His promise, whoever believes in Christ will not be disappointed, cannot be trusted. This would mean that His promise that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, cannot be trusted. This would mean that God is not to be trusted.

However, we know that God keeps His promises and that it is impossible for God to lie. We as God’s people are fully assured that what God has promised, He is also able to perform. There are those who say that God has forever rejected Israel because of Israel’s rejection of Christ. However, I want to be quick to point out that those who believe that God has rejected Israel and is through with the nation do not believe that God doesn’t keep His promises. On the contrary, they believe that He does keep His promises but that His promises to Israel were conditional promises and not unconditional. But as is plain from Romans chapter eleven, God has not rejected Israel and therefore He has not violated His promise to the nation which we believe to be an unconditional promise given at first to Abraham and then to Isaac and then to Jacob whom God changed his name to Israel.

In Romans 11:1-10, Paul gave three proofs that God that God has not rejected Israel and therefore has not violated His promise. First, Paul pointed to himself as a saved Israelite whom God has not rejected (Romans 11:1). Second, Paul pointed to Israel’s past during a time of great apostasy in Elijah’s day to show that God had not rejected His people but had a remnant (Romans 11:2-4). Third, Paul pointed to the truth that a present remnant had received grace while the majority was hardened (Romans 11:5-10).

We have already considered Paul is proof that God’s rejection of Israel is only partial (Romans 11:1). Now we will consider Romans 11:2-4.

The remnant of Elijah’s day is proof that God’s rejection of Israel is only partial (Romans 11:2-4). The story of Elijah is of great importance to establishing this truth that God’s rejection of Israel is only partial. If there had ever been a time in the history of the Israel that God should have outright rejected them, this was one of them. It was a time of widespread apostasy. This was during the reign of Ahab, the King of the ten northern tribes known as Israel. Ahab’s wife was Jezebel, a priestess of Baal, who, with her prophets of Baal, led seemingly the entire nation into apostasy and idolatry.

Baal was a false heathen god who was believed to be in control of the weather. He was the lord of Canaanite religion and seen in the thunderstorms. Baal was worshiped as a great god who provided fertility. It was in the middle of this apostasy and idolatry that Elijah prayed to the Lord that it would not rain for three and a half years at the end of which he would pray again for it to rain. This drought set the stage for the showdown between Elijah, God’s true prophet, and Jezebel’s prophets of Baal, to show the nation whether the Lord or Baal is God (1 Kings 18:20-46).

After Elijah’s great victory over the prophets of Baal, he expected that the nation would turn from its apostasy and come back to the Lord. Instead, Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and she sent him a death threat that made him realize that not only had the people not turned to the Lord, the King and Queen had not turned to the Lord either.

Elijah fled for his life, becoming despondent and depressed because he believed that he was the only faithful Israelite left in the land. This brought about Elijah’s pleading with God against Israel – “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life” (Romans 11:3; 1 Kings 19:10).

Surely God had rejected Israel and failed to keep His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. At least this is how it appeared but this wasn’t how things really were. As Paul put it, “But what is the divine response to him? ‘I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal’” (Romans 11:4; 1 Kings 19:18).

The divine response to Elijah was that God had preserved a believing remnant in Israel. This is important because this shows that God’s rejection of Israel is only partial. If God were going to reject the nation He would not preserve or keep for Himself a remnant.

Paul is proof that God’s rejection of Israel is only partial. Elijah and the remnant of 7000 are proof that God’s rejection of Israel is only partial. God has not failed to remain true to His covenant with Abraham. God’s rejection of Israel is only partial because God is a promise keeping God.

God Has Not Rejected Israel: Paul is Proof (Romans 11:1)

2011-02-07T07:02:00.004-06:00

Most people who know anything about the Bible know that God has made certain promises to certain people in the past. We know these promises as covenants. Most Christians are particularly familiar with what we call the Abrahamic Covenant and the Davidic Covenant. To Abraham God promised a Son who would be the redeemer of the world and He promised Abraham the land from the river of Egypt as far as the Euphrates. When God made this promise to Abraham He did it through the ritual of a covenant. God had Abraham cut certain animals in half and make a path in between the pieces by laying the halves opposite each other with a space in between. God then passed in between these animals cut in half and swore to Abraham that He would bring about what He promised (Genesis 15:7-18).

Abraham did not pass in between the animals cut in half, only God did. This means that God’s promise to Abraham was unconditional. In other words, there were no conditions that Abraham would have to meet for the promise to come about. God was making a promise to Abraham without Abraham having to make a promise of some sort back to God. This was not God saying to Abraham, “I’ll do this...if you do that.” That is a conditional promise. This was an unconditional promise – no strings attached.

God’s passing through the animals cut in half was an ancient Near East custom. The one making the promise passed between the slain animals and was in essence saying, “May the same thing happen to me that happened to these animals if I don’t keep my promise.”

God also made a promise to King David which we call the Davidic Covenant. In that covenant God promised David that one from his lineage would rule forever over God’s kingdom. Of course we know that God was speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God keeps His promises. We as God’s people are to be fully assured that what God has promised, He is also able to perform. The author of the letter to the Hebrews appealed to the trustworthiness of God to encourage them to remain steadfast in the face of persecution and opposition. “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.’ And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:13-18).

There are those who say that God has forever rejected Israel because of their rejection of Christ. Paul takes up this subject in this chapter. Here we see that the trustworthiness of God is on the line. Can we trust God to keep His promises – especially if He hasn’t kept His promise to Israel?

In Romans 11:1-10, the apostle Paul gave three proofs that God hasn’t rejected Israel and therefore hasn’t violated His promise. First, Paul points to himself as a saved Israelite whom God has not rejected (Romans 11:1). Second, Paul points to Israel’s past during the time of great apostasy in Elijah’s day to show that God had not rejected His people but had a remnant (Romans 11:2-4). Third, Paul points to the truth that a present remnant received grace while the majority was hardened (Romans 11:5-10). Paul uses these proofs to show that the setting aside of Israel was only partial because God keeps His promises.

Paul is proof that God’s rejection of Israel is only partial (Romans 11:1). In Romans 11:1 Paul asks a rhetorical question. That is a question that isn’t seeking an answer but making a statement. Paul emphatically states that there is no way that God has rejected His people. He uses the strongest negative in the Greek language to make his point – “May it never be!” In other words, “God forbid” or “perish the thought.” For God to reject His people would be for God to be untrue to His promises to them.

Now I want to point out in a hurry that God is under no obligation to keep misinterpreted promises. Just as in Romans 9:6-13, Paul explained that the Jews had misinterpreted God’s promise to Abraham as wholesale for all of Abraham’s descendants – it wasn’t for all his descendants as Paul proved from Scripture – it is possible to misinterpret His promises and believe that He has failed to keep His word.

How does Paul prove that God has not rejected His people and gone back on His Word? First of all, Paul points to the evidence that he too is an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. The logic is that if God has rejected His people then He would have also rejected the apostle Paul.

Were there any reasons that God would have rejected Paul? Well sure! We remember Paul’s past. He was no different than any other Israelite. He was seeking to establish a righteousness of his own through the Law as a Pharisee. He was depending upon his heritage as a descendant of Abraham. He was especially proud of the fact that he was of the tribe of Benjamin which was also the tribe from which the first king of Israel, Saul, came from. At first he rejected Christ and his witnesses. He persecuted the church. However, God saved him by grace and did not reject him.

The Jews had failed God. Paul had failed God. But God did not fail to remain true to his covenant with Abraham which was not a covenant that promised every single descendant of Abraham would be saved but that God would save some of them based solely on His grace and good pleasure. Those who were of the faith of Abraham are the children of Abraham and these are the heirs to the promises of God.

God’s rejection of Israel was only partial because He is a promise keeping God. Are you fully assured that what God has promised, He is able to perform?

Israel's Failure to Heed the Gospel (Romans 10:18-21)

2011-02-02T07:46:00.003-06:00

I would like to give a quick summary of Romans 9-11 so that we can keep our text in its proper context to better understand what God is saying in this portion of Scripture. These three chapters are dealing primarily with the reasons for Israel’s rejection of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans chapter 9 describes Israel’s false hope of salvation by works rather than by grace. As a whole, most Jews believed they were guaranteed God’s favor because of their ancestry and their ability. In essence, they believed God chose Abraham because of Abraham’s ability to please God rather than the truth that God saved Abraham by grace (a truth firmly established in Romans 4). All through Scripture we see the Jews appealing to their ancestry and claiming Abraham as their father. Romans chapter 9 obliterates this false hope of salvation and establishes the truth that salvation is by grace and not by ancestry or ability.

Romans chapter 10 describes Israel’s failure to heed the message of salvation by grace. Since it was true that the majority of the Jews had a false hope of salvation based on their ancestry and ability, their failure to heed the message of salvation by grace was the logical and inevitable outcome. Their false hope of salvation by works led to their failure to heed the message of salvation by grace.

Romans chapter 11 describes Israel’s future salvation by grace after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Chapter 11, while dealing with Israel’s rejection and the good that God would accomplish through it (bringing salvation to the Gentiles), tempers the bad news about Israel’s stubborn disobedience with the good news that God will one day save Israel by grace.

As we conclude chapter 10 we will be considering the truth that Israel’s failure to heed the message about salvation by grace in Christ was predicted in Scripture. Chapter 10 deals with both the exclusiveness of salvation in Christ (God doesn’t save any other way than through faith in Christ) and the inclusiveness of salvation in Christ (it is for anyone who believes, Jew or Gentile). Israel failed to heed both of these aspects of the Gospel message and therefore Christ became a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to them.

Israel failed to heed the exclusiveness of salvation in Christ (10:18). Had they ever heard? Sure they had! Over and over God sent His prophets and they preached of the exclusiveness of salvation in Christ. In Genesis 3, God promised Adam and Eve that He would send an exclusive deliverer through the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head.

When giving the promise to Abraham and his seed, God spoke in the singular and not the plural (Galatians 3:16), speaking of Christ and the exclusiveness of salvation through Him. Moses also stated that God would raise up one exclusive Prophet to whom you shall give heed to everything He says or utterly be destroyed from among the people of God (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22-23). God proclaimed through Isaiah about the exclusive Suffering Servant who would pay sin’s penalty for His people.

Instead of trusting in the exclusiveness of salvation in Christ, Israel trusted in ancestry and ability rather than the finished and sufficient work of Christ. The exclusiveness of salvation in Christ was a stumbling stone to the Jews.

Israel failed to heed the inclusiveness of salvation in Christ (10:19-21). They didn’t know that God was going to include the Gentiles did they? Well, Paul gave two Scriptures that Israel failed to heed concerning the truth of the inclusiveness of the Gospel of Christ:

First, what Moses said in Deuteronomy 32:21. Here we see that the Scriptures predicted the inclusion of Gentiles in salvation in order to make Israel jealous (Romans 11:11) so that they might also be saved (Romans 11:14).

Second, what Isaiah is very bold and says in Isaiah 65:1. Here we see that God through Isaiah preached the truth that He was going to include the Gentiles who did not seek Him or ask for Him because salvation is by grace and not by works. The Jews were seeking God through their works but salvation is by grace through faith. Israel thought salvation was exclusive in the sense that they believed it was for them because of their works and not for the Gentiles because they weren’t even trying.

Paul could have given more Scripture showing that Israel should have known about the inclusion of Gentiles because of the predictions of Scripture. Paul said in his letter to the Galatians, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you’” (Galatians 3:8). The truth that God would include the Gentiles in salvation was reprehensible to the Jews. The inclusiveness of salvation in Christ was a rock of offense to the Jews.

Israel failed to heed God’s offer of salvation (10:21). Immediately after God told Israel through Isaiah 65:1 the truth that He was going to include Gentiles in salvation, He told them the sad truth of their condition in Isaiah 65:2 – “All the day long I have stretched out My hand to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

The apostle Paul, making application with the Scriptures, showed that Israel’s failure to heed the message of the exclusiveness of salvation in Christ and the inclusiveness of salvation in Christ, was predicted in Scripture.

The Parameters of Salvation (Romans 10:11-17)

2011-01-09T06:43:00.004-06:00

Paul has been establishing the truth of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In his defense of the gospel he has shown that all men, including the Jews, are incapable of attaining to the righteousness of God because of men’s sin nature. Therefore, only those who have faith in Jesus Christ and His work of living a sinless life, dying a sacrificial death, and experiencing a supernatural resurrection, on their behalf, are saved.

In Romans 9-11 Paul was primarily answering the question of why the Jews who had the Word of God were mostly or as a whole rejecting the gospel of Christ and salvation by grace. Let me attempt to briefly summarize the problem of why most of the Jews rejected the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ:

(1) The Jews believed they were God’s elect and special people because they were better people than all other men in the world. This means that they believed in conditional election rather than unconditional election which would make salvation by merit and not by mercy; by works and not by grace.

(2) Since most of the Jews rejected the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, they also rejected the notion that God would save and include Gentiles in His family. By rejecting salvation by grace and attempting to exclude Gentiles from the promises and covenants of God, they excluded themselves. As a result, they did not pursue God’s righteousness by faith but as though it was by works.

(3) Since most of the Jews rejected the Gospel of grace, they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own. This caused them to reject Christ and the promises of God that are yes in Him. Instead of believing in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead and confessing Jesus as Lord, they did not believe in Him and they did not call on His name. Through this they missed the wonderful promises of God: “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed,” and, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

That brings us to our text where we will see the parameters of salvation.

Anyone can be saved who believes (Romans 10:11-13). I want you to notice something very important in the particular order of the promises found in verses 11 and 13. In verse 11 the promise is that “whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed” and in verse 13 the promise is that “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The order here gives you an idea of the parameters of salvation that Paul is talking about in these verses. The logical order is that you believe in Him before you call on Him. It is your belief in Christ that enables your calling on Christ. What is it that you believe? You believe in His sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection on your behalf as the only way a holy God can pardon your sins. This enables and motivates you to call out, “Lord, save me.” These two must always go together; believing in the work of Christ and as a result of that belief calling on the name of Christ. Anyone can be saved who believes.

Anyone who believes must hear (Romans 10:14-15). Here we see the parameters of salvation in reverse order. To be saved you must call on Him and to call on Him you must believe in Him and to believe in Him you must hear about Him and to hear about Him someone must tell or preach about Him and to preach about Him you must be sent by God with God’s message about Him and not your own. What do these verses say about people who have never heard God’s message about His Son? Can men be saved without hearing? Must what they hear be the truth about Christ? Look at the description the Bible gives of those who are sent and preach the good news – they are considered to have beautiful feet because they are the vehicles by which the good news about Christ is told.

It is impossible to believe in someone of whom you have never heard. Anyone who believes must hear.

Anyone who hears must heed (Romans 10:16-17). The word “heed” means to obey. The KJV puts verse 16 this way, “But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Esaias saith, “Lord, who hath believed our report?” The ESV puts it like this, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” Notice how the Bible equates obeying or heeding with believing. Hearing the message and not heeding the message is because one doesn’t really believe the message.

In verse 16, many heard but did not heed. They heard but did not believe. They heard but did not obey. Had they believed what they heard they would have obeyed what they heard and would have called on the name of the Lord. Simply put, this means that they would have seen their works as filthy rags and His as beautiful and all sufficient.

Romans 10:16 has to be the most disappointing response to the gospel recorded in Scripture – “They did not all heed the good news.” Isaiah not only experienced this disappointing response from his countrymen, he prophesied about their future rejection of the Gospel – “Lord, who has believed our report?”

Isaiah wasn’t speaking to God as a co-author of the Gospel but was referring to himself and the other prophets as heralds of that message. Isaiah was sent with a message and didn’t manufacture one.

The conclusion is that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word about Christ (Romans 10:17). Men must hear the gospel to believe in Christ and call on His name for salvation. While hearing the gospel doesn’t guarantee faith because men must heed what they hear; not hearing the gospel guarantees no chance for faith in Christ and no chance for salvation.
Anyone can be saved who believes; anyone who believes must hear; anyone who hears must heed. These are the parameters of salvation.

The Truth of Lordship Salvation (Romans 10:5-13)

2010-11-11T07:15:00.003-06:00

Nothing is more important in Bible study and Bible preaching than proper interpretation. If we do not arrive at God’s intended message – what He was actually communicating – then we cannot arrive at proper application. This would prove disastrous in any biblical doctrine but especially in the doctrine of salvation. The dangers associated with an improper interpretation of the Gospel are either legalism or libertinism.

Legalism can be either an attempt to merit God’s favor through works of the Law or a more subtle but just as deadly adding to the finished work of Christ. In the case of adding to the finished work of Christ one would profess faith in Christ plus some other stipulation. One might say that you have to believe in Christ but you also must do this or that.

The Judaizers that hounded the apostle Paul taught that you had to believe in Christ plus be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses in order to be saved. There are those in our day who say that you must believe in Christ plus a myriad of other do’s and don’ts in order to be saved. This is legalism and it is an attempt to make Jesus Lord.

Libertinism is just the opposite of legalism and instead of attempting to merit God’s favor through works of the Law or adding to the finished work of Christ it actually is against the Law and would even dare remove Christ’s obedience to the Law as necessary for our salvation. Libertinism actually takes away from the work of Christ and in essence says that a person can be saved by believing in Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. Libertinism subtracts from the Person and work of Christ. There are many in our day that say you must believe in Jesus as Savior minus His Lordship and His perpetual obedience to the Law from the cradle to the cross. They emphasize His death and resurrection to the exclusion of His Law-keeping obedience. Libertines want to have Jesus as Savior but not as Lord – or at least His Lordship to them is optional and not necessary for salvation.

However, both legalism and libertinism are deadly counterfeits of the true Gospel. Lordship salvation is the true Gospel and it isn’t making Jesus Lord or rejecting His Lordship but receiving Him as Lord. Since both legalism and libertinism tamper with the finished and sufficient work of Christ, neither one believes the testimony God has given concerning His Son. Therefore neither one can confess or “say the same thing” about Jesus that God says about Him. Why? Their belief in His resurrection is deficient – it isn’t from understanding with the heart.

The resurrection of Christ from the dead implies His Lordship! Follow the reasoning carefully. If a man lived a perfect life in perpetual obedience to God’s Law from his birth and then died then of necessity it means that His death was substitutionary and not a result of sin or violation of God’s Law. If His death was substitutionary then He was dying on behalf of others who had sinned and violated God’s Law. Since this was the case then the Law had absolutely no reason to hold this sinless Man in the grips of death because He had never violated the Law but was only upholding it. Therefore, it was impossible that He could be held by death (Acts 2:24) and God raised Him from the dead making Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36) declaring Him the Son of God with power (Romans 1:4).

Now how is a sinner who is saved by the works of this sinless Man going to respond to Him? Is he not going to love Him? Is he not going to adore Him? Is he not going to worship Him? Is he not going to obey Him? Didn’t Jesus say, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”? Didn’t Jesus say, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say”? Isn’t our obedience to Christ as Lord the result of His work on our behalf (Romans 1:5)? Isn’t the goal of the Gospel loving, loyal obedience to Christ because He saved us?

Notice in our text that salvation is a Lordship issue – “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). And then Paul gave us the divine and logical order in which this happens – “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:10). First the heart understands the necessity and the actuality of the resurrection of Christ. Then the mouth confesses Jesus as Lord. So first there is the understanding of the work Jesus did to save us and immediately afterwards – because of His work on our behalf – we confess His Lordship submitting to Him as such. What we believe brings about our obedience and the Bible calls it, “The obedience of the faith” (Romans 1:5).

The Bible gives us a wonderful illustration of the truth of Lordship salvation years before Romans was ever written. In Luke 23:32-43 we read of Jesus’ crucifixion between two criminals. One of those criminals received salvation and the other did not. It’s very interesting to see how this played out. The criminal that did not receive salvation actually spoke to Jesus and wanted Him to be his Savior – “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us” (Luke 23:39)! The other criminal owned his crimes and confessed Jesus’ innocence (Luke 23:40-41). He had been brought to the place of understanding that Jesus wasn’t dying for any crimes He had committed because He hadn’t committed any and that Jesus’ death was of necessity, substitutionary.

Notice what this criminal says to the Lord after realizing this: “And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom’” (Luke 23:42). He believed in his heart that God would raise Jesus from the dead – “When you come!” The apostle Paul said, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Notice also that this criminal confessed with his mouth Jesus as Lord – “And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom’” (Luke 23:42). That is a confession of the Lordship of Christ – only Kings have kingdoms.

Lastly notice that this criminal called upon the name of the Lord – “Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Romans 10:13 – “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Who can be Saved? (Romans 10:5-13)

2010-10-25T07:54:00.003-05:00

The most important question that a person can ask is: “What must I do to be saved?” This is the question that was on the heart and mind of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16). This young religious leader came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” It’s interesting that the first thing the Lord said to this young man was the truth of man’s total inability to do good because man isn’t good. “And He said to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good…’” (Matthew 19:17). This truth alone puts the possibility of obtaining the righteousness God requires out of the reach of fallen men. To show this young man his inability to inherit eternal life by the works of his own hands, the Lord said, “But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).

Notice the unusual response of the young ruler to the Lord – “Then he said to Him, ‘Which ones’” (Matthew 19:18)? Behind this question is the false notion that as long as ones partial obedience to the commandments outweighs his disobedience then God will be pleased. It’s the false notion that as long as my good outweighs my bad then God will grant me eternal life. This overlooks the truth that God’s Law and God’s holy nature requires perfect perpetual obedience and partial obedience is disobedience – “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). Also the Law itself said, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them” (Galatians 3:10).

The Law puts the requirements of God for eternal life out of reach of sinful humanity (Romans 3:20) and witnesses to the truth that eternal life must come as a gift by faith in the only One who is good and lived in perfect perpetual obedience to the Law (Romans 3:21-24). Since salvation is by grace through faith in Christ and not by works of the Law then that which is impossible becomes possible – that which is out of reach through the works of sinful man becomes near and in reach through faith in the One and only Sinless Man. This is the truth that Paul is establishing in Romans 10:5-13.

The righteousness of God is impossible for sinners through the work of the flesh (Romans 10:5). Eternal life is out of reach and impossible for sinners to accomplish themselves. In order to do so he or she would have to have perfect perpetual obedience to the Law. Impossible!

The righteousness of God is possible for sinners through the word of faith (Romans 10:6-8). Eternal life is in the reach of sinners as a gift through faith in the finished work of Christ. Notice that this requires faith in Christ and not oneself. This means that we must believe in our own inability in order to believe in Christ and His ability. We must believe that we are truly unrighteous and in need of imputed righteousness. We must believe that we are sinners, God is holy, and our only hope is in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ must become to the sinner his sole source of righteousness.

This truth humbles all who will receive it and removes all boasting before God so that he who boasts, boasts in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31). Do you see how a person must be humbled by the truth of his own inability in order to believe in Christ as his sole source of righteousness? Man must see that the righteousness of God is so far out of his reach that it is impossible for him to attain to it. It is only then that man can see the wonderful truth of how God has made possible the impossible as a gift. By making the righteousness required for eternal life a gift through faith in Christ, God has made the impossible, possible; and that which was out of reach; near.

This is why Paul personified the righteousness based on faith and showed us how it speaks. What does faith say? “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is to bring Christ up from the dead)” (Romans 10:6-7). Those are two impossible tasks for men, both of which are a denial of the work of Christ, and faith doesn’t talk that way. How does faith talk? It says this, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Romans 10:8).

In order to be saved by faith a person must see his total inability and his hope of any self-sufficiency must die so that he can trust in Christ’s work as his only hope of righteousness and eternal life. By this he will confess his own sinfulness and Christ’s righteousness; his own inability and Christ’s ability; and his own insufficiency and Christ’s total sufficiency – [this] is, the word of faith which [Paul] was preaching (Romans 10:8).

The word of faith must affect the heart to inform the mouth (Romans 10:9-13). The word of faith connects the mouth and the heart so that what the mouth says actually comes from the heart. It is possible for the mouth to speak and not mean what it says. Jesus said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say” (Luke 6:46). He also said, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8). To speak the right words without believing or understanding those words in the heart is not confession but confusion! For genuine confession to take place the heart must be supernaturally affected by the truth if it is to inform the mouth with real understanding. Jesus said, “For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:15).

Since the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart, the heart must be changed for one to turn from self and sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. This only happens through the preaching of the word about Christ (Romans 10:17) which confronts man with his own sinfulness and inability with the sinless, sufficient work of Christ on his behalf in stark contrast.

Then and only then will the sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection of Christ become heart knowledge and not just head knowledge and it will result in the confession of Jesus as Lord.

Vicarious Law-Keeping (Romans 10:4-5)

2010-10-20T07:32:00.003-05:00

The aim of the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of the Gospel is to remove the false notion that man can be justified through keeping the Law in the power of his flesh. The aim of the Gospel is to show that justification is on the basis of grace along through faith alone in Christ alone because of His vicarious Law-keeping, vicarious Law-paying, and vicarious Law-releasing. In other words, the aim of the Gospel is to show Christ as the fulfillment of the Law and not its nullifier so that the righteousness of God can be attained by faith and never by the flesh. We are justified solely as a gift through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24) based on His sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection – all on our behalf. Therefore we cannot be justified by our own Law-keeping (because we can’t keep it) and we cannot be justified without Christ’s Law-keeping (He’s the only One who could) for it must be fulfilled and not nullified. Our justification is based on the works of another and not our own! We are justified by a Savior who serves as our Substitute who alone was qualified to pay a debt He didn’t owe for those who owed a debt they couldn’t pay!

Since it is true that the aim of the Gospel is to remove the false notion that man can be justified through keeping the Law in the power of his flesh then of necessity you will understand that God has never justified any sinner through works of the Law but only on the basis of faith in God’s perfect Substitute – the Lord Jesus Christ. There has never been nor will there ever be a dispensation in which men are justified by their own law-keeping. It is error and heresy to believe that God has at one time in history justified men by their own law-keeping but today has nullified the Law through a dispensation of grace. There has never been anything but a dispensation of justification by grace through faith in the One and only Vicarious Law-Keeper.

Let me define vicarious so that you know exactly what I’m communicating so that you can also communicate this wonderful good-news to all men everywhere. Vicarious means “performed, received, or suffered in the place of another” (Webster’s Universal College Dictionary). All three meanings of the word apply to the totality of the work of Christ on our behalf. Christ performed Law-keeping in our place through His sinless life; Christ suffered Law-paying in our place through His sacrificial death; and Christ received Law-releasing in our place through His supernatural resurrection. Every single aspect of the work of Christ is necessary for our justification. Without His sinless life He could not become the Sacrificial Lamb and would not experience a supernatural resurrection by which we could be justified and become the righteousness of God in Him. Therefore faith in Christ does not nullify the Law but establishes it (Romans 3:31) and brings to an end all attempts at meriting justification through our own works by receiving it through faith in His works (Romans 10:4).

Here is the wonderful truth of redemption in Christ – we can’t keep the Law; He never said we could! He can keep the Law; and He always said He would! It is in this and this alone that the weary and heavy laden find rest for their souls. We don’t have rest because the Law has been abolished – we have rest because our Lord has been sufficient! Christ didn’t abolish the Law; He fulfilled it just as He said He would.

There are those today who believe that the Law has been abolished and that Romans 10:4 is teaching that the Law has been abolished. These are so against the Law that they discount the sinless life of Christ under the Law as a non-essential to salvation. They would dare divide the seamless garment of the work of Christ and reject His obedience to the Law as a necessary part of our justification. This is a severe misinterpretation of this passage that not only overlooks its immediate context but also the overall context of Scripture. That the Law has not been abolished but fulfilled is the explicit teaching of the Bible and so it does not imply in this verse or any other verse that the Law has been abolished. Faith establishes the Law because it trusts in the vicarious Law-keeping of Christ!

In Romans 10:4-5, Paul is contrasting Gospel righteousness (Romans 10:4) to the righteousness of the Law (Romans 10:5) in order to show that we are saved by Another’s Law-keeping and not our own. Why is this so? Because to be saved by the Law through our own ability to keep it is impossible for sinful man since the Law requires perfect obedience at every point perpetually throughout man’s life in order to receive the Law’s promise of life. The Law promises life for those who live by it in perpetual perfection but it promises death for those who don’t. “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them’” (Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 27:26).

So the Law does not bring righteousness to man, it actually reveals man’s unrighteousness through his inability to live by it in perpetual perfection. It is because of this that men must trust the only sufficient Substitute, Jesus Christ, in order to be justified by God. “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for ‘The righteous man shall live by faith’” (Galatians 3:11).

We are justified by faith in the finished work of Christ alone. It is not that He kept nine of the commandments and we kept one – it is that He kept all the commandments and we kept none – “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). We don’t add anything to the work of Christ – He did it all and He did it all by Himself. That is why we read that “when He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).

That, my brethren, is vicarious Law-keeping - the Law-keeper dying for the Law-breakers and being raised from the dead for our justification and His own vindication. Christ performed the whole Law, suffered the Law’s penalty, and received the Law’s release on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him and also receive the Law’s release. That is justification; that is liberation; that is the Gospel!

Christ: The End of Trying (Romans 10:4)

2010-10-11T07:51:00.004-05:00

Since man cannot meet the righteous requirement of a holy God through works of the Law and cannot by the labor of his hands fulfill the Law’s demands, his only hope is found in Jesus Christ who did perfectly fulfill the Law in order to redeem him. People that believe they can serve God and please God in the flesh are ignorant about the righteous requirements of an absolutely righteous God and their own sinfulness (Romans 10:3).

The most difficult people on the face of the earth to reach with the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are those who have been taught that they are pretty good people and therefore God owes them salvation. The absolute need for any person to be saved is that he or she sees his or her inability to please God in the power of the flesh through works of the Law. The self-righteous are excluded from salvation because salvation is by mercy and not by merit. So the first duty of the faithful witness is to exalt the absolute righteousness of God and thereby show man his absolute inability to measure up. Men must be convinced of their sin if they are going to be convinced of their need for a Savior. As long as we allow men to remain in their self-righteousness by not exposing their sinfulness then we play right into the hands of the enemy of souls and join him in excluding them from salvation.

Many redefine sin in order to remove its offensiveness. Redefining sin as something other than what God has defined it in the Bible and telling men that they are not really as bad as God says they are is a hindrance to men coming to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Sad to say, but this is much of what characterizes today’s evangelism. Sin and repentance are either overlooked or toned down so that men aren’t offended or hurt by the stinging truth of their real condition before a holy and righteous God. The end result is men are offered grace without guilt, healing without hurting, and response without repentance. So these poor souls end up with a false assurance of salvation and will either be legalistic or licentious – not knowing about God’s righteousness!

Since man cannot achieve the righteousness of God – it must be achieved for him through a Substitute and received as a gift on the basis of faith. That being true, then all effort by man to please God in the flesh is an exercise in futility and ends in destruction. However, since the Lord Jesus Christ did achieve the righteousness of God as a Substitute for men who would believe, for them He is the end of attempting to please God in the flesh (Romans 10:4).

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Romans 10:4). Those who come to believe are those who come to see and know God’s righteousness and their inability to achieve it. They come to know themselves as sinners in the need of mercy! These are the ones that can see that they need a Savior and are no longer blinded by their self-righteousness or their zeal without knowledge. They come to know and understand – not the labors of my hands, can fulfill they law’s demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and thou alone (Baptist Hymnal, Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me, second stanza, Hymn 163). For everyone who believes, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness! Christ is the end of trying!

Salvation isn’t achieved by our trying to live a good life – we can’t; salvation is achieved by our trusting in the finished work of Christ. We become the recipients of the righteousness of God through faith not through the flesh. This is why it written, “The righteous man shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). Believers experience the great transaction – “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, “[we] no longer live for [ourselves], but for Him who died and rose again on [our] behalf” (2 Corinthians 5:15). We no longer live by the flesh and for the flesh but we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself up for us (Galatians 2:20).

I want you to notice three aspects about this verse:

“For Christ” - Salvation is exclusive - it is in Christ alone – He is the exclusive Savior and Liberator for there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

“Is the end of the law for righteousness” – Salvation is liberative – it sets men free from trying and gives them rest through trusting.

“To everyone who believes” – Salvation is inclusive – it is for everyone, Jew or Gentile, who comes to know God’s righteousness; his inability to achieve it; and that God has provided it through the finished work of Christ.

Zeal without Knowledge (Romans 10:1-4)

2010-10-04T15:23:00.002-05:00

In Romans 9:1-33 the apostle Paul gave two reasons for Israel’s failure to obtain salvation: (1) Israel failed to obtain salvation because of God’s sovereignty – God saves by grace through faith whoever He chooses on the basis of unconditional election. God saves by grace not race; by mercy not merit; and by faith not flesh. Therefore no man can put God under obligation to save on any other basis. (2) Israel failed to obtain salvation because of human responsibility – since God saves by grace through faith man is responsible to see his inability to be saved by the Law through works of the flesh on the basis of conditional election. Israel pursued salvation as though it were by works rather than by faith (Romans 9:31-32).

Paul was at one time in the same shoes that the majority of his Israelite kinsmen were in. He also pursued salvation as though it were by works and believed in conditional election rather than unconditional election – until the Lord saved him on the Damascus Road. So what Paul was about to write in Romans 10:1-4 was not only true to Scripture but also his own personal experience – he had zeal without knowledge and was attempting to establish his own righteousness.

Paul’s prayer was for Israel’s salvation (Romans 10:1). There are two discoveries to be made in this verse by keeping it in its literary context (the verses that precede and follow it) and in its historical context (the situation in life for the author and the meaning of the message to its original audience): (1) We discover that believing in God’s sovereignty (chapter 9) does not discourage praying for the lost or witnessing to the lost. (2) We discover that while Paul was accused of preaching against the people (his situation in life), his telling them the truth and praying for them showed his genuine concern and love for them. It was those false teachers that told them what they wanted to hear and preyed on them that were actually against them.

Paul’s problem was Israel’s religion (Romans 10:2-3). We notice four problems with Israel’s religion in these two verses that made it almost impossible for them to receive Paul’s message: (1) the first problem with Israel’s religion was that they had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (2) The second problem with Israel’s religion was that they were ignorant of God’s righteousness. (3) The third problem with Israel’s religion was that they were seeking to establish their own righteousness – being ignorant of the righteousness of God that He requires. (4) The fourth problem with Israel’s religion was they did not subject themselves to God’s righteousness.

Paul knew all about these four problems because at one time in his life he was the epitome of Israel’s religion. Paul said that he was more zealous for Israel’s religion than the rest of his countrymen – “And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions” (Galatians 1:14). Paul also said that he was “circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless” (Philippians 3:5-6). While being attacked in the temple at Jerusalem and given the opportunity to make a defense before the Jews, Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today” (Acts 22:3).

Paul had a zeal for God but without knowledge. The word knowledge is epignosis which means “real knowledge” or “true knowledge.” Gnosis is the word for common knowledge which is a lower form of knowledge and may even be a false knowledge. However the prefix epi means “over” or “above.” So epignosis is “true knowledge” which is “over” or “above” common knowledge and must be revealed by God because it does not originate in man. It is knowledge from above as compared to earthly or natural knowledge (see James 3:15, 17).

Paul also at one time was ignorant (without knowledge) of God’s righteousness and sought to establish a righteousness of his own. After being confronted by the Lord on the Damascus Road, Paul threw away his attempts at having a righteousness of his own derived from the Law and relied totally on the imputed righteousness of Christ as his only hope for attaining to the righteousness of God (Philippians 3:7-9). To be ignorant of God’s righteousness is to fail to see that God’s standard is beyond the reach of sinful man and that what we need we cannot attain and therefore it must be received as a gift through the works of another who was able to completely meet God’s righteous standard – this is why salvation is by faith in Christ.

The whole time Paul was depending upon his zeal for God and his personal obedience to the law in order to establish a righteousness of his own by which to be acceptable to God and merit His favor, he was not subjecting himself to God’s righteousness. Believing that he was pleasing God – being very sincere in that belief – Paul was refusing to place himself under God’s revealed way of salvation and was despising God’s authority. Nothing would have looked more like subjecting oneself to God’s righteousness than the earnest pursuit of rules and regulations – but those rules and regulations were for pointing men to Christ by pointing men to their own sinfulness. So instead of subjecting themselves to God’s way of righteousness – they rejected it.

Paul’s prescription was Israel’s Liberator (Romans 10:4). Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Christ is the goal to which the law points and in Him men can rest and cease striving. By this He is the end of attempting to gain God’s required righteousness through the works of the law because it cannot be done. Christ fulfilled the Law of God completely. In His sinless life He upheld the precepts of the Law; in His sacrificial death He upheld the penalty of the Law; and in His supernatural resurrection He upheld the Person of the Law so that faith in Christ establishes the Law rather than nullifies it (Romans 3:31). Men are saved through the work of Christ alone and not one iota of their own!

The Gospel is Exclusive (Romans 9:27-33)

2010-09-20T07:17:00.003-05:00

In Romans 9:25-26 the apostle Paul showed that the Gospel of salvation by grace is inclusive – it is for undeserving Jews and undeserving Gentiles. Since salvation is by grace and not by merit then it is for every people group in the world and not just one ethnicity. God has promised to save some from every tribe and every tongue and every nation. Paul quoted a couple of verses from the Old Testament prophet Hosea to show that God had always intended to graciously include Gentiles in his plan of salvation by grace – “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people.’”

The Gospel is inclusive – it demonstrates God’s grace and mercy as He saves undeserving sinners and it demonstrates God’s righteousness as He shows no favoritism for any one group of people. For many, many years it seemed as though God didn’t care for anyone except the Jews. Just as the Old Testament prophets had prophesied of the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s plan of salvation, they also prophesied of the reversal of God’s order of salvation. The Jews were going to reject their Messiah and because of this the kingdom of God was going to be taken away from them and given to a people producing the fruit of it (see Matthew 21:42-43). Not only was God going to graciously include the Gentiles in His plan of salvation, He was also going to give them the main responsibility of spreading the Gospel – until the time of the Gentiles be complete (Luke 21:24 and Romans 11:25).

So not only does the Bible teach that the Gospel is inclusive, it also teaches that the gospel is exclusive. The Gospel includes everyone who believes in the finished work of Christ as his only hope of righteousness – Jew or Gentile (Romans 1:16). But the Gospel also excludes everyone who pursues righteousness as though it is by works (Romans 9:32) or who perverts the grace of God and uses it as a license to sin (Romans 6:1; Jude 4).

The Gospel is Exclusive (Romans 9:27-33). Paul moved on to show that the majority of the nation of Israel wasn’t going to be saved but only a remnant from among the nation. He quoted twice from Isaiah to prove that what he was teaching was biblical. You can correctly imagine that the Jews listening to Paul’s message of salvation by grace would have wondered at why, if his message was true, the majority of the Jews who had God’s Word weren’t being saved. Why were there more Gentiles being saved than there were Jews? The answer: because salvation is by grace and not by works (Romans 9:32).

The gospel is exclusive. God only saves by grace through faith in Christ and all who dare pursue salvation as though it is by the will of man or the works of man are destined to stumble over the stumbling stone of salvation by grace. There is no salvation for the person who thinks his religion can earn him a righteous standing before God. Jesus said in Mark 2:17, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The majority of the Jews pursued salvation as though it were by works and not by faith (Romans 9:31-32). If God hadn’t graciously chosen to save a remnant of Israel none of them would have been saved – “[they] would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah.” God would have had to destroy them because there wouldn’t have been even ten righteous people found among them – while as a whole they believed that the majority of them were righteous.

It’s amazing that we can see sin in others easily. It’s not so easy to see sin in ourselves. This makes it nearly impossible to see sin in our religion – and we will not if God doesn’t open our eyes and cause us to see our need for his grace and mercy. Most people judge by appearance and believe that when something bad happens to others that those others deserved it while they themselves were spared because of their own righteousness. Here is a case in point: “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish’” (Luke 13:1-5).

Do you see the how the self-righteous assess the tragedy of others and bolster a dangerous and unbiblical assurance that they themselves are pleasing to God? It’s the idea that they deserved tragedy and we didn’t! That’s the attitude of the self-righteous who thinks that his religion rather than the work of Christ has earned him a right standing before God.

The self-righteous, as long as they remain in that state, are excluded from salvation because it is by grace and not by works. The only thing that any person, Jew or Gentile, can do to be saved is to believe that he can do nothing to merit salvation and to cast himself on God’s mercy in the finished work of Christ. Being brought to the place of recognizing ones inability and being enabled to believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is the work of God (John 6:29ff). He accomplishes this work in the hearts and lives of the ones that He has chosen for salvation through the proclamation of the word about Christ. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word about Christ (Romans 10:17).

The Gospel is exclusive – it is only for those who have been shown and have come to know that they are sinners. All others are excluded.

The Gospel is Inclusive (Romans 9:25-26)

2010-09-09T08:37:00.003-05:00

The Gospel is inclusive (Romans 9:25-26). The gospel is inclusive! It is for undeserving Jews and undeserving Gentiles. Since salvation is by grace and not by merit then it is for every people group in the world and not just one ethnicity. God has promised to save some from every tribe and every tongue and every language and every nation.

Here Paul quotes a couple of verses from Hosea to demonstrate that salvation is for undeserving Jews and undeserving Gentiles. In its original context the verses in Hosea applied to the Jews of the northern kingdom who had forfeited their right to remain in the land and who had brought down the judgment of God on themselves. But under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the apostle Paul also made application with it to the Gentiles – I will call those who were not My people, “My people.” These verses then apply to undeserving Jews and undeserving Gentiles.

We need to take a moment and consider the historical context of the prophecy given by Hosea. First of all Hosea was giving a prophetic parable as directed by the Lord. He was told to marry a woman of harlotries and have children by her. The woman of harlotries was Gomer and she was representative of the adulterous nation of Israel. Hosea the prophet was representative of God. The children of Gomer are noted as being children of harlotries. The names that God directed Hosea to give the children represented how God was going to deal with the nation. The first child was a son named Jezreel. Jezreel means to scatter or sow, like a farmer who would scatter his seed. God was going to scatter the nation because of its constant forsaking of the Lord. The second child was a daughter named Lo-ruhamah which means no compassion or not loved – no mercy! The third child was a son named Lo-ammi which means not my people!

So Israel was portrayed as a harlot who had forsaken the Lord just as Gomer was a harlot who forsook Hosea. The children of Gomer were given names by God to indicate how He was going to deal with the adulterous nation. This message would not have been and was not well received by the people. They were sure that they had not forsaken God and that He would not deal with them in that manner (see Hosea 8:2).

What caused Israel to not believe and not receive God’s message of her unfaithfulness through Hosea? They were living in a time of seeming peace when they had recaptured much of the land that belonged to them under king David and king Solomon. It was a time of prosperity with the rich getting richer and a time of palaces with bigger and better homes and houses of worship (Hosea 8:14). It was a time of multiplied altars (Hosea 8:11) and friendship with the world (Hosea 8:8). So it was a time of peace, prosperity, palaces, and political prowess. Israel couldn’t see her waywardness because of her works. She was sure that God was pleased with her and therefore could not see that she was in need of grace. So the majority of the Jews were not going to receive mercy because they did not see their need for mercy.

Also the people in Hosea’s day were constantly misapplying God’s Word and those negative parts must be talking about the Gentiles and not the nation of Israel (Hosea 8:12). So God gave a double meaning to His prophecy through Hosea – “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.’ And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they shall be called sons of the living God.’” God was going to include the Gentiles in His offer of free mercy. The gospel is inclusive – it is not just for undeserving Jews but also for undeserving Gentiles.

The Gospel is inclusive – it demonstrates God’s grace and mercy as He saves undeserving sinners and it demonstrates God’s righteousness as He shows no favoritism for any one group of people. For many, many years it seemed as though God didn’t care for anyone except the Jews. They were His chosen people and the majority of the people in the world at that time were separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). While all the nation of Israel wasn’t being saved because not all had faith, most of the people in the world who were being saved were coming from that nation. Very few Gentiles were saved until the Gospel had gone to the Jew first and then it went to the Greek.

Just as the Old Testament prophets had prophesied of the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s plan of salvation, they also prophesied of the reversal of God’s order of salvation. The Jews were going to reject their Messiah and because of this the kingdom of God was going to be taken away from them and given to a people producing the fruit of it (see Matthew 21:42-43). Not only was God going to graciously include the Gentiles in His plan of salvation, He was also going to give them the main responsibility of spreading the Gospel – until the time of the Gentiles be complete (Luke 21:24 and Romans 11:25).

We see the beginning movement and fulfillment of the taking away of the kingdom of God from the Jews and the giving of it to the Gentiles by God’s gracious inclusion of them in His kingdom in the book of Acts. Specifically we see when the Gentiles were beginning to be included when Peter preached to Cornelius. Then a Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, persecuted the Jewish Christians and they were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Some went to Antioch and were speaking the gospel to Jews only. Then some men of Cyprus and Cyrene began speaking to the Greeks “and a large number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:19-21). Saul of Tarsus was saved by the Lord and he became Paul the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9). Paul began his first missionary journey from the church in Antioch (Acts 13). Everywhere Paul went he preached to the Jew first and then to the Greek. The majority of the Jews rejected his message but many of the Gentiles received it. Whenever the Jews would reject the message of salvation by grace Paul would turn to the Gentiles. We read in Acts 13:48 about the Gentiles hearing the good news that God saves by grace and had included them in the plan of salvation – “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Inability Does Not Remove Responsibility (Romans 9:19-24)

2010-08-24T07:26:00.003-05:00

As we examine and study the gospel of salvation by grace in the light of what God has revealed in Scripture we notice that it is offensive, foolish, and a stumbling block to the natural man. Since this is true we are not to be surprised that the real gospel has built into it some objections from those who oppose it. If we know what the light of God’s Word has revealed those objections to be then we can know and discern all other gospel proclamations by holding them to the light of God’s Word and seeing if they raise the same objections. Counterfeit gospels do not have these objections built into them because they are designed to remove the gospel’s offensiveness and therefore they do not raise the objections that the real gospel raises.

In Romans 9:6-24 two objections are raised by the doctrine of unconditional election which establishes that salvation is by grace. The first objection raised by the real gospel is one concerning the justice of God (Romans 9:14). God is viewed as being unfair and unjust because He saves by grace and not by merit. He doesn’t save by physical descent (Romans 9:6-8) or personal desire (Romans 9:9-13). He doesn’t save by doing good or doing bad (Romans 9:11). He doesn’t save by the will of man or the works of man (Romans 9:16). He saves by His choice (Romans 9:11) to have mercy on whom He desires (Romans 9:18). Since man is totally unable to merit God’s favor God is viewed as unfair for giving His unearned favor to some and not to others.

The second objection raised by the real gospel is still concerning the justice of God but taking it a step further. The second objection calls into question God’s holiness which is the foundation of the justice of God (Romans 9:19). Here the accusation is that God is the author of sin by man’s inability being God’s fault. This is the false belief that inability destroys human responsibility and therefore God is wrong to find fault because He made us this way! In other words, if God hardens whom He desires (Romans 9:18) their sin and hardness is His fault. The Holy Spirit rebuked such thinking in Romans 9:19-24.

The Illogical Conclusion Considered (Romans 9:19). Here we see two illogical conclusions against the truth of unconditional election that Paul was preaching: (1) The preacher is lying about God and (2) unconditional election makes God the author of sin and man a robot.

One: The preacher is lying about God – “You will say to me then….” The complaint was against Paul the preacher and he was perceived as lying about God. When men will not receive the revealed truth of God they reject the preacher of that truth believing that they are rejecting a lying preacher rather than the truth of God. This truth is revealed in several places in the Bible – when the people rebelled against Moses they were rebelling against God; when the people rejected Samuel they were rejecting God; and when people refuse God’s preachers they are refusing God. One of the ways men have Biblical assurance of salvation is by knowing who is and who isn’t preaching truth (1 John 4:1-6). It is illogical to believe a preacher is lying because he preaches unconditional election.

Two: Unconditional election makes God the author of sin – “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” If what Paul was preaching about unconditional election was true then surely he was preaching that God is the author of sin; that man doesn’t have “free-will” and therefore must have “no-will”; and because of this, human inability destroys human responsibility, making God unjust for finding fault with men who cannot be held responsible. This is the false notion that unconditional election means that God made us the way we are and therefore He is wrong to find fault with us. It’s no different than someone claiming that he is homosexual because he was “born that way” and therefore shouldn’t be held responsible for his actions. That lame excuse could be applied to any sin that men commit but still wouldn’t remove their responsibility for their actions. This is precisely the argument raised against unconditional election by the opponents of the gospel. It was an illogical conclusion that Paul considered.

The Illogical Conclusion Condemned (Romans 9:20). Paul condemned the illogical conclusion of his opponents by revealing the truth that their argument wasn’t with him but with God – “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God.” Unconditional election wasn’t a doctrine that Paul made up but one that God revealed. So the conclusion that the preacher was lying was condemned and the truth that the preacher’s opponents didn’t have a problem with the preacher but with God was firmly established. Also the conclusion that unconditional election makes God the author of sin was condemned with the assertion of God’s absolute sovereignty – “The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it?” It was an illogical conclusion that Paul condemned.

The Illogical Conclusion Confronted (Romans 9:21). Paul confronted the illogical conclusion of his opponents by revealing the truth that God has the right to deal with sinners either in mercy or in justice for serving His glory as He sees fit. Here we see that God’s decree to permit the fall of man into sin logically preceded His decree of election. So when God chose the elect and passed over the non-elect, He was contemplating them all as fallen, sinful creatures – “Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump…?” God is not the author of sin and men are responsible for their sin. It was an illogical conclusion that Paul confronted.

The Illogical Conclusion Contradicted (Romans 9:22-24). Paul contradicted the illogical conclusion of his opponents by revealing the truth about God’s sovereign purpose behind His choice for saving some undeserving sinners – “to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:23). The illogical conclusion is that men must either deserve to go to heaven or deserve to go to hell by their “free-will” or else God is unjust in saving some and not others. However, God has the right to give mercy to whomever He desires and harden whomever He desires for His own purpose of displaying both the glory of His righteous wrath and the glory of the riches of His mercy. It was an illogical conclusion that Paul contradicted.

Inability does not remove responsibility. That illogical conclusion has been considered, condemned, confronted, and contradicted.

Culpable but not Capable (Romans 9:19-24)

2010-08-17T07:18:00.003-05:00

The book of Romans is the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of the gospel of salvation by grace. It goes against the natural man’s false belief of being able to merit God’s favor through the will or works of the flesh. The gospel is offensive to the natural man and is foolishness to him. It embitters those who are perishing (Acts 14:2); gets accused of confusing whole cities (Acts 16:20-21); sets cities in an uproar through those who oppose it (Acts 17:5); upsets the world (Acts 17:6); divides congregations (Acts 19:9); fills men with rage (Acts 19:28-29); and is viewed by the unsaved religious as a dangerous heresy (Acts 21:28).

All throughout the book of Romans the apostle Paul has been making the Biblical case for the gospel of salvation by grace which runs contrary to the whims and wishes of the flesh. He established the total inability of man in Romans 1-3 including the truth that the Jews were also under sin and were just as unable to merit God’s favor as any uncircumcised Gentile. In Romans 3:24-31 the truth of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus was proven as the only means that God can forgive and remain just. In Romans 4:1-25 the truth of salvation by grace was proven from the life of Abraham who was saved by grace and not by works (Romans 4:1-8); and not by circumcision (Romans 4:9-12); and not by the Law (Romans 4:13-16); and not by personal ability (Romans 4:17-25).

The book of Romans deals with the truth that salvation by grace is based upon unconditional election or else it is not by grace. Those who maintained that salvation is based on conditional election thought that Paul was preaching that God saves on the condition of doing evil rather than doing good and concluded that he was preaching that men should do evil in order to be saved (Romans 3:8). This resulted in Paul being slandered as a preaching against the Law and giving a license for sin. He dealt with this error in Romans 5, 6, and 7.

Paul wasn’t preaching any form of conditional election because salvation is by grace and not by any type of work – he was preaching unconditional election which establishes salvation by grace. So in Romans 8 Paul began to deal with the truth of both the suffering and security of the true believer who has been unconditionally elected by God and saved by grace. They will suffer because of their faith and their proclamation of the truth of salvation by grace and will be secure because of the Lord’s faithfulness.

It was in Romans 8:28-30 that Paul introduced the truth of unconditional election. Romans 9:6-33 is Paul’s Biblical case for unconditional election. Here he established the truth that election isn’t based on physical descent (Romans 9:6-10) or personal desire (Romans 9:11-13). The truth of unconditional election which establishes salvation by grace raised the question of God’s justness or fairness. If God chooses unconditionally then isn’t He unfair or unjust (Romans 9:14). Paul answered that question Biblically showing that God, by His free-will, can have mercy on whom He desires and can harden whom He desires while remaining totally just (Romans 9:14-18).

It is the truth of unconditional election that magnifies the truth of man’s total inability to do anything to earn or merit God’s favor. Man is so helpless and incapable because of his sin that he cannot act morally to rehabilitate himself and he cannot act willingly to exonerate himself. There is nothing he can do to merit God’s favor. He deserves damnation and that is all that he can or will ever earn.

The truth of man’s total inability – that he is incapable of doing anything to merit God’s favor – raises the question of man’s culpability. The question is that if man is incapable then how is he also culpable. If man is incapable then how can God hold him responsible? This is the argument that if men don’t have “free-will” then he is a robot and God made him the way he is. In other words, if man doesn’t have “free-will” then God is the one to blame for man’s sin, his inability, and his unwillingness to be saved by grace. Romans 9:19-24 is Paul’s answer to prove that inability doesn’t remove man’s responsibility. Man is culpable but not capable!

The faulty reasoning (Romans 9:19): If salvation is by unconditional election based on God’s will to have mercy on whom He desires and harden whom He desires then how can he still find fault because who can resist His will? If I’m incapable how can I be held culpable? Isn’t my hardness God’s fault? This is the faulty reasoning of the opponents of the gospel who haven’t understood that their inability to do good doesn’t remove their responsibility for sinning. God doesn’t make men sin and therefore men are responsible for their sin. Since the fall of man into sin all men sin because all men are born with a sin nature. Man is totally incapable of freeing himself from sin but is totally culpable for his sin. Man is not a helpless robot doing what he really does not want to do – he is a helpless sinner doing exactly what he wants to do! The wages of sin is death. Inability does not remove responsibility!

The proper reasoning: Man is not capable (Romans 9:20-21)! Notice in verse 21 the words “same lump.” There is no difference in the clay in which a potter decides to make a vessel for honorable use or for common use. Because all men are sinners from the same lump it is totally up to God what he does with each one. Here we see that man is incapable and that his only hope is the mercy of God.

Man is culpable (Romans 9:22)! Here the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction took an active role in the hardening of their hearts. The Greek verb rendered “prepared” is passive. God is not the subject doing the preparing – men are (see Romans 2:5)!

Mercy is God’s choice (Romans 9:23-24)! Against the backdrop of the truth that man is not capable but he is culpable, God demonstrates the riches of His glory and the riches of His mercy by saving men apart from any merit or work of their own. Those that God saves He prepared beforehand for glory! Here the Greek verb for “prepared” is in the active voice and God is the subject and the One doing the preparing. Men are culpable but not capable! God saves by grace; owes salvation to no man; and enables those whom He has prepared beforehand to receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

Mercy is by God's Free-Will (Romans 9:14-18)

2010-08-09T08:24:00.002-05:00

Many wrongly conclude that salvation is dependent upon man’s free-will. Overlooking the Biblical truth of man’s total inability to do anything to merit God’s favor many opt for the unbiblical notion that sin has left man’s will unaffected and that he has the ability to merit God’s favor either by exercising his free will to choose God or by exerting his free-will to pursue God. However, the Biblical record and human history proves that man’s will is not free but is enslaved to sin. This was the whole purpose of God giving His Law – to show that men are enslaved to sin and cannot and will not obey God (see Romans 8:5-8).

If man’s will was free in the sense that most use it then of necessity it would mean that man is free to obey God’s Law. As a matter of truth it would be in the choosing to obey and the actual obeying of God’s Law whereby the man with “free-will” would prove that he is “choosing” God. Disobeying God’s Law by not subjecting oneself to it is “choosing” sin and not God. Every man has made his choice - and it hasn’t been “for God.” Man in his unregenerate state operates his will enslaved to sin. It is for this reason that he cannot and will not do that which is truly good (obey God’s Law or choose God). Being enslaved to sin the only freedom of will that a man has is that he is free to sin and free from being able to do righteousness (Romans 6:20; John 8:34). This proves man’s inability!

Is this not the Biblical record? “There is none righteous not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). Where is free-will in that? Where is human ability in those verses?

Since man’s will is enslaved to sin and free from being able to do righteousness his total inability is established rendering him unable to respond properly to God’s mercy apart from supernatural assistance. This is why regeneration precedes the ability to exercise saving faith. We are not regenerated because we exercised saving faith (we are unable in and of ourselves); we exercised saving faith because we were regenerated by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. This is what Jesus was speaking of when He told Nicodemus that a man must be born again by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit using God’s Word in order to enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5-8).

The Lord also spoke of this same truth (that regeneration precedes saving faith because of man’s inability) in John 6:45, 63-65 – “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me....It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe…. For this reason I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” I want you to notice something very important in John 6:45 – everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me – Jesus said. This means that all who are regenerated come to saving faith in Christ. There are none who are regenerated that resist the grace of God – they all come to Christ.

Since all that we have said is Biblical and true then salvation doesn’t depend upon man but upon God who has mercy. It is precisely this point that salvation isn’t by man’s will but by the grace and will of God that brings about the accusation of God being unjust. This is what the apostle Paul was dealing with in Romans 9:14-18. Here he was proving that salvation is by God’s free-will to have mercy on whom He desires and is not by man’s free-will.

Anticipating the wrong conclusion about the Gospel of salvation by grace, Paul brought up the question of God’s justness in Romans 9:14; stated the emphatic and obvious truth that it is impossible for God to be unjust; and then he went directly to the Scriptures to prove that dispensing mercy is solely the prerogative of God on undeserving sinners – “For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion'” (Exodus 33:19; Romans 9:15).

Salvation doesn’t depend on man but on God who has mercy! Paul stated the obvious application of Exodus 33:19 – salvation does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy (Romans 9:16). Moses didn’t find favor in the sight of God because of his will or his works but solely on the grace of God. This was true for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all other true believers – they were saved by grace and not their will or their works.

That salvation doesn’t depend upon the will of man is made abundantly clear not only from Romans 9:16 but also from John 1:13 – “Who were born, not of blood [physical descent] nor of the will of the flesh [personal desire] nor of the will of man [popish decree], but of God.” Esau is a perfect illustration of this truth who was the firstborn of Isaac (not of blood/physical descent); he later desired to inherit the blessing (nor the will of the flesh/personal desire) but was rejected and found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears (Hebrews 12:16-17); and his father was intent on giving him the blessing (nor the will of man/popish decree) although God had already said that the older would serve the younger and that they younger was to be the heir of the promise (see Genesis 25:23 and Genesis 27:1-38).

To further prove that salvation doesn’t depend upon man but on God who has mercy, Paul gave the Biblical illustration of Pharaoh (Romans 9:17). Pharaoh was a king who thought that he had free-will but found himself in bondage to sin, an object of God’s wrath, for the proclamation of God’s glory. Moses was a slave, Pharaoh was a ruler, and yet God had mercy on Moses and withheld mercy from Pharaoh. Neither deserved mercy! So the logical conclusion is given in Romans 9:18 – “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens who He desires.”

Pharaoh was confronted with enough truth that we marvel at why he didn’t repent and believe in the Lord. The hardening of Pharaoh was judicial. He should have seen his need for mercy – but he didn’t! Mercy is by God’s free-will!

Unconditional Election: Is God Unjust? (Romans 9:14-18)

2010-08-06T05:52:00.002-05:00

The truth that salvation is by grace means that salvation is unmerited – it is unearned. Since salvation is by grace and is unmerited or unearned then that means that salvation is unconditional. There are no conditions that one must meet that would merit or earn salvation or else salvation is not by grace but by works. Romans 11:6 says, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” Let’s state it another way which still means the same thing: But if it is by grace, it is no longer conditional but unconditional, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

Paul has been teaching the truth of unconditional election unto salvation which forever proves that salvation is by grace and not of works so that no man can boast. There is nothing in any person that would merit God’s choice of him or her for salvation. The only thing that any of us have merited or ever will merit is the wrath of God. There is nothing in us that can change that. We can’t start living a good life to merit God’s mercy for that would be salvation by works. We can’t rehabilitate ourselves in order to cause God to choose us for salvation for that would still be salvation by works. None deserve to be saved. And yet God saves undeserving sinners according to His purpose, His choice, and His desire (Romans 9:11).

An improper response to this truth is given in Romans 9:14 – that this means that there is injustice in God. Unconditional election is viewed as being unjust because men cannot get over that God would save by grace and not by merit. God is accused of being an unjust God if He chooses to save some men by grace while leaving others in their sin. The response is: “That isn’t fair” or “that isn’t just.” So in order to remove what appears to be an injustice in God or unfairness in God, men devise a scheme of salvation that is conditional rather than unconditional and they remove the offensiveness of the Gospel by making election unto salvation conditional. Under the false notion of conditional election unto salvation this improper response isn’t given because it no longer exists. This is one of the ways we know whether or not we are preaching the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of the Gospel of salvation by grace (unconditional and unmerited) which Paul preached or if we are preaching a false gospel of salvation by works (conditional and merited).

Those who teach conditional election are in error. Even if that condition is that God looked down through the corridors of time and saw who would have faith and who wouldn’t – it is still salvation by merit which turns that faith spoken of into a work. What those who teach this have forgotten is that faith is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 6:65; John 12:39-40), and that faith is generated in man and is not innate in man (Romans 10:17; John 6:45, 63). They have also forgotten that their explanation of conditional election isn’t election at all but ratification. In their scheme of things God isn’t choosing based on His purpose or desire but is consenting to man’s choice. This would mean that God chose you because you chose Him, that God loved you because you loved Him and that God drew you because you drew Him. This is a reversal of the Biblical record. We didn’t choose Him, He chose us; we didn’t love Him first, He loved us first; and we didn’t draw Him, He drew us to Himself.

Since all men are sinners and have earned God’s wrath then of necessity it means that there is nothing in us that could ever earn God’s favor. So if God decides to show His favor on any sinner then the choice is totally His according to His purpose and His desire. That God would choose any undeserving sinner for salvation has nothing to do with any cause within the sinner but has everything to do with that which is in God Himself – the desire to make known the riches of the glory of His grace (Romans 9:23; Ephesians 1:3-14).

It is the Gospel of salvation by grace that is offensive to man because it establishes man’s total inability – not partial inability but total inability – to merit God’s favor. This is the error of conditional election – it teaches partial inability but not total inability and therefore leaves man in his pride believing that his being elected by God was based on some condition that he met.

The Jews who believed in conditional election so understood the implications of the Gospel of grace which Paul was preaching that some of them slanderously reported that Paul was preaching that men must do evil that good may come (Romans 3:8). The Jews reasoned that Paul was saying that God didn’t elect on the basis of their ability to keep the Law so he must be preaching that God elects on the basis of doing evil. They could not grasp the truth of unconditional election as the necessary grounds for salvation by grace.

Since election is unconditional, men believe that there is injustice with God for choosing some and not all for salvation. At the heart of this response is still the embedded false notion that those whom God didn’t choose deserved to be chosen. If one deserved it then all deserve it. It’s the attitude that if you’re going to do it for one then you’ve got to do it for all. That’s simply just not true and there is no injustice in giving mercy in a manner that upholds the Law or giving wrath to uphold the Law. So dispensing grace is God’s sovereign prerogative. Grace is sovereign in its administration.

Election: Individual or National? (Romans 9:6-13)

2010-07-19T06:57:00.002-05:00

In our studies of Romans 9:6-13 we have not been in a hurry and are endeavoring to come away with both a proper interpretation and proper application of the text. Since there is much disagreement and much confusion over this text, it is our responsibility before God and to men to know what it is talking about and give its proper interpretation. While this is true of the whole Bible it is especially true in those difficult places that cause men to stumble. The gospel of salvation by grace alone is a stumbling stone to many and Paul ended Romans 9 saying exactly that – “Just as it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed’” (Romans 9:33).

At the heart of the controversy over the interpretation of Romans 9 is whether or not election is conditional or unconditional and whether or not it is national or individual. Election or “elect” is a word that means to choose or select. So when we speak of the elect of God we are speaking of the chosen of God or those whom He has selected. Since it is true that God chooses and selects, a truth forever established by His choosing of Jacob over Esau in order to bring the Christ into the world and fulfill His covenant with Abraham, then the question becomes on what basis did God make His decision? The answer to this question will determine whether or not election is conditional or unconditional and whether or not election is national or individual.

We have already established that God is sovereign in election. This truth is wonderfully illustrated in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ where He said, “No one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65). So no man in and of himself has the heart to desire or the will to decide to come to Jesus apart from God’s sovereign election and supernatural education. This means that salvation is completely by grace based on the sovereign choice of God to have mercy on whom He will have mercy (Romans 9:15-16).

We have also already established the truth that God’s sovereignty in election means that election is unconditional and not conditional proving forever that salvation is by grace. In other words election isn’t based on anything or any cause within the man but is based solely on God’s good pleasure for the purpose of glorifying His grace (Romans 9:11, 18; Ephesians 1:5, 8-9, 11).

Remember that the Jews made the error of believing that election was conditional and that God based His choice of them on their physical ancestry from Abraham and their personal ability to obey the Law. If this were true then it would mean that all Jews and only Jews could and would be saved. Do you remember that the Jews had a problem with the truth that God would save men who were Gentiles? They also had a problem with the truth that God would condemn Jews who met the “conditions” of physical descent from Abraham and personal merit through the Law. This is why they thought God’s Word had failed (Romans 9:6).

The apostle Paul used the Old Testament Scriptures to prove that election is unconditional and that salvation is therefore by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. He showed how God chose Isaac over Ishmael unconditionally and how He chose Jacob over Esau unconditionally (Romans 9:7-13). This was to show that physical descent from Abraham didn’t guarantee or merit salvation and that physical descent from Isaac didn’t guarantee or merit salvation so that the proper and biblical conclusion would be that physical descent from Jacob (Israel) didn’t guarantee or merit salvation. Election unto salvation is unconditional – it cannot be earned or merited.

There are many who stumble over the doctrine of unconditional election which proves that salvation is by grace. So instead of honestly dealing with the text they teach that this passage isn’t dealing with individual election unto salvation but national election unto service. The problem with this interpretation is that it doesn’t deal with the truth that Isaac was saved and Ishmael wasn’t and that Jacob was saved and Esau wasn’t. It also doesn’t deal with the truth that Paul is explicitly speaking of election unto salvation even from among Gentiles (Romans 9:24). Paul wasn’t proving unconditional election unto service but unconditional election unto salvation which is precisely why the Jews thought that Paul was preaching against the people and against the Law for preaching the gospel of salvation by grace (Romans 2:17; Acts 21:27-28).

That this passage is speaking of individual election and not national election is made abundantly clear from Romans 9:6 – “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.” So the next time you run into someone who believes that election is national and not individual ask him why all Jews aren’t saved. If he says that election is unto service and not salvation ask him why Paul was willing to be separated from Christ and why Paul spoke of those who were the children of God and those who weren’t - from among the nation (Romans 9:3, 7-8).

Make no mistake about it, if Romans 9 is teaching national election whether it be unto salvation or unto service then it would mean that all Israel would either be saved or all Israel would serve and that anyone outside of the nation Israel couldn’t be saved or couldn’t serve. But Romans 9 is clearly teaching individual election unto salvation and that not on the basis of physical descent or personal merit. Election unto salvation is unconditional (not based on anything deserving in the man) and individual based on God’s sovereign and gracious choice. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Do you have a problem with God granting you salvation apart from any cause within you that would cause Him to grant it to you or do you rejoice that God is willing to save undeserving sinners based solely on His grace and sovereign choice? If you have a problem with God saving undeserving sinners according to His gracious choice then you have a problem with salvation being by grace and not by merit.

Unconditional Election Proves Salvation by Grace (Romans 9:6-13)

2010-07-12T08:31:00.003-05:00

In Romans 9:1-5 the apostle Paul expressed his great sorrow over the lost condition of his fellow Israelites through their stubborn refusal to acknowledge and believe that salvation is by grace and not by physical descent or personal merit. The Jews wrongly relied upon their physical descent from Abraham (Romans 2:17) and their ability to personally merit God’s favor through the Law (Romans 2:17). This belief came from an improper interpretation of God’s Word which gave the Israelites a false assurance of salvation based on unreliable and unbiblical indicators.

If we will keep in mind that Paul’s letter to the Romans is the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of the Gospel of grace which was not only a defense that the Gospel is biblical but also a destruction of the speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, then we will better understand what is being revealed to us. Paul was accused of preaching against the Jews and against God’s Law (Acts 21:27-28) for preaching the truth of salvation by grace. This ran counter to everything the Jews had been taught by their apostate leaders and everything they believed God’s Word taught. If the Gospel of grace was true then the Jews reasoned that the Word of God had failed and that God’s promises were no good.

However, God’s Word had not failed and a proper interpretation of it showed God to be true and those who rejected the Gospel of grace as the ones that failed. Let me remind you that Paul had already proven that salvation was by grace through the life of Abraham in Romans 4:1-25. Paul proved that Abraham was justified by grace through faith and not by works in Romans 4:1-8. Paul proved that Abraham was justified by grace through faith and not circumcision in Romans 4:9-12. Paul proved that Abraham was justified by grace through faith and not the Law in Romans 4:13-17. And Paul proved that Abraham was justified by grace through faith in God’s ability in light of his own inability in Romans 4:17-25. So for the Jews to reject the God’s Gospel of grace they had to reject the means by which Abraham himself was justified.

The doctrine of unconditional election proves that salvation is by grace through faith and not of physical descent (Romans 9:6-9) or personal merit (Romans 9:10-13). Grace is not for the proud but for the humble for it is written, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). If you add any one of these false notions of physical descent or personal merit to the Gospel of grace then you have a false gospel. This was the overall failure of the Jews – they pursued salvation as though it were a privilege based on their physical descent and personal merit rather than by faith (Romans 9:30-32).

The Jews were wrongly relying upon false notions of salvation by physical descent and personal merit (conditional election) because of their improper interpretation of God’s Word. It was these false notions or ideas of salvation that the prophets, apostles, and the Lord Jesus had to do battle with in their day and which cost most of them their lives. Let’s establish this truth from Scripture.

Salvation is not by physical descent (Romans 9:6-9) – proven by John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ, and here in our text by the apostle Paul.

John the Baptist dealt with this erroneous belief in Matthew 3:7-10 and Luke 3:8 where he told the Sadducees and Pharisees that they were a brood of vipers and that they were not to rely upon their physical descent from Abraham – “And do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham” (Matthew 3:9).

The Lord Jesus Christ dealt with the erroneous belief that election unto salvation is based on physical descent in Luke 16:19-31 when He told the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In the story the rich man was a Pharisee who died and went to hell. This was unthinkable to the Jews and especially to the Pharisees. In the story we see that this rich Pharisee spoke to father Abraham and yet was in hell. This truth forever destroys the false notion that election unto salvation is based on physical descent.

The Lord Jesus Christ also dealt with this erroneous belief in a more direct manner in John 8:33-56. In this account the Jews brought up their physical descent from Abraham to whom the Lord replied that He knew that they were physical descendants of Abraham but that they were not spiritual descendants of Abraham – they wanted to kill Jesus and Abraham never did that but instead rejoiced to see Jesus’ day.

Salvation is not by personal merit (Romans 9:10-13). In Matthew 15:1-14 the Pharisees and scribes chided the Lord and His disciples for breaking the tradition of the elders in regard to the washing of hands. They thought that they were keeping the commandments of God when in reality they were unable to ever accomplish such a feat – a truth that the Lord brought out in that text. The final analysis was that the Pharisees and scribes were blind guides of the blind and both they and their followers would fall into the pit of hell.

In Matthew 19:16-22 the Lord dealt with the rich young ruler who wrongly thought that salvation was based on personal merit. He actually thought that he was able to keep the commandments and that he should be able to earn God’s favor.

In Matthew 23 the Lord pronounced woes on the Pharisees and scribes for their erroneous belief that salvation was by personal merit.

In John 8:33-56 the Lord crushed the false notion of salvation being by personal merit by showing man’s enslavement to sin. All of this illustrates that unconditional election proves that salvation is by grace and grace alone.

Those that rely upon anything other than the unmerited mercy of God for salvation will not be saved (see Luke 18:9-14). God gives grace to the humble!

God's Sovereignty in Election (Romans 9:6-13)

2010-06-28T06:34:00.003-05:00

The doctrine of election isn’t easy to understand and is the source of much conflict among professing Christians. Just as the apostle Peter said about the writings of the apostle Paul, “Just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15-16).

Notice that it wasn’t the intellectual ability of the apostle Paul that allowed him to plumb the depths of God's sovereignty in election but his ability to do that was because it was according to the wisdom given him. Paul was taught of God on this subject and so what we have before us is the wisdom and words of God which cannot be anything other than truth. It is the untaught and unstable which distort not only this section of Scripture but the rest also to their own destruction.

So it will not be by our intellectual ability to understand this subject but by the very truth that we have been born again and are able to receive the things of the Spirit of God so that we are not untaught but indeed taught of God. Just as it is written, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty in election brings about two reactions from those who don’t understand it: (1) it brings about the accusation of injustice in God (Romans 9:14) and (2) it brings about the accusation of men being robots (Romans 9:19). These two responses are the conclusions that would be drawn from those who don’t understand the Gospel of grace and are what Paul anticipated and dealt with from the Scriptures.

Let me give you a few examples of how the doctrine of election is sometimes attempted to be explained but are not what the Bible teaches:

First there is the belief that election means that God is voting for you; the devil is voting against you; and you cast the deciding vote. That all sounds nice and sounds like what might be happening in election but it isn’t. The Bible tells us that God’s election of those whom He would save took place in eternity past – before the foundations of the world. Also we know that the devil wasn’t and isn’t a registered voter – he had absolutely no say in who would and who wouldn’t be saved. We also know that we weren’t even born yet and so we weren’t old enough to vote. So that means that God is sovereign in election.

Second, there is the belief that election is only to service and not to salvation. Those who hold that Romans 9 is dealing with national election and not individual election would hold to this theory. However that would clearly violate a host of other Scriptures that indicate that election is unto salvation and it is individual – a truth Paul establishes in Romans 9. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians also establishes the clear truth of individual election unto salvation – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him…also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:3-4, 11-12). See also 1 Thessalonians 1:4 where the apostle Paul speaking to those believers about their faith in Christ said, “Knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you.”

So election is not just unto service it is also unto salvation and more specifically it is unto salvation for the purpose of serving the true and living God (1 Thessalonians 1:9) and serving His purpose of magnifying His grace and glory through our salvation (Ephesians 1:1-14). Neither is election just a matter of national choice for if that were so then Paul was wrong, the Jews were right, and God’s Word has failed.

Election then is unto salvation to the praise of God’s glory and grace and it is for individuals - proving that God’s Word has not failed but that it has accomplished exactly what God sent it out to do. This is Paul’s argument in Romans 9. Here in Romans 9:6-13 the apostle Paul showed two main truth’s about God’s sovereignty in election: (1) It was not based on physical descent (Romans 9:6-9) and (2) it was not based on personal merit (Romans 9:10-13).

We will get deeper and into greater detail concerning these two main truths about God’s sovereignty in election but for now we will just summarize their implications.

First of all the truth that God’s sovereign election unto salvation isn’t based on physical descent (Romans 9:6-9) proves that this text isn’t speaking of national election but of individual. This is why the argument that God’s Word has failed won’t stand. As a whole the Jews believed that because they had Abraham as their father that they were guaranteed salvation because of God’s sovereign choice of Abraham and their physical descent from him. They repeatedly relied upon their relationship to Abraham but that was to no avail. Abraham had Ishmael first by the flesh and then Isaac second by faith. They are not all Israel who are descended from Israel and neither are they all of faith who are descended from Abraham.

Last of all the truth that God’s sovereign election unto salvation isn’t based on personal merit (Romans 9:10-13) proves that election is unconditional and not based on God’s foreseeing anything good in us at all. This means that the Word of God is absolutely true and that the flesh profits nothing or the flesh is of no use at all (John 6:63) and that our salvation is based solely on His good pleasure and His grace and not on anything that we have done or can do for God. This the Jews also misunderstood and instead of rejecting the flesh and its inability to obey the Law they rejected faith in Christ and His ability to obey the Law and relied upon their flesh and the Law (Romans 2:17). They thought they had free will and therefore they thought they had the ability to obey God when in reality they were in bondage and needed to be set free (John 8:31-36).

Great Sorrow for Israel (Romans 9:1-5)

2010-06-22T07:30:00.003-05:00

Many teach that Romans 9-11 are an interruption in Paul’s doctrinal teaching on the Gospel before he moved into its application in Romans 12. However, a careful study of Romans 9-11 reveals that this section is not an interruption or a parenthesis but is a necessary part of Paul’s argument for justification by grace through faith. Don’t forget that because of his preaching of the Gospel, Paul was considered a traitor to the Jewish nation and an enemy of Judaism. Paul was perceived as preaching against the people (Jews), preaching against the Law, and preaching against God (see Romans 2:17 and Acts 21:27-28).

So the book of Romans is Paul’s explanation of the Gospel which shows that he was not preaching against the people, the Law, or God but that the Gospel is validated by the Word of God. And whatever you do don’t forget that Paul’s explanation of the Gospel is inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the Word of God, and is absolute truth.

Paul was hated by the Jews for his ministry to the Gentiles and his teaching of salvation by grace and the total inability of being justified by the Law of Moses. Paul preached this Gospel of grace in many synagogues in many places as he carried the good news to the Jew first and through doing so he caused trouble everywhere he went. The religious but lost Jews viewed the Gospel message as dangerous and unscriptural. They viewed it as dangerous because they thought that justification by faith gave the license to sin as much as one wanted (Romans 6:1, 15). They viewed it as unscriptural because it taught that the Jews were actually condemned by the Law and couldn’t be justified by the Law (Romans 2:17 – 3:20). Since the Jews hated the message Paul preached they also hated the messenger. This is why Paul was considered a traitor to the Jewish nation and many wanted to kill him.

This caused Paul great sorrow and increasing grief. He wasn’t trying to make anyone mad but out of love he was telling them the truth. Paul went to great lengths explaining that he wasn’t anti-Jewish, that he wasn’t anti-Law, and that he wasn’t anti-God. Paul wanted the Jews to know that they were wrong just as he had been at one time. Paul wanted the Jews to examine the Scriptures and see that what he was saying was so. He desired above all else their coming to the saving knowledge of the truth and not their condemnation.

Despite Paul’s love for his people which he made evident over and over through his uncompromising stand on the truth, his great patience, and his gentleness correcting those who were in opposition, the majority still would not believe. Paul had the joy of salvation by grace through faith but he had the sorrow and grief of his kinsmen according to the flesh continually resisting the Holy Spirit and rejecting the Gospel of Christ. There was a Scriptural reason for Israel’s resistance and rejection which Paul taught in Romans 9-11 so that this section is still doctrinal and still the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of justification by grace through faith.

Paul had argued in Romans 8 that the believer is secure in Jesus Christ and that God’s election would stand (Romans 8:28-39). Because the Jews had wrongly interpreted God’s Word concerning election they believed that any member of the Jewish nation would be allowed into heaven based on his heritage as a Jew. The Gospel that Paul proclaimed clearly taught that just because a man is a Jew is no guarantee that he is going to heaven. So in the minds of the Jews if all Jews were not saved then God has failed to keep His promise and the very character of God was at stake.

Many who still misinterpret God’s Word today concerning the doctrine of election think that God either made a mistake or that His Word has failed. They may ask the question, “What about the Jews? They were chosen by God, and yet you now say that He has set them aside and that God is building His church. Did God fail to keep His promises to Israel? Is His Word really sure and true? If God was not faithful to the Jews, how do we know He will be faithful to the church?"

Paul will explain all that the Jews had misunderstood and how they had improperly interpreted God’s Word to show that God did not make a mistake, that His Word has not and will not fail, and that God’s character is not at stake because He is always true to His Word and His promises.

Here in Romans 9:1-5 we see Paul’s great sorrow for Israel because of her great stumbling.

Great sorrow for Israel (Romans 9:1-3) – Paul loved Israel and had a strong passion for her salvation. Paul understood completely the powerful bondage of corrupt and apostate religion on his people because he had been there once himself. Paul also understood the powerful deliverance from such deception and sin through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wanted his fellow Jews to see the truth of justification by faith and experience the liberation and joy of salvation by grace.

The unrepentant and unbelieving condition of Israel caused Paul to have great sorrow and increasing grief in his heart, so much so that Paul could wish himself accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of his kinsmen. But if the Lord Jesus becoming a curse on the cross of Calvary wouldn’t change their minds neither would Paul’s becoming accursed. Paul and Moses both were willing to be cursed and separated from Christ if it would mean the salvation of Israel.

Great stumbling by Israel (Romans 9:4-5) – The Israelites lived with great privileges because of God’s covenant with Abraham and His choosing of Jacob. They were privy to the blessings and protection of God because of God’s choice of bringing the Christ through the nation of Israel. Israel was adopted by God as His own people (Exodus 4:22-23). He gave them His glory in the tabernacle and temple. He gave them His covenants which He gave to Abraham. He gave them the Law through Moses. He gave them the temple services. He gave them the promises and the patriarchs. The purpose of all this blessing was to bring Jesus Christ into the world through Israel to accomplish justification by faith. But in spite of these blessings Israel failed and rejected her Messiah.

Super-Conquerors (Romans 8:36-39)

2010-06-14T06:23:00.003-05:00

The truth that Christians will suffer for the sake of Christ and for the sake of righteousness is found in Romans 8 in its undiluted and potent form. This truth is not watered down or hidden from our sight but is put on brilliant display and stunning clarity in this chapter. It is here that we see in high definition that the devil and the world are against us seeking to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have recently considered together the truth that there are people and problems that are against us wishing to cause us to compromise or apostatize. There are those who would bring charges of ungodliness against us and condemn us to hell if it were in their power (Romans 8:33-34). These same people will cause us problems with all the means at their disposal that they have in this world (Romans 8:35).

As Christians we are foolish to believe that because we have been saved by God and are proclaiming His Gospel of forgiveness through Jesus Christ that we are going to be loved by the world rather than hated by the world. The truth that the world will hate us came from the lips of our Lord and is printed in many places in many ways in the Bible. We have been told from the pages of Scripture what to expect so that we will not stumble and fall away when what is supposed to be happening to Christians actually happens.

With all the suffering that Christians must endure for the sake of Christ it would be easy to lose heart and give up if it weren’t for the wonderful truth found in this chapter that God is causing all this to work for us and not against us because He is for us and not against us. This makes all the difference in why we endure suffering and do not throw away our confidence in God. “If God is for us, who is against us” (Romans 8:31)?

In Romans 8:36-39 we find the wonderful truth that nothing can defeat us because God is for us – we are super-conquerors through faith in Christ.

The certainty of our suffering – “Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered’” (Romans 8:36). No Christian is exempt from suffering for the sake of Christ. There is none who will ever reach some super-saint status that exempts him from suffering for Christ. The ones that don’t suffer for Christ but are loved for their version of Christianity aren’t true Christians but are false according to the words of our Lord Himself – “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way” (Luke 6:26).

It is written that we shall suffer for the sake of Christ. Paul quoted Psalm 44:22 to show that this doctrine of suffering that he was teaching was and is Biblical. Faith in God doesn’t exempt us from suffering but guarantees it. What does that say about all the health, wealth, and prosperity preaching going on today?

Our suffering for the sake of Christ is certain – it is as sure and certain as Scripture because it is declared in Scripture. True Christianity always has and always will be hated by the devil and his counterfeits.

The certainty of our success – “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). The suffering that we must endure for the sake of Christ will not and cannot destroy us because God will not let it. He is for us and not against us and He causes us to overwhelmingly conquer all our suffering through our immovable trust in Him who loved us.

Only the true believer perseveres in the face of trials and tribulations, not because he is strong in himself but because he stands in the strength of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit and in the strength of the might of His loving Lord (see Ephesians 6:10). Those who fail to persevere demonstrate their lack of genuine trust in the love, power, and wisdom of God.

The true believer overcomes and super-conquers all the suffering and sorrows thrown his way through Him who loved us. The phrase, “overwhelmingly conquer” means to super-conquer or to conquer with success to spare. We don’t just barely make it through our trials and tribulations, we come out with stronger faith, stronger love, and a stronger stand for Him who loved us and brought us through. We sing the victory song of the saints and declare with the Psalmist in Psalm 3 – “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, ‘There is no help for him in God.’ But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of His holy hill. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about. Arise O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou has smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people.”

Our success is certain and we are super-conquerors through Jesus our Lord who is our shield and defender.

The certainty of our security – “For I am convinced that neither death, or life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). The security of the believer and his full and final salvation is certain because there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus our Lord. Nothing can cause us to compromise and nothing can cause us to apostatize because God is for us and not against us.

Our suffering is certain; our success is certain; and our security is certain! What a mighty God we serve!

The Security of the Saints (Romans 8:33-36)

2010-06-09T05:45:00.002-05:00

In our studies of Romans 8 we have been considering the truth that the things that would work against us and cause us to turn away from the truth of God and our trust in Him are actually being used by God to work for us and not against us. This means that all the trouble that the saints have to endure for the sake of righteousness strengthens their faith instead of stifling it. It is because of this that the saints persevere to the end by patiently enduring all trials and tribulations with complete faith and confidence in God’s love, wisdom, and power on their behalf in and through all situations and circumstances.

We could summarize Romans 8:31-39 like this: God is for us (Romans 8:31); Christ died for us (Romans 8:32); God justified us through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:33); Christ intercedes for us and so we cannot be condemned (Romans 8:34); Christ loves us and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-36); and God loves us and nothing in all creation can separate us from His love which He has given us in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37-39).

The security of the saints is guaranteed based on what God has done and on nothing that we have done. God justified us freely as a gift by His grace without any cause whatsoever in us to merit that gift (Romans 3:24). He chose us by His foreknowledge (Romans 8:29; 1 Peter 1:1-2); He called us through the Gospel (Romans 1:6-7; Romans 8:28); He predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29); He justified us through Christ (Romans 3:24; Romans 8:30); and He speaks of our glorification in the past tense because of all that He has done for us (Romans 8:30) which means that our salvation is completely by His grace and not based on any works that we have done or will do (Romans 3:28; Ephesians 2:8-9).

There is one thing that the saint is sure of and it is the truth that God loves him with an out of this world love because he doesn’t and couldn’t deserve to be loved by God. The saint knows that God is for him and not against him and that God has proven it by giving His Son to pay the penalty of capital punishment for him while he was yet a capital offender (Romans 5:8; Romans 8:31-32). With that in mind the saint knows that no person or any problem can separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

No person can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:33-34). We notice in these two verses that there are people who would accuse us, charge us with ungodliness and condemn us to hell if it were in their power. We are not to be surprised by this but are to expect it. Jesus told us that the world would hate us because it hated Him and it now hates us because He has chosen us out of the world (John 15:18-19).

These are the people who substitute light for darkness and darkness for light. They call evil, “good” and good, “evil.” They claim to be servants of God although they do not know God nor are they known by Him. They claim to be Christians while labeling true Christians as false. They think that they are serving God when they charge us with ungodliness, insult us, persecute us, falsely say all kinds of evil against us, and would want to kill us (Matthew 5:11; John 16:2).

These are servants of the devil who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 10:13-14), who boast in the flesh (2 Corinthians 11:18), who do not live by faith (Romans 8:5-8), who do not have the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), who do not have accurate knowledge of the way of salvation (Romans 10:2) and who seek to establish a way of salvation that depends in some form or fashion on what they can do for God (Romans 10:3). It is because their understanding of the way of salvation violates God’s way of salvation that they hate, persecute, and would charge God’s elect with ungodliness.

They think they are right when they are wrong and they think those are wrong who are right. They hate the real Gospel and love a false gospel. Therefore they bring charges of arrogance, pride, speaking against the people, speaking against God’s Word, and speaking against God against God’s elect. There are two problems with that: one, the charges are false and two, God is the one who justifies! They cannot undo the justification that God has granted in Christ Jesus. They may bring up our past but that is under the blood. They may bring up our present but that is under the blood. They may bring up our future but that is under the blood. They cannot condemn us because that is not their prerogative. The intercession of the Lord Jesus on our behalf guarantees that all genuine charges are paid in full and that no false charge will be considered as true.

No problem can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-36). Not only will men who are of the world hate us and charge us with ungodliness hoping to condemn us, they will also attempt to get us to water down and compromise the truth in order to separate us from Christ and silence our witness. They will cause us problems.

Notice all the ways that men of the world have at their disposal to try and separate us from our love for Christ and His love for us. First is tribulation which is trouble or pressure of a general sort. They put pressure on us and cause us trouble. Second is distress which carries the idea of strict confinement or being helplessly hemmed in. Third is persecution which refers to affliction suffered for the sake of Christ. Fourth is famine which results when Christians are persecuted and discriminated against in employment and cannot afford to buy enough food to eat. Fifth is nakedness which refers to destitution in which a person cannot adequately clothe himself. Sixth is peril which means to be exposed to danger in general, including danger from treachery and mistreatment. Seventh is the sword which means having to face being murdered or executed because of unwavering commitment to the truth of Christ.

Christians should not be surprised by the problems they have to face for the sake of Christ. It is written, For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered (Psalm 44:22; Romans 8:36). Instead we are to face these problems knowing that no person or no problem can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We are to sing the victory song of the saints to the praise of the glory of His grace.

The Victory Song of the Saints (Romans 8:31-32)

2010-06-04T09:34:00.004-05:00

Remember in studying and interpreting God’s Word accurately we have to always pay attention to context. I have three words of wisdom for when you and I are seeking to accurately interpret God’s Word – context, context, and context. When we get the context right then our interpretation will be right because we haven’t taken God’s Word out of context and made a portion of it into a pretext. This guards us from twisting the Scriptures to our own destruction and thereby insures that we are guarded by the Scriptures.

The context of Romans 8 is the security of the believer in and through all trials and troubles that would otherwise cause us to apostatize. The chapter starts off with, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”, and proceeds to those who are in Christ are led by the Spirit, live by faith, suffer with Christ for His glory, patiently endure persecution while waiting for Christ to return, are guarded by the intercession of the Holy Spirit, are protected by God who causes all things (all the suffering and persecution) to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, and to the believer’s absolute security because of God’s promise to glorify everyone whom He justifies.

After establishing the wonderful truth of our victory in Jesus, Paul came to the great and glorious conclusion of what could easily be classified as the victory song of the saints. Here we see the security of the saints based on the grace, mercy, and love of God in saving and keeping saved everyone who believes in Christ through the gospel. It is here that our faith sores to heavenly heights, scales the tallest obstacles, and is found to be the victory which overcomes the world. We so trust God for what He has done and is doing for us that we face any suffering or persecution with absolute and total confidence in God who is for us and not against us.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? What shall we say to all the suffering and persecution that comes our way for the sake of loving and obeying the Lord Jesus Christ? We say that we know that God is causing all things to work together for our good! We say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23).

When trouble comes we say, “If God is for us, who is against us”? When trouble comes we say, “You don’t know who you are messing with because you can’t mess with me and not get God involved on my behalf.

When trouble comes we do not throw away our confidence in God but we remember that He is for us and not against us. We do not shrink back from trouble but we stand up for the truth, we do not water it down, and we will overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us and is for us.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? This is the foundation of our faith. If we don’t believe God in what He has accomplished for us by giving His innocent Son to suffer capital punishment in the place of us the guilty then we will not believe and trust Him in anything else either. This is the supreme demonstration of God’s love for us and His trustworthiness to save. Since God did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for capital punishment for us all then surely He is for us and not against us. Since God gave us the highest and most valuable gift of justification through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus freely (Romans 3:24) without any cause in us or any cost to us, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Can you see why the truth of what God has done and will do for us in and through Jesus Christ causes our faith to gain new strength and mount up with wings like eagles, to run and not get tired, and walk and not become weary (Isaiah 40:31)? If we can trust God to save us from our sin through the gospel of His Son then we can trust Him to be for us and not against us in all of the suffering that we will endure for His name’s sake.

We can rejoice and rest secure in the salvation that God has granted us singing the victory song of the saints. As Martin Luther wrote in 1529:

A might fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing; For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate; On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing; Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle.

And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us; We will not fear, for God hath willed, His truth to triumph thro’ us; The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure; for, lo, his doom is sure; One little word shall fell him.

That Word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours; through Him who with us sideth; Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever. Amen!

Baptist Hymnal (1975 edition), A Mighty Fortress is Our God, 37.

The Doctrine of Security (Romans 8:29-30)

2010-05-04T08:29:00.003-05:00

According to Romans 8:28-30, the order of salvation is first, the foreknowledge of God; second, the predestination of God; third, the calling of God; fourth, the justification of God; and fifth, the glorification of God. Many get this backwards and fight with all their intellectual might against how God saves men. There is a reason why men fight against God’s order of salvation – they seek to remove salvation from God’s doing and place the responsibility in man’s hand so that there will be no injustice in God for His saving some and not saving all.

This however is unbiblical and unnecessary. There is no injustice in God even though salvation is completely of the Lord. We must remember that all men are born with a sin nature; all men grow up to be sinners; and all men are responsible for their own destruction. So God is just in the destruction of sinners. We must also remember that no sinner deserves to be saved and that in the saving of any sinner God is just. Any sinner that God saves He does so only on the basis of His grace through penal-substitution so that He is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:23-26).

Be sure to get this: God is just in the destruction of sinners and He is just in the salvation of sinners. Can you find any injustice in that?

All five aspects of the order of salvation combine to give us the sound doctrine of the security of the believer. But before we establish that doctrine, let me ask you to consider this question: why must there be a divine order to salvation? The answer is because without it no sinner would ever be willing to forsake his sin and embrace and love God. Think about it! God has demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). What capital offender in his right mind would refuse such a gracious offer? The answer: every single one left to himself!

This shows the devastating consequence of sin on man’s mind, heart, and will and that apart from the sovereign choice of God to have mercy on whom He wills no man would be saved (Romans 9:16). But for these on whom God has chosen to have mercy, they will be saved and their salvation will be secure.

Not only has God chosen by His foreknowledge sinners that would otherwise never have chosen Him, He has also predestined them to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29). God’s ultimate purpose for bringing sinners to salvation is to glorify His Son. Those that are saved are God’s gift to His Son for His Son’s obedience to Him. These love and obey the Lord Jesus Christ and become His own special possession or treasure (Titus 2:14). Jesus categorically stated that “all that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). He went on to say, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him”, and, “No one can come to Me unless it has been granted Him from the Father” (John 6:44, 65).

Peter stated this same truth in 1 Peter 1:1-2, “…Who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ….”

“And these whom He predestined, He also called” – While God chooses according to His foreknowledge, no man is saved apart from being drawn to Christ by the Father through the Word of God and the sanctifying work of the Spirit. In other words, God has a means by which He arrives at the end. Men must respond in faith to Christ through the Gospel. This is how God calls. This is why we evangelize and tell others the Gospel of Christ. God will not fail to call those whom He has predestined to become conformed to the image of Christ based on His sovereign foreknowledge.

“And these whom He called, He also justified” – Here is where faith comes into the order of salvation. Faith is wrapped up in the call – faith comes by hearing (the call) and hearing (the call) by the word about Christ (Romans 10:17). We are justified by faith (Romans 3:26-28) in the redemptive work of Christ (Romans 3:24) and that faith is generated in us by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit through the call of God on those whom He has predestined and foreknown. If faith is generated in us and doesn’t originate in us then of necessity God’s foreknowledge isn’t based on Him seeing something in us that isn’t there. You can’t get out of something what isn’t in it.

“And these whom He justified, He also glorified” – Our glorification is spoken of in the past tense although it hasn’t happened yet. This means that God calls the things that do not exist as though they exist (Romans 4:17) so that the promise of our glorification is guaranteed. After having been justified it is impossible not to be glorified or else God is a liar and He cannot lie for He is truth and there is no lie in Him. You cannot get out of something what isn’t in it.

The glorification of the ones whom God has foreknown, predestined, called, and justified is God’s guarantee. Now you will understand that if God is for you, who can be against you. And you will also understand that nothing in all creation can thwart the salvation that God has granted to an undeserving sinner.

Predestined - To Become Like Jesus (Romans 8:29-30)

2010-04-28T10:31:00.003-05:00

In our studies of Romans 8:28 we have discovered that all of the negative things (all of the suffering) that would cause us to throw away our confidence, to lose faith, to quit trusting God, or to apostatize – these negative things or sufferings that we endure because of our faith – God is causing them to work for us and not against us. Every time we suffer for the sake of our faith in Christ, God causes that suffering to strengthen our faith, our character, and our godliness.

We also discovered that God isn’t doing this for everyone but only for those who love God and those who are called according to His purpose. We know that no man loves God in and of himself and the only reason any man loves God is because God first loved him. The only way to love God is to experience His love for you through the Gospel. This is why one of the biblical assurances of salvation is that we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us (1 John 4:16).

The called are those chosen by God for salvation. Just as no man loves God unless God first loved him so no man chooses God unless God first chose him. This removes salvation from man’s doing and shows it to be a sovereign work of God. Because of this truth we know that salvation is not of works but by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Many balk at this biblical truth because they can’t understand what part human responsibility plays if salvation is all of God. They forget however the reason men that have not been chosen by God remain in their unbelief is because they will not believe. They cannot believe because they will not believe because their wills are in bondage to sin and they love their sin. This is exactly what the Lord Jesus said in several places. First, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). And then, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).

Therefore salvation is for everyone who believes or whosoever believes. All who are willing to believe are willing only because God chose them and called them and granted that they may come to Jesus.

This brings us to our text, Romans 8:29. All that are willing to believe are those whom God has foreknown. The word “foreknew” means “to know beforehand.” This does not mean that God knew beforehand that you would believe and therefore He elected you to salvation. If that is the case then our election to salvation is conditioned on something good that God saw in us. Was that the prognosis? No! “There is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:12). Election to salvation is unconditional. There is absolutely no cause in us to merit salvation. This is why we read, “Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). The word “gift” means “gratuitously or without a cause.”
So the word “foreknew”, then, means that God knew beforehand those whom He would justify as a gift by His grace. If you believe that salvation is by grace through faith and not of works so that no man may boast then of necessity you will also believe in unconditional election. The only alternative is to believe that God’s gift of salvation is conditioned upon some cause rather than no cause and then you would have merited grace and grace that is merited is not grace. A merited gift is not a gift. “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Romans 11:6).

Those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. The word “predestined” means to “predetermine or preordain.” God has predetermined or preordained that believers would be conformed to the image of His Son. This means that all the suffering that believers endure for the sake of righteousness is being used by God to cause them to look more like Jesus. What did Jesus look like? This isn’t talking about having long hair, a beard, or any other physical feature that the Lord may have had. This is talking about reflecting His image in and through our experiences. He suffered and yet kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:21-23). This means that we are called to suffer and to do so by following in the steps of Jesus.

So God has predestined our suffering with Christ so that we may be glorified with Him. The wonderful truth of it all is that God is causing all our suffering for the sake of righteousness to work for us and not against us and is using it to make us more like Christ.

God’s ultimate goal or primary cause in the salvation of the elect is to glorify His Son through whom the grace and glory of God will be praised – “so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” The firstborn has the preeminence and the glory.

God is conforming us to the image of His Son through what we suffer so that when others see how we bear up under suffering, maintaining our faith and trust in God, they see what Jesus looked like. This gives Christ the preeminence and glory and shows Him to be a glorious Savior worth suffering for – “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

Our suffering glorifies Christ; conforms us to His image; and benefits others.

God's Promise to Protect Christians (Romans 8:28)

2010-04-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

We know that the book of Romans is the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In it we find God’s solution to the dilemma of how a holy God can pardon sinners and remain just in the process. It is here that we discover that there is one and only one way that God can extend His mercy without violating His Law and being unjust in the process. It is the high and holy doctrine of penal-substitution or you could say penalty-substitution. For God to pardon sinners and remain just in the process there would have to be a mutual agreement between Him and a willing sinless substitute who would live a sinless life; die a sacrificial death; and experience a supernatural resurrection on behalf of God and sinners. We know that this is exactly what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ His Son and that on this basis there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved other than Jesus Christ.

The implications of this truth are enormous and are explicitly taught in the Bible – unless people trust Christ based on His sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection, they cannot be saved because there is no other way for God to forgive and remain just in the process.

This is the Gospel; this is the message of truth that the church must know and guard because “he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). Jesus is the door of the sheep (John 10:7). No one comes to the Father except by faith in Christ and Christ alone (John 14:6).

So unless men hear the message about Christ and respond to Christ by trusting Him as Lord and Savior, they cannot and will not be saved. By this we know who the thieves and robbers are: the ones who say that there is another way or who tamper with the message about Christ in any form or fashion by adding to it or taking away from it. Those who would offer Christ as Savior only are libertine liars. Those who would say that you have to make Christ Lord are legalistic liars. Those who would say that God saves through Jesus and also has other ways to save are lunatic liars.

Only those who have trusted Christ for penal-substitionary atonement are saved and all others are climbing up some other way. Anyone who trusts Christ for penal-substitutionary atonement will love and obey Jesus as Savior and Lord and the two cannot be separated. Just as love and obedience cannot be separated neither can Savior and Lord be separated.

Those who have been justified on the basis of their faith in Christ will live in loving, loyal obedience to Christ and will be hated by the world because of it. It is this faith that is always tested by the enemies of Christ. Christians will be persecuted for desiring to live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). This brings us to our text, Romans 8:28, where we see that God promises to protect Christians in and through their suffering for the sake of their faith in Christ.

For we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God – how do we know? We know by the testimony of two witnesses.

First we know because of the testimony of Scripture. We can look at the Biblical record and see how God has always protected His people by protecting their faith. This means that the suffering that comes to the child of God only strengthens his faith rather than diminishing it. Remember Joseph! Remember Daniel! Remember the three Hebrews! Remember Job! Remember Jeremiah! Remember Jesus! Remember the apostles!

Second we know because of the testimony of the saints. We can speak with anyone whose faith is genuine and 100% will testify of the unfailing faithfulness of God. The resounding chorus that will come from the lips and heart of every genuine child of God is “Great is His faithfulness!”

To those who love God – the promise of God’s protection is only to the redeemed. God doesn’t cause all things to work together for good to everyone because not everyone has saving faith. God will never prove a false faith to be true for then He would be a liar. I’ll remind you of what Adrian Rogers used to say, “The faith that fizzles before the finish was faulty at the first.”

So who are those who love God? Those who love God are the saved. Anyone who does not love the Lord Jesus does not love God and anyone who does not love God does not love the Lord Jesus. That is why we read, “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed” (1 Corinthians 16:22).

Those who love God do not do so in their own power and of their own accord. Those who love God love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). No person who does not have saving faith loves God no matter how loudly he or she proclaims it. A person must come to know and believe (trust) the love which God has for us (1 John 4:16) and that love can only be known and believed by God’s demonstration of His love for us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Those who love God are those who obey. Jesus said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). There is no love for the Lord when there is no obedience to His Word. The implication of this is that there is no love for the Lord when we will not trust and obey His Word. When we will not trust and obey His Word there is no faith and it is written that the righteous man shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).

Those who love God are those who obey His Word and because we obey His Word the world hates us. This is why the true believer experiences suffering and persecution for the sake of righteousness – but it is in and through this that God has promised to work all things together for God to those who love God. True Christians will be kept from stumbling (John 15:18-21; 16:1).

Great is His faithfulness!

The Called (Romans 8:28)

2010-04-26T08:21:00.002-05:00

The context of Romans 8:28 is the suffering that believers encounter and endure for the sake of their faith in Christ so that they will be glorified with Christ (Romans 8:17ff). In the simplest of terms this means that God is causing our suffering to work for us and not against us. Believers will be more than conquerors through Christ (Romans 8:37) and their faith will be continually strengthened through their suffering and they will never apostatize (Romans 8:30).

So the “all things” that God’s Word is speaking of in Romans 8:28 are the negative things; the sufferings and afflictions that God is causing to work for us and not against us. And if God is for us and working all things together for us, who or what can be against us (Romans 8:31)?

We have already noted that God isn’t doing this for everyone but only for those who love God. And we know that no man in his natural state loves God but is in fact and enemy of God, hostile toward God, and hates the God of the Bible. He may be in love with a God of his own imagination but the holy, strict, and always just God of the Bible he hates with a passion and would even dare charge Him with evil, immorality, and a monstrous character – all because He will not bend to their lower standards of justice and morality which is in fact injustice and immorality. Those who are brave enough will even declare that they could never love a God who would send men to hell and who would punish them eternally for their crimes against Him. Others hate God because He saves some but not all. They would love a God who saves all but not a God who saves some and not others.

But we know that we love God not of our own accord but because He first loved us. So apart from men coming to know and believe the love which God has for them as demonstrated through the Gospel, they will continue to hate the God of the Bible. And here is the kicker – no man can will himself or make himself love God (John 1:12-13). God must choose him and cause him to see the love of God for him in the Gospel so that he responds to the Gospel in faith and love. Only men who receive the love of God in Christ Jesus can become lovers of God.

And that brings us to our text where we will study “those who are called.” The Bible distinguishes between the external call where the Gospel goes out to call all men to believe on Christ and the effectual call where the Gospel actually becomes the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. In other words the external call only becomes the effectual call to those who are chosen.

Jesus categorically declared that many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). He was saying that the Gospel invitation goes out to many but it is rejected by most because compared to those who are rejecting it only a few are chosen. This means that no man can respond properly to the Gospel in and of himself. This is why Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65).

So salvation is a result of the work and will of God that excludes the work and will of man (John 1:12-13). Believers have never been called or chosen on the basis of their works or superior worth to other men but solely by the grace and mercy of God (2 Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 2:9; Titus 3:3-7). God didn’t choose you because He saw that you would choose Him; you chose Him because He first chose you and there’s no getting around that.

You may be wondering then, how did God choose? We are told in God’s Word, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before the Lord. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

God chooses according to the kind intention of His will (Ephesians 1:4-6), or as our text puts it, “According to His purpose.” This means that God’s choosing and calling us is totally a work of God and totally by grace and totally for His glory.

So the biblical conclusion is that the called are the effectually called and these are the chosen. Those that have not been chosen by God cannot and will not respond properly to Christ through the Gospel. This means that the Gospel then is to one group an aroma of death unto death and to the other group an aroma of life unto life. So we know for sure that for those who are perishing the Gospel is foolishness.

How do you know if you are called or not? The answer: “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God….But to those who are the called, Christ the power of God and wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, 24).

Penal-Substitution: Fact or Fiction?

2010-04-05T15:42:00.003-05:00

Penal-substitution is the word that theologians use to succinctly define how God accomplished atonement for guilty sinners so that He could issue what is known as a principled pardon – one that upholds justice. The Bible clearly teaches penal-substitution as the only remedy for the dilemma of how a holy God can pardon sinners and remain just in the process. However, the opponents of penal-substitution declare that it is unjust and that the Gospel of penal-substitution is immoral and illogical.

This means that those who oppose and reject penal-substitution do so on the basis of its supposed foolishness. This is precisely the biblical record for those who oppose the Gospel – “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God….For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-24).

However, as is evident from the biblical record and from sound reasoning, the Gospel of penal-substitution is both the power of God and the wisdom of God. It is the supposed superior morality and intelligence of the opponents of the Gospel that causes them to view the Gospel as foolishness. They do this to their own destruction and shame. All throughout their arguments, the opponents of penal-substitution violate the principles of sound logic (they are not so wise after all), confuse categories, and exalt their sense of morality as higher than that of God Himself.

So, is penal-substitution fact or fiction? Is it immoral and illogical or is it the highest expression of both morality and logic? In order to establish the morality and logic of penal-substitution we will look at both sides of the argument and see who is in violation of sound logic and who is exalting a superior sense of morality.

First, we need to deal with penal-substitution as the only law-upholding basis for the justification of capital offenders (sinners). When a person has committed a capital offense the law-upholding penalty is capital punishment. Any court that fails to uphold capital punishment for criminals that are capital offenders is unjust. Justice has not been served if a capital offender goes free without the law-upholding penalty of capital punishment being carried out. The court would be unjust and the law against capital crimes would be useless.

So we must ask and answer the question of how can a court justify capital offenders and remain just in the process. If the court declares the guilty, “innocent”, then that is fiction. If the court pardons the guilty without the penalty of the law being upheld then that is injustice and an unprincipled pardon. If the court executes an innocent man in the place of the guilty man then the court is guilty of the highest form of injustice (this is precisely what Pilate did when he released Barabbas and had Jesus crucified – Matthew 27:26).

Now it would have been something altogether different if Pilate and Jesus had entered into a mutual agreement where Jesus was willing to take the place of Barabbas and die in his place and Pilate had the power to raise men from the dead. If that were the case then Pilate could have executed Jesus in the place of Barabbas and then he could have raised Jesus from the dead which would have justified Barabbas, provided proof of the justness of Jesus, and maintained the justness of Pilate. But Pilate did not have and no court on earth has the power to raise men from the dead so the possibility of penal-substitution as a means of justifying capital offenders while maintaining the justness of the court does not exist among men.

So with men, justifying capital offenders is an impossibility; but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:25-26). There was a mutual agreement between Jesus Christ and God the Father where Jesus would live a sinless life under the Law; die a sacrificial death in fulfillment of the Law; and experience a supernatural resurrection so that God could be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

The common objections by the opponents of penal-substitution always fail to take into account the absolute necessity of the power to raise men from the dead in order for penal-substitution to be a moral and logical means of justifying capital offenders. When this happens then immediately categories have been confused and all sorts of unfounded objections arise which have no correlation to the subject at hand.

For instance, penal-substitution is declared to be a legal fiction by its opponents because they fail to take into account God’s legal transaction of transferring debt and payment of debt from one account to another. If a debt is actually paid by another who didn’t owe the debt then there is no fiction whatsoever as to the declaration of paid in full where the payment for the debt is credited to the account of the one who didn’t pay it. So if there has been a legal transaction by which an innocent party pays in full the debt owed on behalf of the guilty party, the declaration of justified isn’t legal fiction but is indeed legal fact!

This means that the certificate of debt that consisted of decrees of punishment against the capital offender has been cancelled and taken out of the way by a willing and able substitute that paid the debt (Colossians 2:13-14). There is now therefore no condemnation for the capital offender whose debt has been paid by another (Romans 8:1).

Does this mean that the capital offender can now commit as many crimes as he wishes? Absolutely not! His love for the One who paid his debt by dying in his place and being raised from the dead will move him to no longer live for himself but for the one who died for him (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). So God’s declaration of justification on the basis of faith in Christ is not only a legal fact of righteousness; it is also the beginning of the process by which the guilty sinner’s righteousness is becoming a literal fact. This is known as sanctification where the forgiven man’s actions are transformed into righteous acts by his love for and obedience to the One who died and rose again on his behalf. The life that the forgiven man now lives, he lives by trusting and obeying the One who loved him and gave Himself up for him (Galatians 2:20).

Also, penal-substitution is declared to be immoral because its opponents say that the innocent cannot die for the guilty. Says who? Again this would be immoral only if the innocent man wasn’t raised from the dead and thereby righteously and justly vindicated. Again this view falls short because it fails to take into consideration that God can do this without it being immoral precisely because He has the ability to raise men from the dead. The opponents of penal-substitution exalt their own morality above that of God.

From there the argument goes to penal-substitution being contrary to every known system of justice in the world. Duh! I guess so! No court on earth has the power to raise men from the dead and so even if an innocent man were willing to die in the place of a guilty capital offender, the court still couldn’t carry out the transaction in such a manner as to be just. And not only that, finding an innocent man willing to die for capital offenders isn’t going to happen in this world because this world doesn’t have that kind of love. The love that God bestows on undeserving sinners is an out of this world kind of love. Penal-substitution is the highest expression of love that can or ever will be demonstrated (Romans 5:6-8).

Penal-substitution is the only law-upholding, mercy-giving, and principled-pardon that a holy God can offer and still maintain His righteousness and His justice.

Why Atheistic Agnostic Apostates Maintain that Their Former Faith was Genuine

2010-03-25T14:26:00.002-05:00

Any thinking person should ask and answer this question: why do atheistic agnostic apostates maintain that their former faith was genuine? If their new-found truth is real, that there is no God, why should it matter what one believes? Why doesn’t the atheistic agnostic apostate just say, “My former faith wasn’t of the biblical saving type?”

There is one primary reason that this type of apostate will never concede the truth that he never had the belief that saves – he would knowingly establish the veracity of the Bible and its Author. This he could never do because it would prove his present worldview false and the Bible and its Author true.

Therefore, the apostate MUST maintain that his former faith was genuine or else the Bible is true. Specifically the Bible says concerning this type of apostate, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19). If he admits that his former faith wasn’t genuine he would now knowingly establish the truthfulness of the Bible.

So the apostate attempts to make people believe that there is nothing different from what he believed and what those who are genuinely saved believe. The reason is too obvious – if he admitted to not having believed then what reason would you trust his current belief? Therefore the apostate plays the “sincerity” card. He was sincere in believing and as such should have been just as much saved as anyone else. This means that his basis for salvation was his sincerity and not that God had actually shown him that these things are really true.

Now the apostate has double trouble. He wants you to believe that he was sincere when he claimed faith and love for Christ, faith and love for God’s Word, and faith and love for God. But now he admits that he was sincerely wrong then. How does he know that he isn’t sincerely wrong now? He doesn’t!

Be sure to get this – the apostate admits to being sincerely wrong about his former beliefs and wants you to believe him on his current beliefs because of his sincerity.

The apostate cannot and will not admit that his former faith was not of the biblical saving type because he would then establish the veracity of the Bible and its Author. The apostate can only claim that he was formerly sincerely wrong which means you have absolutely no basis for believing him now.

The apostate is unbelievable!

Unwittingly Establishing the Veracity of the Bible and its Author

2010-03-24T09:55:00.006-05:00

This is a response to Ken Pulliam, Ph.D. over at Why I De-Converted from Evangelical Christianity about his unwittingly establishing the veracity of the Bible and its Author in his post about Ken Daniels, A Former Missionary with Wycliffe Translators is now an Agnostic Atheist.

There are several problems in this post that are working against Ken Pulliam's truth claim rather than for it. Unwittingly he is establishing the veracity of the Bible and its Author instead of nullifying it. Both his testimony and Ken Daniels’ testimony are perfectly and accurately described in the Bible.

Ken Daniels said, “If I could patch things up by forcing myself to believe again, I would do so in a heartbeat. Unfortunately I have tried that several times, only to be besieged again by doubt, and have come to the conclusion that attempting to will myself to believe that which in my heart I do not believe is futile.”

The Bible declares that no man can will himself to believe – “Who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13 NASB). This verse not only does away with Daniels’ false notion that a man can believe of his own accord but also does away with his false credentials that you have put forward as evidence that Daniels was once a true Christian.

Daniels is right in this conclusion – “attempting to will myself to believe that which in my heart I do not believe is futile.” And what is necessary to be a genuine Christian? The Bible says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 NASB). The word confess, means to speak the same and be of one mind (same logic), which means that confession of Jesus as Lord is to say the same thing about Him that God says about Him because of illumination and not imitation. It’s the difference between a parrot saying that Jesus is Lord without understanding what it is saying and a person saying that Jesus is Lord with full understanding and logic so that the truth he is declaring is inline with what he believes in his heart.

The part of Romans 10:9 that says, “And believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead”, is the part that gives rise to the confession of Jesus as Lord. There is no confession of Jesus as Lord without the accompanying belief in the heart that God raised Him from the dead. The only alternatives are for one to say, “If God raised Jesus from the dead then Jesus is Lord”, or, “I sincerely know that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is false.”

For the person that says, “If God raised Jesus from the dead then Jesus is Lord”, there is no belief in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and therefore there is no confession (speaking the same thing and being of the same mind) of Jesus as Lord but only parroting Jesus as Lord. The person that does not confess Jesus as Lord and believe in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead is not a genuine Christian. He or she may profess saving faith but does not possess saving faith.

One who professes faith but does not possess faith may be sincere in his belief that he is a true Christian and as such would classify himself a “sincere Christian” but would nonetheless not be a true Christian irregardless of his sincerity.

So the combined testimonies of Ken Daniels and Ken Pulliam are this: Ken Daniels, “Attempting to will myself to believe that which in my heart I do not believe is futile”, and, Ken Pulliam, “You cannot force yourself to believe something that you sincerely know is false.”

Now if either one of you claims that your confession of Jesus as Lord was a result of believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, how did that belief in your heart come about? Did you will yourself to believe for a while against all sound reasoning? On what did you base your belief in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead?

God's Plan for Suffering (Romans 8:28-30)

2010-03-15T08:34:00.003-05:00

Romans 8:28-30 are part of the unfathomable riches of the Word of God. They are overflowing with riches that we cannot get to the bottom of; that we cannot get to the corners of; and that we cannot get to the top of. The wonderful things that are revealed here are the source of greatest conviction, certainty, and comfort for the Christian. Another way of saying the same thing about these verses is that they are the source of greatest faith, hope, and love for the Christian. Here we see what God has done, is doing, and will do for us for the sake of His own Son.

I’ll give you a brief summary for now and later we will look deeper into these matters. God has elected us for salvation in eternity; He has predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son; He has called us to salvation according to His purpose through the gospel of Jesus Christ; He has justified us through faith in Christ; He speaks of our glorification in the past tense because He cannot fail (don’t forget that God calls the things which do not exist as existing based on His unfailing ability to bring it about- Romans 4:17); and as a result God is causing all things to work together for good to those who love God.

All this means that nothing can cause us to lose salvation; nothing can cause us to fall away; and nothing can stop God from bringing us to glorification which will be our full and final rescue from our bondage to corruption caused by sin. This means that for the children of God, suffering works for us and not against us.

In the context of this passage the primary interpretation of “God causes all things to work together for good” is the negative things that would condemn us and cause us to fall away are used by God to work for us and not against us. It is the negative things that test our faith and would cause us to fall away not the positive things. Now we don’t deny that there are good things that work for our good – that’s why we would call them good things. Bible study, worship, prayer, fellowship with the saints, and a host of other good things will encourage us and equip us and help to bring us to the measure of the stature which belongs to Christ. But clearly the “all things” in Romans 8:28 is in the context of suffering with Christ so that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17ff).

This means that God has a plan for suffering and that what others mean for evil, God intends for good. This means that for the child of God and the child of God alone – God says, “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). So God is going to cause our suffering to work for us and not against us.

“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God….” How do we know?

First, we know because of the testimony of Scripture. Over and over as we study through the Bible we see how God has always and without fail worked out the suffering of His people for their good. Take Joseph for an example. He was hated by his brothers; thrown into a pit; taken out and sold into slavery; carried down to Egypt and sold to Potiphar; lied about by Potiphar’s wife; thrown into Pharaoh’s prison; left in prison for years; and then exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh. And we read Joseph’s words to his brothers when they had to come to Egypt for food and Joseph revealed himself to them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” (Genesis 50:20).

Take Job for an example. Satan used every form of suffering in his power against Job to try to get Job to fall away and deny his faith. And yet we know the outcome – that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful (James 5:11).

Take the suffering and patience of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example. We know that those who endured were blessed and that their reward in heaven is great. Instead of their suffering working against them and causing them to stumble, God caused it to work for them and to be that which proved and strengthened their faith.

We could go on and on about the sufferings of the men and women of faith but time would fail us if we attempted to tell of them all and see how God caused all things to work together for their good and how their reward in heaven is great.

We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him because of the testimony of Scripture.

Second, we know because of the testimony of our own experience. Suffering for the sake of righteousness is inevitable for the child of God. It is God’s will that we suffer with Christ so that we may also be glorified with Him. It is God’s will that our faith be tested so that He can prove Himself to be faithful. What have we discovered in and through our suffering? I would say that we have discovered two things in and through our suffering: God is faithful and our faith is real!

Let me illustrate how God causes our suffering to work for us and not against us: When we are falsely accused of all sorts of evil or persecuted and afflicted for the sake of righteousness, do we run away from God or draw near to God? Do we go deeper into His Word to be sure that what is happening to us is exactly what happened to the men and women of God who were before us or do we quit Bible study altogether? When we are suffering do we pray or do we pout? When suffering causes us to draw near to God, to go deeper into His Word, and to pray then we must conclude that God is causing it to work for us and not against us.

So God causes suffering to work for the child of God by causing it to work for our sanctification. Everything that the devil would use against us to harm us chips away more and more of our self-reliance and brings us into more and more reliance upon God so that we are being conformed to the image of Christ – which is God’s ultimate goal for all His children. Anything by the devil that is intended for evil against us, God causes to work for us! “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us” (Romans 8:31)?

The Comforter Groans (Romans 8:26-27)

2010-03-09T09:24:00.003-06:00

All the suffering that Christians have to endure so that they may be glorified with Christ could easily make a person give up and say that there is no hope or to compromise and attempt to take the easy way out, both of which would prove his profession of faith as phony - “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21).

To show that we are not alone in this suffering and groaning while waiting for what has been promised, Paul wrote of the reality that the creation groans and that Christians groan. So we are not alone in this suffering.

We are being encouraged to be the imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12). We are to consider all the sufferings and afflictions that the men and women of faith endured and all that the Lord Himself endured so that we will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 11:1 – 12:3). We are also to know and understand that there are others who are God’s children who are suffering in this world and yet they continue to trust Christ and they gladly endure reproach for Christ’s sake. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

And that brings us to our text where we find that not only does creation and other Christians groan and suffer but also the Comforter, the Holy Spirit joins us and helps us in this suffering (Romans 8:26-27).

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness” – is referring back to the groaning of creation and Christians both of which patiently endure, trusting that God who has promised to deliver us cannot fail. But here we see that the Spirit comes alongside us and helps our weakness. When we would give up in times of trouble the Spirit helps our weakness. He is a very present help in times of trouble – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). So in our weakness the Spirit is abundantly available to help and we know that when we are weak – then He is strong!

Through the Spirit who helps the true Christian’s weakness we are guaranteed that we will not stumble and we will not fall away – “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber…” (Psalm 121:1-3). We have this great assurance concerning the help of the Spirit in our weakness – “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

“For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words” – In our weakness, or you could say in our suffering we do not know how to pray as we should – but we are to pray and when we do the Spirit Himself will help us and intercede for us. It is written, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him” (James 1:2-5). And we also read, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray” (James 5:13).

When we pray because of our suffering we do not know how to pray, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words. This is intercessory prayer by the Spirit who unites with us in our desire to be freed from our slavery to corruption into our adoption as sons – the redemption of the body. This is wonderful news because this means that the Spirit is communicating to the Father things beyond what we could ask or think – “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

“And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” – God the Father is the one who searches the hearts of men. This gives us a clue to how the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints – those groanings that are too deep for words are placed by the Spirit in our hearts and when the Father searches our hearts He knows exactly what those groans mean because He knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Because the Spirit’s will and the Father’s will are identical and because God is one, the Spirit will never ask for something out of the will of the Father but will always do the Father’s will. This means then although we do not know how to pray, that the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us always intercedes in the will of the Father and therefore those prayers are always answered. “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).

What the Holy Spirit does for us is the same as what the Lord Jesus did for Peter – “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded (obtained) permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31-32). Because of the intercession of the Holy Spirit who is a very present help in time of trouble our feet will not slip and our faith will not fail – He will keep us and bring us safely home!

Christians Groan (Romans 8:23-25)

2010-03-01T10:02:00.002-06:00

The apostle Paul has already established the truth that the creation groans – that the creation longs for and groans for its promised deliverance from the destructive consequences of sin which is tied to the glorification and deliverance of believers from the presence of sin (Romans 8:18-22). The creation is eagerly waiting and watching for the redemption of God’s children which will result in its redemption from its slavery to corruption. The creation has a hope that is sure that causes it to patiently endure suffering while eagerly waiting for what has been promised.

Not only does the creation groan for and long for deliverance but we ourselves, that is, believers, groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body (Romans 8:23). The reason we groan is because we have experienced “the first fruits of the Spirit” – a foretaste of the glory to come. We have been justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are being sanctified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and we are being led by and comforted by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. We will be glorified by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ when He appears. “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).

This gives us biblical hope which causes us to groan within ourselves waiting eagerly and patiently with perseverance for what has been promised and especially for the One who will bring it about – namely the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we read, “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:13-14). Just as the creation is groaning for and longing for its glorification and freedom from corruption by waiting and watching for the glorification of the children of God so we too are groaning for and longing for our glorification and freedom from sin’s presence by watching and waiting for the appearing and revealing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is biblical hope and what is it based on? To answer that question I want to start off by offering to you what hope is not and then we will look at what hope is:

Hope is not an uncertain wish or a wish that is not firmly grounded in absolute truth. Many people have a false hope because of their false theology. They wish to be saved but not on God’s terms and in God’s way. “Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, for what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light….Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it” (Amos 5:18, 20)? There are many whose hope is only a wish that is not firmly grounded in absolute truth.

There is no hope either for those who have twisted God’s Word to their own destruction or for those who have not heard of the only legal and righteous way that God can and will save – “When the Lord Jesus Christ will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). They may have a false hope but they do not have biblical hope.

Biblical hope is based on the promises of God and therefore it is based on the certainty and truthfulness of God Himself who cannot lie – “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.’ And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as a confirmation is an end to every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor to the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:13-20). Biblical hope is not wishful thinking.

Where there is no communication of God’s promise of rescue and refuge in Jesus Christ there is no hope – “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands – remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:11-12). Where there is no promise of rescue there is no hope!

Those who are not rescued in this lifetime will spend eternity with no hope because hell is a place of no hope. There is no promise of deliverance for those in hell so those who die without having taken refuge in Christ have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Without the promise of God that He will rescue you on His terms and not your own – there is no hope because there has been no communication of the promise of rescue. Without the communication of the promise of the rescue plan which enables men to take refuge in Christ, there is no hope – no reason to long for and groan for the deliverance that has been promised; no reason to believe that He is going to rescue you instead of destroy you; and no reason to look for His appearing.

Let me illustrate this truth with a real life rescue story: On Friday June 2, 1995, Captain Scott O’Grady and his wingman Bob Wright were patrolling a NATO no-fly zone over Bosnia in their F-16’s. The Bosnian Serbs had mapped the flight pattern of the NATO pilots and had moved a battery of Russian made SA-6 surface-to-air missiles directly below the path of the enforcing aircraft. The Serb commander switched on his radar for just a few moments in order to be able to detect the jets, their path, and their speed. He turned the radar off almost as quickly as he turned it on to avoid detection from the equipment on the jets. Bob Wright picked up the warning single for a few moments but nothing showed on O’Grady’s equipment because he was a little further out of range. The Serbs dialed in their surface-to-air missiles to intercept the F-16’s at just the right moment. Having calculated the speed of the jets the Serbs fired knowing that it would take approximately twenty seconds for the missiles to reach their targets. So after about ten seconds the Serbs switched their radar back on which would guide the missiles to their targets. The first missile exploded in the air between the two jets. The other struck O’Grady’s F-16.

When his F-16 aircraft burst into flames, O’Grady ejected from his disintegrating plane and parachuted to earth, landing deep behind enemy lines in hostile territory. With armed militia hot on his heels, O’Grady dove into the undergrowth. Moments later his pursuers passed five feet from his head. O’Grady’s situation was grim. His survival kit only contained eight 4 ounce packets of water, a first-aid kit, a few flares, a 9 mm pistol, a survival radio barely larger than a walkman, and some radio batteries.

O’Grady was undetected by the initial search conducted by the enemy to find him. Under the cover of darkness he began to slowly move to try to get to higher ground where he could have a better opportunity to make radio contact. O'Grady's efforts to establish contact using the survival radio were thwarted at first by bad weather, which kept allied planes away for several days. O’Grady’s radio not only transmitted his voice it could also transmit a beacon to notify the military of his position. The military was in fact picking up the radio beacon but thought that it might be an ambush by the enemy – they didn’t know if O’Grady was alive or not.

So far there has been no communication and no promise of rescue – there was no hope based on the certainty and truthfulness that the military was coming to get him. “This is Basher five two. Is anyone out there?” No reply! Then early Thursday morning, O’Grady’s sixth day on the ground, Captain Thomas O Hanford and his wingman were coming to the end of their patrol. Hanford wanted to go deeper into enemy territory to see if he could possibly make contact and communication with O’Grady. Running very low on fuel Hanford pressed on as his wingman urged that they should head back. But Hanford didn’t give up. Then at 2:08am Captain Thomas O Hanford broadcasted from his jet, “Basher five two this is Basher one one on Alpha.” And sure enough he hears O’Grady responding, “This is Basher five two – I’m alive”! Listen to this actual cockpit recording.

Now communication has taken place, the military knows that O’Grady is alive and they have given him a promise that they are coming for him. O’Grady now has hope. He is groaning within himself for the full and final rescue that has been promised. But he must wait. Captain Hanford has radioed the military and gone back to his base where his shift is over. But he refueled his jet and went back out so that he could comfort O’Grady while O’Grady waited for the rescue operation to be put in place. O’Grady would have to wait eagerly and persevere with his eyes on the skies looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the rescue package.

While Hanford was circling in the sky and comforting O’Grady the US military was readying the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and two of their CH-53 helicopters that would carry a total of 43 marines to go and get O’Grady. At 6:12 am the first of the big cargo helicopters lifted off, followed by two AH-1W Cobra gunships and two AV-8 Harrier jump jets. At 6:44 the rescuers contact O’Grady. His eyes are on the skies – and then he hears it – the sound is building and it’s getting closer and he sees as the helicopters touch down.

At 7:07 am the helicopter's side door had been open for all of three seconds when O'Grady tumbled across its threshold. He had two words, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

The US military could have failed in its mission – but it didn’t and we are grateful. However, God will never fail in His mission. We have a hope that is steadfast and sure and is an anchor to the soul. If God is for us, who can be against us?

One of these days and it may be very soon, as our eyes are on the skies and we are groaning for, longing for, and looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds – we will hear it – the sound is building and it’s getting closer – it’s the trumpet of God and the Lord Himself will descend with a shout and the rescue will be complete – the redemption of our bodies.

Creation Groans (Romans 8:18-22)

2010-02-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

We have already considered our suffering with Christ in the form of affliction and persecution because of our firm stand on the Word and unwavering faith. It has well been said that faith is trusting in spite of consequences. So when affliction or persecution arises because of our stand on the truth and trust in Christ, we trust in spite of consequences. We take our stand on the truth; we will not be moved; and we refuse to throw away our confidence. This is called the perseverance of the saints and those who have been genuinely saved will persevere to the end.

So affliction and persecution are intended by the devil to cause men to stumble and turn away from the truth, believing his lie that Christians are not supposed to suffer. But on the other hand God uses affliction and persecution to cause genuine Christians to cling tighter to Him and prove them to be His children through their perseverance. The ones that endure to the end are proven to be the children of God and the ones that don’t endure to the end are not and will not be saved (Matthew 24:13).

Christians are to know and believe God’s truth that they are to suffer and that their suffering is working for them and not against them. With suffering comes the temptation to “throw in the towel” and give up on the faith. However, God gives His children the grace and the power to endure for His name’s sake (2 Timothy 1:8-12). So when we endure suffering without turning away from the truth; trusting God through it all (Romans 8:28); we prove that we have genuine biblical faith (1 Peter 1:7-9) and are not of those who shrink back and prove themselves to be children of destruction (Hebrews 10:35-39).

All suffering, no matter what form it takes, is a threat to ones faith and will ultimately prove that faith to be either genuine or counterfeit. So the Holy Spirit wants us to shore up our faith by the Word of God (Hebrews 4:2); knowing that God’s intentions are for our good even through our suffering (Romans 8:28); and to trust Him completely in spite of the circumstances (Romans 8:35-39; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 3:14). We are to be patient and persevere and live by faith (Hebrews 10:35 – 11:1).

So here is the wonderful truth that is presented to us in God’s Word – suffering is the divine decree of an all-mighty, all-wise, and all-loving Creator that causes us to rejoice in Him for what He has done, for what He is doing, and for what He is going to do. Suffering prepares us for glory (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5). Suffering causes us to long for what is coming - glory (Romans 8:23).

But not only do we suffer and long for glory – so does the creation (Romans 8:18-22)

Suffering works for us and not against us (Romans 8:18). In the hands of our wise and loving heavenly Father we are going from groaning to glory. Our suffering in this world is worth it because our sharing in glory will be greater. Our suffering is temporary; our glory will be eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Therefore we have a proper perspective about suffering and we do not focus on it but on what is to come. This makes all the difference in the world. We see our suffering as a necessary means to a greater end. This makes the suffering endurable and worth it! Suffering is a tool that God uses to prepare us for the glory that is to come and that makes the suffering worth it. We are given the example of suffering the pains of childbirth (Romans 8:22) and the joy of the baby’s birth causes the suffering of labor to dim in comparison. The glory we will see and the glory we will share will be far beyond all comparison to the sufferings we endured.

We are not alone in this suffering or this longing (Romans 8:19). The creation is watching and waiting for the glorification of the children of God which will result in the glorification of the creation. Creation is patiently enduring suffering and eagerly waiting to be set free which will not happen until the children of God are glorified. The glorification of the children of God is the culmination of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ to redeem all who will believe in Him from sin and creation from the curse (Colossians 1:20). So when this blessed event happens – the revealing of the sons of God – the creation will be set free (Romans 8:21) – and it will all be the result of the sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we will cry, “Glory!” The creation will cry, “Glory!” We will bow on our knees and clap our hands and sing, “Glory!” And all creation in one huge symphony will sing, “Glory!” Glory to the Son of God!

Suffering is intended by God for good for the children of God and for the creation (Romans 8:20-21). God Himself is the One who subjected the creation to futility. Man is responsible for the curse on creation but not the one who cursed it. Subjecting the creation to futility was God’s judicial and righteous judgment because of man’s sin. However, God’s ultimate design in death and decay is two-fold. First and foremost, suffering because of the curse is to define the reality and horrors of sin. There are great and severe consequences to sin because our sin is against a holy and righteous God. Second, suffering because of the curse is to demonstrate the wisdom, power, and love of God through His ability to make suffering work for us and not against us. Suffering makes the children of God better. But notice too that creation will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Romans 8:21). The curse will be removed and there will be no more suffering. There will be a new heaven and new earth with no more suffering of any kind. God will be glorified for His ability to save and deliver from bondage!

Suffering is designed by God to end in life and not death for the children of God and for the creation (Romans 8:22). God wants us to have the proper perspective for the suffering that is happening to us and the whole creation. For those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), suffering is like the pains of childbirth – it is going to end in life and not death. Our suffering will be worth it and it will dim in comparison to glory that is coming. Our groans that arise from our suffering are like the screams of a woman in the maternity ward. Knowing where the screams are coming from and why they are coming makes all the difference in the world as to how you look at the suffering. So be patient; persevere; and live by faith! God knows what He is doing!