God's Work, Not Mine

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” -–Ephesians 2:4-9

He loved us – “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us”

Obviously, the passage just before this makes it exceedingly clear that we are not worthy of God’s love. Before God’s grace, we were depraved, disobedient, dead and doomed. Verse four carries on with two of the most powerful words in the Bible; “But God.” The love of God, as it relates to sinners, is specifically called grace and mercy. These two attributes of God are what make it possible for sinners to be saved.

Many people and religions believe that they can earn their way into heaven, but the Bible makes it clear that we simply are not worthy to come anywhere near God’s dwelling place without the imputed righteousness and perfecting work of Jesus Christ. Thankfully, by God’s mercy, we do not receive the punishment we truly deserve, (Psalm 103:10.)


He quickened us – “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”

Paul emphasizes again, the fact that we were dead in our sins. This is only to demonstrate the great power of God to quicken us, (or make us alive,) with Christ. We’ve already learned that it is God’s mercy that spares us the punishment we deserve. Now we learn that it is God’s grace that that gives us the salvation we do not deserve.


He exalted us – “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”

As if being forgiven of our sins were not enough, God goes on from there. He continues to pour out his grace on us buy seating us together in heavenly places with Jesus Christ. God has now demonstrated His love for us by pouring out even more blessings we do not deserve. Amazingly enough, Paul also states this fact in the past tense, further demonstrating God’s sovereignty and ability to maintain a salvation and a standing that we could never hope to maintain on our own.


He keeps us – “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Our salvation is God’s gift to us. That is to say that we did not purchase it or earn it in any way. We have no right to boast or to be prideful of the fact that we are saved. In fact, it should be just the opposite. We should be incredibly humbled by the fact that God chose to save a wretched sinner like us.

This is a wonderful design by God to ensure that ultimately, His purpose shines through. That is that the glory goes to God and no one else. If God has an eternal purpose for us to fulfill, He will keep us for all eternity. Since we have not been saved by our good works, we can not be lost by our bad works. It is simply the gift of God.

It is my prayer that as you read this, if you are not born again, the Spirit might be working on your conscience. I pray that you might be led to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus. If you are born again, I pray that this serves as a humble reminder that your salvation is not of your own works, but rather the "gift of God;" lest any man should boast.

Eternally Saved

A conversation we are having over at Roland's blog made me think of this. This is one of my very first posts revisited:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast"
-Ephesians 2:8-9

This argument behind “Once Saved, Always Saved” comes down to one basic question;
Are we saved through Jesus' work on the cross, or are we saved because of our own works?

Jesus tells us that he is the way, the truth, and the life. Then he tells us that no man can come to the father except through him. (John 14:6) This means that the only way we can possibly be saved is through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way.

If we believe that we can do something,... ANYTHING to lose our salvation, then we are putting our faith in ourselves. Keep the doctrines of the bible to keep salvation? How is that any different than someone saying that you MUST be baptized in order to gain eternal life? Yet we all agree that baptism is not necessary for salvation, (at least I think we all agree.) God promises us eternal life if we just believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ died for our sins and defeated death three days later when he rose from the dead. God ALWAYS keeps his promises.

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory."
-Ephesians 1:13-14

The King James Version uses the word Earnest in place of deposit. When I was 20 years old, I took a comprehensive Real Estate course. (I had planned on becoming a real estate agent at one point in my life.) In the world of real estate, an earnest means a down payment, gauranteeing that you will complete the transaction at a later date. If for any reason, you do not follow through with the transaction, the other party gets to keep your earnest money. This is the same concept used here. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment towards our salvation. It is a contract between us and God that he will make good on the promise of our redemption. If God for any reason goes back on his promise, we would be entitled to keep the Holy Spirit. That's means that we would take the Holy Spirit to Hell with us. The Holy Spirit in Hell?

The bottom line is this: We are saved by God's grace, and not our own works. We are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only way to the father. None of us deserve to go to heaven and we could never do enough good deeds to get there. If God has saved us, than it is final. If one is putting his faith in anything other than the sanctifying work of Jesus Christ, (including faith in himself to live the Christian life,) then I fear for that man's eternal salvation. Trust in Jesus and only Jesus. He IS the way, the truth and the life.

Calvinism

I've often been accused of being a Calvinst. Given that I didn't know exactly what a Calvinist is, I decided to research. I've learned that Calvinism is defined by five main points. Here they are:

Total Depravity: Sin has affected all parts of man. The heart, emotions, will, mind, and body are all affected by sin. We are completely sinful. We are not as sinful as we could be, but we are completely affected by sin. The doctrine of Total Depravity is derived from scriptures that reveal human character: Man’s heart is evil (Mark 7:21-23) and sick (Jer. 17:9). Man is a slave of sin (Rom. 6:20). He does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12). He cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). He is at enmity with God (Eph. 2:15). And, is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3). The Calvinist asks the question, "In light of the scriptures that declare man’s true nature as being utterly lost and incapable, how is it possible for anyone to choose or desire God?" The answer is, "He cannot. Therefore God must predestine." Calvinism also maintains that because of our fallen nature we are born again not by our own will but God’s will (John 1:12-13); God grants that we believe (Phil. 1:29); faith is the work of God (John 6:28-29); God appoints people to believe (Acts 13:48); and God predestines (Eph. 1:1-11; Rom. 8:29; 9:9-23).

Unconditional Election: God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will (Eph. 1:4-8; Rom. 9:11) without any consideration of merit within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him. Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not (Rom. 9:15, 21).

Limited Atonement: Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for ‘many'; John 10:11, 15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him, not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ, not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion where he would bore the sins of many (not all).

Irresistible Grace: When God calls his elect into salvation, they cannot resist. God offers to all people the gospel message. This is called the external call. But to the elect, God extends an internal call and it cannot be resisted. This call is by the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts and minds of the elect to bring them to repentance and regeneration whereby they willingly and freely come to God. Some of the verses used in support of this teaching are Romans 9:16 where it says that "it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy"; Philippians 2:12-13 where God is said to be the one working salvation in the individual; John 6:28-29 where faith is declared to be the work of God; Acts 13:48 where God appoints people to believe; and John 1:12-13 where being born again is not by man’s will, but by God’s.

Perseverance of the Saints: You cannot lose your salvation. Because the Father has elected, the Son has redeemed, and the Holy Spirit has applied salvation, those thus saved are eternally secure. They are eternally secure in Christ. Some of the verses for this position are John 10:27-28 where Jesus said His sheep will never perish; John 6:47 where salvation is described as everlasting life; Romans 8:1 where it is said we have passed out of judgment; 1 Corinthians 10:13 where God promises to never let us be tempted beyond what we can handle; and Phil. 1:6 where God is the one being faithful to perfect us until the day of Jesus’ return.

These "five pillars of calvinsm" make sense to me with the exception of Limited atonement. Doesn't that go against the most popular verse in the bible? John 3:16 says that God so loved THE WORLD.

To my calvinist and calvinist leaning friends, can you explain limited atonement to me?

Chosen of God ere time began.

"Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called."
-Romans 8:30

I've been hearing the name Charles H. Surgeon being thrown around quite a bit lately. Here is the closing remarks of a C.H. Spurgeon Sermon that I ran across in which he is preaching about two topics that are discussed here on a regular basis; Predestination and "Once Saved, Always Saved." I highly recommend you read the full sermon here.

Chosen of God ere time began.

Come on, slanderers! rail on as pleases you. Come on thou world in arms! Cataracts of trouble descend if you will, and you, ye floods of affliction, roll if so it be ordained, for God has written my name in the book of life. Firm as this rock I stand, though nature reels and all things pass away. What consolation then to be called: for if I am called, then I am predestinated. Come let us at the sovereignty which has called us, and let us remember the words of the apostle, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."

A second consolation is drawn from the grand truth, that if a man be called he will certainly be saved at last. To prove that, however, I will refer you to the express words of scripture: Romans 11:29--"The gifts and calling of God are without repentance." He never repents of what he gives, nor of what he calls. And indeed this is proved by the very chapter out of which we have taken our text. "Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified," everyone of them. Now, believer, thou mayest be very poor, and very sick, and very much unknown and despised, but sit thee down and review thy calling this morning, and the consequences that flow from it. As sure as thou art God's called child today, thy poverty shall soon be at an end, and thou shalt be rich to all the intents of bliss. Wait awhile; that weary head shall soon be girt with a crown. Stay awhile; that horny hand of labor shall soon grasp the palm branch. Wipe away that tear; God shall soon wipe away thy tears for ever. Take away that sigh--why sigh when the everlasting song is almost on thy lip? The portals of heaven stand wide open for thee. A few winged hours must fly; a few more billows must roll o'er thee, and thou wilt be safely landed on the golden shore. Do not say, "I shall be lost; I shall be cast away." Impossible.

Whom once he loves he never leaves,
But loves them to the end.

If he hath called thee, nothing can divide thee from his love. The wolf of famine cannot gnaw the bond; the fire of persecution cannot burn the link, the hammer of hell cannot break the chain; old time cannot devour it with rust, nor eternity dissolve it, with all its ages. Oh! believe that thou art secure; that voice which called thee, shall call thee yet again from earth to heaven, from death's dark gloom to immortality's unuttered splendours; Rest assured, the heart that called thee, beats with infinite love towards thee, a love undying, that many waters cannot quench, and that floods cannot drown. Sit thee down; rest in peace; lift up thine eye of hope, and sing thy song with fond anticipation. Thou shall soon be with the glorified, where thy portion is; thou art only waiting here to be made meet, for the inheritance, and that done, the wings of angels shall waft thee far away, to the mount of peace, and joy, and blessedness, where

Far from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in,

thou shall rest for ever and ever. Examine yourselves then whether you have been called.--And may the love of Jesus be with you. Amen.

Scripture Twisters: 1 Corinthians 15:29

"Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?"
-1 Corinthians 15:29

I asked my Mormon Visitors why they believe that they can Re-baptize themselves and have it count towards the salvation of loved ones who have already died in their sins. This is the verse that they gave me. "Paul advocates baptism for the dead." Obviously Joseph Smith Jr. (or however their current prophet is,) affirms this doctrine. To be honest, I didn't have an answer for them at that time. Now the answer seems glaring. Let's dissect:

First of all, let's read the verse in context. This passage of the bible is making a case for the Resurrection, not baptism for the dead. The subtitle in the NIV states, "The Resurrection of the Dead." Paul is refuting the rumor that was spreading through the Church at Corinth that there will be no resurrection of the dead. So obviously baptism for the dead is not a direct application of this verse, but could it be an implication?

This is what stuck out to me today; Paul asks, "what will those do who are baptized for the dead?" and, "why are people baptized for them?" See there, I don't believe that Paul is even talking about the Church. I'd argue that Paul would have said, "why are We baptized for them?" That fact is that I don't really know what Paul was talking about. However, the Corinthians knew what he was talking about. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used this statement to make a case for the Resurrection.

The most logical answer to me is that there was probably a pagan religion in the area that was baptizing for the dead. Paul was probably making the case that even the pagan religions understood that there would be a Resurrection. In other words, he is only using what we would call a natural argument rather than a supernatural one.

Couple that all together with the fact that this is the only time that baptism for the dead is ever mentioned in the bible, and you have a doctrine that certainly doesn't seem to have biblical support.

Scripture Twisters - Romans 10:8-9

But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
-Romans 10:8-9

I heard a preacher, (who shall remain nameless,) Use this passage to preach the Word of Faith. I'll paraphrase for you;

The word of Faith movement teaches us that if we believe that God will do something for us with all of our heart, we simply must say it, and God will have to do it. This passage would tell us that if we confess and believe, God has to save us. If we apply that idea to everything else in life, then I could ask God for a new Porsche. As long as I truly believe that God will give me that Porsche, he has to. The basic principle is that we are able to force God's hand with our "words of faith."

Let's see what the passage is really telling us.
A few verses earlier, we find Paul talking to us about the Law of Mosses. "Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or Who will descend into the deep?" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). Romans 10:6-7 I see Paul talking more here about how the Law cannot save us, rather than how we can save ourselves.

Furthermore, we must interpret the unclear with the clear. While this verse may seem to state that we can essentially force God's hand, by believing what we are saying, there are countless other verses which render that claim false. Verses such as John 1:12, John 3:16, Acts 13:39, Romans 1:16, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 2:8-9 and 1 Peter 1:8-9 tell us that Faith is through Belief and Trust in Jesus Christ. Nothing about confessing with your mouth.

So what is Paul getting at with "Confess with your mouth?" I direct your attention to Luke 6:45 where Jesus tells us, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

I believe the confession with the mouth that Paul speaks of here is as simple as the belief in our hearts overflowing from our mouths. If we believe that Jesus has saved us from the pits of Hell, how could we not talk about it. The sheer excitement of being called "sons of God" should be evident in every word we speak.

Finally, we must consider the broader implications of our interpretation of the passage in question. (This is where I really get irritated with the Word of Faith movement.) If we allow our selves to believe that we can force God's hand by simply speaking what we whole-heartily believe, then we are allowing ourselves power over God. We are making ourselves into little gods. The Bible teaches that God controls everything. (Romans 8:28, Matthew 10:29) It also teaches that "The heart is deceitful above all things." (Jeremiah 17:9) Knowing this, how can we go on believing that God would give us something that is harmful to us, simply because we believe he will. Why would God continually give us what our deceitful hearts want?

No, Salvation is through repentance and faith. God provides for us with intercession from the spirit on our behalf, So that He may provide for us according to his will and not our own. God is Good, we are not. God knows our needs, we do not.

Way of the Master FAQ #12

From The Way of the Master

12. Do you believe in "Once saved always saved?"

Unfortuantely, when commenting on the subject of eternal security, many books and sermons from respectable men and women of God, seem to be evidently silent on the subject of true and false conversion. This is in spite the fact that it is incredibly relevant to the topic of eternal security. The New Testament deals with this in great depth. It tells of Judas' profession of faith (he was in truth a thief, and was referred to by Jesus as a "devil"), and relates the parables of Jesus about the true and false "believers" sitting alongside one another. It speaks of Demas, who forsook Paul because he "loved this present world." As such, he revealed himself to be an enemy of God--"Whoever is a friend of the world is an enemy of God.”

In one book, the author referred to a pastor/friend who was found to be "romantically" involved with another woman. The pastor had made his mind up to divorce his wife and marry the woman. I presume he means that he had been committing adultery. Instead of challenging the man as to the validity of his faith, and therefore warning him that "adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God," he spoke of the man's "loss of rewards."

We do believe in eternal security for a true convert. He puts his hand to the plow and doesn't look back, because he is "fit" for the kingdom (Luke 9:62).

Those who are fit for the Kingdom are not hypocrites as was Judas. The true convert is eternally secure in his faith, because his faith in Jesus is genuine rather than false.

However, if a man steals, lies, kills, rapes, hates, lusts, covets, commits adultery, etc., and calls himself a Christian, he would be very wise to examine himself and see if he is "in the faith." The Bible makes it very clear that hypocrites will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

If a man has no understanding of true and false conversion (in his ignorance), he may make a calculated decision to forsake a few future eternal rewards and trade them for the immediate and temporary pleasures of sin. His confidence is in an interpretation of scripture that may have eternally tragic repercussions.

We think that teaching on true and false conversion would clear the air when it comes to the contentions between two opinions that so often divide the Church. It would bring closer together those who say you can lose your salvation at the drop of a sinful hat, and others who think that Christians can get away with murder and still be assured that they are saved, because they once professed faith in the Savior.

For more information, freely listen online to "True and False Conversion" from the 16 message audio set (available on CDs).

Vote Like Your Soul is on the Line

The nation's Catholic bishops Wednesday approved a statement on the nature of "faithful citizenship" that hammers home the "intrinsic evil" of abortion and reminds Catholic voters that their choices in the 2008 elections "also may affect" their salvation.
USA Today, Nov. 15

To those of us who believe in Salvation through God's grace, this one is another outright slap in the face of religion by our Catholic friends.

[The statements] stress life issues such as abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, artificial contraception and racism are "evils" that can never be supported.

Don't anyone get me wrong, I absolutely believe that we should vote based on our moral values, but to even suggest that our salvation might be affected if we vote Giuliani is not biblical in the least. The Bishops did realize that this would be met with some skepticism, so they did what comes natural and downplayed it.

[Bishop Nicholas] DiMarzio questioned, "Are we ready to give the impression that one vote could endanger a person's eternal salvation?" He reiterated that the statement and bulletin insert are "trying to form consciences, not trying to judge them."

But they still decided to publish the claim that your salvation is on the line.

The bishops ultimately agreed to softer language: "It is important to be clear that the political choices faced by citizens have an impact on general peace and prosperity and also may affect individual salvation." Still, the statement acknowledges, "in today's environment, Catholics may feel politically disenfranchised, sensing that no party and few candidates fully share our comprehensive commitment to human life and dignity."

Rest assured, christian who is leaning towards Obama, Clinton or Giuliani, your salvation is not on the line. I recommend that all Christians seriously consult their God given consciences before they vote. Vote for the candidate that most closely follows your values, and can run this country as our founding fathers intended.

Ultimately, whoever takes office will be God's choice anyway, (Romans 13:1,) so if God chooses Hillary, and that requires a few Christians throwing their vote her way. then I put my trust in God to make that happen. Rest assured that no matter how you vote, salvation is by God's grace, not by your voting record.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9

Delivered but not Saved?

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

-Hewbrews 3:16-19

This passage was brought up to me by three different people within the last two weeks. One person was wondering if the Isrealites never died, never entered the Promised Land or never entered Heaven. The second, assuming "my rest" means heaven, brought it up as an argument against my "Once Saved, Always Saved" stance. The third had no idea how this qualifies as a "warning against disbelief," as the NIV subtitle implies.

First of all, this word "rest," comes from the greek word, Katapausis, which means a resting place. It's most often used to describe the heavenly blessedness in which God dwells, and of which he has promised to make persevering believers in Christ partakers after the toils and trials of life on earth are ended. In other words, it's refering to Heaven. So yes, I do believe this is telling us that a great number of the Isrealites who were led out of Egypt will not be with us in Heaven.

The obvious direct implication of this passage is telling us not to rebel against God. But for me, an indirect application, (and the point that I'm focussing on for this post,) is the condition of our human nature.

The Human Nature has never ceased to amaze me. As we look back, we see God actually walking and talking with Adam and Eve. Yet they were deceived and despite God's physical presence, they dis-obeyed. The Israelites saw prophesied plagues come to fruition. They had the Red Sea parted for them. Miracle after miracle and they still rebelled against God. Even the 12 Apostles , who walked and talked with God himself, couldn't get over themselves long enough to truly follow God.

I personally can attest to hundreds of wonderful things God has done for me, yet I still find myself rebelling against God. I can't explain why I rebel, but I do. This human nature of rebellion is one of the main reasons why I believe that we absolutely cannot "earn" our salvation. No matter what we do, we can never hold up to God's standards. We will always rebel against him. We are saved by grace and faith, but it has to be a Spirit led faith. I don't believe we are capable of keeping our faith in God on our own.

The "Unpardonable Sin"

Thanks to Billiam for pointing me to something I've been meaning to study up on for a long time.

"I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."
-Mark 3:28-30

I'll admit, the "unpardonable sin" is a topic that I haven't studied much. While I'm rather uneducated on the topic, here is what I do think;

1. First of all, I'm not real clear on what exactly this "sin" is.

2. Given the context of verse 29, Jesus seems to be saying that the blaspheme he is refering to is attributing acts of Jesus to Satan. Or saying that it is the spirit of Satan preforming these miracles.

3. I don't beleive a Christian could commit this "unpardonable sin." John 5:24 states, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." If a christian, (one who has beleived and received eternal life,) were to commit this sin, he would have to lose that eternal life, thus making Jesus a liar.

4. It seems logical to me that if an unbeleiver were to commit this "unpardonable sin," the only way that he could never be forgiven for it, (in keeping with God's forgiving character,) would be if his heart were hardened enough that he would never actually seek said forgivness. You decide for yourself whether God hardens his heart or he hardens it himself.

Those are my initial thoughts on the topic. I am going to do some more studying and praying so I can piece together my theoligy on the matter. Thanks again Billiam!

~Timm

Hebrews 6:4-6

A verse was brought to my attention to refute my stance that a true believer can not lose his salvation. MikeT at Code Monkey Ramblings pointed out that Hebrews 6:4-6 seems to indicate that it is possible to "fall away" from the faith.

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
-Hebrews 6:4-6

This would not mark the first time I've heard this case. I think there are two things that are very important to remember when trying to discern this passage:

1. We must interpret the verses in context with the surrounding verses.
When I read the rest of chapter 6, it seems very obvious to me that Paul is warning the church that there will be false converts within the church. These are people who never leave behind "the elementary teachings about Christ" and go on to maturity. In the verses immediately following our text, Paul talks about two lands receiving rain. The first produced a useful crop, but the second produced thorns and thistles. Yet they both received the same rain.
In the same way, before I was a true beleiver, I received the Holy Spirit's teaching, I felt his presence, and I was granted a small taste of the gift. Yet if I had died in my sins, all those feelings and teachings would have meant nothing. I would have been burned up, just like the land that produced only thorns and thissles.

2. We must interperet the verses in context with the whole Bible.
As with any theology, we can make the Bible say nearly anything we want, if we try hard enough. However, when we read a passage that seems to state something contrary to a clear theme of the Bible, we must look into it. While this passage seems like it might be saying that it is possible to lose ones salvation, verses like Ephesians 1:13-14, John 10:27-29, 1 Peter 1:23, Ephesians 4:30, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:12-13, 1 Peter 2:5, Ephesians 2:20-22, and 2 John 1:2 tell us that it is not possible. (I could give you about fifteen more if you'd like.)
If we truly beleive that the Bible is 100% true and does not contradict itself, then Hebrews 6:4-6 must mean something else. I have provided above what I beleive it truly means.

See the post entitle Eternal Security to learn more.

~Timm

Teaching our Children

"and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."
-2 Timothy 3:15

In case you haven't noticed, I have been absent for about a week. Last week we had Vacation Bible School at our church. I was asked to give a 15 minute lesson at the end of each day. This brought up a dilemma for me. You see, I've never really preached the gospel message to a child. I wasn't sure how to do it. But that brought up an even bigger question in my mind:

Are we teaching our children that the bible is a book of rules, or are we teaching them that the bible is a book that points us to salvation through the sanctifying work of Jesus Christ?

When Timothy was a child, his mother and Grandmother taught him the holy scriptures. It seems to me that they were probably drilled into his head much like we drilled memory verses into the heads of the children at VBS. But they did not teach Timothy t scriptures so that he would obey them, ("clean your room because that's what God wants you to do.") They taught him that he could never live up to God's standards. They taught him that he was sinner who needed a savior. They taught him to be mindful because the Lamb of God was coming. Timothy knew what he was looking for and because he had known the holy scriptures from infancy, he recognized the lamb when he heard about it. He was made wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

I did decide to deliver the full salvation message to those children on the last night of VBS. I told them about sin. I took them through the law of Moses. I pointed out that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I explained that "the wages of sin is death." And then I told them that this Christ that we had talked about all week had taken that payment. I told them that if they wanted to live with God in heaven, they needed to ask God for forgiveness of their sins and pray that he might grant them a repentant heart. I pleaded with them to trust Jesus as their savior.

15 children told me that the received the gift of eternal life that night. I don't know if they really did. That's for God to know. All I know is that I'm glad I didn't "dumb down" the message. I truly believe that kids understand more than we give them credit for. The curriculum given to us could have gone either way. We could have used it to present a bunch of rules that these children could never really live by, or we could have used it to present a Godly standard to show them that they need a savior just like any boring old adult does. I believe we took the right approach, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Eternal Security

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast"
-Ephesians 2:8-9

This argument behind “Once Saved, Always Saved” comes down to one basic question;
Are we saved through Jesus' work on the cross, or are we saved because of our own works?

Jesus tells us that he is the way, the truth, and the life. Then he tells us that no man can come to the father except through him. (John 14:6) This means that the only way we can possibly be saved is through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way.

If we believe that we can do something,... ANYTHING to lose our salvation, then we are putting our faith in ourselves. Keep the doctrines of the bible to keep salvation? How is that any different than someone saying that you MUST be baptized in order to gain eternal life? Yet we all agree that baptism is not necessary for salvation, (at least I think we all agree.) God promises us eternal life if we just believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ died for our sins and defeated death three days later when he rose from the dead. God ALWAYS keeps his promises.

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory."
-Ephesians 1:13-14

The King James Version uses the word Earnest in place of deposit. When I was 20 years old, I took a comprehensive Real Estate course. (I had planned on becoming a real estate agent at one point in my life.) In the world of real estate, an earnest means a down payment, gauranteeing that you will complete the transaction at a later date. If for any reason, you do not follow through with the transaction, the other party gets to keep your earnest money. This is the same concept used here. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment towards our salvation. It is a contract between us and God that he will make good on the promise of our redemption. If God for any reason goes back on his promise, we would be entitled to keep the Holy Spirit. That's means that we would take the Holy Spirit to Hell with us. The Holy Spirit in Hell?

The bottom line is this: We are saved by God's grace, and not our own works. We are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only way to the father. None of us deserve to go to heaven and we could never do enough good deeds to get there. If God has saved us, than it is final. If one is putting his faith in anything other than the sanctifying work of Jesus Christ, (including faith in himself to live the Christian life,) then I fear for that man's eternal salvation. Trust in Jesus and only Jesus. He IS the way, the truth and the life.

~Timm

Repentance - Not Biblical?

A pastor by the name of Dr. Hank Lindstrom has been talking about repentance recently on his radio show, Bibleline. I have always understood repentance as one turning their back on sin. Dr. Lindstrom placed a doubt in my mind as to the definition of sin.

Dr. Lindstroms' argument is that the word repentance is a bad translation of the original Greek, "metanoia." (met-an'-oy-ah) Metanoia means a change of mind. (1) He basically says that repentance is simply a change of mind about who God is. We would go from thinking that Jesus is just a man to believing that Jesus is God.

I took the liberty of looking into this for myself and I did find some validity to Dr. Lindstroms argument. The original Greek, "metanoia," is used in 24 of the approximately 105 times the bible talks about repentance. However, the word seems to be used in verses that do refer specifically to a "change of mind."

Likewise, the original Greek word, "metanoeo," (met-an-o-eh'-o) appears 32 times and seems to appear in many of the verses that talk about repentance as a means to salvation. Metanoeo means to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins. (2) This does seem to fit with the traditional English definition of the word repent.

My mind is not completely made up as of yet, but I must say at this point, I'm leaning towards the traditional definition of the word. While I respect Dr. Lindstrom a great deal, it seems to me he might be a bit on the legalistic side of this arguement. Who knows, maybe God will still enlighten me on this one.

Luke 13:2,3 "And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent (metanoeo,) ye shall all likewise perish.

Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent (metanoeo,) and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Questions? Comments?
timmrees@yahoo.com

1. crosswalk.com - The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon

2. crosswalk.com - The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon

Predestination vs. Man's Free Will

Romans 8:28-30

28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

It seems that this set of verses support the doctrine of predestination, yet countless believers are dead set against even the notion that God predestined anything upon anyone. I myself have made the argument countless times. "If everything we do is according to God's plan, then that means that God chose for Eve to eat the fruit, causing sin to enter into the world, therefore, God created sin." Yet it seems that time and time again the bible affirms the thought process behind predestination. Joseph said to his brothers, "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life....So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." (Genesis 45:5,8)

Time and time again the bible very clearly states that God has foreseen all. To deny that God has complete control directly contradicts the express assertions of the bible and it takes away the sovereignty of God.

Unfortunately for all of us, it is not quite that simple. You see if man did not have free will, then the need for the bible simply would not be there. If God truly controlled every thought and action we have, he couldn't he just force us to worship him? We all have a conscience. No one can deny us that. We all feel the weight of decision making. We have weighed the pros and cons of countless potential actions in our lives. Verses such as Romans 10:9 and John 3:16 make it obvious to us that there is a CHOICE to be made.

So the dilemma that we are faced with is that both doctrines seem to hold true, yet both doctrines seem to contradict one another. So we must ask ourselves this question; Can God foreordain all things, and yet form an intelligent being who is a perfectly free, moral and accountable agent? The answer is impossible for our human minds to comprehend, for the decision demands omniscience. Only God can answer this one. I suggest that we approach this one with faith that both doctrines can be and must be true, and that only God understands why and how.

Dr. Richard Fuller said in 1892 "True wisdom is always humble. The wisdom which descendeth from above is so profoundly humble that it at once confesses its ignorance and says, 'If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.' If we attempt to explain and reconcile the doctrines of predestination and free agency, we find impassable barriers hemming us in, and sharp adamant striking us back. But the proofs of these doctrines are irrefragable. Their harmony we must leave with God; it is an ultimate fact transcending our thoughts; but clear to that Intellect which is the supreme fountain of all light and love."

Questions? Comments?
timmrees@yahoo.com