I John 4:19
We love, because He first loved us.
Message: Is Grace Resistible?
Time: The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but Christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter authoritative, believing it was written by John the apostle. A date of about AD 90, with John writing from his exile on Patmos, ends up being the best proposition. John focused on three issues: the zeal of the believers, standing firm against false teachers, and reassuring the Christians that they have eternal life.
What the Lord is Saying:
Is Grace Resistable? Is it possible to resist God's grace?
The western church condemned Pelagius and his teaching at the Second Council of Orange in AD 529. Also struck down was semi-Pelagianism. Augustine, Pelagius and the French monk John Cassian lived during the late 4th and early 5th centuries. John Cassian and semi-Pelagianism steers a middle ground between Augustine's view of grace alone and Pelagius view of works. This view affirms grace as a need for salvation, yet still denies original sin and the depravity of man. Thus, grace is necessary but humans take the first step toward God. People need grace to be saved, but this grace does not take the initiative in salvation. Augustine meanwhile says that no sinner can seek God of their own accord. The only people who seek Him are those who He first sovereignly and effectually are drawn by His sovereign grace.
Thus, the dividing line is whether there is synergy in divine grace - God and human beings working together toward regeneration. But John Calvin and Augustinians say that divine grace is monergistic in regeneration where only God brings about the new birth of believers. We love, because He (God) first loved us. God guarantees that His elect will love Him. He will overcome their resistance to Him.
Promise: If God reveals his love to man then they can't reject him. There is glorious love and beauty of our Creator.
Prayer: Thank you for loving me God. Thank you for calling me to be with You, to be Yours for all time.
Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about salvation by grace alone. March was about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January is about the doctrine of God.
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Monday, July 29, 2019
Genesis 3:6-7 - The Loss and Restoration of Liberty
Genesis 3:6-7
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Message: The Loss and Restoration of Liberty
Time: Genesis is the first book and Moses is credited as authoring. The book spans 2400 years of time. It was originally written in Hebrew.
What the Lord is Saying:
These passages are mirroring a series that RC Sproul did called Willing to Believe available here. I purchased the complete series for only $5. Currently, he is looking at Pelagius, a 5th century monk that taught that Adam's sin didn't mean that all people are sinners. Instead, people are basically good and grace is not necessarily needed as each person is able to follow the Lord's commands and make themselves worthy before God. This was in opposition to Saint Augustine and his words of the necessity of grace for salvation. I have also been listening to a sermon series by Tommy Nelson on Galatians where he mentions that this entire book is focused on the idea that grace is invalid if anything is added to it.
The following are my notes on RC Sproul's message - The Loss of Liberty.
Augustine coined the term sola gratia which means salvation is by grace alone. We have a fallen condition and a bondage to sin and only grace can set us free. On the subject of free will, Augustine made a distinction between liberium arbitrium (free will) and libertas (liberty). His point was after the fall man still had free will, but what he lost was his liberty. According to Augustine, liberty is the freedom to do good and to do evil. It is the power to embrace the holy things of God.
Man was created with a mind and the ability to think and he was created with the faculty to make choices. At the fall, something was lost. Paul talks about the human mind being darkened (Ephesians 4:18). The Noetic effect refers to how our mind is effected of sin. Thus, our cogitation (thinking deeply about something) has been affected just as our bodies have been affected as they are subject to disease and death. The mind has also been weakened. We also are impacted now by bias or prejudice.
Man did not lose his mind after the fall. We still have the ability to think. What Augustine is getting at is even though the fall has affected our volition (the power of using one's will), to our choices and decision making - it has not destroyed the will. And this will still has a choice and that will is not forced into action by an external agency or power. Thus, he is saying that before and after the fall, man still has a will and is free from external coercion.
The word freedom needs to be looked at is it is a term that is thrown around a lot. For Americans, freedom was a hallmark of the revolutionary war in that freedom has allowed us to do certain things without being hindered by an external authority. President Franklin Roosevelt redefined freedom as it being freedom from external things such as freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom from starvation and that sort of thing.
Augustine says that man still has the ability to make choices according to our desires. Yet, he would argue that after the fall, the will is free, but the will is now evil. We have free will but our desires are only wicked in respect to the things of God. Thus, man has lost the desire to please God, to have God in his thinking, to seek after God. Thus, we will not choose God because we do not desire Him. Thus, he is spiritually dead and lacks liberty. He lacks the freedom to do good and to do evil.
In Latin is the term posse peccare. Posse is where we get power or possibility and peccare is the infinitive form of the Latin word meaning "to sin." Thus, if something is impeccable then it is without sin. Posse peccare is the ability or power to sin. Man had the ability to sin so prior to the fall man had the posse peccare. And he also had the posse non peccare or the power to not sin. This was Adam's structure of free will. Pelagius felt that both before and after the fall, man retained the power to sin or not to sin. The humanist and pagan thought today agrees that that man equally has the ability to choose good or evil and there is no bias or prejudice toward one or the other.
Adam does not have the non posse peccare or the inability to sin. This is something you would ascribe to God. God lacks the motive to sin because he is always about righteousness.
The biggest problem has been non posse non peccare. This means it is not possible to not sin or it is impossible for a person to live without sin. Augustine says we have lost our righteousness so it is impossible for us to live a sinless life. Today we call this moral inability. I do not have the power to choose God by myself because I have no desire to choose God by myself. Without the power I will not choose that which I do not want or do not desire.
The dilemma is then how can I be held responsible for sinning when it is my nature to sin. The fall was a judgment on the human race. Thus, we are living in the Fall. We are living in the judgment of the human race.
Summary - I have struggled to digest this message. Liberty is a term thrown around in our land. There is the proclamation in the Declaration of Independence of 1776, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" which proclaims the ability to do as one pleases. In this lesson is the contrasting views of Pelagius and Augustine. Pelagius made no distinction between free will and liberty. Free will is the ability to make choices according to my desires. Liberty is the freedom to do good and to do evil. The point of this lesson was to consider how we have been affected by the Fall (Original Sin). Before and after the Fall man still has a will. What man lacks after the Fall is the ability to choose good in relation to the things of God because after the Fall man only wants to please himself. Only God has the inability to sin. For man, it is not possible for us to live a sinless life. Pelagius disagrees.
Promise: By eating of the fruit, man knew he was naked, thus he knew that he would always be a sinner on this earth.
Prayer: Father, thank you always for the truth of Your Word. You continue to help me understand the nature of sin and what transpired from sin and how your grace is needed. I am not worthy and this world continues to make cloudy your message of grace. Help me to proclaim your message well. Help me to honor you.
Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about salvation by grace alone. March was about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January is about the doctrine of God.
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Message: The Loss and Restoration of Liberty
Time: Genesis is the first book and Moses is credited as authoring. The book spans 2400 years of time. It was originally written in Hebrew.
What the Lord is Saying:
These passages are mirroring a series that RC Sproul did called Willing to Believe available here. I purchased the complete series for only $5. Currently, he is looking at Pelagius, a 5th century monk that taught that Adam's sin didn't mean that all people are sinners. Instead, people are basically good and grace is not necessarily needed as each person is able to follow the Lord's commands and make themselves worthy before God. This was in opposition to Saint Augustine and his words of the necessity of grace for salvation. I have also been listening to a sermon series by Tommy Nelson on Galatians where he mentions that this entire book is focused on the idea that grace is invalid if anything is added to it.
The following are my notes on RC Sproul's message - The Loss of Liberty.
Augustine coined the term sola gratia which means salvation is by grace alone. We have a fallen condition and a bondage to sin and only grace can set us free. On the subject of free will, Augustine made a distinction between liberium arbitrium (free will) and libertas (liberty). His point was after the fall man still had free will, but what he lost was his liberty. According to Augustine, liberty is the freedom to do good and to do evil. It is the power to embrace the holy things of God.
Man was created with a mind and the ability to think and he was created with the faculty to make choices. At the fall, something was lost. Paul talks about the human mind being darkened (Ephesians 4:18). The Noetic effect refers to how our mind is effected of sin. Thus, our cogitation (thinking deeply about something) has been affected just as our bodies have been affected as they are subject to disease and death. The mind has also been weakened. We also are impacted now by bias or prejudice.
Man did not lose his mind after the fall. We still have the ability to think. What Augustine is getting at is even though the fall has affected our volition (the power of using one's will), to our choices and decision making - it has not destroyed the will. And this will still has a choice and that will is not forced into action by an external agency or power. Thus, he is saying that before and after the fall, man still has a will and is free from external coercion.
The word freedom needs to be looked at is it is a term that is thrown around a lot. For Americans, freedom was a hallmark of the revolutionary war in that freedom has allowed us to do certain things without being hindered by an external authority. President Franklin Roosevelt redefined freedom as it being freedom from external things such as freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom from starvation and that sort of thing.
Augustine says that man still has the ability to make choices according to our desires. Yet, he would argue that after the fall, the will is free, but the will is now evil. We have free will but our desires are only wicked in respect to the things of God. Thus, man has lost the desire to please God, to have God in his thinking, to seek after God. Thus, we will not choose God because we do not desire Him. Thus, he is spiritually dead and lacks liberty. He lacks the freedom to do good and to do evil.
In Latin is the term posse peccare. Posse is where we get power or possibility and peccare is the infinitive form of the Latin word meaning "to sin." Thus, if something is impeccable then it is without sin. Posse peccare is the ability or power to sin. Man had the ability to sin so prior to the fall man had the posse peccare. And he also had the posse non peccare or the power to not sin. This was Adam's structure of free will. Pelagius felt that both before and after the fall, man retained the power to sin or not to sin. The humanist and pagan thought today agrees that that man equally has the ability to choose good or evil and there is no bias or prejudice toward one or the other.
Adam does not have the non posse peccare or the inability to sin. This is something you would ascribe to God. God lacks the motive to sin because he is always about righteousness.
The biggest problem has been non posse non peccare. This means it is not possible to not sin or it is impossible for a person to live without sin. Augustine says we have lost our righteousness so it is impossible for us to live a sinless life. Today we call this moral inability. I do not have the power to choose God by myself because I have no desire to choose God by myself. Without the power I will not choose that which I do not want or do not desire.
The dilemma is then how can I be held responsible for sinning when it is my nature to sin. The fall was a judgment on the human race. Thus, we are living in the Fall. We are living in the judgment of the human race.
Summary - I have struggled to digest this message. Liberty is a term thrown around in our land. There is the proclamation in the Declaration of Independence of 1776, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" which proclaims the ability to do as one pleases. In this lesson is the contrasting views of Pelagius and Augustine. Pelagius made no distinction between free will and liberty. Free will is the ability to make choices according to my desires. Liberty is the freedom to do good and to do evil. The point of this lesson was to consider how we have been affected by the Fall (Original Sin). Before and after the Fall man still has a will. What man lacks after the Fall is the ability to choose good in relation to the things of God because after the Fall man only wants to please himself. Only God has the inability to sin. For man, it is not possible for us to live a sinless life. Pelagius disagrees.
Promise: By eating of the fruit, man knew he was naked, thus he knew that he would always be a sinner on this earth.
Prayer: Father, thank you always for the truth of Your Word. You continue to help me understand the nature of sin and what transpired from sin and how your grace is needed. I am not worthy and this world continues to make cloudy your message of grace. Help me to proclaim your message well. Help me to honor you.
Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about salvation by grace alone. March was about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January is about the doctrine of God.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Jeremiah 13
I was very much moved by this passage from Jeremiah 13 because it amazes me, though I suppose it should not, when I see how relevant the word of God is to the time of today. As I read these words and study them I am amazed that they are so relevant to today. As a reminder, I have been working on reading the Bible daily, - following the M'Cheyne Reading Plan "Secret." Yet, I struggle and fail often. It takes time for me to study and my time gets displaced often. But, I am thankful for coming back to the Word. Today I read from Jeremiah 13 and I have prepared this outline based upon my thoughts from Enduring Word.
Promise: In this chapter is the promise that the primary sins of Judah can also be sins of our day and they are not reading God's word, trusting in ourselves and in turn trusting in idolatry.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the truth of your word and showing me continually the importance of listening to you and keeping my focus on You. Not on You means it will be on me and I will find fulfillment instead with me. Lord, I pray that I will humble myself and I would get out of the way from what you are teaching me and accept it.
TWO WARNING SIGNS
The Sign of the
Linen Sash
Hiding the linen sash - verses 1-5
- Lord tells Jeremiah - Get a sash (decorative belt) and put it around your waist (1)
- Sash was a priestly garment for High Priest and Regular Priest - a sign of dignity and nobility
- Go to Euphrates (not sure if this was actual journey or vision) for if it would have been a 3 month journey that would have alarmed people of Anaathoth (4)
- Hide the sash in a rock (4)
- The direction of the Euphrates was where Babylon would be coming from to destroy Judah
Finding the Decayed, Useless Sash - verses
6-7
- Go to the Euphrates and retrieve the sash (6)
- It was still there, but had deteriorated and was ruined, good for nothing (7)
Ruining the Pride of the People - verses 8-11
- In the same manner of the sash, the pride of Judah and Jerusalem will be ruined (9)
- These people would be taken to the Euphrates and beyond
- 3 main sins of Judah (10)
- Refuse to hear God's words (Not reading His Word)
- Follow the dictates of their hearts (trusted in themselves, looked to self instead of the Lord)
- Walked after other gods to serve them (trusting in themselves, they were led to idolatry)
- As the sash clings to a man, so we are to cling to God
- But they would not listen (11)
The Sign of the Wine
Bottle
Every bottle filled with wine - verse 12
- Every bottle shall be filled with wine echoes the proverb - Everything will fulfill its purpose
The people of Judah drunk and destroyed -
verses 13-14
- Wine breaks people and God's rebellious people would be in a state of stupor and stupidity, drunk with wine (13)
- The people would be dashed against one another (fighting among themselves - we are really seeing this today like never before) (14)
How to Respond to
God's warnings
Humble yourself and give glory to the Lord -
verses 15-16
- We are told of the biggest problem we have for not listening to God - our pride (15)
- "For the Lord has spoken" - as he speaks we have a choice on how we will respond - yea or nay
- Thus, give glory to God before darkness is all we know (16)
The price to be paid for not heeding God's
warnings - verses 17-20
- Jeremiah didn't merely observe, he experienced weeping and tears because judgment was coming (17)
- And so he keeps pleading "humble yourselves" (18)
- It should begin with the leaders - King and Queen (18)
- The invaders are coming for the beautiful sheep (20)
The guilt of those whom the Lord punishes -
verses 21-23
- When the punishment actually happens, the people were incredulous that such calamities had overtaken them (21), just as a woman in labor would exclaim "Why have these things come upon me?" (21,22)
- Them (enemies) are taught to be lords (chieftans) over them (21)
- Your skirts have been removed (22)
- Judah commits spiritual adulteries and they would be terribly and tragically violated by their conquerors
- "Lift up the skirt" is a euphemism for sexual attack both here and elsewhere in the OT
- Can the Ethiopian change his skin or leopard his spots? (23)
- God changes/transforms the nature of man
The determination of the Lord to scatter His
people - verse 24-25
- Their lot was to be scattered across the Babylonian empires (24)
- And because you have forgotten Me and trusted in Falsehood (25)
The exposed shame of God's people - verses
26-27
- For not humbling oneself, a greater shame results (26)
- The Lord exclaims that they still are not clean (27)
Promise: In this chapter is the promise that the primary sins of Judah can also be sins of our day and they are not reading God's word, trusting in ourselves and in turn trusting in idolatry.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the truth of your word and showing me continually the importance of listening to you and keeping my focus on You. Not on You means it will be on me and I will find fulfillment instead with me. Lord, I pray that I will humble myself and I would get out of the way from what you are teaching me and accept it.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Jeremiah 12
I have been starting to read the Bible through - following the M'Cheyne Reading Plan "Secret."
Today I read from Jeremiah 12 and prepared this outline based upon my thoughts from Enduring Word.
What the Lord is Saying:
Today I read from Jeremiah 12 and prepared this outline based upon my thoughts from Enduring Word.
What the Lord is Saying:
JEREMIAH'S QUESTION
AND GOD'S ANSWER
Jeremiah's question
to God - verses 1-4
- You are righteous God (1)
- Why does the way of the wicked prosper (1)
- The wicked have fruit which you plant (2)
- These wicked know God (speak it) but far from Him (their mind) (2)
- But, you Lord know me (3)
- Prepare the wicked for slaughter (judgment) (3)
- Because meanwhile the land mourns as this seemingly unfairness continues (4)
God's answer to
Jeremiah - verses 5-6
- The Lord points him to the real issue - namely he has asked Jeremiah to do something and his response is to look around at the wicked and question their fruit (5)
- The Lord points out that Jeremiah is therefore questioning this present challenge, so how will he fare when the Lord asks him to do something else (5)
- The small challenge was adversity from family (11:21), the larger challenge will be adversity from those outside of family (6)
JUDAH AND HER
ENEMIES
God abandons His
People to their enemies - verses 7-8
- Jeremiah speaks to the future when God will give his dearly beloved into the hand of their enemies (7)
- Lord - "My people roar against me" - they rebel so God rejects them for a time (7)
- Judah will be as conspicuous as a speckled bird to its enemies and will provoke their opposition (8)
The mournful harvest
of the Land - verses 10-13
- As judgment comes the land will be desolate (10-12)
- But the enemies (Babylonians) should take no pleasure because their harvest is because of the fierce anger of the Lord (13)
A promise of
retribution and a promise of restoration - verses 14-15
- Even though God used Babylon as an instrument of His judgment, He would nevertheless judge them for their free will evil and brutality against Judah (14)
- Then he will have compassion on Judah (15)
A merciful promise
to the nations - verses 16-17
- The Lord extends his grace even to the opposing Babylonians (16)
- Turning to the Lord is great blessing; Turning from the Lord is great judgment (17)
Summary: I thought this was an interesting reading, namely because it starts with a question many people voice and that is, why do the wicked prosper. But the Lord's response is to not answer the question, but instead wonder why the question was asked and is concerned for Jeremiah and if he is asking this question now, then how will he handle future challenges. Jeremiah then speaks of the Judah being given over to the Babylonians and the judgment which will come from Judah's rejection of God. Eventually, he will have compassion, but Babylon will be the instrument of his judgment, and yet he still holds them accountable for their actions. The Babylonians can return and embrace the Lord.
Promise: Even though God used Babylon as an instrument of His judgment, He would nevertheless judge them for their free will evil and brutality against Judah.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the way in which Your word speaks. Questions that we think are new are not. Keep my eyes focused on You. Bring healing to the enemies of God. Draw them to you. Thank you for saving me and providing me compassion. Help me to be faithful to that call.
Monday, June 24, 2019
I Corinthians 15:22 - Are We Born Free?
I Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
Message: Are We Born Free?
Time: Four years prior to writing the letter we know as 1 Corinthians, the apostle had spent eighteen months in Corinth, so he was intimately familiar with the church and many of its congregants. Paul penned his letter in AD 55, just as he was planning to leave Ephesus for Macedonia. Paul made it clear that he was willing to risk the good opinion of some in order to help cleanse the sin that tainted the church.
What the Lord is Saying:
This lesson raises an interesting question that has been debated over the years, namely whether man is born a sinner or born free. In this lesson, I will follow the lesson given by RC Sproul and his series Willing to Believe and the 3rd lesson Are We Born Free?.
Man is born a sinner
In I Corinthians 15:22, it states very simply that in Adam (due to his sin) all die, and coversely in Christ all will be made alive. On both fronts mankind is not the beginning of sin nor the end of sin - meaning it is through two men. We become part of sin by Adam sinning and we can be clear of sin through Jesus. Thus, after Adam sins, mankind is now a sinner. The secret to me was being in the garden. Once he is thrown out of the garden, he loses his goodness. And then only in Christ can we be made alive again.
Man is born with a good nature
Rather, mankind believes man's nature is fine or good. Therefore, life is about improvement and attainment and making our lives more comfortable, more safe, more contented, and eventually more entertained and pleasurable. And we think we are the one's that make this happen.
Pelagius
There was a British monk names Pelagius who lived 354-420. He was very concerned about moral laxity in the church. Pelagius was from the British Isles and he traveled and lived in Rome (Italy). He was concerned about the cavalier attitude among the Christians and the Clergy in the City. He was zealous for the achievement of righteousness. Thus, he was similar in a way to Pharisees and like the Puritans of today. Their motives were to restore the covenant of truth. Eventually the Pharisees became self-righteous and this is similar to the thinking of Pelagius.
What provoked Pelagius was a response to Saint Augustine's prayer - "O God, grant what thou commandest and command what thou thus desires." Pelagius was fine with the last part of this prayer, but not the first. The problem he had was Augustine saying 'grant' or give me the gift or help me or provide me the grace to be able to do what you command. Augustine believed man is unable to obey the commands of God unless God grants him grace. But Pelagius thought that whatever God commands is an obligation for man to obey.
He thought that man is just and God only commands us to do something we are able to do. But Augustine thought that the effects of the fall meant we lost our power to complete obedience. Adam had it in creation, but Adam fell and with his fall the entire race fell and so now we are born with a sin nature and we are no longer morally able to obey the law of God perfectly. Thus, in light of the fall we need grace whereby God forgives us. Pelagius thought that Adam was created good. He had the freedom or power to obey or disobey - to do good or evil. When he chose to do evil, that choice did not change his nature. Thus, every person is born in the same condition that Adam was born into. Thus, sinning changed our nature. Rather than Augustine saying that we are born sinners. Thus, according to Pelagius man can do good or evil. Sin affects man, but not at the core. A Gallup Poll among evangelicals responded that 2/3rds believe they are basically good.
Thus, when Adam sinned, Pelagius thought nothing was transferred onto the human race.
Pelagius was not opposed to grace and there is nothing wrong with praying for grace, but grace facilitates obedience or righteousness. Thus, with the help of grace it is easier to live a live of moral perfection. It helps, but it is not required.
He went on to argue that some people can live perfect lives and many have lived this way without the benefit of grace. Paul says, "There is none righteous, no not one." Instead many are righteous is what Pelagius thought.
What is at stake here is the entire concept of our salvation. With Pelagius grace is not completely essential. It paves the way to legalism in which man can be righteous in and of themselves. Thus, self-righteousness. Thus, it makes us wonder the need even of Jesus and being declared just by Him. Thus, we are justified by our own righteousness and our own free will. Thus, the chief way that Christ works is providing us an example of how to live. Jesus shows us the right way to achieve righteousness.
But before we can be saved, we first must understand our need for salvation and we must understand we are debtors that cannot pay the debt. But, Pelagius says we can pay the debt. Augustine saw this as a heresy. Thus, is grace a prerequisite for salvation or an aid?
Promise: We must have a strong, biblical doctrine of sin otherwise our view of ourselves will be stronger than it should be. Only in Christ can we obey, but many think like Pelagius that God only puts forth a command if he thinks his people can do it. But as sinners we cannot do obedience apart from Him and therefore he is just to condemn us.
Prayer: Lord, there is a fine line in this discussion between truth and lie. There remains a tendency in people to believe they are good and that You are simply the conductor telling them what to do and then sitting back to see what will happen. God you are holy and I am not. I can only be holy with your aid and you working through me. Help me to champion this message. Help me to focus n this truth in my life.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
Message: Are We Born Free?
Time: Four years prior to writing the letter we know as 1 Corinthians, the apostle had spent eighteen months in Corinth, so he was intimately familiar with the church and many of its congregants. Paul penned his letter in AD 55, just as he was planning to leave Ephesus for Macedonia. Paul made it clear that he was willing to risk the good opinion of some in order to help cleanse the sin that tainted the church.
What the Lord is Saying:
This lesson raises an interesting question that has been debated over the years, namely whether man is born a sinner or born free. In this lesson, I will follow the lesson given by RC Sproul and his series Willing to Believe and the 3rd lesson Are We Born Free?.
Man is born a sinner
In I Corinthians 15:22, it states very simply that in Adam (due to his sin) all die, and coversely in Christ all will be made alive. On both fronts mankind is not the beginning of sin nor the end of sin - meaning it is through two men. We become part of sin by Adam sinning and we can be clear of sin through Jesus. Thus, after Adam sins, mankind is now a sinner. The secret to me was being in the garden. Once he is thrown out of the garden, he loses his goodness. And then only in Christ can we be made alive again.
Man is born with a good nature
Rather, mankind believes man's nature is fine or good. Therefore, life is about improvement and attainment and making our lives more comfortable, more safe, more contented, and eventually more entertained and pleasurable. And we think we are the one's that make this happen.
Pelagius
There was a British monk names Pelagius who lived 354-420. He was very concerned about moral laxity in the church. Pelagius was from the British Isles and he traveled and lived in Rome (Italy). He was concerned about the cavalier attitude among the Christians and the Clergy in the City. He was zealous for the achievement of righteousness. Thus, he was similar in a way to Pharisees and like the Puritans of today. Their motives were to restore the covenant of truth. Eventually the Pharisees became self-righteous and this is similar to the thinking of Pelagius.
What provoked Pelagius was a response to Saint Augustine's prayer - "O God, grant what thou commandest and command what thou thus desires." Pelagius was fine with the last part of this prayer, but not the first. The problem he had was Augustine saying 'grant' or give me the gift or help me or provide me the grace to be able to do what you command. Augustine believed man is unable to obey the commands of God unless God grants him grace. But Pelagius thought that whatever God commands is an obligation for man to obey.
He thought that man is just and God only commands us to do something we are able to do. But Augustine thought that the effects of the fall meant we lost our power to complete obedience. Adam had it in creation, but Adam fell and with his fall the entire race fell and so now we are born with a sin nature and we are no longer morally able to obey the law of God perfectly. Thus, in light of the fall we need grace whereby God forgives us. Pelagius thought that Adam was created good. He had the freedom or power to obey or disobey - to do good or evil. When he chose to do evil, that choice did not change his nature. Thus, every person is born in the same condition that Adam was born into. Thus, sinning changed our nature. Rather than Augustine saying that we are born sinners. Thus, according to Pelagius man can do good or evil. Sin affects man, but not at the core. A Gallup Poll among evangelicals responded that 2/3rds believe they are basically good.
Thus, when Adam sinned, Pelagius thought nothing was transferred onto the human race.
Pelagius was not opposed to grace and there is nothing wrong with praying for grace, but grace facilitates obedience or righteousness. Thus, with the help of grace it is easier to live a live of moral perfection. It helps, but it is not required.
He went on to argue that some people can live perfect lives and many have lived this way without the benefit of grace. Paul says, "There is none righteous, no not one." Instead many are righteous is what Pelagius thought.
What is at stake here is the entire concept of our salvation. With Pelagius grace is not completely essential. It paves the way to legalism in which man can be righteous in and of themselves. Thus, self-righteousness. Thus, it makes us wonder the need even of Jesus and being declared just by Him. Thus, we are justified by our own righteousness and our own free will. Thus, the chief way that Christ works is providing us an example of how to live. Jesus shows us the right way to achieve righteousness.
But before we can be saved, we first must understand our need for salvation and we must understand we are debtors that cannot pay the debt. But, Pelagius says we can pay the debt. Augustine saw this as a heresy. Thus, is grace a prerequisite for salvation or an aid?
Promise: We must have a strong, biblical doctrine of sin otherwise our view of ourselves will be stronger than it should be. Only in Christ can we obey, but many think like Pelagius that God only puts forth a command if he thinks his people can do it. But as sinners we cannot do obedience apart from Him and therefore he is just to condemn us.
Prayer: Lord, there is a fine line in this discussion between truth and lie. There remains a tendency in people to believe they are good and that You are simply the conductor telling them what to do and then sitting back to see what will happen. God you are holy and I am not. I can only be holy with your aid and you working through me. Help me to champion this message. Help me to focus n this truth in my life.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
John 8:31-38 - The Truth Shall Make You Free
John 8:31-38
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
Message: The Truth Shall Make You Free
Time: Throughout church history, Christians have consistently attributed this gospel to Jesus' disciple John, the brother of James, the son of Zebedee. John was one of the inner circle of Jesus' most trusted companions. It's most likely that John wrote his gospel while he was in Ephesus, and that he wrote it for an audience that lived outside Palestine, perhaps in Asia Minor. John appears to have had in mind members of a Jewish community who had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but who had continued to worship in the synagogue. John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing he was to confirm the belief that Jesus was both the Christ and the Son of God
What the Lord is Saying:
In this study of grace, I have been looking at a lot of passages from Paul, though Paul reiterates much of what is said in the Bible. This entry today is based upon a teaching series that RC Sproul did called Willing to Believe. As I studied the book of Mark, it seems apparent that much of what Jesus was doing as he ministered was responding to critics from the Jewish community. As he did this he was teaching and preaching to his disciples as well as others on the gospel, the good news of God and his love for people and our need to trust God and only God. We are not to trust in our own good deeds, but trust in God. God is calling all of us, Jew and Gentile alike.
Thus, in this passage Jesus is speaking now to those Jews who believed Him, "If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free." On the surface this sounds like an innocuous statement. It sounds like a message of good news. We are free as we continue to listen to the Words of Jesus. Yet, the response of the Jews was one of alarm as Jesus was insinuating that they had a need to be set free, that they had a need to be rescued. And this can be an offensive statement to people. People instead like to think that their life and the way that it is being lived is good. These individuals Jesus was speaking to were not presently in captivity and yet there seems to be a captivity that Jesus is referencing. Thus, their response to him was therefore - We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
The response of these Jews is that they are Abraham's descendants and as his descendants are recipients of blessings through covenants that God has made. As recipients of blessings they are therefore not captive and as such, do not need to be set free. This is their contention. Our non-Jewish world may not say they have a blessing from being Jewish today, but they might say that their good works have paid off over the years and through their good deeds and hard work and learning from mistakes and living a fairly pain-free life that they also are not captive. We do live in this free land of America.
Yet, Jesus remarks something that is still offensive to this day - everyone who commits sin is the slave to sin. I listened to this episode on Youtube from Living Waters and the atheist made that claim. The claim was that one person does one action and they are labeled a sinner. And yet I think Ray Comfort showed him later that he had actually done a lot of offensive actions. But, this is a statement by Jesus that people just don't like hearing. This is one reason why Jesus is a curse word. People don't want to be found out. And we are a culture that says, "I'm okay" not "I'm a sinner." We are about doing things that prove ourselves as worthy we believe, and then looking pass those things that are offensive. But, it is the offense that we still must deal with it each day.
Thus, people's beliefs are often humanistic which believes in an exalted view of the goodness of human nature. Thus, inconceivable to these people that they were held captive or in their own souls enslaved to sin. Thus, the basic view of humanism is however many times we may stumble or fall into evils of unrighteousness, at the core our default is goodness and these evils are external to us. Even in the church, among evangelicals we are grafted into this thinking. Thus, when defining free will one must look at where the definition is coming from. Meanings of words are different and they are different because of the context of those meanings. Thus, there is free will as it relates to the sovereignty of God and the operation of original sin which tells us what we have inherited from Adam and Eve as our first parents.
There is an external force that makes us free and that force's name is Jesus. John speaks of Jesus as being the Truth (John 14:6) and here in these verses he says the truth shall make you free and he says the Son makes you free. We need Jesus. We need to submit and surrender to Him to be free. We have this faith in Him. He makes us free and He draws us into this relationship with Him.
Promise: Let us cast aside our sin and look for life only in Jesus. He alone can satisfy us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your Word. Thank you for gifting speakers like Ray Comfort and RC Sproul who examine your Word and the ideas of this world to show us that You God are the only true God. We need you and we thank you God for making us free. I thank you for making me free. I am free indeed because of Jesus. I have been made right with you God because of Jesus. Holy Spirit, continue to confirm this in my life each and every day. Continue to speak to me and help me to better understand it. Yet, help me to not sit in silence. Give me the voice to carry this message to the masses. Thank you for the online forums you have given me and the ability I have to use those forums, like GMO, to speak to others and help them with the understanding you have given me. O God you are a good God and this generation needs you more than ever. Remove the blinders that are on the eyes of many. Help people to see you as you really are and to recognize the evil that is present in this world.
Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about salvation by grace alone. March was about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January is about the doctrine of God.
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
Message: The Truth Shall Make You Free
Time: Throughout church history, Christians have consistently attributed this gospel to Jesus' disciple John, the brother of James, the son of Zebedee. John was one of the inner circle of Jesus' most trusted companions. It's most likely that John wrote his gospel while he was in Ephesus, and that he wrote it for an audience that lived outside Palestine, perhaps in Asia Minor. John appears to have had in mind members of a Jewish community who had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but who had continued to worship in the synagogue. John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing he was to confirm the belief that Jesus was both the Christ and the Son of God
What the Lord is Saying:
In this study of grace, I have been looking at a lot of passages from Paul, though Paul reiterates much of what is said in the Bible. This entry today is based upon a teaching series that RC Sproul did called Willing to Believe. As I studied the book of Mark, it seems apparent that much of what Jesus was doing as he ministered was responding to critics from the Jewish community. As he did this he was teaching and preaching to his disciples as well as others on the gospel, the good news of God and his love for people and our need to trust God and only God. We are not to trust in our own good deeds, but trust in God. God is calling all of us, Jew and Gentile alike.
Thus, in this passage Jesus is speaking now to those Jews who believed Him, "If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free." On the surface this sounds like an innocuous statement. It sounds like a message of good news. We are free as we continue to listen to the Words of Jesus. Yet, the response of the Jews was one of alarm as Jesus was insinuating that they had a need to be set free, that they had a need to be rescued. And this can be an offensive statement to people. People instead like to think that their life and the way that it is being lived is good. These individuals Jesus was speaking to were not presently in captivity and yet there seems to be a captivity that Jesus is referencing. Thus, their response to him was therefore - We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
The response of these Jews is that they are Abraham's descendants and as his descendants are recipients of blessings through covenants that God has made. As recipients of blessings they are therefore not captive and as such, do not need to be set free. This is their contention. Our non-Jewish world may not say they have a blessing from being Jewish today, but they might say that their good works have paid off over the years and through their good deeds and hard work and learning from mistakes and living a fairly pain-free life that they also are not captive. We do live in this free land of America.
Yet, Jesus remarks something that is still offensive to this day - everyone who commits sin is the slave to sin. I listened to this episode on Youtube from Living Waters and the atheist made that claim. The claim was that one person does one action and they are labeled a sinner. And yet I think Ray Comfort showed him later that he had actually done a lot of offensive actions. But, this is a statement by Jesus that people just don't like hearing. This is one reason why Jesus is a curse word. People don't want to be found out. And we are a culture that says, "I'm okay" not "I'm a sinner." We are about doing things that prove ourselves as worthy we believe, and then looking pass those things that are offensive. But, it is the offense that we still must deal with it each day.
Thus, people's beliefs are often humanistic which believes in an exalted view of the goodness of human nature. Thus, inconceivable to these people that they were held captive or in their own souls enslaved to sin. Thus, the basic view of humanism is however many times we may stumble or fall into evils of unrighteousness, at the core our default is goodness and these evils are external to us. Even in the church, among evangelicals we are grafted into this thinking. Thus, when defining free will one must look at where the definition is coming from. Meanings of words are different and they are different because of the context of those meanings. Thus, there is free will as it relates to the sovereignty of God and the operation of original sin which tells us what we have inherited from Adam and Eve as our first parents.
There is an external force that makes us free and that force's name is Jesus. John speaks of Jesus as being the Truth (John 14:6) and here in these verses he says the truth shall make you free and he says the Son makes you free. We need Jesus. We need to submit and surrender to Him to be free. We have this faith in Him. He makes us free and He draws us into this relationship with Him.
Promise: Let us cast aside our sin and look for life only in Jesus. He alone can satisfy us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your Word. Thank you for gifting speakers like Ray Comfort and RC Sproul who examine your Word and the ideas of this world to show us that You God are the only true God. We need you and we thank you God for making us free. I thank you for making me free. I am free indeed because of Jesus. I have been made right with you God because of Jesus. Holy Spirit, continue to confirm this in my life each and every day. Continue to speak to me and help me to better understand it. Yet, help me to not sit in silence. Give me the voice to carry this message to the masses. Thank you for the online forums you have given me and the ability I have to use those forums, like GMO, to speak to others and help them with the understanding you have given me. O God you are a good God and this generation needs you more than ever. Remove the blinders that are on the eyes of many. Help people to see you as you really are and to recognize the evil that is present in this world.
Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about salvation by grace alone. March was about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January is about the doctrine of God.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Jesus Calling - 366 Days
January 1 February 1 March 1
January 2 February 2 March 2
January 3 February 3 March 3
January 4 February 4 March 4
January 5 February 5 March 5
January 6 February 6 March 6
January 7 February 7 March 7
January 8 February 8 March 8
January 9 February 9 March 9
January 10 February 10 March 10
January 11 February 11 March 11
January 12 February 12 March 12
January 13 February 13 March 13
January 14 February 14 March 14
January 15 February 15 March 15
January 16 February 16 March 16
January 17 February 17 March 17
January 18 February 18 March 18
January 19 February 19 March 19
January 20 February 20 March 20
January 21 February 21 March 21
January 22 February 22 March 22
January 23 February 23 March 23
January 24 February 24 March 24
January 25 February 25 March 25
January 26 February 26 March 26
January 27 February 27 March 27
January 28 February 28 March 28
January 29 February 29 March 29
January 30 March 30
January 31 March 31
April 1 May 1 June 1
April 2 May 2 June 2
April 3 May 3 June 3
April 4 May 4 June 4
April 5 May 5 June 5
April 6 May 6 June 6
April 7 May 7 June 7
April 8 May 8 June 8
April 9 May 9 June 9
April 10 May 10 June 10
April 11 May 11 June 11
July 4 August 4 September 4
July 5 August 5 September 5
July 6 August 6 September 6
July 7 August 7 September 7
July 8 August 8 September 8
July 9 August 9 September 9
July 10 August 10 September 10
July 11 August 11 September 11
July 12 August 12 September 12
July 13 August 13 September 13
July 14 August 14 September 14
July 15 August 15 September 15
July 16 August 16 September 16
July 17 August 17 September 17
July 18 August 18 September 18
July 19 August 19 September 19
July 20 August 20 September 20
July 21 August 21 September 21
July 22 August 22 September 22
July 23 August 23 September 23
July 24 August 24 September 24
July 25 August 25 September 25
July 26 August 26 September 26
July 27 August 27 September 27
July 28 August 28 September 28
July 29 August 29 September 29
July 30 August 30 September 30
July 31 August 31
October 1 November 1 December 1
October 2 November 2 December 2
October 3 November 3 December 3
October 4 November 4 December 4
October 5 November 5 December 5
October 6 November 6 December 6
October 7 November 7 December 7
October 8 November 8 December 8
October 9 November 9 December 9
October 10 November 10 December 10
October 11 November 11 December 11
October 12 November 12 December 12
October 13 November 13 December 13
October 14 November 14 December 14
October 15 November 15 December 15
October 16 November 16 December 16
October 17 November 17 December 17
October 18 November 18 December 18
October 19 November 19 December 19
October 20 November 20 December 20
October 21 November 21 December 21
October 22 November 22 December 22
October 23 November 23 December 23
October 24 November 24 December 24
October 25 November 25 December 25
October 26 November 26 December 26
October 27 November 27 December 27
October 28 November 28 December 28
October 29 November 29 December 29
October 30 November 30 December 30
October 31 December 31
January 2 February 2 March 2
January 3 February 3 March 3
January 4 February 4 March 4
January 5 February 5 March 5
January 6 February 6 March 6
January 7 February 7 March 7
January 8 February 8 March 8
January 9 February 9 March 9
January 10 February 10 March 10
January 11 February 11 March 11
January 12 February 12 March 12
January 13 February 13 March 13
January 14 February 14 March 14
January 15 February 15 March 15
January 16 February 16 March 16
January 17 February 17 March 17
January 18 February 18 March 18
January 19 February 19 March 19
January 20 February 20 March 20
January 21 February 21 March 21
January 22 February 22 March 22
January 23 February 23 March 23
January 24 February 24 March 24
January 25 February 25 March 25
January 26 February 26 March 26
January 27 February 27 March 27
January 28 February 28 March 28
January 29 February 29 March 29
January 30 March 30
January 31 March 31
April 1 May 1 June 1
April 2 May 2 June 2
April 3 May 3 June 3
April 4 May 4 June 4
April 5 May 5 June 5
April 6 May 6 June 6
April 7 May 7 June 7
April 8 May 8 June 8
April 9 May 9 June 9
April 10 May 10 June 10
April 11 May 11 June 11
July 5 August 5 September 5
July 6 August 6 September 6
July 7 August 7 September 7
July 8 August 8 September 8
July 9 August 9 September 9
July 10 August 10 September 10
July 11 August 11 September 11
July 12 August 12 September 12
July 13 August 13 September 13
July 14 August 14 September 14
July 15 August 15 September 15
July 16 August 16 September 16
July 17 August 17 September 17
July 18 August 18 September 18
July 19 August 19 September 19
July 20 August 20 September 20
July 21 August 21 September 21
July 22 August 22 September 22
July 23 August 23 September 23
July 24 August 24 September 24
July 25 August 25 September 25
July 26 August 26 September 26
July 27 August 27 September 27
July 28 August 28 September 28
July 29 August 29 September 29
July 30 August 30 September 30
July 31 August 31
October 1 November 1 December 1
October 2 November 2 December 2
October 3 November 3 December 3
October 4 November 4 December 4
October 5 November 5 December 5
October 6 November 6 December 6
October 7 November 7 December 7
October 8 November 8 December 8
October 9 November 9 December 9
October 10 November 10 December 10
October 11 November 11 December 11
October 12 November 12 December 12
October 13 November 13 December 13
October 14 November 14 December 14
October 15 November 15 December 15
October 16 November 16 December 16
October 17 November 17 December 17
October 18 November 18 December 18
October 19 November 19 December 19
October 20 November 20 December 20
October 21 November 21 December 21
October 22 November 22 December 22
October 23 November 23 December 23
October 24 November 24 December 24
October 25 November 25 December 25
October 26 November 26 December 26
October 27 November 27 December 27
October 28 November 28 December 28
October 29 November 29 December 29
October 30 November 30 December 30
October 31 December 31
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)