The Radical Effects of the Cross on the Conscience of the True Believer

When a man sees the cross of Christ with the eyes of faith, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, that man is radically changed.  He can no longer take sin lightly.  Conversely, a casual attitude toward sin is evidence of a shallow vision of the cross.  The regenerating power of the Holy Spirit does not just change the man - it radically changes the man.  God’s hatred of sin is impressed upon the believer’s conscience.  Though that believer struggles with sin, and often falls into it, nevertheless he hates the sin that so easily besets him, and he loves holiness, though it is hard for him to reach the holy state he desires.  The wicked conversation (life style) of the people of this world vex his righteous soul, as it did Lot’s soul. 

Dear reader, if you lack a desire for holiness, and the struggle against sin is absent from your heart, and you experience no vexation living in this sinful world’s agenda, then I would encourage you to see the cross if you can.  See the wrath of God poured out on His only begotten Son.  See the Son of God perishing at the hands of foolish, wicked men, while God Almighty pours out His judgment on the innocent Jesus.  See Him hanging there where you belong.  Are you not yet changed?  How can you not be changed?  Why will you die in your sins?  Turn to Christ and be saved, all ye that are weary and oppressed. 

“I saw One hanging on a tree”

John Newton, 1779

I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

O, can it be, upon a tree,
The Savior died for me?
My soul is thrilled, my heart is filled,
To think He died for me!

Sure, never to my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.

Scripture proofs:

Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Hebrews 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

1 Thess 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;

1 Cor 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Gal 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

2 Peter 2:7-8 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds)

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Cor 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

What Does “Sovereign God” Mean?

“Sovereign God” represents our view of who God is.  God is the Sovereign of the Universe.  He is not weak and effeminate.  He does not seek permission from man to execute his will.  He has no obligations to man whatsoever.  No one can say to Him “what doest thou?”  He does as He pleases.  He doesn’t just know the future, but He has in fact decreed the future.  Nothing can happen that He has not determined, from the dropping of one hair from my head, to the Grand Finally of the world.  God can save whom He wishes to save, and damn those He wishes to damn.  Man can not be saved unless God saves him, and if he is saved, he is saved on God’s terms and in God’s time.  Man can not command God’s Spirit to indwell him, and neither can man resist, though he may try, the determined power of God’s Spirit coming in to the heart.  God leaves nothing to chance.  God saves those He loves without any possibility of failure, and those He does not favor, He leaves in sin to their own desires.  Whatever God does is good - because He is God.  God is answerable only to God and none other - neither man, nor angels, nor gods, nor creation, nor philosophy, nor futility can make Him accountable to them.  God is justified in condemning sinners, and infinitely merciful in saving some of them.  But He is not obligated to save one of them.  If God let the entire human race go to Hell, He would be justified.  It is because of man’s wicked pride that he demands his own notion of “fairness” from the Creator of creatures.  Some people have said, “I will not serve a God like that.”  But that is the God you are serving, whether you want to or not.  Man’s effort to make God into a controllable, subservient, subordinate, frustrated, weepy-eyed, genie in a bottle is futile.  God has determined the end from the beginning, and everything in between the end and the beginning is merely the means by which He has predetermined to execute His sovereign will.

The knowledge of God’s Sovereignty should frighten us.  I know that it is not popular today to fear God, but that’s exactly what the Bible tells us to do - FEAR GOD.  We imagine Him to be our homeboy, a dude, our pal, a good-ole-boy that likes us just the way we are.  But nothing could be farther from the truth.  God is Holy.  God is the Almighty.  Jesus is the Lord God Omnipotent.  He demands of us a life of repentance and faith.  Let us fear, lest any of us should seem to come short of it.  We must not live in a high-minded conceit, trusting in some shallow profession of faith; but we must earnestly seek assurance that God has favored us with new birth, shedding the love of God abroad in our hearts, causing us to love Him and His law, His people, His ways, and His word.  Those of us that have been blessed with the assurance of God’s working in us may bask in the sweetness of His love, and we may glorify Him, being the objects of His unmerited favor, having nothing in ourselves by which we may boast.  But for those have no working of God in their souls, tribulation, wrath, and vengeance to every creature that loves not God.  Cry against Him, curse Him, defy Him, all unbelievers - and you will build your indictment and seal your judgement on that terrible day!

Soli Deo Gloria!  To God Be The Glory!

    

The Decree of God

Here is my summary of Chapter 3, “The Decree of God”, from the 1689 London Baptist Confession.  You can see the text of the confession on the Confession of Faith page on this web site.

God does not learn things - on the contrary, He decrees things.  One of the basic attributes of God is His omniscience (all-knowing).  If God knows everything, past present and future, then it follows that He can not learn anything.  God knows what He knows, not because He learned what would happen, but because He decreed what would happen. 

Nothing happens that was not decreed by God.  Nothing.  The events of time are not left to blind chance, and neither is the Kingdom of God built by blind chance.  It’s all by design and has a purpose.

Does that make God a sinner?  After all, if everything is decreed, that means that evil and sin is also decreed.   While it is true that God decreed evil and sin to come to pass, we must be careful to know that while God created man with the potential for sin, He did not cause him to sin.  God created Satan, but He did not make him sin.  It can even be said that God created evil, but He did not create sin.  Sin came into the world by the disobedience of Adam, who sinned by his own free choice.  

Yet this was all planned and decreed to happen for a purpose.  The purpose of evil and sin is to make redemption necessary for man to worship God, which worship is to the Glory of God.  Only a redeemed sinner can worship God with a greater heart of praise than the angels.   

Acts 15:18  Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever.  Amen.

Is the Bible Inspired by God?

I received the following reply from Hokku to my previous post, who disagrees with my claim that the Bible is inspired and infallible. 

“Not even the writers of the Bible believed that, as we can see from the preface to Luke’s gospel, where he mentions that many have already written on the subject, and he too will write on it, and he offers nothing at all about divine inspiration to back up his writing. And of course there are numerous variant readings - so which one is “inspired”? And then there have been various canons not only over the centuries but even today, so which of those is “inspired.” I do not believe there is the slightest evidence or support for what you claim here. Instead, the Bible is a very human and fallible collection of documents, which have been revised and edited over time, and even what is included in that collection has historically not been stable.”

I would like to thank Hokku for challenging me to think about what I have said and I now offer the following arguments to defend my view.  I believe that if Hokku is determined to view scriptures in the way that he/she has expressed, then I would waste my time with a reply.  But knowing that the Lord is able to open Hokku’s eye’s to the truth, and for the benefit of readers that may be observing, I will offer a short reproof of Hokku’s argument.

First of all, as to whether the scriptures themselves ever refer to themselves as “inspired” or “infallible”, I can quickly prove that they do that very thing by providing several proof texts. 

II Timothy 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: “for all scripture is given by inspiration of God”

Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

2 Peter 1:19-20 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.  21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Luke 16:7  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

John 10:35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

Psalm 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Psalm 19:7  The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

Psalm 119:89  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Dty 4:2  Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

2 Sam 22:30  As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

Psalm 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Proverbs 30:5  Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Isaiah 40:8  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Hosea 4:1  Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

John 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Hopefully, these verses clearly establish what the Bible says about itself.

As for variant readings, God inspired the original texts which the “Holy men of old” wrote down, and no doctrinal truth has been damaged by the use of alternative readings, or insertions/deletions which were done for the sake of clarification by scribes and translators.  Manuscripts with questionable renderings were rejected during the translation process.  An intensive quality control process was used to ensure accurate copying of texts.  There is nothing incidental, accidental, or haphazard about the way the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts were compiled and translated.  Even skeptics have had to admit their surprise at the agreement of existing texts with the text of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are considered by many to be the most pristine of biblical texts available.  But regardless of that, if you carry the presupposition of doubt instead of faith into your reading of the text, you will always focus on minute questions as to the authenticity of a given text rather than focus on the overwhelming evidence of the unity of scripture.

Many people bring their doubts into the reading of scripture because they are threatened by its authority - its unapologetic demands on the human will and soul.  The natural born humanist despises the dominion of God, and can not abide a Bible that they can not split into parts they deem acceptable and unacceptable.

As for disputes over the canon of scripture, we believe that in the providence of God, men have been guided in the process of establishing the Bible in accordance with His will.  The men involved in the process were not always in perfect agreement, but this does not preclude the overruling providence of God in the matter, just as we recognize His providence in all the affairs of man, both historical and future.  We recognize God’s sovereignty in the course of history as one of His basic attributes as described in the Bible itself.

Now some people will observe that it is a circular argument to say that the Bible is inspired by God because the Bible says it is inspired by God.  Truly, it is a circular argument - just as circular as the argument that says “I don’t think the Bible is inspired because I don’t think it is inspired”.  So we bring our presuppositions to the argument with us, don’t we?  My presupposition is that there is a God, and He has communicated His will to man in writing, and He is able and willing to preserve His written communication through His own providence for the benefit and guidance of His elect children, and for the warning of the reprobate as to their coming judgment.  If one brings the presupposition of doubt to the argument, then one will search until some apparent evidence is found to prove that doubt - much like the author of a blog I recently visited in which the blogger annotated a verse-by-verse commentary on a certain Bible passage.  That blogger found cause for unbelief in every verse, stating that the things written therein were simply “unbelievable”. 

You may state your “faith” in “unbelief” if you like, but you cannot make a rational argument of it.

What We Believe About the Bible

The Bible is the Word of God.  It is without error.  It can not fail.  It does not “contain” the Word of God, as in, some of it is inspired and some of it isn’t ispired.  We believe that EVERY WORD of the Bible proceeds out of the mouth of God.  No one can be saved without the light of scripture in the form of the Bible itself, or Bible-based preaching, or other Bible-based communication such as tracts and other literature.  We should base all of our beliefs and practices, without exception, on the Bible alone.  In areas not directly addressed in scripture, we must make decisions based on sound biblical principles.  The principle of love toward God and our neighbors is applicable in all situations.While the Bible is effective in nominally curbing the sinfulness of unsaved people, and unregenate people may hear the preaching of the word and show some passing interest in it; nevertheless the word does not effect them in a saving way because the things of God cannot be understood by the natural man.  But those that have been born again by the Spirit of God are brought by the Word into a state of faith, growth, holiness, and ultimate deliverence from this world of sin.

Furthermore, when the Holy Ghost “moved” men to write down the Word of God, He did it through the particular language and personality of the man so moved, so that when we read Matthew’s Gospel, we are reading divinely inspired words, but those words are in Matthew’s voice.  Likewise with the Gospel of John, whose voice is obviously different than Matthew’s, but equally inspired nonetheless.

At Sovereign God Ministries, we prefer the King James Version of the Bible, but we do not believe it is the only useful version, nor do we believe that it is “inspired” in the same sense that the original manuscripts were inspired.  We recognize that the King James Version translators did not in every case make the best translation, and some later versions do a better job than the KJV in translating certain passages.  Nevertheless, we regard more recent translation with caution, because most of them question the validity of certain texts, using an arbitrary rule in saying that older manuscripts are “better” than the less ancient copies.  We do not consider the age of a manuscript alone as the determining factor in it’s validity.   

How Does God Save People? Part 2

      In part 1 of “How Does God Save People” we explored the truths of the things which God did before time began in order to save people.  We spoke of foreknowledge, election, and predestination.  These are great truths that ensure that God will lose none of those He has chosen unto salvation.  We find great comfort in these truths, knowing that nothing is left to chance, and nothing is an “accident” in the life of God’s chosen; not only that, but no such thing as an “accident” really even exists, whatsoever.

Among those things that are not accidents is the conversion of God’s children.  The only reason any of us ever heard the Gospel is because God determined to send it.  The only reason any of us ever received the Gospel is because God determined to send the Spirit to quicken us.  The only reason any of us fight against our sinful natures in order to please God is because God works in us to do and to will of His good pleasure.  The only reason any of us will live forever in the glory of God is because He determined to lead us into the Promised Land.  Salvation is the work of God from beginning to end.  He is the author and finisher of our faith.  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

The events that God determined to take place during time in order that we may be saved are:  1) gospel call 2) inward call 3) regeneration, 4) conversion (faith & repentance), 5) justification, and 6) sanctification.  The last event - glorification - takes place after we depart the physical world and is completed in the final consummation of time and thereafter.   You may notice that in Part 1 I listed the events differently, most notably placing regeneration first in the order.  I had thought to delve into controversy in that area due to the fact that I allow for the possibility that regeneration can come before a person ever even knows of the Gospel message.  But, subsequent to the publication of Part 1, having considered the matter much further, I find myself having much lesser confidence in that position than I formerly held.  I will therefore present a standard reformed version of the order of salvation.

I.  The Gospel Call

This refers to the ministry of the word through preaching or other communication (tracts, the Bible itself, etc.) of the Gospel message.  The Gospel is simply the promise of God to provide a savior - that Savior being the crucified, buried, risen, and crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, but not to everyone.  That’s right - some people are not effected by Gospel preaching.  Oh, they “hear” the Gospel (with their physical ears), but they do not “hear” the Gospel (with their spiritual ears, i.e., in the heart, or in the “inner man”).  For the Gospel to be effective, there must be something else - the inward call. 

II.  The Inward Call

This the “hearing” of the Gospel - that is, not with physical ears, but with spiritual ears.  “Him that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth”.  This is the voice of the Sheppard that the sheep will hear.  For these people, the Gospel is effective, “effectual”, to their salavtion.  It is meaningful.  It changes them.  It brings a new hope, and a new worldview.  And it works hand-in-hand with regeneration.

 III Regeneration

John 3:7-8 (KJV) ⁷ Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. ⁸ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Titus 3:5 (KJV) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

John 1:13 (KJV) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

1 Peter 1:23 (KJV) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

James 1:19 (KJV) Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

When we are born into this world, we are born with a “nature” that is common to all human beings without exception.  The Bible tells us that the “natural man” will not receive the things of God (1 Cor 2:14).  The nature with which we are born is at “enmity” against God, and the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God (Rom 8:7).

Since our nature is opposed to God, we need a new nature.  And just how could we get this new nature?  The answer is that God, in a supernatural act of His divine power, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, imparts HIS nature into the hearts of those He has elected to be saved.  When this happens, a person is “born again”.

The born again person is a person that has been made willing to repent of sin and trust Christ, loves God, desires to know Him, hates the sin that besets him, and longs for the day of perfect fellowship with God.

People cannot give birth to themselves.  This is true literally and spiritually.  The new birth is the work of God through the Holy Spirit.  Let’s look at a portion of the John 3 passage:

⁸ The wind…

The word “wind” in the original greek is the word “pneuma”, which is the same word that is translated ”Spirit” elsewhere.  So we can easily see that the wind is symbolic of the Spirit of God.  And what does it do? 

…bloweth where it listeth…

The word “listeth” means “wills, or desires”.  So we see that God’s Spirit moves where He desires.  This is in perfect keeping with the idea that only the Spirit can birth a child of God, as we see in John 1:13: “who were born…of God”.

No one can control God.  No one can demand, or claim, or convince God to act.  God, and God alone, is in control of the world, and He will send blessing and bring judgement by His own decree. 

On a related subject, many people wonder at what precise time they come to be saved.  I will deal with this issue more in the section on conversion, since faith and repentance are the first consciouse, knowable eveidences of being born again.  It is often, if not usually, hard to determine the exact point in time in which an individual passes from a state of unbelief to a state of belief.  Some people have instantaneous, spectacular conversion experiences that give a definite mark in time as to their conversion.  I think of C. S. Lewis’ own testimony of his conversion:

“I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.”

While he still lacks the knowledge of the precise moment of conversion, nevertheless he can point to a particular span of time in which his conversion took place.

Others come into the kingdom by increments, and their conversion is more aptly described as taking place in a “season” rather than a moment.  John Bunyan’s conversion experience can be described in these terms.  Sometimes, these “seasons” can last for years.

Such is the experience of the new birth.  It is a supernatural act of God. Man can not identifify the exact moment of the new birth, for man has no control over it.  He can neither cause it nor prevent it.  Man did not concieve his spiritual self; and he can not birth his spiritual self, anymore than the could he could physically concieve himself and give birth to himself.  Man can only examine himself for the evidences of the new birth, whether he possesses them or not.  And what are these evidences?  They are nothing less than certain continuing aspects of salvation that will be dealt with in future articles; namely, repentance, faith, and sanctification.  Justification is a legal aspect of salvation, and does not carry “evidences” per se, and glorification certainly is an outward evidence of salvation, being the very consummation of salvation, but it does not take place in this life, but in the eternal day.   

Regeneration is the beginning of our life in Christ, but we will continue our journey in later articles as we examine these important aspects of the experience we call “salvation”.

 

A Dispensationalist Goes Over The Edge

Jpmiller has a shocking video at his blog.  View it here:

http://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/jesus-did-not-come-to-be-the-messiah/ 

How long will it be before Christian Zionists just go ahead and drop the word “Christian” from their label?

THE END IS NEAR! Really?

Concerning the time of his second coming, Jesus said:

Matthew 24:36 (KJV) But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

and… 

Mark 13:32 (KJV) But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

and…

Acts 1:7 (KJV) And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

So, how many times does he have to say it?  We could post some other verses to prove that the time of Christ’s return can not be known by man, but if he said it just once, that should be enough, shouldn’t it?  Yet in spite of the repeated prohibition in the Bible, some people are determined to predict the time of the end anyway. 

We’ve heard of some of these people.  These days, the most notable date-setter is Mr. Harold Camping of Family Radio Network.  He thinks that he’s got all the math worked out, THIS TIME (he’s already missed it once), and his math says that the end will come in the year 2011, in the month of April, and I forget which day.  Oh wait!  There’s an update - it’s going to be some time in October now!  (Don’t quote me on those months, I’m not sure and I don’t really care which month or day he thinks it is).

But while we condemn date-setters such as Mr. Camping, are we guilty of violating the principle ourselves?  No, we might not set a time, a day, a year, etc., but don’t we like to say that the end is “NEAR”? 

“Near” might not be a specific date, but doesn’t it at least fit the definition of a “season”?  If we say that we know the end is near, then we are saying that we know when the end will come.  It may be a vague “when”, but it is a “when”, nevertheless.

The fact is that we have no biblical authority to claim that we know such a thing.  If we know that it is “near”, then Jesus didn’t really mean it when he said, “it is not for you to know the time or the seasons”.  The next time you here someone say, “The end is near!”, ask them if they “know” it is near, or if they are just speculating.   If they say they know it, then ask them how they can know something that Jesus said they cannot know.  If they say that they are just speculating, then ask them why they say it with such certainty.

It is not the task of the believer to speculate as to when Christ’s return will happen, or even if it is “near”.  The task of the believer is to be READY for his appearance.  This includes the necessity of being ready to die, at which time we shall appear before Him.  We must walk in a constant knowledge of the finality and suddenness of the end, whether the “end” consists of the end of the world, or the end of our lives.  We must never, at any given instant, put off our relationship with our God and Savior.  We must draw close, not taking His love for granted, that we may meet Him with joy. 

But we cannot walk in this constant state of preparedness without the knowledge of God’s love, grace, and providence.  Whether we recognize it or not, we cannot even take in our next breath without the perpetual sustainment of God’s grace.  We are guided every step by the Invisible Hand - the providence of God Almighty.  That trial in our life is His predetermined appointment.  That blessing in our life is His predetermined grace working through us.  Every trial is for our good and His glory, and every victory is the result of His provision for us.  Every reward is reckoned of grace, and properly belongs to Jesus Christ, for He alone is worthy, having merited both the salvation and reward of the elect.  Worship no one but HIM!

Yes, the end may be near.  Are you ready for it?

Do You Talk Back To God?

Romans 9:20 (KJV) Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Can you believe it?  Some people actually talk back to God!!  Paul says “who art thou that repliest against God?”.  Talk back to God Himself - can you imagine?

Parents can relate to this act of talking back.  We tell our children to behave, or to do a chore.  “Take out the garbage”.  Then we get that reply, “why do I have to do it?”  You know what that means - what it implies.  The child has stood up to you, challenged your authority, your right to make the rules, to make the decisions, and to rule your house.  

Now imagine the indolence of a puny human being standing up to the Sovereign, Omnipotent, Almighty God, questioning Him and his actions.

“Job 9:12 (KJV) Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?”

“Ecclesiastes 8:4 (KJV) Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?”

“Daniel 4:35 (KJV) And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”

So we see that man is a heinous usurper and rebel when he says to God, to paraphrase, “Just who do you think you are, and what do you think you’re doing?” 

Yet in Paul’s conversation in Romans 9, he anticipates man’s reaction to the news that God does as He wishes without man’s advice - he talks back.  The news he doesn’t like to hear is that God has mercy on whom ever He chooses to have mercy, and others are prepared for destruction.  He is like a potter that takes a lump of clay and forms it into whatever vessel he desires.  And when God is the potter, there are no mistakes.  Of the same lump He makes some vessels of honor (mercy), and some vessels of dishonor (wrath) - whichever He chooses.  

Those of us whom God has called into sheepfold by the voice of our Shepard Jesus Christ are the vessels of mercy - formed from God’s own hands, for salvation, to his own glory.  Is there any way in which we may say that we have formed ourselves?  Absolutely not!  We can no more form ourselves than we can give birth to ourselves.  This we are glad to accept, that God has chosen us for salvation!

But it is an evil mind that shakes the fist at God and says “who are you?’  Reprobate persons, devoid of God’s mercy and light, engulfed in their depravity and hatred of God’s authority, will accuse Him of injustice, being blind to the rightness of their condemnation.  They will lay the fault at God’s feet if possible.   They will say:   “Why didn’t you give me sign!?”  “Why didn’t you give me more chances!?”  “Why did you let evil into the world!?”  “It’s all your fault!” 

It is sad indeed, but whether we like the teachings of Hell or not, there is such a state, and the reprobate will go there.  The vessels of wrath will know His holy indignation and righteous judgment.  But there will not be one single person in Hell that does not deserve to be there.  They are haters of God, and they hate Him to the end.

Those that go into Hell receive justice - the very thing that they accuse God of NOT having.  God is not obligated to show mercy to anyone.  The real question concerning God’s justice is not “why does he yet find fault?” (see Rom 9:19), but is “why does he NOT yet find fault?”, because the vessels of mercy are born as sinners, just like the vessels of wrath.  But He has mercy on them.  He sends His Spirit into their hearts, shedding His love abroad, whereby they cry “Abba!  Father!”; enabling them to repent and believe in Christ for salvation. 

Why does He do this for undeserving sinners?  It’s unexplainable!  It’s infinite mercy!  It’s glorious grace!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His way past finding out!

This is the truth of scripture.  Now, do you talk back to God?  

  

How Does God Save People?

You may think that a previous article covered this topic pretty well, but there is a difference in the two topics. Before, I attempted to answer the question “How do I know that I am saved?” The emphasis there was on the “knowing” that is available to those of us that have believed on Jesus Christ as our Savior.

This article, however, is an attempt to deal with the mechanics of salvation - not just that God saves us, but how God saves us. Although this topic requires us to deal mainly with the mechanics, or mechanisms, of salvation, which all take place in the human experience during physical time, nevertheless we can not easily enter into a discussion of those things without first discussing the aspects of salvation which describes God’s over-arching design and purposes in salvation - election and predestination. Part 1 will do this as breifly as possible. I will address these extremely important doctrines in the future at greater length as God permits.I have broken down the topic into three main sections with subsections as follows. The sequence is definitely logical and generally chronological.

I. Events before time began
1) Foreknowledge
2) Election
3) Predestination

II. Events during time
1) Regeneration
2) Calling
3) Repentance
4) Faith
5) Justification
6) Sanctification

III. Events after time
1) Glorification

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For the sake of simplicity, I will keep to a sequenced understanding of the different aspects of salvation. But some of them have an application both in time and eternity. For example, there is a sense in which those that have believed on the Lord for justification was already justified when Jesus died and rose again some two thousand years ago, and not only that, but there is a sense in which it may be said that the believer was always justified because God knew from eternity that He would justify them. The same may be said of sanctification, for those whom God knew would believe were in a sense always “set aside” as His elect, and are presently set aside after they have believe for the service of God, and always will be set aside for the Glory of God. And finally, a believer is glorified in the resurrection with a new body, in the new heaven and new earth; but the believer is already glorified in heaven in a spiritual and legal way, as we find in Ephesians chapter 2:

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

Section I: Events before time

1. Foreknowledge.  Foreknowledge is God knowing those persons that He will save before those persons exist, even before time began. “Knowing” is often equated with “loving”, and it is said that God fore-loved the elect. Also, and for me more importantly, to say that God “knows” something is to say that God “decrees” something, for God does not learn anything, seeing he has perfect knowledge of all things. Think about it. What God knows, God decrees, because if God knows it, it will happen, it is fixed, and must happen, and because it will happen, and He permits it to happen, He therefore decrees it to happen. Since God is the origin of all things, all things that come to pass are decreed by Him. Although this truth cuts the heart out of our human pride and crashes our concept of self-determination, it is inescapably true and irrefutable, as long as we accept the premise that God is all-knowing (omniscient) and all-powerful (omnipotent). This is simple logic and it is clearly taught in the Bible.

Isaiah 45:21 (KJV) Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

Isaiah 46:9 (KJV) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, , {10} Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: {11} Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”

Acts 15:18 (KJV) Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

2. Election.  Election is the first act of God’s grace, whereby He elected (chose) to save certain individuals from their sins for His own glory. Election is conditioned only in the purpose and plan of God, and nothing in man. If election depended on any thing in man, then it would not be an act of grace.Notice I use the terminology “act” of grace. It’s important to remember that God is the “actor”, or rather, the “agent” of all events. He is not a spectator of anything, but is the first cause of all subsequent causes and effects.

1 Peter 1:2 (KJV) Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Psalms 65:4 (KJV) Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

John 6:65 (KJV) And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

Ephesians 1:3-6 (KJV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

1 Thessalonians 1:4 (KJV) Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

3. Predestination.  Predestination is God determining, before time began, to provide His chosen ones a “telos”, a final goal, an ultimate end, which we typically call “heaven”; and having determined that we should arrive to this destination before time began, he also predetermined the means by which we would arrive to that end.Nobody would be saved unless God had first elected to save some of us, and had planned to bring about the things in our lives which would lead us into His salvation.

Ephesians 1:11 (KJV) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

1 Thessalonians 5:9 (KJV) For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, “

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This concludes Part 1 of “How does God save people?” 

Part 2 will begin with the events during time.