J.C Ryle on the Penitent Thief

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, "If thou be Christ, save Thyself and us." But the other answering rebuked him, saying, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? and we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss." And he said unto Jesus, "Lord, remember me when Thou comes into Thy Kingdom." And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise." -Luke 23:39-43

J.C Ryle on the verse above shows us many things we can learn from this passage, but this one in particular grabbed me. I would have never thought of this verse like this had I not read "Holiness" by Ryle, which I must recommend to everyone as an absolute must-read.

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See then, for one thing, how strong was the faith of this man. He called Jesus, “Lord.” He declared his belief that He would have a kingdom. He believed that He was able to give him eternal life and glory, and in this belief prayed to Him. He maintained His innocence of all the charges brought against Him. “This man,” said he, “hath done nothing amiss.” Others perhaps may have thought the Lord innocent,—none said so openly but this poor dying man. And when did all this happen? It happened when the whole nation had denied Christ,—shouting, “Crucify Him: crucify Him. We have no king but Cæsar!”—when the chief priests and Pharisees had condemned and found Him guilty of death,—when even His own disciples had forsaken Him and fled,—when He was hanging, faint, bleeding and dying on the cross, numbered with transgressors, and accounted accursed. This was the hour when the thief believed in Christ, and prayed to Him. Surely such faith was never seen since the world began. The disciples had seen mighty signs and miracles. They had seen the dead raised with a word,—and lepers healed with a touch,—the blind receiving sight,—the dumb made to speak,—the lame made to walk. They had seen thousands fed with a few loaves and fishes. They had seen their Master walking on the water as on dry land. They had all of them heard Him speak as no man ever spake, and hold out promises of good things yet to come. They had some of them had a foretaste of His glory in the mount of transfiguration. Doubtless their faith was the gift of God, but still they had much to help it. The dying thief saw none of the things I have mentioned. He only saw our Lord in agony, and in weakness, in suffering, and in pain. He saw Him undergoing. a dishonourable punishment; deserted, mocked, despised, blasphemed. He saw Him rejected by all the great, and wise, and noble of His own people,—His strength dried up like a potsherd, His life drawing nigh to the grave. (Psa. xxii. 15; lxxxviii. 3.) He saw no sceptre, no royal crown, no outward dominion, no glory, no majesty, no power, no signs of might. And yet the dying thief believed, and looked forward to Christ’s kingdom. Reader, would you know if you have the Spirit? Then mark the question I put to you this day.—Where is your faith in Christ?
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“I know not that since the creation of the world there ever was a more remarkable and striking example of faith.”—Calvin's Commentary on the Gospels

“A great faith that can see the sun under so thick a cloud; that can discover a Christ, a Saviour, under such a poor, scorned, despised, crucified Jesus, and call Him Lord.

“A great faith that could see Christ’s kingdom through His cross, and grave, and death, and when there was so little sign of a kingdom, and pray to be remembered in that kingdom.” -Lightfoot Sermon. 1684.

“The penitent thief was the first confessor of Christ’s heavenly kingdom,—the first martyr who bore testimony to the holiness of His sufferings,—and the first apologist for His oppressed innocence.”—Quesnel on the Gospels “Probably there are few saints in glory who ever honoured Christ more illustriously than this dying sinner.”—Doddridge “Is this the voice of a thief or a disciple? Give me leave, O Saviour, to borrow Thine own words, ‘Verily I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.’ He saw Thee hanging miserably by him, and yet styles Thee Lord. He saw Thee dying, and yet talks of Thy kingdom. He felt himself dying, yet talks of a future remembrance. O faith, stronger than death, which can look beyond the cross at a crown;—beyond dissolution at a remembrance of life and glory! Which of Thine eleven were heard to speak so gracious a word to Thee in these Thy last pangs? “—Bishop Hall

Burning the Strawman

A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. To "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw man argument" is to create a position that is easy to refute, then attribute that position to the opponent. A straw man argument can be a successful rhetorical technique (that is, it may succeed in persuading people) but it is in fact a misleading fallacy, because the opponent's actual argument has not been refuted.i

The "the straw man" is an all too common thing these days, generally it is associated with any type of debate, but I am focusing upon "straw men" in the sense that it applies to Christianity.
This post is more of a warning to all discerning and caring Christians, who wish to understand the doctrine presented in the Word of God clearly and not be led into false beliefs that would affect their spiritual walk negatively.

The "Straw Man" In Practice
Generally the idea is to make your opponent look bad, to make their argument seem completely contradictory to the facts, as is seen in the description above. The practice is more commonly used on a website, or in an arena where the opposer cannot give a defense or rebuttal.

This is a dangerous practice amongst professing Christians, because they may take something that is true and completely biblical, and pervert it to suit their cause and opinion. Many are led into a false assumption of some belief, that may be entirely false, and without hearing the other sides defense they neglect the argument. It is ignorance on behalf of many Christians to never hear out the other side of the argument, and turn a cold shoulder to a belief they honestly know nothing about.

Examples
Take for instance the atheist. All Christians can relate to the issues they bring up I assume (unless you have never talked to one of course). If not, I'll show a couple of examples of what I am talking about.

Atheist: "How can an all-loving God send people to hell for eternity?"
"There is no proof of God and I can't see Him, so He doesn't exist."
"God is just a cosmic policeman, giving 10 strict rules that we must obey or go to hell."
Or here's a good example of a perfect "straw man" set up by one:
"The bible tells us that Satan only killed Job's sons and daughters, and God killed millions in the flood: Satan= 10 God= Millions; Who's really the evil one?"

I am sure you can think of many others. So for any Christian its easy to see, that on a facebook board or a site that is run by an atheist, the Christian is not given the opportunity to respond. So it appears the atheist just shot down every Christian argument, when in reality they just make themselves look even more foolish and ignorant.

But the atheist is not the only one who is guilty (I'm guilty, you're guilty, we all are, this is what sin does, it corrupts truth). But other examples can be found in discussion on eschatology (end-times), worship, salvation, covenant/dispensational theology, baptism, and just about every other doctrine. And of course the one I must mention, you guessed it, Calvinistic/Reformed theology.

If I can pick one thing I believe to be the most misrepresented topic in all of Christianity it is that of Calvinism. With a weak "straw man" it is entirely to easy to burn down the supposed "arguments". If the arguments presented are not correct its simple to make it look like the elect are the "elite", that God is a tyrannical and hateful God, that there is no room for missions and evangelism.

Warning!
Please, I implore you, do not listen to every word you are told by anyone you think you look up to. Hear out both sides, test the doctrines by scripture (1 John 4:1), and pray earnestly that God would reveal His truths to your heart.

And speaking of Calvinism, please hear out the arguments to the fullest, from someone who might actually be one, instead of a website written by an anti-Calvinist preacher. If you do not believe it to be scriptural in the end, then Godspeed.

Do this for all arguments, even the atheistic, heretical and false ones, do it for all of them, I promise the truths of scripture stand up to all of them. Give the opposition their opportunity to speak, and leave the straw for the cows (har har...).

Is It Sin Against God To Not Be A Calvinist

Short answer. Yes. Long answer, I'll give it. But first, I'd like to share a quote from Charles Spurgeon:

"The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again."

Take notice of the title of this note, it does not say, "Are You Really A Christian If You're Not a Calvinist?" But rather the question is whether or not it is sin to disregard it, and is it the true Gospel that you preach or present if it is not a Calvinistic/Reformed Gospel. (Please do not get caught up in the name Calvinism, it is the same thing the early church taught including Augustine and Paul himself. I am sure I could certainly find a name associated with any other theology you put forth i.e. Pelagius, Arius, Arminius, Finney, and so on.)

So then what better an outline for the bulk of Calvinistic theology other than the TULIP, or the five points of Calvinism. I plan to go through each point, and distinguish whether or not it would be a sin against Almighty God to believe otherwise. So with no further ado:

Tulip = Total Depravity/Inability

Calvinist: "The belief that man is completely and utterly unable to turn to God and receive Christ without the Spirit first melting his heart of stone, raising him from a spiritual deadness, causing him to be born again and turning him to God. Not that man is as bad as he possibly could be, but is not able to do any good, or the ultimate good of believing upon Christ. He is totally depraved in extent (his whole being) not in degree (level of "badness")."

In other words when Ephesians 2:1 says, "Your were dead in trespasses and sin." It means just that, not that you were "sick" but that you were dead. Or in Romans 3:10-18 when it says that "No one is good...no not one!" That is exactly what it means, "no one", for all our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isa. 64:6).

Do not get me wrong, we all certainly have the freedom to come to Christ, because Christ has given the open invitation, for the scripture says "whosoever will" (Rev 22:17). It is not the freedom that is questioned but the ability. I have the freedom to run 30 miles/hr, only I lack the ability, and unless given a supernatural ability to do so I will not ever be able to. In the same way no many can come unto Christ unless the Father draw him (John 6:44), because his will is bound to its sinful nature (Eph. 2:3).

Why is it a sin to teach otherwise?
Inevitably what occurs if this doctrine is ignored is a misunderstanding of conversion. There is then a misunderstanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in conversion, God is not praised as He should be, as the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2), and man gets the idea that he can cause His new birth by going up during an altar call, or praying the "sinner's prayer", when in fact it takes a supernatural regeneration of the heart. It is sin to misunderstand the glory that belongs to God the Spirit.

tUlip = Unconditional Election

Calvinist: "The belief that God chose those whom he was pleased to bring to a knowledge of himself, not based upon any merit shown by the object of his grace and not based upon his looking forward to discover who would "accept" the offer of the gospel. God has elected, based solely upon the counsel of his own will, some for glory and others for damnation (Romans 9:15,21). He has done this act before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4-8)."

This doctrine does not rule out man's responsibility to believe in the redeeming work of God the Son (John 3:16-18). Scripture presents a tension between God's sovereignty in salvation, and man's responsibility to believe which it does not try to resolve, and so we must not try, as John Piper says, "better your mind be broken, than the scriptures be broken." Both are true -- to deny man's responsibility is to affirm an unbiblical hyper-calvinism; to deny God's sovereignty is to affirm an unbiblical Arminianism.

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Well firstly, if you reject this one then it means you rejected the doctrine of total depravity, so then you have rejected two fundamental doctrines of the Bible. Here is a simple fill in the blank. If salvation is not by works of the law, nor by anything you offer, and you are completely lost in sin and blind to the light of the Gospel, then God must have ____ you (Hint: Chosen). Logic 101. If this doctrine is rejected, then one is inclined to believe it was by his doing that he was saved, just like I stated in the last doctrine, you take from God all the glory due to his name, and give it to the free-will choice of man. "Salvation belongs to the LORD." -Psalm 3:8

tuLip = Limited Atonement/ Particular Redemption

Calvinist: "The belief that Christ's penalty and death purchased the full redemption of His chosen people, His elect. Not that Christ's death only made it possible to be saved, but that He actually saved His people upon the cross."

Talk about a controversial topic. But once again it is a logical continuation of the truths already presented. Election does not automatically save the person, for there is no remission of sins apart from the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22), only Christ's blood has the power to actually save His elect. Jesus lays His life down for His sheep (John 10:15), but not all are His sheep (John 10:26).

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Here is the choice you must make. Either Christ only made it possible, so then what is being said is that Christ only did 75% if the job or even 99%, but you have to throw in the last bit in order to be saved. So then you do not limit the extent, but you certainly limit the power. Or you can say, as the Calvinist does, that the extent is limited but the power is not. His death had the power to save the souls of the lost sheep. If you teach the other way you are destined to admit that it was possible that none would be saved, Christ made the sacrifice and then sat and hoped that people would come to Him. Or you can believe that the Lord made the ultimate sacrifice and sovereignly draws His sheep to Himself.

tulIp = Irresistible Grace

Calvinist: "The belief that God sovereignly draws His elect to Himself. The result of God's Irresistible Grace is the certain response by the elect to the inward call of the Holy Spirit, when the outward call is given by the evangelist or minister of the Word of God."

So then Christ's elect will certainly and assuredly be saved. Once the light of the Gospel is opened to their hearts they can not resist, but will be drawn with bands of love (refer back to John 6:44).

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
In order to shorten this a bit, I will refer you back to the other doctrines which I have mentioned, especially Total Depravity, because it deals with the same subject. If God's grace is resistible then man will always reject it and choose sin over it, because that is what his nature is bound to (Eph 1:3), his mind is at enmity with God and cannot turn to God nor can it (Rom. 8:7).

tuliP = Perseverance/Preservation of the Saints

Calvinist: "The belief that the redeemed can never be lost or plucked from the hand of God. The by the grace of God they will persevere, strive and battle to be holy and sanctified."

This is not by man's strength, but by God's grace that they are kept in the faith. Not too many I know will deny this truth, but there are many out there who will. Just read over the words of Paul in Romans 8:35, and know that this list includes yourself, not even you can pluck yourself out of the hand of God by some grave sin. Please don't take that as license to sin, because that is not what I mean, God's grace will sanctify you and cause you to walk in His commandments.

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Because what is taught is that you can lose your salvation by some grave or mortal sin you commit and then you must work your way back into the good graces of God. Thus, you preach a works based salvation, and you do not acknowledge the power of God to keep you in the faith. "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..." -Phil 1:6 Remember that verse.

Conclusion
So we see here that if these truths are neglected or cast aside, then so is the glory of God in salvation, so is His sovereignty, power and grace. Instead it is replaced with a man-made salvation plan, suited to fit the likes of human nature, and watered-down to a half-truth which amounts to an untruth.

Many will find a problem with the theology and instead of asking about it or looking into what is being said in light of scripture, they just ignore it, or mock it. Still most of those people must face the reality that words like election, predestination, sin, dead in trespasses, lost, blind, sovereignty, drawing, etc. are used commonly in the Bible and must be dealt with. To not deal with them is a sin within itself and an ignorance toward the Word of God Almighty.

The Blessing of A Beautiful Day

I was reflecting as I took a little walk this evening, and I thought to myself: "It is a magnificent day today." Truly it was a wonderful blessing of God. It could not have gotten over 85 today, not a cloud for miles, and a gentle breeze. I couldn't help but think to myself: "I deserve none of this. I am a sinful creature, infinitely blessed by a sinless and holy creator. If God can create a day such as this, surely heaven will be infinitely more glorious."

From the rising of the sun to its going down, the LORD’s name is to be praised. -Psalm 113:3

But one thing bothered me as I thought about it. There would be many who would not even think to acknowledge God on such a day as they have been blessed with. "For God so loved the world..." Well God most certainly has a general love for all of man, just look at what He blesses us with: rain, snow, sun, food, clothes, family...Christ Jesus, etc. But man has been so blinded by his own sin, he has neglected to praise God the Author and Giver of all these things, and they entertain the vain idea that God is not angered by this. Even those claiming to be redeemed show more interest in their relationships, clothes shopping, and schoolwork than in the great and glorious works of God.

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. -Matthew 5:45

That is a great love He has shown to all men. I stepped out of my house today to go for a walk, and left my cares of this world behind, focusing upon God and giving Him thanks for what He has given me. None of which I deserve, paralleling the gift of salvation, wrought by Christ and freely bestowed upon my soul because of nothing in me, but because of the great mercy of God. It is a grave sin we commit when we do not acknowledge God for His mercies, for His love and for His grace, I am guilty for it constantly, and repent I must.

Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
-Psalm 29:1,2

Just take a moment to praise God for His many blessings, and remember how little of it you deserve. This is enough to humble any man or woman.

If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,O Lord, who could stand? -Psalm 130:3

The Dangers of Lifechurch.Tv

Lifechurch.Tv is one of the fastest growing churches in America. And if there is one church that attracts the most college students in Stillwater, OK it is certainly this church. And why not? It appeals to many college students: Rock music, Flashy advertising, Messages they can "relate" to and a young hip pastor, above all its just "fun."

That is how many who go to this church would describe why it is so appealing to them. Though I would argue differently, so I'll go through reasons I believe it appeals to a mainly high school to college crowd (Do Note: Lifechurch is not the only church I am talking about here, it and many other churches have the same agendas and practices. Plus Lifechurch is right around the corner, and I know many people who go there):

1) Christianity-Lite

Lifechurch.tv has a way of talking about the subjects that really appeal to college students. Ones that are easy to swallow, not too dogmatic, and certainly not judgmental or harsh. Take a look at the topics the church preaches on (Categories) and go to the right hand side and look at the drop box of categories, its apparent that no where in the box are subjects such as sin, judgment, repentance, Christ, God, justification, holiness, sanctification, etc., etc. Not to say they don't speak of these things ever but instead the emphasis is on things that college kids seem to think are the "real issues" (i.e. Sex, Relationships, Finances and who knows what else...UFOs, Near death experiences, ghosts, and so on).

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" -2 Tim. 4:3,4

2) Justification by Senses

Lifechurch.tv and many many like it are largely based on the senses, such as sight (strobe lights and disco lighting and neat computer graphics), hearing (loud, energizing, motivational music), or emotions (softly played music to get the person worked up, and feel sorrow, godly or not (2 Cor. 7:10)), and feelings (if you 'feel' like God is doing such and such, He is!). As I have said numerous times, emotions are not the justification or the proof that the Holy Spirit is working within us. This inevitably leads to those who have a false assurance of salvation, most of the time people are led up to the altar and told to commit or receive Christ, check the box and never doubt it. So thats what people do, they check the box, say the prayer and never give it a second thought. Most if asked "How do you know you're saved?" Would answer, "because I went up to the altar, because I prayed the sinner's prayer, or because I believed." The questions that should be asked is, "Do you still believe!?" Can you say right now, "because I believe Jesus Christ is the atonement for my sins and took upon the wrath of God that was due to me. He is my Lord and my Savior, I wish to follow His every command, to be holy and to strive to enter the narrow gate."

"The heart is deceitful above all things,And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" -Jeremiah 17:9

3) A Tv Pastor and Internet Church

Here is a major problem I have with Lifechurch. Accountability and church discipline are nowhere to be found. I can assure you both principles are thoroughly biblical (see passages such as Matt. 18:15-17, 1 Cor. 5, 2 Cor. 13:1-5 to start). I find it hard to believe that a church with a pastor who should be looking over the flock (tending the lambs John 21), is able to do so from a campus 40-100 miles away. Apparently they have campus pastors as well, but if any Lifechurch goer is honest I am sure they don't speak a whole lot to them. The internet church, is very bothersome, in that it maintains no accountability as well.

"[An Overseer/Preacher] must hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict." -Titus 1:4

4) Shaky Beliefs

This is one that is common in churches such as Lifechurch, a misunderstanding of the condition of man. In their What We Believe section on their site under the title "Human Beings" there is one sentence which stands out in my mind: "Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called 'sin.'" You will notice in the verses below it that they have a decent verse for every other sentence used in the rest of the statement, but one will be hard pressed to find a verse in the bible that has any resemblance to the sentence used here. The bible in an over-all sense doesn't even give the slightest hint of such a belief.

Where do we have a potential for good? In Romans 3? "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." Or Jeremiah 64? "But we are all like an unclean thing,And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away."

And where is sin labeled as just an attitude? Its no attitude it is our entire being: "We all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others"(Eph. 2:3). It was our slave master, "God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered"(Rom. 6:17).

We do not need an attitude change. We need a heart change! We need a nature change! We are vile wretches in the eyes of God, not with bad attitudes but depraved souls! Until this is realized the sermon topics will remain as sex, relationships, finances, missions and never Christ, repentance, holiness and mortification of sin.

5) Last (not really last there is plenty more to be said), but not Least

This one particularly gets me. Though I think you must read for yourself: The 3-month Tithing Challenge, as they define it, "it is a money-back guarantee." Essentially you tithe 10%, and if after 3 months you are not blessed (Which I suppose they define what a blessing is: perhaps more money, a car, a new phone, or a boyfriend/girlfriend), then you get back all of your money. Basically taking all faith out of tithing and using a Malachi verse which has little to do with what they believe it to mean. To me this is appalling...but I shouldn't have to go into great detail of why...

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." -Psalm 37:3

Lifechurch.tv has fallen into a dangerous pragmatic, seeker-sensitivism that is slowly suppressing all sound doctrine out of the church and tickling the ears of those who do not wish to give up their sin and fully commit to being holy before the Lord. Too often are churches like this looking for ways to drawing the lost in and forgetting to present the Gospel to those who are already there.

Yet, people will continue to find reasons why this type of evangelism is good and honoring to God. They will insist on how many baptisms or people they had that "received" Christ, therefore justifying the means by the ends. How culturally relevant this is to today, and how judgment and repentance is so last century. Though, not often can one give a reasonable argument from scripture to defend the practices used in many of these churches.

Alibi: Not every single thing about the church is evil. I am sure the pastor preaches on good things from time to time and uses the bible to preach. I am sure he has a zealous heart, but not always is sincerity and zealousness proof that what they say is true (ex. The Pharisees were pretty zealous). We must test a church upon scripture, and pray that they would be led to honor Christ in disciplining, discipling, teaching (the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), loving, correcting, rebuking and sacrificing for the church.

God Is In Hell

“The biggest problem the sinner has in hell is not the Devil, its God. God is in hell, actively punishing the wicked. The sinner in hell would do anything and everything he could to get God out of hell. Because the terror that men face in the judgment is God himself.” -R.C. Sproul-

Who Rules Hell?
The common idea about hell today, is that it is ruled by Satan. But what is the purpose of hell? Answer, it was originally created for the punishment of Satan and his fallen angels. Now after the fall of man, it is reserved for those who follow in the rebellion of Satan and who die in their sins. It was created by God for the punishment of the wicked. And God is actively punishing the wicked in hell for eternity.

Question
Here's a good question that R.C. Sproul asks:
"What are you saved from?"
His answer might shock some:
"You are saved from God. From being exposed to His fierce wrath and punishment."

What does the Apostle say in Hebrews? "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).

Or Paul: "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Rom. 5:9).

Changing Perspectives
Putting it in this way can change perspectives. No longer is hell the party of the devil some might think it is. Satan is not the ruler of hell, but is actively being punished by God as well.

Its possible that some may think: "If hell is a separation from God, what is so bad about that, the people who are being separated from Him never wanted to be near Him anyway."

It is true a person in hell is separated from God in one sense. They are no longer beneficiaries of God's common grace which is given to all men. "The person in the most abysmal state of suffering still enjoys some bit of the common grace of God at this moment, which would be removed entirely if they were to move to hell" (Sproul). So then they no longer experience the love, care, benevolence, grace and long suffering of God. But for all of eternity will experience His wrath, curse, anger and hate.

Hope
By the grace of God, He has given hope to all men in Christ Jesus. What Jesus underwent upon the cross, was what a sinner would experience in hell. He took upon himself the "sin of many" (Isa. 53:12), became a curse on our behalf (Gal 3:13), bore the wrath of Almighty God and was forsaken by Him(Isa. 53:4-7; Matt 27:46). Because of this, the verse I used before displays a wonderful truth: "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved through Him."

We Need More Drums, Guitars and Fireworks...

Perry Noble is one of the leading pastors in the Emerging Church Movement. Recently I was reading one of his blog posts entitled, “I Don’t See How Someone Can Worship God With A Booming Sound System” (read the article to better understand this post).

He talks about how he was listening to a man on the radio talk about how he doesn't like how worship in church has evolved. How we have gotten away from old-hymns, and organs and pianos. The man commented, "“I am not trying to be a cantankerous old man, and I have thought about it…and I just don’t see how someone can truly worship God with a booming sound system."

Apparently this drove Perry to almost killing himself. And then giving 5 questions to this man, and why he disagrees. I am going to post the questions, and then his response to the question, with my comments interjected in darker lettering. Keep in mind I probably would not have agreed with the man on the radio too much either, but I will make that more apparent later.

#1 - Is there one particular worship style that can be dictated to everyone?

"When he made his comment about the worship and sound system I said out loud, “Who in the heck are you to mandate how I worship?” (The man most likely did not claim to be the authority on how to worship, but the Bible surely is.) I have literally been moved to tears in our worship services before and have experienced the presence of God in ways that I can’t even describe (Probably chills or spine tingle, not a good way to determine God's presence)–and yes, the sound system was BOOMING! (I wonder if this would be a proper way to judge right worship of God. Are emotions the sign of the Holy Spirit? I know people who are moved to tears by sad movies, is it worship? In other words are emotions the determining factor on whether the Holy Spirit is at work? In 2 Cor. 7:9,10 Paul distinguishes between two types of sorrow over sin, one which leads to life and one to death. Could our own hearts and emotions deceive us? Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things,And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" The heart rules the emotions, tears are not always a sign that your worship or your salvation is true.)

Different worship styles work for different people–and all of them are necessary! (They are? Says who? Not the Bible ). And just because something doesn’t particularly fit with my methodology doesn’t mean that it is wrong!" (That comment may want to be looked over. Worship of God is not however you please, but what is pleasing to God.)

#2 - What did the early church do before hymns?

Seriously, if hymns are the only true way to worship ( Again...Says who? This is where I would disagree with the man on the radio, and any others who believe hymn singing is the only TRUE way.)–then how in the world did people worship for the first 1500 years of Christianity? I mean, heck, they didn’t have a book where they could sing hundreds of songs–1st, 2nd and last verse only! ( Actually there was this one book, that God actually gave to us, which happens to be a book of songs of praise, its called the Psalms. Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.")

#3 - Is it wrong for a song to repeat itself?

As I read the book of Revelation the angels seem to be pretty obsessed with singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Do they have it wrong? ( There is a bit of a difference between those saints and angels in heaven worshiping, and the corporate worship on earth here. Most people in many churches wouldn't even understand the meaning of Holy Holy Holy. Once again, in Colossians 3:16, Paul commands us to teach and admonish with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.) In Psalm 136 the writer seems to be overly obsessed with, “His love endures forever!” I guess this guy from the radio show can inform the Holy Spirit inspired author when he gets to heaven that something like this is just a little too emotional! ( Okay, well I have no problem with Psalm 136, of course he does give a full spectrum look at God's attributes, such as His goodness and mercy, His power (v.4-9), His judgment, wrath, forgiveness, and love (v.10-22). Unlike most repeating hymns of today which focus on one aspect of God, and repeat it a million times to different tunes.)

#4 - Is it wrong for music to be loud?

In reading Scripture I see many occasions in the OT where the Bible says that the sounds of the celebrations were heard far away! ( I am going to need a specific example in order to give a specific answer. If he is talking about in worship, then there were set apart groups such as the Sons of Korah who were set apart for playing music. More to say about that but just ask about it, I don't think anyone is reading anyways :P.) I also see David (a man after God’s own heart) saying in the psalms to worship the Lord with drums and cymbals (both of which are loud!) ( Instruments in worship for me, is a debatable subject really, I believe the church is better off not using them, because of the stimulation of false emotions, which I talked about above. Outside of church though, I say filly the airwaves with it.) In Revelation 7:9-10 we are told that the singing in heaven is going to be loud! (Uh, reading over the verse I hardly see this as justification for blasting music that drowns out any words in the song that may, by some randomness, have something meaningful in them.) I think its time the church STOPPED looking like a funeral parlor and started acting like the tomb is EMPTY! (Good point, lets preach the Gospel then!)

#5 - Is innovation right for one generation only?

(A better question might be, "Is innovation right for any generation?" To what extent and context do we mean this in. Issues and what the church focuses on can change over time (i.e. Abortion, Homosexuality, etc.). But the Bible is as relevant, perfect, and clear on every matter today as it was in any generation. Did Paul tell us, "Go out and innovate the world!" Definition of Innovate = "To introduce something new; make changes in anything established." Wow, that sounds a lot like what most heretics do.)
As I listened to this guy I could not help but think about recent church history. In the 1970’s and early 80’s one of the most innovative things a growing church could do was to have an orchestra. AND for some churches–THIS WAS A BATTLE! Seriously–churches split over this very issue–some people were so offended that ANY instrument other than a piano or organ (neither of which are in Scripture for the true literalist out there) would be on stage.

These guys fought that fight–they stood for “innovation,” yet they are the ones who seem to be most resistant to it today! (This really challenges me to embrace the next generation!)

Go back a little further in church history–when churches first began introducing piano’s in the worship services it was considered “worldly” and “sinful,” today it is common. Once again people fought that fight–at one time it was new and innovative. (But who said it was right?)

Heck, many of the hymns were actually bar tunes rewritten with Christ centered lyrics to minister to those far away from God. (Example?) The “Christians” of the day were most likely turned off by the way people tried to reach out “to those pagans.” NOW it is common!

It seems to me that those who fought the fight in their lifetime would actually embrace those who are thinking of fresh ways to carry Christ to the world–not resist them. (Fresh ways? There is one way, and that is by the ministering of the Word of God, and by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. No other way was commanded, and no other way is glorifying to God.)

Just my two cents…

(Okay. This is not the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen by an emerging"pastor" in the least bit. But it gives a good idea of how they think about things. Most Biblical references are stretched or taken too far to justify a point, as one might find in reading "The Purpose Driven Life." At times things are said that have no scriptural support at all, but if it works it must be right. Remember one thing, the ends do not justify the means. Just because you have 300 baptisms or "converts", or just because you have tears welling in your eyes, does not mean that the means by which to attain it were correct. In fact I could probably make myself cry right now just by listening to the Forrest Gump soundtrack or something, doesn't mean the Holy Spirit is working within me, it just means it can stir emotion.)

Meditations on Psalm 4:1

This is a verse I have been pondering as of late. Just a few things I was thinking about, and maybe you might think about as well.

NASB/ ESV/ ASV
"Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!"

KJV/ NKJV
"Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer."

Psalter which I sing from:
"Answer when I call, O God who justifies..."

"Answer me when I call, O God..." For this verse I actually prefer the KJV rendering here (not because they translated it better, both translations are perfectly fine, in fact both mean the same thing). The way the KJV has it makes my point clearer though: "Hear me" is how the KJV has it, "Answer me" is how the NASB renders the first petition. For God to "Hear" us, is for God to "Answer," at least in the case of a believer. "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive..."(Matt. 21:22) "Whatever we ask we receive from Him..."(1 John 3:22) "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him..."(1 John 5:14,15).
Thus, it follows that what we ask of God in faith we shall receive. And for the Lord to "Hear" us is to answer. "Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.."(end of v. 1), this having the same conotation. Its no wonder that in the verse after next, David says, "The Lord Hears when I call to Him." He knows the Lord hears his cries, and He is not afraid of the enemies pursuing him, for he knows that God will answer.

"O God of my righteousness..." C.H. Spurgeon, has a good thing to say of this particular part of the 1st verse, it goes along with how I viewed it. He states, "The name by which the Lord is here addressed...deserves notice, since it is not used in any other part of scripture. It means 'Thou art the author, the Witness, the Maintainer, the Judge, and the Rewarder of my righteousness; to thee I appear from the calumnies and harsh judgments of men'"(Treasury of David, Psalm IV, P.34). This, a righteousness not of our own but a gift of God through Christ. The imputation of which was divinely orchestrated by the work of the Holy Spirit. The psalter renders it, "O God who justifies." Rightly so, since the same Hebrew word can mean justify as well. To be justified is to be seen as righteous in the eyes of God. There is not way to this, but by faith in Christ, and the alien-righteousness (not belonging to us) imputed to our account.

2 Cor. 5:21
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Worship Of A Holy God

Hello. Figured its been a while, perhaps I'd write something, and I figured might as well write about something I was thinking about recently.

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'"
-Leviticus 10:1-3-

I like this verse whenever I think about the topic of worship. At one point in my life I would have read this verse and thought, "wow, thats pretty harsh for something that doesn't seem so serious."

Perhaps this type thinking is the cause of some atheistic arguments such as, why is the whole race damned because of such a small sin as eating of a fruit (Gen. 2:17) or perhaps the example of Uzzah with the ark, struck down by the Lord because he attempted to catch the ark so it wouldn't hit the ground (2 Samuel 6:6,7).

I joined the Reformed Presbyterian Church last October, since coming to that church there has certainly been a change in the way I have viewed worship.

Worship is not to be taken lightly. I fear the church of America today is more than guilty of this sin. Looking at the verse above brings a few things into mind:
1. Think of it for a minute. If one takes a look at the state of the church, and takes an honest look at it, it won't be long for you to come to the conclusion that its mostly man-centered worship, not God-centered. The mentality of most church-goers is "what do I want out of a church?" When really it would be in their best interest to say "what does God want out of a church, or out of my worship?" To be honest I don't know how many specific scriptures proof-texts I need for that statement, as this should be common knowledge amongst Christians.
2. Reverence. Thats a forgotten word no? Most Christians today wouldn't want you to "fear God" but to "revere Him," though even that reverence is non-existent in any form, in anything from worship to Christian living. Its assumed that God is just your buddy or pal, He isn't concerned at all about how you worship Him. Well looking at that verse above it just doesn't catch me that way, of course then again it is just the Old Testament [sarcasm intended].
3. God takes it very serious I promise. "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns!'" (2 Chronicles 16:29-31). That passage has a few things to note:
a. He is holy. Many passages could suffice for this, its just one of those known facts, yet it seems to be not so known after all in today's Christianity. He is holy, and He will be worshiped as such.
b. Something is due to Him. Perhaps thanks, praise, worship...your life as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Its a joke to most, like I stated before most want whats in it for them, proving the paper-thinness of their "Christianity."
4. The danger of "unauthorized fire" is very serious. Obviously this "unauthorized fire" had serious implications. Looking at that verse makes me think very carefully about what I bring to worship God with, how I go about preparing my mind and heart. Though once again, the church today wouldn't give a verse such as this very much thought. Not concerned at all what is pleasing to God much of the world has creeped into the church, Satan is having a field day with most churches who think they are doing the work of the Lord.
5. Sincerity is not an issue. Most would argue that churches are being sincere and really trying in what they do to bring more to Christ, and in trying to worship God. Sincerity has been placed in front of the word of God. As my pastor put it, "Muslims are sincere does that mean they're going to heaven?"

Give it serious thought, worship is meant for the Lord, reading through the Bible does not leave the impression that God is not serious about what He says.

Part 5 - If God Isn't Sovereign

Then prayer is meaningless.

Think of the things you pray for (i.e. the salvation of others, the spreading of the gospel, the spreading of the kingdom, your own personal faith, hope, and love, etc.). Okay now imagine a God who has no power over any of those things, or in other words, imagine Him as most people do.

Though no one will outright say this type of thing, it is the inevitable conclusion of their thought of God.

Think about it:
1) If God is not sovereign in the spreading of the gospel and conversion of souls, then why pray to God that it will be done?

2) If God is not sovereign in the Christian life, in the providence He has in your life (cf. Rom. 8:28), and in conforming you to the image of the Son (2 Thess 2:13, Heb. 12:2), then why pray to Him. Just do it yourself. By your own will defeat satan, by your own will transform your heart and rid it of evil, by your own will build up faith and hope and love.

But! If you believe in a sovereign God. A working and active and living God. A God working through you and through the word by His Holy Spirit ...then pray to Him. Pray for the salvation of souls, pray for the advance of the kingdom of Christ, pray for holiness and sanctification, pray for the care of others and for the perseverance of brothers and sisters in Christ.

You have two ways you can think of prayer. 1) A casual talk with God. One in which you merely tell Him about how your going to do things by your own strength. 2) A plea for the working of God. That His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

"Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him..." -Matthew 6:8-

Use the means God has given. Glorify Him and praise His name in prayer, and pray that His will would be done.

Part 4 - If God Isn't Sovereign

If God isn't sovereign would salvation exist? Is the free-will of man the deciding factor? Many people have a difficult time reconciling their free-will and God's sovereignty in their salvation.

Does man have free-will?
Yes.

Its a road with two ditches. Some will take sovereignty to the extreme, where man has no free-will and God forces man to have every thought and take every action, thus leaving them unaccountable. The other side would be to say man has complete free-will to do things good (in God's eyes) and to do things bad.

Almost seems paradoxical, but the question is:
How can man have free-will and yet not be able to do good or bad by choice?Simply put, man, or really anything for that matter, acts according to its nature. Man cannot do the things which please God (especially regenerate and save themselves), apart from God causing a change in nature in the man. Man is "by nature children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3), man cannot act contradictory to his fallen sinful nature.

Think of it this way. God has a free-will, no one will argue with that, but God cannot do evil. Why not? Because His nature is good.

But God is sovereign, while he does not force us to do good or evil against our free-will, He is the only one capable of the change of nature we so desperately need. The only one capable of resurrecting our souls which are "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1).

Salvation from beginning to end is the sovereign actions taken by God. People don't argue as much that God is working in their lives after conversion, or that he was providentially working before their conversion, but if you tell many people that it was God who gave them life and the ability to even come to Him, they are offended. May God be thanked and praised for his sovereign work in conversion.

Part 3 - If God Isn't Sovereign

In the last post I mentioned the verse:

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28-

This verse is a wonderful promise to believers. But, before you meditate upon this verse, or go off making up your own meaning for it, I think there are a few misunderstandings of the meaning of this great verse.

What it is not saying:
It is not saying that God is going to allow only good things to happen to you all the time, or that He will never let anything bad come into your life. Don't be so vain. The Christian life is not all "butterflies and green fields" (Julianna Weaver; I may misquoted, but you get the point). Just take examples from Job, Jeremiah, Jesus, Peter, Stephen, Paul. Especially take a look at the experiences of Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, and let me know if thats the idea of mainstream, pop-psychology, self-help, health and wealth "Christianity" of today.

What it is saying:
What may look to you like horrible situations and things you would classify in the "not good things" category are in the end brought back to your personal good. God's providence is beyond measure, it is hard to fathom how it is that He has so ordained all things to take place down to the minutest detail so that in the end it would work out for the good of those who are called according to His purpose. Take a minute to look back on your life, imagine every small detail, every instance where had you made a different decision you may not be where you are today, a Christian blessed by God. God has guided your feet to the place you now stand. Even think of "bad" situations and what good came out of many of them: i.e. faith and obedience are strengthened, lessons are learned, people that have encouraged you in your walk may have been met along the way.

The point is, "If God Is Not Sovereign" then He does not know your steps or your directions, He is not able to bring all things together for the good of those called according to His purpose. The thought contradicts the scripture.

God is sovereign and God is bringing all things in your life together for good, the ultimate good, eternal life in heaven praising Jesus Christ.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." -Matthew 10:29-31-

Further Reading:
The Mystery of Providence - John Flavel
All Things for Good - Thomas Watson

Honestly I have only read the first one, but I know the other will be good because Thomas Watson is a great writer. Both of these guys are Puritans, and in my opinion Puritans have left behind Christian writings that are unparalled. Check these books out.

Part 2 - If God Isn't Sovereign

Perhaps I'll speak first of God's sovereignty in His acts of providence. In light of the Virginia Tech incident, I believe this might be a proper place to start. Some, in these times, will turn to God for comfort and peace, yet, at the same time many may be hardened at a time like this.

The questions arise amongst natural unbelieving man, perhaps even amongst some Christians, how can God let such things happen? Where was God in all this? Why do bad things happen to good people? These questions are nothing new though. Throughout history we have seen genocides, world wars, mass murders, and pain and suffering. For a mind set at enmity with God, its easy to have such objections to a "loving and all-powerful" God , who seems to have no problem with letting these things happen to people.

So then what is the response? Is God not all-knowing, all-powerful, and sovereign over all things? Are these things out of his control or unknown to Him before they happen? Of course not.Lets think for a minute. Who gives life? Most atheist/agnostics love to point out that God kills many many people in the Bible, and they ask, is He not evil? If they stopped and thought of the absurdity of the remark they may not have asked such a question in the first place. The only reason they have enough breath to utter such a comment is because of God's sustaining grace.

Job understood the implications after his sons and daughters were killed, he didn't blame Satan or some other cause he says:

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." -Job 1:21-

Job understood the sovereignty of God's action, God willed it and it was done, God gives and sustains life and God can easily take that away. For the grieving Christian parent of a child who died in such an atrocity, they can say with Job these same words and be comforted that in such trials and in such pain the Lord has promised something very very comforting:

"We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28-

I do not wish to trivialize the mourning and the grief, I cannot even fathom the depth of sorrow in such an event, but I do know this much, the Lord's hand is in all things and he will bring good out of evil for all believers. I'll come back to providence because of course there is much more that can be said of the mystery of God's providence.

Part 1 - If God Isn't Sovereign

What suffers? Is it merely as trivial as people pretend it to be? Is God's sovereignty in salvation and in providence a thing to be swept under the proverbial rug? Can it be said that God's sovereignty is something higher than we can understand so we should just leave it to God?

Here is where I believe we have a major disconnect in the church. In God's sovereignty, in His election, in His calling, justification and in His providence. I think of it this way. When I go to the range to qualify with my rifle, I look at the target (300 meters away) through the rear and front sights. Say I was off by a centimeter to the left, from where I am that doesn't seem to be so far off, but 300 meters down range that could be 2 or 3 feet to the left.

It can be applied to the sovereignty of God in this way. People deem election or predestination not that big of a deal, if one person believes it and another doesn't its not that much of a difference how much could it possibly affect? I mean those are things higher than us anyway, they aren't for us to worry about.

But go down the range (in theory) and when you get to the target you're way off. You have churches which are more man-centered than God-centered, and worship that cares more about entertainment than worship, so on and so on.

The sovereignty of God is a complete world-view, it will sway your thinking and your approach to an all-holy all-sovereign God. I'll do a couple posts thinking about some of the things this effects, such as: worship, evangelism, Christian living and persecution, and perhaps other things as I think of them.

God Bless.

Easter/Christmas...Christian?

There are a few things that this note is not arguing against nor am I completely against the holidays them self. This is not against the gathering together of families, I am not addressing that. Furthermore, this is not against the observance of the birth, death, or resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In actuality the purpose behind the note is to prove the the lack of care for Jesus' birth, death and resurrection, and the way in which "Christians" give little care to these matters all the other days of the year and how Churches go about their Easter Sunday "service." But that will become clear, and other matters of disagreement will come out.

I am going to go ahead and leave out the fact that both Christmas and Easter are holidays which the Roman Catholic Church have instituted and intermixed with Pagan traditions, because this really has little to do with the matter at hand, whether the Jehovah's Witnesses want it to or not.

Firstly
I am ardently against those who presume to make this day more important than any other day. One will notice quickly that Churches fill to about twice their normal attendance. Every nominal Christian without a care for Jesus in the least bit, suddenly flocks to the pews. As if this day were now more fixed upon by God than any other day, these "Christians" of apostate tendencies think themselves to be doing a better service to their own self and to God by showing an appreciation for at least one day out of the year.

Easter more than Christmas tends to have this traditional importance for some reason. I would reason from that evidence, that it would probably be a wiser thing for them if they didn't step in on God's solemn and reverent worship.

Let me qualify though, I'd fear that some would think I don't want unbelievers to come to church and hear the word of God preached. That is not my point, the point is that most of these people have heard the message and more than probably made a "decision" for Christ at one point, and have now deemed it unimportant to worship God every Sunday or to fellowship with the children of God.

The fact is, I have seen this all too many times, someone who says they are "saved" but lives like Jesus didn't exist or doesn't care, but thinks that going to church on Easter will make up for it (this happens more than on Easter, it may be a weekly thing as well, a nominal Christian feels they can live the way they wish, as long as they wipe the slate clean on Sunday).

Secondly
The way some Churches go about Easter Sunday. Say you do get a larger crowd that day (with the above point in mind) and then preach a sermon that is about 10 minutes long so you don't bore those who came, and then have a little Easter Special or a children's play or a whole bunch of solos and video clips to entertain the unbelieving crowd.

For example, I went to a friend's church on Christmas Eve this last year, had about a 20 minute sermon, with virtually no Gospel presentation. Then to top it off canceled that evening's service, so that we could "spend time with family and not worry about Church tonight." I'm not sure what I deem more important on such a day, spending time with family, or worshiping the Christ who saved our souls so we could even enjoy a family (sarcasm).

The day is, for some odd reason, set aside as more special than the rest. Sermons are cut shorter, sermons are watered down, church cancellation, etc. Why? Why not just continue exegetically going through the Bible as you should be, contemplating the birth, life, death, resurrection, intercession, every Sunday?

Thirdly
I'll address this quickly. The world has attempted to take these holidays which are supposedly centered around Christ and turned them into egg painting, wreath hanging holidays. What's worse is that Christians have given into it, we delude the children of America with fairy tales of bunny rabbits and fat men with flying reindeer, instead of presenting them with the Gospel from the very day they can comprehend it.

Lastly
A proposal. Say we didn't treat these days so much different, what if instead we got rid of them, how bad would it be? Would "American Christianity" crash and burn to the ground? So be it, if that is what is holding it up, if it's the fact that we get free presents and a day out of the year to pretend we are Christian. I wonder if true Christians in oppressive countries are worried about two days out of the year, or if they worship God how He is to be worshiped.

I firmly believe that Christmas and Easter are to be celebrated every single day I am alive. With any true faithful Christian, we should be praising God every hour of the day for the Birth, the Death, the Resurrection, the Justification, the Mercy, and the Grace that has been so freely and so wonderfully bestowed unto us, God's chosen people. What if we were more worried about that, or more excited about that, than the prospect of free gifts, money, and one day out of the year we get to wear our new Easter clothes.

And if you are going to set these days aside in Church for a special message or if you are going to celebrate it with family, then remember the Lord your God, who died and rose and took upon your sins so that you might be justified and imputed His righteousness, all of your days.

"I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!" -Psalm 34:1-3-

"I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever." -Psalm 145:1-2-

Any Thoughts? There's gotta be some.

A Test of Faith

Test yourself with all honesty, to fail at one of these points is not to say you are a false Christian...but I believe it is to the benefit of your soul to consider these questions.

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" -2 Cor. 13:5-

1. Is Christ the Lord of your life? Would you give up all for Him and deny yourself? Would you give up your possesions, family, friends or even your life for Him? (Matt. 10:37, Luke 14:26)

Christians are to be willing to give up all if asked to do so, if Christ were to ask you to sell all and follow Him (Mark 10:21) that you would do it without a second glance back (Luke 9:62). The Christian must be willing to deny them self and take up their cross and follow after Christ with their whole heart (Mark 8:34). Self-denial is an absolute must in the Christian faith, it is a question of whether or not you are in humble reliance upon God or if you rely upon your own strength.

2. Do you cherish the commandments of God? Do you wish nothing more than to be conformed to the image of the Son and to keep the commandments which Christ has given us? (Psa. 19 and 119)

The Christian is commanded to keep the commandments (Matt. 19:17). The way in which a Christian knows that they know Christ Jesus is if he loves and keeps His commandments (1 John 2:3). Thus they will abide in the love of Christ (John 15:10).

3. Do you love sin? Is there sin in your life that you attempt to hide or make out to seem not as sinful so that you may continue to have it in your life? (Rom. 6:2, Rom. 6:11) And when you do sin, do you acknowledge and confess it to God and trust in Christ for your forgiveness? (1 John 1:6-10)

Christians are to flee all youthful lust (2 Tim. 2:22), to abstain from all forms of evil (1 Thess. 5:22), to keep from foolish and crude talk (Eph. 5:4), sexual immorality, drunkeness, fornication, etc. (Gal. 5:21, Col. 3:5), to present our members as instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6:13), and to cast away those things which cause us to sin (Matt. 5:29,30). Christians hate sin because God hates sin, and what God hates we must and what God loves we must love.

4. Is every single day for you a battle to deny yourself and to fight sin with all your might? Is your battle with sin non-existent? Though you do not always succeed at defeating temptation do you wage war on it and pray to God to strengthen you against it? (Rom. 6 entire chapter)

The Christian must find their pleasure and delight in Christ Jesus, they must fight sin and strive to enter the narrow gate (Luke 13:24). The Christian must run the race with endurance (Heb. 12:1), fight the fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12, 2 Tim 4:7), and to take on the full armor of God in order to defeat the schemes of the evil one (Eph. 6:11,13). A sure sign of whether or not you are a Christian is whether or not there is a desire to fight the indwelling sin within you. If you do not wage war on sin, or think that it is no big deal because you think God doesn't care, or you think now that you are in Christ you can do what you want, you have made a deadly mistake. See point 3 as well.

5. Is your full trust in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ? Or do you rely on some righteousness of yourself, attempting to work your way into favor with God or with men or impress either? (Rom. 4:2, Eph. 2:8,9)

Whether Christian or not, the one thing that must be understood is that it is not by any works of your own. It is not your decision, your parents decision, your church's decision, its not by your works, by your deeds, even by your faith that you are saved, but by the grace of God Almighty (Eph. 2:8). You receive that grace through faith (Rom. 5:17, John 1:12) and repentance (Acts 3:19). Christian, even as a believer it is not your works that maintain your state of grace, but once again it is God who upholds you in the faith (Heb. 12:2). So then trust fully in Christ for your justification, sanctification, and glorification.

6. Is the worship of God even enjoyable to you (Psa. 99:9)? Is Church on Sunday a burden to you, do you love the brethren and love their fellowship (1 John 3:15)? Is prayer a non-essential (Rom. 12:12)? Is fellowship, communion, and meditation with God and on the work of God in your life present at any time (Psa. 77:12)? Is reading your Bible more of a duty or do you seek to know God more and cherish His word (Josh. 1:8, Psa. 119:105)?

Ask yourself something, Christian, if you cannot stand to be in the presence of God now or in the presence of His people (1 John 4:20), how then will you do it for an eternity? You may not have to worry about it.

7. Do you give all the thanks, praise and glory to God?

This is very important in a man-centered world, and even in a man-centered church, where most theology is how can man do things without God. All thanksgiving must be given to God (Col. 2:6,7), and all praise, exaltation, and worship must be given to God for who He is and what love He has shown you (Psa. 22:23).

8. Conclusion

While there may be others I could have put on here, these are some of the ones I wished to address. To fail at one of these points is not to say you are not a Christian, in fact I do not believe 2 Cor. 13:5 to be saying test yourself at how good you are doing or how bad you are doing, but to test whether or not you rely and trust in Christ Jesus for all of your righteousness, faith, hope, love, forgiveness, redemption, sanctification, perseverance, so on and so forth.

Test yourself. Trust in Jesus Christ. And pray to God to be sanctifying you daily, handing over all to Him and casting yourself at the feet of Jesus, and have faith in Him who is faithful.

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
-Romans 5:1,2-

Roman IX (God's Vessels)

Verses 19-24
(Bible)

If God hath absolute sovereignty over the salvation or reprobation of man such as just shown in the past verses about Pharaoh. And if God can harden a man's heart and leave the man empty of saving grace then the question from prideful, boastful, arrogant men naturally arises: "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?" As I asked earlier in verse 14, where a question is similarly asked, does your doctrine of election warrant this type of response? For most, the doctrine of election is bent in order to make it more appealing and more understandable to our human minds, this great doctrine suffers greatly because of its misunderstanding. Nevertheless the matter remains in the hand of God, and so the question above arises, which Paul doesn't necessarily answer more than he just makes it very clear that we are nothing to question the wise counsel of God. "But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?'"(cf. Isaiah 45:9).

This to Paul is absurd, for men to think they have any jurisdiction whatsoever to question God in His dealings with His own salvation. Paul declares the Lord as sovereign over all.

"Who art thou, thou that art so foolish, so feeble, so short-sighted, so incompetent a judge of divine counsels? Art thou able to fathom such a depth, dispute such a case, to trace that way of God which is in the sea, His path in the great waters? That repliest against God. It becomes us to submit to Him, not to reply against Him; to lie down under His hand, not to fly in His face, nor to charge Him with folly...we are the thing formed, and He is the former; and it does not become us to challenge or arraign His wisdom in ordering and disposing of us into this or that shape of figure. The rude and unformed mass of matter hath no right to this or that form, but is shaped at the pleasure of Him that formeth it." (Henry)

Paul then gives a comparison: "Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?" I think this proves the arbitrary and sovereign work of God in how He chooses to form the vessels that He does. We are all of the same lump of clay, no one more deserving than another. As the potter has the right to take a lump of clay and form one into a vessel for honor so he also has that same right to use some of the clay for dishonor.

"What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory..."

"What if..." has been taken by Calvin and most other theologians, not as a hypothetical statement, but as a more or less "so what" kind of statement. It is indeed a statement made in human terms but Paul is not giving a statement that would not be true of how it is God deals with His creation.

In order to make His power known and to show His wrath He, "endures with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction..." God is here pleased to show His righteous and great power in the destruction of the wicked. "Vessels of wrath" who are "prepared" as Henry would say, "fitted by their own sin and self-hardening...[and are made] combustible matter, fit for the flames of hell"(Henry).

Now there is a bit of a difference between the commentaries on double-predestination and God withholding saving graces. To be honest I am not going to go into any kind of differences or debate on a doctrine which really has "indirect bearing on Christian behavior"(Reformation Bible).

You'll notice here that all of this is to "His glory." The way in which He deals with those vessels fitted for wrath is to display the greatness and riches of His glory by the mercy He shows the vessels which He has chosen.

The end of all things that God has created is to display His glory. Everything from election to salvation to glorification and judgment are to display the greatness of God. Even the vessels fitted for wrath will make a display of that greatness, whether an unbeliever wishes to glorify God or not, he will do it one way or another.

"...us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles..." Simply put the God gives mercy to all different people, not of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles.

Citation:
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*Calvin Commentary
*Reformation Study Bible