What's Importunity Mean?

Importunate:
–adjective

1.	urgent or persistent in solicitation, sometimes annoyingly so.

2.	pertinacious, as solicitations or demands.

3.	troublesome; annoying: importunate demands from the children for attention.

I was given the book "The Valley of Vision" (Leather Bound) by my roommate, Logan (A very nice gift by the way). On the first page was written "May you learn to pray with importunity," and of course I had no idea what that meant. I must confess, I should have known, and perhaps all Christians should know, if not in dictionary terms then at least practically.

Instead of dictionary terms, may I set before you a story that I would commend to your reading (It is from the Bible. The Chapter XV of Matthew. Verses 21-28), and it goes like this:

Behold, a woman of Canaan came...to [Jesus], saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

What does importunity mean? This example gives a better definition than the dictionary. It is not an abstract definition but a feeling all can relate to. Yet how often do we neglect prayer as unprofitable and at times give it up as though there were no use in it? Unbelief gets the better of us.

I have at times felt my prayers unheard, unanswered, and rejected, so then the thought creeps into my head, "What's the use? Why bother? If it hasn't come yet, it never will."

O God, forgive me of those thoughts, and may this Canaanite woman come to mind whenever I feel like I might give in to those thoughts.

Importunity is a quality many lack, and it is one we must acquire. At first Jesus may seem to ignore, He may seem to reject, but be of good cheer, if you ask it in faith He will hear and He will answer. To ask and to give up after days of not being answered, is not asking in faith. The moment you doubt Jesus' willingness and ability, you have allowed sin to get the better of you. Never stop seeking...never stop knocking.

"My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up." -Psalm 5:3

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." -Psalm 7:7

"If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." -John 14:14

Believe In Me

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. -John 14:1

Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. -John 14:11

While you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you may become sons of light. -John 12:36

[Jesus] said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." -John 20:27

Demand numero cinco, Jesus says "Believe in Me." Unfortunately this simple command has been turned into a complicated debate. What was once an easily understood word in Orthodoxy has be made to mean more than its original intention, and less.

Piper begins with the reason of why we must believe in Jesus, and why He commands that we do so. "The reason Jesus demands that we believe in Him is that all human beings are in a desperate situation, and only Jesus can rescue us" (Piper, pg. 48). Belief in Jesus is that only thing which reconciles us to God the Father (Romans 5:1), since none are righteous (Romans 3:10), and Jesus was perfectly righteous and without sin, we must believe in His work on the cross in order to be imputed with His righteousness which He freely gives (2 Cor 5:21). That is the reason in a nutshell.

What is it that only Jesus can rescue us from? Piper gives the passage John 3:16-18, 36 and asks that you give notice to the words "perish," "condemned," and "wrath of God."

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God...Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The "desperate situation" we are in, is brought upon us by our sin which is why repentance is key (see Demand 2, "Repent").

"God Sent Jesus to Die in Our Place"
This is the subheading for the next part. I touched on this briefly, but Pastor Piper goes into a little more detail on the subject.

"The amazing truth is that God has sent His Son Jesus into the world not to add to this condemnation, but to rescue us from it...the way Jesus rescues us is by taking the condemnation on himself, dying in our place, and then demanding not heroic acts of penance but that we trust in Him" (Piper, pg. 49).

Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Jesus intentionally laid down His life for His elect (sheep), to rescue us from our depravity was the purpose all along. Consider Isaiah 53 in relation to Christ's fulfillment of this prophecy:

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Preferably read the entire chapter, and keep in mind the Prophecy was given 700 before Jesus came to fulfill it)

It is simply a matter of belief in what Christ has done in your place, resting on those promises of redemption and reconciliation, and one will be saved. There is nothing you can add, because you can never do what Jesus did, attempting by your own good works is a waste of time and a minimizing of the work of Jesus on your behalf.

"What does believing in Jesus Mean?"
If believing in Jesus is the only way to inherit eternal life and be at peace with God, then obviously it would be important to understand what it means to "believe" in Jesus.

Firstly, it is true that it is the belief of historical facts, that He was a real person, who really did live a perfect life, and died on the cross, and rose again on the third day. He says to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe" (John 20:27). But this is a limited answer, and it is one that is popular among the "free grace movements" which make belief nothing more than intellectual consent with no trust in the person and Lordship of Jesus Christ (therefore cheapening His work), so then Piper makes a qualifying statement:

"Believing in Jesus means more than knowing true things about Jesus. It means trusting Him as a living person for who He really is. This is why Jesus spoke of simply believing in Him. "Believe in God; believe also in Me" (John 14:1; cf. Matt. 18:6). Believing in Jesus is more than believing about Jesus. We trust Him" (Piper, pg. 50).

"Being Satisfied With All That God Is For Us In Jesus"
Piper takes these verses:
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37).

"Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14).

And he states,

"In another place Jesus connected this drinking with believing in Him and coming to Him: 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst' (John 6:35). In other words, believing in Jesus and drinking the water that wells up to eternal life are the same (Piper, pg.51)."

Piper makes a good observation in saying that merely believing that water will quench your thirst is not enough, you must trust that it is able to do so in the first place. So not only drinking that life-giving water but trusting that Jesus is able to give you that life-giving water.

"Believing in Jesus includes drinking Jesus as the soul-thirst-quenching water of life. That is, it means savoring and being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus" (Piper, pg. 51).

We must realize that Jesus did not only come to rescue us from the condemnation we deserve, but to satisfy our souls with this life-giving water and eternal life.

"This is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

Citation:
Piper, John. "What Jesus Demands from the World" Crossway Books Copyright © 2006. DG. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.com.
ESV Bible

Come To Me

Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. -Matthew 11:28

Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink." -John 7:37

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger." -John 6:35

You refuse to come to Me that you may have life. -John 5:40

When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out. -John 11:43-44

Demand #3. "Come to Me." Like repentance and rebirth this is an essential command, not just because it is necessary but because it is a wonderful promise. At this point, the awakened sinner discovers what is truly important, that being Jesus. At one point it was the pleasures of life, clothes, food, family, jobs, retirement, sex, and on and on. "But when God gives the radical change of new birth and repentance, Jesus Himself becomes our supreme treasure" (Piper, pg. 44).

John Piper begins by stating as the Bible does, that "His yoke is easy, and His burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). When we come to Jesus it is not burdensome,

"Jesus did not come into the world mainly to bring a new religion or a new law. He came to offer Himself for our eternal enjoyment and to do whatever He had to do-- including death-- to remove every obstacle to this everlasting joy in Him" (Piper, pg. 44,45).

Piper continues to make a very good point here, by contrasting what Christ brings to the world as opposed to every other world religion. This is in fact what separates Christianity from all other religions, and proves its validity, that this religion is one based on faith alone in Christ Jesus. We look all over the world and look at religions such as Hinduism, Islam and even Judaism, and see people laboring under "heavy loads" to earn favor with their god or gods. "[Jesus] did not come to replace that God-appeasing load with another one. He came to carry that load and call us to Himself for rest" (Piper, pg. 45). Amen and Amen. That is why Christianity offers hope to a world full of hopelessness.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

The next thing point out is that there is a yoke and there is a burden, "there would be no demands if this were not true" (Piper, pg. 45), but it is a light one.

His next subtitle is "There is a Burden, but it's not Jesus." While Jesus offers a light load, He also says this, "The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life" (Matthew 7:14). This is what Piper says to this,

"The reason it is hard is not because Jesus is a hard taskmaster. It's hard because the world is a hard place to enjoy Jesus above all...besides our sin, many people are angered that we do not love what they love" (Piper, pg. 45).

But Jesus is that load-lifter and an our help in these situations, He offers us food and drink (John 6:35, 7:37), and the promise that He will be our help, that He will satisfy us when we go through these times, if we will obey His demands to come to Him.

"You refuse to come to Me that you may have life" (John 5:40). The fact is many will not come, and while many say this is simply the man acting upon his free-will, it is a little more than just that. We cannot say that man has the free-will in the sense that he has the ability (apart from God) to actually come to Jesus, but must say that man's free-will is enslaved to his nature, which is one of sin. "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). "The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light...everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light" (John 3:19-20). "[You] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (Ephesians 2:3). And so on the Bible proclaims that man is bent toward sin, and is not able apart from God's regenerating grace to actually come to Jesus.

"How then has anyone ever come, since we are all enslaved to sin and spiritually dead? Jesus' answer was that God, in His great mercy, overcomes our resistance and draws us: 'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him' (John 6:44). 'No once can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father' (John 6:65)" (Piper, pg. 47).

When we are freed from slavery we come to Christ, not by works but by Him who calls (Romans 9:11).

Citation:
Piper, John. "What Jesus Demands from the World" Crossway Books Copyright © 2006. DG. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.com.
ESV Bible

Repent

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
-Matt. 4:17

I have no come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. -Luke 5:32

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. -Matt. 12:41

Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. -Luke 13:3,5

The Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon, called it Christ's first and last subject (referring to Matt 4:17 and Luke 24:47). Repentance. There are subjects in Christian doctrine which, I admit, can be disagreed upon (i.e. baptism, worship practices, eschatology), this is not one of them. To be unrepentant and consider yourself a Christian is contrary to scripture and logic, but more importantly scripture, and will lead to ruin.

We must first understand what repentance is, and I think Piper gives a few good points on this subject. Firstly he looks at the Greek word that we get repent from (μετανοέω, metanoeō), and separates them into their two parts: meta and noeō, noeō referring to the mind, its thoughts, perceptions, etc. and meta referring to change or movement. The first point he is attempting to prove is that repentance is more than just "mere sorrow for sin or mere improvement of behavior" (Piper, pg. 40), but a change of mind and heart.

The problem with most professing Christians, is they believe repentance to be simply changing your outward lifestyle such as not drinking, not cussing, not having sex until marriage, and so on. But this is not the meaning, though external changes will certainly result from internal changes, the focus is on the internal. So then, "we may infer that the basic meaning of repent is to experience a change of mind's perceptions and dispositions and purposes" (Piper, pg. 41), namely, to see God as good and holy and worthy of obedience, and seeing the things we once loved (sin) as evil and corrupt and contrary to the law of God.

Next, Piper gives a passage which points to the meaning just given in Luke 3:8, "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance." There are those who believe that with faith comes no new obedience to the Lord, yet this passage shows that where an inward change occurs outward fruit is brought forth.

"This change leads to the fruits of new behavior. Repentance is not the new deeds, but the inward change that bear the fruit of new deeds. Jesus is demanding that we experience this inward change" (Piper, pg. 41).

But why must we repent? Because we are all sinners, "I have no come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32), in other words he doesn't come to call those who think they are already righteous but those who see their own sin and are in need of repentance. One of the things we must know is that sin is an offense to man in most cases, but that is not our biggest problem, sin is an offense and assault on a holy and righteous God. As the prodigal son says when he returns, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you" (Luke 15:13), it is an offense against heaven.

Pastor Piper points to the Lord's prayer where it is said, "Forgive us our debts, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us" (Luke 11:4).

"Therefore, Jesus' view of sin is that it dishonors God and puts us in debt to restore the divine honor we had defamed by our God-belittling behavior or attitudes" (Piper, pg. 42).

Jesus has paid this debt yet in order to benefit from that we are commanded to repent, it is an essential part of belief itself.

"Repenting means experiencing a change of mind so that we can see God as true and beautiful and worthy of all our praise and all our obedience. This change of mind also embraces Jesus in the same way" (Piper, pg. 42).

Next Piper proves the universal needs for repentance. But as with most of these commands it is enough to say that they are required of all men as much as belief in Christ is required for salvation.

Piper, then goes into why there is such an urgency for this message of repentance, because of the judgment that is surely coming. "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3,5). They will perish if they do not repent, "The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here" (Matt. 12:41).

"Jesus, the Son of God, is warning people of the judgment to come and is offering escape if we will repent. If we will not repent, Jesus has one message for us: 'Woe to you' (Matt. 11:21)" (Piper, pg. 43).

This is why Spurgeon called it His first and last message, because it was, and the reason it was, was because of its importance. Anyone who dupes you into thinking there is not much importance in it, that it is not necessary is telling a lie.

I have a few personal caveats for this subject:

1) There are those that you repent once and it is a done deal, as though repentance were not a continual process. They believe that that one repentance covers all sins past, present and future. But just as the Greek word for believe implies a continuance of belief, so repent has the implication of continued repentance. Just as you cannot believe that Christ is savior of your soul one day, and not believe it the next, so you cannot be penitent one day and not be the next.

2) This subject is confused, and there are those who will criticize those who believe in repentance before justification, and consider them legalist and preaching a works salvation (as though repentance were a work). If this is something that might bother you, consider the fact that before God caused your rebirth (regeneration) you were dead in trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1), and unable to submit to the will of God, nor could you (Rom. 8:7). But when God, by His grace, give you life and a new heart, he also grants you faith (Eph. 2:8) and repentance (Ezekiel 36:27). In other words what God commands of you, He also grants you. Thus, salvation by Grace ALONE, apart from works.


Citation:
Piper, John. "What Jesus Demands from the World" Crossway Books Copyright © 2006. DG. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.com.
ESV Bible
ESV Bible

You Must Be Born Again

Jesus answered..."Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'" -John 3:5,7

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless on is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." -John 3:3 (esv)

Piper begins with the first demand of Jesus, and certainly the most important one in relation to the state of our soul. It is Piper's first focus, and it is the first teaching of Jesus found in the Gospel of John, when speaking with the Pharisee Nicodemus. Obviously, if this is an important one it would be prudent of us to fully understand it. Note: Most do not. Often Regeneration (as it is also referred to ) is just blurred into the word salvation, and most confuse regeneration with justification, they are connected but separate.

Jesus gives this demand to Nicodemus and his response is, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" (John 3:4) Which Jesus then asks, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?" (John 3:10) Why?

Piper's first subheading in the chapter is "A New Spirit I Will Put Within You", wherein he describes why it is that Nicodemus should know its meaning. Being a Jewish leader he was well versed in the Hebrew scriptures (OT), and knew well that God had referred to this process before. Piper references Ezekiel 36:25-27:

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (kjv, I have highlighted some actions of God, because I will make a point about that later. Just know God causes these actions and responses)

Which Piper compares to John 3:5, which states, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

"God promises cleansing from sin and the gift of a new human spirit by the presence of His own divine Spirit" (Piper, pg. 38). Jesus thinks the link should be clear, but it isn't for Nicodemus, so Jesus describes further, "That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6).

To understand the new birth rightly we must first understand our condition before God worked His spirit within us. Piper titles the subtitle, "The Dead Cannot See." We are by nature flesh, born of flesh, and by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). "We are not born spiritually alive with a heart that loves God. We are born spiritually dead" (Piper, pg. 38). We must understand that we are indeed spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1), I think this John Calvin quote makes a good case for depravity:

"By the phrase born again is expressed not the correction of one part, but the renovation of the whole nature. Hence it follows, that there is nothing in us that is not sinful; for if reformation is necessary in the whole and in each part, corruption must have been spread throughout" (Calvin Commentaries on John 1-11).

Lastly to be understood is who it is that works this new birth within us. Above I highlighted the actions that God takes in the Spirit being placed in us. Jesus says it like this in John 3:8, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not now where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (The wind is the same as the Spirit).

"We do not cause ourselves to be born again. The Spirit does that. And the Spirit is free and blows in ways we do not comprehend. We must be born again. But this is a gift of God" (Piper, pg. 39).

I think Piper closes out the subject better than I ever could:

"Look away from yourself. Seek from God what He alone can do for you. Moral improvement of the old you is not what you need. New life is what the whole world needs. It is radical and supernatural. It is outside our control. The dead do not give themselves new life. We must be born again--'not...of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God' (John 1:13). That is what Jesus demands from the world" (Piper, pg. 39).

Citation:
Piper, John. "What Jesus Demands from the World" Crossway Books Copyright © 2006. DG. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.com.
ESV Bible
Calvin, John. "Calvin Commentaries on the Whole Bible," Baker Books. 2002.

What Jesus Demands from the World

Well, I have not written in a while (I'm sure most people who see my messages popping up on their mini-feed on Facebook were happy about that.) ROTC and 18 hours of class have been keeping me busy, and I think I needed a break from keeping up on this blog for a little. But, yesterday, I began reading a new book by Pastor John Piper, entitled "What Jesus Demands from the World" (Crossway Books 2006, DG), and thought I might share what I've been reading.

The book is broken down into 50 chapters, which are in fact 50 commandments or "demands" of Jesus from the four Gospel books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). By way of introductory, I thought I would take a few excerpts from the book which help explain what the book is about and its method.

Firstly, Piper begins by making a few qualifying statements, which I believe are important to understand when approaching this book, or my comments about the book. For example:

"Since the focus is on the commands of Jesus in this book, much about his life and death is not here" (Piper, pg. 15). This is important because there is much about the life and death of Jesus which will be assumed, since this book is dealing mainly with what it is He commands of the world.

Piper begins his introduction with his purpose in writing this book, namely, Jesus command, "Make disciples of all nations...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). He calls this the "Impossible final command." Because Jesus does not say, "teach them all my commandments," but rather, "teach them to observe all my commandments." Here is what Piper says:

"You can teach a parrot all of Jesus' commandments. But you cannot teach a parrot to observe them. Parrots will not repent, and worship Jesus, and lay up treasures in heaven, and love their enemies, and go out like sheep in the midst of wolves to herald the kingdom of God.
Teaching people to parrot all that Jesus commanded is easy. Teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded is impossible" (Piper, pg. 17).

Piper considers Mark 10:25-27, where Jesus is approached by a rich man who could not let go of his possessions to follow Him, and Jesus says that "with man it is impossible" to enter the kingdom of God, "but all things are possible with God."

"Therefore, the person who sets himself to obey Jesus' final commission...attempts the impossible. But Jesus said it was not impossible. 'All things are possible with God.' So the greatest challenge in writing this book has been to discern God's way of making impossible obedience possible" (Piper, pg. 18).

Further in the introduction after giving a brief overlay of the life and work of Christ, he explains why obedience to Christ's demands is important. He says this:

"On the basis of who He was and what He accomplished, Jesus made his demands. The demands cannot be separated from His person and work. The obedience He demands is the fruit of His redeeming work and the display of His personal glory. That is why He came--to create a people who glorify His gracious reign by bearing fruit of His kingdom (Matt. 21:43)...In other words, the Son of Man came to save people from their suicidal love affair with possessions (and every other kind of idol) and to lead them into a kind of impossible obedience that displays the infinite worth of Jesus" (Pipe, pg, 23).

While Piper makes many more good points in his introductory and the following chapter, I only really want to point out one more big issue. The subheading in the chapter is "Why this Title for the Book?"

"I am aware that the word demands is jarring to many modern ears. It feels harsh, severe, strict, stark, austere, abrasive...My conviction is that if we rightly understand Jesus' demands, and if we are willing to find in Him our supreme joy, His demands will not feel severe but sweet" (Piper, pg. 24).

And then further, in the subtitle "Dare He make Demands of the Whole World,"

"Two objections arise. One is: Did He make demands on the whole world? The other is: Dare He make demands on the whole world?
One may ask, did Jesus give all these demands to the world, or did He give them only to His disciples? The answer is: The demands He gave only to His disciples are also meant for the world because He demands all people everywhere to become His disciples" (Piper, pg. 26)."

He makes many other good points in the intro, but I recommend reading the book yourself.

I will be praying through this book, and hoping to do a commandment every other day (Lord willing), Piper is an exceptional pastor and I know this book will be very encouraging and helpful, so I hope someone else might read these posts.

What Seek Ye?

"Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, 'What seek ye?'" -John 1:38 (kjv)

I find this saying by Jesus very fascinating and comforting at the same time. Why for?

The Gospel of John starts this way:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." -John 1:1-4

So we see that Jesus was with God and is God, He was in the beginning, and everything was made through Him. He is God. He is Almighty God (Gen. 17:1), the Everlasting God (21:33), the King (Psalm 98:6), Creator of heaven and earth (Col. 1:16), the great I Am (John 8:58).

With all that in mind, we come to the verse at hand, in which Jesus says, "What seek ye?"

Andrew and another disciple were the ones which followed Jesus in this passage (v. 40), right after hearing John the Baptist declare, "Behold the Lamb of God!" (v. 36), and earlier "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (v. 29). And immediately these two began to follow Jesus. The Jesus turns and says to them, "What seek ye?"

And that's where I, for the first time, saw something I hadn't seen. I could make an extensive list like the one above, with scripture, proving how high and holy and pure and lovely Jesus is. How much honor, glory and praise He had left in the Celestial City, with the company of angels and moreover the Father and Spirit, and yet here he was asking these two and us, "What seek ye?"

Not in a way, as though they were bothersome to Him, and He said in such a way to get them to leave Him alone. But as a loving friend asks what their desire was, "What seek ye?" I think this passage I found in Matthew Henry's commentary, say well what I cannot obviously express very well...

"The question Christ put to them is what we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Christ, and take upon us the profession of his holy religion: "What seek ye? What do we design and desire?" Those that follow Christ, and yet seek the world, or themselves, or the praise of men, deceive themselves. "What seek we in seeking Christ? Do we seek a teacher, ruler, and reconciler? In following Christ, do we seek the favor of God and eternal life?" If our eye be single in this, we are full of light" (Henry Commentary).

What do we seek in Christ? And in Him alone. I think most would agree with forgiveness of our transgression against a thrice holy God, and the joy, peace and love all found in Him.

(This speaking to my own soul firstly) Think for a minute what is being said, we the creatures, an utterly depraved creature at that, are being invited by Jesus Christ Himself, God of very God, to seek forgiveness, holiness, love, reconciliation, and fellowship with and in Him alone. So then, "What see ye?" The world, its lies, its vanity, its corruption and death? Or Jesus Christ, His truth, His love, His forgiveness, His fellowship, and the everlasting life which comes through Him?

"What do you seek? This kind and gracious invitation, which was once made to two persons, now belongs to all. We ought not therefore to fear that Christ will withdraw from us or refuse to us easy access, provided that he sees us desirous to come to him; but, on the contrary, he will stretch out his hand to assist our endeavors. And how will not he meet those who come to him, who seeks at a distance those who are wandering and astray, that he may bring them back to the right road?" (John Calvin, Commentaries on John)

Selah.

A Passage On My Mind

A passage I came upon, and wished to share some thoughts...for anyone who might care (I couldn't imagine why).

Proverbs 24:30-34 (nasb):

"I passed by the field of the sluggard
And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense,
And behold, it was completely overgrown
with thistles;
Its surface was covered in nettles,
And its stone wall was broken down.
When I saw, I reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
'A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,'
Then your poverty will come as a robber
And your want like an armed man."

I pictured a house. With a vineyard. And a stone wall. With a man inside the house.
Yet, I pictured the house as worn down, the vineyard dead, the stone wall broken down, and the man inside, sitting in his chair, doing nothing about it.

So there is two ways I think I could go about taking application from this.

Application 1

Make constant use of roundup (I kid).
But more seriously, to be diligent in all your work, as though doing it for the Lord (cf. Colossians 3:22). I am more than guilty of this sin, of negligence, of not only not praying, reading scripture, and meditating as I should, but also, in worldly matters, such as work, school, chores around the house, etc. Our purpose (chief end) in this life, as the Westminster Confession so eloquently puts it, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. One of the ways in which we do this is by glorifying Him in all aspects of life. Not just church. Not just bible reading. But in all things from recreation to vocation to duty.
When we neglect our duty and our diligence in all matters, we end up like this man, then when our poverty and want comes we wonder why, often people are quick to blame God instead of looking to themselves. God forbid that we ever should.

Application 2

Spiritual application is how I see it.
The house = Our heart/ soul/ mind (compare Matt 7:24,26, 1 Cor 6:19, Matt 22:37).
The vineyard = Fruit of the Spirit/ the Word of God (compare Gal 5:22, Luke 8:11).
The thistles and nettles = Bad fruit/ cares of this world/ evil (compare Matt 7:16, Luke 8:7,14)
The stone wall = Faith (Psalm 18:2, Eph 6:16).

First, I pictured as this house should be. Or rather, as the heart and soul should be, but I'll explain it with the house, so just bear with me on the symbolism.
The house and the vineyard should be kept safe, because of the stone wall that is set up surrounding it all. The vineyard should be well kept, by the diligent man who tends to it and prunes away the thorns and thistles, and makes sure that the wall stays strong and is not eaten away by the weeds.

But in this case, as Solomon does, so we must: "When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction." We see the sluggard, the man lacking sense, understanding and wisdom, who is inattentive, lacking diligence and care, and is completely allowing the weeds to destroy everything.

So then, we must take this man as an example, of what we must not do. We cannot sit back, we must daily be in our Bibles, daily in prayer, daily making supplication to the Lord for diligence, strength and the faith to continue on. Remembering that we do our work for the Lord, not for men. God has given us a new and beating heart, let us hedge away the temptations and the sins that so easily entangle us (Hebrews 12:1), and press on to holiness, in all diligence. Truly.

Evangelism Training

These two videos I found on the Pyromaniacs website, and they are very good videos. They concisely portray how the Gospel should be presented today, and how it has sadly not been presented like this on a regular basis, even in the church. Enjoy

PART 1


PART 2

Judge Not? The Truth of Christian Judgment

"Judge not, that you be not judged." -Matthew 7:1 (ESV)

The all-encompassing, all-inclusive, favorite line of many professing Christians and even unbelievers, in an attempt to dodge the sin they are being confronted with. Good passage no doubt, yet just like all verses in the Bible it is followed by other passages, and in this particular case it says do not judge in a hypocritical manner, such as the Pharisees did (Romans 2:1).

But what is it to Judge? As one who is accused of passing judgment often, I always wish to have this question answered...It never is. Tell someone they are in sin, you are passing judgment. Say that God will send unbelievers to hell, you pass judgment. And if you argue that a belief of another is wrong, you pass judgment, and are causing strife in the church of Christ.

Lets go back to the question though, what is it to judge?

Greek:
κρίνω (krinō)
Properly to distinguish, that is, decide (mentally or judicially); by implication to try, condemn, punish: - avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.

Well there is the definition, but what are the implications?
I'll start by asking 3 questions, you determine whether it is right or wrong in that situation to judge:

1. I believe the Word of God is the true, living, breathing and inerrant Word of God. The person I am speaking with does not. Do I tell him he is wrong, or am I being judgmental?

2. I believe Christ is the Son of God, perfect, sinless, and savior of the world. The person I am speaking with does not. Do I tell him what he believes in wrong, or am I being judgmental?

3. I believe murdering a man is wrong. The person I am speaking to does not, would I be judging him to say otherwise?

Answer to all three: Yes it is judging. Furthermore it is correct to judge them in that situation. Obviously Jesus judged when someone was in error (Point and Case Matthew 23:13-29, in His "woe to you, scribes and pharisees" discourse), He did not walk the world teaching people "You have your belief, and I have mine" or "we'll agree to disagree." No, it was an on the spot correction, what most today would deem an un-Christian practice.

Let me set before you a few considerations, and think of the benefits and command to judge with righteous judgment, as a Christian judges:

I. To not present the truth to a person is to have no love for them. Think about it, and bear with me as I use an old example. If a house were full of invisible poisonous gas, and your friend were about to walk into that house, would you tell them? Or would you fear that they would think you judgmental. Say you did tell them and they still walked in there, pronouncing you judgmental, and they see no harm in walking in because they see no gas. The consequence is now on them, you warned and you cared enough to tell them. But say you didn't tell them, you just talked about meaningless things, such as the football game, or the new celebrity news as they walk in, all the time knowing whats inside that house. Is this not unloving? Think on these words here below, and meditate upon their meaning:

"Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." -Proverbs 27:5,6

II. Christian judgment, judges nothing that hasn't already been judged by the Great Judge. Do you believe the Bible to be the Word of God? Then if someone judges you, and they have reason to do so by the word of God, then you are wrong to despise that correction. What is the word good for? "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16). Listen, if you go up to a man and say "murder is wrong!" and he says to you "no it isn't," but you persist in saying otherwise, why do you do so (or what is the Christian reason for doing so)? Because God has judged it wrong already. Same goes for premarital sex, homosexuality, thievery, blasphemy, heresy, drunkenness, etc. (1 Cor 6:9,10). If a Christian goes up to another Christian and confronts him on his drunkenness and sexual immorality, he is not "judging" him in the negative connotation, but in love for that person's soul! Think on these words:

"Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." -Proverbs 12:1

"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects;Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty." -Job 5:17

III. An example, of a man of God correcting one who professes to be a child of God:
(After David kills Uriah and he takes Uriah's wife to be his own, Nathan comes to David and tells a parable in 2 Samuel 12. He tells of a poor man's sheep being taken by a rich man, and in anger David says, "as the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!" This is what Nathan says):

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite...you have taken his wife to be your wife...Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife...Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’” So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” -2 Samuel 12:7-13

Notice here two things. 1) Nathan rebuked the King of Israel, he judged him...why? Because God did. 2) David immediately saw his sin for what it was, he did not say "you're judging me Nathan, and you're wrong" because David knew the commandments of the LORD.

IV. One more example of the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5. He writes to them about an immoral person in their congregation having relations with his mother and says, "For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed"(v.3). He goes on to tell them that when they are gathered together they must "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus"(v.5). To let the person continue in the congregation would give him the false impression that he does nothing wrong, and would lead him to hell. He tells them that this will ruin their church if he is not cast out. I recommend the whole chapter, because it deals with righteous judgment, and proper church discipline that has seemingly been forgotten.

Caveat: As I say all this, we should all know, there is a right judgment and there is most certainly a wrong judgment. As Jesus commanded the crowds, so we must know the meaning of this: "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

There is the judgment of a hypocrite, one who judges and yet practices the very same. There is the judgment of the prideful, one who judges to exalt himself. There are those who judge out of hate, and to humiliate and shame others for their satisfaction. All three are the same. But then there are those who judge with Godly judgment, between what is right and wrong in the eyes of God. May we seek to understand that judgment, to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to show them their fault so that they may trust in Christ and if they are believers that they would repent and return to the ways of Christ Jesus.

Encouragement from the Dead

From the book, "Fair Sunshine: Character Studies of the Scottish Covenanters'"

Martyr: John Nisbet
Death: Hung for his faith
Age: 58/ 4 December 1685
Picking up after he loses his wife, daughter, and two young sons and is then captured by dragoons and taken to prison for his faith:

"He was in prison very cruelly treated, having a load of irons on him of seven stone weight, and not able to move much because of his terrible wounds. But all the time he was filled with inexpressible joy and continually witnessed to strong inward assurance and assistance from the Holy Spirit. He testified, 'It has pleased Him to give me such real impression of unspeakable glory as without constant and immediate supports from the Giver will certainly overwhelm me. This frail tabernacle is not able to hold up under what I now feel.'

A few days before he was hanged, he was so transported while at worship with other prisoners that he called aloud in prayer, 'O for Friday! O for Friday! O Lord, give patience to wait Thy appointed time! O give strength to bear up under Thy sweet, sweet Presence! If thou, O glorious , Thou the Chief of ten thousands, the eternal wonder, and admiration of angels and redeemed saints put not to me more strength, this weak clay vessel will rend in pieces under the unspeakably glorious manifestations of Thy rich grace and matchless, matchless Presence!'

In prison, he wrote his Last and Dying Testimony. It is one of the most remarkable of Covenanter Testimonies. It is written truly by one who knew that he 'had been lying dying and rotting in his blood-red sins, and One had passed by and in His love and life said, Live, Live.' It is a paean of praise and closes in this moving harmony, 'Be not afraid at His sweet, lovely and desirable cross, for although I have not been able because of my wounds to lift up or lay down my head, but as I was helped, yet I was never in better case all my life. He has not given me one challenge since I came to prison, for anything less or more; but on the contrary He has so wonderfully shined on me with the sense of His redeeming, strengthening, assisting, supporting, through-bearing, pardoning and reconciling love, grace and mercy, that my soul doth long to be freed of bodily infirmities and earthly organs, that so I may flee to His Royal Palace even the Heavenly Habitation of my God, where I am sure of a crown put on my head, and a palm put in my hand, and a new song in my mouth, even the song of Moses and of the Lamb, that so I may bless, praise, magnify and extol Him for what He hath done to me and for me. Wherefore I bid farewell to all my dear fellow-sufferers for the testimony of Jesus, who are wandering in dens and caves. Farewell, my children, study holiness in all your ways, and praise the Lord for what He hath done for me, and tell all my Christian friends to praise Him on my account. Farewell, sweet Bible, and wanderings and contendings for truth. Welcome death. Welcome, the City of my God where I shall see Him and be enabled to serve Him eternally with full freedom. Welcome, blessed company, the angels and spirits of just men made perfect. But above all, welcome, welcome, welcome, our glorious and alone God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; into Thy hands I commit my spirit for Thou art worthy. Amen.'

As he proceeded to his gallows it is said he had a bright happiness about him from communion with God. And jumping up to the gallows his last words were:

"My soul doth magnify the Lord! My soul doth magnify the Lord! I have longed these sixteen years to seal the precious cause and interest of precious Christ with my blood. And now, now He hath answered and granted my request, and has left me no more ado but to come here and pour forth my last prayers, sing forth my last praise to Him in time on this sweet and desirable scaffold, mount the ladder, and then I shall quickly get home to my Father's House, see, enjoy, serve and sing forth the praises of my glorious Redeemer, for evermore world without end.' ...He prayed with deep spiritual understanding in a loud clear voice, and sang the first six verses of the 34th Psalm:

God will I bless all times: His praise
My mouth shall still express.
My soul shall boast in God: the meek
Shall hear with joyfulness.

Extol the Lord with me; let us
Exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord; He heard, and did
Me from all fears deliver.

Notice, from this testimony, John kept praying for strength to uphold under God's sweet presence, never mentioning the weights he was chained to or the wounds that had been afflicted upon him.

Also notice, that unlike many Christians today, he did not have spite for God, he did not shove blame upon God and curse His name when all went bad, but He was faithful and thankful unto death.

May we ever be thankful for men and women like this, that God has used in such powerful ways to extend His gospel to all men and to encourage the faithful. May God give us boldness and ability to pray as John Nisbet.

May we rest in this promise, as Nisbet did:
"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-

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.

-----
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?
-----
“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.