Tuesday, August 24, 2010

God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility

Romans 9 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible when it comes to how we ought to view the basic relationship between man and God. It really ought to shape everything about how we view His sovereignty as well as our response.

When I was younger if I had been asked to explain what it means that God is sovereign and I am responsible – my answer would have been saturated with self-determination – you would have heard about my works, my efforts, my worthiness. My ideas did not come from the Bible, just my own reasoning on how things must be. I was absorbed in the independent, self-sufficient, self-esteeming, self-exalting air that you and I all breathe every day of our lives in America. I took my views with me to college, just a kid trying to figure things out, thinking I was just fine, justifying myself daily, & not following Jesus. The sovereignty of God to me back then meant He could do anything He wanted with me that I allowed Him to. As long as I gave permission for Him to act, He could do anything He wanted. Like the poem Invictus, I wanted to be the captain of my soul. I cherished and ended up worshipping human autonomy and the supposed ultimate self-determination of my will. The ultimate in self-delusion. I didn’t even know how wrong I was. I was acting as if I was sovereign over my life & I lived for a long time like that. I even had my worldview affirmed by well-meaning but mistaken Christians who essentially held the same view.

But then God did something in my heart that changed my mind. Through some painful circumstances, and dramatic failings on my part, He gave me a good look at the reality of my own inability to run my life, my utter failings in being my own savior and the foolishness of trying to act sovereign in my own life. It was not an easy time for me. My self-sufficient, man-centered worldview was crumbling all around me. I did not know it at the time, but God was bringing me to the end of myself so I would see how utterly inadequate I was and how sufficient He was. God put me in waters I couldn’t navigate and I had to admit that I was up a creek without a paddle, guilty before a Holy God, utterly unable to help myself. I fought it long enough and finally yielded to the truth – I believed the gospel message. and the truth set me free. I no longer wanted to fight against God and His Word. I did not know what was happening at the time – but looking back, I began to see what had really taken place. I was spiritually dead and He made me alive. Jesus brought my dead soul to life. He gave me faith as a gift, and I responded to Him by faith. God’s sovereign hand of grace had been and was guiding me.

At other points in my life, over the past 28 years of knowing Christ, there have been times when God took me through the pain of painful self-examination and the horror of a fresh look at my sinful condition and my utter inability to do anything apart from Christ; a process that always leads to a deeper appreciation of the gospel and a fuller trust in the sufficiency of Christ. It is a process God takes His children through, of humbling and deepening and gracious and merciful love and comfort that comes when the clouds part & Christ’s assurance envelops our souls.

I have 2 reasons for sharing these things: 1. To praise God for His wonderful grace. 2. To introduce a subject that is not an easy one to navigate. I am going to try to explain some things that only those in Christ can understand and often find it difficult to understand. I know. These are not easy things to grasp – but they are gifts from God meant for us to believe deeply by faith.

This is a huge topic that generates lots of feelings and emotions. It is a sensitive topic and an element of mystery surrounds it. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but some may find that what they have been believing is less than Biblical. Others may find that they have put a thin veneer of looking like a Christian over an unsaved heart. Or, you may realize that what you have believed all along is in line with the Bible you just didn’t know how to explain it. God may give you new works to share with others in need of the same grace.

When it comes to God’s Sovereignty and man’s responsibility, I think we make it a much more complicated, confusing and combustible topic than it actually is. The idea of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility boils down to a simple statement: God is over all and man is under God. God is in control and we are not and we answer to Him. He will call us to account not the other way around. Many deny this Biblical truth. No Christian in their right mind would deny the sovereignty of God, nor would they deny the responsibility of man. But many pit them against each other as if they are mutually exclusive or in competition for supremacy. I hope you will see God’s Sovereignty & Man’s Responsibility are scripturally in perfect harmony.

God’s election of believers, human will, God’s justice, His sovereignty and human responsibility are all in Romans 9, but not for their own sake, in context they answer a burning question: how can God’s people Israel be accursed and cut off from Christ if God’s Word is trustworthy? That is the issue this chapter addresses, and in the process we see God’s sovereignty as well as man’s responsibility. Romans 9 explains why, even though people reject Him, God’s Word has not failed. God’s sovereign grace is the ground of His faithfulness in spite of Israel’s rejection – and the foundation for Romans 8. God is faithful to His Word.

Romans 9:3 tells us Israel is accursed and cut off from Christ but God had promised in Jer. 31:33 that they would be His people and He would be their God. Paul answers in v. 6 that it is not as though the Word of God has failed. His explanation takes him into the realm of God’s sovereignty over human will. He says they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel. True Israel consists of the children of promise. The example of Jacob and Esau shows God’s ultimate sovereignty in choosing who will receive the promise. This raises a question of God’s justice that Paul also asnwers. Is God unfair? Absolutely not. It is ultimately God’s free sovereign choice of grace, He is free to choose whom He wills and harden whom He wills, it doesn’t depend on man. And He is just in doing so. A big mystery to us but true nonetheless.

We are dealing with the Infinite and Finite: God and Man. The Bible teaches God’s Sovereignty as well as man’s responsibility. The first is a great doctrinal truth that stands as the capstone and pinnacle of all great biblical truths. The other is a fact of life, a biblical truth that causes us to take an honest look at our condition before God and our response to Him as we realize that we will be held accountable for our thoughts, words and actions. 2 seemingly contradictory truths to finite minds. Like oil and water how could they go together? Many have tried to figure it out and in the process overemphasized one to the exclusion of the other. What results is error of some kind. It is what happens when finite man meets infinite God and tries to explain the infinite in finite terms. We end up going further than the Bible does; misconstruing the biblical teaching and God's intent. If we overemphasize God's sovereignty it seems we make men into puppets. If we overemphasize man's responsibility we make God into one. While both errors are harmful, the 2nd is worse since it essentially makes man God. & both diminish a true knowledge of God as they deny certain biblical truths and grossly enlarge others.

God's sovereignty. In Romans 9:5 you have God over all. He rules as King over all. He has authority over all. He is the maker, sustainer and ruler over all. As Ps. 103:19 says the Lord established His throne in the heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all. When we say God, You are God & I am not – we acknowledge His sovereignty & our responsibility to Him. Without this great doctrine everything falls down. It is helpful to identify what God is sovereign over. That is easy. Everything. If not, he is not sovereign. He rules as king over all. Nothing and no one is above him. No one gives him orders. Rom. 11:33-36, Job 42:1-3. No one can tell God what to do or be in charge of Him. He is all powerful, all knowing, all present. He is awesome and inspires shock and awe from his subjects. None greater. But we live in a culture where the Sovereignty of God is regularly rejected and man’s so-called autonomy (read pseudo-sovereignty) is flaunted. God is good, allowing in mercy, grace and his grace wisdom, in His design for his human subjects to think, act and operate in the world he created, in such a way that they can blame no one for their actions.

We call it Man's responsibility or accountability. Man under God. Rom. 3:19 says all the world accountable to God. No one can blame God or any other man for his own actions and choices. Those in heaven will praise God’s grace, give God all the glory; those in hell will have no one to blame but themselves. Man is not responsible to choose himself to be saved or give himself life, or do any of God's things. He will be held acceptable by God for the things God expects from him. What will God hold us accountable for? Our sin; our response to God; our thoughts, words & actions.

The discussion of man's responsibility often gets sticky when the discussion turns to free will. Free will = choosing according to our desires. Jonathan Edwards in The Freedom of the Will, defined the will as that by which the mind chooses. Humans make choices. We have free will. We need to know what our will is free to choose.

First we need to discuss God’s will, What He wants, purposes and does. God’s will is both Hidden and Revealed Paul dives into the deep end of the pool in 9:11 God’s purpose of election. In the context of Salvation what God accomplishes on the basis of the shed blood of Christ and not on the basis of any human work or merit John 1:12, Eph. 2:8-10. Election is the act of God whereby God, before the foundation of the world, chose in Christ who He would save. The biblical teaching that says that God chooses and knows who will be saved. Not that he looked down the corridor of time and knew what we would choose, but that of His own free will chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1:4-10, Rom. 8:28-30. It does not cancel out or contradict the responsibility of man to repent and believe, trusting Christ as Savior and Lord Jn 3:18-19, 36; 5:40; 2 Thess. 2:10-12. 9:19 He has the right as Potter over the clay to do whatever He wants. We have trouble wrapping our finite minds around this truth. But it stands; mysterious in many ways, but true. I came across something I wrote 25 years ago while in seminary in 1985...a paper on the doctrine of election, The doctrine of election is grounds for encouragement. There is great encouragement in knowing that the work of God is initiated and sustained by God himself. There is also excitement in knowing that as His instruments God chooses and uses people He has brought into a saving relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ. For the outworking of His purposes, God couples His omniscience and omnipotence with the efforts of His people energized with power by the Holy Spirit. Here is an interesting point: God uses the elect to reach the elect. Those who know Jesus personally are sent out to reach those who are not yet aware of their future standing with God. And God leaves this a mystery to those He sends. He knows. He shows. We offer the gospel to any who will receive it. Some accept what God has done, others reject it. 'The Lord knows those who are His...' 2 Timothy 2:19. The doctrine of election goes together with the universal offer of salvation. In fact, 'the doctrine of election is never taught apart from the universal offer of salvation'.

It is interesting that the Holy Spirit seems to have been anticipating objections. Paul faces them head on in Rom. 9: 1, 6, 14, 19. These ideas run contrary to our finite minds and our self-centered thinking that comes so naturally for us. Questions confront us as we leave this subject for now: Will the blood-bought promises of God that purchased our freedom hold? Will God keep His Word to us? Will He truly work all things together for our good? Will th predestined be called, will the called be justified, will the justified be sanctified and glorified? Is there really no condemnation for those in Christ? I am so thankful Rom. 9 follows Rom. 8: God’s Word has not failed; His covenant with Israel has not failed just because they have been unfaithful to Him – why? Because it is grounded in God’s sovereignty – the will upholding our will. The promises of God in Rom. 8 stand based on the message of Rom. 9. The promises purchased by the blood of Christ will be performed by the sovereign hand of God. How humbling to stand in this truth.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Who is Jesus? Part 4 of 4

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man and will be so forever. He is the One we worship, the One with whom we have to do, the One and only Savior whose blood-bought sacrifice paid our ransom. When we are drawn to Him by His irresistible grace, when we bow before Him, when we yield our lives to Him, we see His magnificence, which leads to more worship.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, yes and forever. He is the Holy One of God. The only wise God. The living Word. Incarnate God. Price of Peace. Mighty God.
Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Who is Jesus? Part 3 of 4

We have explored who He is theologically, what the Bible says. We have found that Jesus is fully God and fully man and will be so forever. This makes a huge difference experientially. What difference do these truths make in our lives? When God drew me to Himself by grace through faith, I was blown away by 2 foundational truths...the bible is true and Jesus is God. To the only wise God flows what He most deserves, what we often give such drastically lesser objects: Worship. The Father is seeking worshippers to worship Him in spirit and in truth John 4:24. People worshipped Jesus as God. God would be guilty of breaking His own commandment if Jesus is not God: you shall have no other God’s before Me. Jesus would be too. So would we.

It makes a difference in our knowing. John 20:30-31 Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name. 1 John 1:1 what we have held with our hands…the picture John gives of Thomas touching the place where the nails pierced Jesus blows me away. In John 20:26-28 Jesus said, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

It must have an affect on our daily living; how we think, speak & interact with others. Jesus being God makes all the difference in this world & the next! When we are guilty, justly deserving of punishment, in need of mercy not wrath...we have a merciful savior who bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. If he were not God we would not have this assurance. When we are fearful we have a preeminent present Savior who is with us always. When we worry we have a Savior who has made peace through the blood of His cross Col. 1:20, who is our peace, who says, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, do not let your hearts tremble nor be afraid. When trouble comes in the form of temptation or trial, persecution or condemnation, we have a all-sufficient Sovereign Savior who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. When we are tempted to give in to self-pity, anger, or resentment; or run ahead of where God has led; when we feel the magnet-pull of the world…we have a patient, powerful Savior who has suffered in the flesh, tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin. If He were not God we have no such perspective. When we sin we have a sinless Savior whose blood covers; if He were not God we are still in our sins. When we die we will be absent from the body and present with the Lord due to the blood-bought sacrifice of Christ on the cross. If it were not so we would not have this hope, an anchor for our souls, we would be aimless, void of any lasting freedom from sin’s power, penalty & ultimately, its presence.

It also significantly impacts our sharing of truth. If we have a warped view it will be passed on. Game ‘telephone’ - how things get twisted, how cults & false teachers spring up. Don’t lose sight of what the Bible says about who Jesus is…the infinite, omnipotent, all-knowing, eternal Son of God, came to earth and became a man forever, in order to redeem fallen man and save a people for Himself – the infinite God became one person with infinite man, and will remain that way forever – probably the most awe-inspiring miracle and mystery that exists.

Jesus Christ: fully God & fully man in one person. Preeminent, superior, sovereign over all creation.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Who is Jesus? Part 2 of 4

How do we know Jesus is God?
The Bible says so.
The usage of the name God (Greek theos) for Jesus is significant. John 1:1, 18. Thomas said of Jesus my lord and my God John 20:28. Rom. 9:5 says Christ is God over all, blessed forever. Titus 2:13 says Jesus is our great God and savior Jesus Christ. Titus 3:4 calls Jesus God our savior. 1 John 5:20 says Jesus is the true God. Is. 9:6 He will be called mighty God. Is. 7:14/Matt 1:23 they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means God with us.

The usage of the word Lord (Greek kyrios) for Jesus is also significant. 2 Peter 1:1, 3:18 calls Jesus our lord and savior. kyrios used to refer to the Creator & Sustainer of the universe, Almighty God. The Shepherds in Bethlehem used Lord in this way, Luke 2:11 For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Basically, in Bethlehem a baby was born who is your Savior and Messiah, God Himself. No wonder that everyone who heard it marveled Luke 2:18.

The Father said Jesus is God.
Heb. 1:8 your throne O God is forever (Ps. 45:4-5); Matt. 3:17 Jesus' baptism...this is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased. And at the transfiguration Matt. 17:5 a voice said this is my beloved son, with whom I am well-pleased, listen to him.

Jesus said He is God.
Jesus said, in John 10:30-33, "I and the father are one." John 8:57-58 I am. Ex. 3:14 I am. Rev. 22:13 strong statement of deity I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Jesus is Sovereign over all – equal with the Father. Christ's usage of the title Son of Man for Himself; Dan. 7:13-14 Daniel saw one like the Son of Man who came ot the Ancient of Days and was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all peoples would serve Him and His dominion would be everlasting. A claim to be the eternal world ruler of heavenly origin & those who heard Him say it said He spoke blasphemy and was deserving of death Matt. 26:65-66. While He was on earth Jesus displayed the attributes of God: Omnipotence stilled storm, fed 5000, water into wine, etc. Omniscience knew people’s thoughts, saw Nathaniel under the fig tree, knew who would not believe, and who would betray Him. Peter, after res, Lord, you know all things. Omnipresence Matt. 18:20; 28:20 with you always. Sovereignty authority of God - but I say to you…all authority in heaven and on earth. Eternity I am, Alpha and Omega./// Even

Demons said He is God.
They called him the holy one of God, and the Son of God. They agree with God.

Why does Jesus have to be God?
Everything rises and falls on it. If Jesus is not God, then The Gospel is not true. Only someone who is infinite can bear the full penalty and the wrath of God against sin. If Jesus is not God then Christianity is false. Salvation is from the Lord Jonah 2:9. The Bible and God Himself is at stake if Jesus isn’t God. The Bible is clear that no human can ever save themselves, only God saves. Everything falls if Jesus is not God. If Jesus is not God we have no mediator between God and man, no advocate with the Father, no high priest, no hope. The deity of Christ is absolutely essential. It is arguably the lynchpin of Christianity.

Preparing for Something

It is early morning and I am upstairs writing. My teenage son just left a few minutes ago to go to cross-country practice. He will run scores of miles in preparation for upcoming races. Just now a huge pack of runners from another school ran past our home, which inspired me to write this. They are all preparing for something. In the preparation there is some benefit, some present reward, but not the ultimate one which they seek. They are running for a higher purpose than today but today, and even tomorrow, they benefit from today's hard work. On the flip side If they do not put in their best efforts they will experience some sort of loss today. And when race day comes, if they slacked off or did not try as hard or cut the course and ran less miles than their coach planned for them to run in practice, it will probably be revealed on that day.

It is similar to what Christians do every day in preparation for eternity. Living with an eternal view, or eternal perspective means that today is not all there is, there is something greater in store, heaven, which we are journeying towards. We believe that when Jesus comes back, or we go to be with Him, whichever comes first, we will be with Him forever in the place He has prepared for us. As Paul said in Philippians 2:12-13, "...work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and work for His good pleasure." There, in a way, you have a sort of parallel, or at least a weak example, for the daily workout and the ultimate race and subsequent reward.

We work, but all the while knowing it is God who ultimately is at work in us. He is sovereign, we are accountable to and completely under His authority. Whatever we are able to do ultimately happens because of Him. Even our desire comes from Him. And the amity to act upon the desire comes from Him. And the reward at the end of the race of life comes from Him. He is always previous. As Jim Eliot wrote, "wherever you are be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." with a deep belief in God's sovereignty over all, we can live today with confidence. We can put out whole efforts into what we do, because we know He ultimately will use it for His glory and our good.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Who is Jesus? Part 1 of 4

When I go somewhere and want to use my credit card, I am asked to show my I.D. Let them know I really am who I say I am. In this age of identity theft you have to be careful. We find Jesus’ I.D. in the Bible. But the true identity of Jesus is often obscured (or hijacked or stolen) by those who are deceived & misunderstand of what the Bible actually says about Him. Some have a problem with the atonement, how could the death of one man on a Roman cross really pay the penalty for sin? The resurrection is a stumbling block to some. Or the virgin birth, denied by many Protestants over the past 100 years. Or the gospel miracles, up for grabs amongst those who find them hard to believe. But the biggest mystery the Gospel reveals is the incarnation. How Christ could take humanity without loss of deity.

The main truth God wants you to grasp regarding Jesus is that He is that He is completely God & completely man in one person & always will be. He is preeminent, superior, and sovereign over all creation. The biblical support for this statement is huge. As we seek to develop Biblical understanding of who Jesus is, I want to look at the question theologically set a foundation & experientially see what difference it makes in our lives.

Theologically: What does the Bible say? Col. 1:15-20 is 1 of the most important passages in the Bible when it comes to the question who is Jesus? Often 1 of the more abused passages by those who deny Christ’s true identity. Background: Gnosticism (from the Greek gnosis, meaning knowledge) was an enemy of the early church. It taught salvation was a matter of gaining certain secret knowledge. It was marked by dualism, belief that material matter, flesh, world, was evil, & the spiritual realm was good. It either totally mattered what you did or it didn’t matter at all, led to 1 of 2 extremes: asceticism, denial of every pleasure or hedonism, free indulgence of appetites. An error that sprang up was Docetism, which denied that Jesus had a real physical body. Led John to write 1 John 4:2-3 "by this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." Paul was refuting Gnosticism when he wrote Colossians. Col. 1:15-17 "Image of the invisible God", image is eikon, bodily representation, likeness. "The firstborn of creation." Some say this means He was created; had a beginning in time, the first thing created by God; & therefore inferior to the Father. An understanding of the Greek word prototokos (firstborn) corrects this error. [The word is used 130 times in the Greek translation of the Old testament, called the Septuagint, which was commonly used in the time of Christ.] Used in the context of blessing. The firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance, a better blessing & special treatment. It was a title referring to status & position rather than birth order. Ps. 89:27 says "I shall make Him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth." Spoken of David, it is a Messianic psalm, pointing to Christ. Centers on the relationship between God & David, not the fact David was born. He had a preeminent position in God’s plan; given leadership & authority over God’s people. The coming Messiah would have preeminence but in a much greater way. Rom. 8:29 Christ is called the "firstborn among many brethren." Superior & sovereign over Christians. Heb. 1:6 says "when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, and let all the angels of God worship Him." Preeminence. Col. 1:18 (Rev. 1:5) Jesus is called "the firstborn from the dead." Refers to the leadership of Christ in bringing about the resurrection of the dead and new life. Back to Col. 1:15, "firstborn" doesn’t mean first created, it refers to Christ’s position of power, primacy & preeminence. It is a title for Christ used with relation to Christ’s superiority & priority not origin or birth. It fits the context of the passage. He is called the firstborn, because all things came into being by Him. He is the Creator. Those who deny Christ’s divinity, saying this passage diminishes who he is, are greatly mistaken – this exalts Christ’s high position! Gives Him the title of God over all creation. Like naming a world champion, the Los Angeles Lakers, over the entire NBA. In the biggest way possible Jesus is Sovereign over everything. Everything is under Him. All things we created by, through & for Him. Paul uses every word available to say: there is no one higher than Jesus; everything that exists in the created order is under Him. They exist because He made them; they exist for Him. We grasp this as believers – we exist for God’s glory, His pleasure, His purpose. Col. 1:17 says "all things hold together" or exist, in Christ. Christ maintains & upholds the universe – it continues, endures, because He keeps it going.

Jesus is God Almighty. The One true God. The God whose identity is revealed in the Bible. Who is God? The Trinity: One God who eternally exists as three distinct persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who are each fully and equally God. 1, 2 or all 3 aspects of that statement are often denied by those who do not believe God is triune. There is 1 God only. 3 distinct persons. The Father, Son, Holy Spirit are all God. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are co-equal and co-eternal. William G.T. Shedd wrote, "the doctrine of the Trinity is the most immense of all the doctrines…the foundation of theology. Christianity...is Trinitarian. Take out of the NT…the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit, and there is no God left." Col. 1:19 says, "In Him all the fullness of deity was pleased to dwell." and Col. 2:9 says "in Him all the fullness dwells in bodily form." He is Emmanuel, God with us Matt. 1:23.

Jesus is God incarnate. From the Latin meaning becoming flesh. Augustine said He remained what He was (God) and became what He was not (man). Jesus was fully God and fully man. An aspect of Christ’s identity often misunderstood or twisted. In A.D. 451 the Council of Chalcedon wrestled with the confusion surrounding the divinity and humanity of Jesus, stating clearly that Jesus Christ is 1 person, 2 natures (human and divine) who is both fully God and fully man. The union of the 2 natures is called the Hypostatic union, from the Greek hypostais (person). 3 facts emerge: Christ has 2 distinct natures; there is no mixture of the 2; & He is still 1 person. This is the commonly held view in all of Christendom.

Heb. 1:1-3 says He bears the very stamp (exact duplicate, Greek charakter) of God’s nature, upholding the universe by the word of His power. Jesus is the exact duplicate of the nature of God, equal with God in every attribute. A common error: saying Jesus gave up some of His attributes & nature as God. Phil. 2:7 He gave up none of His Divine attributes while laying aside His privileges as God. The emptying was not of attributes as God, but of His rights as God. He took the form of a servant, by coming to live as a man, & being found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. He made Himself nothing. The emptying was a change in role and status, not essential attributes or nature. Paul’s purpose in context was to persuade them to do nothing from selfishness or conceit, humbly consider others better than yourself like Jesus did. God doesn’t want us to give up being who we are; He wants is to put the interests of others before our own. Jesus willingly gave up some of His privilege and status as God while fully retaining His attributes and nature as God. 2 Cor. 8:9 though He was rich, He made Himself poor for your sakes./ John 1:1-4, 14. 1:1 In the beginning was the Word. Eternal. No beginning, when everything else began – He was. The Word was with God. Personal being. Was God. Deity. Personally distinct from the Father, but not a creature. Divine. 1:14 & the Word became flesh. 1:3 All things made by Him. Creator, the Father’s agent in every act of making. 1:4 In Him was life. It originated with Him; He gave life to all. No life in the physical realm without Him. The life was the light of men. He gives light, reveals. We are alive due to the work of the living Word of God. To have a Biblically accurate view of Jesus we must affirm that He was and is fully Divine and fully human. We must not downplay Christ being fully man. With regard to Christ’s humanity, the virgin birth, His human body, mind, soul and emotions, the fact people knew Him as a man and most saw Him only as a man, give ample reason for believing its truthfulness. His full humanity was necessary: for Him to do what He came to earth to do, namely save sinners. It was necessary for Him to be our representative in the realm of obedience, to be our Substitute sacrifice, to be the one Mediator between God and man 1 Tim. 2:5; to fulfill God’s original purpose for man to rule over His creation; to sympathize with us as our great high Priest, who did not need to daily offer sacrifice first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because He was sinless, He offered once for all the sacrifice for sin.

Tomorrow, we'll address how we know Jesus is God and why He has to be God.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Essential Truth

The deity of Christ is absolutely essential.

It is to be believed, not denied. It is to be lived, not ignored. It is to be celebrated not questioned. It is arguably the lynch pin of Christianity. It is necessary to the Christian faith. It is not negotiable, it is a non-negotiable truth that stands no matter what cult or false religion says or teaches or asserts. It is gospel truth nestled in the true doctrine of God. Up against pagan lies it stands as the pinnacle of orthodox belief. The church of God boldly claims it's truth and rightly takes it's stand on it as the pillar and support of the truth.

When I came to faith in Christ, or better said when God drew me to Himself by grace through faith, and I repented of my sins, being transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his glorious Son, I did not realize this truth. It was shortly thereafter that I was struck by the magnitude of the teaching. That I was awestruck by the sheer wonder of it all. It hit me like a ton of bricks one day, that while I grew up in a great family, going to a Protestant church, I did not know two foundational truths until I was brought to saving faith...that the bible is completely true and Jesus is God. It is significant to notice as well that these two truths go hand in hand, that they complement each other, that they are both rooted in God's sovereignty.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ

How do we know Jesus is God? Bible says so. Col. 1, John 1, Hebrews 1, 1 John 1, etc. Multitudes of places proclaim Christ's deity. Our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit exists co-equally, co-eternally, three persons within the one Being that is the one true God.

Why does He have to be God? Because there is no gospel if He isn't.

What results? Maximum worship…the Father is seeking worshippers to worship Him in spirit and in truth. See John 4:23-24.

What difference does it make? All the difference in this world and the next!

When we sin…we have a sinless Savior whose blood covers – if He were not God we do not have a sinless Savior whose blood covers.

When we are fearful…we have a present Savior who is with us always, able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…if He were not God we do not have such a Savior. When we worry…we have a Peaceful Savior who says, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, do not let your hearts tremble nor be afraid.

When trouble comes, in the form of temptation or trial, persecution or condemnation, we have a all-sufficient Savior who is able…if He were not God we would not have this hope, an anchor for our souls, our souls therefore would be aimless and void of any lasting freedom from sin and it’s power and penalty and ultimate presence.

When we are tempted to be discouraged or succumb to self-pity, anger, or resentment, when we feel the magnet-like pull of the world, the flesh and the devil…we have a overcoming, perspective building Savior who has suffered in the flesh, who has been tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin (from the beginning to the end without sin)…if He were not such we would not have such perspective.

When we die…we will be absent from the body and present with the Lord…this is due to the blood-bought sacrifice of Christ on the cross…if it were not so we would not have such a hope. We would still be in our sins. No resurrection, no freedom, only slavery.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Election and Encouragement

I wrote the following in 1986 while attending Talbot Seminary.

The doctrine of election is grounds for encouragement.  There is great encouragement in knowing that the work of God is initiated and sustained by God himself.  There is also excitement in knowing that as His instruments God chooses and uses people He has brought into a saving relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ.  For the outworking of His purposes, God couples His omniscience and omnipotence with the efforts of His people energized with power by the Holy Spirit.  Here is an interesting point:  God uses the elect to reach the elect.  Those who know Jesus personally are sent out to reach those who are not yet aware of their future standing with God.  And God leaves this a mystery to those He sends.  He knows.  He shows.  We offer the gospel to any who will receive it.  Some accept what God has done, others reject it.  'The Lord knows those who are His...' 2 Timothy 2:19.  The doctrine of election goes together with the universal offer of salvation.  In fact, 'the doctrine of election is never taught apart from the universal offer of salvation'".  

Sunday, August 8, 2010

God is Sovereign, man will be held accountable

God is sovereign over all and man is responsible. Two seemingly contradictory truths to finite minds. Like oil and water how could they go together? Many have tried to figure it out and in the process overemphasized one to the exclusion of the other. What results is error of some kind. It is what happens when finite man meets infinite God and tries to explain the infinite in finite terms. We often end up going further than the bible does and misconstruing both the biblical teaching as well as God's intent. If we overemphasize God's sovereignty we make men into puppets. If we overemphasize man's responsibility we make God into one. While both errors are harmful, the second is worse since it essentially puts man in the driver's seat. Both errors diminish a true knowledge of God as they deny certain biblical truths.

The first is a great doctrinal truth that stands as the capstone and pinnacle of all great biblical truths. The other is a fact of life. A biblical truth that causes us to take an honest look at our condition before God and our response to Him. We will beheld accountable for our thoughts, words and actions. Let's take a quick look at both.

1. God's sovereignty. What can we say to begin except amen and amen? Without this great doctrine everything falls down. It would be helpful to define exactly what God is sovereign over. That is easy. Everything. If not, he is not sovereign. He rules as king over all. Nothing and no one is above him. No one gives him orders. Rom. 11, job, etc. No one can tell God what to do or be in charge of Him. He is all powerful, all knowing, all present. He is great and awesome and inspires shock and awe from his subjects. There is none greater. The one true God of the Bible is great. And he is also good, allowing in mercy, grace and his great wisdom, in his design of the universe, for his human subjects to think, act and operate in the world he created, in such a way that they can blame no one for their actions. We call it...

2. Man's responsibility. Another way to put it is accountability. What exactly is man responsible for? Or what will God hold man accountable for? His sin, his response to God, his thoughts, words and actions. For all these things our just and holy God will hold him accountable. Man is not responsible to choose himself to be saved, or to give himself life, or to do any of God's things. He will be held accountable by God for the things God expects from him. Rom. 3:19 says that all the world is accountable to God. Those who reject Christ condemn themselves. They were marked out for destruction and by their own admission they confirm it. No one can blame God or any person for his own actions and choices.

The discussion of man's responsibility often falls into error when the discussion turns to free will. The balance tips precariously towards a view that makes man entirely independent of God, essentially portraying man as greater and stronger than God. But who can resist God's will? He will draw all he has chosen to himself. It is for their good, not their harm. Any discussion of man's free will must have the safety net, the protective fencing if you will, of God's overriding sovereignty, and it must be guarded by the question: What is the will free to choose? Apart from Christ the will is enslaved, not free to choose what is good. Regenerated in Christ the will can choose what is good, right and true, for God's glory and other's good.


 


 

 

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Scars Remind Us of Christ's Cross

Someone I know closed an email message recently with these words: "Love as if you’ve never been hurt." I like that. It is so easy to isolate from relationships due to not wanting to be hurt again.

I have scars on my body. Several significant ones in fact. On my right leg I received 17 stitches back in 1979 as the result of an injury sustained during a track race in high school. On my left index finger I received 7 stitches resulting from a botched roast beef cutting incident (100% operator error). I have a 3 inch scar on my right abdomen, the result of an emergency appendectomy in 2004. The pain from all of these is long gone but the scars remain. I remember how I got them. I still do similar activities, but with more wisdom! But some see their relational scars and continue to remember how they got them and as a result they run from relationships. They become tough to be around; they carry their scars like a sign –"Don’t get too close to me!". Scars will always remain. You remember. You still hurt. But not in the same way if you deal with it appropriately and biblically. Resolve differences, reconcile. Put it under the blood of Christ. Let your scars remind you of the cross.

It is one of the reasons we are so insistent at Grace Church that people get in a group where they can know people and be known. Growth in Christ is 100% dependent on God, but the outworking is definitely a community project. We need the Lord and we need His people to bear our burdens and encourage as well as challenge us. It is the way God has designed healthy relationships to work.

Friday, August 6, 2010

God's Grace Grants Fellowship

It is easy to take the body of Christ for granted, even when we have a good connection to a local body of believers. Sometimes those who go through the most intense pain appreciate the church most. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book Life Together wrote, "It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world... Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing. They remember, as the Psalmist did, how they went 'with a multitude…to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday' (Ps. 42:4)…Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living in common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: it is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.”

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Your Part in the Church

Let’s focus on developing a biblical understanding of your part in the church by looking at 1 Corinthians 1:1-3.

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to a group of born-again believers riddled by division caused by selfishness and a reliance on hierarchies and social status, somewhat confused about how following Jesus played out into daily living. In the first three verses of chapter one Paul reminds them he was called by the will of God, just as they were called by the will of God to be in Christ (1 Cor. 1:23, 30). He writes to God’s church not that of any individual. That was part of their problem identified in chapter 3; they were divided around leaders rather than the Leader Jesus. He points out an often neglected truth in the church today. He wrote to those who belonged to the church at Corinth, a church, who along with all believers (all who in every place call on Jesus) the Church. The primary implication: every person who is a part of the Church needs to be a part of a church.

1st Question: What is the Church? It is All who believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, and who trust Him as their Lord and Savior, All believers throughout the world baptized into Christ and indwelt by His Spirit; the entire body, everyone who knows the Lord. All true born-again believers in Christ – justified by faith alone in Christ alone by God’s grace alone for God’s glory alone. We are all one in Christ no matter what local church or fellowship we belong to.

2nd Question: What is a church? Little c. A community of born-again believers, under qualified leadership, who gather regularly for worship, growth and outreach. A localized expression of the Body of Christ living daily in relationship in a community; obeying the head of the church, Jesus and engages in preaching, teaching, baptism, Lord’s Supper, discipline. The true church of Jesus Christ, wherever it organizes and gathers, organically speaks of Christ in a local way – and collectively impacts the world globally. Think globally, live locally.

3rd Question: Is church membership biblical? Is a formal, definable process by which a church’s leaders identify who is a part of that particular assembly something the Bible speaks to? It is not explicitly commanded so many see it as an option, not necessary. Here are 9 reasons that seem to imply the existence of a definable membership; a formal commitment to each other on the part of believers in a local church.

1st the existence of church leadership. Assumes they know who they are leading. Leaders need to “know their sheep”, who they are accountable for. Acts 20:28, 1 Cor 4. Titus, elders in every city. 1 Peter 5.

2nd The existence of church followership. Accountability to leadership – must be an identifiable group that is accountable. Heb. 13:17. Churches Acts 16:5, 1 Cor. 14:33.

3rd The existence of church lists. They kept a list of widows. 1 Tim. 5:9. The church in Jerusalem chose from among themselves, Acts 6. How were they to know who is committed and counted among them?

4th The existence of a formal decision making process. Acts 6; 2 Cor. 2:6.

5th The existence of a formal welcoming process, bringing one into fellowship (right hands of fellowship, Acts 9 Barnabas advocating for Paul and the church receiving him.).

6th The existence of a formal dismissal process. If you can be formally put out of something, it implies that you were formally put into it. There is always a bit of a margin of error, the man in 1 Cor. 5 thought he was saved.

7th The existence of the one-another’s. You can’t do these alone or with people you are not associated with. These are ongoing disciplines, actions, effort put forth in close community with other believers.

8th The ordinances imply belonging. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are literally invitations to membership –to know and be known; recognized in a certain location by the people of God – giving testimony of your faith and living consistently before a group of like-minded people.

9th The body metaphor and the proper exercise of spiritual gifts. Rom. 12:4, 1 Cor. 12:5, 18, Eph. 4:25. Possibly the strongest explicit argument, 1 Cor. 12 speaks of members of the body, Paul refers to a local not universal Body, a specific church, when body is used w ref to the church it usually refers to a local assembly of believers. Being a member of a body is a church’s public affirmation of a person’s conversion. The Body is handicapped if all are not engaged – all have essential, necessary gifts.

4th Question: Why belong to a church? In one sense the 9 reasons listed above answer the question but in more relational terms, why should every believer be engaged, committed and accountable to a church? Why join a church, not just casually being a regular attendee? Why link arms with a church and say for now, until God leads otherwise, I am here as a part of this body, committed to common life together in this community. These are my people, this is my family of faith?

You are a part of the body and the body missing parts is incomplete. Think of this: Grace Church has everything God wants it to have today to fulfill His purposes in this community. Jesus saying “Follow Me” means join a group of disciples who together are God’s people, the household of God, the family. Sanctification is a community project. In fact You cannot be sanctified apart from the church. Heb. 10:25 Don’t neglect meeting together. We can't obey all the biblical commands or use our gifts or accomplish what God wants us to without being part of a church.
You need the help of others in the body of Christ. building one another up, teaching one another the Word of God. We are not to be lone ranger Christians. We need to be connected in this way if we are to fulfill our calling in the world.
You need to be equipped for ministry. Eph. 4:11-12. Involvement based on your God-given spiritual gifts. We build other believers with our gifts, and we witness for the Lord through our gifts.
You need the protectiononly the church can give. Heb. 13:17. Elders to watch over your soul. Accountability.
You strengthen the church by your presence rather than criticizing it in your absence. Remember, you join a house full of sinners saved by the grace of God. It is not enough to say I am a member of the universal church and leave it at that – you need the accountability and support of a group of people who can get to know you and vice-versa. It is what obedient Christians do. Regenerated people seek out membership (whether formal or informal – whatever the leadership of a particular church has identified). Over forty years ago the founders of Grace Church decided to have a formal, definable membership. We believe it a healthy practice to have a formal, definable membership. It is how we know who is with us. The main idea of church membership in a local body of believers centers on the idea of committed love and accountability.

5th and last Question: What are the signs of a healthy church member? What should a church expect from its members?
You show up. Attend regularly. Heart, mind, body, soul. Love the Lord and your neighbor as yourself. Depend on and trust God. Hunger for His Word. Engage with His people. Get on board.
You support others. Do the one another’s. Know others, allow yourself to be known, get involved in lives. Give of your time, talents, treasure. Use gifts, skills, resources in serving, encouraging. Seek Peace. Pursue reconciliation. Pray. Love as if you’ve never been hurt. Get in a group.
You Serve together from your giftedness. On mission in the community and world – active ambassadors of Christ. No fence sitters. Get out and serve. Train people up and set them loose for active ministry. Speechless – best example of teamwork. 50+ in unison. Our model.

You are either a Member of a church in name and function operate in a healthy way in the body; Keep doing that. Or a Member in name only, not functioning meaningless membership. You need to do some soul searching. An inactive member is an oxymoron – you don’t need your right foot? Or a Member in function but not in name have never officially linked arms with us in the way the leadership has set up; its simple – just do it. Or uncommitted to the church. You may not be able because you are not a believer. You can’t join with us, you can be present, enjoy relationships, but the life in Christ we have is foreign to you, we love you, we care about you and we want you to know Jesus and be a member of the family. You need to turn from your sins to Jesus and believe. You may be a believer that for some reason remains uncommitted to this body of believers. Joshua Harris’ book Stop Dating the Church – observes church daters are often me-centered, independent and critical, short on allegiance and quick to find fault, coming with a consumer mentality – looking for the best product for the price of their Sunday morning, as a result are fickle and not invested for the long-term. Ask yourself these questions...is the gospel affirmed, preached and lived here? Is the preaching faithful to Scripture? Would I want to find a spouse brought up under this church’s teaching? Do I want my kids to grow up here? What picture of Christianity will they see? Biblical or a lot like the world? Can I minister and serve here?

We all need to know how important the church is and to know our place in it. Those who believe Jesus Christ is God, who trust Him as Lord and Savior, are members of the Body of Christ. We welcome them as our brothers and sisters in the Lord, & invite them to identify themselves with our fellowship at Grace Church. I hope you will decide it is time to link arms and put your name on the line with us. That will be exciting.

Soli Deo Gloria