Friday, August 10, 2012
Jesus is All About Love and Forgiveness, but also Justice
One of the arguments from the anti-Chick-fil-A side is that we need to be
more like Jesus, who loves everyone and doesn't condemn people for "being
who they are." They want to make it seem that they are on the right side, and
we who have a biblical worldview are the ones who are wrong.
Jesus IS a loving and forgiving God, but He also is righteous and will bring
judgment to those who feel that they are so good that they have no need for
Him.
Early on in His ministry Jesus preached a message of "repent and believe."
He told the woman caught in adultery to go and leave her life of sin.
The Jesus of the Bible was willing to condemn the hypocrites who rejected
His message of the Gospel, and also tried to keep others from coming to Him
for salvation. In fact an entire chapter (23) of Matthew is full of Jesus' condem-
nation of the Scribes and Pharisees.
He warns those listening to Him that "whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:11). Then, He began
His criticism of the teachers of the law and Pharisees.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut
the kingdom of heaven in men's faces.
You yourselves do not enter, nor will
you let those enter who are trying to."
Matthew 23:13-14
The Pharisees and Scribes were not only working against Jesus, but also
trying to keep others from receiving salvation through Him. Of course, that
didn't keep Jesus from saving them anyway, but it angered Him that they
would work to prevent the people, who looked to them for religious guidance,
from receiving salvation through Him.
Over and over in His preaching to them, Jesus called the Scribes and Phari-
sees hypocrites, who were blinded by their hatred for Him and what was good.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea
to win a single convert, when he becomes one,
you make him twice as much a son of hell as
you are."
Matthew 23:15
"Woe to you blind guides! ... You blind fools!
... You blind men!"
Matthew 23:16,17,19
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the
cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed
and self-indulgence.
"Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup
and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."
Matthew 23:25-26
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed
tombs, which look beautiful on the outside
but on the inside are full of dead men's bones
and everything unclean.
"In the same way, on the outside you appear to
people as righteous but on the inside you are
full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
Mathew 23:27-28
Jesus even accused them of murdering the prophets who had preached the
word of God to the Jewish people.
"You snakes! You brood of vipers!
How will you escape being condemned
to hell? Therefore I am sending you
prophets and wise men and teachers.
Some of them you will kill and crucify;
others you will flog in your synagogues
and pursue from town to town.
"And so upon you will come all the
righteous blood that has been shed on
earth, from the blood of Abel to the blood
of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar."
Matthew 23:33-35
**********
God the Father has given the task of judgment to His Son, and that is what
He will do one day.
"Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has
entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may
honor the Son just as they honor the Father."
Matthew 23:22-23a
When Jesus comes again, He will separate His people who have been made
righteous through His blood, from the wicked who refused to follow Him.
"(Jesus said), 'When the Son of Man comes
in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He
will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All
the nations will be gathered before Him, and
He will separate the people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats. He will put the sheep on His right and
the goats on His left.
"Then the King will say to those on His right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father;
take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared
for you since the creation of the world."
Matthew 25:31-34
"Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
... Then they will go away to eternal punish-
ment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Matthew 25:46
**********
Yes, Jesus is a God of love and mercy and forgiveness, but He also is a holy
God who is righteous and will condemn those who reject Him and His message.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Victory in Jesus
Sometimes I like to see if the words to the hymns we sing are biblical, or
just songs with a good message, but not necessarily based on Scripture.
One song that IS certainly biblical is Victory in Jesus.
Verse one
"I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory.
How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me:
I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins and won the victory."
Chorus
"O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever, He sought me and
bought me with His redeeming blood; He loved me ere I
knew Him, and all my love is due Him, He plunged me to
victory beneath the cleansing flood."
**********
VERSE ONE
"I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory."
"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but
to do the will of Him who sent me."
John 6:38
"How He gave His life on Calvary"
"When He had received the drink, Jesus said,
'It is finished.' With that, He bowed His head
and gave up His spirit."
John 19:30
"to save a wretch like me"
"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me
from this body of death."
Romans 7:24
"I heard about His groaning,"
"And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' -- which means,'My
'God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' "
Mark 15:34
"With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last."
Mark 15:37
"of His precious blood's atoning,"
"In Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the
riches of God's grace ..."
Ephesians 1:7
"Then I repented of my sins"
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins
may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may
come from the Lord ..."
Acts 3:19
"and won the victory" (over sin and death)
"When the perishable has been clothed with the
imperishable, and the mortal with immortality,
then the saying that is written will come true:
'Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where. O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?'
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin
is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Corinthians 15:54-57
CHORUS
"O victory in Jesus" (over the world, through obedience to God)
" ... for everyone born of God overcomes the world.
This is the victory that has overcome the world, even
our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only
he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
1 John 5:4-5
"my Savior, forever,"
"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His
One and only Son, so that everyone who believes
in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
"He sought me"
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save
what was lost."
Luke 19:10
"and bought me with His redeeming blood,"
" ... and with your blood you purchased men
for God from every tribe and language and
people and nation."
Revelation 5:9b
"He loved me ere I knew Him" (In fact, God knew His people
before the creation of the world).
"For those God foreknew He also predestined
to be conformed to the likeness of His Son,
that He might be the firstborn among many
brothers."
Romans 8:29
"and all my love is due Him"
"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind."
Matthew 22:37
"He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood."
"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and
renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out
on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior ..."
Titus 3:5b-6
**********
The Christian has victory in Jesus over sin and death, and the world.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Holiness and Our Wills
More highlights from The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges.
Chapter 13 - Holiness and Our Wills
"For it is God who works in you to will
and to act according to His good purpose."
Philippians 2:13
It is the will that ultimately makes each individual choice of whether we will
sin or obey. It is the will that chooses to yield to temptation or to say no. Our
wills, then, ultimately determine our moral destiny, whether we will be holy or
unholy in our character and conduct.
This being true, it is critically important that we understand how our wills
function -- what causes them to turn in one direction or the other, why they
make the choices they do. Above all else, we must learn how to bring our wills
into submission and obedience to the will of God on a practical, daily, hour-by
hour basis.
John Owen said the heart as used in the Bible generally denotes all the facul-
ties of the soul as they work together in doing good or evil - the mind, the emo-
tions, the conscience, and the will.
These faculties were all implanted in man's soul by God, but were all corrupted
through man's fall in the Garden of Eden. Our reason (or understanding) was
darkened (Ephesians 4:18), our desires were entanlged (Ephesians 2:3), and our
will perverted (John 5:40).
With new birth our reason is again enlightened, our affections and desires re-
directed, and our wills subdued. But though this is true, it is not true all at once.
In actual experience it is a growing process. We are told to renew our minds
(Romans 12:2), to set our affections on things above (Colossians 3:1), and to
submit our wills to God (James 4:7).
The will has become stubborn and rebellious and will not consent to that
which reason knows to be the will of God. Compelling forces that influence
our choices we make come from a variety of sources.
It may be the subtle suggestions of Satan and his world system (Eph 2:2) or
the evil enticements of our own sinful nature (James 1:14) It may be the ur-
gent voice of conscience, the earnest reasoning of a loving friend, or the quiet
prompting of the Holy Spirit, but from whatever source these compelling forces
come, they reach our wills through either our reason or our emotuions.
Therefore we must guard what enters our minds and what influences our emo-
tions. Solomon said, "Watch over your heart with all dilegence, for from it flows
the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23). If we diligently guard our minds and emo-
tions, we will see the Holy Spirit working in us to conform our wills to His own
(Philippians 2:12-13).
David said. "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to
your word" (Psalm 119:9). There is absolutely no shortcut to holiness that by-
passes or give little priority to a consistent intake of the Bible.
Solomon told us that wisdom, understanding, and discretion will guard us from
the evil way (Proverbs 2:10-12).
"For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth
come knowledge and understanding."
Proverbs 2:6
God gives these qualities to the one who receives His sayings, who inwardly
treasures His commandments who makes his ear alert to wisdom and his heart
ready for understanding, who prays for discernment and understanding, and who
seeks understanding as if it were hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-5).
To guard our minds, we must give priority to the Bible in our lives -- not just
for the spiritual information it gives but also for the daily application of it in our
workaday lives.
The psalmist encourages us to delight ourselves in the law of God (Psalm 1:2),
and it was said prophetically of Jesus, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God"
(Psalm 40:8). So we see that we are to set our desires on spiritual things and de-
light ourselves in the law and will of God.
**********
In the final analysis it is God who works in us to will and to act according to
His good purpose, but we are expressly told by Paul to work at this ourselves
(Philippians 2:12). Our responsiblilty regarding our wills is to guard our minds
and emotions, being aware of what influences our minds and stimulates our de-
sires. As we do our part, we will see the Spirit of God do His part in making us
more holy.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Efficacy of the Cross
The source of information for this is the book, Salvation Accomplished by
the Son: The Work of Christ, by Robert A. Peterson.
The first two pieces of evidence for particular atonement were trinitarian
harmony, and exclusions in substitutionary atonement passages.
The third piece of evidence for particular atonement concerns the efficacy
of the cross. Does Scripture present Christ's substitutionary atonement as po-
tential, making possible the salvation of all, or as effective, securing the sal-
vation of God's people?
Mr. Peterson argues for the latter based on Revelation 5:9. Christ the Lion
and the Lamb, takes the scroll and is worshipped as the elders and living cre-
tures prostrate themselves before Him and sing this song:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals, because you
were slain, and with your blood
you purchased men for God from
every tribe and language and peo-
ple and nation.
"You made them to be a kingdom
and priests to serve our God, and
they will reign on the earth."
Revelation 5:9-10
The Lamb was "slain," that is, slaughtered in His sacrifice on the cross. John
explains what the Lamb's unique sacrifice accomplished: with His blood He
purchased human beings.
Notice the results of the Lamb's redeeming work. The song says,
"With your blood you purchased men for
God from every tribe and language and
people and nation."
Revelation 5:9
The italicized word is supplied in translation. This is a partitive construction:
the preposition "from" introduces the whole out of which what precedes is a part.
So translations must supply a word (marked here by italics) to indicate the part:
"You purchased men for God from
every tribe." NIV
"You ransomed for God saints from
every tribe." NRSV
"You ransomed people for God from
every tribe." ESV
"You ... purchased for God men from
every tribe." NASB
"You bought for God people from
every tribe." CEV
The point is that Jesus via His substitutionary atonement redeemed a part of the
human race out of the bigger whole, "every tribe and language and people and na-
tion." Christ's atonement is not potential, but actual; His blood purchases people
for God from among the nations.
The words "tribe and language and people and nation" refer to the same entity -
humankind from the perspectives of people group, tongue, location, and political
entity, respectively. Here John helps us understand the meaning of Christ's dying
for "the world" and "all" in Scripture.
Christ ransoms people out of "every tribe and language and people and nation,"
that is, from out of the world. This verse does not teach a universal but a particular
atonement. It doesn't say that Christ died for every human being; it says that He
died for people from every nation.
The concept of "world" here, therefore is collective (formed by collecting;
gathered into a whole") rather than distributive ("referring to each member of a
group regarded individually"). Christ died for the world -- understood as all with-
out distinction (in this case, His people from around the world), not all without
exception (all people everywhere).
A distributive interpretation is impossible because Christ's blood actually de-
livers people out of every tribe and so on. This suggests we are justified in un-
derstanding world in other atonement passages in a collective rather than a dis-
tributive sense. The Lamb redeemed persons from "every tribe and language and
people and nation."
Jesus died to redeem persons in "every tribe," including
Masai, Zulu, Yoruba, Xhosa, Tutsi, and Hutu.
Jesus died to redeem persons in "every language," including
Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, and Tagalog.
Jesus died to redeem persons among "every people," including
those born in mainland China, Taiwanese - and American- born
Chinese, among others.
Jesus died to redeem persons in "every nation," including
Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Chile.
**********
To recapitulate: we believe in particular substitutionary atonement because
Scripture implies it when it speaks of Father, Son, and Spirit working harmoni-
ously to save the people of God (Eph. 1:3-14; John 17:2,6, 9-10,19,24; 1 Pet.1:1-2).
We hold to definite atonement because sometimes when the Bible speaks of
Christ's saving death, it excludes some persons (John 10:11,15,26; 17:2,9,19).
We teach limited atonement because Scripture describes the cross as effective,
not making salvation possible for all, but actually securing salvation for multi-
tudes (Rev.5:9; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).
Friday, August 3, 2012
The Wicked and the Righteous
(I'll have the conclusion of the series on the atonement tomorrow, but
first these passages about evildoers and the righteous).
God hates wickedness, the boastful, evildoers, liars, the bloodthirsty,
and the deceitful.
"For you are not a God who delights in
wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not stand before your
eyes; you hate all evildoers.
"You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD
abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man."
Psalm 5:4-6
We believers were once among those who committed such terrible offenses
against God.
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions
and sins, in which you used to live when you fol-
lowed the ways of the world and of the ruler of the
kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work
in those who are disobedient.
"All of us also lived among them at one time, grati-
fying the cravings of our sinful nature and following
its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by
nature objects of wrath."
Ephesians 2:1-3
But now because of God's mercy and grace and love for us through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, we are no longer dead in our sins and objects of God's wrath.
"But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house. I will bow down toward your
holy temple in the fear of you. Lead me, O LORD,
in your righteousness because of my enemies; make
your way straight before me.
" .... let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever
sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that
those who love your name may exult in you. For you
bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor
as with a shield."
Psalm 5:7-8,11-12
We are made righteous through God's gift of faith in Christ Jesus, and are
justified by His grace through the redemption that came by the Son.
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in
Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified freely by His grace, through the re-
demption that came by Christ Jesus."
Romans 3:22-24
Thursday, August 2, 2012
More Evidence for Particular Atonement
My main source is the book, Salvation Acccomplished by the Son: The
Work of Christ, by Robert A. Peterson.
Yesterday we covered one of three evidences for particular (or definite
or limited) atonement, Trinitarian Harmony, in Ephesians 1 and John 17.
The second piece of evidence for particular atonement (vs unlimited or
universal or provisional atonement) is the occurence of exclusions in substi-
tutionary atonement passages.
It is true that for biblical passages to say that Jesus died for the church or
His sheep does not prove that He did not die for others, but for those same
passages to contain exclusionary elements is another matter.
In John 10, Jesus twice says that he lays down His life for His sheep.
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep."
John 10:11
"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and
my sheep know me -- just as the Father knows
me and I know the Father -- and I lay down my
life for the sheep."
John 10:14-15
And yet He declares to the Jewish leaders,
"You do not believe because you are not my sheep."
John 10:26
That is, Jesus follows His statements about dying for His sheep by a stark de-
nial that some are His sheep. It would be difficult to maintain that He lays down
His life to save them, for He has just excluded them from the number of His sheep.
Exclusions also appear in John 17.
Although the Father gave Jesus "authority over all people," Jesus gives eternal
life only to those the Father gave Him.
"For you granted Him authority over all people
that he might give eternal life to all those you
have given Him."
John 17:2
And although God loves the "world" (John 3:16), in John 17 Jesus does not pray
for "the world"; He prays for those the Father gave Him.
"I pray for them, I am not praying for the world,
but for those you have given me, for they are yours."
John 17:9
Jesus makes atonement for the same people He prays for.
"For I sanctify myself, that they too
may be truly sanctified."
John 17:19
In light of the exclusions in John 17:2 and 9, it is implied that Jesus'
consecration of Himself for "them" (John 17:19), includes those the Father
gave Him and excludes "the world" (John 17:9).
That is, within the context of Jesus' prayer, he excludes some from eternal
life. When He speaks of dying for the elect, we are correct in excluding from
those whom the Father gave Him those whom Jesus Himself excludes.
**********
Our third piece of evidence for particular (definite, limited) atonement concerns
the efficacy of the cross.
We will examine that subject next time.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Evidence for Particular Atonement
Source for this information is mainly from Salvation Accomplished by
the Son: The Work of Christ, by Robert A. Peterson.
Three pieces of evidence for Particular (or Definite or Limited) Atone-
ment vs Unlimited (or Universal) Atonement:
1. Trinitarian harmony
2. Exclusion passages
3. Efficacy passages
**********
First, unlimited atonement is the view that Christ died to make possible
the salvation of every human being.
Particular (Limited) atonement is the view that Christ died to save only the elect.
Although certain benefits of Christ's death come to everyone, and although God
adopts a posture of love toward a world that hates Him, Christ's atonement was
designed not merely to make salvation possible, but actually to secure the sal-
vation of those whom God has chosen.
It is, therefore, specifically designed to save a definite or particular people.
**********
Today, we will concentrate on trinitarian harmony, using Ephesians 1:3-14.
and John 17.
The passage divides thematically as follows:
Ephesians 1:3-6 The Father's election
Ephesians 1:7-12 The Son's redemption
Ephesians 1:12-14 The Spirit as seal
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He
chose us in Him before the creation of the world,
to be holy and blameless in His sight.
"In love He predestined us to be adopted as His
sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His
pleasure and will -- to the praise of His glorious
grace, which He has freely given us in the One He
loves.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom
and understanding. And He made known to us the
mystery of His will according to His good pleasure,
which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect
when the times will have reached their fulfillment -
to bring all things in heaven and on earth together
under one head, even Christ.
"In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined
according to the plan of Him who works out every-
thing in conformity with the purpose of His will, in
order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ,
might be for the praise of His glory.
"And you also were included in Christ, when you heard
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having
believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's
possession -- to the praise of His glory."
Ephesians 1:3-14
**********
FOLLOW THE PRONOUNS
"We" and "us" refer to believers, God's people.
1. The Father chose US before the creation of the world, to be holy and
blameless, and predestined US to be adopted as His sons.
2. WE have redemption, the forgiveness of sins through the Son.
The continuity of pronouns indicates that the people whom God chooses
for salvation are the same ones Christ redeems through His substitutionary
atonement. The Son works in harmony with the Father.
Even as the Father does not choose every human being for salvation, so
the Son does not atone for everyone's sins. He atones for the sins of the
elect. (He does not atone for those who will never believe in Him. They are
still in their sins, and have not been reconciled with the Father as the elect
have).
The Spirit too, as God's seal on believers, works in concert with the
Father and Son. The same people the Father predestined (Eph 1:5), the Son
redeemed (Eph 1:7), and were sealed by the Spirit (Eph 1:13).
The three divine Persons work in harmony in salvation, but an unlimited
atonement sets Son against Father and Spirit. For in such a scenario, the
Father chooses a particular people, and He sets the seal of the Spirit only on
believers, but the Son dies to redeem everyone.
Provisional (or unlimited) atonement makes salvation "possible" as op-
posed to particular atonement which actually accomplishes salvation for His
people. Provisional atonement introduces disorder into the doctrine of God.
The Father and Holy Spirit have different goals than the Son.
**********
Ephesians 1:3-14 presents Father, Son, and Spirit working in unison to save
their people, and this implies a definite or limited atonement.
The same harmony is present in the Son's prayer to the Father for those
whom the Father gave Him, that is, those whom the Father chose. Although
the Son was LORD over all, He gave eternal life only to those the Father gave
Him (John 17:2).
Jesus prayed only for those given to Him by the Father.
"I pray for them. I am not praying for the world,
but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
All I have are yours, and all you have is mine."
John 17:9-10a
Jesus sanctifies only those given to Him by the Father, so that they
might become saints, sanctified by the Son's priestly consecration at
Calvary.
"For them I sanctify myself, that they too
may be truly sanctified."
John 17:19
**********
The Son is Mediator and Redeemer for the ones the Father gave him. To
them alone the Son reveals the Father and gives eternal life; for them alone He
prays; He asks the Father to take them alone to heaven. And for them alone
the Son consecrates Himself in death in order to sanctify them in salvation.
This implies a particular atonement, designed to save those whom the
Father gave to the Son. An unlimited atonement, by contrast, would disrupt
the harmony between Father and Son and put them at odds: the Father
choosing some and the Son dying to save all.
**********
Next time - Exclusions in substitutionary atonement and efficacy of the
cross passages.
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