Tuesday, September 18, 2012
God is Not a Cosmic Bell-Hop (Understanding the Gospel)
The following is a quote by J.I. Packer. I have added scripture references
in parentheses.
[Have modern evangelicals lost their grip on the biblical gospel]?
"Well, in one particular respect we have got it all wrong. We are inclined to
believe that God exists for us, God is waiting for us, God is there to make us
happy.
"But in the gospel, God does not play the role of butler. In the gospel we are
told that God, the Creator who made all things for His own praise and glory, has
gone into action as mankind's redeemer ('in accordance with His pleasure and will
... in Him we have redemption through His blood ...to bring all things in heaven
and earth together under one head ... to the praise of His glory ...' Ephesians 1:3-14).
"We human individuals are impotent of spiritual response, that is, response to
God in any shape or form (... 'the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please
God' Romans 8:7-8), but God first of all sends us a Savior to make atonement for
sins ('But God demonstrates His own love for us [His people] in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us' Romans 5:8), and then He sends the Holy
Spirit to change our hearts ('I will give you a new heart ... and remove from you
your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh' Ezekiel 36:26) and make us
willing to see and respond to Christ ('... if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is
Lord, and believe in your heart that God raise Him from the dead, you will be
saved' Romans 10:9-10).
"Now if we do not appreciate that our salvation is God's work in that absolutely
radical sense, that is, God sends the Savior, God gives us the gift of faith to re-
spond to the Savior ('... by grace you have been saved by faith ... it is the gift of
God' Ephesians 2:8), then we will not even be able to tell people what the gospel
means.
"You see, we ought to be telling people that they are helpless ('... you were dead
in your sins..' Ephesians 2:1). that they need Christ ('... I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me' John 14:6), and that
they must ask God for new hearts ('... circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by
the Spirit ...' Romans 2:29) and for the ability to trust Christ ('Trust in God; trust
also in me' John 14:1).
"In other words you have got to tell them of their own spiritual inability right
from the start ('You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly' Romans 5:6). If on the other hand we forget this and go a-
round saying that God is just there to help you, and that you can call on Him when-
ever you to, that He is a sort of cosmic bell-hop, well then we are misrepresenting
the gospel in an absolutely fundamental manner.
"Until the gospel is understood as a message that obliges us to say that we are
hopeless, helpless, lost, and ruined, ('... at that time you were separate from Christ
... without hope and without God ...' Ephesians 2:12), requiring also that God does
the work of salvation from start to finish ('Salvation is of the Lord' Jonah 2:9),
then we are not presenting the gospel as it is revealed in the New Testament ('God
made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the
righteousness of God' " 2 Corinthians 5:21).
J.I. Packer
Monday, September 17, 2012
God Reveals Himself
(Jesus said), "All things have been committed to me
by my Father. No one knows the Son
except the Father, and no one knows
the Father except the Son and those to
whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
Matthew 11:27
God is sovereign and does as He pleases. He doesn't need to explain Himself
to us about anything He does, even in the matter of salvation.
"The LORD does whatever pleases Him,
in the heavens and on the earth, in the
seas and all their depths."
Psalm 135:6
Jesus reveals the Father and Himself to whomever He pleases.
"Whoever has my commmands and obeys
them, he is the one who loves me. He who
loves me will be loved by my Father, and
I too will love him and show myself to him."
John 14:21
"No one has ever seen God, but God the One
and Only, who is at the Father's side, has
made Him known."
John 1:18
Jesus gives life to whomever pleases.
(Jesus said), "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives
them life, even so the Son gives life to whom
He is pleased to give it."
John 5:21
The Father reveals Himself to whomever He pleases.
"The LORD confides in those who fear Him;
He makes His covenant known to them."
Psalm 25:14
The Gospel reveals the righteousness of God by faith.
"For in the gospel a righteousness from God
is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith
from first to last, just as it is written:
'The righteous will live by faith.' "
Romans 1:17
God allows some to hear His word while keeping others from hearing and under-
standing it.
"Believers, in contrast to unbelievers, hear God's word
because God allows them to hear it. They 'accept' it --
they understand and obey it because God opens their
mind and heart and transforms their lives."
John MacArthur
God hardens and gives mercy to whomever He wills.
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have
compassion."
Romans 9:15
Salvation doesn't depend on man's desire or effort but on God's mercy.
"It does not, therefore, depend on man's
desire or effort, but on God's mercy."
Romans 9:16
God hides His word from some and reveals it to to others.
"At that time Jesus, full of joy through the
Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and learned,
and revealed them to little children. Yes,
Father, for this was your good pleasure.
"All things have been committed to me by my
Father. No one knows who the Son is except
the Father, and no one knows who the Father
is except the Son and those to whom the Son
chooses to reveal Him."
Luke 10:21-22
Jesus used parables to keep some from understanding the truth about His message.
"Jesus told them (disciples), 'The secret of the
kingdom of God has been given to you. But to
those on the outside everything is said in parables
so that, 'they may be ever seeing but never per-
ceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' "
Mark 4:11-12
God hid His word for many generations, but made it known through the preaching of
the gospel.
"I (Paul) have become its (the church) servant by
the commission God gave me to present to you
the word of God in its fullness -- the mystery
that has been kept hidden for ages and generations,
but is now disclosed to the saints.
"To them God has chosen to make known among
the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Colossians 1:25-27
**********
God chooses (2 Thessalonians 2:13), gives (John 6:37), and draws His people (John 6:44),
and reveals Himself (Matthew 11:27) to them.
Friday, September 14, 2012
True Repentance
For a Christian, true repentance is not just saying, "I'm sorry," and having
a bad feeling about his sins.
"True repentance results in the outward hatred of sin and a lifelong endeavor
to be more like Christ" (Theopedia).
Repentance is a gift from God. It does not come from within the person.
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of His
kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing
that God's kindness leads you toward repentance."
Romans 2:4
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to
salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly
sorrow brings death."
2 Corinthians 7:10
"God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and
Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness
of sins."
Acts 5:31
"Godly sorrow manifests itself by repentance and the experience of divine
grace."
"Worldly sorrow brings death because, instead of being God-centered sorow
over the wickedness of sin, it is self-centered sorrow over the painful conse-
quences of sin."
NIV Commentary
**********
"The term [repentance] demands radical conversion, demands a transformation
of nature, a definitive turning from evil, a resolute turning to God in total obedience.
This conversion is once for all. There can be no going back, only advance and re-
sponsible movement along the way now taken. It affects the whole man."
Gerhart Kittle
"True repentance is a turning of the heart, as well as of the life; it is the giving up
of the whole soul to God, to be His forever and ever; it is a renunciation of the sins
of the heart, as well as the corruptions of life."
"All sin must be given up, or else you will never have Christ: All evil must be re-
nounced, or else the gates of heaven must be locked to keep you out forever. Let us
remember then, that for repentance to be sincere, it must be total repentance."
Charles Spurgeon
"Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples
and said, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny
himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever
wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life for me and for the gospel will save it.
"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet for-
feit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his
soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be
ashamed of him when He comes in His Father's glory with
the holy angels."
Mark 8:34-38
"Repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the
presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you
are hell-bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is
in you and that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in
every shape and form.
"You renounce the world whatever the cost, the world in its mind and out-
look as well as its practices, and you deny yourself and take up the cross and
go after Christ. Your nearest and dearest and the whole world may call you a
fool or say you have religious mania; you may have to suffer financially, but
it makes no difference. That is repentance."
Martin Lloyd-Jones
Jesus commanded us to repent.
(Jesus said), "The time has come. The kingdom of God is
near. Repent and believe the good news."
Mark 1:15
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Why Jesus Came
The Bible tells us there are several reasons Jesus came to earth.
I. Jesus came not to bring peace, but a sword.
"Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."
Matthew 10:34
"Though the ultimate end of the gospel is peace with God,
('Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not
let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.')
John 14:27
the immediate result of the gospel is frequently conflict. Conversion
to Christ can result in strained family relationships, persecution, and even
martyrdom. Following Christ presupposes a willingness to endure such
hardships. Though He is called 'Prince of Peace,' Christ will have no one
deluded into thinking that He calls believers to a life devoid of all conflict."
John MacArthur
"It is true that Christ came to bring peace -- peace between the believer
and God, and peace among men. Yet the inevitable result of Christ's com-
ing is conflict -- between Christ and the anit-christ, between light and dark-
ness, between Christ's children and the devil's children."
NIV Commentary
II. Jesus came to preach the gospel and testify to the truth.
"And He (Jesus) said to them, 'Let us go on to the next towns,
that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.' "
Mark 1:38
"Jesus answered [Pilate], "You are right in saying I am a king.
In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the
world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth
listens to me."
John 18:37
Jesus IS the truth and the only way to salvation.
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.' "
John 14:6
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him,
'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free.' "
John 8:32
" 'Truth' here refers not only to the facts surrounding Jesus as the Messiah
and Son of God but also to the teaching that He brought. A genuinely saved
and obedient follower of the Lord Jesus will know divine truth and both free-
dom from sin and the search for reality. This divine truth comes not merely
by intellectual assent but saving commitment to Christ."
John MacArthur
III. Jesus came to save His people.
(The angel said to Joseph), 'She will bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
Matthew 1:21
Who are His people? The ones the Father gives to Him.
"All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I will never drive
away."
John 6:37
Jesus gave His life as a ransom for His people.
" ... just as the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give His life as a
ransom for many."
Matthew 20:28
IV. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
(Jesus said), 'For the Son of Man came to seek
and to save what was lost.' "
Luke 19:10
Even though we (believers) are God's people, we were His enemies before
conversion. Jesus sought us and bought us with His death on the cross.
"For if, when we were God's enemies, we were
reconciled to Him through the death of His Son,
how much more, having been reconciled, shall
we be saved through His life!"
Romans 5:10
V. Jesus came to do the Father's will, and His will is that all the ones He
has given to Jesus receive eternal life.
"For I have come down from heaven not to do my
will but to do the will of Him who sent me. And
this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall
lose none of all that He has given me, but raise
them up at the last day.
"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks
to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal
life, and I will raise Him up at the last day."
John 6:38-40
**********
One day Jesus will return for His children!
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear
in the sky, and all nations of the earth will mourn.
They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds
of the sky, with power and great glory.
"And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call,
and they will gather His elect from the four winds,
from one end of the heavens to the other."
Matthew 24:30-31
Monday, September 10, 2012
Jesus - The Center of the Bible
"Reading through the Bible from beginning to end is
like watching a painter transform a blank canvas in-
to a masterpiece."
T.D. Alexander
**********
The Bible is not just 66 individual books that are disconnected, but one book
that has a theme throughout -- that while God is holy and loving and merciful, He
is also righteous and just.
Jesus is at the center of God's plan in Scripture. He and His influence are found
not only in the New Testament, but throughout the entire Bible, including the Old
Testament.
WHO JESUS IS
In Genesis Jesus is the Ram at Abraham's altar
In Exodus He's the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus He's the High Priest
In Numbers He's the Cloud by day and pillar of fire by night
In Deuteronomy He's the City of our refuge
In Joshua He's the Scarlet Thread out Rahab's window
In Judges He is our Judge
In Ruth He is our Kinsman Redeemer
In 1st and 2nd Samuel He's our Trusted Prophet
And in Kings and Chronicles He's our Reigning King
In Ezra He is our Faithful Scribe
In Nehemiah He's the Rebuilder of everything that is broken
And in Esther He is the Mordecai sitting faithful at the gate
In Job He's our Redeemer that ever liveth
In Psalms He is my Shepherd and I shall not want
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes He's our Wisdom
And in the Song of Solomon He's the Beautiful Bridegroom
In Isaiah He's the Suffering Servant
In Jeremiah and Lamentations it is Jesus that is the Weeping Prophet
In Ezekiel He's the Wonderful Four-Faced Man
And in Daniel He is the Fourth Man in the midst of a fiery furnace
In Hosea He is my Love that is forever faithful
In Joel He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit
In Amos He's our Burden Bearer
In Obadiah our Savior
And in Jonah He is the Great Foreign Missionary that takes the Word of
God into all of the world
You go on and you see in Micah He is the Messenger with beautiful feet
In Nahum He is the Avenger
In Habakkuk He is the Watchman that is ever praying for revival
In Zephaniah He is the Lord mighty to save
In Haggai He is the Restorer of our lost heritage
In Zechariah He is our Fountain
And in Malachi He is the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings
In Matthew Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God
In Mark He is the Miracle Worker
In Luke He's the Son of Man
And in John He is the Door by which everyone of us must enter
In Acts He is the Shining Light that appears to Saul on the road to Damascus
In Romans He is our Justifier
In 1 Corinthians our Resurrection
In 2 Corinthians our Sin Bearer
In Galatians He redeems us from the law
In Ephesians He is our Unsearchable Riches
In Philippians He supplies our every need
And in Colossians He's the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily
In 1st and 2nd Thessalonians He is our Soon coming King
In 1st and 2nd Timothy He is the Mediator between God and man
In Titus He is our Blessed Hope
In Philemon He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother
And in Hebrews He's the Blood of the everlasting covenant
In James it is the Lord that heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd Peter He is the Chief Shepherd
In 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John it is Jesus who has the tenderness of love
In Jude He is the Lord coming with 10,000 saints
And in Revelation, lift up your eyes, Church, for your redemption
draweth nigh, He is King of kings and Lord of lords
(Name Above All Names, from God With Us)
**********
The Bible is God's Word, and reveals His plan from the beginning --
salvation for His people through the death, burial, and resurrection of His
Son, Jesus Christ!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
From Depraved to Saved!
"It is not until the sunlight floods a room that the
grime and dust are fully revealed. So, it is only
as we really come into the presence of Him who
is the light, that we are made aware of the filth
and wickedness which indwells us, and which
defile every part of our being."
A.W. Pink
**********
Going back to Adam, man has been sinful and unwilling to obey God
(Genesis 3).
"The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the
earth had become, and that every inclination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time."
Genesis 6:5
"The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and
there is madness in their hearts while they live ..."
Ecclesiastes 9:3b
No one is good.
"As it is written:
'There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands, no one
who seeks God.
'There is no one who does good, not even one.' "
Romans 3:10-11, 12b
Only God is good.
(Jesus said), "No one is good -- except God alone."
Luke 18:19b
We inherit a sinful nature from the first man, and only God can remove that
nature and replace it with a faith in Him that saves sinners.
"Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot
please God."
Romans 8:8
" ... those who live in accordance with the
Spirit have their minds set on what the
Spirit desires."
Romans 8:5b
All who live will die, but all who are in Christ will live forever.
"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will
be made alive."
1 Corinthians 15:22
Even though we were God's enemies, we are reconciled to Him through
Christ's death on the cross.
"Once you were alienated from God and were
enemies in your minds because of your evil
behavior. But now He has reconciled you by
Christ's physical body through death to pre-
sent you holy in His sight, without blemish
and free from accusation -- if you continue
in your faith, established and firm, not moved
from the hope held out in the gospel."
Colossians 1:21-23
When we were dead in sin, God made us alive and forgave our sins,
nailing them to the cross.
"When you were dead in your sins and in the
uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God
made you alive with Christ. He forgave us
all our sins, having canceled the written code,
with its regulations, that was against us and
that stood opposed to us; He took it away,
nailing it to the cross."
Colossians 2:13-14
Jesus' light leads us out of the darkness and into the light of life.
"Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life."
John 8:12
**********
When Jesus changes our hearts, and gives us repentance and faith in Him,
we will turn from our sinful ways and follow Him in obedience to His will.
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