Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Ignorance is NOT Bliss! Part 2
"The legacy of unbelief is ignorance."
John MacArthur
**************************************
Yesterday, we saw that ignorance is not bliss when it comes to salvation.
In fact, ignorance of the Gospel leads to death, while knowledge and belief
in Jesus Christ lead to eternal life in Him.
Talking to unbelieving Jews, Jesus explained why they did not understand
His message, and trust in Him for salvation.
"Why is my language not clear to you?
You belong to your father, the devil,
and you want to carry out your father's
desire.
"If I am telling you the truth, why don't
you believe me? He who belongs to God
hears what God says.
The reason you do not hear is that you do
not belong to God."
John8:43-44a, 46b-47
Jesus did not mean that the Jews couldn't literally hear what He was saying
to them. He was carrying on a conversation with them, so obviously they could
hear him speaking.
He meant that they could not understand what He was telling them, because
they were children of the devil, and did not belong to Him.
They had not been given the gifts of understanding and knowledge by God, so
they could not comprehend what His message was. However, those who belonged to
God were able to hear and understand what He said to them.
"You, dear children, are from God and have
overcome them (those who don't acknowledge God),
because the one who is in you is greater than
the one who is in the world.
They are from the world and therefore speak
from the viewpoint of the world, and the world
listens to them.
We are from God, and whoever knows God
listens to us; but whoever is not from God
does not listen to us.
This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth
and the spirit of falsehood."
1 John 4:4-6
True teachers will speak God's words, and the Holy Spirit leads to sound
doctrine.
False teachers do not speak the words of God, only false doctrine.
The Gospel is foolishness to those who don't belong to God (natural man),
but salvation for those who are His (spiritual man).
"For the message of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written:
'I will destroy the wisdom of
the wise; the intelligence of
the intelligent I will frustrate.'
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar?
Where is the philosopher of this age? Has
not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through
its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased
through the foolishness of what was preached to
save those who believe.
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look
for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified:
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, but to those whom God has called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God
and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's
wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger
than man's strength."
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
God gives "the called" wisdom and understanding and knowledge, so they
will be saved through hearing the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who
is their salvation.
The wisest man who doesn't believe spews nothing but nonsense when speaking
of God and His Word.
"God wisely established that men could not come to know Him
by human wisdom. That would exalt man; so God designed to
save helpless sinners through the preaching of a message that
was so simple the 'worldly wise' deemed it nonsense. From the
human side, salvation requires and comes only through faith."
John MacArthur
Jesus is our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption. We
can boast of nothing but Him.
"Brothers, think of what you were when you
were called. Not many of you were wise by
human standards; not many were influential;
not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world
to shame the wise; God chose the weak things
of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and the
despised things -- and the things that are not --
to nullify the things that are, so that no one may
boast before Him.
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who has become for us wisdom from God -- that
is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts
boast in the Lord.' "
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
"God disdained human wisdom, not only by disallowing it as a
means to knowing Him, but also by choosing to save the lowly.
He does not call to salvation many whom the world would call
wise, mighty, and noble.
God's wisdom is revealed to the foolish, weak, and common, i.e.,
those considered nothing by the elite, who trust in Jesus Christ
as Savior and Lord. God clearly received all the credit and the
glory for causing such lowly ones to know Him and the eternal
truths of His heavenly kingdom. No saved sinner can boast that
he has achieved salvation by his intellect."
John MacArthur
"The redeemed not only are given salvation by God's wisdom rather
than by their own, but are also graciously given a measure of His
divine wisdom, as well as imputed righteousness, sanctification
from sin, and redemption by God in order that, above all else, the
Lord will be glorified."
John MacArthur
"The natural man does not accept the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him,
and he is not able to understand them because
they are spiritually discerned.
The spiritual person judges all things, but
is himself to be judged by no one. For who
has understood the mind of the Lord so as to
instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ."
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
Believers can know the thoughts of the Lord through the Word and the Holy
Spirit.
Ignorance brings unbelief which leads to death, while knowledge and faith
lead to eternal life in Jesus Christ.
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