Saturday, June 29, 2013
Jesus Taught the Doctrines of Grace (Conclusion)
In parts one and two, we demonstrated that Jesus taught the "doctrines of grace."
1. The Sovereignty of God
2. Total Inability of Man
3. Unconditional Election
4. Limited or Definite Atonement
5. Irresistible Grace of God
6. Preservation of the Saints
We saw that in John 6:37-40, Jesus taught that:
God the Father gives the Son certain people for salvation.
These people come to Jesus to be saved.
Jesus will never cast them out or drive them away.
Everyone who believes in the Son receives eternal life,
and Jesus will raise them up on the last day.
*******************
This is the conclusion of the summary of chapter seven of The Potter's
Freedom, by James White.
"41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him,
because He said, 'I am the bread that came down
out of heaven.'
42 They were saying, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of
Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
How does He now say, 'I have come down out
of heaven'?"
43 Jesus answered and said to them, 'Do not grumble
among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless
the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise
him up on the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL
ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has
heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me."
John 6:41-45
"The Jews were grumbling by this point. They rejected His claim to divine
origin, assuming instead that Jesus was but a mere man, the son of Joseph.
Jesus instructs them to stop grumbling and then explains their persistent
unbelief.
'No one can come to Me.'
Literally Jesus says,
'No man is able to come to Me.'
These are words of incapacity and they are placed in a universal context.
All men share this in common: they lack the ability to come to Christ in and
of themselves. Shared inability due to a fallen nature.
This is Paul's 'dead in sin' (Ephesians 2:1), and 'unable to please God'
(Romans 8:8). [This is] man's inability taught by the Lord who knows the
hearts of all men.
If the text ended here there would be no hope, no good news.
But it doesn't stop there.
'No one can come to Me unless the Father
who sent Me sent Me draws him.'
The good news is that there is an 'unless' in John 6:44, just as there is a
'But God' in Ephesians 2:4.
In both instances it is not the free will of man that comes to the rescue,
but the free will of God. All men would be left in the hopeless position of
'unable to come' UNLESS GOD ACTS, and He does by drawing men unto
Christ.
Outside of this divine enablement (John 6:65), no man can come to Christ.
No man can 'will' to come to Christ outside of this divine drawing.
(This is not 'prevenient grace,' where God draws before man can choose to
believe).
Remember that these words (v. 44) come immediately after the assertion that
everyone that the Father gives the Son WILL COME to the Son (v. 37).
The ones who are drawn are the ones who are given by the Father to the Son:
i.e., the elect. But the rest of verse 44 explains why it MUST be so:
'and I will raise him up on the last day.'
Verse 39 says He raises everyone given to Him by the Father; verse 40 says
He raises everyone who is looking and believing in Him; verse 44 says He raises
everyone who is drawn by the Father.
The identity of those raised on the last day to eternal life is absolutely
coextensive with the identity of those who are drawn! If a person is drawn,
he will also be raised up to eternal life.
Obviously, then, it cannot be asserted that Christ, in this context, is
saying that the Father is drawing every single individual human being, for
1) the context limits this to those given by the Father to the Son,
2) this passage is still explaining the unbelief of the Jews, which
would make no sense if in fact the Father were drawing these
unbelievers to Jesus, and
3) if that were so, universalism would be the result, for everyone
who is drawn is likewise raised up on the last day.
John Calvin's comments on John 6:44:
' ... we ought not to wonder if many refuse to embrace the Gospel;
because no man will ever of himself be able to come to Christ,
but God must first approach him by His Spirit; and hence it follows
that all are not drawn, but that God bestows this grace on those
whom He has elected.
True, indeed, as to the kind of drawing, it is not violent, so as to
compel men by external force; but still it is a powerful impulse
of the Holy Spirit, which makes men willing who formerly were
unwilling and reluctant.
It is a false and profane assertion, therefore, that none are drawn
but those who are willing to be drawn, as if man made himself
obedient to God by his own efforts; for the willingness with which
men follow God is what they already have from himself, who has
formed, their hearts to obey Him.'
Jesus continues the thought in verse 45, drawing from a prophecy of Isaiah,
and says 'Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.'
To hear and learn from the Father is paralleled with being drawn in verse 44.
Jesus would later use the same kind of terminology when He taught that only
those who 'belong to God' can hear (understand) His words (John 8:47).
****************
In sum, then, Jesus surely taught the absolute sovereignty of God, the
inabilities of man, the unconditional election of a people unto salvation,
the efficient grace of God that infallibly brings salvation to the elect, and
the perseverance of those elect into eternal life."
Friday, June 28, 2013
Jesus Taught the Doctrines of Grace Part 2
Yesterday, we demonstrated that Jesus taught the "doctrines of grace."
The Sovereignty of God
Total Inability
Unconditional Election
Limited or Definite Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Preservation of the Saints
Today, we continue looking at John 6:37-45, a passage that has Jesus
teaching each of these doctrines.
This is a summary of the seventh chapter of The Potter's Freedom, by
James White.
"And the one who comes to Me
I will never cast out" (v. 37b).
"The true believer, the one 'coming' to the Son, has this promise of the Lord:
using the strongest form of denial possible, Jesus affirms the eternal security of
the believer.
Jesus is the one who gives life and raises His own at the last day. He
promises that there is no possibility whatsoever that any one who is coming
to Him in true faith could ever find Him unwilling to save.
But this tremendous promise is the second half of a sentence. It is based
upon the truth that was first proclaimed. This promise is to those who are
given by the Father to the Son and to no one else.
Of course, we will see in verse 44 that no one but those who are given will
be coming to Christ in faith anyway: but there are surely those who, like many
in that audience in Capernaum, are willing to follow for a while, willing to
believe for a season. This promise is not theirs.
This promise to the elect, however, could not be more precious. Since Christ
is able to save perfectly (He is not dependent upon man's will, man's cooperation),
his promise means the elect cannot ever be lost.
This is the only basis of 'eternal security' or the perseverance of the saints:
they look to a perfect Savior who is able to save.
****************
Verse 38 begins with a connective that indicates a continuation of the thought:
verses 38 and 39 explain verse 37.
Christ keeps all those who come to Him for He is fulfilling the will of the Father.
'38. For I have come down from heaven, not to do
My will, but the will of Him who sent me.'
The divine Messiah always does the will of the Father. There is perfect harmony
between the work of the Father and the Son.
And what is the will of the Father for the Son? In simple terms, it is the Father's
will that the Son save perfectly.
'39. This is the will of Him who sent Me
that I should lose none of those He has
given Me but should raise them up on
the last day.'
Those who are given infallibly come to the Son in v. 37, and it is these same
ones, the elect, who are raised up at the last day.
Resurrection is the work of Christ, and in this passage, is paralleled with the
giving of eternal life (v. 40).
'40. For this is the will of My Father:
that everyone who sees the Son and
believes in Him may have eternal life,
and I will raise him up on the last day.'
Christ gives eternal life to all those who are given to Him and who,
as a result, come to Him.
It is not the Father's will that Christ try to save but that He save a
particular people. He is to lose none of all that He is given. How can
this be if, in fact, the final decision lies with man, not with God?
It is the Father's will that results in the resurrection to life of any
individual person.
THIS IS ELECTION IN THE STRONGEST TERMS,
AND IT IS TAUGHT WITH CLARITY IN THE
REDDEST LETTERS IN SCRIPTURE!
***************
Verse 39 begins with 'This is the will of Him who sent Me,'
and verse 40, does the same, 'For this is the will of My Father.'
But in verse 39 we have the will of the Father for the Son.
Now we have the will of the Father for the elect.
'That everyone who sees the Son and believes
in Him may have eternal life, and I Myself
will raise him up on the last day.'
Jesus raises up on the last day everyone given to Him (v. 39)
and everyone looking and believing in Him (v. 40)
.
Are we to believe these are different groups? Of course not.
Jesus raises one group to eternal life. But since this is so,
does it not follow that everyone given to Him will look to Him
and believe in Him? Most assuredly.
**************
Saving faith, then, is exercised by all of those given to the Son
by the Father (one of the reasons, as we will see, the Bible affirms
clearly that saving faith is a gift of God)."
Tomorrow: The Conclusion
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Jesus Taught the Doctrines of Grace
The Doctrines of Grace
The Sovereignty of God - He is in total control of everything in the
universe, and since He is a holy and righteous God, is free to do with
His creation as He wishes.
Total Depravity or Man's Inability to Save Himself - This doesn't
mean that man is as evil as he can be, but that he is dead in sin, an enemy
of God, and unable to save himself.
Unconditional or Divine Election - God chooses a people for Himself,
not because of anything good in them, but because of His grace and mercy
and purpose.
Definite (or Limited) Atonement or Particular Redemption - Christ gave
His life as a "ransom for many," and His purpose for dying on the cross was
to save His people. It is a perfect and complete salvation, because it actually
accomplishes perfect redemption.
Irresistible or Efficacious Grace - All that the Father draws to Christ will
come to Him for salvation. Through the Holy Spirit, God changes a person's
heart, making the unwilling man, willing to come to Him for forgiveness and
salvation. This does not mean that a person cannot resist God's common grace,
but that through God's SAVING grace, the man is made willing to come to Him.
Perseverance or Preservation of the Saints, or Eternal Security of the Believer -
Since salvation is entirely a work of God, He is able to save perfectly, through
Christ, and therefore He preserves His people for eternity, and nothing can
separate them from Him.
*************
Jesus taught and believed all these doctrines. All of them are found in one
short, specific passage (John 6:37-45).
The following is a summary of chapter seven of The Potter's Freedom, by
James White.
"Jesus teaches that God is sovereign and acts independently of the 'free choices'
of men. He likewise teaches that man is incapable of saving faith outside of the
enablement of the Father.
He then limits this drawing to the same individuals given by the Father to the
Son. He then teaches irresistible grace on the elect (not on the 'willing')
when He affirms that all those who are given to Him will come to Him.
****************
'37. Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me,
and the one who comes to Me, I will never cast out.
38. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will,
but the will of Him who sent Me.
39. This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose
none of those He has given Me but should raise them up
on the last day.
40. For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will
raise him up on the last day.'
White continues:
"The blessed Lord was quite blunt with His audience. He knew
they did not possess real faith.
'But I said to you that you have seen Me,
and yet do not believe' (v. 36).
They had seen Him with their eyes, but unless physical sight is
joined with spiritual enlightenment, it profits nothing. Jesus now explains
their unbelief. How is it that these men could stand before the very Son of
God, the Word made flesh, and not believe?
Anyone who does not take seriously the deadness of man in
sin should contemplate this scene. The very Creator in human form stands
before men who are schooled in the Scriptures and points to their unbelief.
He then explains the why, and yet so few today will listen and believe.
'Everyone that the Father gives Me
will come to Me' (v. 37).
These are the first words to come from the Lord in explanation
of man's unbelief. The first assertion is one of complete divine sovereignty.
Every word speaks volumes.
'Everyone that the Father gives Me.'
The Father gives someone to Christ. The elect are viewed as a
single whole, given by the Father to the Son. The Father has the right to
give a people to the Son. He is the sovereign King, and this is a divine
transaction.
Everyone given by the Father to the Son comes to the Son.
Not some, not most, but every one.
Everyone given by the Father to the Son will come to the Son.
It is vital to see the truth that is communicated by this phrase:
the GIVING by the Father to the Son PRECEDES
and DETERMINES the COMING of the person to Christ.
The action of giving by the Father comes before the action of
coming to Christ by the individual. And since all of those so given infallibly
come, we have here both unconditional election as well as irresistible grace,
and that in the space of nine words!
God's giving results in man's coming. Salvation is of the Lord.
But note as well that it is to the Son that they come. They do not
come to a religious system. They are coming to Christ. This is a personal
relationship, personal faith, and, given that the ones who come are described
throughout the passage by the present tense participle, it is not just a coming
that happens once.
This is an on-going faith, an on-going looking to Christ as the
source of spiritual life. The men to whom the Lord was speaking had 'come'
to Him for a season: they would soon walk away and follow Him no more.
The true believer is coming to Christ, always. This is the nature
of saving faith."
Next time: Part two
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Right and Wrong
There's a saying that's been around for quite a while now.
"Christians should not be known only
for what they're against."
I agree. We, as Christians, have the "Good News," the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, and we shouldn't keep it to ourselves.
On the other hand, we should never be afraid to stand against what
is wrong, no matter what the world may say.
Entertainers may mock us for our values. Supreme Court Justices may
vote to affirm something that directly contradicts God's word.
But, if His word says that something is wrong, then we should never advocate
it, but must take a stand, letting the world know whose side we're on.
If we are on God's side, we know we will ultimately be victorious, because
no one can defeat Him. His will, will prevail.
The world can call us intolerant and bigots, but we must stand on the
right side -- God's side.
"If God is for us,
who can be against us?"
Romans 8:31b
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Christ Gives Us Strength
"The duties that God, in an ordinary way,
requires at our hands are not proportioned
to what strength we have in ourselves,
but to what help and relief is laid up for
us in Christ."
John Owen
*******************
The strength and wisdom of men are nothing compared to the strength and wisdom
of God.
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men,
and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
1 Corinthians 1:25
God receives the deserved glory when we use the strength that He supplies
to do His will.
"As each has received a gift, use it to serve
one another, as good stewards of God's
varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who
speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God;
whoever serves, as one who serves by the
strength that God supplies -- in orer that in
everything God may be glorified through
Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen."
1 Peter 4:10-11
************
God gives His people strength to go through any situation, both good and bad.
"I can do all things through him who
strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13
This verse is not to be taken literally. For instance, "all things" does not mean
that the believer is able to lift 10,000 pounds, or walk on water.
John MacArthur writes:
"Paul uses a Greek verb that means 'to be strong'
or 'to have strength.' He had strength to withstand
'all things,' including both difficulty and prosperity
in the material world."
(For example Philippians 4:11-13)
"Not that I am speaking of being in need,
for I have learned in whatever situation I
am to be content.
I know how to be brought low, and I know
how to abound. In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and
hunger, abundance, and need.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
MacArthur continues:
"The Greek word for strengthen means 'to put power in.'
Because believers are in Christ (Galatians 2:20), he
infuses them with his strength to sustain them until
they receive some provision."
(For example Ephesians 3:16-20)
" ... that according to the riches of his glory he may
grant you to be strengthened with power through
his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may
dwell in your hearts through faith -- that you,
being rootedand grounded in love, may have
strength to comprehend with all the saints what
is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses
knowledge, that you may be filled with all the
fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly
than all that we ask or think, according to the
power at work within us; to him be glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus throughout all
generations, forever and ever. Amen."
(Also 2 Corinthians 12:10)
"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with
weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions,
and calamities. For when I am weak, then I
am strong."
**************
Through Christ's strength, believers are able to thrive through anything,
no matter the situation.
Monday, June 24, 2013
The Love of the Father
"If the love of a father will not make a child
delight in him, what will?
John Owen
****************
God redeems His children, and guides them with His strength and love.
They can count on Him, no matter what obstacles they may meet.
"You have led in your steadfast love the
people whom you have redeemed;
you have guided them by your strength
to your holy abode."
Exodus 15:13
God loves those who love Him and obey Him. He is always faithful to them.
[God said He would show] "steadfast love to thousands
of those who love me and keep my commandments."
Exodus 20:6
The love of the LORD endures forever, and He will fulfill His purpose in His
children. They will never be forsaken.
"The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands."
Psalm 138:8
God loves his people so much that he adopts us as part of his family.
"See what kind of love the Father has given to us,
that we should be called children of God; and so
we are."
1 John 3:1
Everyone who has the Holy Spirit is a child of God.
He grants us all the rights of natural children.
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons
of God. For you did not receive the spirit of
slavery to fall back into fear, but you have
received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom
we cry, 'Abba! Father!'
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirs -- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
provided we suffer with him in order that we may
also be glorified with him."
Romans 8:14-16
The LORD rewards those who honor the Sabbath and delight in Him;
those who seek God's will, and not their own.
"If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day
of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly,
then you shall take delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of
the earth."
Isaiah 58:13-14a
God blesses those who put Him first and live for Him each day.
Those who follow Him will be fully satisfied.
"Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires
of your heart."
Psalm 137:4
Sunday, June 23, 2013
The Foundation of the Christian Faith
"So it was necessary, since God had purposed
to save His church, to transfer the punishment
from them who deserved it but could not bear it,
to one who had not deserved it but could bear it.
This transfer of punishment by divine dispensation
is the foundation of the Christian faith, indeed of
all the supernatural revelation contained in Scripture."
John Owen
*******************
Since sinners were incapable of bearing the penalty for their transgressions,
due to their being dead in sin, God the Father and the Son made a divine transaction
which would save His people.
The Father would send the Son to pay for the sins of His people, bearing
their sins on Himself, and imputing His righteousness to them.
"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
Though he was without sin, he removed his people's sins, and took our
place on the cross.
"But you know that he appeared so that he
might take away our sins. And in him is
no sin."
1 John 3:5
God the Father being determined to save His people, gave His Son
to purchase the church (those who believed in him), by his death for them.
"Be shepherds of the church of God,
which he bought with his own blood."
Acts 20:28b
We were cursed under the law because of our sins, but Jesus redeemed us
by taking our place and becoming a curse for us.
"Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law by becoming a curse for us,
for it is written:
'Cursed is everyone who is
hung on a tree.' (Deut. 21:23)
He redeemed us in order that the blessing
given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles
through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might
receive the promise of the Spirit."
Galatians 3:13-14
*********************
Jesus became the penal substitute for his people. shedding his blood
to pay for their sins, thereby redeeming and saving them.
J.I. Packer, in his book, In My Place, Condemned He Stood, wrote:
" ... God remits our sins and accepts our persons
into favor, not because of any amends we have
attempted, but because the penalty that was our
due was diverted on to Christ.
The notion which the phrase 'penal substitution'
expresses is that Jesus Christ our Lord, moved
by a love that was determined to do everything
necessary to save us, endured and exhausted the
destructive divine judgment for which we were
otherwise inescapably destined, and so won us
forgiveness, adoption, and glory.
To affirm penal substitution is to say that believers
are in debt to Christ specifically for this, and that
this is the mainspring of all their joy, peace, and
praise both now and for eternity."
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