Paradox?

Unbelief has always been irrational, for it is the fool that says in his heart that there is no God.  The fact that he has a spiritual heart means that there is a God, so the fact that the fool speaks in his heart at all means that he lies when he says there is no God. 

Some unbelievers go to great length to give a rational defense of their irrationality.  They are very clever in this.  Instead of denying his own irrationality he tries to contend that truth is only found by irrationality.  So they speak of the paradoxes of Scripture, and by that they mean contradiction.  Because they maintain that the Bible is full of contradictions, they deny that truth can be found by close attention to the words of Scripture.  Instead of the words of Scripture, they would set the Holy Spirit against His very words and try to find truth by locating the Spirit's revelation some other place, usually in intuition or emotion.  Sometimes they locate it in rationality or in volition, thinking that what seems sensible or what they choose to do is the "leading of the Spirit."  But most common in modern day is emotion or intuition: the leading of the Spirit is what "feels right" no matter what the words of Scripture say, for they contradict themselves.

Probably the Roman Church represents this departure from Scripture in it most developed form. In Rome the words of Scripture can only be interpreted by the "magisterium" or the teachers of the church.  But this is paradoxical itself, for the teachers disagree with themselves over and over again, as Abelard displayed in Sic et Non many centuries ago.  So the historical will of the church [tradition], or the emotions stirred by icon or relic, or the logical exercises by men like Aquinas are looked to for "guidance."  So every adherent is basically left to himself, but he is safe in this, because the principle of "probabilism" means that if even one teacher supports his own personal conviction, the individual cannot be faulted.

Immanuel Kant made much of paradox, or logical contradiction, and tried to build an ethic upon the Christian's subjective state.  Hegel found truth at the end of a series of contradictions and syntheses.  Karl Barth and the neo-orthodox did not find truth in the words of Scripture but in the response of the Christian soul to the words, if there were such a response.   A wordless Jesus was the end of faith, but the writings of the apostles and prophets, though filled with errors and contradiction, may help you feel this Jesus and so be the word of God to you.  The Bible is not the word of God, so it goes, but the Bible may be a means of you finding the word of God.

John Calvin confessed the faith of the Reformation and believers of all ages when he wrote in the Institutes: "Let this be a firm principle: No other word is to be held as the Word of God, and given place in the church, than what is contained first in the Law and the Prophets, then in the writings of the apostles; and the only authorized way of teaching in the church, is by the prescription and standard of the Word." [IV.8.8]

 The faithful do not therefore admit logical paradox or contradiction in the Bible.  Such is the doctrine of antichrist, such as to deny that the Messiah came in the flesh.  He either did or He didn't.  The faithful say He did, antichrist says He didn't [1John 4:1-4]   "A" cannot be "non-A," because God cannot lie or deny Himself. [Titus 1:2 and 2 Tim. 2:13].  There are, however, other kinds of paradoxes.

We do admit that there are rhetorical paradoxes in the Bible.  These are used for effect and emphasis and do not involve contradiction.  Jesus said that we must hate our mother and father to follow Him.  He is not speaking of actual hate, nor even of "loving less" but of actions that might appear like hate to the mother or the father.  Many a believer has had to leave his father's house because of his faith; this does not mean that his love for his family was damaged, but that obedience called for action that mom and dad would not understand because they are not believers.

Another example is Christ's answer to the Rich Young Ruler, "Why do you call Me good; there is one good, and that is God."  It appears that Christ is denying to be God, and the statement, therefore, appears to be paradoxical.  It isn't at all.  The emphasis is on the "Why."  "WHY do you call Me good?  If you do not think that I am God, then you have no right to call me good."

A favorite of the irrational is this: Tit 1:12  "One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies."   They say, if the Cretians are always liars then this Cretian lied when he said that Cretians are always liars.  Hence, Cretians must not be liars.  Hence, he did not lie when he said that all Cretians are liars; hence, Cretians must be liars.  So they think they have proved their contention that there are "contradictions in the Bible."  Not so.



"All" is a word that is syncategorematic: it can never be used alone in a logical expression.  The trick is in the word "always."  In the same way, when Paul said that "all have sinned," all must be defined.  Does he mean all men without exception;  no, for Jesus was a man who never sinned.  Does all include the angels and other rational beings including God and the Holy Spirit?  No.   So when the Cretian prophet said, "Cretians are always liars," he certainly did not included every Cretian in the history of the world, or even himself.


In the same way, God is called a father of men and a burning fire that will destroy the ungodly.  "Father" and "fire" are figures of speech, each of which represents some aspect of God's attributes.  Both are true, but true in different ways.  There are many names for God in the Bible, and none of the exhaust the meaning of His being, for He is the only One like Him [Isaiah 40].  The statements are paradoxical but not contradictory, for even the word "father" means different things: it means creator with respect to all men, for God is the source [father] of all men.  It means that God is the fountain of grace and mercy to those who believe in Christ, the Son of God.  God is not the father of grace and mercy to all men; nor is He a consuming fire to those who believe.

The Bible does not contain nonsense, except to those who enthrone nonsense in their hearts.

Religion, or Professed Lack Thereof

From Herman Bavinck:

"Religion as the relation to God indicates the place in which human beings stand in relation to all other creatures.  It embraces dogma, law, and cult and is therefore closely connected with science, morality, and art.  It encompasses the whole person in his or her thinking, feeling, and action, in the whole of his or her life, everywhere and at all times.  Nothings falls outside of its scope.

"Religion extends its power over the whole person, or all of humanity, over family and society and state.  It isthe foundation of the true, the good, and the beautiful.  It introduces unity, coherence, and life into the world and its history.  From it science, morality, and art derive their origin; to it they return and find rest.  'All the higher elements of human life first surfaced in alliance with religion.' It is the beginning and the end, the soul of everything, that which is highest and deepest in life.  What God is to the world, religion is to humanity.

"Nevertheless, religion is distinguished from all the forces of culture and maintains its independence from them all.  Religion is central; science, morality, and art are partial.  While religion embraces the whole person, science, morality, and art are respectively rooted in the intellect, the will, and the emotions.  Religion aims at nothing less than eternal blessedness in fellowship with God; science, morality, and art are limited to creatures and seek to enrich this life with the true, the good, and the beautiful.

"Religion, accordingly, cannot be equated with anything else.  In the life and history of humankind, it occupies an independent place of its own, playing a unique and all-controlling role.  Its indispensability can even be demonstrated from the fact that at the very moment people reject religion as an illusion they again turn some creature into their god, thus seeking to compensate for their religious need in some other way."

-from Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. I.  p.268,9.    Paragraph divisions have been altered.

 Faith and Works

Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Pr 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
 
This means that love is rooted in faith, not the other way around.  Dead works cannot be made alive in order to make faith living; the cure for dead works is to abandon dead Gods for the Living God in Jesus Christ.  Faith is not rooted in love; love is rooted in faith. 

Paul said that, being justified by faith we have peace with God, for it is by faith that we have access into God's grace [Rom. 5].  The Holy Spirit is graciously given to us so we can will and do of His good pleasure.  By the Spirit, love is shed abroad in our hearts, the result of faith.

Hence, the human act is rooted in the divine act, not the other way around, for faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, and it is rooted in the attributes of God, not our affections toward men.  Love for God is the First and Great commandment, and takes precedence over the Second Great Commandment which requires love for the image of God.  Without this work of God in the heart by faith, man is left only with the painted face and caricature of a "love" that has no foundation, used only to snare the foolish. Proverbs 5:3-5.

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.  You must be godly before you can do godly. The tree is an apple tree before it bears apples.

Isa 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men....

How Ministers Break the Sabbath.  Huh?

A few years ago, someone was curious as to how, with my view of the Sabbath, what anyone could do to break the 4th commandment.  I wondered for a minute why he wanted to know, unless he was making a list, checking it twice, to feed his own transgression of Colossians 2:16, 17, not seeing the Fourth Commandment ceremonies are no more binding on Christians than bloody sacrifices were.  The body is Christ.

Seeing as it is never the weak who are offended by how someone keeps or doesn’t keep the Sabbath, I decided that it would be good to address the consciences of those strong Christians who are very super careful lest the weak be turned out of the way and stop at McDonalds on their way home from church, I thought of the many, many ways that Sabbath breakers disrupt the peace of the Lord’s Day.  Because I think that worship trumps physical rest on the Sabbath [for we rest to worship, not worship to rest], I thought that the sin of corrupting worship would be worse than those who disturbed somebody’s sleep.

I thought I would start with preachers, for they can do very much to set the tone.   Because the Heidelberg Catechism is very clear that the purpose for our Sabbath gatherings concerns the ministry of the word of God:

Q103:  What does God require in the fourth Commandment?
 A103:  In the first place, God wills that the ministry of the Gospel and schools be maintained,[1] and that I, especially on the day of rest, diligently attend church [2] to learn the Word of God,[3] to use the holy sacraments,[4] to call publicly upon the Lord,[5] and to give Christian alms.[6] In the second place, that all the days of my life I rest from my evil works, allow the Lord to work in me by His Spirit, and thus begin in this life the everlasting sabbath.[7]

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the rest that God has given to His people   Hence, the day of worship is the day of rest because it is there that we learn of our rest and learn how to know the Lord who calls us to come to Him and He will give us rest.  Hence, the minister must be very careful not to disrupt the message of Gospel of Christ, lest the people of God be turned aside to ceremonies and fleshly things that cannot give rest.

It is very important that the church and the ministry provide a rich opportunity for people to learn the word of God, that children be catechized, and the families gather to worship the Lord.  This must always be the focus of the Fourth Commandment.  The peace and rest that the soul finds in Christ must remain for all ages, even when the Commandment is stripped of Jewish ceremonies.

Hence, I would suggest that any minister guilty of any of the following practices is in violation of the Fourth Commandment and guilty of profaning the Rest of the Lord.   There may be a book end to this article, indicated those sins that are common to the people of God with respect to the Fourth Commandment.

This is the short list.  You may expand it as your conscience tweaks you:

By loafing all week, not visiting the flock, not doing careful study and being boring in the pulpit, delivering up dead homilies on gnats.

By not weeping with those that weep nor rejoicing with those that rejoice. Unconcern and   indifference to the real needs of the flock. Worrying more about your legacy and reputation than the good of the church. Bullying the weak.

By seeking first of all to preserve your station. Selling the gospel for salary, security, and position. By ancestor worship rather than the Lord Jesus. By tribal attitudes that downgrade other ethnic groups.   [See my article on Tribal Christianity] By Bible whipping those who don't agree with you.  By preaching yourselves and your own wisdom; By showing off;

By preaching to advance a private agenda.  Using the Bible to support your own ambition and desires.  By Bible-whipping those who disagree with you.

By cruelty to the poor and needy and weak in the faith;   By  thinking that laying down the law will reform the life; By binding the church to your own private interpretations of Scripture.

By incessant meddling in other peoples' affairs.

By adding to the Scriptures;  By taking away from the Scriptures.  By preaching the dreams of your own heart.

By misinterpretation of Scripture to fit your preconceived conclusions.  By indulging private sins and lusts; by covetousness; by agitation of soul.

By drunkenness anytime. By prayerlessness. By not praying for the Holy Spirit. By trusting in your  own wisdom, experience, reason.

By bullying. By striving. By railing. By insult and name-calling. By self-indulgence and self-vindication. By making excuses for your own profanation of the sabbath in any of these things by your own carelessness in the Gospel

By playing fast and loose with the constitutions and creeds of the church, which are foundational for the peace of rest of the church.   By claiming legitimacy for de facto and self-affirmed positions which have never been legally adopting as part of the creeds or constitutions, thus attacking the foundations of the peace of the church.
.
By seeking your own. By not suffering long. By not being kind.  By railing [did I already say that?]. By having no mercy.  By mistreating your wives or children. By failure in any of the nine other commandments, but pretending otherwise, then whipping people with the law.

By being a  workaholic, not spending time for games and recreation with your family,   By not taking your responsibility as a husband and establishing the peace of Christ in your home.  By being a truant and not dealing with bullies and strife in the church to the destruction of your wife and family and permanent damage to their view of the Gospel and the church as a battleground rather than a place of rest in Christ.

By putting people to sleep because you haven't prepared a new sermon since the first five years after seminary. By choosing where you will minister because of personal desire rather than the  need of the church; or because of the salary; or because you have family there; or because the weather is nice; or because there are rich people there; or a thousand other unworthy motives.

By pretending you believe the Bible, but have reservations and do not tend to your own personal devotions and prayer. By mental and spiritual and physical laziness and the internal unrest that comes with it.

By being bigoted and incessantly critical of other denominations and ministers. By coddling the
rich and arrogant.  Holding grudges and slandering other ministers.

By not defending slandered ministers. By not squelching slander, the very work of the devil, and the chief reason for strife and unrest in churches.

By indulging your children. By indulging your wife and relatives. By forming or abetting factions in the church or denomination. By not praying for enemies. For not turning the other cheek.   For showing partiality to your friends and supporters and turning your back on those who dare to disagree with you.

By not preaching Christ crucified or people will accuse you of pietism.  By not preaching and practicing faith, hope, and charity, lest people think you are a mystic.

By bring arid, dry, intellectual sermons that suck the sap out of the soul lest people think you are a Pentecostal, or worse, a Baptist.  By making much ado about candles lest people think you are a Lutheran, or worse, a Catholic.

By preaching against those who do not keep the day as you deem proper, in direct violation of Colossians 2:16,17 which makes it a matter of liberty.

By not telling the people that a man must be born again to see the kingdom of God; that they are secure if ceremonies have been performed, rituals observed, and creeds affirmed even though nothing is known of their content or life, lest people think you are “puritan,” or worse, an enthusiast or Methodist.

By not preaching that people should live holy lives, lest people think you are a perfectionist.

By bringing your gift to the altar knowing that you are estranged from a brother.

By bringing your gift to the altar knowing you have done wrong to a brother.

By holding grudges.

By these things and a thousand others like them, the peace of the church--the true sabbath day is destroyed and the worship is profaned.

The hands of the minister that should be raised in blessing become raised in cursing according to    Malachi:

"And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to  heart.  Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces."

Of Course You Cannot See It.

The Doesn't Mean It Isn't So!

Kisses from Brother

The man with his eyes closed and thinking only of his own thinking will find no evidence for the sun shining.  So those who find no evidence for infant baptism.  Of course you don't see it; you are not looking.  Here is a start: 

Menu for sermons and short articles on Infant Baptism

Sermons on Sermanaudio for infant baptism: C. W. Powell

The Blind Leading the Blind

It was over one hundred years ago.  Professor Emil Heinrich Du Bois-Reymond, founder of the science of electrophysiology, addressed the Berlin Academy of Sciences.  He said there were seven riddles that neither science nor philosophy will ever explain.  They are:

1. the ultimate nature of matter and force,
2. the origin of motion,
3. the origin of life,
4. the "apparently teleological arrangements of nature," not an "absolutely transcendent riddle,"
5. the origin of simple sensations, "a quite transcendent" question,
6. the origin of intelligent thought and language, which might be known if the origin of sensations could be known, and
7. the question of freewill.

I suspect that science and philosophy are no further along in "solving" these riddles than they were in 1880.  I also suspect that these seven "riddles" are of great importance if man is to see the meaning of his own existence, the nature and effects of religion, and the purpose for intelligent thought and language.

Under the rules of engagement that science and philosophy have so fruitlessly bound themselves, the "solution" to even one of the riddles seems to get farther and farther away against the far horizon.  Under total materialist assumptions of physical cause and effect, how can there be a solution to the manufactured riddles mentioned above?  They are riddles only to those who do not like to regain God in their knowledge.

Maybe the words of Jesus Christ need to be given some respect:  "That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit."  [John 3]  How can life and spirit arise from dead matter?  Is the very presence of life an indication that there must be more than atoms, force, energy, gravity, chemical bonds and such?

What is the definition from chemistry or physics that can define why a joke is funny, or a story is sad, or why Billy has hope for Christmas? or America's constitution guarantees freedom for her citizens?

How can you talk about liberty, science, and progress if you know nothing about morality, religion, the human heart and conscience?  What is the chemical formula for conscience? or what do we give God, when we give Him our heart?  Many a kindergarten girl knows more of these things than the materialistic scientist or philosopher with many prestigious degrees.

What a vast, complex, and fascinating world is hidden from those who only know what they learn from their five physical senses!  They have eyes to see, but cannot see; ears to hear, but cannot hear.  They are dead to God, shut up in their narrow, cold, and miserable cocoon.

God in His mercy and kindness, has brought the modern world to a crisis.  We face problems of a spiritual, religious, and moral nature, with real choices before us.  The problems in the Middle East, in Europe, in the Far East, and at home will not be solved by materialistic science, for that science cannot even know what the questions are.  "Why don't the other children like me?" cannot be answered by gifts of lolly-pops.   Questions concerning racism, sexism, abortion, involve deep spiritual issues that the modern man and women are ill-equipped to face, let alone understand. Even deeper questions like "How much of a person's earnings is it moral for him to keep?" have no mathematical solution.  The different philosophical questions concerning wealth held by the widow who gave her mite and Ananias who kept back half his fortune have no mathematical definition.

These questions are pale beside the major question of all: what is the importance of living at all?  Why is living better than being dead?

Dead men, with dead faith, worshiping dead gods, with dead works and ceremonies will not bring life to the world.  Someone who has life in Himself and can give life and come forth from the dead can do so.  But leaving Him outside the door of church, family, state, and experience will not secure the future.

Pr 21:16 "The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead."

Nothing of His Own

Ho 2:8 "For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal."

Satan comes as an angel of light, and his ministers as ministers of "righteousness."  2Corinthians 11:14,15. To use Christ's expression, "as wolves in sheep's clothing."

There is no question that the sincere Christian desires to set high standards for himself and longs to be without sin.  That is a given, for he came to Christ as a sinner and  believes the promise that in Christ is everlasting righteousness.   Thus the snare of idolatry, which is trusting the gifts of God and being caught in the "deceitfulness of sin." Heb. 3:13.  The deceitfulness of sin snares people on both sides of the path of righteousness.  Eph. 4:14.  On one side, Satan would snare us into contentment and ease, perverting faith and turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, committing wickedness, thinking that they are "delivered to so such abominations" Jeremiah 7:9.  On the other side, Satan would snare us into a different kind of ease and contentment, deceiving us into thinking that we have already obtained sinlessness and that the struggle against our sin is over, perverting faith in a different way, thinking that God makes us righteous in ourselves, turning our eyes away from the garments of  Christ's perfect righteousness, and we wrap the filthy garments of our own righteousness around us.

The effect of both errors is the destruction of the soul, for both seek the gifts of God rather than God Himself.  Ge 15:1 "After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."  Not the land of Canaan, not a multitude of nations, not wealth and plenty, not even integrity of heart and mind--no gift of God can take the place of God, Himself, who is found in Christ alone.  The Pharisee stood and prayed within Himself and boasted of the gifts of God,  Lu 18:11,12 "I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess."



He was a Pharisee precisely because He thought he was righteous because of God's righteous gifts, trusting that he was righteous in himself. The publican was justified because he looked to the mercy and grace of God alone.  As Paul put it, Romans 5;"6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

"7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him".

The righteousness that justifies is not found within the sinner, but is alien to him, the perfection of Christ alone.

Christ died for the ungodly! while we were yet sinners! "This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." Is. 54:17  This is the imputation of a righteousness other than my own, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, secured by the Mediator for all His people.  Romans 3:"20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God..."


Because the sinner has been justified by faith, counted righteous because of Christ--not because of his own works, but because of the free gift of God--he is granted the gift of the Holy Spirit, who begins to work in the sinner the fruit of the Spirit, "love, joy...etc.," which are described in Gal. 5.   But this does not destroy the flesh, which has its own fruit, "wrath, strife, etc." also described in Gal.5 as warring with the Spirit in the soul of the believer. 

We are not in heaven yet, and every Christian wars against the sin of Adam's nature, from which he is not free until the resurrection.   Hope is a necessary ingredient of faith, as Paul also says, "We are saved by hope," Romans 8:24 and context.  Justification is a one time declaration of God that sins are not imputed to the sinner, but salvation includes more than justification; it also includes adoption, sanctification, resurrection, glorification.  These are all promised and guaranteed by the blood of Christ, but we do not see them yet in their perfection [except justification], Pr 4:18 "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

But ought we not to strive for perfection?  Of course, for we must never be content with our sins.  As Paul says again, "We groan within ourselves waiting for the redemption of our body."   But our joy is in the perfection of Christ and our joy is in Him and we look to Him.  We trust in Him, not his gifts.

Phil. 3: "8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9   And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith...." [context].

This matter is a very old issue in the church and there was a very important difference between the Reformers and Rome.  "Are we justified according to the measure of our sanctification, being justified because God has made us good?" as Rome said.  Or "Are we justified by the perfection of Christ imputed to us, and then given the gift of the Holy Spirit to take us by the hand and lead us through adoption, sanctification, resurrection, glorification, to perfection in glory, fully conformed to the image of Christ, to which we are predestined."  The Reformed, following the Bible, confessed the latter, hating the former as a snare to the soul.

Do you trust the creation, more than the Creator?

Why Was Job's Patience Commendable?

10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.  James 5

Job was commended by God and honored over his three friends because Job could see that everything that happened to him came from God.  His friends tried to convince him that things happened to him because of things that he had done or not done--the idea of karma, that good produces good and evil produces evil.   "Bad things have happened to you, Job, and that means that you have done evil things."  They were wrong.

Job wanted to talk to God about his troubles.  He knew that he was not perfect, but he had done far more in following the Lord than anybody he knew, so how could his friends be right?  When news of his misfortunes came to Job, he said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."   When his wife told him to curse God and die, Job replied, "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God,and shall we not receive evil?"

In spite of this, Job was no stoic and no nihilist.  He knew the difference between prosperity and poverty, between health and sickness, between family and desolation.  He felt his misery very keenly, and cried out to God in his misery.  He cursed the day of his birth and said many things that are hard to defend.  But one thing he never forgot: his business was with God, whether in want or prosperity, in sickness or in health.  He did not plot to get even with those that robbed him; he did not shake his fist at the wind, the earthquake, or the lightning; he did not organize bands to chase after the Sabeans and the Chaldeans.  Instead he cried out to God.

His fault, corrected by God who replied from the whirlwind after everyone had had his say, was that he did not recognize that God may have a great many other purposes for Job's life than Job recognized.  Job's sufferings were also for the glory of God.  "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?" is God's reply to Job's complaint.

We place ourselves at the center of our universe, and it is tempting to think that we are the center of God's universe, also.  But Job is humbled.  Job wished again and again through many speeches that he might be able to talk to God and lay his complaint before him, yet when God answers from the whirlwind and says, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?  Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me," Job has nothing to say except, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee.  Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." [42:5,6]

Job was not without sin, as he himself confesses (9:28ff).  He does not minimize this and says that God had sewed up his transgressions in a bag (14:17) as prosecutors would seal up the evidence of crimes to present to the judge.   But he could also say in faith, "I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another...." (19:25-27).  Hence, being redeemed he could say, "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live."  (27:6)   Job, this ancient man, knew the reality of redemption, as did Jacob and the other fathers [Gen. 48:16 and Isaiah 63:8ff].

In spite of this, Job was one of the best men who ever lived.  Ezekiel spoke for God in Ezekiel 14:12-14: "12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD."  --Ezekiel 14

Would that we could remember the patience of Job, whether in prosperity or in tribulation.  Our business is always with God and we must seek Him only in Jesus Christ, who has made Him known.

Hebrews 4:"13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do [have our business]. 14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

What Job longed for and saw but dimly, we have clearly revealed in our Mediator, Jesus Christ.  Job 9:"32  For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. 33  Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. 34  Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
35  Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me."   "Daysman" means a referee, or a mediator as in Job 16:21 "O that one might plead [mediate] for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor!"

Being both man and God, Jesus of Nazareth alone can perform this service for both man and God as in Romans 8:34: "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."  By His death on the cross, He endured the arrows of God's wrath against the sins of His people and arose and sent for the Holy Spirit to work peace in our hearts to love God and our neighbor.

Amen and Amen.

Just a few random thoughts re: Tim Tebow.  

[First published as a note on Facebook]

I think he is the real deal, young, inexperienced and zealous.  He will be tested as all Christians are to see if he is genuine.  It is a bit refreshing to hear his forthright confession of faith, bombarded as we are with agnosticism, blasphemy, filthy vulgarism, and arrogant unbelief crammed down our throats every day from strangers, acquaintances, relatives and the news media. I do not know what particular creed he espouses, if any.   I have not heard him pray that he win football games; I don't know what he prays for, but those who do not know the joy of prayer and fellowship with Christ are not fit judges of its benefits.  Those who do, do, and understand even immature prayers.

Does anyone see the contradiction in spending hundreds of dollars for a playoff or bowl ticket, hundreds more for fan garments, drinking  yourself drunk with your friends at the sports bar, and going into depression when your team loses, staying out of church and the worship of God, while all the time insisting that God doesn't care anything about football and Tebow shouldn't pray about it?  Very odd.  At least it seems to me.  Who's the hypocrite?  Why this great desire for something that God doesn't give a whit about?  If God doesn't care, why should you get your shorts in a twist because Tebow prays?   Football players tend to pray as earnestly as a high school kid on exam day.

Football is his chosen profession and he is doing a lot of good with his millions, for he has prospered.  It is ok to pray for prosperity and success in your endeavors as Ps. 1 indicates.   Yes, I think that the God who cares for the sparrows and the lilies also cares about football players, and it is refreshing to have some indicate that they are aware of His care.   Failure in this or that matter does not refute this faith, any more than a flat tire on a big rig indicates that God's providence is a false doctrine, because faith understands that there is a Wisdom that rules in the affairs of men, even if we do not see it.

It would not bother me if he does pray to win; the nature of his prayer will be discerned by his behavior when he loses, as every Christian's prayers are.  The first right attitude toward prayer is submission to the will of our Father, that His will be done in earth as in heaven, but a right relationship with God will seek to involve Him in all our life, that His name be glorified and that we do the best we can at all times and treat people decently. We are simply commanded to pray for all things and to leave God out of nothing.

In spite of the arrogance and selfishness of people like Charles Barkley, Tebow seems to understand that youth do look up to athletes and he wants to be a good example to them.  I think he should be praised rather than those who assualt hotel maids, beat their wives, get in bar fights, and blaspheme God.  God bless him, and I will pray for him--and for the others, too, as they come to mind.

The agnostic mind finds value in nothing and so prays for nothing because it believes nothing.   But he will try very hard at his job and try to best you in arm wrestling.  Go figure.

I also suspect I will get some rumblings about the Sabbath Day and professional football.   That is another subject for another day, so please do not bring it into this conversation.

Losing Connection.

Saul of Tarsus was a religious fanatic.  Thinking that he did God service, he harassed the early Christians
with the greatest of zeal.  He confessed to the greatest animosity and energy against Christians when he was
on trial before King Agrippa:

I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of 
Nazareth.   Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, 
having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my 
voice against them.  And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to 
blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange 
cities.  –Acts 26:9-11

Saul was a convinced representative of a false religious opinion, which he described as the “Jew’s religion” in 
Galatians 1.  [It is important to note that Paul did not understand the faith of Abraham nor the meaning of 
circumcision, as did few of the religious leaders of that day]  In order to carry out the cruelty that he thought 
God required of him, it was necessary that he suppress the most basic human instincts.  These instincts go to 
the very core of man’s being and represent the image of God.  Paul described these instincts in Romans 
2:13-15:

(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.  
For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, 
these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  Which show the work of the law written 
in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while 
accusing or else excusing one another;)

Saul was a young man, with the deepest religious convictions—wrong though he was.  He had kept the 
garments of those who had stoned Stephen, one of the first deacons.  His system of faith was clearly worked 
out, and it seemed just to him that those who worshipped Jesus Christ should be put to death.  They were 
apostates from the “Jew’s religion” as he saw it.  It was wrong for them to worship a man.  As he would put 
it later, “[I] was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I 
did it ignorantly in unbelief.” 1 Timothy 1:13 

To Saul, it seemed most reasonable and rational and many Bible verses seemed to support the idea of 
persecution and terror.  Yet he had a conflict in his own soul.  In order to justify the fanaticism of his 
commitment to the Jew’s religion, he had to suppress common decency, a common humanity.  He came to 
understand this later, when the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ had taught him the truth of the Old 
Testament and he was converted to Christ.

When Saul of Tarsus [Later called Paul] had his famous vision of Christ on the Damascus Road, the Lord 
Jesus referred to this conflict in Paul’s soul:

“I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”  –Acts 
9:51

There is something wrong with a man’s religion if he must suppress common decency in order to be faithful
to it.  All religions are not the same, and do not become equal because we declare them equal.  Some are
more wicked than others, and some even call their devotees to act toward men in a way that is cruel and
wicked.  In order to war against men who are in the image of God, they must first of all suppress the
remnants of God’s image in themselves.

Jesus spoke against this mindset when he said to the Pharisees:

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if 
it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?  How much then is 
a man better than a sheep?  Matthew 12:11,12

What kind of religion would require a person to treat a human being worse than he would treat an ox?  If 
strict ceremonial observance of the Sabbath did not prohibit merciful acts toward animals, why could the law 
possibly be construed to forbid mercy toward men?  One of the glories of the faith of Israel was their 
observance of the Sabbath.  It had been given by God, and was one of the greatest humanitarian benefits in 
the history of the world, for men, women, children, flocks and herds, and even the land itself were given 
regular times of rest and rejuvenation.  But it was made for man.  Man was not created for the Sabbath, and 
a man is worth more than an ox.

A false religion that believes that God is pleased with ceremonies will put more emphasis on ceremonies and 
things than they do on the man created in the image of God.  The Apostle John put into perspective the 
importance of man when he wrote,  “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for 
he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” --1 
John 4:20    A pretended love for God is only an abstraction if it does not included a real love for man, who 
is in the image of God. 

This is the moral knowledge that is written in the very nature of all men.  According to the passage from 
Romans 2, quoted above, even those who do not have the revealed religion have this very knowledge 
written their very being.  Those who live in cruelty and murder, must not only suppress the knowledge of 
God described in Romans 1, but they must also suppress the moral truth that man must love his neighbor. 
Even those who have not received the Scriptures may be called to account on the basis of the principles of 
common humanity.  These were the goads that Saul kicked against.

Recently America has been subjected to terrorism by Islamic fundamentalists.  What is the offense of
America?  Our bases in Saudi Arabia “defile” their holy land.  In other words, the sand of Saudi Arabia is
holier than the image of God in man.  In their wickedness, this is the justification for the murder of innocent
men, women, and children.

This was the spirit that drove the Crusades—the land of Palestine was the “holy land” and infidels should be 
driven from it.  The land was more important than the people.  After all, they were infidels and deserving of 
nothing.  There is no question that there were fanatical religious justifications for the crusades, but it is also 
true that they were misguided, wicked, and ungodly.  The wisdom that justified the slaughter of thousands of 
men, women, and children was the wisdom described by James, “This wisdom descendeth not from 
above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.”

Covetousness is the driving force of idolatry.  [Col. 3:5]  The love of the world is deceitful indeed, and it was 
this very sin that empowered the cruelty of Saul of Tarsus, and by which he was convinced of his depravity 
[Romans 7].  This is the sin of worshiping the creature rather than the Creator, the visible rather than He who 
is not seen.

This innate knowledge of God’s basic law--than man love his neighbor--is the foundation of what used to be 
called “natural law.”  Karl Barth, reacting against the Nazi’s evil application of natural law, denied its very 
existence, and his teaching has had wide influence.  In denying man’s own basic moral nature, theologians 
have helped to loose the restraint that God has placed upon men in their own conscience, and have helped 
advance the idea that we are all the product of our religious conditioning and that “it is all a matter of 
opinion.” 

One of the results of the denial of man’s innate moral nature has been to remove from the church an effective 
tool to restrain the evil that is in man’s nature.  If there is no moral governor in man, the image of God, then 
the only effective restraint comes from the decrees of governments, civil and ecclesiastical, and there is no 
common standard to which all men, believers and non-believers, can be held.

To many Christians the effect of the denial of natural law has meant that they have lost contact with the non-
Christian world.  There is nothing that the Christian has in common with the unbeliever, not even a common
moral nature.  We thereby talk past each other, for a man that has not been “conditioned” to our religious
point of view will never be able to understand what we say.  This is exactly what he wants us to think—that
our views are every bit as conditioned as his.  This gives him a free pass, “That’s just your view.”  The Ten
Commandments do not apply to him because they are not “his” commandments.  Jehovah is not “his god.”  
The more consistent he is in his “faith” the more he must suppress the image of God in himself.

The offense of the cross then ceases for the Christian.  No longer does he have to call men away from their 
rebellion and strife.  This makes it easier for many Christians to pretend that all faiths have some equal 
validity.

But God cannot deny Himself, and neither can Satan, however much he may try to disguise himself.  Satan 
may seek to transform himself into an angel of light or a minister of righteousness, but he cannot transform his 
nature.  His name is Apollyon, which means destroyer, and his ways are destruction and misery, even if they 
are offered up in the name of religion [Rev. 9:11].  The home of his followers is the bottomless pit.

Men who have suppressed their consciences are very evil men, especially if it is done in the name of religion. 
Their consciences are seared as with a hot iron [I Tim. 4:2] It was for this reason that Paul called himself the
“chiefest of sinners.” [I Timothy 1:15]   It is a frightful sin to make God an accomplice to murder and terror. 
But God showed mercy to Saul, for where sin abounded, there did grace much more abound.  God is able
to awaken conscience and save the worst of sinners by His free grace.

When the common grace of sensitive conscience is suppressed in a nation [It is distressing that conscience is
disparaged even among some in the Reformed community], it will not be long until a society completely
disintegrates.  The third use of the Law to suppress sin is effective because of conscience, not because the
unbeliever is willing to accept the Law of God.  We can connect with man, not only because of the innate
knowledge of God described in Romans 1, but also in terms of man’s moral sense described in Romans 2. 
Man has these by virtue of his creation by God, and they are necessary revelation for the reception of the
Gospel of Christ.  No man can come to Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father, according to Jesus Himself.

Is there a man among those desperate Islamic men who has been appointed by God to take the Gospel to 
his fellows, as Saul was?  Is there one who is kicking against the pricks?  Let us pray that it be so.  Not so 
we can have prosperity and peace of mind, but for the honor and glory of His grace in Jesus Christ.

Obama, the Great Uniter.  Hope and Change, Hope and Change.....

  Republicans are the Enemy.

How is that stuff working for you?  Why can't we all just get along?  How can you get along with someone who wants you to pay them for work they don't do to your satisfaction, and tells you to stuff it if you complain?  People who think they have a right to plush jobs that the taxpayer must pay for?  People who think you have no right to work unless they get a chunk of what you earn?  People who lower the amount of work available because employers are forced to pay more than the work is worth?  People who, after they have inflated the cost of labor, then demand that the taxpayer be forced to pay them for doing nothing?  Go figure.

In actual fact, unions are the enemy of liberty.  That's why they must resort to thuggery and intimidation, because they never win when their ideas are tested in the public forum of fair elections.

Don't Waste a Good Crisis; Especially if You Can Keep Your Bought Capitalists.  See link

In the good old days, the capitalists bought the politicians with their own money.  Nowadays, the politicians buy the capitalists with taxpayer money.   The difference between the Nazis and the Communists is a small one.  Under National Socialism, the government let you keep your company, they just told you how to run it for the good of the ruling class who knew better than anyone else.

American Jailed in Cuba 

Click here

 Woe, Woe, Woe to him who sins against the all knowing, all powerful, all benevolent state.

"I am deeply sorry for being a trusting fool. I was duped. I was used. And my family and I have paid dearly for this," he said. The court was apparently unmoved and sentenced Gross to 15 years for crimes against the state. His conviction was upheld last month by the island's Supreme Court."

Socialism = Statist Humanism.  It is a religious order, which has its own set of morality in opposition to the Ten Commandments.  It has its priests who decide who will be saved and who will be punished, and there is no appeal to God, for it recognizes no god but itself.  There are people in America who, except for the wisdom of our Founding Fathers and the tattered remnants of our Constitution, who long for the same kind of government in America that is found in Cuba and other such ungodly nations.  They would love to put patriots in hell and hang them from trees.

Have YOU No Decency, Mr. Krugman?

An Open Letter

 

I know you are the attack dog for the New York Times and the Democratic National Committee, but this column is preposterous:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/opinion/krugman-eric-and-irene.html?_r=1

Yes, Mr. Cantor popped off his mouth, but Republicans distanced themselves from him and he has cooled his jets.  Where were you when one of your buddies said that tea partiers could go to hell, or when another one of them said that tea partiers wanted to hang blacks from trees?  Neither of them has backed off from their statements, but have defended them.

I also know that columns like this are an admission of utter weakness and helplessness; your guy is going down the drain, your paper has no respect, ridden with scandal, and experiencing declining readership.  It calls for louder and more intemperate rhetoric, like when a preacher pounds the pulpit when his argument is weak.

Mr. Kantor was impolitic in saying it, but how WILL government giveaways be paid for?  Are you prepared to make stones into bread, or do you live in a world where mathematics and physics operate on different principles than the one most Americans live in?  It is YOU who are playing politics with Irene and American tragedy, just as your guy in the White House is.  Shame, shame, shame, shame.

This Sword Has Another Edge to It    Link to Article in Washington Examiner

Hey!!! Why wasn't Obama's membership in a church that wanted to damn America fair game last election?  Oh, yes, I know.  Liberals have no principles.

"Surveying those articles, the executive editor of the New York Times, Bill Keller, concludes that "an unusually large number" of Republican candidates "belong to churches that are mysterious or suspect to many Americans." Perry and Bachmann, in particular, are connected to "fervid subsets of evangelical Christianity," which Keller says "has raised concerns about their respect for the separation of church and state, not to mention the separation of fact and fiction." Fearing that Perry or Bachmann could be a "Trojan horse" for a religious takeover of the government, Keller advocates strict questioning of candidates on doctrinal issues."

If You Live by Partisanship, you will die by Partisanship!

"First, Obama ambushed the GOP by upstaging the party’s presidential debate with a major address. Then Republicans returned fire by trying to push it back to the 8th. Then the name-calling started. Finally, late Wednesday, Obama agreed to change the day — even if it means backtracking and bumping against the NFL’s Thursday night opener."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62417.html#ixzz1Whg9KEGW

Of course, the hacks over at Politico have to admit that Obama "ambushed" the GOP, but do not admit that Obama had no choice.  Boehner held the trump card of security for the President on such short notice.  It shows the disarray of the Obama administration.  There was no urgency in the jobs program when O took his vacation while the employment numbers were going south, the urgency only became great after the golfing was out of the way.  Why not use the "urgency" as an opportunity to push the Republican debate aside.  Who wants to hear those teapartiers, anyway, had to be what passes for strategy in the White House.

This has been the most partisan administration in my lifetime, since I became aware of national events after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when I was seven.  But, Mr. President, Speaker Boehner can read the polls.  Where was the urgency when your party held both houses of Congress and the economy was tanking?  At that time, all you were interested in was running up the national debt to pay off your cronies and looting the national treasure.

Are You Ready to Die for Christ?

Two views of man and morality are at war in the United States. There are many nuances and varieties, but the crux is this: Is man to be free to live under the law of His Creator [the Ten Commandments], or is he to be coerced to live under the law of the collective wisdom of man [human law arising out of the experience of the human race, as interpreted by "scientific" experts.] The social, civil, economic, legal, educational decisions will be guided by a person's idea of morality. The front of the conflict now involves abortion, homosexuality, educational theory, but it will soon involve every decision of life. Are you ready to die for Christ?

There is only One Church and Eternal Covenant!

"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." Hebrews 11:39,40

Chapter eleven of Hebrews lists the prominent saints of the Old Testament. It begins by defining faith as the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Then, starting with Abel, who offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, and ending with the martyrs of the Old Testament, the chapter includes brief bios of the heroes of faith in the Old Testament. People like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jephthah, Rahab, Samuel, Gideon and others are mentioned by name, but other very great saints like Job, Ruth, Elijah and Elisha, Isaiah and Daniel are not mentioned except indirectly.

But all of these gain a "good report" through faith: They were accepted of God on account of their faith and were perfected, obtained eternal life and enjoy eternal bliss in the presence of God forever, for He is not God of the dead but of the living, as Jesus said [Matt. 22:32]. There has never been any other way to please God than by faith, for "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

But none of these glorious saints, now in heaven, received the promise. What is the "promise" that they did not receive, that better thing that "we" have that these Old Testament saints did not have? Many of them had the joy of salvation [Ps. 51:8-12], the promise of the world to come, great earthly blessings [Abraham and Job, for instance], and all of them had trials and testings. They suffered the reproach of Christ and drank of living water and living bread [1Cor 10]. They even had the blessings of the Holy Spirit in a measure [Is. 63:10,11; Neh. 9:10].

The difference is Jesus Christ. They did not have the full knowledge of the Lord Jesus, but only saw Him "afar off" by faith as Abraham did [John 8:56]. Their lack of knowledge and hearing and seeing the ministry of the Lord Jesus did not mean they were not perfected, for it is by faith in Christ that we find the perfection and all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. They had the gospel preached to them [Gal. 3:8, ], but it only profited those who believed [Heb. 4:2; Rom. 9:31,32]. Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit of God would be on Messiah to preach the gospel [Is. 61:1,2 with Luke 4:18]; Daniel also knew that Messiah would make an end of sins, reconcile for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, and fulfill the prophecies [Daniel 9:24]. In fact, the first promise of the Bible concerning the Lord Jesus is in Genesis 3:15, when God told Eve that her seed would bruise the head of the serpent [mortally wound his power and authority over man because of sin and guilt [Heb. 2:14,15], and would himself be bruised in his heel by the serpent [Christ's kingdom, suffered a small set back, but triumphed over the devil by Christ's resurrection].

Moses saw only the hinder parts of God and could only reveal the backside of the Gospel, if you will. [Exodus 33:20-23]. Jesus, as the S0n of God, could see God face to face [2Cor 4:6] and we behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This was withheld from the saints in the Old Testament, reserved until the coming of Christ and His manifestation to the world. But this did not prevent the believer in the Old Testament from having genuine faith and obtaining the perfection of faith that is found in Christ alone. Their faith was not inferior to ours, but their knowledge was.

The Church stands by faith, and falls by unbelief, just as Israel [Romans 11L20-18-23]. In fact, the church has a greater responsibility because she has been given greater knowledge. "If the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.... [Heb. 2:2,3]" To whom much is given, much is required. those in Israel, because of her blessings, will receive greater judgment than Sodom, or Tyre, or Sidon who did not have such mighty works done of God.

Even more so, those of the Church who reject faith and repentance can expect greater wrath than Israel: "26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace [Heb. 10:26-29]?"

But those who do believe are one people in the Lord, perfected in Jesus Christ. It was God's plan, though hidden in mystery before the coming of the Lord Jesus to join those who believe in Christ, both Jew and Gentile to the perfected ones of the Old Testament, a holy people unto the Lord forever. Hence, the cross broke down the middle wall of partition between us, making us one in Christ. [Eph. 1:12ff] Those without hope, strangers from the promises, and "far off" from the covenants, are made nigh by the blood of Jesus, becoming one people and one family of God. [Eph. 1:19]. There is one redeemed people in the book of Revelation, redeemed from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, by the "everlasting gospel." [Rev. 5:9]

It was revealed by the preaching of the Gospel in the book of Acts and in the Epistles, that what had been only known very dimly in the Old Testament was now being made clear: "Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.... [Ephesians 3:5,6].

There is, therefore, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all, but unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ [Eph 4:4-7]. Christ is all, in the Old Testament and in the New. In Christ we have "put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all [Col. 3:10, 11]."

Amen and Amen. [Note: Scripture references are not designed to be "proof texts" but are pointers to passages and epistles that must be studied in their own context and the context of all of Scripture.]

The following link will take you to Articles on Facebook that I have posted over the last year or so. You might find them amusing and/or edifying. God bless.

Facebook Notes

Externalism


Does the doctrine of Total Depravity mean that there is nothing good in the Christian? To say that will be to deny the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian. The Scriptures are very clear about it.

1. If a person is a child of God, then God has begun to work in his heart and mind to transform him, to make something good of him. The evil from Adam is not changed, but placed under condemnation, but a new nature in the image of Christ is implanted. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Php 1:6)

2. The old man is not annihilated, evaporated, or slain, except as far as the law is concerned. Because of the death of Christ sin no longer has the power to bring the Christian to hell, for He is a child of God and his sins are not imputed to him for condemnation. God deals with him as a father deals with his son, chastening, correcting, and discipling him.

3. This first work is known as regeneration, or the creating of new life. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Eph 2:1-2) Jesus put it this way: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.”

4. Because of this newness in Christ, it is possible for a person to begin to be fruitful in good works, in good thoughts, in good morals. This why Paul prays: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col 1:9-10) These good works are not, and cannot be the ground of the man's acceptance with God, but are the fruit of that acceptance.

5. This is so critical to the Gospel that it is one side of the seal of God to the very foundation of the Gospel. One side is the hidden knowledge of God concerning the elect; the other side is the necessity of those who are called Christians to depart from iniquity: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2Ti 2:19)

6. And so, the Scripture tells us in this same place: “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2Ti 2:21) A man can and must become fit of the master’s use, prepared unto every good work if he is to call himself a Christian.

7. For a person to say that Christians cannot do or think truly good things is to deny the power of God. “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” (Tit 1:16) People deny the Lord, not only in their words, but also in their deeds.

8. A good minister will exhort and plead with the people to live holy and godly lives, putting away the deeds of the flesh, the hating, the backbiting, the gossip, and other forms of hatred and evil. Only those who walk in the flesh will object to this.


“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Heb 13:20-21)