Human Will and Choosing to Obey God

Posted by Dan C. on

How “freely” do men choose to obey God?

Consider these three basic positions on the will of man in relationship to ability to choose to obey God:

  1. Famous 19th century evangelist Charles Finney taught that humans are fully able to obey God without any special work of grace. The mere presence of a command from God, they say, requires the reality of free will ability to comply. that position, called Pelagianism, actually goes all the way back to the 5th century and an ascetic named Pelagius, who denied the doctrine of original sin as developed by Augustine of Hippo, and was declared a heretic by the Council of Carthage.
  2. Semi-Pelagianism teaches that without prevenient grace, man would not be able to respond freely to the call to believe; but that God has already provided such grace to all humans. “Prevenient” is an old English term that means “to go before.” The semi-Pelagian view is also “synergistic”—meaning that salvation and sanctification are a cooperative effort between God and man.
  3. Luther and the other reformers taught the bondage of the will. This position, anathematized by Rome in several canons on justification, was that all fallen sinners are in bondage to their own sin so much so that they will not submit to God without a prior sovereign work of God’s grace. This became the Reformation doctrine of “grace alone,” also called “monergism.” By this thinking salvation is an act of God alone.

This Topic is Complex

This a complex topic because the relative freedom or bondage of the will is different for different types of people addressed in the Bible. Adam and Eve were certainly created by God with a level of freedom of will – they had the ability to choose based on the nature God gave them. The Fall impacted that freedom of the will, and the human will of every human being born thereafter. Therefore the freedom of will, or lack thereof, is different for people born with a sin nature after the Fall.

Also, the relative freedom of will experienced by a regenerate person differs from an unregenerate sinner. A person cannot believe in and trust in Christ for salvation without an effect on human will and its freedom to obey God.

Furthermore, consider the uniqueness of freedom for the redeemed in heaven. Clearly these differences are important to any discussion of the freedom or bondage of the will as the case may be. Whatever definition of free will we defend should account for these cases.

Further posts will discuss problems inherent to the understanding of free will.

_____________________________

Adapted from Critical Issues Commentary, Issue 92 – January / February 2006

Gospel Definitions from Christians in the Past – No. 2

Posted by Dan C. on

Jeremiah Burroughs

The gospel of Christ in general is this:

It is the good tidings that God has revealed concerning Christ.

More largely it is this:

As all mankind was lost in Adam and became the children of wrath, put under the sentence of death, God, though He left His fallen angels and has reserved them in the chains of eternal darkness, yet He has thought upon the children of men and has provided a way of atonement to reconcile them to Himself again…Namely, the second person of the Trinity takes man’s nature upon Himself, and becomes the Head of a second covenant, standing charged with sin. He answers for it by suffering what the law and divine justice required, and by making satisfaction by keeping the law perfectly, which satisfaction and righteousness He tenders up to the Father as a sweet savor of rest for the souls that are given to Him…And now this mediation of Christ is, by the appointment of the Father, preached to the children of men, of whatever nation or rank, freely offering this atonement unto sinners for atonement, requiring them to believe in Him and, upon believing, promising not only a discharge of all their former sins, but that they shall not enter into condemnation, that none of their sins or unworthiness shall ever hinder the peace of God with them, but that they shall through Him be received into the number of those who shall have the
image of God again to be renewed unto them, and they they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

C.H. Dodd

The Gospel” Summarized in 6 Parts

1. The Age of Fulfillment has dawned, the “latter days” foretold by the prophets. (Acts 3:18-26)

2. This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:22-31)

3. By virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God as Messianic head of the new Israel. (Acts 2:32-36)

4. The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ’s present power and glory. (Acts 10:44-48)

5. The Messianic Age will reach its consummation in the return of Christ. (Acts 3:20-21)

6. An appeal is made for repentance with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and salvation. (Acts 2:37-41)

Gospel Definitions from Christians in the Past – No. 1

Posted by Dan C. on

Gilbert Beebe

Like so many Bible terms, the word GOSPEL has been given various definitions contrary to its original and proper meaning.

The word has its origin “in Christ before the foundation of the world.” This was contained in the “promise” God made before the foundation of the world. (Tit. 1:2) The “gospel,” the “good news” or “good tidings” is the declared fulfilment of that promise.

In Isaiah 61:1-3 is found the outstanding proclamation made by the Sum and Substance of the good tidings, — Jesus Christ Himself:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the meek, He has sent Me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of
vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn. To appoint to them that mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”

The Redeemer repeated this same proclamation of Himself in the synagogue.

While this prophetical statement is often quoted, its full significance is rarely understood. In this one sweeping declaration, there is encouched – not the beginning of the gospel, not a part of its fulfilment, – the grand total of what the Son of Man declared on the cross: “IT IS FINISHED”!

The Greek word “evanggelion” is translated “gospel” in the King James Version. This word, together with its rendering of “good tidings,” glad tidings” and “preach the gospel” occurs some one hundred and eight times in the New Testament, none of which intimate anything less than “finished redemption” in Christ.

F.F. Bruce

“Only one saving message is attested by the NT. The “gospel to the circumcision” preached by Peter and his colleagues did not differ in content from the “gospel to the uncircumcised” entrusted to Paul (Gal. 2:7), though the form of presentation might vary according to the audience. Paul’s testimony is, “Whether therefore it was I or they [Peter and his colleagues], so we preach, and so you believed” (1 Cor. 15:11).

The basic elements in the message were these:

1. the prophecies have been fulfilled and the new age inaugurated by the coming of Christ;

2. he was born into the family of David;

3. he died according to the Scriptures, to deliver his people from this evil age;

4. he was buried, and raised again the third day, according to the Scriptures;

5. he is exalted at God’s right hand as Son of God, Lord of living and dead;

6. he will come again, to judge the world and consummate his saving work.”

"What are we to do about it?"

Posted by Dan C. on

All religions can be examined in light of scripture, can they not?  The ‘acid’ test is almost always the gospel of Jesus Christ; how are men saved, by faith alone or by faith plus works. ‘Faith plus works’ (all religions except Christianity, and some ‘called’ Christian) is a sure sign of a false religion or apostate Christianity.

Yes, there are subtle forms of false teaching and clever ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing out there’ when all the right words are used and things seem on the up and up, and error is more difficult to spot. However when the clear light of scripture reveals an unbiblical gospel message concerning hoe God saves men, the matter should be closed, leaving the question, “What are we to do about it?”

When a loved one, friend, acquaintance (someone in our area of influence) is following what is false, with eternal consequences looming, we are to lovingly, compassionately, communicate what is true and what is false, with Bible in hand (opinions don’t count), and with much prayer. There are times when the most loving and compassionate thing we can do is issue a strong warning/apostasy alert.

At times, when the one with whom we are dealing resists scriptural truth to the “leave me alone” point, we need to stop talking but continue to pray fervently; for our friend/loved one, and our ‘delivery’.

Then there are the times when we need to shake the dust from our feet and move on, a decision point also needing prayer cover. It is not always easy and often is painful to make that decision.

Remember, scripture – the Bible –  is the standard, the measuring rod, the lamp of truth under which everything must be examined. That means everything!

Our Three-fold Salvation

Posted by Dan C. on

I have absolutely no idea what preacher or teacher first presented the thought of a three-fold salvation, that we have been saved from the penalty of sin, are saved from the bondage of sin, and one day will be saved from the presence of sin. I know I didn’t! But when I think about it, it’s a great summary of the past, present, and future aspects of out salvation.

We have been saved from the penalty of sin,.

Joh 3:18  “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Freedom from the penalty of sin, that the one who believes and trusts in Christ is no longer under God’s judgment, but is ‘no longer condemned’ is the heart and soul of the gospel message we are called to share. That our lives are forever changed is true, and sharing how God has changed our lives should be part of our on-going relationship with those around us, our personal stories are the by-product of our salvation, not the reason we invite people to Christ.

We are saved from the bondage of sin.

Rom 6:6  “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

When I read the New Testament, especially the letters of Paul to churches, freedom from the bondage to sin and the requirements of the law (dead works) seems to be a major theme, right up there with warnings against last days (since the resurrection) false prophets and teachers invading the church. There is much about how we should behave and conduct our lives as believers in order to bring glory to the God who saved us.

We will be saved from the presence of sin.

Rev 21:3 , 27 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Will we have better marriages, success in business, material prosperity, great health, etc? Maybe, maybe not. Those things are never promised in scripture, yet everywhere you turn, you see it. What we have, and are promised is peace – we have been made at peace with God through the righteousness of Christ, and we can have peace in the midst of the ‘stuff of life”. Sadly, that which is never promised seems to be a main theme these days, both as an evangelistic tool to invite people to Christ, as well as what we should expect for our Christian lives.

Do we need to constantly harp about ‘sin’ and nothing else? NO! By all means talk about the earthy ‘benefits’ of salvation and stories of changed lives. But we need to keep the main things the main things.

Precious brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been saved from the penalty of sin, are being saved from the bondage of sin, and one day will be saved from the presence of sin.

If it Won’t Preach EVERYWHERE, Don’t Preach it ANYWHERE!

Posted by Dan C. on

But if it  will preach ANYWHERE, preach it EVERYWHERE!

This isn’t a long list of a lot of ‘stuff’ being preached and taught today that won’t preach anywhere you might set foot on this earth. All you need to figure that out for yourself is look around at our planet and the conditions therein concerning the plight of humanity (Christian and non-Christian). If you don’t know those kinds of things, you really need to find out.

The example of New testament scripture, specifically the Apostle Paul, guarantees that this will ‘preach’ anywhere, anytime, under any circumstances:

1Co 1:23  “but we (Paul & company) preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles..”,

1Co 2:1-2  “And I, when I (Paul) came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. “

1Co 15:1-4  “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

God does not ‘need’ my personal story, nor do I need to soften the ‘hard on the ears of the natural man’ gospel with the ‘benefits package’ of becoming a Christian. In fact, all the secondary ‘good stuff’ might distract the hearer from the core issue of sin and what to do about it. If the hearer ‘accepts’ Christ because of the benefits package (many many ‘conversions’ in many ‘evangelical’ churches these days), and not solely because He was the substitutionary sacrifice for his/her sin, a grave injustice has been done – both to the hearer (supposedly converted), and the precious gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why don’t we need to embellish the simplicity of the true gospel message? Listen to Paul again:

1Co 1:23-24  “but we (Paul & company) preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles..”, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

To the ‘called’, every last one of ’em, the ‘offensive’ gospel is the power, the only power of God for the salvation of man.

So again, if it won’t preach EVERYWHERE, don’t preach it ANYWHERE, but if it  will preach ANYWHERE, preach it EVERYWHERE!

What is Evangelism?

Posted by Dan C. on

“As Christian ‘evangelists’, we can no more persuade someone to receive/accept/believe in Christ, than we can coax a dead man to dance.”

That’s a paraphrase of something Mark Dever said in an evangelism conference. Evangelism is not our personal testimony, social action, Christian apologetics, or the results/fruit of evangelistic efforts.

Evangelism is to spread the good news of the gospel that Christ died for our sins, was resurrected according to the scriptures, and because of Christ’s death and resurrection, forgiveness and salvation are offered to the sinner.

That means that when share that gospel to those around us, wherever we happen to be at any given moment of our lives, we must include, before we share the earthly benefits of trusting in and following Jesus, we share the true condition of anyone living apart from Christ (dead in sin and facing judgment), offer God’s answer to that terrible and eternal predicament, and pray , trusting God with the results.

What are the requirements to be an evangelist? Simply three:

  • A deep love for obedience,
  • a deep love for the lost, and
  • a deep love for God.

Who should to be an evangelist? Every one of us who would name the Name above all names, Jesus Christ – our Savior and Lord!

Test Question: Are you an evangelist? If not, why not? Want to talk about it?

He is Risen!

Posted by Dan C. on

Perhaps the greatest testimony of the importance of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is found in the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church:

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” – 1 Cor 15:14-20

Paul provides six disastrous consequences if there had been no bodily resurrection:

1) preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14);

2) faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14);

3) all the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15);

4) no one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17);

5) all former believers would have perished (v.18); and

6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth (v. 19).

But Christ has risen from the dead and “has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v. 20), assuring that we will follow Him in resurrection.

What Pleases God the Most?

Posted by Dan C. on

John Piper, speaking at a  New Attitude Conference in 2007, sponsored by Sovereign Grace Ministries (C. J. Mahaney), asked a series of questions in a presentation titled “Discern What Pleases God – Himself” He provided answers to the first five questions, but left the answers to the last two questions to the hearer.

1. Q: Who is the most God-centered person in the universe? 

    A: God.

2. Q: Who is uppermost in God’s affections?

    A: Not you, but God.

3. Q: Is God an idolater?

    A: No, He has no other Gods before Him.

4. Q: What is God’s chief jealously?

    A: God’s chief jealousy is to be known, admired, trusted, enjoyed, and obeyed above all others.

5. Q: What is the chief end of God?

    A: The chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy himself forever.

6. Q: Do you feel most loved by God because He makes much of you, or because He frees you to make much of Him forever?

7. Q: Are you God-centered because god is supremely valuable to you, or are you God-centered because you believe you are supremely valuable to Him?

The point of the first five questions is that God is first and foremost about his own glory and the honor of his Name, not us. The final questions are personal in nature and demand thoughtful self-reflection. Your answers might reveal that you are either truly God-centered, on His terms, or that you are self-deluded into thinking you are, when in fact you’re living out a man-centered Christianity.

Please don’t ignore the questions.

John Piper’s sermon, as well as the other New Attitude 2007 conference sermons can be listened to or downloaded here. Scroll down the page and you will see the entire set of sermons. They are all excellent.

What was in the Cup?

Posted by Dan C. on

The night he was betrayed and arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus went to a quiet place to pray:

“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” – Luke 22:41-42

Jesus’ prayer was also recorded in Matthew and Mark:

“Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” – Mat 26:42

“And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. “And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”” – Mar 14:35-36

In the gospel of John, again in the Garden, Jesus again mentions the cup, after Peter cut off the ear of one of the soldiers:

“So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” – John 18:11

I am quite sure Jesus knew what was contained in the cup, but do we? Was it the series of trials and beatings to come? Was it his death on the Cross? Or was more than that?

That is the question left to you this Thursday morning, 2010. What was in the cup?