GLORIFICATION (Romans 8:12-23)
"We are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him." (Rom. 8:16-17)
Robert Reymond says:
"At this point Christians will enter upon their glorified state, the goal toward which the Triune Godhead has been relentlessly driving from the moment of creation, and that ultimate end which was of the first of the decrees in the eternal plan of salvation." (A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 798).
God’s end goal, brothers and sisters, for those whom he foreknew, predestined, called, and justified, is glorification.
The God who elects us, glorifies us. The God who regenerates us, glorifies us. The God who preserves us, glorifies us.
Glorification is what we have to look forward to. Glorification is the outcome of our faith. Glorification is the last step in the order of salvation. In order to inherit the Kingdom of God, we must be glorified…we must be purified…we must have that in us which is glorious separated from that which is not…we must have that which is priceless separated from that which is worthless. Our mortal bodies must put on immortality. Our perishable bodies must put on imperishability, for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
Those whose end is glory, brothers and sisters, however, must be put through the fire…must suffer for the sake of Christ…so that we may by purified…sanctified…may be cleansed of the worthless stone that makes us weak until only the priceless gold, which can be made into something that will last, remains. The suffering we undergo for the sake of Christ makes us stronger, purer, and more glorious, brothers and sisters, and is a necessary part of our refinement as disciples of Jesus Christ.
As God’s elect, we have been adopted into God’s family. We are the children of God, and therefore heirs with Christ of God’s eternal Kingdom. Those who are called by God, who receive his grace, and come to faith in Jesus Christ like Jesus has been, will be transformed for eternal life in God’s Kingdom…transformed through suffering…transformed into something that will last. At the end of process of God’s salvation of his people, brothers and sisters, we will be glorified.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
PRESERVATION (Romans 8:31-39)
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
Joseph A. Fitzmeyer writes:
“The love of God poured out in the Christ-event is the basis of Christian life and hope. No created being or force can unsettle that foundation. In all of the uncertainty of human, earthly life there is something fixed and certain, Christ’s love and God’s election. These are unshakable; and Christians must learn to trust in them and take them for granted.” (The Anchor Bible Commentary: Romans, 536)
The doctrine of salvation, and particularly God’s preservation of his people, is at the heart of the Reformation, brothers and sisters. Must we make atonement for our own sins…must we satisfy the justice of God ourselves…or has Christ done that for us already? Can we have peace, confidence, and assurance or our eternal salvation or must we live always in anxious uncertainty? Are we saved by works of righteousness…by being good or moral person…or are we saved by grace? These are the questions upon which the Reformation was built, brothers and sisters, as Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and other reformers came to truly believe what Paul writes in Ephesians, chapter two:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
The reformers also understood the truth that if our eternal salvation were, in fact, in our hands, we would have good reason to be anxious because we would most certainly lose it. We can never be good enough…never do enough to earn our eternal salvation or to keep it. We would mess it up somehow. We would always find a way to screw it up, because that’s what we do, isn’t it? We screw up. Pretty frequently, too, I’d say. We are sinful creatures, brothers and sisters, bent on satisfying selfish desires, and I guarantee you, if my eternal salvation was left in my hands, I would lose it…every time in a million tries.
But as the apostle Paul assures me, as Calvin comments, and as Luther came to believe through his study of Paul’s letter, perhaps ironically, to the church in Rome, my eternal salvation is not in my hands. There is no one in earth or heaven who can bring any accusation against me except Jesus Christ, and he’s the one who saves me. There is no thing in earth or heaven that can stand between me and Jesus Christ. There is no length of time or unforeseen event in earth or heaven that can separate me from God’s love for me in Jesus Christ.
I am saved because God has chosen to save me. My eternal salvation is in his hands, not mine. It’s his choice, not mine. It’s his job to keep my salvation, not mine. There is nothing I can do to earn my salvation because I can’t do anything good enough to earn that. There is nothing I can do to lose my salvation because I can’t do anything bad enough to separate me from Jesus Christ. If rulers, angels, life or death can’t do it…if things present or things to come can’t do it…if distress, persecution, famine, peril, or the sword can’t separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus, how arrogant…how prideful…how sinful is it to assume that I can?
Nothing will be able to separate us…nothing has the power to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord…not rulers, not persecution, not angels, not an unknown future, not height, not depth, not anything else in all creation…not you…not me…nothing and no one has the power to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is the assurance of the gospel, brothers and sisters…that those who God has chosen to save, he will keep until the last day. The eternal salvation of the elect is secure because it is God who holds…God who keeps us…God who preserves us...God who saves us.
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
Joseph A. Fitzmeyer writes:
“The love of God poured out in the Christ-event is the basis of Christian life and hope. No created being or force can unsettle that foundation. In all of the uncertainty of human, earthly life there is something fixed and certain, Christ’s love and God’s election. These are unshakable; and Christians must learn to trust in them and take them for granted.” (The Anchor Bible Commentary: Romans, 536)
The doctrine of salvation, and particularly God’s preservation of his people, is at the heart of the Reformation, brothers and sisters. Must we make atonement for our own sins…must we satisfy the justice of God ourselves…or has Christ done that for us already? Can we have peace, confidence, and assurance or our eternal salvation or must we live always in anxious uncertainty? Are we saved by works of righteousness…by being good or moral person…or are we saved by grace? These are the questions upon which the Reformation was built, brothers and sisters, as Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and other reformers came to truly believe what Paul writes in Ephesians, chapter two:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
The reformers also understood the truth that if our eternal salvation were, in fact, in our hands, we would have good reason to be anxious because we would most certainly lose it. We can never be good enough…never do enough to earn our eternal salvation or to keep it. We would mess it up somehow. We would always find a way to screw it up, because that’s what we do, isn’t it? We screw up. Pretty frequently, too, I’d say. We are sinful creatures, brothers and sisters, bent on satisfying selfish desires, and I guarantee you, if my eternal salvation was left in my hands, I would lose it…every time in a million tries.
But as the apostle Paul assures me, as Calvin comments, and as Luther came to believe through his study of Paul’s letter, perhaps ironically, to the church in Rome, my eternal salvation is not in my hands. There is no one in earth or heaven who can bring any accusation against me except Jesus Christ, and he’s the one who saves me. There is no thing in earth or heaven that can stand between me and Jesus Christ. There is no length of time or unforeseen event in earth or heaven that can separate me from God’s love for me in Jesus Christ.
I am saved because God has chosen to save me. My eternal salvation is in his hands, not mine. It’s his choice, not mine. It’s his job to keep my salvation, not mine. There is nothing I can do to earn my salvation because I can’t do anything good enough to earn that. There is nothing I can do to lose my salvation because I can’t do anything bad enough to separate me from Jesus Christ. If rulers, angels, life or death can’t do it…if things present or things to come can’t do it…if distress, persecution, famine, peril, or the sword can’t separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus, how arrogant…how prideful…how sinful is it to assume that I can?
Nothing will be able to separate us…nothing has the power to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord…not rulers, not persecution, not angels, not an unknown future, not height, not depth, not anything else in all creation…not you…not me…nothing and no one has the power to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is the assurance of the gospel, brothers and sisters…that those who God has chosen to save, he will keep until the last day. The eternal salvation of the elect is secure because it is God who holds…God who keeps us…God who preserves us...God who saves us.
Monday, October 19, 2009
CONVERSION (Titus 2:11-15)
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, 12 training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly..." (Titus 2:11-12)
John MacArthur says:
“conversion…means to turn back. And it's used in the new testament of…a sinner who turns back to God. Now let me give you a definition of repentance and in relation to conversion. Repentance is—let's put conversion as a total circle and split the circle in half. Half of it is repentance and half of it is faith, the whole circle is conversion. Repentance is the negative, turning toward God. Faith is receiving Christ. That makes conversion.” (http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/1712)
Conversion, in the basic sense, means turning around in light of some knowledge that you didn’t have before, and going another way. Conversion, in the theological sense, means, as Paul writes in Titus, chapter two, to “renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly” (Titus 2:12)…to turn from our sinful ways, and live godly lives…to turn around and go God’s way instead of our own.
There are two parts to conversion. There is turning around, and there is going God’s way. In theological language the two parts of conversion are called repentance and faith. Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). Be converted. Repent and believe.
Repentance is the first part of conversion. Faith is the second part, and by faith I don’t just mean an intellectual assent. I don’t mean just saying on Sunday morning, “I believe in God the Father almighty,” after the offering. I mean living according to the values and mores of the Kingdom of God Sunday morning, Monday morning, Tuesday morning, Wednesday evening, Thursday afternoon, and Friday and Saturday night, too. Faith is more than acknowledging that something is true, it is conforming my life in accordance with what I know to be true.
If repentance is renouncing impiety and the ways of the world, faith is living a self-controlled, upright, and godly life.
If repentance is saying, “I’m sorry,” faith is not doing it again.
If repentance is turning your back on the things that led you in the wrong direction, faith is walking away.
When we are converted to Christ, we begin a life of Christian discipline…of repentance and belief. To be converted means to be changed, brothers and sisters, to go a different way than the world around us…to trust in God’s Word, God’s will, and God’s way, and follow Jesus. We must be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. We must turn around and start walking. We must repent and believe. This is conversion.
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, 12 training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly..." (Titus 2:11-12)
John MacArthur says:
“conversion…means to turn back. And it's used in the new testament of…a sinner who turns back to God. Now let me give you a definition of repentance and in relation to conversion. Repentance is—let's put conversion as a total circle and split the circle in half. Half of it is repentance and half of it is faith, the whole circle is conversion. Repentance is the negative, turning toward God. Faith is receiving Christ. That makes conversion.” (http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/1712)
Conversion, in the basic sense, means turning around in light of some knowledge that you didn’t have before, and going another way. Conversion, in the theological sense, means, as Paul writes in Titus, chapter two, to “renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly” (Titus 2:12)…to turn from our sinful ways, and live godly lives…to turn around and go God’s way instead of our own.
There are two parts to conversion. There is turning around, and there is going God’s way. In theological language the two parts of conversion are called repentance and faith. Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). Be converted. Repent and believe.
Repentance is the first part of conversion. Faith is the second part, and by faith I don’t just mean an intellectual assent. I don’t mean just saying on Sunday morning, “I believe in God the Father almighty,” after the offering. I mean living according to the values and mores of the Kingdom of God Sunday morning, Monday morning, Tuesday morning, Wednesday evening, Thursday afternoon, and Friday and Saturday night, too. Faith is more than acknowledging that something is true, it is conforming my life in accordance with what I know to be true.
If repentance is renouncing impiety and the ways of the world, faith is living a self-controlled, upright, and godly life.
If repentance is saying, “I’m sorry,” faith is not doing it again.
If repentance is turning your back on the things that led you in the wrong direction, faith is walking away.
When we are converted to Christ, we begin a life of Christian discipline…of repentance and belief. To be converted means to be changed, brothers and sisters, to go a different way than the world around us…to trust in God’s Word, God’s will, and God’s way, and follow Jesus. We must be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. We must turn around and start walking. We must repent and believe. This is conversion.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
REGENERATION (Titus 3:3-7)
"he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5)
Anne Graham Lotz writes:
“My mother led me in prayer as I confessed my sin to God and told Him I was sorry. I thanked Jesus for dying for my sin and asked God to forgive me. I told Him I believed Jesus had risen from the dead, and I invited Him to come live in my heart. I don’t remember any dramatic sensation afterward, but I knew my sin had been forgiven and I had been born again.” (“Be Sure of Heaven”, http://www.annegrahamlotz.com/about-us/be-sure-heaven/)
In John, chapter five, Jesus tells the people: “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)
The Old Testament scriptures, from beginning to end, speak about Jesus the Christ, and point to his coming, yet the people of his day, especially the scholars…those who were well versed in the scriptures…did not accept him as the Messiah. Why? Even when the Messiah stood right in front of them speaking directly to them, doing all kinds of miraculous things, displaying great power and wisdom…why did they not acknowledge him as the Messiah of God?
Because they had no eyes with which to see the truth that was right in front of them.
Because they had no ears to hear the gospel that had been proclaimed to Abraham and all their ancestors in the scriptures and proclaimed also to them.
Because the Holy Spirit had not regenerated their hearts and minds and spirits.
The proclamation of the gospel is not enough, brothers and sisters. Hearing the gospel story proclaimed is not enough to bring someone to faith in Christ. We all know people who know about Jesus…who have heard the gospel story…and reject it…who do not believe and turn and follow Christ. If the Holy Spirit regenerates people through the proclamation of the gospel, why doesn’t everyone who hears the gospel come to faith in Christ?
This is where knowing the rest of the order of salvation comes in handy.
Why do some come to believe and others not? The short answer is election.
God chooses…God elects…to regenerate some, and not others, therefore some come to believe in Jesus and others don’t. The unregenerate cannot come to faith because they do not hear the gospel when it is proclaimed. They do not see the truth that is set before them. Those who are dead in sin cannot respond to the gospel message because they’re dead.
What’s the difference between an atheist who knows the gospel story, who has studied the Bible closely, and has rejected it as false, and the one who believes the truth of the gospel, turns to follow Jesus Christ, and offers her life as a living sacrifice to the glory of God?
What is the difference between a blind man and a man who once was blind?
What is the difference between a deaf woman and a woman who once was deaf?
The difference, brothers and sisters, is regeneration.
The difference is that those for whom the Holy Sprit regenerates blind eyes and missing ears can see and hear the truth about Jesus. Those who are left blind and deaf, though they memorize the whole Bible, will never be able to see and hear its truth…will never come to faith in Christ…because they are still dead in their sins. They have not been given new life by the Holy Spirit. They have not been born again.
God chooses us. We hear the gospel. The Spirit gives new life.
"he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5)
Anne Graham Lotz writes:
“My mother led me in prayer as I confessed my sin to God and told Him I was sorry. I thanked Jesus for dying for my sin and asked God to forgive me. I told Him I believed Jesus had risen from the dead, and I invited Him to come live in my heart. I don’t remember any dramatic sensation afterward, but I knew my sin had been forgiven and I had been born again.” (“Be Sure of Heaven”, http://www.annegrahamlotz.com/about-us/be-sure-heaven/)
In John, chapter five, Jesus tells the people: “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)
The Old Testament scriptures, from beginning to end, speak about Jesus the Christ, and point to his coming, yet the people of his day, especially the scholars…those who were well versed in the scriptures…did not accept him as the Messiah. Why? Even when the Messiah stood right in front of them speaking directly to them, doing all kinds of miraculous things, displaying great power and wisdom…why did they not acknowledge him as the Messiah of God?
Because they had no eyes with which to see the truth that was right in front of them.
Because they had no ears to hear the gospel that had been proclaimed to Abraham and all their ancestors in the scriptures and proclaimed also to them.
Because the Holy Spirit had not regenerated their hearts and minds and spirits.
The proclamation of the gospel is not enough, brothers and sisters. Hearing the gospel story proclaimed is not enough to bring someone to faith in Christ. We all know people who know about Jesus…who have heard the gospel story…and reject it…who do not believe and turn and follow Christ. If the Holy Spirit regenerates people through the proclamation of the gospel, why doesn’t everyone who hears the gospel come to faith in Christ?
This is where knowing the rest of the order of salvation comes in handy.
Why do some come to believe and others not? The short answer is election.
God chooses…God elects…to regenerate some, and not others, therefore some come to believe in Jesus and others don’t. The unregenerate cannot come to faith because they do not hear the gospel when it is proclaimed. They do not see the truth that is set before them. Those who are dead in sin cannot respond to the gospel message because they’re dead.
What’s the difference between an atheist who knows the gospel story, who has studied the Bible closely, and has rejected it as false, and the one who believes the truth of the gospel, turns to follow Jesus Christ, and offers her life as a living sacrifice to the glory of God?
What is the difference between a blind man and a man who once was blind?
What is the difference between a deaf woman and a woman who once was deaf?
The difference, brothers and sisters, is regeneration.
The difference is that those for whom the Holy Sprit regenerates blind eyes and missing ears can see and hear the truth about Jesus. Those who are left blind and deaf, though they memorize the whole Bible, will never be able to see and hear its truth…will never come to faith in Christ…because they are still dead in their sins. They have not been given new life by the Holy Spirit. They have not been born again.
God chooses us. We hear the gospel. The Spirit gives new life.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
PROCLAMATION (Romans 10:14-17)
"But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?" (Romans 10:14)
Darrell L. Guder says:
“God gave his Spirit at Pentecost to enable the witness of the church, and that witness is to go out to the end of the earth. The church does not really have a choice here: evangelization is its necessary obedience. Only in this way will God accomplish his purposes. That necessity becomes a constraint, a driving energy, a focus of obedience that makes Christians into witnesses wherever they are.” (Be My Witnesses, 142)
People will be saved because we proclaim the gospel, brothers and sisters, and that’s an awesome responsibility and a humbling and exciting realization. People will be saved because I proclaim the gospel…not because of my powers of persuasion or because of how much I know…but because the grace and power of God are unleashed through the proclamation of the gospel. And the same is true for all of us…not just for me, the preacher, but for all of us…for all of us. People will be saved for eternity because we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Wow! What power we wield when we discipline our lives and open our mouths and become Christ’s witnesses in the world. People are saved through of our testimony and witness to Jesus Christ…what he has done for the world and for me…because, like me and like you, others receive the grace of God and come to faith in Christ through the proclamation of the gospel.
Election bears the fruit of faith and salvation, brothers and sisters, only through the hearing of the gospel story…only through the proclamation of the gospel does one receive the grace of God that leads to salvation and come to faith in Jesus Christ.
For “how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?...Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.”” (Romans 10:14, 17)
All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, brothers and sisters. Believe this good news and proclaim it courageously so that others may live in its peace.
"But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?" (Romans 10:14)
Darrell L. Guder says:
“God gave his Spirit at Pentecost to enable the witness of the church, and that witness is to go out to the end of the earth. The church does not really have a choice here: evangelization is its necessary obedience. Only in this way will God accomplish his purposes. That necessity becomes a constraint, a driving energy, a focus of obedience that makes Christians into witnesses wherever they are.” (Be My Witnesses, 142)
People will be saved because we proclaim the gospel, brothers and sisters, and that’s an awesome responsibility and a humbling and exciting realization. People will be saved because I proclaim the gospel…not because of my powers of persuasion or because of how much I know…but because the grace and power of God are unleashed through the proclamation of the gospel. And the same is true for all of us…not just for me, the preacher, but for all of us…for all of us. People will be saved for eternity because we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Wow! What power we wield when we discipline our lives and open our mouths and become Christ’s witnesses in the world. People are saved through of our testimony and witness to Jesus Christ…what he has done for the world and for me…because, like me and like you, others receive the grace of God and come to faith in Christ through the proclamation of the gospel.
Election bears the fruit of faith and salvation, brothers and sisters, only through the hearing of the gospel story…only through the proclamation of the gospel does one receive the grace of God that leads to salvation and come to faith in Jesus Christ.
For “how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?...Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.”” (Romans 10:14, 17)
All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, brothers and sisters. Believe this good news and proclaim it courageously so that others may live in its peace.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
ELECTION (Ephesians 1:3-10)
"he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will," (Ephesians 1:4-5)
John Calvin says:
“We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each [person]. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others. Therefore, as any[one] has been created to one or the other of these ends, we speak of [them] as predestined to life or death.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 926)
The doctrine of election, brothers and sisters, is a controversial doctrine, but it is a thoroughly biblical doctrine.
The pattern of God’s activity in scripture, I believe, overwhelmingly reveals that God is a God who elects unconditionally…who chooses his people according to nothing more than the good pleasure of his will...that God calls and people are compelled to respond to his call. The pattern of God’s activity in scripture reveals that before we chose God, God chose us. “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:4-5).
Brothers and sisters, we are saved by grace, and grace is God’s power, freely and unconditionally wielded…not out of constraint, obligation, or duty…not because we deserve it or have earned it…not because God foresaw that we would come to believe in Christ…because then it would no longer be grace, but because God loves us and because it pleases him to do so. God freely chose us in Christ from before the foundation of the world to be his children.
Being elected for salvation by God is how salvation begins. In the order of salvation, election comes first, brothers and sisters, because salvation is always, always, always initiated by God. God’s election of his people is the first step in the process of how we receive the grace of God, come to faith in Jesus Christ, and are saved by God.
God chooses us.
"he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will," (Ephesians 1:4-5)
John Calvin says:
“We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each [person]. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others. Therefore, as any[one] has been created to one or the other of these ends, we speak of [them] as predestined to life or death.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 926)
The doctrine of election, brothers and sisters, is a controversial doctrine, but it is a thoroughly biblical doctrine.
The pattern of God’s activity in scripture, I believe, overwhelmingly reveals that God is a God who elects unconditionally…who chooses his people according to nothing more than the good pleasure of his will...that God calls and people are compelled to respond to his call. The pattern of God’s activity in scripture reveals that before we chose God, God chose us. “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:4-5).
Brothers and sisters, we are saved by grace, and grace is God’s power, freely and unconditionally wielded…not out of constraint, obligation, or duty…not because we deserve it or have earned it…not because God foresaw that we would come to believe in Christ…because then it would no longer be grace, but because God loves us and because it pleases him to do so. God freely chose us in Christ from before the foundation of the world to be his children.
Being elected for salvation by God is how salvation begins. In the order of salvation, election comes first, brothers and sisters, because salvation is always, always, always initiated by God. God’s election of his people is the first step in the process of how we receive the grace of God, come to faith in Jesus Christ, and are saved by God.
God chooses us.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
RESURRECTION (1 Cor. 15:50-57)
"Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality." (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
John Calvin writes:
“Let us, however, consider this settled: that no one has made progress in the school of Christ who does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection. Paul, too, distinguishes all believers by this mark [Titus 2:13; cf. II Tim. 4:8], and Scripture habitually recalls us to it whenever it would set forth proof of perfect happiness.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 718)
Resurrection is the aspect of our eternal salvation that will only be made effective in us at the time of Christ’s return, brothers and sisters…at the sounding of the last trumpet…at the time of the end of this present darkness and the beginning of the new heavens and the new earth.
Only then will we be truly free from the effects of sin and the power of death.
Only then will God raise our bodies from the grave…from the ground…from the sea…from dust and ashes…and clothe us with imperishability.
Only then will our eternal salvation be complete.
This is the salvation to which all who are weary with sin…who desire to be in the presence of the Lord God…who want to live and serve him faithfully…who carry a heavy burden of guilt and sin…this is the salvation to which we look forward with great anticipation. This is the salvation that we long for…the resurrection of the body, when crying and mourning and death will be no more…when tired, weak, frail, broken, sin-filled bodies will be made new.
Resurrection, for those who believe, is the future culmination of our eternal salvation. I will be raised imperishable. I will be resurrected. I will be saved.
"Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality." (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
John Calvin writes:
“Let us, however, consider this settled: that no one has made progress in the school of Christ who does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection. Paul, too, distinguishes all believers by this mark [Titus 2:13; cf. II Tim. 4:8], and Scripture habitually recalls us to it whenever it would set forth proof of perfect happiness.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 718)
Resurrection is the aspect of our eternal salvation that will only be made effective in us at the time of Christ’s return, brothers and sisters…at the sounding of the last trumpet…at the time of the end of this present darkness and the beginning of the new heavens and the new earth.
Only then will we be truly free from the effects of sin and the power of death.
Only then will God raise our bodies from the grave…from the ground…from the sea…from dust and ashes…and clothe us with imperishability.
Only then will our eternal salvation be complete.
This is the salvation to which all who are weary with sin…who desire to be in the presence of the Lord God…who want to live and serve him faithfully…who carry a heavy burden of guilt and sin…this is the salvation to which we look forward with great anticipation. This is the salvation that we long for…the resurrection of the body, when crying and mourning and death will be no more…when tired, weak, frail, broken, sin-filled bodies will be made new.
Resurrection, for those who believe, is the future culmination of our eternal salvation. I will be raised imperishable. I will be resurrected. I will be saved.
Monday, September 7, 2009
SANTIFICATION (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)
"Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification..." (1 Thessalonians 1-3)
Beverly Roberts Gaventa writes:
“Paul’s strategy is a bit reminiscent of the mother who stands at the door and calls out as her child scampers off to play, ‘Behave yourself! Remember you are a Smith!’ Without ever being explicitly told what it means to be a Smith, the child learns that her behavior is to be consistent with that identity….They may even hear an additional warning, “We are not like the Blakes! Don’t act like them! Behave! ” (Interpretation: First and Second Thessalonians, 54)
Sanctification is the process of change and growth and transformation where I become like Jesus through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is the process of becoming what I am…becoming Christian…becoming like Christ. The more like Jesus Christ I become, the more holy I am…the more faithful I am…the less disobedient and sinful I am. Sanctification is the process that I, as a Christian, undergo so that I can be saved from myself. Through the process of my sanctification, I am being saved from my own sinful nature. I am being remade…refashioned…recreated…into the image of God in Christ.
The power and influence of sin are being destroyed in me. The power and influence of Jesus Christ are being increased in me. I am becoming what I already am…united with Christ. I am being sanctified. I am being made holy. I am being saved.
"Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification..." (1 Thessalonians 1-3)
Beverly Roberts Gaventa writes:
“Paul’s strategy is a bit reminiscent of the mother who stands at the door and calls out as her child scampers off to play, ‘Behave yourself! Remember you are a Smith!’ Without ever being explicitly told what it means to be a Smith, the child learns that her behavior is to be consistent with that identity….They may even hear an additional warning, “We are not like the Blakes! Don’t act like them! Behave! ” (Interpretation: First and Second Thessalonians, 54)
Sanctification is the process of change and growth and transformation where I become like Jesus through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is the process of becoming what I am…becoming Christian…becoming like Christ. The more like Jesus Christ I become, the more holy I am…the more faithful I am…the less disobedient and sinful I am. Sanctification is the process that I, as a Christian, undergo so that I can be saved from myself. Through the process of my sanctification, I am being saved from my own sinful nature. I am being remade…refashioned…recreated…into the image of God in Christ.
The power and influence of sin are being destroyed in me. The power and influence of Jesus Christ are being increased in me. I am becoming what I already am…united with Christ. I am being sanctified. I am being made holy. I am being saved.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
JUSTIFICATION (Romans 3:21-26)
"Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith." (Romans 3:23-25)
William Heyns wrote:
“By participating in [Christ’s] righteousness [the Christian] has been made righteous, all [her] sin and impurity has been covered….Now it is ‘as if [she] had never had, nor committed any sin; yea, as if [she] had fully accomplished all that obedience that Christ accomplished for [her].’ He is now truly just, in his entire being, externally and internally, satisfying all the demands of the Law of God, and on this ground he is justified by God.” (Manual of Reformed Doctrine, 286)
If I believe in Jesus Christ, if I trust him and follow him…if the Holy Spirit lives within me, then I have been saved. I have been united with Christ, have shared in his death so that the penalty for my sin is paid and justice has been satisfied. I have been imputed with his righteousness…his obedience to the divine law…so that I may no longer be accused of any sinful act. I have been justified through my faith in Christ. I have been saved.
From the moment you first believe, whether you are seven or seventy, the cross of Christ becomes your cross.
From the moment you first believe, the righteousness of Christ becomes your righteousness.
From the moment I first believed, I have been saved.
Justification, for those who believe, is a past event. We were justified before God the moment we first believed, when the Holy Spirit united us with Christ, when we died in Christ, and when the righteousness of Christ that earns salvation in glory was imputed to us. Having been justified through Christ, no charge can stand against us.
"Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith." (Romans 3:23-25)
William Heyns wrote:
“By participating in [Christ’s] righteousness [the Christian] has been made righteous, all [her] sin and impurity has been covered….Now it is ‘as if [she] had never had, nor committed any sin; yea, as if [she] had fully accomplished all that obedience that Christ accomplished for [her].’ He is now truly just, in his entire being, externally and internally, satisfying all the demands of the Law of God, and on this ground he is justified by God.” (Manual of Reformed Doctrine, 286)
If I believe in Jesus Christ, if I trust him and follow him…if the Holy Spirit lives within me, then I have been saved. I have been united with Christ, have shared in his death so that the penalty for my sin is paid and justice has been satisfied. I have been imputed with his righteousness…his obedience to the divine law…so that I may no longer be accused of any sinful act. I have been justified through my faith in Christ. I have been saved.
From the moment you first believe, whether you are seven or seventy, the cross of Christ becomes your cross.
From the moment you first believe, the righteousness of Christ becomes your righteousness.
From the moment I first believed, I have been saved.
Justification, for those who believe, is a past event. We were justified before God the moment we first believed, when the Holy Spirit united us with Christ, when we died in Christ, and when the righteousness of Christ that earns salvation in glory was imputed to us. Having been justified through Christ, no charge can stand against us.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
SATISFACTION (Hebrews 2:14-18)
"Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people." (Heb. 2:17)
Bruce Milne wrote:
“The Bible teaches that the heart of Christ’s work consists in his having on our behalf and in our place borne the punishment due to us on account of our sin and brought us pardon and reconciliation with God in righteousness. This is often referred to as ‘penal substitution’ and has been the centre of evangelical teaching and preaching on the atonement since the Reformation.” (Know the Truth, 155)
Jesus satisfied the demands of justice against us because, in his humanity, he died, and because in his sinless divinity, he didn’t need to. And so God’s great work of salvation could be accomplished. Justice would be done. Humanity would pay for its sins in the person of Jesus, who himself was without sin, so that all those who would be united with Christ, could be declared righteous in him and, therefore, be saved from the death we deserve.
You know, some people when we talk about sin and death and how the whole human race was corrupted by the sin of the one man…Adam, sometimes people are prone to ask the question, “Why should I have to pay for someone else’s sin?” because they sense some injustice in the idea that they should die because of Adam’s sin. But I think the real question should be, “Why should someone else have to pay for my sin?” because that’s the more amazing thought, and that’s just what Jesus has done. In his humanity, Jesus suffered the penalty of sin. In his divinity, Jesus has made possible for you and I to receive the benefit of his suffering. Jesus has paid for my sin and yours. Jesus has satisfied the justice of God so that you and I could be saved.
Brothers and sisters, human beings are sinners, one and all…“for all have sinned” (Romans 5:12), and sin’s just penalty is death, but the justice of God is satisfied in Jesus Christ. The penalty has been paid in full for all those who are in Christ Jesus.
Jesus became sin so that we would become righteous.
Jesus died so that we would live.
Jesus satisfied the justice of God so that we would be saved.
"Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people." (Heb. 2:17)
Bruce Milne wrote:
“The Bible teaches that the heart of Christ’s work consists in his having on our behalf and in our place borne the punishment due to us on account of our sin and brought us pardon and reconciliation with God in righteousness. This is often referred to as ‘penal substitution’ and has been the centre of evangelical teaching and preaching on the atonement since the Reformation.” (Know the Truth, 155)
Jesus satisfied the demands of justice against us because, in his humanity, he died, and because in his sinless divinity, he didn’t need to. And so God’s great work of salvation could be accomplished. Justice would be done. Humanity would pay for its sins in the person of Jesus, who himself was without sin, so that all those who would be united with Christ, could be declared righteous in him and, therefore, be saved from the death we deserve.
You know, some people when we talk about sin and death and how the whole human race was corrupted by the sin of the one man…Adam, sometimes people are prone to ask the question, “Why should I have to pay for someone else’s sin?” because they sense some injustice in the idea that they should die because of Adam’s sin. But I think the real question should be, “Why should someone else have to pay for my sin?” because that’s the more amazing thought, and that’s just what Jesus has done. In his humanity, Jesus suffered the penalty of sin. In his divinity, Jesus has made possible for you and I to receive the benefit of his suffering. Jesus has paid for my sin and yours. Jesus has satisfied the justice of God so that you and I could be saved.
Brothers and sisters, human beings are sinners, one and all…“for all have sinned” (Romans 5:12), and sin’s just penalty is death, but the justice of God is satisfied in Jesus Christ. The penalty has been paid in full for all those who are in Christ Jesus.
Jesus became sin so that we would become righteous.
Jesus died so that we would live.
Jesus satisfied the justice of God so that we would be saved.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
CORRUPTION (Romans 5:12-14)
“Sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned,” (Rom. 5:12)
Maxie Dunnam wrote:
“Adam’s story is our story….God’s vision of peace and harmony in creation has been disfigured. The image of God within each of us has been distorted. We all know a deep sense of separation from God….We call it sin. However we look at it and name it, the result is a condition that is universally human, a dramatic alteration of our created relationship with God.” (This Is Christianity, 286)
Brothers and sisters, understanding sin…human sinfulness…is vital to understanding what is at the heart of the doctrine of salvation…the heart of who Jesus is and what he is about. We cannot understand the doctrine of salvation well if we don’t understand sin well…its influence and its consequences…because if I don’t understand sin and the death it brings, then I don’t understand why I need to be saved in the first place.
Sin is a universal human condition. Every single human being ever conceived, save Jesus, from the time of their conception onward, has been subject to the power and dominion and influence of sin. Every single human being that ever has been or will be is subject to the effects and consequences of sin. We are corrupt versions of what human beings should be…what we were created to be. We are dead in sin. Sin kills and separates us from God and from the life God wants us to have.
The justice of God demands that I pay for my sinfulness. The promise of God to Adam comes true over and over again with every human being: “Do not disobey and sin against me, for in the day you do you shall die.” And we all do…and we all have.
“Sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned,” (Rom. 5:12)
Maxie Dunnam wrote:
“Adam’s story is our story….God’s vision of peace and harmony in creation has been disfigured. The image of God within each of us has been distorted. We all know a deep sense of separation from God….We call it sin. However we look at it and name it, the result is a condition that is universally human, a dramatic alteration of our created relationship with God.” (This Is Christianity, 286)
Brothers and sisters, understanding sin…human sinfulness…is vital to understanding what is at the heart of the doctrine of salvation…the heart of who Jesus is and what he is about. We cannot understand the doctrine of salvation well if we don’t understand sin well…its influence and its consequences…because if I don’t understand sin and the death it brings, then I don’t understand why I need to be saved in the first place.
Sin is a universal human condition. Every single human being ever conceived, save Jesus, from the time of their conception onward, has been subject to the power and dominion and influence of sin. Every single human being that ever has been or will be is subject to the effects and consequences of sin. We are corrupt versions of what human beings should be…what we were created to be. We are dead in sin. Sin kills and separates us from God and from the life God wants us to have.
The justice of God demands that I pay for my sinfulness. The promise of God to Adam comes true over and over again with every human being: “Do not disobey and sin against me, for in the day you do you shall die.” And we all do…and we all have.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
SALVATION (Eph. 2:1-9)
“For by grace [we] have been saved through faith, and this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:9)
Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (Nov. 5, 1851 - Feb. 16, 1921) wrote:
“In this reiterated phrase [‘by grace you have been saved’] we have in effect the heart of [Paul’s] gospel, to know which is our prime necessity if we are to know what that gospel is. The whole gospel turns as upon its hinge on this fact, that salvation is of pure grace.” (“Election,” Selected Shorter Writings, 286)
Brothers and sisters, the doctrine of salvation is probably the most significant aspect of Christian faith and theology and it benefits us all to understand it well because salvation lies at the heart of God’s will and purposes, salvation is the why Jesus came to earth and why he died on the cross, and salvation is our one truly vital need.
As we continue our study of the doctrine of salvation, keep this in your hearts and minds. Let it sink deeply into your body and soul: God’s grace is the foundation of the doctrine of salvation.
Grace is God’s power, freely wielded…not out of constraint, obligation, or duty…not because we deserve it or have earned it…but because God loves us. And salvation is God’s grace raising us from the dead.
“For by grace [we] have been saved through faith, and this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:9)
Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (Nov. 5, 1851 - Feb. 16, 1921) wrote:
“In this reiterated phrase [‘by grace you have been saved’] we have in effect the heart of [Paul’s] gospel, to know which is our prime necessity if we are to know what that gospel is. The whole gospel turns as upon its hinge on this fact, that salvation is of pure grace.” (“Election,” Selected Shorter Writings, 286)
Brothers and sisters, the doctrine of salvation is probably the most significant aspect of Christian faith and theology and it benefits us all to understand it well because salvation lies at the heart of God’s will and purposes, salvation is the why Jesus came to earth and why he died on the cross, and salvation is our one truly vital need.
As we continue our study of the doctrine of salvation, keep this in your hearts and minds. Let it sink deeply into your body and soul: God’s grace is the foundation of the doctrine of salvation.
Grace is God’s power, freely wielded…not out of constraint, obligation, or duty…not because we deserve it or have earned it…but because God loves us. And salvation is God’s grace raising us from the dead.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Coming Soon: A Conversation about Salvation
Beginning in August, we will be spending 12 or so weeks discussing the Doctrine of Salvation in worship with follow up conversation happening here on this blog. Each week, I will post a question (or questions) relating to the theme or element of Salvation Doctrine for the week and ask for thoughts and comments regarding those questions. It is my hope that we, as a church, can utilize this tool to further our theological discussions, deepen our understanding of the faith, and connect with one another throughout the week.
We welcome any and all conversation partners who can add to our understanding and who wish to add to their own, whether you worship with us or not.
The Lord bless you and keep you,
Pastor Mark
We welcome any and all conversation partners who can add to our understanding and who wish to add to their own, whether you worship with us or not.
The Lord bless you and keep you,
Pastor Mark
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