Election - Hebrews 9:28

 “ . . . so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” - Hebrews 9:28

    This simple verse is so packed with soteriological doctrine that it is hard to break it all down in a few paragraphs. But try, I will.
    Our heavenly Savior, Jesus Christ, was offered once - once, to bear the sins of those of us who eagerly await salvation. And not the sins of all humanity, but the sins of those who eagerly await His coming for salvation!
    One would think that this verse alone would compel the Arminians to accept the Calvinist proposition of “Limited Atonement.” With only a sentence break between “the sins of many” and “To those who eagerly wait . . .” one would be hard-pressed to ignore the obvious implication. Clearly the use, as a noun, of the limiting adjective “many” is further qualified by the phrase, “to those who eagerly wait for Him. . . .” The verse doesn’t say that Christ was offered to bear the sins of everyone. It doesn’t even suggest it and the sentence which follows explicitly declares that He will return a second time “to those who eagerly wait for Him . . . .” If this verse alone doesn’t firmly establish the Doctrine of Election none do! But there are more. Scripture addresses the doctrine of “election” in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Mark 13:27, “And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.” John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (see John, Chapter 17 in its entirety), and Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
    Any clear reading of Scripture emphatically indicates that not everyone’s sins have been atoned for by the sacrificial death of Jesus, but only those whom His Father has “given” Him - “the elect.”
     “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. . . . I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” -  John 17:6,9. And I’ll bet you came in here thinking this was going to be all about politics.
    May our reading of God’s word always be seen in the clarity with which it was given to its divinely inspired authors by the Holy Spirit.

Global Warming? - Genesis 8:22

“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and nights Shall not cease.”- Genesis 8:22

    I don’t believe that a believer could find a verse in Scripture that more pointedly denies the existence of what many today refer to as, “Global Warming.” While I understand the secularist position, it is the Christian’s belief in such a fallacious theory that should be of concern to us. To believe what secularist say would be to cast significant doubt on the very word of God.
    “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”  - Isaiah 55:11. God’s word does not return to Him void. Ever! But does this let mankind off the hook for his contribution to the destruction of the environment? Emphatically, the answer to this question is - NO!
     “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” - Genesis 2:15. Since the dawn of time, man’s place in the world has been in a custodial role. He was commanded by God to tend and KEEP the world. We were charged with subduing the earth and having dominion over every creature. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” - Genesis 1:28.
    Our mission on earth, regarding the sustaining and keeping of the planet, was (and still is) to be good stewards of everything God has given us here. And while it may not be a doctrine vitally related to our salvation, it is still a command from God. “Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.’” - Numbers 35:34.
    We must continue to remember what our Heavenly Father has said to us with regards to  being faithful in the small things - “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” - Matthew 25:21.
    God wants us to take care of His planet, His air, His water, and His creatures that inhabit it with us. Let us all be good and faithful stewards to the glory and joy of God.

Suicide And The Fallen Man - Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. - Romans 8:1

    “911" -When we think about that fateful day a myriad of images spiral forth from that emotional moment few of us want to revisit. There is one iconic photograph, however, that for me at least, still illustrates the darkness of that day: the Falling Man. Conjecture, conjecture, conjecture. Was he “blown” out of a window on the upper floors of the WTC? Was he pushed? Did he jump? It is this last question that has been the subject of more conjecture than any other.
    As Christians, we find the concept of suicide almost too grievous to consider. Self-murder, we call it. A direct violation of the 6th Commandment - “You shall not murder.”
- Exodus 20:13. And for many professing Christians such a sin bars one from heaven for eternity. But Holy Scripture tells us that there is only one ‘unforgivable sin’ -  “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.” - Matthew 12:31. Every sin will be forgiven . . . even suicide, provided that the individual was truly saved at the time of his or her death. More conjecture.
    Why would someone who was truly saved even consider such a dire act as suicide?  First of all, suicide is not something that a healthy mind contemplates. Remember that it is the condition of the heart that sets the bar for what is a sin and what is not a sin. We have all read or heard of the selfless act of a soldier throwing himself upon an explosive device to save his brothers and sister in arms. That is not an act of suicide; that’s an act of heroism.
    We can’t emphasize enough the effect of mental illness has on a typical act of suicide. It has been suggested that no less than 90% of those who’ve taken their own lives were suffering from some form of mental illness or substance abuse at the time of their deaths. While the list of risk factors contributing to suicide is exhaustive some of the more common links involve severe depression, previous physical or sexual trauma, anxiety, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury (TBI), feelings of hopelessness, or extreme psychological pain. The bottom line is that for a vast majority of suicide victims, mental illness is at the root of the act. It wasn’t necessarily about a sinful heart. It was about a sick brain. A mentally healthy individual does not want to take his or her own life. In such cases the heart is the last place to look for “the reason.”
    With all this in mind we must consider the state of the suicide’s state of grace at the time of their death. If one isn’t saved before the time of their death it won’t matter if they commit suicide, are murdered, drown, die in plane crash, of natural causes, or in their sleep. Their eternity has already been decided - “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” - John 8:24.
    But there is still good news.  “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” - Hebrews 10:14. Christ has saved believers with His own holy blood. “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’” - Romans 10:8-9. The salvation of believers is secure. Were it not, then Christ’s blood was wasted. If even one pernicious act could separate us from God’s grace then we would be more powerful than God! We would have effectively halted the will of God!
    A man cannot earn his salvation. It is by the grace of God that we are saved. If we cannot earn our salvation then once we have been truly blessed with it . . . we can never lose it!
    One cannot know what enters the mind of a person who is contemplating suicide except for a note and even then we can’t know the gravity of their angst or the true nature of their sickness. Believers are no more immune to depression than unbelievers. We are all ‘fallen men’ and we all suffer from the maladies that fallen men suffer from. But with true believing faith in Christ we can be assured that even a believer’s suicide cannot circumvent what God has determined from before the foundation of the earth. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” - John 6:37-39. May we continue in prayer and supplication for all our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Orlando 6/5/16 - Luke 13:4-5

“Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:4-5

    We have recently witnessed yet another terrorist attack upon our nation. The scores of dead lying in the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando had no idea when they arrived on that fateful evening that they would depart from this earth in the bloody carnage of another brutal and senseless act of Islamic terrorism.
    Immediately following the incident, outrage foamed and infused the news and social media. Among the reasons many cited for the mass murders were homophobia (a term which would be laughable if it wasn’t used in all seriousness); “hatred,” (what an odd observation, as though crimes of violence are fueled by anything but greed or hatred); and the usual suspect - lack of a coherent gun control policy.
    To be fair I must also mention the rabid diatribes released from the ‘far Christian right,’ to wit, false teachers like Pat Robertson and The Westboro Baptist Church and it’s cult-like followers. Yes, yes, we all know and understand the Biblical condemnation of homosexuality. The scriptures are clear on the prohibitions against same-sex relationships. No argument there! However, there is a deeper, more meaningful mandate from Jesus Christ - unless we all repent, we will likewise perish!
    We should all take a step back, look within ourselves, and remember the words of Jesus - “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’” John 8:7. We must remember that sin, all sin, regardless of its predilection, is a transgression against God’s holy will. Disrespect of parents and authority, hatred, murder, lying, cheating, stealing, adultery (and every other sexual sin) are all transgressions! They are all sins. So were the sinners in the nightclub worse sinners than all others? Of course not! “ . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” - Romans 3:23. All of us!
    Did God deliberately ordain the early Sunday morning massacre? God ordains everything that comes to pass. Did He seek to make an example of the homosexuals present at that time? No more than he sought to punish ordinary citizens and military personnel on September 11, 2001.
    What happened in Orlando, Florida on Sunday morning, June 5th, 2016 was a human tragedy, both in terms of its commission and in terms of its result. We cannot limit the murderous intent of the perpetrator to the homosexual community. This was, before any other consideration, an attack on humanity in general, and an attack on Americans, specifically. The murderer could just as easily have targeted a large metropolitan marathon run, a business gathering, a military base, an elementary school, a heavily populated government building, or a skyscraper. He could have used guns, bombs, poisonous gas, or a nuclear device. And this is what we need to focus on, rather than the sins of the victims, if we are ever to curtail the madness of the murderers among us! A “hate crime?” Of course it was hate crime, in so far as there is no such thing as a love crime, and we can only combat such crimes with vigilance and prayer. God has not singled out a particular group of sinners to punish for their wickedness. He has simply given us over to our sinful desires, and one of them is murder. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;  being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,  undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful . . . .” - Romans 1:29-31.
    Just as Christ said that the sinners who died under the collapse of the tower of Siloam were no greater sinners than anyone else, we must also remember that the tragedy which befell those on Sunday past was not a greater tragedy than those which preceded it. It doesn’t matter who the victims were; it matters only that they were victims. Suggesting that their sexual orientation made their victimization greater than that of others also suggests that their lives held more value than that of other victims. Promoting such a position would be to make a mistake similar to the harsh rhetoric of the Black Lives Matters movement. Because all men are created in God’s image, all lives matter . . . period! A violent crime against one of us is a crime against all of us regardless of our social, cultural, religious, ethnic, racial, national, or political backgrounds. Such violence committed against a human being is particularly abominable to God because we are made in His image!
    “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Matthew 22:37-39.
    May we pray in this horrific time of man’s inhumanity to man that we would turn our hearts to God and away from sin which always and everywhere leads to death.

The Sweetest Spiritual Poison - Deuteronomy 4:2

You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. - Deuteronomy 4:2


    In the May/June 2016 edition of “The Expositor,” a magazine published by OnePassion Ministry, Michael Horton, Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, commented that  - “Arminian theologians Clark Pinnock and John Sanders share the presupposition that all God’s attributes are subservient to His love and that His purpose is to save every person.” While I am tempted to challenge the entirety of the Arminian position of salvation it is this erroneous notion that God wants to save every person that I address here.
    Unfortunately, this particularly damaging ideology has infiltrated the vast majority of evangelical churches today. This Liberal Christian theology is nothing but a sweeter-tasting, more appetizing spiritual poison. It has become so ubiquitous that one can scarcely find a sermon on Sundays which addresses hell, the wrath of God, or the imminent peril we face as unrepentant and unforgiven sinners! Christ Jesus is preached as a buddy or loving big brother in these churches, and I use the term, “churches”  in the loosest sense. Christ is neither a buddy or big brother. He is Lord and Savior. And His place as Lord demands that we recognize and acknowledge all His attributes, not merely the ones we find most comforting.
    We know from Holy Scripture that God has many attributes, some incommunicable and some communicable. From His aseity to His wisdom and every other attribute in between, this “wholeness” of God is irreducible. So for anyone to suggest that God’s attributes play off in a measured order of importance is, for lack of a better description - sacrilegious! It implies that we choose on our own behalf to speak where scripture has not spoken. And in such cases, where would each of us begin to order God’s attributes? One might think God’s mercy supersedes all others while I may think it is His truthfulness. Can we all understand the error in such thinking? God does not sow confusion. So let’s be clear - Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that God’s justice is subservient to His mercy. Nowhere!
    Any teaching that contradicts scripture - any doctrine that is held in opposition to what scripture clearly teaches -  is by definition a heresy. “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” - Galatians 1:8. The gravitas of deliberately misinterpreting Holy Scripture is impossible to measure.
    As Reformed Christians, we must preach the whole word of God and nothing but the whole word of God. To shorten, lengthen, or altar the Gospel of Jesus Christ in any way is a spiritual crime of the highest magnitude and will certainly bring to bear a couple of God’s attributes that none of us sinners want to experience - His justice and His wrath! "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." - Revelation 22:18-19
    May we always and under all circumstances remember that the wrath of God is no more to be trifled with than His love.

With A Trowel And A Sword - Nehemiah 4:17

Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. - Nehemiah 4:17


    We live in an age of conflict. While a Christian faces spiritual conflict on a daily basis there is also intellectual conflict and emotional conflict. Lastly, there will be times when the conflict get’s physical. These areas of conflict have existed among humanity ever since The Fall. And mankind has ever sought resolution to these conflicts, be it through prayer, cognition, love, or physical confrontation. It was in the areas of conflict resolution that Nehemiah found himself in Chapter Four. The prophet responded to God’s blessing and providence by taking the proper steps to deal with the situation. What Nehemiah faced was not unlike what Christians face every day here in America. Let us recall the scenario.
    Nehemiah returned to Judah with King Artaxerxes permission to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. Artaxerxes was king of Persia and his word and promise alone were more than enough to ensure Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem and authority to rebuild the walls. But when word of the prophet’s purpose reached the ears of the Amorites, who despised the Israelites, they began a concerted effort to stop Nehemiah from both engaging in the rebuilding of the walls but more certainly from the completion of the task.
    The conspiracy to dissuade Nehemiah and the Israelites included mocking them; scorning them; intimidating them; provoking them; and confusing them - all tactics used by Satan to stop believers in their tracks! In fact, it had escalated into such a heated frenzy that their enemies were even contemplating killing them!  “And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.” - Nehemiah 4:11. Is America not now at this very threshold. What can we possibly do to stop the further corruption of our nation and assault upon our Christian faith?
    We must do what Nehemiah did when he and his people faced their tribulation. The very first action Nehemiah took was to pray (Nehemiah 4:4,9). Scripture speaks to us very seriously about the need for prayer and supplication to the Lord - “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16. In this particular passage from James, we are told to confess and pray! We’ll return to this command shortly. However, in addition to fervent prayer, Nehemiah did something else; he had the Israelites prepare for war! “Therefore, I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.’” - Nehemiah 4:13-15.
    Now there will be the temptation to interpret the use of weaponry in the figurative sense. However, the threat the Israelites faced was a real and impending physical threat. “So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, ‘From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.’” - Nehemiah 4:12. The physical threat was real and so were the weapons of the Israelites.
    With the fervent prayer and preparation of the Israelites the plans of the Amorites and their chief instigator, Sanballat, came to nothing. If only such a blessing would fall upon our tortured and  beleaguered nation. Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope within Nehemiah that would surely ease our troubles. Remember the healing confession and prayer of James 5:16? “Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads. Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.” - Nehemiah 9:1-2.  Prayer and a confession of sin. Is it below our dignity to pray and ask the Almighty to forgive us our trespasses? Do we dare ignore the command of Christ Jesus; “forgive us our trespasses?” If so, then perhaps our nation is beyond salvation. Perhaps we are only reaping what we have sown. So let prayerful confession in faith be our trowel and if need be, we must prudently ready our swords. As we rebuild and restore our faith in God as Nehemiah rebuilt and restored the wall, let us pray for healing, prepare for the enemy, and ask God to have mercy on our nation.
           

Rahab’s Lies - Joshua 2:4-6

Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) - Joshua 2:4-6

    In the account of Rahab’s meeting with the two spies Joshua had sent out we see three distinct lies : (1) that she didn’t know where they were from; (2) that they had left; and (3) that she didn’t know where they went. Yet all the while the spies were hiding up on her roof. Now many will question whether or not God endorsed the lies of a woman known as a harlot among her own people. We know that God does not lie; in fact he hates lies - “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” - Proverbs 12:22. So why is Rahab, a common Caananite prostitute, spoken of so highly in Hebrews? “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” when she had received the spies with peace.” - Hebrews 11:31.
    In today’s common parlance Rahab was nothing short of a “lying whore.” Nothing more; nothing less. Yet the Bible goes on to describe that she eventually marries a man named “Salmon,” of the Tribe of Judah. There she becomes part of the very genealogy of Jesus Christ. Still the Book of Joshua contains the back-story of Rahab and evidences the truth that God is no respecter of persons because those whom He elects to salvation are sinners, one and all.
    Back in the Book of Deuteronomy, God told Moses as He commanded him to cross over the River Arnon, “This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.” - Deuteronomy 2:25. Now, let us listen to Rahab as she speaks to Joshua’s spies -  “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” - Joshua 2: 9 -11.  Rahab voiced the concerns of the people of Jericho because of the Gospel they had heard. But where the people of Jericho did not respond to the effectual call of the Holy Spirit, Rahab did! A sinner like you and I, Rahab came to faith in God Almighty because He chose her before the foundation of the world. Obviously, the Holy Spirit had been working of the heart of Rahab for days, weeks, possibly even months before she even met the spies sent by Joshua. Yes, yes, she still lied but weren’t we still living sinful lives when we came to both the belief in Christ and the faith that He had paid for our sins? “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8. And just as Rahab lied leading up to her confession of faith what were we doing just prior to coming to faith in our Lord and Savior?
    Rahab isn’t called faithful because she lied; she is called faithful for the God-honoring change that took place in her harlot’s heart. A sinner was saved; a woman of ill repute, a sinner like you and I.
    May we always praise God and thank Him for the love, mercy, and grace He has shown to sinners like Rahab . . . and us.