Romans Study V - Jew and Gentile are Under Sin

 Romans 3

1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

The Mr. and I think that this verse would prove that Luke was a Jew in some way. If the Word of God was committed to the Hebrew and if Luke and Acts are part of that Word, then he would have to be.

 3For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
 4God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
 5But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
 6God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

Now he's definitely getting into some sovereignty ground. The Jews had the law of God given to them by God Himself and still many of them did not believe. So what then, was God unable to keep his own chosen nation in belief? How is it that God's will is always done...ultimately, and yet there are some who do not believe? If that is the case, if His will is that all would be saved and yet many are not, How can He judge? I like that Paul says here "I speak as a man." That is what most of us have said. It is where one usually starts when being introduced to sovereignty.

 7For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
 8And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
 9What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

I have actually heard this slanderous argument from people. So now that He has paid the price all you have to do is get your "ticket punched" and you don't have to obey God. People who mockingly use this argument (and you know what I mean if you have ever dealt with a legalist) against those who have been graciously shown the truth have no idea what they are talking about. God's salvation is a gift of GRACE. I am sure that there are those who honestly believe all they have to do is say a prayer and shake a hand or get water baptized and they are in. Those people are NOT saved. However, when God puts His Spirit in you, all you can do is think about Him. When He is in your thoughts day and night, one cannot help but living a life that is increasingly holy (and not in a holier-than-thou way). One's desires and cares are directed upward and not inward. Paul explains that Jews are no better than Gentiles. We are all sons of Adam born into the curse.

Quoting from the Pslams he explains:
   10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11-18

  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.  Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:  Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.       

Without God's intervention, no one will seek God. This jumps out at me more and more in the scripture. Who is always the first actor in salvation? Not us.

Sermon Sunday - Ye Worship Ye Know Not What

In this week's sermon Joe Galuszek of Sovereign Grace Chapel  gives a sermon about how many of us were like the woman at the well. We were following the dictates of our family's religion or lack thereof. We may have been very sincere and devout even, but it isn't until Jesus shows up and tells us all that we ever did...as the woman says:

John 4:29      Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

that we will be taught how to worship in spirit and in truth.  Listen or download this teaching here.

What Woman in the Bible do You Identify With?

Luke 7:37-50     And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee

And he saith, Master, say on.

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.

And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

I have always felt a special connection to that sinful woman. Some people have grown up in church with believing parents and have led pretty clean lives. This woman had not. I think that sometimes the only way that God can penetrate a sinner's heart is to let that person make a total mess of things. Most people really don't think that they are that bad. Others know that they are in trouble. Maybe a sinful past is a blessing, of sorts:

Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard [it], he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Luke 15:7  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Of course removing the blindness of our state, no matter how relatively sinful it may be, is a gift in itself.

So who do you identify with?

Romans Study IV - Judgement Is Coming To All

12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

 He seems to be saying that whether under the law or not, everyone will be judged.

13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

15Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

16In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

It seems that on the day of judgement, everyone will be judged by Jesus Christ according to the gospel, specifically Paul's gospel which is that Jesus was crucified for our sins and was raised for our justification. I think he is saying here that those either without the Mosaic law and those under it will be judged under those circumstances. Those who were not saved by belief in Christ will be judged according to what they have done.

17Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,

18And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;

19And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,

20An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

21Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

22Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

23Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?

24For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

25For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

26Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

27And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

28For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

29But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

 Those Jews who boast that they are Jews and that will save them are not fooling God. As John the Baptist said :

And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. (Mt 3:9)

It seems like this would be obvious, but we are human after all.

Ambassadors for the Almighty God

This is just awesome. I pray that He will give us all opportunities and boldness like this:

Romans Study Part III - Judge Not

This next section is a little difficult. Paul is talking to believers here, so I wonder what he means by some of this. Any input would be most appreciated.

Romans 2

 1Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

 2But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

 3And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

This seems to be very much like what Jesus said to his disciples about the speck of wood in your brother's eye and the plank in your own. It is really easy for us to go around pointing the finger at everyone else, but without the gift of repentance, we would still be doing the same things. There is also always areas of our own lives where we need to examine ourselves.

 4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

I am so grateful for His longsuffering. He has been so, so patient with me.

 5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

 6Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

 7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

 8But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

That passage almost sounds kind of works-y, but since we all still have our sin nature, we have to be admonished often. We must obey the truth, die to self constantly and focus on Him. This is where the line between election and responsibility meet.

 9Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

 10But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

 11For there is no respect of persons with God.

God's judgment is upon Jew and Gentile both. He is the creator of all nations, and now the salvation of God has been opened to all (kinds of men) and not just Israel.

You Might Be A Dispensationalist If...

Just to show that I can poke fun at my own theologies, I saw this over at Dan Phillips Biblical Christianity blog and put a humorous two minute clip from the introduction to the message below:

Yes, this book is in our house ;)

All kidding aside, Michael Vlach does a good job in giving an overview of what dispensationalism is and is not. If anyone is curious about knowing what this strange and oft ridiculed system is all about, I would suggest listening to the entire message:

http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/media/details/?mediaID=5200

Also from the Biblical Christianity blog there is this humorous and apologetic post:

Twenty-five stupid reasons for dissing dispensationalism

I love this one:

14. I think Hal Lindsey is stupid, and I like to make fun of him. Really? I think Harold Camping is stupid and, well, he is pretty easy to parody. Is this helpful?

 Being that I embrace the five points (mostly, still working on that 4th one) and also embrace much of dispensational thinking, I find his site to be good encouragement to know there are a few of us out there...Semper Reformanda!

Romans Study Part II - No One Has Excuse

 Continuing in Romans Chapter One:

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

 Here is the part where Paul explains how the whole race of man is guilty before God. They have all been given enough light to know that He exists, but love the darkness instead.

 21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

I find it amazing how accurate the scripture is about everything. Back when I was an atheist (suppressing the knowledge of God) I thought I was pretty smart.  By God's grace, I was shown how foolish I really was.

 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

 24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

 26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

 27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

 28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

 29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

 30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

 31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

 32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

When God is not honored, he doesn't always have to send direct judgments as we think of them. Just removing some of his restraint on our sinfulness is sufficient to wreck society.  When I see the news stories about people going on shooting rampages or stealing or doing any number of terrible things, I have to remind myself...THAT is total depravity. That is what we would all be without His grace.

The Bible is Coming Alive

As of yet, I haven't posted much in the way of prophesy as it relates to current events, but wow, this has been quite a week!  I am not one to put all these things together myself, so I have a couple of favorite dot-connectors that I keep an eye on.

Firecharger  makes very good short and to the point videos of current events and how they relate to the end times.  I saw this one today and it gives a very good summary of what has been coming together.





He is a pretribber, but the news is just as valid if you are not.
JRed goes into the same news but in MUCH more detail on last Friday's Right Now Radio broadcast. The player is on the sidebar here, so if anyone is really interested in in-depth analysis of all this, I would highly recommend making some time for it.

Firecharger says near the end of the video that the bible is coming alive....It really is.

MARANATHA!

Romans Study -Salutation

Before enbarking on a verse by verse in any book of scripture, I'd like to set the ground rules with one of my favorite quotes:

It shall greatly help ye to understand the Scriptures if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goeth before and what followeth after. "
— Miles Coverdale

It has been said that one can prove anything from the Bible, so we must be careful to take everything in context.

The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: 

I'm going to try to provide as much original thought (or at least my own thought) in this study, so I will, Lord willing, refrain from much copy and paste from other sites.  From the research I've done it seems that Romans was written roughly around 60AD and was to the believers in Rome, who were a well established bunch of saints. Apparently the church was not founded directly by Paul, although he did hope to come and visit. It was not chronologically the first of Paul's letters but is placed first in order in the Pauline epistles.

Romans is the major theological treatise for the Body of Christ. I will be using the King James Version.

So, let's dig in!

Romans 1

 1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
 2(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
 3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
 4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
 5By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

 I wonder who the we is here. I have heard it explained as Paul was using the royal "we" as in he means himself. Surely not all those in Rome received apostleship?

 6Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
 7To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The term called is used twice here. It is the Greek klētos:

I have to make note of the called talk here, it is all over this book and one will find, all over the scriptures themselves.

 8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
 9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
 10Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
 11For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

He seems to be saying here that he wants to see them that he may strengthen and confirm their doctrine and faith.

 12That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

And that he also may be strengthened and comforted.  There is nothing like being in fellowship with other true and like-minded believers.

 13Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

As among the other Gentiles, so it seems that the church in Rome would have been primarily Gentiles, although, we will see later from the text that he seems to bounce back and forth between talking to the Jews and the Gentiles.

 14I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
 15So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

This is interesting....he is ready to preach the gospel. What does that mean I wonder? They must have known it. Perhaps he means that he wants to preach to them personally.  I guess like a good pastor would preach the gospel continually and not just to those who were yet unsaved.

 16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel!

 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

This is a reference to Habakkuk 2:4
Hab 2:4  Behold, his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

It has been argued that Paul misquoted this passage, but since I trust the Holy Spirit inspired scriptures to interpret earlier Holy Spirit inspired scriptures, I don't buy it. The use of the phrase by HIS faith rather than just faith is the issue. According to my understanding, though, there is no contradiction. The just shall live by his faith (the just shall live by their personal faith) the just shall live by faith, their personal  faith. I don't see how the word his being omitted is a contradiction, for it doesn't seem that the his in Habakkuk is referring to anyone in particular.  Paul does quite a bit of Old Testament quoting in this book, so it will be interesting to see how the Holy Spirit interprets some of these.

Guilty As Charged

Don't you just love having people in your life that make you accountable? I have a great husband and he has in his most patient way been expressing to me lately that I may be reading and listening to too many teachers and preachers and have been a little lazy in my own Bible study. He's right.

Good teaching and commentaries are very helpful and I am so grateful that we live in an age where there are so many resources available to help in our understanding of the scriptures. However, that does make it easy to bypass the actual reading and let someone else do it for you.

So in the spirit of being teachable and submissive I will, with God's grace, devote more time to my daily Bible study and less time on the extras.

I am going to the book of Romans first. It is one of my favorite books and loaded with essential Christian doctrine. I will be making comments, asking questions and trying to search this one out for myself in the coming weeks, Lord willing.  I invite discussion as I go along....join me!

Angry With The Builder

Do you know someone who gets irritated and angry or totally dismisses you every time you bring up the subject of God? Why is it that some people will talk about such things and others pretend that He doesn't even exist?



I've been thinking quite a bit about my approach to evangelism lately. We are to tell people about Jesus. But tell them what?

Acts 17

22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

 23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

 24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

 25Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

 26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

 27That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

 28For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

 29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

 30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

 31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

 32And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

 33So Paul departed from among them.

I will notice that Paul never once said that God loves you, please ask Jesus into your heart. He said the same thing to the Gentiles as Peter said to the Jews:

Act 3:19          Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

The good news is that when the day of judgement comes, those who have taken their refuge in Jesus will be spared from the wrath to come. That is very different from what most people think the gospel is.

I found this link over at the Berean Wife blog and I downloaded the mp3 teaching. Ray Comfort makes some very good points about the gospel, false conversion, and our approach to the entire thing.  If you have a heart to do something to in the area of telling the good news, this is something that is worthwhile to consider.

Preach the Gospel To Every Creature

Mark 16 15-20

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

This passage is where much confusion can come into the great commission. Jesus says some things here that don't really line up with the things that Paul says about salvation.

The Mr. wonders if the gospel spoken of above doesn't have more to do with this:

Isaiah 11
 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and  a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

That is Kingdom talk. I am unashamedly premillennial (I'm not talking rapture stuff here). I do believe there will be a restoration of national Israel and a physical kingdom on earth where Jesus will rule from Jerusalem.

If there was not to be a literal Kingdom, one would think the Lord would have said so here:

Acts 1: 6-8 

 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Certainly none of these things concern salvation, so many people don't think this issue is important and just shrug off eschatology completely. I'm not one of those people. Maybe I want to know too much for my own good, but the future is something I am very interested in.

What I have been studying is that it may be possible that what the disciples (pre-Paul's conversion) were told to preach may be different from what Paul (and perhaps afterward by the rest of the apostles) was told by the Lord Himself.  I know this gets some very upset, the idea of "two gospels." But there really are many gospels throughout the Bible...more on that later.

There is a very well written but downright lengthy article about this here:

Israel's Kingdom Gospel and Our Grace Gospel

It is well worth the time for anyone interested in such matters.

MARANATHA!

Evangelism

Kingdom Studies posted the link to this video in the comments section of this post.

It is just too good not to share. I love the British accent, too.

The Sacrifice of the Mass

Continuing in the James White Church history series, he discusses the idea of the Mass as a sacrifice:

The Sacrifice of the Mass
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

For those who are used to communion as the Lord's Supper with little plastic cups of grape juice and tiny specks of bread, the idea of the Roman Catholic mass will be quite foreign. The Catechism explains what it means to the Roman Catholic, but it is kind of difficult to understand.

In layman's terms the mass is a re-presentation (not re-sacrifice) of the body and blood of Jesus to the Father. Okay, that doesn't sound too bad, but it has evolved into the idea that participating in the mass can take away sins, release loved ones from purgatory, and infuse a believer with grace. All these are unbiblical and completely read into the texts that speak of the Lord's supper.

This topic has concerned me greatly. When I used to go to mass I always wondered why I just wasn't getting what all of this ceremony was supposed to mean. The whole purpose of the Catholic service is to take communion. They do sing and read (small, selected) parts of the Bible, but the main focus in on the body of Jesus that becomes physically present in the elements once the priest consecrates it.

One day while in line to take the bread and the cup, I prayed to God that He would make this ritual mean to me what the Church said it meant. If I was actually participating in such a grand and wonderful thing, why didn't it feel so?

After we left the Church, I wondered what does this ordinance mean? I can't say I'm still totally clear about that, but, I know that it is based in Old Testament practices.  Jesus was telling his disciples (all sons of Jacob) that he was about to institute the New Covenant spoken of in Jeremiah chapter 31.

31Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

From this point forward, whenever they ate that bread and drank that cup (during Passover) to change their focus from remembering that God had delivered them from Egypt to the fact that God was now delivering them from their sins.

I will, Lord willing, elaborate more about this at an appropriate time.

Here is a small part of a debate about the mass between Dr. White and Robert Sungenis.  I like that White states that he is not an ex-anything, but just wants to represent the truth of God's word.

Dispensations and Apple Pie

We really enjoy Through the Bible with Les Feldick. We were watching last week and he was using an illustration in rightly dividing. We got a chuckle out of it. I put a short two-minute clip below.

Sermon Sunday-The First Pharisee

In this week's sermon, Richard Jordan of Shorewood Bible Church talks about the first Pharisee.

Matthew 23:29-35                                                                                               

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

He explains the spirit of religion verses the true and living Spirit of God given to us that believe in the finished work of Jesus on our behalf. There is a huge difference. Religion makes one puffed up and proud and like Cain, religious people are often very "wroth" (as the KJV puts it) with those who have true faith.

Paul was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. But when true and living faith in Jesus was granted him by the Father's will, he counted all that religiosity as nothing but filth.

Brother Jordan does not hold to sovereign grace in salvation, but with that aside, the message is still very edifying.

The First Pharisee: WHAT THE CROSS MEANT TO RELIGION

The Sign of Jonah

My ten year old daughter came to us a few days ago. She was reading from the book of Jonah to her five year old brother (I'm so proud..sniff) and she noticed this:

Jon 1:5  Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that [were] in the ship into the sea, to lighten [it] of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

Didn't Jesus also fall asleep in a boat during a storm?, she asked.

Mar 4:38      And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Well, I knew that but the many times I have been over the book of Jonah I didn't notice that he was also asleep during a storm.

 So Jonah was in the boat asleep...
Just like Jesus.

The sea was calmed in both stories. And of course there is the Savoir's great proclaimation that:

Mat 12:39 -40 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:   For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth

What I found the most intriguing was that Jonah went to a Gentile city and they repented, where most of the prophets who went to Israel and Judah had very little success...just like Jesus.

Jhn 1:11      He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

The types and shadows in scripture that only confirm all the more who Jesus really is are just fascinating.  I think once the blindness is removed from Israel, they are going to love all these gems.

Broken

Job 25
1Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
2Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places.
3Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?
4How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
5Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
6How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?

That's how I have been feeling lately, broken. I know that I am saved, but I think sometimes He lets us understand our unworthiness. This too shall pass.

Romans 7:18-25

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

He is all and we are nothing.

Suppressing the Knowledge of God

Before being saved, I dabbled in calling myself an atheist. I mean what is cooler than an atheist? I didn't need any God to tell me what to do. After all, religion is so oppressive and such a crutch. Only really weak-minded and clueless people would worship something outside of themselves. I could be a perfectly good human without the menacing tyrannical judgment of an Almighty hanging over my head...

All that changed one day when I was confronted, strongly, mightily and unmistakably with the holiness and fear of the Lord.

A friend of mine and I were discussing this and she said that there really are not atheists, that they are just suppressing the knowledge of God. That is so true. Even the scriptures address this:

Romans 1
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

2Timothy2

 ²⁴And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, ²⁵In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; ²⁶And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Sermon Sunday - God's Sovereignty vs. Man's Accountability

This is actually part of James White's church history series, but it wanders into sermonizing territory shortly into the lesson.  He starts out by talking briefly about the counter-reformation and the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).  He then gets sidetracked, it seems, when talking about the fundamental difference between the doctrines of grace and the counter-reformation's desire to de-emphasize the absolute Sovereignty of God.

How can a God who is absolutely sovereign hold us accountable for our actions? That is a very good question which is beautifully explained here.

Purgatory and Indulgences

Next, in the church history series, Dr. White talks about the development of purgatory and some of the (non biblical) ideas that led up to it and still are with us today.

Purgatory
Purgatory to Indulgences
Decline of the Papacy and Indulgences

Back in the Catholic days, the whole concept of purgatory was never wholly accepted by me. Some of you may have never heard of such a thing, so in light of that, here's the scoop. If you are part of the Church and "born again" by the means of water (usually infant) baptism, unless you become entirely apostate or commit a mortal sin without confessing it to a priest or having perfect contrition for said mortal sin you will not have to fear of going to hell. You will most likely go to purgatory, a place to pay for any sins that were not paid for by you here on earth before death. In fact most all Catholics expect to go to purgatory. Only really really (like Mother Teresa) good people get to go right in to Heaven.

I was understandably disheartened to learn that there was no guarantee of a direct entrance into the presence of the Lord upon death. In fact, it was quite unlikely.

Recently, a book came across my path and I was able to read it online:



The Amazing Secrets of the Souls in Purgatory

It is an interview with a Catholic lady who regularly prayed for the souls in purgatory. Apparently, they would come to her and tell her what she could do to get them out. 

Some interesting excerpts from the book:

What exactly is Purgatory? I'd say that it's a marvelous invention of God.

It is the soul itself which wants to go to Purgatory, in order to be pure before going to Heaven. The souls in Purgatory adhere fully to God's will; they rejoice in the good, they desire our good and they love very much: they love God, and they love us too. They are perfectly united to the Spirit of God, the light of God.

2Cr 5:8      We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Hbr 10:14      For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Maria, can you tell us what the role of Our Lady is with the souls in Purgatory?
She comes often to console them and to tell them they have done many good things. She encourages them.

Are there any days in particular on which she delivers them?

Above all, Christmas Day, All Saints Day, Good Friday, the Feast of the Assumption, and the Ascension of Jesus.

Luke 16:26             And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence.

 

"My children, a good priest had the unhappiness to lose a friend he cherished tenderly, and so he prayed very much for the repose of his soul. One day, God made known to him that his friend was in Purgatory and suffered terribly. The holy priest believed that he could not do better than to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for his dear friend who had died. At the moment of the consecration, he took the host between his fingers and said 'Holy Eternal Father, let us make an exchange. You hold the soul of my friend who is in Purgatory, and I hold the Body of Your Son in my hands. Well good and merciful Father; deliver my friend and I offer you your Son with all the merits of his death and Passion."

Hbr 10:12    But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

 
Maria, I'd like to ask you: have people from other religions -- for example, Jews -- come to visit you?

Yes, they are happy. Anyone who lives his faith well is happy. But it is through the Catholic faith that we gain the most for Heaven.

Mat 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

This particular book does not have the imprimatur of the Catholic Church on it, meaning that it is not considered to be official. However, other books that I have read do, and even if they are not encouraged by the magesterium, I haven't found them to be discouraged either.

If you've been reading here at all, you may be thinking what ax does this lady have to grind with the Roman Catholic Church? Why doesn't she talk about something else?

I was not just a nominal Catholic. We went to mass on every Sunday and all holy days.  I did all the things that they said I had to do and read the catechism, asked the priests for advice and tried to apply the teachings of the RCC to every aspect of my life. I was serious about it. After all, they were the one true church, right?

The problem was that when I was saved several years before joining the RCC, I had a relationship with the Lord. I read the bible and thought that I understood it. Going into Catholicism changed all that. They told me I was wrong. The relationship I had with Jesus by faith and faith alone wasn't that simple. They took my Lord away from me and replaced Him with rites and rituals and fear.

That many sound a little melodramatic, but that is how it felt to me. I missed the old way, before everything was so complicated and the freedom that is in Christ.  


So what about indulgences? What are they and how does that work?  It's pretty complicated, but according to the Catechism of the Catholic church:

"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints."

"An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin." The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead.

Since Rome's view of the Atonement of the cross is that is makes everyone savable and doesn't save anyone (the elect in particular) then there must be some effort on our part to apply the work of the cross in order to obtain and keep our salvation.

If we live without sin after our baptism, we get are ushered right into Heaven after death. But since that isn't going to happen, there has to be a way so that we can apply our merits (or other people's merits) as crazy as that sounds, to lessen our time in purgatory, to finally expiate our sins and gain Heaven.

Wait a minute, you say, I thought Jesus did all that.  He DID. And when that realization was gloriously granted to the head of this household, we soon left the "Church".  That was a glorious day!

Of course, most of us know that the selling of indulgences was what put Martin Luther over the edge, but he will be addressed in more detail later on in the series.

Many people think that indulgences were a medieval practice and no longer in effect. Well, they are not allowed to be sold anymore but indulgences are still given today by saying rosaries, certain devotional prayers, visits to shrines and other religious practices.  In fact Pope Benedict XVI gave a plenary indulgence (which is a remission for all punishment due to sin) for the 150th anniversary of a Marian apparition at Lourdes, France.  So this affront to the Holy and complete sacrifice of our Lord is still alive and well.

The First Act of Regineration

Coming to Christ is the very first act of regeneration.

No sooner is the soul quickened,
than it at once discovers it's lost estate,
is horrified thereat,
looks for a refuge,
and believing Christ to be a suitable one,
flies to him and reposes in him.

-Spurgeon

Ready to feel small?

Psa 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

The Sovereignty of God

Isaiah 45:5-7, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, 7The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these."

About a year ago I was introduced by a friend (cleverly I might add in the guise of eschatology, God knows what he is doing) to the issues of God's sovereign grace. I generally accepted it with an open mind because it was so much like what I had experienced in my own salvation.

In talking to the Mr. about it, he was clearly rattled and I believe even got a little angry with me a couple of times, so I just let it go. After all, I know that God IS sovereign and that if He wanted my hubby to get there, he would. I offered him some mp3s that said friend above had referred me to. He came home a couple of times after listening to them a bit contentious about the issue and I am afraid for awhile he thought I was getting pulled into some kind of cult.

I just kept pretty much silent about it. He eventually came around to seeing what I was seeing that in light of what Scripture says, there really isn't any other way to see it. So now what? Well, in the coming weeks, Lord willing, I plan to post some things I learned along the way, some teaching and some particular scriptures that cannot be wiggled out of.

Knowing that God is absolutely sovereign in all things, even salvation, has been very liberating. I can see more thoroughly how awesome His power, how great His mercy, how terrible His wrath, and how absolutely in control He is of every single thing in His universe.

So is God sovereign in salvation or do we choose? Is it both?

I know for many this is going to create many more questions than it answers. And I won't claim for a second that I have it all figured out. There are scriptures to which one can point to argue for the free will of man.  These are for the most part taken out of context, but more on that later.

Here is a short clip from a debate that James White did. Don't let the "C" term turn you off...I'm not set on any ists or isms but I think he has some good points here:

Sermon Sunday - Unanswered Prayer

A friend of mine from another site said something interesting about prayer:

..."prayer", in it's entirety, remains a mystery. Anyone who says it has been fully explained in the Bible........doesn't know what he is talking about.

I agree. Prayer is a mysterious thing some times. I'm sure we have all had experiences with unanswered prayer.  Why? Didn't Jesus promise this:

John 16:23 -24         And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

 Back when I first started reading the Bible, I assumed that the 4 gospels were the most important books and spent most of my time trying to figure those out.  Why wasn't I getting everything I asked in His name?

When I started studying Paul's letters, the experiences that I was having in my prayer life started to ring more true:

1Th 5:17   Pray without ceasing.

I think that is meant to be taken quite literally. Not that we spend every waking moment in some sort of formal prayer posture, but that our entire lives are a constant communication and connection with God.  I pray corporately in church and at home, but to me, real prayer is the quiet times in the stillness of our inner man where no one knows the things that are being spoken between yourself and God.

Rom 8:26      Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

That's how I feel. I don't know how to pray as I should. Thank God that He has given us His Spirit to live in us and guide us. 



Richard Jordan teaches on this in this week's sermon.