tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140126892024-03-18T07:16:30.648-04:00CAMPONTHISproclaiming the treasure of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:5-7)SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.comBlogger757125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1126932218356754022015-04-20T16:32:00.000-04:002015-04-20T23:15:15.129-04:00One Nation, Under God......the battle over the pledge heats up again<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/6635757267395.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/6635757267393.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a><b>(An encore presentation)</b><br />
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I am pro-disestablishmentarianism (the doctrine or political position that advocates abrogating the establishment of a church by the state as the official state religion). Constitutionally, and biblically, there exists and should exist a divide between the activities of the church and the activities of the state. This dual world of citizenry for believers has produced much consternation and conflagration over the years. Yet, being citizens of earth and citizens of heaven is clear and unambiguous when derived from Scriptures. Here are a few examples: <br />
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-we are to honor the authorities over us for they are ministers of God to restrain evil and keep the social order (Roms. 13:1-3; Titus 3:1-2; 1 Peter 2:13-17) <br />
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-we are also to pray for those who occupy that authority for no authority exists except that which God has established (1 Tim. 2:1-4; Roms. 13:2) <br />
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-we are to pray for the welfare of the city and live peaceably in this world (Jer. 29:4-9; 1 Thess. 4:11)<br />
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-we are to honor those authorities established by God for all of society as long as they do not conflict with the authority of God’s Word. <br />
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-we may disobey government (civil obedience - Acts 4) when government establishes law that prohibits what God commands (prayer; worship; Bible possession, reading, and preaching; proclaiming the gospel; prayer; etc.) or commands what God prohibits (all families with two or more children that become pregnant must have an abortion; all disabled or elderly people should be denied life support, etc.). Then we are called Scripturally to obey God and deny man. Other than that, we are to live honorably under the governmental authority that God has established irrespective of what kind of government polity exists in that nation we reside.<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"><b>The Issue</b></span></span><br />
This issue of the pledge of allegiance with these facts presented so far: <br />
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-A federal judge declared Wednesday that the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools with the words “under God” is unconstitutional (the Pledge with the words "under God" was inserted by Congress in 1954).<br />
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-The case was brought by the same atheist whose previous battle against the words "under God" was rejected last year by the Supreme Court on procedural grounds.<br />
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-U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that the pledge's reference to one nation "under God" violates school children's right to be <i>"free from a coercive requirement to affirm God."</i> (Where is this in the constitution?) <br />
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-Karlton said he was bound by precedent of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of -Appeals, which in 2002 ruled in favor of Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow that the pledge is unconstitutional when recited in public schools.<br />
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The Supreme Court dismissed the case last year, saying Newdow lacked standing because he did not have custody of his elementary school daughter he sued on behalf of.<br />
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-Newdow, an attorney and a medical doctor, filed an identical case on behalf of three unnamed parents and their children. Karlton said those families have the right to sue. Newdow hopes that will make it more likely the merits of his case will be addressed by the high court. "All it has to do is put the pledge as it was before, and say that we are one nation, indivisible, instead of dividing us on religious basis," Newdow told The Associated Press. "Imagine every morning if the teachers had the children stand up, place their hands over their hearts, and say, 'We are one nation that denies God exists,'" Newdow said.<br />
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<b>David Limbaugh rightly has said,</b> <span style="color: blue;"><i>“I -- and all Christians I know -- am opposed to a government-mandated religion. The very concept is repugnant to Christianity, which is all about freedom of conscience. There is no such thing as forced conversion to Christianity, as the choice of Christianity is a matter of individual will (not discounting God's sovereignty in the process, by the way).<br /><br />Thankfully, they did not adopt the enlightenment brand of liberty, equality and fraternity -- which amounts to abstract allegiance to freedom without the underlying moral foundations -- because it doubtlessly would have led us down the perilous French path. History has repeatedly shown that naked freedom, not grounded in morality and untempered by the rule of law, leads to survival of the fittest and the extinction of liberties.”</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/Inspirational_Christian_fr22_large.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/320/Inspirational_Christian_fr22_large.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0 0 10px 10px;" /></a> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"><b>The Sacred -Secular Dichotomy</b></span></span><br />
There has always been the sacred/secular dichotomy in this world. But what is unusual today, is that now religious opinion, conversation and beliefs are divorced from the issues of government, culture and education. The government cannot constitutionally establish any national religion—that is protected by the First Amendment <i>(Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances).</i> But that doesn’t mean nor mandate that religious speech should be silenced, stifled or abrogated. As with all speech, religious speech is protected by our constitution. That includes “one nation under God” in the pledge of allegiance. It doesn’t establish a national religion; it doesn’t specify any particular faith or denomination that people must worship according to. It simply makes a simple statement of the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men.<br />
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Take heart on this y’all, for politically this is a nonissue. It has no possibility of garnering any real political support from the Dem’s/liberals—and my guess is, it won’t even get to the Supreme Court or to the floor of Congress for consideration of repeal. <br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"><b>What shall we do in response to this concern?</b></span></span> <br />
<b>1.</b> Pray for this judge and the family who has brought the suit (1 Tim. 2:1-4). God does direct the heart of the king (Prov. 21:1); and in this case, the heart of our judges too.<br />
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<b>2.</b> The Lord can use this incident to bring the good news of the gospel of sola fide, sola gratia and solus Christus to the family and this judge. Wouldn’t it be tremendous if the Lord granted saving faith to the very ones challenging the mentioning of His name in the public arena? And tha they became witnesses for the Lord and His truth? He can do it... remember the Apostle Paul (Acts 9).<br />
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<b>3.</b> Rest in the knowledge that God is sovereign; and the courts are not.<br />
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<b>4.</b> All nations are “under God” – whether they recognize it or not. He controls His creatures, government and creation for His glory, pleasure and purposes alone.<br />
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What a time we live in for the church to be the church.<br />
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Because He lives,<br />
Steve<br />
Col. 1:9-14<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/060_36030.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/060_36030.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"><b>The History of our nations' Pledge of Allegiance</b></span></span><br />
The October 12, 1892 Columbus Day celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the discovery of America was planned for years in advance, and anticipated much as modern Americans look forward to and plan for the advent of a new century. The United States had recovered from most of the effects of its Civil War that began 30 years earlier, and people from around the world were flocking to the "Land of Opportunity". The previous year almost a half million immigrants had entered the United States through the Barge Office in Battery Park, New York and on New Years day of 1892 the new Federal Bureau of Receiving's station at Ellis Island had opened.<br />
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Two men interested in both education and planned Columbus Day celebrations around our Nation's 44 states were Francis Bellamy and James Upham. To this day it is still unknown which of the two men actually authored the words that were to become the Pledge of Allegiance. It was published anonymously and not copyrighted. James Upham was an employee of the Boston publishing firm that produced "The Youth's Companion" in which it first appeared. Francis Bellamy was an educator who served as chairman of the National committee of educators and civic leaders who were planning the Columbus Day activities. What we do know for certain is that the words first appeared in the September 8, 1892 issue of "The Youth's Companion", and a month later more than 12 million school children recited the words for the first time in schools across the nation. Our Pledge of Allegiance was born, but like anything new, it took many years to "reach maturity", and underwent several changes along the way. That first Pledge of Allegiance read:<br />
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<b>I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.</b><br />
<i>October 11, 1892</i><br />
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After the Columbus Day celebration the Pledge to the Flag became a popular daily routine in America's public schools, but gained little attention elsewhere for almost 25 years. Finally, on Flag Day - June 14, 1923, the Pledge received major attention from adults who had gathered for the first National Flag Conference in Washington, D.C. Here their Conference agenda took note of the wording in the Pledge. There was concern that, with the number of immigrants now living in the United States, there might be some confusion when the words "My Flag" were recited. To correct this the pledge was altered to read:<br />
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<b>I pledge allegiance to my the Flag of the United States, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.</b><br />
<i>June 14, 1923</i><br />
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The following year the wording was changed again to read:<br />
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<b>I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.</b><br />
<i>June 14, 1924</i><br />
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The Pledge of Allegiance continued to be recited daily by children in schools across America, and gained heightened popularity among adults during the patriotic fervor created by World War II. It still was an "unofficial" pledge until June 22, 1942 when the United States Congress included the Pledge to the Flag in the United States Flag Code (Title 36). This was the first Official sanction given to the words that had been recited each day by children for almost fifty years. One year after receiving this official sanction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite the Pledge as part of their daily routine. In 1945 the Pledge to the Flag received its official title as: The Pledge of Allegiance<br />
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The last change in the Pledge of Allegiance occurred on June 14 (Flag Day), 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved adding the words "under God". As he authorized this change he said:<br />
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<i>"In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."</i><br />
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This was the last change made to the Pledge of Allegiance. The 23 words what had been initially penned for a Columbus Day celebration now comprised a Thirty-one profession of loyalty and devotion to not only a flag, but to a way of life.... the American ideal. Those words now read:<br />
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<b>I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.</b><br />
<i>June 14, 1954</i><br />
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In 1892, 1923, 1924 and 1954 the American people demonstrated enough concern about the actual words in the Pledge to make some necessary changes. Today there may be a tendency among many Americans to recite "by rote" with little thought for the words themselves. Before continuing with our tour, let's examine these 31 words a little more thoroughly.<br />
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<b>I Pledge Allegiance</b><br />
<i>I Promise to be faithful and true (Promise my loyalty)</i><br />
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<b>to the flag</b><br />
<i>to the emblem that stands for and represents</i><br />
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<b>of the United States</b><br />
<i>all 50 states, each of them individual, and individually represented on the flag</i><br />
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<b>of America</b><br />
<i>yet formed into a UNION of one Nation.</i><br />
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<b>and to the Republic</b><br />
<i>And I also pledge my loyalty to the Government that is itself a Republic, a form of government where the PEOPLE are sovereign,</i><br />
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<b>for which it stands,</b><br />
<i>this government also being represented by the Flag to which I promise loyalty.</i><br />
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<b>one Nation under God,</b><br />
<i>These 50 individual states are united as a single Republic under the Divine providence of God, "our most powerful resource" (according to the words of President Eisenhower)</i><br />
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<b>Indivisible,</b><br />
<i>and can not be separated. (This part of the original version of the pledge was written just 50 years after the beginning of the Civil War and demonstrates the unity sought in the years after that divisive period in our history)</i><br />
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<b>with Liberty</b><br />
<i>The people of this Nation being afforded the freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and happiness",</i><br />
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<b>and Justice</b><br />
<i>And each person entitled to be treated justly, fairly, and according to proper law and principle,</i><br />
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<b>for All.</b><br />
<i>And these principles afforded to EVERY AMERICAN, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, or any other criteria. Just as the flag represents 50 individual states that cannot be divided or separated, this Nation represents millions of people who cannot be separated or divided.</i><br />
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<b>Thus it is that when you Pledge Allegiance to the United States Flag, You:</b><br />
*Promise your loyalty to the Flag itself.<br />
*Promise your loyalty to your own and the other 49 States.<br />
*Promise your loyalty to the Government that unites us all,<br />
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Recognizing that we are ONE Nation under God, that we cannot or should not be divided or alone, and understanding the right to Liberty and Justice belongs to ALL of us.<br />
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<i>Source for the above information: http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfc_pledge.html</i>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-5452270755761970082015-04-20T10:31:00.000-04:002015-04-20T23:02:02.451-04:00GENUINE REVIVAL IS MARKED BY FAITHFUL GOSPEL PROCLAMATION"...God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5BQqEF0ba9hvqTXSnP5THkJybXrH4tDINWMTJvYTQXnaYEN0syf_NusatUaIAbiY46GBJmhEYP4lnllFfciuh7LNH6NEOrOCjT78IuHf6dxV1pHaFvon8s7RLijnWXcdo3Ck/s1600-h/gospel9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5BQqEF0ba9hvqTXSnP5THkJybXrH4tDINWMTJvYTQXnaYEN0syf_NusatUaIAbiY46GBJmhEYP4lnllFfciuh7LNH6NEOrOCjT78IuHf6dxV1pHaFvon8s7RLijnWXcdo3Ck/s400/gospel9.jpg" alt="declaring the good news of the gospel of grace" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193199195944642274" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For we are the circumcision, </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">who worship by the Spirit of God </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and glory in Christ Jesus </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and put no confidence in the flesh—</span></span></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">-Phil. 3:3</span></span></span><br /></div><br /><div></div>I was watching a very disturbing live-broadcast last evening on www.God.tv which was featuring what has come to be known as <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.god.tv/">The Florida Healing Outpouring.</a></span> Some are saying this is genuine revival; others say there is real cause for concern. I am in the later camp on this. In fact, some things surrounding this "outpouring" are not only unbiblical, but grievously bazaar and cultic.<br /><br />If you are a student of some of the great revivals throughout church history, there are a few common marks to them all: <blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">1. a return to Christ-centered, God glorifying, Sprit filled biblical worship </span></span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">2. unrelenting Prayer </span></span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">3. Repentance from sin </span></span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">4. Recovery of the genuine gospel preached (justification by faith alone) </span></span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">5. Evangelism (the harvest of souls being saved) </span></span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">6. and, the lasting fruit of holiness and Christlikeness</span></span></span></blockquote>This Florida Healing Outpouring is strained on most of these things. Is there worship? Yes, but it is far from being biblical. It is more hyped than holy. Is there unrelenting prayer taking place? Yes. But is more about getting something from God, mostly physical healing, than the prayer of contrition. Is there repentance from sin? Yes, but it is tertiary not primary. Is there the preaching of the genuine gospel? I haven't heard it yet though it may have occurred at some point. Is there evangelism taking place? Apparently, but it is difficult to know if this is easy believe Finneyism run a muck or genuine conversion. Time will tell. And lastly, is there holiness and Christlikeness being exhibited? Maybe in part, but certainly not from the platform. It is more of an arrogant, showy, entertaining, cockiness than one of a Christlike humility, brokenness, contrition, and a rejoicing with reverence.<br /><br />What would mark genuine revival preaching? What would reformation proclamation embody? Here is the greatest sermon I could point to as a source of encouragement to you. We need revival beloved - no question. We need another sovereign move of God among His people in our nation. May we, by God's grace, see this happen in our day! Oh for another Great Awakening - amen?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Here is the greatest sermon I know on revival and reformation:</span></span></span><br />Acts 2:14 ¶ But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.<br />Acts 2:15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;<br />Acts 2:16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:<br />Acts 2:17 ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,<br />‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;<br />AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,<br />AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,<br />AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;<br />Acts 2:18 EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,<br />I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT<br />And they shall prophesy.<br />Acts 2:19 ‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE<br />AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW,<br />BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.<br />Acts 2:20 ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS<br />AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,<br />BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.<br />Acts 2:21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’<br />Acts 2:22 ¶ “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—<br />Acts 2:23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.<br />Acts 2:24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.<br />Acts 2:25 “For David says of Him,<br />‘I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE;<br />FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.<br />Acts 2:26 ‘THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED;<br />MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;<br />Acts 2:27 BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES,<br />NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.<br />Acts 2:28 ‘YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE;<br />YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’<br />Acts 2:29 ¶ “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.<br />Acts 2:30 “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE,<br />Acts 2:31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY.<br />Acts 2:32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.<br />Acts 2:33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.<br />Acts 2:34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:<br />‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,<br />“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,<br />Acts 2:35 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”’<br />Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”<br />Acts 2:37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”<br />Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.<br />Acts 2:39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”<br />Acts 2:40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”<br />Acts 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.<br />Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.<br />Acts 2:43 ¶ Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.<br />Acts 2:44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;<br />Acts 2:45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.<br />Acts 2:46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,<br />Acts 2:47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.</div>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1125286098090296732015-04-02T09:12:00.000-04:002015-04-02T11:42:35.954-04:00RESURRECTION - THE KEY TO EVERYTHING...on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand<a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Corinthians+15" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180774748031112386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwAWKt9z7qOf4qHV-dygmSpkE7re5Sn_5hRomEpEUEwRlGdehu597_uW0xc4ZzLLX-hKR4hMA-6sNyjauApzIBQ6klFBVaPdSl9hbG5qguawQY2WKdt669vKLMM9LC1rzYSwY/s400/RubensResurrection.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 519px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 361px;" /></a><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">The Lord is risen... He has risen indeed!</span></b><br />
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<b style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms;">The following article by my dear friend, John MacArthur, is a tremendous reminder of the importance of the resurrection and what it secures for every believer in Christ.<br />
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</b><b style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms;">Shockingly, some evangelical leaders today deny that even knowing about the resurrection or affirming it is necessary for salvation. But pastor John powerfully reminds us</b><b style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms;">, </b><i style="color: #990000; font-family: trebuchet ms;"></i><br />
<blockquote style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><i style="color: #990000;">"The real issue is not: can you prove the resurrection? The real issue is: what does the resurrection prove? You take out the resurrection and you have cut out the soul of the Christian faith and you have non-Christianity without the resurrection. All of God's complete redemptive plan depends on this key reality."</i></blockquote><b style="color: #666666; font-family: trebuchet ms;">John pinpoints several key biblical reasons for the critical importance of this great essential of the faith. This is not only an encouragement to every believer in the Lord, but a passionate invitation to come to Christ for those who do not know Him.<br />
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The Apostle Paul expounds this profound and indispensable biblical truth when saying:</b> <i style="color: #990000; font-family: trebuchet ms;"></i><br />
<blockquote style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><i style="color: #000066;">"If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men"</i> <b>-1 Cor. 15:13-19.</b></blockquote><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">SJ Camp</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">2 Cor. 4:5-7</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Resurrection, the Key to Everything</span></b></span></div><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">-by Dr. John MacArthur-</span></span></div><br />
It's always a wonderful challenge for me when I come to this particular Sunday in the year to know what the Lord would have me say after being here 23 past Easters and sharing so many things about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As I was meditating and seeking to know the mind of the Lord with regard to this Lord's day, I asked a simple question in the process of my musings and that is the question: what would God the Father desire me to say about the resurrection? Not so much what would the people like to hear, not so much what would gather their attention and hold it, not so much what might be a nuance in regard to Easter that they've not thought about, but what would the Father want me to say? What simple straight-forward direct message could I bring that the Father Himself would want me to say concerning the resurrection of His Son?<br />
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Certainly many books and many articles and theses and dissertations have been written through the years on the resurrection. There have been many lectures and speeches and sermons and discussions on the resurrection. Most of it focuses on how to prove the resurrection. In fact, the books that have been written on proving the resurrection would fill a myriad of library shelves. And that's not unusual because often at this time of the year the question comes up: how can we prove the resurrection? If it is so central to Christian faith, how do we prove it? What is it that proves Jesus really rose from the dead?<br />
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Well the answer to that question is very simple...the Bible. And now that we've dealt with that question I want to move to another question. I don't want to talk about how we prove the resurrection, the Bible proves the resurrection. It is the Word of God and it says Jesus Christ rose from the dead and that settles it. The issue, frankly, is not what proves the resurrection, the issue is what does the resurrection prove? What does the resurrection prove? And the answer is, basically, the full redemptive plan and purpose of God. In fact, the resurrection is the key to everything.<br />
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If you remove the resurrection of Jesus Christ from Christianity, you don't have Christianity. You literally take the heart out of it. We accept that the resurrection happened by faith, faith in the Scripture, faith that is given to us by the Holy Spirit. We have been convinced by the Holy Spirit that the Bible is true and the Bible says Jesus arose from the dead and that settles that issue. And on the pages of Scripture there is ample convincing evidence.<br />
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But the question is, what did the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean? What did it verify? What did it accomplish? What did it prove? Well I want us to look at several realities that are proven by the resurrection, several that are made incontrovertible and inarguable by the resurrection. And I think you'll find them very basic to the message of Scripture.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: navy;"><b>The Resurrection Proves the Truthfulness of the Word of God</b></span></span><br />
First of all, the resurrection proves the truthfulness of the Word of God...it proves the truthfulness of the Word of God. That's really reversing the normal approach. We might say, "Well, the Word of God proves the resurrection." But let's look at it in reverse and see how the resurrection proves the Word of God.<br />
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Turn in your Bible to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2 takes us to a great day in the history of the church, it's first day, the day the church was born, the day of Pentecost. The believers had been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and now Peter stands up to preach a great sermon, the hearing of which caused 3,000 people to be saved and the church was born.<br />
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But as he moves in to his sermon he quotes an Old Testament passage starting in verse 25 of Acts 2. He is speaking about Christ and His death in verse 23, speaks of His resurrection in verse 24 when he says, "God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power." So he is saying Jesus arose from the dead, death couldn't hold Him.<br />
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And then he goes on to quote from Psalm 16, "For David says of Him, I was always beholding the Lord in my presence for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exalted, moreover my flesh also will abide in hope because Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades nor allow Thy holy One to undergo decay. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou wilt make me full of gladness with Thy presence."<br />
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He is quoting David. David was the author of Psalm 16. And David was writing this. Now some might say, "Well David was writing it about himself." But that's not true because David's soul did go in to Hades and David's body did undergo decay and David, the man that he was in a physical body has not returned to the ways of life. So it could not refer to David.<br />
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Notice how Peter interprets it then in verse 29, "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day." In other words, Peter is saying, "Now David couldn't be referring to himself, David has been abandoned, as it were, to death. He is still in the abode of the dead. His tomb is still present, still known to the people...they even knew its location...David has not returned to the ways of life. So he could not be referring to David."<br />
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<blockquote><b>Verse 30,</b> <i>"And so because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay."</i></blockquote><i></i>In other words, he says David was prophesying as a prophet the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was Jesus Christ whose flesh would abide in hope, whose soul would not be abandoned in Hades and who as the Holy One would never undergo decay. It was Jesus Christ who would be given back the path of life and would come back full of gladness face-to-face into the presence of God. David didn't fulfill that. His tomb is still sealed over there near Siloam. But David was a prophet and David was predicting the resurrection of Messiah.<br />
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To sum up Peter's argument, his logic would go like this. Psalm 16 refers to someone being resurrected. It can't be David. Messiah was to come as David's greater son, out of David's loins. The Psalm refers to Messiah...Messiah will therefore be raised from the dead. And then he concludes in verse 32, "This Jesus God raised up again."<br />
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The Old Testament then in Psalm 16 predicts the resurrection of the Messiah. If the Messiah doesn't rise. If Jesus Christ doesn't rise from the grave, the Bible is not telling us the truth. But the resurrection of Christ proves that the Bible speaks truth.<br />
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What does the resurrection prove then? The truthfulness of the Word of God. Look at Acts chapter 13 and here we find the preacher, not Peter this time but Paul, and Paul in apostolic fashion consistent with Peter is also preaching the resurrection which, of course, was the heart of the Christian faith. And in Acts chapter 13, now I want you to notice verse 30, verse 29, of course, talking about the cross and Jesus being laid in a tomb, and then Paul says as he proclaims Christ to Jews, verse 30, "But God raised Him from the dead and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people, and we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers." There it is. We're preaching the resurrection. It is good news. We are witnesses to it. And it is that which was promised to the fathers, the Jewish fathers, the Old Testament saints.<br />
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Verse 33, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus as it is also written in the second Psalm, "Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee." And he is saying when the psalmist said that he was predicting that Jesus would be raised from the dead.<br />
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Verse 34, and as for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no more to return to decay, He has spoken in this way, "I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David." That is a prophecy from Isaiah 55 and verse 3 which promises that the Messiah will not perish but the Messiah will inherit the holy and sure blessings promised to David that is all the Kingdom promise.<br />
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And then he says, therefore he also says in another Psalm and goes back to the same Psalm 16 that we saw earlier, "Thou wilt not allow Thy holy One to undergo decay. For David after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation fell asleep and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay. But He whom God raised did not undergo decay." And again you see, here is Paul and based on three Old Testament prophecies he preaches the resurrection of Christ. The Scripture is at stake. If Jesus doesn't rise, Psalm 2 is wrong, Psalm 16 is wrong, Isaiah 55 is wrong, any other Old Testament passage indicating the resurrection of Jesus Christ is wrong, therefore the Bible cannot be trusted. It is not always true. Who then can discern when it is and when it isn't? And man is left with a hopelessly skewed confusing inadequate and inaccurate document in the scriptures. But if Jesus rises from the dead, the prophecies are true, the Word of God is confirmed as speaking truth.<br />
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In Acts chapter 26 we read, verse 22, "And so having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was going to take place." And what did the prophets say and what did Moses say even back in the Pentateuch? "That the Christ was to suffer and that means of His resurrection from the dead He should be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles." All the way back in the law, all the way back in the prophets as well as the hagiographa, the holy writings, the Psalms, we see it in the law, the prophets and the writings, the Messiah will die and the Messiah will rise. The Scripture is at stake. When Jesus arose then all of these prophecies and many more were fulfilled and the Word of God was proven to be true.<br />
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Now I want you to turn to the second chapter of John's gospel, John chapter 2, and verse 19. Here our Lord Jesus is speaking, speaking to the Jews who are asking Him about a sign. Jesus answered and said to them, You want a sign? I'll give you one. "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." That is a prophecy, that is Scripture spoken by Christ recorded in the gospel of John. The Jews in their ignorance said, "It took 46 years to build this temple," they think He's talking about the physical temple of Herod, "and You will raise it up in three days? But He was speaking of the temple of His body." Then verse 22, "When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this and they believed the Scripture and the Word which Jesus had spoken." They knew the Scripture promised a resurrection. They knew Jesus in speaking New Testament scripture promised a resurrection. And when it happened, they believed the Scripture. The resurrection of Jesus Christ should affirm our faith and confidence in the veracity, the inerrancy of Scripture.<br />
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What does the resurrection prove? It proves that the Scripture is true. In Luke chapter 24, a familiar scene on the road to Emmaus as two woe-begone and saddened and grieving disciples walk along thinking their Lord has perished for good, not knowing of His resurrection. They are sad, all is lost. And as Jesus comes alongside in verse 25 of Luke 24 He says to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart, to believe in all that the prophets have spoken, was it not necessary for the Christ, the Messiah, to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the scriptures."<br />
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The picture of a dead and risen Messiah is all over the Old Testament. Every time there was a sacrifice of a lamb, every time such sacrifices noted in the Scripture, it speaks of a dying Messiah. But every time it talks about Messiah's reigning and ruling and kingdom, it speaks about a living Messiah, therefore it is obvious that the One who dies must come back to life. It is all over the Old Testament. And the Scripture's veracity is at stake in the resurrection.<br />
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In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, you remember these wonderful words, "I delivered to you...verse 3...of first importance what I received that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures," just as the Old Testament said He would be...just as He Himself said and the New Testament writers said He would be.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: navy;"><b>The Resurrection Proves the Deity of the Son of God</b></span></span><br />
Secondly, the resurrection not only proves the truthfulness of the Word of God, it proves the deity of the Son of God...the deity of the Son of God. In fact, no greater proof exists for the divine nature of Jesus Christ then He rising from the dead. That is the most monumental thing that He did to verify that He was God, for only God can give life, only God can conquer death.<br />
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If you look in to the New Testament you will find a myriad of individuals giving testimony to Christ as God. Some are the most amazing, others we might expect.<br />
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For example, demons affirm the deity of Christ. In Mark 5 and 6...chapter 5 verse 6 and 7, I should say...the demons said, "Jesus, Son of the Most High God," even the demons, even the minions of hell, the fallen angels know of His deity, they know He is the Son of the Most High God.<br />
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In John chapter 9 you meet a man born blind, a man whom Jesus healed, a man who was sick for the glory of God. And Jesus says to him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man? And he answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? And Jesus said you've seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe and he worshiped Him." He knew he was dealing with God. The rest of the people said, "We don't know where He's from." And the blind man said, "You mean He's opened my eyes and you don't know where He's from?"<br />
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And then there were the disciples who gave testimony. Peter on behalf of all of them said, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God." Thomas said, "My Lord and my God." Nathaniel said, "Thou art the Son of God." Matthew said, "He is God with us." Mark said, "He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Luke said, "He is the Son of God." The Apostles, the writers of the New Testament, affirm the deity of Christ.<br />
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There was John the Baptist, you'll remember, His cousin who said, "I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God." There was Martha the sister of Mary who said, very affirmingly, "I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world," John 11:27. There was the testimony of a Roman soldier at His crucifixion, "Truly this man is the Son of God." And Christ repeatedly made such claims. He said, "If you've seen Me you've seen the Father. I and the Father are one."<br />
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You have the testimony of all of these individuals to the deity of Christ. But none of them is as potent as the testimony of one other individual. Look at Romans chapter 1 and verse 4. In verse 1 we are introduced to the phrase, "The gospel of God," Romans 1:1. Verse 2 says, "God promised it through the prophets." Verse 3 says, "It was the gospel of God concerning God's Son." Then verse 4 says, "It was the gospel of God concerning His Son who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead." At His baptism the Father spoke out of heaven and said, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him." And that was a strong word from God at His baptism. But an even stronger word from God was that God raised Him from the dead and God was in essence saying...This is My beloved Son and He is proven to be My Son in that He has been raised from the dead, now for sure and for every reason listen to Him.<br />
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Romans 1:4 is the testimony of God the Father. He is the supreme witness. In Acts 13:30 it says, "God raised Him from the dead." And God did it to give testimony to His deity. In Romans 6:4 it tells us as well that Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father. The Father wanted Him raised from the dead so through His glory or His power, His attributes, His essence, He raised Christ from the dead. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 19 talks about the surpassing greatness of God's power. How great is it? Verse 20, "It is the power with which He brought about the resurrection of Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand."<br />
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Again, God is the one who raised Christ. And He did it to give testimony to His deity. He is become in His resurrection both Lord and Christ. The resurrection, Peter says in Acts 2:36, shows Him to be Lord and Christ.<br />
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So, the resurrection not only proves that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, but it proves that He was God. Romans 4:25 may be the most wonderful, the most powerful verse with regard to the application of His resurrection...makes a third point, and I want you to get this third point. The first point, His resurrection proves the truthfulness of the Word of God. The second point, His resurrection proves the deity of the Son of God.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: navy;"><b>The Resurrection Proves the Completion of the Salvation of God</b></span></span><br />
Listen to Romans 4, wonderful truth, truth on which we build our lives. "He was delivered up because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification." In order for God to justify us, in order for God to declare us righteous, He had to raise Jesus from the dead. When it says His name shall be called Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins, that's exactly what God wanted. But in order to accomplish it, He had to raise Christ from the dead. That was indispensable evidence of the completion and efficacious value of His death. It was the Father's way of saying...Your death accomplished its intended purpose. It was God raising Him from the dead to affirm that what He did on the cross satisfied God's holy justice. If He didn't rise, then all He is is Jesus Christ Superstar and His death is the death of an ordinary man and has no saving value. But He did rise from the dead and He was raised by the Father for our justification. He was raised in order that in the sight of God we might be made righteous, in order that in the sight of God we might be without sin, in order that our sin might be dismissed and forgiven.<br />
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And when He was raised it was as if God said...I accept the sacrifice...I accept it.<br />
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There are so many essential features in our salvation contingent on the resurrection. I can take Romans 4:25 and split it into component parts.<br />
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<a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Luke+24%3A13-35"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/Luke24b.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 435px; margin: 0pt 10pt 10px 0px; width: 322px;" /></a> <span style="color: #000066; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 130%;"><b><u>Jesus had to raise from the dead to:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><b>1. To Bestow to Us Eternal Life</b></span><br />
Our justification, first of all, includes bestowing eternal life, does it not? Part of being justified before God means that we receive eternal life. Well, the bestowing of eternal life is dependent on the resurrection. As in Adam all died, so in Christ shall be made alive. Because I live you shall live also In other words, it was in the death of Christ and His resurrection that He granted to us eternal life. If He never rose then He showed He couldn't conquer death. If He never rose He wouldn't be alive. If He wasn't alive He couldn't give us life. But He did arise and He said in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in Me even though he dies shall live again."<br />
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So, eternal life is dependent upon the resurrection. That's a component in the completion of God's salvation.<br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b>2. To Send the Holy Spirit</b></span><br />
Secondly, the sending of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus hadn't risen from the grave He never would have ascended back to the Father. If He hadn't ascended back to the Father, He never would have sent the Holy Spirit. He Himself said that He could not send the Holy Spirit until He had gone back to the Father, John 16:7, "I tell you truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. If I do not go away the Holy Spirit will not come to you. But if I go, I'll send Him to you." And when He comes He'll convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. When He comes He'll lead you into all truth. When He comes He'll bring all things into remembrance. When He comes He will place you into the body of Christ. When He comes He will become the guarantee of your eternal life. When He comes He will take up residence in you and you will become His temple. When He comes He will empower you for service. When He comes He will guide you. When He comes He will instruct you in the Word of God. He will be the anointing that teaches you so that you need no human teacher.<br />
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The whole full-blown ministry of the Holy Spirit was dependent upon the resurrection of Christ. If He didn't rise He couldn't ascend. If He couldn't ascend, He couldn't send the Spirit. No resurrection--no ascension...no ascension--no Holy Spirit...no Holy Spirit--no church. When you talk about the resurrection proving the completion of the saving work of God, you're talking about the heart of Christianity. He had to rise to give us eternal life. He had to have the life to give it. He had to rise to go back to the Father to send us the Holy Spirit.<br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b>3. To Forgive Our Sins</b></span><br />
Thirdly, He had to rise to forgive our sins. If He hadn't risen from the dead then we would know the Father was not pleased with His sacrifice, His sacrifice was not efficacious, it was not successful, it didn't work, it didn't atone for our sins and therefore the Father did not exalt Him and take Him to glory because He didn't do what He was supposed to do. On the other hand, if Jesus was raised from the dead, taken to the right hand of God, seated at the throne of God on His right hand, affirmed by God as having perfectly accomplished our redemption, then there is forgiveness of sins. Then it is accomplished. Then He who came for the expressed purpose of dying to put away death and sin accomplished His purpose. He, it says, was made like His brethren in all things that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of His people, that's Hebrews 2. Later on it says in Hebrews that He has perfected forever them that are sanctified by the offering of Himself, that His sacrifice did work, our sins were completely covered and the Father affirmed it in the resurrection.<br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b>4. To Intercede For Us</b></span><br />
Fourthly, Jesus must rise from the dead in order to be at the right hand of God interceding for us. His resurrection is inseparably linked to His work of intercession as He presents His petitions on behalf of the weak and tempted Christians and intercedes for them before the throne of grace. John says in 1 John 1...1 John 2:1 and 2, we have an advocate with the Father who is always pleading our case. Hebrews chapter 4 and Hebrews chapter 7 says we have a merciful and faithful high priest, in all points tempted like we are yet without sin, and He ever lives to make intercession for us. He is always at the right hand of God. Satan is there accusing us. He is there defending us. He is our lawyer, our advocate, our defender. If He didn't rise from the dead He wouldn't have ascended. If He didn't ascend we have no defender there. We have no one there pleading our case. We don't have the Holy Spirit in us pleading our case with groanings which cannot be uttered because He couldn't go back and send the Spirit and we don't have Him there advocating on our behalf either. The resurrection therefore is necessary not only for forgiveness of sins but for perpetual intercession that we might never be tempted above that we are able and that there always will be a way of escape.<br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b>5. To Bestow Spiritual Gifts</b></span><br />
Fifthly, the resurrection is crucial to the bestowal of spiritual gifts...to the bestowal of spiritual gifts. What are those? Those are the divine enabling abilities that the Spirit of God gives to every Christian so that we can serve God. In Ephesians chapter 4 it says that Christ ascended and after He ascended He gave some as apostles and some as prophets and evangelists and pastor/teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Christ. He went back to heaven and then He began to work through gifted men and spiritual gifts to built His church strong. To each one of us, verse 7 says, was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. And He gave us that gift when He ascended on high, when He led captivity a host of captives and gave gifts to men. Jesus, risen from the dead, ascends to heaven, sends back spiritual gifts, gifted men, so that we can serve God. That's all based on His resurrection. If He doesn't rise...arise, He doesn't ascend, He doesn't send gifts, nor the enabling Spirit.<br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b>6. To Grant Us Spiritual Power</b></span><br />
Sixthly, the resurrection also grants spiritual power, spiritual power. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth." Then in Acts 1:8 He says, "When the Spirit comes I'm passing it to you and you now are able to do exceeding, abundantly above all you can ask or think according to the power that works in you." You have the power, Ephesians 1 says, that raised Jesus from the dead working through you. Jesus Christ then sends us power, the enabling power and authority of the Spirit of God.<br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b>7. To Give Us A New Position of Blessing</b></span><br />
I can give you a seventh component of the salvation of God and that is Jesus Christ in His resurrection has given to us a new position of blessing, a new position of blessing. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3 it says we are blessed with all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. Christ is in the heavenlies and because He is there He pours out all spiritual blessing on us. Chapter 2 of Ephesians and verse 7 says, "Forever He will pour out the surpassing riches of His grace in His kindness toward us."<br />
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What immense blessing. The salvation of God demanded eternal life, the coming of the Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, ongoing intercession, the bestowing of spiritual gifts, the granting of spiritual power and the outpouring of eternal blessing...and all of that hinges on the resurrection. If Christ doesn't rise, none of it happens...none of it.<br />
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The question then is not what proves the resurrection but what does the resurrection prove? It proves that the Word of God is true. It proves that the Son of God is deity. It proves that the salvation of God is complete.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: navy;"><b>The Resurrection Proves the Establishment of the Church of God</b></span></span><br />
Fourthly, the resurrection proves the establishment of the church of God...the establishment of the church of God. Our Lord said He would build His church. Do you remember these words in Matthew 16? We preached on them a few weeks ago. "I will build My church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." What are the gates of Hades? It's a Jewish expression meaning what? Death. I'll build My church and death won't stop it...not your death and not Mine. Jesus was, in effect, saying...I'm going to die but I'm going to rise...death is not going to stop Me from building My church. Ephesians 1:20 says that Christ was raised from the dead, seated at the right hand in heavenly places, far above all rule, all authority, power, dominion, every name that is named not only in this age, in the age to come. And He's put all things into subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. When He rose He took His seat, He became the head of the church. The resurrection is essential to the establishment of the church. If there's no resurrection there's no church. Anybody that says they belong to a church that doesn't believe the resurrection doesn't belong to a church. The true church is the church of those who have been given life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.<br />
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<b>John Calvin wrote,</b> <i></i><br />
<blockquote><i>"This is the highest honor of the church that until He is united to us, the Son of God reckons Himself in some measure imperfect. Without consolation it is for us to learn that not until we are in His presence does He possess all His parts or does He wish to be regarded as complete."</i> </blockquote>In other words, the Messiah Himself is not complete without His body. He is a head without a body, the church is His completion. And that church was born in the resurrection. It was the resurrection that transformed the apostles from scattered, fearful, faithless doubters and cowards into world changing apostles. The little band of disciples maligned and persecuted grew to fill Jerusalem with their teaching and soon turned the world upside down. Jews meeting on Sabbath for centuries and millennia all of a sudden became Christians meeting on Sunday. Sabbath was no more the day, Sunday was because Jesus arose. And the church has marched through time triumphant in the power of its risen Christ.<br />
<br />
Another wrote, <i></i><br />
<i></i><br />
<i><blockquote>"God has always had a people, many a foolish conqueror has made the mistake of thinking that because he has driven the church of Jesus Christ out of sight, he has stilled its voice and snuffed out its life. But God has always had a people. The powerful current of a rushing river is not diminished because it's forced to flow under ground. The purest water is the stream that bursts crystal clear into the sunlight after it has fought its way through solid rock. There have been charlatans who like Simon the magician sought to barter on the open market that power which cannot be bought or sold. But God has always had a people. Men who could not be bought and women who are beyond purchase. God has always had a people. It has been misrepresented, His church, ridiculed, lauded and scorned, these followers of Jesus Christ have been escorted to the edge of the grace, accorded the whims of time, elevated as sacred leaders and martyred as heretics, yet through it all their marches on that powerful army of the meek, God's chosen people who could not be bought, murdered, martyred or stilled. On through the ages they marched, the church, God's church, triumphant, alive and well. And the church lives today despite constant attack and corruption and counterfeiting. It lives because it is sustained by resurrection power."</blockquote></i>The resurrection then proves: the truthfulness of the Word of God; the deity of the Son of God; the completion of the salvation of God; the establishment of the church of God.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: navy;"><b>The Resurrection Proves the Inevitability of the Judgment of God</b></span></span><br />
Fifthly and sadly, the resurrection proves the inevitability of the judgment of God...the inevitability of the judgment of God. When our Lord came into the world the first time, He was mocked and scorned, hated, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He was humbled, He allowed Himself to be treated so terribly, the people said He was hell. They battered Him, they spit on Him, they pushed a crown of thorns into His head, they drove nails through His hands and feet, they rammed a spear into His side, they put Him on display naked as a laughing stock.<br />
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But that's not the last scene the world will have of Jesus. He rose from the dead to be their judge. They executed Him as a criminal. He will come back as their judge. Listen to John 8, a very, very powerful, powerful testimony. He says to the Jews who have rejected Him, verse 26, "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you." This thing isn't over, He said. Back in verse 21 He said, "Because you do not know Me you will die in your sins and where I am going you cannot come." I have more to say to you, He says, and to judge concerning you.<br />
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Back in John chapter 5 He speaks specifically about that judgment. In verse 22 He says, "All judgment is given to the Son, God has made Him judge and given to Him all judgment." Verse 21, "Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes and then not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son."<br />
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Down in verse 25, "Truly, truly I say to you, an hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear shall live for just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son to have life in Himself and He gave Him authority to execute judgment." What kind of judgment? Verse 28, "Some day the tombs are going to hear His voice, they're going to come forth, those who did good deeds to the resurrection of life, those who committed evil ones to a resurrection of judgment. "I can do nothing on my own initiative...verse 30 says...as I hear I judge and My judgment is just." He's coming back as a just judge. He's coming back as judge, jury, sentencer, executioner. And God has testified to that. He was killed as a criminal. He will return as a resurrected judge.<br />
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Listen to Acts 10 verse 42, actually start at verse 40, "God raised Him up on the third day after being hanged on a cross...verse 39...God raised Him up on the third day...Acts 10 verse 40...and granted that He should become visible, not to all the people but to witnesses who were chosen before hand by God, that is to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead." Why did He appear to the apostles? Verse 42, "And He ordered us to preach to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead." He will come back as a God- appointed judge. In Acts chapter 17 is preaching on the Areopagus known as Mars Hill in Athens and Paul says in verse 30 of that sermon that God has patiently overlooked the times of man's ignorance but He is now declaring to men that they just repent...verse 31 of Acts 17...because He has fixed a day, the day of the Lord, which He will judge the world in righteousness through a man He has appointed. And how did He furnish proof that Christ was the man? By raising Him from the dead, says Paul.<br />
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The resurrection then is the act of the Father by which He appoints Christ to be the judge. Now you can see how man sweeping realities in the Christian faith are unlocked to us in the resurrection of Christ. He is raised not only for our justification who believe, but for the damnation of those who do not believe and the Father attested to Him as Savior, as Son and as judge by His resurrection from the dead.<br />
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I'm thinking of Romans 14:9 which says, "Christ died and lived again that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living," and then the next verse says, "We must all stand before the judgment seat of God." He is not only the judge of the unbeliever, He is the judge of the believer. We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and He will be there to test our works to see if they're wood, hay and stubble or gold, silver and precious stones.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: navy;"><b>The Resurrection is the Guarantee of Heaven</b></span></span><br />
The Lord Jesus Christ risen from the dead proves the truthfulness of the Word of God, the deity of the Son of God, the completion of the salvation of God, the establishment of the church of God, the inevitability of the judgment of God...and one last point: <b>the eternal bliss of the people of God.</b><br />
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Listen to these wonderful and familiar words, Jesus speaking, John 14, "Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places, of it were not so I would have told you for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, receive you to Myself that where I am there you may be also."<br />
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Right there Jesus is predicting His resurrection. He's headed to death but He says, "I'm going right through death into the Father's house to get a place ready for you and I'll be back to get you." If there's no resurrection, there's no place prepared for us. If there's no place prepared for us, there's no heaven for us. Everything depends on the resurrection.<br />
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And again I say what I said at the beginning. <b><i>The real issue is not: Can you prove the resurrection? The real issue is: What does the resurrection prove?</i></b> You take out the resurrection and you have cut out the soul of the Christian faith and you have non-Christianity without the resurrection. All of God's complete redemptive plan depends on this key reality.<br />
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And that brings it right down to us, doesn't it? All of the redemptive plan of God in its fullness, completed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ will either mean to you heaven or it will mean to you hell. He will either be back to take you to the place that He has prepared for you, or He will be back to send you to the place He has prepared for the devil and his angels. He will be back either to gather you into His heaven, or to send you to the hell that is outside of His presence forever. He will be back to pour upon you eternal blessing or eternal punishment. You will arise from the dead some day to the resurrection of life in His presence, to the resurrection of damnation our of His presence. All gospel realities hinge on His resurrection and your eternity is at stake. You can make your choice. It doesn't seem to me to be much of a choice, to choose heaven, forgiveness, blessedness, joy, fulfillment in His presence, or damnation, punishment, hell forever out of His presence. But that's the choice.<br />
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This is resurrection day, the day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the day we should celebrate your resurrection in Christ. Pray with me.<br />
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Our Father, as we bring this service to its conclusion, we're very much aware of the fact that this is not just a message, this is a command...believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. The gospel is a command. When the Father said, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him," that was a command. And either we obey it and respond in faith to Christ, give Him our lives, ask Him to save us from our sins and take us to heaven, or we reject it and disobey and are appointed place with the damned and the wicked. Father, I pray that Your Holy Spirit would work in every life, every heart, every mind so that no one can shirk this message, this truth. This is not just something that can be ignored, treated with indifference, eternal destiny turns on the issue of will I commit my life to the One who rose to be my Savior, or will I reject Him and face Him as my judge? Lord, I pray that all across this world today as the resurrection is being preached, heaven will be rejoicing because many will be turned from death to life, darkness to light, hell to heaven, despair to hope, sin to righteousness. Work Your work in every heart and for the glory of Christ we ask. Amen.<br />
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<a class="sub" href="http://www.a1m.org/"><span style="color: maroon;"><b>Visit AudienceONE Ministires</b></span></a></span></div>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1130982655452419042015-03-31T06:00:00.000-04:002015-03-31T11:12:58.269-04:00GLORY IN THE CROSS...but as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/DGJesusNailedtoChrist.0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/DGJesusNailedtoChrist.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/relentless.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/relentless.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><div align="center"><b><span style="color:navy;">GLORY IN THE CROSS</span><br />by steve camp<br />1/3/01</b><br /><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> our faithful High Priest<br />Went beyond the veil as our Prince of Peace<br />Clothed with our sin, its guilt and shame<br />Our sinless Substitute, Jesus His name<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> the law now fulfilled<br />Righteousness displayed on Calvary’s Hill<br />He, Son of Man and God the Son<br />The Lord and the Lamb, our victory won<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> where grace doth abound<br />Where the Man of Sorrows wore transgressions crown<br />Wounded and chastened for our iniquities<br />Our faithful Redeemer, God the Father pleased<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> marked by sin’s crimson stain<br />Grace and forgiveness flows from His precious veins<br />Perfect redemption once for all sacrifice<br />Salvation made secure by the Lord Jesus Christ<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> Satan’s power of death destroyed<br />Rendered impotent by The Incarnate Word<br />He crushed the Serpents head upon Golgotha’s tree<br />Our great and dreadful Sovereign, Champion is He<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> the elect have been redeemed<br />O covenant of grace from eternity decreed<br />Worthy is the Lamb slain from all ages past<br />Sinners reconciled, true worshippers at last<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> “It is finished”, the Victor, cried<br />God propitiated, forever satisfied<br />Once enemies now brethren, estranged but brought near<br />His judgment assuaged no bondage nor fear<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> God forsaken of God<br />Smitten and afflicted, bruised with Heaven’s rod<br />Resurrected triumphant, our Lord, God and King<br />Grave where is thy vict’ry, O death where is thy sting?</span></div><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/relentless.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/relentless.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1140499771385481152015-02-07T12:04:00.000-05:002015-02-07T22:56:05.379-05:00JOHN JASPER - ORDINARY MAN, EXTRAORDINARY GOD...the great slave preacher<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/jasper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/jasper.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> February is traditionally known as black history month. While some in our society unfortunately use it to play what has commonly become known as "the race card", as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can 'redeem' it by honoring one of the Lord's servants.<br /><br />By God's grace, all who are Christ's were granted saving faith to salvation being reconciled to God through the once for all atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. And for that reason, He has also given us "the ministry of reconciliation" (proclaiming His gospel; urging all men everywhere to repent and follow Christ - 2 Cor. 5:17ff). Therefore, the powerful reality for the Christian, is that racism should not exist in the body of Christ. Why? God has chosen before the foundation of this world and marked out for Himself a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. In the church beloved, <i>"there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian nor Scythian, slave nor free; but Christ is all, and in all."</i> <b>(Colossians 3:11).</b> Amen? i would like to introduce you to the life and ministry of John Jasper (1812 – 1901).<br />.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><i style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">"If you is, what you was, then you ain’t."</i> </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">-John Jasper, on genuine salvation must bear the fruit of a changed life.</span><br /></div><br /><i>"I have finished my work. I am waiting at the river, looking across for further orders."</i> <b>-John Jasper's last words.</b><br /><br />John Jasper was born on July 4th in 1812. He was an African-American preacher, philosopher, and orator. He grew up in Fluvanna County, Virginia, the youngest of 24 children. He became a Christian on the July 4th 1839 in Capital Square of Richmond, Virginia. Tina, Jaspers mother - a godly woman, prayed that God would make her son a preacher as his father had been. For many years it seemed those prayers would not be answered. John had no interest in spiritual things. He had fallen in love with a girl from a neighboring plantation and been given permission to marry her. But on the day of their wedding, a slave uprising caused their masters to separate them, and John never saw her again. In bitterness he descended into evil living.<br /><br />John was rebellious and constantly in trouble with his owners. It was while he was at work in a tobacco warehouse in 1839 that Jasper, stricken with "God's arrow of conviction," prayed and asked God to save him. Thirty days after his baptism in 1840, he was licensed to preach by the Old African Baptist Church, and he didn't stop for more than sixty years!<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0); font-weight: bold;"><i>"My sins was piled on me like mountains; my feet was sinking down to the regions of despair, and I felt that of all sinners I was the worst. I thought that I would die right then, and with what I supposed was my last breath I flung up to heaven a cry for mercy..."</i></blockquote>He was baptized in 1849 and on the same day, he preached a funeral, which immediately brought him fame. He taught himself to read and write, and although he delivered his sermons in the dialect of the southern slave, more educated ministers said that Jasper's vivid and dramatic sermons transcended "mere grammar."<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/jasper2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/320/jasper2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> One of the great Slave preachers, Jasper became a noted funeral preacher long before the Civil War. Noted for his fervid zeal, gifted imagery, and colorful oratory, as a speaker Jasper was much in demand. He preached in many sections of Virginia and adjoining states. During his August vacation, he conducted famous all-day camp meetings in the country. Sunday after Sunday he could be seen leading his flock to be baptized in the James River. He was known to have baptized as many as 300 people in four hours. He reached the height of his aspiration in 1867 when he organized the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church. He gained national distinction in 1878 when he first preached his famed "DE SUN DO MOVE" sermon, which he later delivered by invitation more than 250 times, and once before the entire Virginia General Assembly. This sermon was his effort to prove through biblical references that the sun revolves around the earth. Black men were not allowed to preach in regular churches in those days unless supervised by white ministers. But Jasper's pointed and powerful messages soon drew a growing crowd, black and white, to hear him preach.<br /><br />The Third Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia asked Jasper to preach twice a month, and other churches noticed a decline in their attendance on those Sundays. During the closing days of the Civil War, Jasper was asked to preach to the Confederate soldiers in the hospitals around Richmond. When the war ended, Jasper continued to preach.<br /><br />Life never proceeded smoothly for Jasper. In addition to the problems inherent in being a black man in the post-war South, he endured jealous colleagues, failed marriages, and worldwide ridicule of his religious beliefs. But, he persisted. More than that, he triumphed. His congregation had swelled into the thousands, more than one third of whom were white.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/sixtha8.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/320/sixtha8.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> In March of 1901, John Jasper preached to his congregation for the last time on the subject, "Ye Must Be Born Again." He urged his people to prepare for death, which he knew was coming soon for him. At his funeral, Dr. Hatcher said, "Every motion of his was made to exalt the Lord of his life." At his funeral, Reverend Hatcher delivered the eulogy, calling him "a prince of his tribe." Jasper is buried at Woodland Cemetery in Richmond, which also is the final resting place of tennis great Arthur Ashe.<br /><br />In 1867 he founded the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Richmond. The church began with nine members. Fifteen years later there were more than 1,000 members, and at his death they numbered nearly 2,000. Sixth Mount Zion, the church he founded in 1867, is thriving today.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/vbha/6th4.html"><b>here;</b></a> <a href="http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1038/A_special_spiritual_voice_John_Jasper"><b>here;</b></a> <a href="http://www.swordofthelord.com/biographies/JasperJohn.htm"><b>and here.</b></a>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1166025366072141602015-01-23T06:00:00.000-05:002015-01-23T08:42:10.572-05:00WORLDLY SAINTS...being salt and light in a pagan society<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6742/1254/1600/255428/IMG_0377.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6742/1254/400/336785/IMG_0377.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Let us press on then, beloved, to see how the Lord gave Paul clear instruction for young Titus facing a difficult culture and society on the island of Crete. The Apostle Paul answers the Evangelical Co-Belligerent dilemma completely in <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=titus+3%3A1-8" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>Titus 3:1-8.</b></span></a> Four key things he instructs Christians learning to live in a pagan society: 1. recognize your duty; 2. remember your depravity; 3. rejoice in your deliverance; and 4. render good deeds.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:red;"><b>1. Recognize Your Duty</b></span></span><br />Paul says in Titus 3:1-2, <b>Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, 2to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.</b><br /><br />Notice here that the Apostle is calling for believers on this very troubled and immoral island of Crete to honor those in authority over them. Listen to how he describes their culture: <i>“who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed”</i> <b>(Titus 1:11-16).</b><br /><br />Their culture was full of false teachers propagating philosophies for money—destroying families; they were liars, evil beasts (in other words, slaves of depraved instincts) and lazy gluttons. They turned aside from the truth of God’s Word to myths and the commandments of men; their minds and conscience were defiled (tested, tried and found useless); they deny the Lord by their evil deeds; are detestable and disobedient—worthless of any good work. Even a form of “terrorism” was present; pagan gods abounded; evil was rampant in the streets; and sexual immorality was unbridled. This was a very corrupt and morally destitute place. <br /><br />What does Paul offer as a solution to Crete’s unrestrained lasciviousness? Picket them? Boycott them? Try to bring a surface cultural spiritual morality through the political powers that be? No. He encourages Titus to do the unthinkable: <b><i>evangelize!</i></b> Bring them the transforming power of the gospel <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=titus+2%3A11-13" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(Titus 2:11-13)</b></span></a>; call them back to sound doctrine refuting those who contradict <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=titus+1%3A9" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(Titus 1:9)</b></span></a>; and live the transformed life in the marketplace of paganism (Titus 3:1-8). No political legislation could turn back the tide of moral decay; no governmental body would change the human heart and make it pure; no co-belligerent rally around even the most noble of social causes could add one drop of righteousness to please God and regenerate sinful mankind to new life—to moral rightness. Paul would never stoop to such trivial means as these in the struggle for the soul. He only took the spiritual weapons of prayer, the Word, the gospel, and the testimony of righteousness lived out by genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. In short, only through life conversion through Christ Jesus the Lord can there be any real morality whether you reside on Crete, in Corinth, under Nero, in Washington D.C., in Wheaton, in Nashville or even in Colorado Springs. The new life in Christ evidenced by a new way of living <i>is</i> the “salt and light” that impacts our communities and brings glory to God <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=matthew+5%3A13-20" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(Matthew 5:13-20).</b></span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:purple;"><b>the Biblical imperative</b></span></span><br />Paul desires Titus, <i>“[his] true child in the common faith”,</i> to <i>“speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine”</i> (Titus 2:1); <i>“in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us”</i> (Titus 2:7-8); to be dedicated to <i>“the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness”</i> (Titus 1:1b); and that he <i>“would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you”</i> (Titus 1:5).<br /><br />And how does this transformed life manifest itself? Paul begins precisely at the crossroads of where church and culture find themselves today—in the arena of government—living under God’s appointed authority <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=romans+13%3A1-2" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(Romans 13:1-2).</b></span></a><br /><br />The Apostle Paul begins by saying, <b>be subject to rulers, to authorities.</b> He is speaking here of magistrates; governments and its leadership. He is encouraging submission to the governing authorities as a sign of their salvation (Titus 2:11-13). They were in danger of forgetting their duty, though knowing it. They were prone to disregard what is a basic principle in Christianity—submission. And here the Apostle says to be submissive to the powers that be—and even if those authorities are ungodly <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+peter+2%3A11-17" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(cp, 1 Peter 2:11-17).</b></span></a> Cretans were marked by what Diodorus Siculus calls a “riotous insubordination”—not a comfortable or easy place to live for the Lord. The Christian was not to be identified as being insubordinate to those whom God had sovereignly placed in society to restrain evil and keep societal order—but to be known for being submissive.<br /><br />The fruit of that submissive will manifested itself by being <b>obedient, ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to peaceable, gentle and showing consideration to all men.</b> He is describing the fruit of real regeneration in how they are to live their lives in a culture that is adverse to the gospel and to Christ. All of these qualities are in direct response to the political authorities over them. Be <b>obedient</b> to them—that is, in all that is not contrary to the Word of God; <b>ready for every good deed,</b> <i>willingly,</i> in response to the magistrates, the governing laws and all that is good—beneficial in society; <b>to malign no one</b> – not speaking evil of others, especially of those in authority over you is prohibited. <b>Peaceable, </b> not a brawler, quarrelsome, not attacking others or being contentious; but in stark contrast be peaceable (not being a political agitator, <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+peter+4%3A15" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(cp, 1 Peter 4:15).</b></span></a> <b>Showing consideration to all men,</b> in acts, if at all possible, the opposite of passionate severity—demonstrating meekness (having a small opinion of self and a high esteem of God); and this to all people as a witness of the gospel of grace. There is no “selective consideration” in Christianity; it applies to all people equally <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=matthew+5%3A40-44" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(cp, Matthew 5:40-48).</b></span></a><br /><br />One of the ways that submissiveness manifested itself was through being <b>gentle.</b> The word gentle here is very powerful. At face value, people may construe this to mean a soft, introverted, quiet, shy demeanor that is sheepishly easy going. However, that is not the case. Instead, it has a profound meaning, that by God’s grace, should characterize every believer in the Lord. It means: to submit to maltreatment, hardship, persecution; knowing that God is sovereignly in control of your situation; doing acts of kindness to your accusers; free from revenge, malice and retribution. It carries with it the idea of the complete personality of the individual brought into submission to Christ so that you are not demanding your own rights out of desire to get even through retaliation, but to stay in the provocation until the breach is mended. Wow! I don’t know about you, but I surely haven’t even begun to arrive at that quality in my life. No wonder the Apostle Paul says in <b>2 Cor. 10:1,</b> <i>“…I am mindful of the meekness and gentleness of Christ…”</i> This is my daily prayer for my life—Lord make me a “gentle” man. And this can only be accomplished by God’s grace <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=titus+2%3A12" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(cp, Titus 2:12).</b></span></a> Living this way in society <i>will</i> make impact for the gospel and the cause of the Lord. Not co-belligerence—but Christlikeness!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:red;"><b>2. Remember Your Depravity</b></span></span> <br />What is the motivating factor to surrender your rights, trust in God’s sovereignty purposes and plans, living free from revenge and being able to submit to ungodly governmental authority? Because <b>we were once foolish ourselves.</b> <br /><br />When unsaved people mistreat or take advantage of us; or are engaged in all kinds of acts of lasciviousness, that should not drive us to disdain or criticize them, but to show empathy for them. Why? Because “we were once foolish ourselves.” Listen to how Paul describes any believer in the Lord before coming to salvation in Christ: <b>we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.</b><br /><br />We cannot minimize this beloved. This was you and I before we met the Lord. This is our testimony. We were <b>foolish</b> (thoughtless, wicked, living without God), <b>disobedient</b> (to law, to parents, to civil authority, to God), <b>deceived</b> (by the enemy Satan, by false teachers, by our own hearts, by the flattery of others), <b>lustful</b> (indulging corrupt passions and propensities—slaves to…), <b>malicious</b> (in evil intent), <b>envious</b> (displeasure of the prosperity or happiness of others), <b>hateful and hating</b> (our conduct was worthy of the hatred of others; with no real brotherly love or true affection of others). <br /><br />This is a hopeless condition that all have; worthy only of inheriting hell itself for all eternity <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=romans+3%3A10-18" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(Romans 3:10-18;</b></span></a> <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ephesians+2%3A1-3" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>Ephesians 2:1-3).</b></span></a> The Apostle Paul also described the sinfulness of sinful mankind in <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+corinthians+6%3A9-10" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>1 Corinthians 6:9-10</b></span></a> as made up of fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers and swindlers. In <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=galatians+5%3A16-21" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>Galatians chapter 5</b></span></a> he describes human fallenness as engaging itself in immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing and things like that. And to the <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ephesians+4%3A17-24" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>Ephesians</b></span></a> he gives this description, they are futile in their minds, darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, ignorant, hard of heart, callous, sensual, practicing every kind of impurity with greediness.<br /><br />And in <b>Ephesians 2:1-3</b> Paul sums up the depraved life we are all conceived into <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=psalm+51%3A5" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(Psalm 51:5)</b></span></a> by saying, <i>“they walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience. They are driven by the lusts of their flesh, the desires of the flesh and of the mind and are by nature the children of wrath.”</i> That is a description of man before he is rescued, before he is saved. I was born in a wonderful Christian family and raised in a very religious town—Wheaton, Il. But even with that evangelical pedigree, I had known a more hellish iniquity than any prostitute that ever walked the evening boulevards; I had a worse sin issue than any heroine addict ever dreamed of having; and I was more trapped in sin than any alcoholic could imagine. What was my transgression against the Lord? I was full of self-righteous religious pride! It’s the worse of all sins, isn’t it? It’s the cocaine of the church; we sell, snort it, and call it “normal” Christianity. It took a profound work of God’s grace to save this wretched man; religion numbed my sin sick soul to the wrathful condition I was truly in. Don’t minimize this. There are millions of people in churches all over America in the same state I was—they are what Matthew Mead calls, “the almost Christian.” They come to church, but have never come to Christ. They love religious things, but have not taken up their cross, denied themselves and followed the Lord. They give Sunday to God, but Monday through Saturday is “their” time. Almost Christians…<br /><br />Paul completely shatters the notion that good works are sufficient enough to produce salvation for anyone. In order for us to be saved we had to be regenerated, invaded by the grace of our Lord, granted saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. No Pope could redeem us; no prayer to Mary could help us; no purgatory could cleanse us; no Treasury of Merit could make us righteous; no mass could propitiate our sin; no saint could pray for us or us to them; no priest could absolve us of our sins (mortal or venial). We were hardened in the clay of our rebellion against a holy God. We were enslaved with various lusts, terribly lost. This is how the Lord found you; this is how He found me. <br /><br />Therefore, shouldn’t this produce empathy in our lives for those that don’t know Christ? We shouldn’t display attitudes towards unsaved people which are full of self-righteous religious pride; spiritual arrogance; or a Pharisaic condescending manner of <i>“I am glad I am not like that sinner…” </i> This is sadly, though maybe unwitting, the attitude that pervades much of ECBers and especially the tone of FOTF’s attitude toward those they challenge in the marketplace—homosexuals, politicians, abortionists, etc. We should rightly ask the sobering question of FOTF, “How would you all be living if you didn’t know the Lord?” The Apostle Paul gives us sobering words about the unregenerate: <i>“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness”</i> <b>(Romans 6:20).</b> Did you hear that? Unsaved people are free in regards to righteousness before coming to Christ. We should not be accusing an unbelieving world for acting like an unbelieving world; but we should be concerned when Christians are living like an unbelieving world when claiming to know Christ <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+corinthians+5%3A1-8" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(1 Corinthians 5).</b></span></a> That is why church discipline is invaluable for dealing with unrepentant sin and guarding the purity of the church <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=matthew+18%3A15-20" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>(Matthew 18:15-20;</b></span></a> <a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=galatians+6%3A1-3" class="sub"><span style="color:maroon;"><b>Galatians 6:1-3).</b></span></a><br /><br />If we have tasted and drank deeply of His grace (1 Peter 2:3) isn’t the natural inclination of our hearts to share that good news with another so that they can be free from their sins and know the sure forgiveness of a living God for eternity rather then condemn them for being faithful to their depravity?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:red;"><b>3. Rejoice in Your Deliverance</b></span></span> <br />This is praise and worship to the Lord for the great salvation He has wrought for us. Paul says here, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. <br /><br />This is one of the richest passages of our great salvation we have in Christ Jesus our Lord found anywhere in all of Scripture. Notice the banner of our salvation surmised in three key words: <b>He saved us…</b> This again is cause for great humility. We couldn’t save ourselves <b>not [even] on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness.</b> Our best works, our best religious works are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) sufficient only to damn us to hell, but save us? Never! This is the nail in the coffin of Romanism—of any good works/human achievement system of obtaining favor with God. All our good works, even religious ones, are nothing but rubbish, human excrement compared to knowing Christ Jesus as Lord of our lives by grace through faith alone (cp, Phil. 3:1-8). We were only saved <b>according to His mercy</b> (not our works); by <b>the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit</b> (not by our merits plus grace or our works plus faith); <b>through Jesus Christ our Savior</b> (not through a surrogate Christ in the Roman Church; or Mary; or Papal infallibility); <b>justified by His grace</b> (not through infused righteousness of works, but through the imputed righteousness of Christ alone) <b>made heirs according to the hope of eternal life</b> (not through the suffering in purgatory to be purged of our sins and then maybe one day will be made good enough to enter glory). We have hope beloved, eternal hope, in the Lord alone!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:red;"><b>4. Render Good Deeds</b></span></span><br />What is the Christian’s responsibility in a pagan society? How are we to live? What does the Lord require of His people? Paul doesn’t say, “Organize, boycott, picket and petition against sinful, immoral, cultural moorings. Make sure you politically align yourselves with the right conservative constituency so that you can create a good and pure social goodness for your fellow man to ward off the wayward indulgences of a liberal society.” Nonsense! Here is what the Apostle calls, a “trustworthy statement”: <b> This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men.</b> The <b>trustworthy statement</b> is what has been stated in verses 4-7—the great doctrine concerning our salvation. Paul is saying that it is the highest of importance; entirely worthy of belief; and is God’s gratuitous gift to us. This is what the Holy Spirit places as a priority to what should occupy our speech; our emphasis in message is the gospel of Christ. <b>Concerning these things I want you to speak confidently…</b> This is what the gospel produces and what we are to declare with confidence—that it leads people to holy living. No wonder he commands us all to be <b>careful to engage in good deeds.</b> Good deeds is all that is holy, true, honest, upright and good—the fruit of regeneration in our sanctification. We are to render works concomitant with our salvation. This is <b>good and profitable for men.</b> Is there anything sweeter, more joyous or hopeful to the ears of sinful man than forgiveness and peace before a holy righteous God is possible through our Lord Jesus Christ? <br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:purple;"><b>Jesus Is the Answer</b></span></span><br />This is how we are to live in a pagan society. Not in prideful arrogance, battling the powers that be to insure our religious rights or produce the veneer of morality absent of Christ; but in submissiveness to all authorities for they are ministers of God. We are not to live in prideful self-righteousness forgetting the depth of depravity we have been saved from. The world does not need to hear our scorn over their immorality or wayward living. They need to hear the good news of the gospel of grace; they need to hear of Christ and Him crucified; they need to hear of repentance from sin and eternal life through faith in Christ alone. And lastly, as we rejoice in our deliverance from sin, we should always remember that it was He who saved us and not we ourselves. Again, this should give us a burden to call others to salvation—not to a political civil cultural form of Pharisaic righteous morality.<br /><br />Political reform, Evangelical Co-Belligerence, moral rightness, culture of life is nothing but the crumbs off the “rich man’s c0-belligerent” table to the hurting Lazarus’s of this world. They can offer no hope, no peace, no promise of life, no genuine morality, no impact on society. It is the message of pubescent believers who are either ashamed of the gospel; who’ve lost their confidence in the gospel; or have an integrated view of “culture plus Christ” that is unbiblical at its core values.<br /><br />The secret longing of all God’s creatures is how to have peace with God; and the great work of the church is to bring that “good news” of the gospel to all, urging all men everywhere to repent from their sin and turn to Christ to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. God is sovereign over all earthly governments beloved. May we each dedicate ourselves afresh to do the work of the gospel and in doing so you will love our neighbor as our Lord Jesus Christ has intended.<br /><br />As the Day draws near,<br />Steve<br />2 Cor. 4:5-7SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-64652776269769471552014-08-05T06:00:00.000-04:002014-08-05T09:23:50.732-04:00DO NOT BE UNEQUALLY YOKED WITH NONBELIEVERS...what it means and how its truth impacts and shapes our ministry partnerships and alliances<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. </span> <span style="color: #660000; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;"><br />For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? </span> <span style="color: #660000; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;"><br />Or what fellowship has light with darkness? </span> <span style="color: #660000; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;"><br />What accord has Christ with Belial? </span> <span style="color: #660000; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;"><br />Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?</span> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;"><br />-Paul, 2 Corinthians 6:14-15<br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrg5bH0Jr-oTRnYDQw1Zuq-bb4It5loV6xqKGcJ8CD3ctX9Zh-aZJgObFOrI2kArcG4DhNeV3g34QjScOh5SVCzWFI6LvDK-ADVlx_U_5JDmWHpoINW11mp_qV2ZPnQ8Qlrgi/s1600-h/yoke.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSrg5bH0Jr-oTRnYDQw1Zuq-bb4It5loV6xqKGcJ8CD3ctX9Zh-aZJgObFOrI2kArcG4DhNeV3g34QjScOh5SVCzWFI6LvDK-ADVlx_U_5JDmWHpoINW11mp_qV2ZPnQ8Qlrgi/s400/yoke.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209942567776919026" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 209px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 436px;" /></a>The Apostle Paul above gives us one of the key principles in all of the NT concerning our role in the society in which we live: <span style="font-style: italic;">“do not be unequally yoked with nonbelievers.”</span> It is echoing the imperative of the Apostle John we he says, <span style="font-style: italic;">“be in the world and not of the world.”</span> Rightly understanding its truth has a profound impact in how we live, engage culture, and most importantly with whom we partner with in ministry.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">At the outset, </span>when dealing with controversial and potentially divisive passages like this one, there can be ungodly attitudes expressed by name calling, cheap shot invectives, and attacking the person without ever having to wrestle with the actual text of Scripture pertaining to the matter at hand. I have sadly witnessed this as of late when a nugatory blogger took it on himself to point his sharp, unbridled tongue towards a pastor and a woman commenting on his blog about this issue for simply voicing a different view. Let me assure you, that will not be happening here in this article and will not be tolerated in the meta either. As you know, I am not shy when it comes to taking on issues and engaging in profitable, vigorous, even sometimes heated discussion. But careless venting and ranting designed to attack the person rather than biblically deal with the issue will not be allowed here (please read my blog rules if you are unclear of those guidelines).<br />
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Therefore, due to the recent confusion that some have made concerning this text, let me begin by stating what this passage is not teaching with the hopes of producing clarity on this important subject.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">1. It is not a call to isolationism.</span> This is not Paul’s call for all Christians to create an alternative society whereby we only by gas from Christian gas companies; pay taxes to Christian governments; drive cars made by Ichthus Motors; or purchase groceries from Galilean Grocers. Christians working for nonbelievers in an employee/employer relationship is not prohibited by Scripture. Doing business and trade with nonbelievers is not prohibited by Scripture. Being involved in community projects and events with nonbelievers is not prohibited by Scripture. But what is prohibited, is any kind of partnership in a spiritual enterprise or ministry involving making Christ known, preaching of the Word, evangelism, worship, the furtherance of the local church, etc. I will unfold that in just a minute.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">2. It is not a call to divorce your unsaved spouse. </span>This passage isn’t specifically addressing the marriage issue (though it would apply) for the Apostle Paul has already given the command in 1 Corinthians 7:39 to “marry only in the Lord.” Considering marriage is the most intimate and binding of all human relationships, it would go without saying that it should be reserved for only believers to marry other believers. BUT, if you are married to a nonbeliever, the Apostle is not giving you an automatic out here. You are not to divorce your unbelieving spouse, but remain in that union praying for their regeneration.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">3. And, it is not a call to avoid contact with nor having fellowship with nonbelievers. </span>Paul again tells us for that to happen we would have to go “out of this world” (1 Cor. 5:9-10). How are we to love our neighbor if we don’t have contact with them? How can we serve them and do good works to them if we are not involved with their lives?</blockquote>
So those are three things that the Apostle is not meaning by the command: “do not be unequally yoked with nonbelievers.”<br />
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Paul using the Greek word: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/rwp/view.cgi?book=2co&chapter=006&verse=014">heterozugounten</a></span></span> (bound together or unequally yoked) draws this analogy, however, not from the usage of the Greek term but from a concept back in Deuteronomy 22:10. When God was laying out prescriptions for the conduct of His people, He gave them a lot of prescriptions that on the surface are not particularly spiritual, they had to do with the uniqueness of Israel's life. But some of them were very practical and wise and one of the things that He instructed them, recorded in Deuteronomy 22:10 is that they were not to plow with an ox and an ass yoked together. And the reasons for that are obvious. Those two animals have two different natures. They don't have the same gait, they don't have the same disposition, they don't have the same strength. They don't have the same kind of instincts, completely different natures. You can't yoke them up and expect to plow a straight furrow.<br />
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To then “yoke” with a nonbeliever in a spiritual enterprise or ministry of any kind would be counterproductive wouldn’t it? Christians are new creations; walk in a newness of life; have different goals and purposes in living as born again followers of Jesus Christ. We live to please Him in all things and not ourselves. We see this world as not our home, but the land of our sojourning. Our lives have been separated from this world and unto Christ to now do His will, according to His Word, by His Spirit, in living out His gospel. It is undeniable - we are a new people. Therefore, Paul is giving a basic tenant for Christian living in whatever we do for the Lord; it cannot be in partnership with nonbelievers.<br />
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Now just in saying that, I am certain it opens up all kinds of questions and pragmatic considerations. Let’s begin to deal with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblP1n_7bTKkhlGACBBA4SWJdFcvnkWK8NhJgcPDKe2qxvkV1Y9fAIf-EDYeRiFQC8o4q_ed43VkhxiC6_MJF_BxAbYIxTaMDv_ltTpzDCvnUo103em4f3po0g_Ix9UGHrE1eB/s1600-h/Finalwitt2-framed.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblP1n_7bTKkhlGACBBA4SWJdFcvnkWK8NhJgcPDKe2qxvkV1Y9fAIf-EDYeRiFQC8o4q_ed43VkhxiC6_MJF_BxAbYIxTaMDv_ltTpzDCvnUo103em4f3po0g_Ix9UGHrE1eB/s400/Finalwitt2-framed.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209952239501222034" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 468px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 343px;" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">In the <a href="http://www.a1m.org/page.php?page=template10.php&pageid=fcf54d19dd342ec4d0b163b23018f777">107 THESES</a> that I penned ten years ago </span>inspired by the wholesale buyout of Christian record companies in CCM (and publishers, bookstore chains, and greeting card companies have joined their ranks) I specifically addressed this issue in section six of that document. Here are some of those theses for your consideration:<br />
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75. We cannot partner with the unbelieving world in a common spiritual enterprise or ministry. To harness unbelievers and believers in a Christ-centered endeavor is to be unequally yoked. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)<br />
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76. We must be separate from non-Christians in positions of ownership, authority or influence in the advancement of the gospel. (Ibid.)<br />
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77. The kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness are two mutually exclusive worlds; two opposing societies; two converse communities that are incompatible and incongruous with each other in regards to the faith. (Ibid.)<br />
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78. One is characterized by righteousness, light, Christ, believers and the temple of God. Lawlessness, darkness, Belial, unbelievers and the temple of idols distinguish the other. One is based on God's truth-the other on Lucifer's lies. In matters of Christian faith and belief no partnership does or really can exist between these two realms. (Ibid.)<br />
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79. "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." (Titus 1:15-16)<br />
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80. God is our Father and we, as His children, must disavow all praetorian religious and spiritual alliances with nonbelievers or we will forfeit the joy and blessing that flow from obedient fellowship in the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)<br />
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81. Satan's number one assault on the church is to infiltrate with error. He doesn't want to fight the church - he wants to join it. (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:12-15; 1 Timothy 4:1)<br />
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82. Undiscerning believers think it a profound ministry strategy to join forces with unregenerate people in forwarding the gospel. Unwittingly, they harness Jesus Christ, the Worthy One, with Belial or Satan, the worthless one, in an unholy alliance - the very essence of being unequally yoked. (2 Corinthians 6:15)<br />
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83. "Ephraim is joined to idols. Let him alone." (Hosea 4:17)<br />
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84. We are not, however, called to isolationism. We are called to be salt and light in the world. We are to be faithful witnesses of God's mercy, love and grace to the lost and dying. We are to cultivate personal relationships with unbelievers, love our neighbor and our enemy, serve them and share our faith with them. (Matthew 5:13-16; 40-44)<br />
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85. We are to be in the world…but not of it - and this is our greatest challenge. Separation is not being divorced from contact with the world, but from complicity with and conformity to it. (1 John 2:15-17)<br />
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86. For instance, it is not unbiblical to consult non-Christian experts in matters of business, craft or trade (though whenever possible, Christian experts respected in these fields are preferable because of a shared integrity), but we can never engage in intimate binding, indissoluble relationships, alliances or partnerships that result in shared responsibility or authority for ministry purposes. (Deuteronomy 22:9-11; Philippians 2:14-15)<br />
<br />
87. The promise of increased financial resources, wider distribution and a larger audience is not a justification for the surrender of our spiritual autonomy. (Luke 4:4-12; Ephesians 5:8-12)</blockquote>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">This is what Paul is essentially saying in this passage:</span> there can be absolutely no partnership with nonbelievers in a spiritual enterprise or ministry - none. That would include trying to meld other faiths with the Christian faith for the sake of an ecumenical unity (syncretism). This would also include secular businesses who want to purchase Christian ministries or entities.<br />
<br />
When it is fashionable for unsaved people representing multi-national conglomerates, to buy up Christian based companies founded as ministries for the furtherance of the gospel and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that have functioned in music, book publishing ministry, etc. - then we as a church today need to take a step back and evaluate this trend carefully through the lens of Scripture.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We must remember Paul's words in 2 Cor. 2:17,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"we are not like many who peddle the Word of God for profit."</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />IOW, we are not like those who want to wholesale<br />the truth of God's Word as bargain bin merchandise<br />for the purpose and motive of financial gain.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
There has never been a time where the gospel has been a popular thing in the world in which we live. There is an inherent offense to the cross beloved. It is not an acceptable nor enticing message to say to a lost world: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">-Luke 14:26-27</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Let's see someone put that on a greeting card.</span></span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
The gospel has never been profitable for the world to own for its own profitability - until now. <span class="Apple-style-span">What does it say then about the content of the gospel that is being presented today so that unsaved people find it so attractive rather than offensive that they want to own the very ministry who is supposed to represent faithfully that same gospel? Could you imagine Nero ever wanting to meet with Paul to buy his ministry? Could you imagine Peter cutting a deal with the Judaizers to expand his market platform? Never!</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The servant is not greater than the Master beloved;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and the Master suffered greatly because the world hated Him.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now if the world hated Him, they will hate us;</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and even demand our blood for knowing Christ and making Him known.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.</span></span></div>
<div>
<br />
I think it is not unlikely conclusion to assert that when the world around us finds the gospel we proclaim as an invitation for building up their bottom line, then the gospel that they are hearing is not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ at all. Just a watered-down substitute; a diluted glass of cheap grace masquerading as the genuine article.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">My dear friend, Dr. John MacArthur,</span> offers the following wisdom on this issue when saying:<br />
<blockquote style="font-style: italic;">
”It's very much like modern Christianity today, by the way, that seeks to blend Christianity with popular culture, wants to make Christianity more popular, less different, more palatable, less offensive, less narrow, less exclusive. And the result of it is that true Christianity in the purity of God's Word gets corrupted by compromise and the church can become useless and shameful and blasphemous in mocking the truth. For believers there can be no compromise. We cannot engage ourselves with unbelievers in any spiritual enterprise. That's the issue. "Do not be bound together with unbelievers," that is what he commands that sets this text in motion. And it is an unmistakable call to believers to separate from unbelievers. No one could miss that that's what it's saying. The question is, what does it mean?<br />
<br />
And as I said last time, it is essential to understand what it means but first of all what it does not mean. Paul is not saying, cut off all contact with non-Christians. He's not saying that because we have to reach them with the gospel. That is not the issue. He's not saying don't evangelize the unconverted, don't confront people in false religions. He's not saying that. We must do that.<br />
<br />
The issue then is religious cooperation...<br />
<br />
He is also not saying that you can't work or play or do business or be engaged in common earthly enterprise with unbelievers. He's not saying that, of course you can. What he is saying is you cannot link up with unbelievers in religious causes...or religious enterprises... You can't engage them in anything that involves ministry, teaching, or worship. Where there is ministry, teaching and worship there has to be absolute separation.<br />
<br />
So he's referring in actuality to harnessing up believers and unbelievers in any common religious, spiritual enterprise. The two cannot be yoked together anymore than an ox and an ass can pull a straight furrow when under the same yoke, as Deuteronomy 22:10 forbids. But that is precisely what the Corinthians were doing.”</blockquote>
<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">This is the issue before us.</span> When secular companies see Christian companies, designed for ministry in making Christ known, grow to a place where they are generating a lot of money, it is understandable why they would want to buy them up; expand that marketplace; and profit financially from that acquisition. I do not fault the world for that; I do fault, however, the believers for selling it to them - they should know better.<br />
<br />
There will always be a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Acts+8%3A14-24">“Simon the Sorcerer”</a></span> who sees the crowds and the effects of the gospel and wants to <span style="font-style: italic;">“purchase with money the gift of the Holy Spirit.”</span> But genuine ministry cannot surrender its spiritual autonomy and authority to nonbelievers - never.<br />
<br />
This is what I told several CCM executives ten years ago when the Christian music industry was being bought out in accelerated rates. It is why I left the industry. I would be unequally yoked with nonbelievers in a spiritual enterprise or ministry if I would have stayed. Now I realize that the standard pragmatic, Arminian argument is: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"but think of how many more CD’s or books or greeting cards we could sell? I mean, if EMI or Sony or Rupert Murdoch hadn’t bought us out, our Christ-centered products wouldn’t have made it into mainstream stores and think of how many wouldn’t have been reached if we didn’t do this?”</span> Blah, blah, blah.<br />
<br />
The world cannot own, operate, control, or manage Christian ministry designed to further the gospel; preach the Word; encourage worship; evangelism; discipleship, etc. It is forbidden. Those would seek to justify their alliances with nonbelievers in a spiritual enterprise or ministry are violating the clear command of God’s Word.</div>
<div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0gzXi2BsF1grf7SyuwNoKJtPoBeZapfpgcG9gP7vBSpFH4X82f-0Gk-zvTqVySYX9szTNKfrx5fS7Nqv-8P24r4GNUlIHC4LxgclhdaCu0XED26TA5ADpchXHTOaWHt7G5YF/s1600-h/LoveYourNeighborMk12-31_fs.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0gzXi2BsF1grf7SyuwNoKJtPoBeZapfpgcG9gP7vBSpFH4X82f-0Gk-zvTqVySYX9szTNKfrx5fS7Nqv-8P24r4GNUlIHC4LxgclhdaCu0XED26TA5ADpchXHTOaWHt7G5YF/s400/LoveYourNeighborMk12-31_fs.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210021561666676258" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Be in the world;</span></span></span></span> be doctors, and lawyers, and factory workers; bankers; and politicians; and salesmen; and educators; and stock brokers; and models; and actors, musicians, and entertainers; and auto-workers; etc. that are honoring the Lord as faithful witnesses of the gospel to your employers and co-workers. BUT, if IBM, AT&T, General Motors, etc. wanted to own a Christian ministry it would be prohibited by God’s Word.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">But don't be of the world:</span></span></span> why would any Christian involved in ministry go to nonbelievers to solicit their financial support to further their spiritual enterprise or ministry anyway? Can you imagine Paul appealing to Nero to bank roll through corporate acquisition the ministry? Unfathomable. That is for individual believers and the local church to fund (1 Cor. 9:1-18; 3 John 5-9). What the world needs to hear is not a business plan by Christian publishers, music companies, greeting card companies and the like to expand their bottom line, shelf space, and market Q; what they need to hear is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ - to repent of their sins, forsaking all to follow Him.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Be in the world;</span> be involved in your communities; love your neighbors; do good work at your place of employ; honor the Lord with excellence in those things. <span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;"></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">But don’t be of the world.</span> If a nonbeliever is touched by the young people being changed in your area, don’t seek to approach them for co-ownership of your work, approach them with the life-giving truths of the gospel.<br />
<br />
Amen?<br />
<br />
The combox is yours.</div>
SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com88tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1152024410597703382014-07-05T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-05T09:20:05.824-04:00Happy July 4th-America Celebrates Its 238th...the stewardship of freedom and faith<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/FLAGTALL.0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/FLAGTALL.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a> We at CampOnThis celebrate our nations independence and are grateful for the sacrifice of the many men and women who have given their lives to protect the freedoms we so richly enjoy in our great land—especially those fighting the war in Iraq currently. We should never take them or our freedom for granted. To all the families who have sons and daughters in the military today, our prayers are with you and your children; we appreciate you greatly!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: red;">Freedom</span> <span style="color: black;">is a precious thing</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">It is not the desire to do what we want, but the power to do what we ought. </span></span><br />
Burning the American flag is not an expression of freedom, but of disdain for our nation, its constitution, and its citizens. Taking the life of an unborn child is not an expression of freedom, but a complete disregard for the sanctity of human life. Gay marriage is not an expression of freedom, but of disrepute for God's divine design of marriage.<br />
<br />
This is key for the church to think about—doing what we ought to do, not just what is expedient to do. As the church is gallingly trying to reinvent itself today to adapt to the tensions, struggles, moorings and beliefs of our postmodern world, we must never forget beloved: <i>the cross waves higher than the flag.</i> I am proud to be an American and thank the Lord for our great nation; but first and foremost, I am a citizen of heaven and my principal allegiance in this life is to the Lord Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-weight: bold;">As Christians, we have a stewardship to use the freedom we enjoy in this great country as a voice for the faith.</span><br />
The Lord has given every Christian the duty of being a faithful witness and testimony to His gospel of grace. We are to be salt and light in the sphere of influence that the Lord has sovereignly placed us. Right where we live, whether we are 11 or 88, we can be a witness for the Lord and His truth. The most tool for evangelizing this world is the transformed life lived out, right where we live.<br />
<br />
But some believers today (and thankfully they are decreasing in number) see the way to transform our nation is through the political realm, not by proclaiming the gospel.<br />
<br />
In response to their cobelligerence, I submit the following:<br />
<blockquote style="font-style: italic;">
If every member of Congress were Christians; if every member of the Supreme Court were saved; if every judicial appointee by the President confessed Christ as Lord; and if the President and every member of his cabinet were born again, it would have little impact upon the spiritual condition of our nation.</blockquote>
God has not sanctioned the government to set the spiritual tone of our land. That influence and power comes through the ministry of the local church by the proclamation of the gospel (Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus).<br />
<br />
You cannot call boldly to repentance those to whom you are beholding to pay political capital. Evangelical political activism is a playground for Christians who really don’t believe in the transforming power of the gospel and think that legislation is the key to societal moral restitution rather than regeneration.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/cross11.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/cross11.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px;" /></a><span style="color: #000099; font-weight: bold;">In trying to legislate a cultural morality, they unwittingly remove the offense of the cross.</span> Their tongues can't help then but stutter instead of speaking clearly when given opportunity to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because faith to them must be cloaked in politics; and relationships within those circles guarded, courted and smoothed over, rather than confronted and called to repentance.<br />
<br />
They do this for the purpose of garnering acceptance in the governmental arena, to insure continued access to mainstream media, and shore up alliances with nonbelievers for the purpose of moral recovery through the veneer of family-values living. Politics is the art of compromise and makes poor bedfellows for anyone in genuine biblical ministry.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-weight: bold;">When Daniel Webster</span> was asked why he attended a little country church and didn’t attend the politically acceptable church in the heart of town, he replied, <i>“at that church downtown they preach to Daniel Webster the statesman; in that little country church, they preach to Daniel Webster the sinner.”</i><br />
<br />
If a pastor of a church were to run for political office and was elected President of the United States, he'd be stepping down. For though the President has weighty duties and responsibilities, the care for the souls of men through the gospel is far greater— for it is an eternal work that the servant of Christ does.<br />
<br />
God is <span style="font-style: italic;">"He who sits in the heavens [and] laughs..."</span> the Psalmist says. At what; at who? <span style="font-style: italic;">"...the rulers that take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed." </span><br />
<br />
Better is the ministry of the Lord's design, than the playground of politics. Better to preach the Word; better to herald His gospel; better to love your neighbor; and better to call lost people to repentance by grace through faith in Christ alone.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-weight: bold;">Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July with your family and friends.</span><br />
<br />
His Truth is Marching On...<br />
Steve<br />
Acts 20:24SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1139335836272199952014-07-05T06:30:00.000-04:002015-07-07T08:55:19.574-04:00THE CROSS WAVES HIGHER THAN THE FLAG...States acknowledge a Creator, but not Christ<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/americanflag.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/americanflag.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 302px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 235px;" /></a><b style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><i style="color: #660000;">“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation”</i> –1 Peter 2:11-12</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Someone sent me this list below on state constitutions that I found very interesting and thought that you would as well. But first, a few preparatory remarks would be in order.</i><br />
<br />
The foundation for the very fabric of our society lies not solely in the rule of law, but in the rule of faith as well. The rule of law, by its very nature, protects and insures the values born out of faith; and faith, due to its very nature abhorres chaos, lawlessness, and injurious living; seeks to honor and protect the rule of law.<br />
<br />
Though the times we live in are increasingly hostile to biblical Christianity, what a great opportunity we have to proclaim the glorious good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to let our light shine before others who are desperately in need of a Savior.<br />
<br />
Therefore, as you pray, may I encourage to pray not for the protection of our religious rights; but to pray for those that God Himself has established, appointed and instituted as "His ministers" for the order and good of society. Pray for all your local, state, and federal authorities that govern our land. Pray that our elected officials would rule with justice, mercy, and sobriety. Pray for fellow-believers in government who have to walk between the tension of political expediency, compromise <i>and</i> biblical authority, that they would fulfill their duty to their constituents, calling, the constitution, and at the same time bring honor and glory to the Lord. Pray that they would have the strength of divine courage to live out convictions of conscience guided by <i>"the word of truth"</i> regardless of outcome or personal erosion to their legislative vocation. To be sure, our hope lies in the reality that God is in control of all things; that the one true Sovereign Judge of all raises men up to positions of authority and power; and brings men down to the valley of their own moorings and lusts; for His own purposes, after the counsel of His own will, for His glory alone, and for His eternal pleasure—-not ours (Cf, 1 Timothy 2:1-5; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13:17).<br />
<br />
In light of this being an election season with religious "talk" playing nemesis to party line mantra, surely faith, freedom, family, and fortune will be at the center of the rhetoric. And no issue fuels the pragmatics of legislative design more than that of "the separation of church and state." There is this unexplained mass confusion on what the Founders of our Constitution truly intended in the First Amendment--which says: <i>"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."</i><br />
<br />
Any pedestrian interpretation of that simple and profound statement is obvious and clear. But somewhere along the way our federal courts, including our Supreme Court, have reinterpreted the First Ammendment of the U. S. Constitution to mean that free speech about God, Jesus Christ and the Bible is prohibited on the property of or within the hallowed walls of government. This on the one hand is easily refuted by the simple fact that ALL fifty states acknowledge God in the very first sentences of their state constitutions as well as our own Supreme Court and both House and Senate of Congress; all of which begin their respective sessions with a prayer. Prayer, religious discussion, posting and reading of Scripture, witness of the gospel, etc. <i>is not</i> prohibited by our Constitution. In fact, its very freedom is protected.<br />
<br />
Though all of The Founding Fathers were not genuine believers in Jesus Christ, it is obvious that they clearly did NOT intend for America to be founded on the sandy foundations of paganism.<br />
<br />
Though I am not in favor of Christians using the legislative process to procure spiritual change, protect religious or promote faith initiatives; I would encourage you to read the following extractions from every states consitution with an informed eye and I think you'll come to the same conclusion that I did, that <i>the cross waves higher than the flag!</i><br />
<br />
<b>Alabama 1901, Preamble.</b> We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution ...<br />
<br />
<b>Alaska 1956, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land ...<br />
<br />
<b>Arizona 1911, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution...<br />
<br />
<b>Arkansas 1874, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government...<br />
<br />
<b>California 1879, Preamble.</b> We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom ..<br />
<br />
<b>Colorado 1876, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe.<br />
<br />
<b>Connecticut 1818, Preamble.</b> The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy. . .<br />
<br />
<b>Delaware 1897, Preamble.</b> Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences ...<br />
<br />
<b>Florida 1885, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty establish this Constitution...<br />
<br />
<b>Georgia 1777, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution...<br />
<br />
<b>Hawaii 1959, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Hawaii, Grateful for Divine Guidance ... establish this Constitution.<br />
<br />
<b>Idaho 1889, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings ...<br />
<br />
<b>Illinois 1870, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.<br />
<br />
<b>Indiana 1851, Preamble.</b> We, the People of the State of Indiana, grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to chose our form of government.<br />
<br />
<b>Iowa 1857, Preamble.</b> We, the People of the State of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings establish this Constitution<br />
<br />
<b>Kansas 1859, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Kansas, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.<br />
<br />
<b>Kentucky 1891, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the Commonwealth of grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties...<br />
<br />
<b>Louisiana 1921, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Louisiana, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.<br />
<br />
<b>Maine 1820, Preamble.</b> We the People of Maine .. acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity ... and imploring His aid and direction.<br />
<br />
<b>Maryland 1776, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty...<br />
<br />
<b>Massachusetts 1780, Preamble.</b> We...the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe ... in the course of His Providence, and opportunity .and devoutly imploring His direction ...<br />
<br />
<b>Michigan 1908, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Michigan, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this Constitution...<br />
<br />
<b>Minnesota, 1857, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings<br />
<br />
<b>Mississippi 1890, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.<br />
<br />
<b>Missouri 1845, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness ... establish this Constitution ..<br />
<br />
<b>Montana 1889, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty. establish this Constitution . .<br />
<br />
<b>Nebraska 1875, Preamble.</b> We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom .. establish this Constitution .<br />
<br />
<b>Nevada 1864, Preamble.</b> We the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom establish this Constitution....<br />
<br />
<b>New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V.</b> Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.<br />
<br />
<b>New Jersey 1844, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors ..<br />
<br />
<b>New Mexico 1911, Preamble.</b> We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty ..<br />
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<b>New York 1846, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.<br />
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<b>North Carolina 1868, Preamble.</b> We the people of the State North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, a acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those ..<br />
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<b>North Dakota 1889, Preamble.</b> We, the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain...<br />
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<b>Ohio 1852, Preamble.</b> We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common ...<br />
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<b>Oklahoma 1907, Preamble.</b> Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty ... establish this ..<br />
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<b>Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I. Section 2.</b> All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences..<br />
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<b>Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance<br />
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<b>Rhode Island 1842, Preamble.</b> We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing<br />
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<b>South Carolina, 1778, Preamble.</b> We, the people of he State of South Carolina. grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution.<br />
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<b>South Dakota 1889, Preamble.</b> We, the people of South Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties ... establish this<br />
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<b>Tennessee 1796, Art. XI.III.</b> That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience...<br />
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<b>Texas 1845, Preamble.</b> We the People of the Republic of Texas, acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.<br />
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<b>Utah 1896, Preamble.</b> Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution ..<br />
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<b>Vermont 1777, Preamble.</b> Whereas all government ought to.. enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man ...<br />
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<b>Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI ...</b> Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator ... can be directed only by Reason ... and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other ...<br />
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<b>Washington 1889, Preamble.</b> We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution ...<br />
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<b>West Virginia 1872, Preamble.</b> Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia . reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God ...<br />
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<b>Wisconsin 1848, Preamble.</b> We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility...<br />
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<b>Wyoming 1890, Preamble.</b> We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties... establish this Constitution...<br />
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<a class="sub" href="http://www.a1m.org/">CLICK HERE to visit AudienceONE Ministries</a>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1120937938859161772014-01-02T03:33:00.000-05:002014-01-02T13:17:26.610-05:00WHAT BRINGS SATAN PLEASURE?...when the applause of hell becomes the blind delight of evangelicalism<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB9MU0h9O6G8p8-5yBqT-Cpsjm1PGOgX1WmAF7tggiG56UXOXoS86rnyfV43nwXI-Qter4de-hj9AswPeDPeEpC0Hrgs2ajai92T3O9ye0EpwzWAOqcamrBsHgytNOFPiTdpQ/s1600-h/button0648.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB9MU0h9O6G8p8-5yBqT-Cpsjm1PGOgX1WmAF7tggiG56UXOXoS86rnyfV43nwXI-Qter4de-hj9AswPeDPeEpC0Hrgs2ajai92T3O9ye0EpwzWAOqcamrBsHgytNOFPiTdpQ/s400/button0648.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171547137485875490" border="0" /></a><b>1.</b> When men of God abandon the preaching of the gospel to become "social engineers and would be politicians" consumed with the temporary affairs of society<br /><b><br />2.</b> When the preaching of God's Word is substituted with relational anecdotal experience, personal happiness programs, health and wealth gospel, and human potentiality makeovers<br /><b><br />3.</b> When pastors no longer shepherd God's people and the pulpits become playgrounds<br /><b><br />4.</b> When psychology replaces biblical discipleship<br /><b><br />5.</b> When men of God are flattered to become "late night talk show guests" on cultural and spiritual issues, but never once open up the Bible to develop their answers; or call the nation, other guests, or the talk show host to repentance by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation; they've simply become culturally acceptable biblical motivational speakers thinking that access to mainstream media means they are making an impact<br /><b><br />6.</b> When the vicar of Rome is acknowledged as the vicar of Christ<br /><b><br />7.</b> When sin is called sickness; when disobedience is called disease; and when adultery is called addiction<br /><b><br />8.</b> When money becomes a prerequisite for ministry by charging people for the gospel, worship, discipleship, counseling, evangelism, etc.<br /><b><br />9.</b> When we are liked by all people; when the world is not offended by the message we represent and flatters us for being "relevant and nice"<br /><b><br />10.</b> When church becomes something we only do one hour a week on one day a week<br /><b><br />11.</b> When prayer becomes the seldom thing we do<br /><b><br />12.</b> When brothers and sisters hold ought against each other in bitterness and unforgiveness<br /><b><br />13.</b> When church discipline of sin ceases<br /><b><br />14.</b> When irreconcilable differences becomes an acceptable reason to break the covenant of marriage<br /><b><br />15.</b> When the goal of faith is no longer holiness, but happiness<br /><b><br />16.</b> When the object of faith is no longer Christ, but self<br /><b><br />17.</b> When the foundation of faith is no longer the Scriptures, but my personal experience<br /><b><br />18.</b> When error is tolerated and accepted as truth<br /><b><br />19.</b> When Christians partner with nonbelievers in the work of the ministry<br /><b><br />20.</b> When ministries are enticed to give up their autonomy and become owned by the world for just a little more money and a little more personal promotion<br /><b><br />21.</b> When the worship and glory of God is treated as entertainment<br /><b><br />22.</b> When the church bows the knee to the seminaries and surrenders her God-given duty of primary authority to train men for pastoral ministry (2 Tim. 2:1-2). Academic schools of religious learning make students - but not men of God.<br /><b><br />23.</b> When men personally profit from the sale of God's Word<br /><b><br />24.</b> When repentance from sin, justification by faith, the law, the active and passive obedience of Christ, penal substitutionary atonement, are no longer considered part of the gospel<br /><b><br />25.</b> When salvation is no longer proclaimed as being by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, on the Word alone, to the glory of God alone<br /><b><br />26.</b> When partnering with Romanism, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Church of Christ (Bostonian), Seventh Day Adventists, Islamic moralists, Atheists, Agnostics, etc., by divorcing the centrality of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ from their burden for social change, and therefore, indirectly legitimize them as being "morally sound and culturally chaste" by naive evangelical leaders who have forgotten their heritage, sold their spiritual birthright, and have abandoned sound doctrine for the sole purpose of establishing politically-correct alliances in order to try and turn back the tide of moral decay through cultural co-belligerence.<br /><b><br />27.</b> When the offense of the cross is removed for cultural acceptance, media accessibility and endorsement<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">28.</span> When the gospel is contextualized rather than being contended for, proclaimed and heralded<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">29.</span> When the sacred desk is no longer used for biblical exposition, but for comedic stand up by ribald raconteurs who delight in smutty humor, foul language, graphic sensuality, and using the Lord's name as a punchline for their jokes<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">30</span>. When the Word of God is not clearly taught, explained, exegeted, exposited, or preached from the pulpits of every true gospel church around the world<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">31. </span>When picketing sinners is more acceptable than loving sinners</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">32.</span> When "God is my girlfriend" songs are considered expressions of biblical worship; and the use of secular music defines our praise</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">33.</span> When the denial of the One Triune God of the Bible in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - coequal, coeternal and coexisting from all eternity is considered orthodox teaching</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">34.</span> And when the certainty of hell, eternal judgment, divine wrath, and everlasting perdition is considered myth</div>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1133442145142132842013-11-30T08:09:00.000-05:002013-11-29T10:09:27.552-05:00HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS...a biblical call to help people with AIDS<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">There is no cure for H-I-V; <br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">but there is for S-I-N in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ!</span></span></span></span><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/AIDS%20logo2.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/AIDS%20logo2.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><!--Flash_Start--><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="173" height="85" align="left"><param name="movie" value="http://imavex.vo.llnwd.net/llnw_cdn/01064ABAARwAAAAcDla.yAHOyuqp4rWwDUm81plN8YfylUhHzGFKJe3K3_hqfrzfsVkTwSBnjGDpBqlN83l7NYZKoPZFQ_Z_Z5cic7jBr/A1M/DoYouFeelTheirPain1_Low.swf"><param name="quality" value="high"><embed src="http://imavex.vo.llnwd.net/llnw_cdn/01064ABAARwAAAAcDla.yAHOyuqp4rWwDUm81plN8YfylUhHzGFKJe3K3_hqfrzfsVkTwSBnjGDpBqlN83l7NYZKoPZFQ_Z_Z5cic7jBr/A1M/DoYouFeelTheirPain1_Low.swf" quality="high" align="left" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="173" height="85"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">This Sunday is World AIDS Day...</span></b></span> <div>It is a day for us all to <i>remember</i> those who are infected with the AIDS virus--those who are HIV positive and to <i>reflect</i> on how little we as Christians have done in regards to this important issue; and a day to <i>reflect</i> the unavoidable urgency to be doing much more than we are in addressing this issue from a biblical world view both in precept and practice. And it is also a day to begin to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">reach out</span> to those who are HIV infected with the glorious good news of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!<br /><br />The frightening reality is that almost half of all people infected with HIV in the U.S. have died since first detection of the AIDS virus. And the epidemic in African countries and some Caribbean countries as well shockingly leave us speechless as to the untold millions of those HIV infected and the subsequent deaths.<br /><br />AIDS is not the new leprosy; it is not God's judgment specifically against homosexuality as we think of O.T. cataclysmic judgment against entire cities or nations for sinful behavior (i.e. Sodom and Gomorrah). We could rightly say that there is personal judgment or responsibility to everyone who has contracted this disease due to homosexuality, sexual promiscuity among heterosexuals, or by illegal IV drug use (see Romans 1:26-27). However, AIDS is not solely a "gay disease" or an issue that the homosexual community is responsible for or faces alone. AIDS affects us all. In Africa, AIDS is primarily a heterosexual disease and many children are now orphans having lost both mother and father due to this pandemic.<br /><br /><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Love Your Neighbor...Even if They Have AIDS</span></b></span><br />Why should Christians get involved in such a controversial and life-threatening disease? The answer is simple. It is the second of the two great commandments: <i>"love your neighbor as you love yourself."</i> Dying people do not need bigotry, hatred, disdain, self-righteous loathing, or societal isolation. They need a Savior and need to know the hope that is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. I was asked at an AIDS gathering under the Bush Administration in Washington D.C. a few years ago June a thought-provoking question by one of the doctors seated at my dinner table. He said, <i>"Steve, isn't the most loving thing a Christian like yourself should do for someone who is HIV positive is give them dignity in their dying?"</i> I thought for a moment and responded. <i>"The most <b>unloving</b> thing that I as a Christian could do for someone facing certian death due to HIV infection is give them only dignity in their dying."</i> Shocked as our table was, I followed up with these certain words, <i>"for you see, giving someone all the dignity in dying in this life doesn't mean a thing if they upon giving their last breath wake up in perdition to be tormented by God's wrath for all eternity."</i> I was not trying to be harsh, but truthful. Sometimes the "tyranny of the urgent" can out weigh the "need of the important." When dealing with AIDS we must keep eternity in view.<br /><br /><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The Dignity of the Gospel</span></b></span><br />The most dignifying thing we can do as Christians, (while helping their physical plight) is to share the glorious good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. <i><b>There is no cure currently for H-I-V, but there is for S-I-N in the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.</b></i> In the midst of the devastating plight for those who have AIDS. there is also a wonderful opportunity for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to bring hope into very hopeless situations by loving their neighbor and being Christlike right in the center of their situation. And we can do this by proclaiming the gospel; for as we know in Christ Jesus there is the hope of eternal life beyond any sickness or disease that any of us might contract. </div><div><br /></div><div>So what should be our biblical mandate? Years ago when I got involved with this issue, I came up with a phrase that might assist us in getting out of our comfort zone and helping those in your community who have AIDS. It is this: <i>"His holiness not compromised; yet His mercy not restrained."</i><br /><br /><span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"His holiness not compromised..."</span></i></b></span><br />God does not condone sexual promiscuity whether gay or straight--both are an offense to His holy character. And we must also include illegal IV drug use for even governments are called "ministers of God" (Romans 13:1-5) to restrain evil and keep peace for the general societal good. Its laws are to be honored. That is why there are important laws prohibiting the use of harmful narcotics because of the danger they inherently possess and how they ruin so many young lives, but also because through needle sharing the HIV virus is so easily transmitted as well.<br /><br />Nothing that exalts itself against the character of God should be condoned as right and good. The prophet Isaiah warned against this when saying, <i>"Woe unto them that call good evil and evil good; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter"</i> (Isaiah 5:20). God has a standard for holiness and all His creatures are held accountable to it--even evangelicals. <i>"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"</i> (Romans 3:23).<br /><br /><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">His Inflexible Law and Undeserving Grace</span></b></span><br />The law of God unmasks each one of us doesn't it? For no one can keep perfectly God's law. The Apostle James is right, <i>"if break one commandment we are guilty of breaking all."</i> Isaiah says so convictingly to each of us, <i>"all of [our] righteousness is like dirty filthy rags."</i> Literally, he is comparing our own goodness (works of righteousness) worthy of being compared to a woman's menstral rags or human refuse. God is holy and His holiness cannot be compromised no matter what the social agenda might be or cause one is emotionally drawn to. But holiness without love can be cold-hearted orthodoxy; and love without holiness can lead to empty-headed sentimentality. We need both; holiness and love.<br /><br />God is a God of love. <i>"God demonstrated His own love toward us; in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"</i> (Romans 5:8). That is the motive and power of the cross--God's justice, righteousness, holiness <i>and love</i> was manifested through the once for all propitiatory sacrifice in Jesus Christ the Lord. We are told by the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts chapter seventeen verse thirty to <i>"command all people everywhere to repent."</i> As stated before, God doesn't condone homosexuality, promiscuity among heterosexuals, illegal IV drug use, etc. (And He doesn't condone the self-righteousness attitudes of Christians either.) But, the good news is He doesn't leave us to our sin; He provides a way of escape--forever! And in response to His forgiveness He calls us to <i>"go into all the world and make disciples."</i> And that includes the world of AIDS.<br /><br />This should be our first impulse in response to the holiness of God in helping those that are HIV infected--to see them repent and come to salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. Why is this? Because if we have been given the undeserved grace of the Lord for the forgiveness of our sins, how much more should we be patient and gracious to all who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior? Do you remember the day that God by His grace arrested your life and granted you saving faith? How tremendous it was to be translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love? All our sins forgiven--past, present and future sins--no matter what we had done or who we had done it with--the Lord by His grace saved us.<br /><br /><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Fire Can Never Make Ice</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> </span><br />If you have tasted the kindness of the Lord then you <i>will</i> share His life-giving truth with another. It is unavoidable. I have had so many opportunities to share the gospel with AIDS patients and to be a spectator of God's grace in those situations. Not one of them have ever been offended by sharing the truth of their sin and the good news of the gospel. They may have been offended because of the cross, but never because of the sharing. Many, in fact, have responded to the gospel of grace and what a joy to see another sinner repent for salvation in Christ alone. People with AIDS are much nearer the grave, eternity stares them in the eye and they need to know how to have life everlasting. As one AIDS patient told me after he had received the Lord, <i>"Steve, I only have a few weeks left to live, but I want to spend my last days telling others about Christ and how they too can have eternal life in Jesus. For now I know that to be 'absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!'"</i> He died one month later.<br /><br />May I encourage you today to lovingly share that call of repentance to follow Christ even if they only have a few days or weeks to live.<br /><br /><span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"yet His mercy not restrained."</span></i></b></span><br />It is sad that many believers won't help those that are HIV positive because they think they are better than those with this disease; and this for one main reason--most people who contract the AIDS virus in this country come from the homosexual community (Contrarily in Africa, it is primarily contracted through heterosexual transmission). The church in America for the most part has been isolated from the gay community that we have lost opportunity, and in some cases abrogated our duty, in sharing the gospel with them.<br /><br />The Apostle Paul gives the antidote again for this problem too. In Titus 3:3 he writes, <i>"For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another."</i> Homosexuality is not the unpardonable sin ladies and gentlemen... Though I have never been tempted or caught up in that particular sin--my sin issues were far worse. I had a worse problem than any prostitute or drug addict ever dreamed of. I had a worse problem than homosexuality in my life. You see, I suffered from the most severe of all sins: <i>I was consumed with self-righteous religious pride. Biblically, it is the most grievous kind of iniquity.</i> Paul is saying here that all of us are to have empathy for all who do not know the Lord because we all were consumed with the sinfulness of sin before we met the Lord. We are not to sit back in our smug evangelical chairs and condescendingly, with theological scorn, treat with religious disdain and arrogance those who do not know the Lord. Those who may have AIDS. Listen <i>"His mercy should not be restrained."</i> How dare we pass judgement on another who has not Christ rather than share the powerful message of hope in the gospel of grace? Are we willing to risk our carefully cultivated reputations for another? Are we willing to risk our very lives in sharing the gospel with another? To paraphrase Amy Carmichael, <i>"if we are not, then we know nothing of Calvary love."</i> In other words, <i>"don't tell them Jesus loves them, until you're ready to love them too."</i><br /><br /><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The Gospel of Jesus Christ</span></b></span><br />And here are our marching orders for today: Paul continues on in Titus 3:4-5 by saying, <i>"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 5 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."</i> At every turn, the Apostle Paul by the divine superintending of the Holy Spirit says we are robbed of all our boasting; we are robbed of all our pride; we are robbed of our very selves. <i>"He saved us"</i>--not because we are better than others; or wiser than others; or more righteous than others--<i>"not according to works done by us in righteousness."</i> NO! He saved us simply according to His own purpose, mercy and grace. And needless to say, if He can save us--He can save them too! Praise be to the Lord that we are saved not by the goodness of our works, but according to the riches of His grace. Amen? I wrote a song about people with AIDS several years ago that I sang at the Word AIDS Medical conference in San Francisco in 1990. The chorus says, <i>"Do you feel their pain? Has it touched your life; can you taste the salt in the tears they cry? Will you love them more than the hate has been? Will you love them back to LIFE again?"</i> (You can listen to this song above on the AIM Radio Player.)<br /><br />Give yourself away this year for Christmas beloved. Get out of your comfort zone and share with someone the greatest gift of all--the gospel of Jesus Christ--God's <i>"unspeakable gift to us."</i> And as you do remember: His holiness not compromised; yet His mercy not restrained.<br /><br />Rescue the Perishing,<br />Steve Camp<br />1 John 3:16-17</div></div>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com144tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-7350711537832001312013-10-27T08:03:00.000-04:002013-10-27T08:06:00.052-04:00REFORMATION: DELIVER US FROM PRIESTCRAFT AND POPISH OWLS...liars by trade, and deceivers by profession<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVY5YaMHOnWCDs_1L4RHgtkOyX8hJGcx7EnevfK0C4-xWk1-LNNggaJzItKH7lsGWhCTCrzw2Fk_IKU3kWxC4vk-VS83CcTlI2aWygN6TjRa2K58UePYyQwUDUnqkz4nXpRqG/s1600-h/cardinals.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVY5YaMHOnWCDs_1L4RHgtkOyX8hJGcx7EnevfK0C4-xWk1-LNNggaJzItKH7lsGWhCTCrzw2Fk_IKU3kWxC4vk-VS83CcTlI2aWygN6TjRa2K58UePYyQwUDUnqkz4nXpRqG/s400/cardinals.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262938166994354418" /></a><div></div>Reformation doesn't come easy.<br /><br />It is won on the spiritual battlefield with spiritual weapons (2 Cor. 10:1-6; Eph. 6:10-18). It is not for those who want to promote retreats and weekend revivals; who desire men of God to go along to get along. It takes men of courage; men of conviction; men of the Scriptures; men of prayer; men of the gospel; and men of the Spirit. They are not men defined by their times; but men defined by the truth!<div><br /></div><div>It is for those who are unafraid to call sacerdotalism's practice sorcery and worldly methodology seduction. Beware of the culturally relevant - for they seek not the will or glory of God, but the building of their own kingdoms. To such a time Spurgeon pens the following powerful words written below. They are designed to unmask Romanism's baptismal rite to infants as false religion and false gospel. They are not for the faint of heart or those who embrace a sentimental form of Christianity. They are straight-forward weighty words; without scatology and without compromise.</div><div><br /></div><div>We have among us modern day papists promoting still the Galatian heresy - that is a given. But my friends, where are all the Luther's unfazed and unconcerned about the popularity of men and the politics of religion that will speak the truth of God's Word absent of their own agenda to these things once again?</div><div><br /></div><div>Keep pounding on Wittenberg's Door beloved. </div><div>We need a new Reformation today. </div><div><br /></div><div>Campi</div><div>2 Cor. 4:1-7<br /><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">An Excerpt by C. H. Spurgeon</span></span></div><blockquote>Why, there are those who pretend to save souls by curious tricks, intricate manoeuvres, and dexterous posture-making! A basin of water, half-a-dozen drops, certain syllables—heigh, presto—the infant is made a child of God, a member of Christ, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven! This aqueous regeneration surpasses my belief; it is a trick which I do not understand: the initiated only can perform the beautiful piece of magic, which excels anything ever attempted by the Wizard of the North. There is a way, too, of winning souls by laying hands upon heads, only the elbows of the aforesaid hands must be encased in lawn, and then the machinery acts, and there is grace conferred by blessed fingers! I must confess I do not understand the occult science, but at this I need not wonder, for the profession of saving souls by such juggling can only be carried out by certain favoured persons who have received apostolical succession direct from Judas Iscariot. This episcopal confirmation, when men pretend that it confers grace, is an infamous piece of juggling. The whole thing is an abomination. Only to think that, in this nineteenth century, there should be men who preach lip salvation by sacraments, and salvation by themselves, forsooth!<br /><br />Why, sirs, it is surely too late in the day to come to us with this drivel! Priestcraft, let us hope, is an anachronism, and the sacramental theory out of date. These things might have done for those who could not read, and in the days when books were scarce; but ever since the day when the glorious Luther was helped by God to proclaim with thunder-claps the emancipating truth, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,"</span> there has been too much light for these Popish owls. Let them go back to their ivy-mantled towers, and complain to the moon of those who spoiled of old their kingdom of darkness. Let shaven crowns go to Bedlam, and scarlet hats to the scarlet harlot, but let not Englishmen yield them respect. Modern Tractarianism is a bastard Popery, too mean, too shifty, too double-dealing to delude men of honest minds.<br /><br />If we win souls, it shall be by other arts than Jesuits and shavelings can teach us. Trust not in any man who pretends to priesthood. Priests are liars by trade, and deceivers by profession. We cannot save souls in their theatrical way, and do not want to do so, for we know that with such jugglery as that, Satan will hold the best hand, and laugh at priests as he turns the cards against them at the last.</blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">From Spurgeon's Sermon, </span><a href="http://www.spurgeon.org/misc/sw12.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">"The Soul Winner"</span></a><br /></div>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-74203860262571408322013-09-18T17:00:00.000-04:002013-09-18T18:39:26.040-04:00GLORY IN THE CROSS...where God saved His people from Himself<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/DGJesusNailedtoChrist.0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/DGJesusNailedtoChrist.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/relentless.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/relentless.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><div align="center"><b><span style="color:navy;">GLORY IN THE CROSS</span><br />by steve camp<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">written - 1/3/01</span></span></span></b><br /><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> our faithful High Priest<br />Went beyond the veil as our Prince of Peace<br />Clothed with our sin, its guilt and shame<br />Our sinless Substitute, Jesus His name<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> the law now fulfilled<br />Righteousness displayed on Calvary’s Hill<br />He, Son of Man and God the Son<br />The Lord and the Lamb, our victory won<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> where grace doth abound<br />Where the Man of Sorrows wore transgressions crown<br />Wounded and chastened for our iniquities<br />Our faithful Redeemer, God the Father pleased<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> marked by sin’s crimson stain<br />Grace and forgiveness flows from His precious veins<br />Perfect redemption once for all sacrifice<br />Salvation made secure by the Lord Jesus Christ<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Satan’s power of death destroyed<br />Rendered impotent by The Incarnate Word<br />He crushed the Serpents head upon Golgotha’s tree<br />Our great and dreadful Sovereign, Champion is He<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> the elect have been redeemed<br />O covenant of grace from eternity decreed<br />Worthy is the Lamb slain from all ages past<br />Sinners reconciled, true worshippers at last<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> “It is finished”, the Victor, cried<br />God propitiated, forever satisfied<br />Once enemies now brethren, estranged but brought near<br />His judgment assuaged no bondage nor fear<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Glory in the cross,</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> God forsaken of God<br />Smitten and afflicted, bruised with Heaven’s rod<br />Resurrected triumphant, our Lord, God and King<br />Grave where is thy vict’ry, O death where is thy sting?</span></div><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/relentless.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/relentless.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">and are justified by his grace as a gift, </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">to be received by faith.<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">This was to show God's righteousness, </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">because in his divine forbearance<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">he had passed over former sins. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">It was to show his righteousness at the present time,<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">so that he might be just and the </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.</span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">-Romans 3:24-26</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.</span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">-1 John 4:10</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=hebrews+2%3A9-18"><img style="margin: 0pt 0px 10px 10pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9iAWPVm6MDID0sMNJ-G1vyfJa6rpfvduKiRjGpdM0GXN-ng3us7yYx9-9mRWGXoE-6eOezT2aOSr5cggM7HlzmLMFClBmkzOhsZvHiXSg-98Ver_c2Zqc22zRS3_23PpqafV/s400/Christcross.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112297393352544290" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The real suffering that Christ endured was not at the hand of Pilate's cat-of-nine-tails with the scorpion hook he brutally inflicted upon our Lord's body. No. But the greatest affliction occurred when on the cross our Lord became our divine substitute for us (2 Cor. 5:21) and took our sin, the penalty and guilt of our sin, and all of the Father's wrath that burns against us and our sin that we deserved. He took it for us! As Isaiah 53 says, "It pleased God to crush Him for our iniquities."<br /><br />O what majesty in the midst of such suffering; what glory in the midst of such agony; and what grace,love and mercy in the midst of such sinful man's rebellion. Hallelujah to the King of Righteousness this blessed day of our salvation.<br /><br />And wherever you are today, remember this beloved: that at precisely 3:00pm our Lord cried out from Calvary's tree these eternal words: "IT IS FINISHED!" Never forgot what a wonderful, merciful Savior we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. And He is worthy of our reverence, respect, worship and adoration.<br /></span><br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><div><span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The Cross </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Displays</span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> the Satisfaction of God</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span></span><div><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">-Solus Christus (Christ alone)</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br /></span>One of the key words the N.T. writers use to speak of vicarious penal substitutionary atonement is propitiation (Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:2, 4:10, Heb. 2:17).<br /><br />This word carries with it two ideas: <blockquote style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. to satisfy;</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. to quench, to assuage.</span> </blockquote>Taken in context, Jesus Christ on the cross took not only the guilt and penalty of our sin, but the full wrath of God for His elect. That is what the Apostles Creed means when it says, <i>"…He [Jesus] descended into hell."</i> Jesus literally didn’t go to hell after He died (the false teachings of the Word/Faith movement), but He endured the full weight of God’s eternal wrath for us as our Federal Head on the cross. And in that manner He “descended into hell…” for all those He came to save.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">As a brief side note:</span> the cross was not the triumph of darkness over light; Satan over Jesus - thinking that they had victory over the Son of Man in incarnation by His dying on the cross. As one theologian wrongly asserts:<br /><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"On Golgotha the day gave way to night as Christ sank deeper and deeper into the abyss of damnation. At Bethlehem there were countless angels praising God; on Golgotha legions of darkness filled the impenetrable gloom, hoping that darkness would finally triumph over light."</span></blockquote><div>While I appreciate his passion and his ability at story-telling, that is just not true beloved. Jesus laid down His life for His sheep on the cross and no man (nor Satan himself) took it from Him - not even the legions of darkness. The cross was the death blow to Satan and his minions (Heb. 2:14-15). Jesus crushed the head of that wicked serpent on Calvary and destroyed his works. Amen? It was the death of death in the death of Christ. </div><div><br /></div><div>To God be the glory!</div><div><br /></div><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">God's Wrathful Presence</span></span><br />Hell is not simply the absence of God beloved as some would suggest; hell is His wrathful presence being poured out upon all the ungodly, Satan and his demons forever. Listen, hell would be “Club Med” if it were not for the presence of God’s wrath.<br /><br />This wrath of God that you and I deserve to be poured out upon us in unmitigated gall and ferocity without reprieve was fully poured out upon Jesus on the cross. This is truly miraculous. The sinless Son of Man; the perfect Son of God; the spotless Lamb; and the holy High Priest drank the cup of wrath on our behalf so that we may have peace with God forever. That was the punishment that Christ endured for us; that is penal substitution. This is not “cosmic child abuse” as one (who shall remain unnamed) author refers to it. This is a profound truth and mystery. Whatever eternal wrath comprises, the miracle was that it was compressed into time and poured out on the Son for us as the Father faced the Son and the Son faced the Father and the fullness of His anger was consumed, quenched, and satisfied by the Lord Jesus Christ.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This is what propitiation is:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />wrath assuaged and God satisfied.</span></span><br /></div><br />The sins of the elect (every sin, that would ever be committed, by everyone, who would ever believe) was thrust on Jesus.<br /><br />The prophet Isaiah in his fourth song of the Suffering Servant, gives us the most graphic picture of this once for all propitiatory sacrifice for our sins:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him”</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Isaiah 53:4-6).</span><br /></blockquote>The fullness of the guilt and penalty of ours sins were thrust on Him. And the greatness of my wretched sin and yours would have beeen enough to bear... But it was the burden of the cross, the eternal wrath of a holy God that was poured out upon Jesus Christ. THAT was the cup that only Jesus could drink; that was the cup that He wrestled with in the garden. It was not the cup of death or dying. He wasn’t fearful to walk the way of the cross. Wicked men had gone Golgotha’s way before and were rightly punished for their crimes. Many went laughing, mocking, unafraid, scornful of their insurrections and offenses. They were the worst of criminals deserving to die and punished justly for their crimes.<br /><br />But not so with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was sinless, holy God incarnate; guilty of no crime that humanly deserved this kind of death sentence. As the Apostle Paul has said, <span style="font-style: italic;">“He who knew no sin, became the sin offering for us; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">(2 Cor. 5:21).</span> Only God incarnate, Jesus Christ the Lord, could drink the cup of God's wrath. And He drained it beloved; He drained it to the very dregs and fully redeemed us at Calvary. Christ suffered in our place so that we may have peace with God forever (Rom. 5:1-2). He became, what Paul says in Galatians 3, <i>“a curse for us.”</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Substitutionary death is not equal to the </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">damnation unbelievers suffer, <br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">it is far superior because it is not due. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">His cry was not the cry of the damned <br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">but the perfectly obedient and </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">sinless cry of the Son to His Father.</span></span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Christ Died for God</span></span><br />What were we saved from? Our sins? Yes. Hell? Yes. The sting of death? Yes. But those pale in comparison with this profound reality: on the cross, God through Christ <i><b>saved us from Himself.</b></i> That’s right – God through Christ saved us from Himself. From His wrath, His holiness, His justice. And Because Jesus Christ fully satisfied God (propitiation) on the cross as our Divine Substitute, we need to never fear of eternal judgment, condemnation, wrath or punishment for our sins. The penalty of our sins have been fully quenched in the once for all vicarious penal substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the Good News of the gospel beloved.<br /><br />God treated Christ on the cross as if He lived our life, so that we by grace through faith in Him, can be treated as if we lived His life (2 Cor. 5:21). He was clothed with our sin (thought sinless and holy); so that we might be clothed with His righteousness (though are sinners and sinful). That is the great doctrine of imputation.<br /><br />When the fullness of that wrath was embraced by Jesus on the cross He cried out, <span style="font-style: italic;">"My God, My God, why has thou forsaken Me?"</span> Some commentators think that at this point on the cross that God simply turned His back on His Son in shame for He could not look on sin. That that was the forsaking. That represents a very shallow, sentimental view of what our Lord endured on the cross - but I submit to you, is thoroughly unbiblical.<br /><br />Where does this view come from? This belief stems from inaccurate rendering of a verse in Habakkuk 1:13 where the prophet says, <blockquote>“Thine eyes are too pure to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">approve</span> evil, And Thou canst not look on wickedness <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">with favor.</span> Why dost Thou look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why art Thou silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?” (NASB) (Emphasis mine).</blockquote>Notice, it isn’t that God cannot look on sin; but He cannot look on sin<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">with favor. </span></span> Consider these verses: <blockquote>Jer. 16:17 <span style="font-style: italic;">"For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes."</span><br /><br />Prov. 15:3 <span style="font-style: italic;">"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good."</span></blockquote>The Lord “sees” all things continually – including our sin. Nothing is hidden from His sight (Heb. 4:12-16). So the forsaking of Jesus on the cross by the Father couldn’t have been a simple turning away of the eyes of God from His Son because He cannot look on sin.<br /><br />His holiness demanded a sacrifice; His justice demanded satisfaction; His righteousness required perfection. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">God had to be satisfied before we as sinners could be justified!</span><br /><br />Therefore, Jesus was, as Hebrews 2:17 says, <blockquote>"that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest <span style="font-style: italic;">in things pertaining to God</span>, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (emphasis mine).</blockquote> That phrase "in things pertaining to God" in the Greek is: <span style="font-style: italic;">pros ton theon</span>. It means "face to face with God"; and this occured on the cross. Don't miss this amazing picture of redemption: the Son faced the Father from the cross; and the Father faced His Son on the cross; and He poured out upon Him the eternal wrath that we deserve in hell forever. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Amazing love how can it be..."</span> Amen?<br /><br />Christ was absolutely forsaken; He bore our sin, its guilt, penalty, and shame. And He bore the wrath of God that burns against us. He drank the cup of wrath; He became the curse for us; he endured the shame of the cross for the joy set before Him; He was bruised, crushed, chastined for our iniquities. Once again beloved... hear this today: the Father faced the Son on the cross; and the Son faced the Father from the cross; and He “bore God’s wrath—all of it” as our divine Substitute in His once for all propitiatory sacrifice on the cross for His own.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:trebuchet ms;">When Jesus finally cried, </span><i style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102); font-family: trebuchet ms;">"IT IS FINISHED"</i><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:trebuchet ms;"> what had happened?</span></div><div>To what extent have all of our sins been dealt with on the cross--even those we have not even committed or have had committed against us yet? When the Lord Jesus Christ declared from the cross,"It is finished!", He had:<br /><blockquote>• fulfilled the Law;<br />• went beyond the veil;<br />• satisfied God's justice;<br />• propitiated the Father's wrath;<br />• satisfied His holiness;<br />• fulfilled all righteousness;<br />• exalted grace;<br />• confirmed the gospel;<br />• redeemed the elect;<br />• justified His own from the penalty of sin;<br />• quenched the guilt of our sin;<br />• crushed the head of Satan and destroyed his hold of death;<br />• abolished death and its sting;<br />• fulfilled all redemptive Messianic prophecies;<br />• secured for us eternal life;<br />• brought us into intimacy with God;<br />• imputed to us His perfect righteousness;<br />• instituted a new covenant;<br />• and brought us into peace with God forever!</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal;font-family:Georgia;"></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;">Now THAT is a cross we can glory in!</span><br /><br />The death of Christ was both a propitiation AND an expiation of sin. Propitiation refers to the turning away of wrath by an offering. God's wrath was satisfied and His justice meted out by Jesus’ once for all sacrifice on the cross. Expiation refers to covering sins and in specific, the guilt of sin. By the vicarious penal substitutionary atonement of Christ Jesus on the cross, our sins and their penalty are removed from us. The atonement satisfies both the demands of the Father and the needs of Christ's people (1 Pet. 1:2).<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">As brother Spurgeon can only say:</span></span><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"When Jesus gave himself for us, he gave us all the rights and privileges which went with himself; so that now, although as eternal God, he has essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend, yet as Jesus, the Mediator, the federal head of the covenant of grace, he has no heritage apart from us. All the glorious consequences of his obedience unto death are the joint riches of all who are in him, and on whose behalf he accomplished the divine will. See, he enters into glory, but not for himself alone, for it is written, "Whither the Forerunner is for us entered." Heb. 6:20. Does he stand in the presence of God?-"He appears in the presence of God for us." Heb. 9:24.</blockquote>Can we now say with confidence this day with Paul himself: <span style="font-style: italic;">"If God be for us... who can be against us?"</span></div></div><br />Aren't we grateful to the Lord this day that He has not "rewarded us according to our sin, nor dealt with us according to our iniquity?" (Psalm 103:10). In Christ all our "sins are forgiven for His name's sake" (1 John 2:12); He has "forgiven us all our transgressions" (Col. 2:13, emphasis added). And if all our sins are forgiven by Him, can we not forgive the purposed wrongs that others do against us?<br /><br />Beloved, God for Christ's sake forgave us; we for Christ's sake must forgive each other. Remember, the measure of our love is the extent of our ability to forgive! (1 Jn. 2:12; Col. 2:12ff)SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1168612159312595512013-09-18T16:04:00.000-04:002013-09-18T18:36:19.303-04:00THE CROSS OF CHRIST (pt 3)...the place of our constant boasting<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6742/1254/1600/560293/CRISTODALI20.JPG.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6742/1254/400/346114/CRISTODALI20.JPG.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> "Would I know the length and breadth of <i>God the Father's love</i> towards a sinful world? <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> Where shall I see it most displayed? Shall I look at His glorious sun, shining down daily on the unthankful and evil? Shall I look at seed-time and harvest, returning in regular yearly succession? Oh, no! I can find a stronger proof of love than anything of this sort. <b>I look at the cross of Christ. I see in it not the cause of the Father's love—but the effect.</b> There I see that God so loved this wicked world, that He gave His only begotten Son."<br /><br /><br /><b>by J.C. Ryle</b><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Verdana;"><b>III. </b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Let me show, lastly,</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Verdana;"><b> <i>why all Christians ought to boast in the cross of Christ.</i> </b></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I feel that I must say something on this point, because of the ignorance that prevails about it. I suspect that many see no peculiar glory and beauty in the subject of Christ's cross. On the contrary, they think it painful, humbling, and degrading. They do not see much profit in the story of His death and sufferings. They rather turn from it as an unpleasant thing. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Now I believe that such people are quite wrong. I cannot hold with them. I believe it is an excellent thing for us all to be continually dwelling on the cross of Christ. It is a good thing to be often reminded how Jesus was betrayed into the hands of wicked men—how they condemned Him with most unjust judgment—how they spit on Him, scourged Him, beat Him, and crowned Him with thorns—how they led Him forth as a lamb to the slaughter, without His murmuring or resisting—how they drove the nails through His hands and feet, and set Him up on Calvary between two thieves—how they pierced His side with a spear, mocked Him in His sufferings, and let Him hang there naked and bleeding until He died. Of all these things, I say, it is good to be reminded. It is not for nothing that the crucifixion is described four times over in the New Testament. There are very few things that all four writers of the Gospel describe. Generally speaking, if Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell a thing in our Lord's history, John does not tell it. But there is one thing that all the four give us most fully, and that one thing is the story of the cross. This is a telling fact, and not to be overlooked. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">People seem to forget that <b>all Christ's sufferings on the cross were <i>fore-ordained</i></b><i>.</i> They did not come on Him by chance or accident—they were all planned, counseled, and determined from all eternity. The cross was foreseen in all the provisions of the everlasting Trinity for the salvation of sinners. In the purposes of God the cross was set up from everlasting. Not one throb of pain did Jesus feel, not one precious drop of blood did Jesus shed, which had not been appointed long ago. Infinite wisdom planned that redemption should be by the cross. Infinite wisdom brought Jesus to the cross in due time. He was crucified "by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." (Acts 2:23.) </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">People seem to forget that <b>all Christ's sufferings on the cross <i>were necessary for man's salvation</i></b><i>.</i> He had to bear our sins, if ever they were to be borne at all. With His stripes alone could we be healed. This was the one payment of our debt that God would accept—this was the great sacrifice on which our eternal life depended. If Christ had not gone to the cross and suffered in our stead, the just for the unjust, there would not have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a mighty gulf between ourselves and God, which no man ever could have passed. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">"In Christ's humiliation stands our exaltation; in His weakness stands our strength; in His ignominy our glory; in His death our life."—<i>Cudworth.</i> 1613. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">"The eye of faith regards Christ sitting on the summit of the cross as in a triumphal chariot; the devil bound to the lowest part of the same cross, and trodden under the feet of Christ."—<i>Davenant on Colossians.</i> 1627.</span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">People seem to forget that <b>all Christ's sufferings were endured <i>voluntarily</i></b><i>,</i> and of His own free will. He was under no compulsion. Of His own choice He laid down His life—of His own choice He went to the cross in order to finish the work He came to do. He might easily have summoned legions of angels with a word, and scattered Pilate and Herod, and all their armies, like chaff before the wind. But He was a willing sufferer. His heart was set on the salvation of sinners. He was resolved to open "a fountain for all sin and uncleanness," by shedding His own blood. (Zech. 13:1.) </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">When I think of all this, I see nothing painful or disagreeable in the subject of Christ's cross. On the contrary, I see in it wisdom and power, peace and hope, joy and gladness, comfort and consolation. The more I keep the cross in my mind's eye, the more fullness I seem to discern in it. The longer I dwell on the cross in my thoughts, the more I am satisfied that <b>there is more to be learned at the foot of the cross than anywhere else in the world</b>. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">(a) Would I know the length and breadth of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">God the Father's love</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> towards a sinful world?</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> Where shall I see it most displayed? Shall I look at His glorious sun, shining down daily on the unthankful and evil? Shall I look at seed-time and harvest, returning in regular yearly succession? Oh, no! I can find a stronger proof of love than anything of this sort. <b>I look at the cross of Christ. I see in it not the cause of the Father's love—but the effect.</b> There I see that God so loved this wicked world, that He gave His only begotten Son—gave Him to suffer and die—that "whoever believes in Him should not perish—but have eternal life." (John 3:16.) I know that the Father loves us, because He did not withhold from us His Son, His only Son. I might sometimes fancy that God the Father is too high and holy to care for such miserable, corrupt creatures as we are! But I cannot, must not, dare not think it, when I look at the cross of Christ. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">"The world we live in would have fallen upon our heads, had it not been upheld by the pillar of the cross; had not Christ stepped in and promised a satisfaction for the sin of man. By this all things consist—not a blessing we enjoy but may put us in mind of it; they were all forfeited by sin—but merited by His blood. If we study it well we shall be sensible how God hated sin and loved a world."—<i>Charnock.</i></span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"><i> </i></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">(b) Would I know how exceedingly </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">sinful and abominable sin</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> is in the sight of God? </span></b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Where shall I see that most fully brought out? Shall I turn to the history of the flood, and read how sin drowned the world? Shall I go to the shore of the Dead Sea, and mark what sin brought on Sodom and Gomorrah? Shall I turn to the wandering Jews, and observe how sin has scattered them over the face of the earth? No! I can find a clearer proof still! I look at the cross of Christ. There I see that sin is so black and damnable, that nothing but the blood of God's own Son can wash it away. There I see that sin has so separated me from my holy Maker, that all the angels in heaven could never have made peace between us. Nothing could reconcile us, short of the death of Christ. If I listened to the wretched talk of proud people, I might sometimes fancy sin was not so very sinful! But<b> I cannot think little of sin, when I look at the cross of Christ. </b></span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">(c) Would I know the <i>fullness and completeness of the salvation</i> God has provided for sinners? Where shall I see it most distinctly? Shall I go to the general declarations in the Bible about God's mercy? Shall I rest in the general truth that God is a "God of love"? Oh, no! I will look at the cross of Christ. I find no evidence like that. I find no balm for a sore conscience and a troubled heart, like the sight of Jesus dying for me on the accursed tree. There I see that a full payment has been made for all my enormous debts. The curse of that law which I have broken has come down on One who there suffered in my stead. The demands of that law are all satisfied. Payment has been made for me, even to the uttermost farthing. It will not be required twice over. Ah, I might sometimes imagine I was too bad to be forgiven! My own heart sometimes whispers that I am too wicked to be saved. But I know in my better moments this is all my foolish unbelief. I read an answer to my doubts in the blood shed on Calvary. I feel sure that there is a way to heaven for the very vilest of people, when I look at the cross. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">(d) Would I find strong <i>reasons for being a holy man?</i> Where shall I turn for them? Shall I listen to the ten commandments merely? Shall I study the examples given me in the Bible of what grace can do? Shall I meditate on the rewards of heaven, and the punishments of hell? Is there no stronger motive still? Yes! I will look at the cross of Christ! There I see the love of Christ constraining me to "live not unto myself—but unto Him." There I see that I am not my own now—I am "bought with a price." (2 Cor. 5:15; 1 Cor. 6:20.) I am bound by the most solemn obligations to glorify Jesus with body and spirit, which are His. There I see that Jesus gave Himself for me, not only to redeem me from all iniquity—but also to purify me, and to make me one of a "peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:14.) He bore my sins in His own body on the tree, "that I being dead unto sin should live unto righteousness." (1 Pet. 2:24.) <b>There is nothing so sanctifying as a clear view of the cross of Christ! It crucifies the world unto us, and us unto the world. How can we love sin, when we remember that because of our sins Jesus died? Surely none ought to be so holy as the disciples of a crucified Lord. </b></span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">(e) Would I </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">learn how to be contented and cheerful </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> under all the cares and concerns of life?</span> </b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> What school shall I go to? How shall I attain this state of mind most easily? Shall I look at the sovereignty of God, the wisdom of God, the providence of God, the love of God? It is well to do so. But I have a better argument still. I will look at the cross of Christ. I feel that "He who spared not His only-begotten Son—but delivered Him up to die for me, will surely with Him give me all things" that I really need. (Rom. 8:32.) He who endured such agony, sufferings, and pain for my soul, will surely not withhold from me anything that is really good. He who has done the greater things for me, will doubtless do the lesser things also. He who gave His own blood to procure me a home in heaven, will unquestionably supply me with all that is really profitable for me by the way. <b>There is no school for learning contentment that can be compared with the foot of the cross! </b></span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">(f) Would I gather </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">arguments for hoping that I shall never be cast away?</span></i> </b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Where shall I go to find them? Shall I look at my own graces and gifts? Shall I take comfort in my own faith, and love, and penitence, and zeal, and prayer? Shall I turn to my own heart, and say, "this same heart will never be false and cold"? Oh, no! God forbid! I will look at the cross of Christ. This is my grand argument. This is my main stay. I cannot think that He who went through such sufferings to redeem my soul, will let that soul perish after all, when it has once cast itself on Him. Oh, no! what Jesus paid for, Jesus will surely keep. He paid dearly for it. He will not let it easily be lost. He called me to Himself when I was a dark sinner—He will never forsake me after I have believed. When Satan tempts us to doubt whether Christ's people will be kept from falling, we should tell Satan to look at the cross. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">"The believer is so freed from eternal wrath, that if Satan and conscience say, 'You are a sinner, and under the curse of the law,' he can say, 'It is true, I am a sinner; but I was hanged on a tree and died, and was made a curse in my Head and Lawgiver Christ, and His payment and suffering is my payment and suffering.'"—<i>Rutherford's Christ Dying.</i> 1647.</span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">And now, will you marvel that I said all Christians ought to boast in the cross? Will you not rather wonder that any can hear of the cross and remain unmoved? I declare I know no greater proof of man's depravity, than the fact that thousands of so-called Christians see nothing in the cross. Well may our hearts be called stony—well may the eyes of our mind be called blind—well may our whole nature be called diseased—well may we all be called dead, when the cross of Christ is heard of and yet neglected. Surely we may take up the words of the prophet, and say, "Hear, O heavens, and be astonished O earth; an astounding and a horrible thing is done,"—Christ was crucified for sinners, and yet many Christians live as if He was never crucified at all!</span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(176, 112, 80);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">(a) The cross is</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> the grand peculiarity of the Christian religion.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Other religions have laws and moral precepts, forms and ceremonies, rewards and punishments. But other religions cannot tell us of a dying Savior. They cannot show us the cross. This is the crown and glory of the Gospel. This is that special comfort which belongs to it alone. Miserable indeed is that religious teaching which calls itself Christian, and yet contains nothing of the cross. A man who teaches in this way, might as well profess to explain the solar system, and yet tell his hearers nothing about the sun. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(176, 112, 80);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">(b) The cross is</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> the strength of a minister.</span></i></b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> </span>I for one would not be without it for all the world. I should feel like a soldier without weapons—like an artist without his brush—like a pilot without his compass—like a laborer without his tools. Let others, if they will, preach the law and morality; let others hold forth the terrors of hell, and the joys of heaven; let others drench their congregations with teachings about the sacraments and the church; give me the cross of Christ! This is the only lever which has ever turned the world upside down hitherto, and made people forsake their sins. And if this will not, nothing will. A man may begin preaching with a perfect knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; but he will do little or no good among his hearers unless he knows something of the cross. Never was there a minister who did much for the conversion of souls who did not dwell much on Christ crucified. Luther, Rutherford, Whitefield, M'Cheyne, were all most eminently preachers of the cross. This is the preaching that the Holy Spirit delights to bless. He loves to honor those who honor the cross. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(176, 112, 80);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(176, 112, 80);font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">(c) The cross is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">the secret of all missionary success.</span></i> </b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Nothing but this has ever moved the hearts of the heathen. Just according as this has been lifted up missions have prospered. This is the weapon which has won victories over hearts of every kind, in every quarter of the globe. Greenlanders, Africans, South-Sea Islanders, Hindus, Chinese, all have alike felt its power. Just as that huge iron tube which crosses the Menai Straits, is more affected and bent by half-an-hour's sunshine than by all the dead weight that can be placed in it, so in like manner the hearts of savages have melted before the cross, when every other argument seemed to move them no more than stones. "Brethren," said a North-American Indian after his conversion, "I have been a heathen. I know how heathens think. Once a preacher came and began to explain to us that there was a God; but we told him to return to the place from whence he came. Another preacher came and told us not to lie, nor steal, nor drink; but we did not heed him. At last another came into my hut one day and said, 'I am come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven and earth, He sends to let you know that He will make you happy, and deliver you from misery. For this end He became a man, gave His life a ransom, and shed His blood for sinners.' I could not forget his words. I told them to the other Indians, and an awakening began among us." I say, therefore, preach the sufferings and death of Christ, our Savior, if you wish your words to gain entrance among the heathen. Never indeed did the devil triumph so thoroughly, as when he persuaded the Jesuit missionaries in China to keep back the story of the cross! </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(176, 112, 80);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(176, 112, 80);font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">(d) The cross is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">the foundation of a Church's prosperity.</span></i> </b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">No Church will ever be honored in which Christ crucified is not continually lifted up—nothing whatever can make up for the lack of the cross. Without it all things may be done decently and in order; without it there may be splendid ceremonies, beautiful music, gorgeous churches, learned ministers, crowded communion tables, huge collections for the poor. But without the cross no good will be done; dark hearts will not be enlightened, proud hearts will not be humbled, mourning hearts will not be comforted, fainting hearts will not be cheered. Sermons about the Church and an apostolic ministry—sermons about baptism and the Lord's supper—sermons about unity and schism—sermons about fasts and communion—sermons about fathers and saints—such sermons will never make up for the absence of sermons about the cross of Christ. They may amuse some—they will feed none. A gorgeous banqueting room, and splendid gold plate on the table, will never make up to a hungry man for the lack of food. Christ crucified is God's ordinance for doing good to people. Whenever a Church keeps back Christ crucified, or puts anything whatever in that foremost place which Christ crucified should always have, from that moment a Church ceases to be useful. Without Christ crucified in her pulpits, a church is little better than a cumberer of the ground, a dead carcase, a well without water, a barren fig tree, a sleeping watchman, a silent trumpet, a speechless witness, an ambassador without terms of peace, a messenger without tidings, a lighthouse without fire, a stumbling-block to weak believers, a comfort to infidels, a hot-bed for formalism, a joy to the devil, and an offence to God. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(176, 112, 80);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">(e) The cross is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">the grand center of union</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> among true Christians. </span></b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Our outward differences are many, without doubt. One man is an Episcopalian, another is a Presbyterian—one is an Independent, another a Baptist—one is a Calvinist, another an Arminian—one is a Lutheran, another a Plymouth Brother—one is a friend to Establishments, another a friend to the voluntary system—one is a friend to liturgies, another a friend to extempore prayer. But, after all, what shall we hear about most of these differences, in heaven? Nothing, most probably—nothing at all. <i>Does a man really and sincerely boast in the cross of Christ?</i> That is the grand question. If he does, he is my brother—we are traveling on the same road; we are journeying towards a home where Christ is all, and everything outward in religion will be forgotten. But if he does not boast in the cross of Christ, I cannot feel comfort about him. Union on outward points only, is union only for a time—union about the cross is union for eternity. Error on outward points is only a skin-deep disease—error about the cross is disease at the heart. Union about outward points is a mere man-made union—union about the cross of Christ can only be produced by the Holy Spirit. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I know not what you think of all this. I feel as if I had said nothing compared to what might be said. I feel as if the half of what I desire to tell you about the cross were left untold. But I do hope that I have given you something to think about. I do trust that I have shown you that I have reason for the question with which I began this paper, "What do you think and feel about the cross of Christ?" Listen to me now for a few moments, while I say something to </span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Verdana;"><b>APPLY </b></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana;">the whole subject to your conscience. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">(a) </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Are you living in any kind of sin?</span></i> </b></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana;">Are you following the course of this world, and neglecting your soul? Hear, I beseech you, what I say to you this day, "Behold the Cross of Christ." See there how Jesus loved you! See there what Jesus suffered to prepare for you a way of salvation. Yes—careless men and women, for you that blood was shed! For you those hands and feet were pierced with nails! For you that body hung in agony on the cross! You are those whom Jesus loved, and for whom He died! Surely that love ought to melt you. Surely the thought of the cross should draw you to repentance. Oh, that it might be so this very day! Oh, that you would come at once to that Savior who died for you, and is willing to save! Come, and cry to Him with the prayer of faith, and I know that He will listen. Come, and lay hold upon the cross, and I know that He will not cast you out. Come, and believe on Him who died on the cross, and this very day you shall have eternal life. How will you ever escape if you neglect so great salvation? <b>None surely will be so deep in hell as those who despise the cross! </b></span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">(b) </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Are you inquiring the way toward heaven?</span></i></b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> Are you seeking salvation—but doubtful whether you can find it? Are you desiring to have an interest in Christ—but doubting whether Christ will receive you? To you also I say this day, "Behold the cross of Christ." Here is encouragement if you really want it. Draw near to the Lord Jesus with boldness, for nothing need keep you back. His arms are open to receive you—His heart is full of love towards you. He has made a way by which you may approach Him with confidence. Think of the cross. Draw near, and fear not. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">(c) </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Are you an unlearned man?</span></i> </b></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana;">Are you desirous to get to heaven, and perplexed and brought to a stand-still by difficulties in the Bible which you cannot explain? To you also I say this day, "Behold the cross of Christ." Read there the Father's love and the Son's compassion. Surely they are written in great plain letters, which none can well mistake. What though you are now perplexed by the doctrine of election? What though at present you cannot reconcile your own utter corruption and your own responsibility? Look, I say, at the cross. Does not that cross tell you that Jesus is a mighty, loving, ready Savior? Does it not make one thing plain, and that is that it is all your own fault if you are not saved? Oh, get hold of that truth, and hold it fast! </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">(d) </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Are you a distressed believer?</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"> </span></b></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana;">Is your heart pressed down with sickness, tried with disappointments, overburdened with cares? To you also I say this day, "Behold the cross of Christ." Think whose hand it is that chastens you; think whose hand is measuring to you the cup of bitterness which you are now drinking. It is the hand of Him who was crucified! It is the same hand which in love to your soul was nailed to the accursed tree. Surely that thought should comfort and hearten you. Surely you should say to yourself, "A crucified Savior will never lay upon me anything that is not for my good. There is a needs be. It must be well." </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">(e) </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Are you a believer that longs to be more holy?</span></i></b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"> </span>Are you one that finds his heart too ready to love earthly things? To you also I say, "Behold the cross of Christ." Look at the cross, think of the cross, meditate on the cross, and then go and set your affections on the world if you can. I believe that holiness is nowhere learned so well as on Calvary. I believe you cannot look much at the cross without feeling your will sanctified, and your tastes made more spiritual. As the sun gazed upon makes everything else look dark and dim, so does the cross darken the false splendor of this world. As honey tasted makes all other things seem to have no taste at all, so does the cross seen by faith take all the sweetness out of the pleasures of the world. Keep on every day steadily looking at the cross of Christ, and you will soon say of the world, as the poet does—</span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></p><blockquote><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Its pleasures now no longer please,<br />No more content afford;<br />Far from my heart be joys like these,<br />Now I have seen the Lord. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">As by the light of opening day<br />The stars are all concealed,<br />So earthly pleasures fade away<br />When Jesus is revealed. </span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-family:Verdana;"><b> </b></span> <p align="justify"></p></blockquote><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">(f) </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Are you a dying believer?</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"> </span></b></span> <span style="font-family:Verdana;">Have you gone to that bed from which something within tells you you will never come down alive? Are you drawing near to that solemn hour, when soul and body must part for a season, and you must launch into a world unknown? Oh, look steadily at the cross of Christ by faith, and you shall be kept in peace! Fix the eyes of your mind firmly, not on a man-made crucifix—but on Jesus crucified, and He shall deliver you from all your fears. Though you walk through dark places, He will be with you. He will never leave you—never forsake you. Sit under the shadow of the cross to the very last, and its fruit shall be sweet to your taste. "Ah," said a dying missionary, "there is but one thing needful on a death-bed, and that is to feel one's arms around the cross!"</span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I lay these thoughts before your mind. What you think now about the cross of Christ, I cannot tell. But I can wish you nothing better than this—that you may be able to say with the Apostle Paul, before you die or meet the Lord, "God forbid that I should boast—except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!</span></p></span>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-5686724603652656332013-09-13T13:00:00.000-04:002013-09-13T13:29:40.538-04:00An Unshakable Othodoxy: A Theology of the Cross (pt. 5)...the righteousness of God (Romans 3:25b-26a)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQviKzp7MShNwPfxBnKkK38hWX50b3TBmLh3yRV_ssLq3jH-WgfYQUNbm6CJaxSd-IIztANdhlRnbaikIeHRmXwrqOrocN9XgnC0yQmsGt9xvzJRLaktYDmisM88YCccxX0cty/s1600-h/christdiedforgod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 450px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQviKzp7MShNwPfxBnKkK38hWX50b3TBmLh3yRV_ssLq3jH-WgfYQUNbm6CJaxSd-IIztANdhlRnbaikIeHRmXwrqOrocN9XgnC0yQmsGt9xvzJRLaktYDmisM88YCccxX0cty/s400/christdiedforgod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113054287103853858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">“This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time” <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Romans 3:25b-26a).</span></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">6. The Cross <span style="font-style: italic;">Demonstrates</span> the Righteousness of God</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">- substitution/imputation</span><br /><br />This is the great and magnificent theme of the book of Romans: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">the righteousness of God.</span> From the prophet Jeremiah where he says, <span style="font-style: italic;">"...the Lord our righteousness"</span> (Jer. 23:6); to that which is punctuated by Paul himself in 1 Cor. 1:30, "<span style="font-style: italic;">But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption."</span> The full orb of Scripture represents the One Triune God as being righteous--free from sin and its stain. He is perfect, holy, righteous and true.<br /><br />And the miracle of miracles is this: that perfect righteousness; HIS righteousness; the righteousness of Jesus is imputed, or credited, to us. It is not an infused righteousness as the Romanists teach; but an imputed righteousness, given to us by faith in Jesus Christ the Lord that is essential in our justification.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">My Own Righteousness... Nothing But Filthy Rags</span></span><br />Contrarily, the prophet Isaiah describes mans' own righteousness by these vivid words: <span style="font-style: italic;">"...And all our righteous deeds are like dirty, filthy rags."</span> Man's inherent righteousness is worth the status of dirty menstrual rags.<br /><br />As stated in a previous post, man is totally depraved; unable to save himself; merit anything as being holy before a righteous God in and of his own good works; is conceived in sin; and by nature a child of wrath. Seeing that man's condition cannot be changed or altered by his own philanthropic religious works, <span style="font-weight: bold;">the eternal question </span>then surfaces: if no sinful creature can find acceptance in the presence of a holy God, then what kind of righteousness does God accept to allow sinful people into His presence?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The answer?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">A perfect righteousness. </span><br /><br />It alone must be accomplished and applied to man in order for man to enter heaven and have eternal communion with an infinitely holy God. As even David has said, "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity," (Psalm 32:1-2). Here is the beatitude of forgiveness and salvation. Transgressions forgiven; sins atoned for; iniquity not imputed. This is the triumvirate of spiritual blessing we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.<br /><br />And how is this spiritual blessing obtained? By grace through faith in Jesus Christ.<br /><br /><font color=maroon><b>Look briefly at our text above:</b></font><br /><blockquote><b><i>"This was to demonstrate"</i></b> or to declare. God made His eternal declaration of redemption through Christ Jesus. As Barnes's so rightly says, <i>"The meaning is, that the plan was adopted; the Saviour was given; he suffered and died; and the scheme is proposed to men, for the purpose of making a full manifestation of his plan, in contradistinction from all the plans of men."</i><br /><br /><b><i>"His righteousness,"</i></b> - justification. This is the gospel. God through Christ saved us from Himself (His wrath, His justice and the just do for violating His holy law). Here, His saving righteousness is made available to sinners.<br /><br /><b><i>"because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;"</i></b> - the sins of the elect that is. God did not ignore their sins, but passed over them - patiently, for that glorious day, the day 'in due time' where He provided forgiveness of sins through His Son--the Son of His love (cp, Col. 1:12-14). This righteousness here is not being referred to as an attribute of God, but of His plan of justifying sinners. He has adopted and proposed a plan by which men may become just by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by their own works. <br /><br /><b><i>"for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time,"</i></b> - This is the declaration for the first time under the gospel. This is the joy of deliverance. God had appointed a day in eternity past in which Jesus was manifested in the flesh to satisfy God and redeem His elect. No wonder Paul may boldly say, <i>"who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity"</i> (2 Tim. 1:9).</blockquote><br />God put on public display His perfect righteousness. God showed forbearance in order for us to be given His grace in salvation. Do you want to behold the perfect righteousness of God? Do you want to have a glimpse of the holy standard that God requires of all in order to have eternal life and to stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy? Then look unto Jesus (Heb. 12:2) on the cross--for HE is our righteousness; HE is God incarnate: HE is our perfection; HE is the spotless Lamb of God, the sinless High Priest, the perfect Son of Man. And in God the Son alone, plus or minus nothing, we have obtained a righteousness that pleases God the Father alone.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">My Hope is Built on Nothing Less...</span></span><br />Many of us have sung several times these embonpoint theological words from the great hymn, <b>The Solid Rock:</b> <span style="font-style: italic;">“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness…” </span>and, again from that fourth stanza: <span style="font-style: italic;">“dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before His throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand…”</span><br /><br />How glorious and true are those words.<br /><br />The quintessential verse in all the NT on this important truth is found in 2 Cor. 5:21, <span style="font-style: italic;">“He who knew no sin, became sin for us; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”</span> Jesus Christ became our sin-bearer, though without sin and sinless, so that we might become the righteousness of God IN HIM. All of our righteousness is imputed to us. It is the perfect, complete, lack nothing - righteousness of Christ. Can we grasp this reality today beloved? We only have a right standing before God, because Jesus as our Divine Substitute stood before God in our place. And therefore, all who are IN Christ are clothed with His perfect righteousness for eternity.<br /><br />This righteousness of God in Christ is comprised of two very important things: the active and passive obedience of Christ. His active obedience in fulfilling the demands of the Law through His sinless life; and His passive obedience through satisfying the penalty of the Law through His perfect, once for all sacrifice on the cross for our sins. In life and in death, Jesus Christ perfectly as our merciful and faithful High Priest has completely fulfilled all righteousness and by faith, imputes that righteousness to every believer so that we may forever have a just standing before God.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">For if by the transgression of the one, </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">death reigned through the one, </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">much more those who receive the abundance of grace </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">and of the gift of righteousness </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Romans 5:17</span><br /></span></div> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /><br />The great Puritan divine, John Owens, so profoundly says, </span><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"That which we plead is, that the Lord Christ fulfilled the whole law for us; he did not only undergo the penalty of it due unto our sins, but also yielded that perfect obedience which it did require. And herein I shall not immix myself in the debate of the distinction between the active and passive obedience of Christ; for he exercised the highest active obedience in his suffering, when he offered himself to God through the eternal Spirit. And all his obedience, considering his person, was mixed with suffering, as a part of his exinanition and humiliation; whence it is said, that "though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."<br /><br />And however doing and suffering are in various categories of things, yet Scripture testimonies are not to be regulated by philosophical artifices and terms. And it must needs be said, that the sufferings of Christ, as they were purely penal, are imperfectly called his passive righteousness; for all righteousness is either in habit or in action, whereof suffering is neither; nor is any man righteous, or so esteemed, from what he suffers. Neither do sufferings give satisfaction unto the commands of the law, which require only obedience. And hence it will unavoidably follow, that we have need of more than the mere sufferings of Christ, whereby we may be justified before God, if so be that any righteousness be required thereunto; but the whole of what I intend is, that Christ's fulfilling of the law, in obedience unto its commands, is no less imputed unto us for our justification than his undergoing the penalty of it is."</blockquote>As a Reformed Baptist, I affirm on this blog, the biblically rich 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith which says on this issue of justification, substitution and imputation of the complete righteousness of Christ: <blockquote><b style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Chapter 11: Of Justification</b><br /><b>1.</b> Those whom God effectually calleth, he also freely justifieth, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone; not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law, and passive obedience in his death for their whole and sole righteousness by faith, which faith they have not of themselves; it is the gift of God.</span> (Romans 3:24; Romans 8:30; Romans 4:5-8; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:30, 31; Romans 5:17-19; Philippians 3:8, 9; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Romans 5:17 )<br /><br /><b>2.</b> Faith thus receiving and resting on<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> Christ and his righteousness</span><span style="font-style: italic;">,</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">is the alone instrument of justification;</span> yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love. (Romans 3:28; Galatians 5:6; James 2:17, 22, 26 )<br /><br /><b>3.</b> Christ, by his obedience and death, did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified; and did, by the sacrifice of himself in the blood of his cross, undergoing in their stead the penalty due unto them, make a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God's justice in their behalf; yet, inasmuch as he was given by the Father for them, and his obedience and satisfaction accepted in their stead, and both freely, not for anything in them, their justification is only of free grace, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">that both the exact justice and rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners.</span> (Hebrews 10:14; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; Isaiah 53:5, 6; Romans 8:32; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:26; Ephesians 1:6,7; Ephesians 2:7 ) (emphasis mine)<br /></blockquote> Could it be any more clear beloved?<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">that, as sin reigned in death,</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">even so grace might reign through righteousness</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Romans 5:21 </span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Based on the requirements of the Law</span>, it is not enough that Christ dies for the sins of His people. To die and cleanse sinners from their sin is to set them at ground zero. At that point redeemed sinners still continue to sin. As Luther said, <span style="font-style: italic;">"they are piles of dung covered in gold."</span> The remnants of remaining sin and the filthiness of the flesh still war with the Spirit (Gal. 5:17). They must also have a covering that continues to infinitely expiate their sin before the holy justice of God; otherwise, justification becomes analytic and not synthetic.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Dr. C. Matthew McMahon helps tremendously in defining these biblical truths for us:</span><br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Analytic justification</span> is the Roman Catholic belief where God looks both at the sinner and the Savior and justifies them based on what Christ did and what the sinner continues to do. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Synthetic justification</span> is the biblical formulation where God recognizes Christ’s work, both the obedentia activa and obedentia passiva, and declares the sinner just as a result of them both. The sinner, in the ordo salutis, has been regenerated, acts with a fides reflexa (a reflex act of faith) springing from regeneration, is declared righteous by God on account of Christ’s iustitia imputata, but is then continued to be viewed in this credited manner because of the perfect obedentia of Christ’s work.<br /><br />Jesus perfectly fulfilled the iustitia Dei where men cannot. It is this active obedience that continues to justify them, and it is passive obedience that continues to save them before the wrath of God’s justice. Kline rightly comments, <span style="font-style: italic;">“For Christ himself enters upon the inheritance as the forerunner, surety, and head of the many only when by his active and passive obedience he has fulfilled the constant Hauptgebot of the covenant and submitted to the demand of the curse sanction voiced in the covenant from the beginning.”</span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span><span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">and may be found in Him,<br />not having a righteousness of my own </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">derived from the Law,<br />but that which is through faith in Christ, </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">the righteousness which comes from God<br />on the basis of faith,</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">-Philippians 3:9</span></span><br /></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />The Belgic Confession</span> states that understanding the justification of the sinner, <span style="font-style: italic;">“embraces Jesus Christ with all His merits…imputing to us all His merits, and so many holy works which He has done for us and in our stead.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Heidelberg Catechism</span> defines this righteousness which Christians receive, <span style="font-style: italic;">“as if I had never committed nor had any sins, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Second Helvetic Confession </span>echoes this, <span style="font-style: italic;">“Therefore, solely on account of Christ's sufferings and resurrection God is propitious with respect to our sins and does not impute them to us, but imputes Christ's righteousness to us as our own (2 Cor. 5:19 ff.; Rom. 4:25), so that now we are not only cleansed and purged from sins or are holy, but also, granted the righteousness of Christ, and so absolved from sin, death and condemnation, are at last righteous and heirs of eternal life. Properly speaking, therefore, God alone justifies us, and justifies only on account of Christ, not imputing sins to us but imputing his righteousness to us.”</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Simon Peter, a bond-servant</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">and apostle of Jesus Christ,</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">to those who have received a faith</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">of the same kind as ours,</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">by the righteousness of our</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">God and Savior, Jesus Christ:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-2 Peter 1:1</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">John Calvin</span> states the same, <span style="font-style: italic;">“the obedience of Jesus Christ, which is imputed to us saves sinners."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Westminster Confession</span> makes this distinction when it says that justification is through <span style="font-style: italic;">“imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ” </span>to elect sinners.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">John Gill</span> states <span style="font-style: italic;">“not only the active obedience of Christ, with his sufferings and death, but also that the holiness of his human nature is imputed to us for justification.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">John Owen</span> speaks thoroughly about this throughout His works:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">“First, By the obedience of the life of Christ you see what is intended, —his willing submission unto, and perfect, complete fulfilling of, every law of God, that any of the saints of God were obliged unto. It is true, every act almost of Christ’s obedience, from the blood of his circumcision to the blood of his cross, was attended with suffering, so that his whole life might, in that regard, be called a death; but yet, looking upon his willingness and obedience in it, it is distinguished from his sufferings peculiarly so called, and termed his active righteousness. This is, then, I say, as was showed, that complete, absolutely perfect accomplishment of the whole law of God by Christ, our mediator; whereby he not only “did no sin, neither was there guile fold in his mouth,” but also most perfectly fulfilled all righteousness, as he affirmed it became him to do. Secondly, That this obedience was performed by Christ not for himself, but for us, and in our stead.”<br /><br />“with respect unto the imputation of the active obedience or righteousness of Christ unto us [is] an essential part of that righteousness whereon we are justified before God... That which Christ, the mediator and surety of the covenant, did do in obedience unto God, in the discharge and performance of his office, that he did for us; and that is imputed unto us.”<br /></blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">I do not nullify the grace of God; </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">for if righteousness comes through the Law, </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">then Christ died needlessly.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Galatians 2:21</span></span><br /></div> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Charles Hodge</span> states, <span style="font-style: italic;">“The righteousness of Christ is commonly represented as including his active and passive obedience. This distinction is, as to the idea, Scriptural.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">According to William Ames</span>, in differentiation from the works of Adam which brought condemnation, Christ’s works, all of them, are imputed to the Christian for justification, <span style="font-style: italic;">“The obedience of Christ is that righteousness (Romans 5:16) in the name of which the grace of God justifies us, just as the disobedience of Adam was that offense (Romans 5:16) for which God’s justice condemns us. Therefore the righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers in justification.”</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Francis Turretin explains</span> the difference between the active and passive righteousness of Christ and its importance, <blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">“the two things are not to be separated from each other. We are not to say as some do that the “satisfaction” is by the passive work of Christ alone and the “merit” is by the active work alone. The satisfaction and the merit are not to be thus viewed in isolation, each by itself, because the benefit in each depends upon the total work of Christ. For sin cannot be expiated until the law as precept has been perfectly fulfilled; nor can a title to eternal life be merited before the guilt of sin has been atoned for.” </span><br /><br />He continues, <span style="font-style: italic;">“the obedience of Christ rendered in our name to God the Father is so given to us by God that it is reckoned to be truly ours and that it is the sole and only righteousness on account of and by the merit of which we are absolved from the guilt of our sins and obtain a right to life; and that there is in us no righteousness or good works by which we can deserve such great benefits which can bear the server examination of the divine court, if God willed to deal with us according to the rigor of his law."</span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jonathan Edwards explains</span> why Christ’s active obedience is so vital in respect to covenant work and fulfillment:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"The first distribution of the acts of Christ’s righteousness is with respect to the laws which Christ obeyed in that righteousness which he performed. But here it must be observed in general, that all the precepts which Christ obeyed may be reduced to one law, and that is that which the apostle calls the law of works, Rom. 3:27. Every command that Christ obeyed may be reduced to that great and everlasting law of God that is contained in the covenant of works, that eternal rule of right which God had established between himself and mankind. Christ came into the world to fulfill and answer the covenant of works, that is, the covenant that is to stand forever as a rule of judgment. And that is the covenant that we had broken, and that was the covenant that must be fulfilled."</blockquote> <span style="font-weight: bold;">W.G.T. Shedd says </span>the same more succinctly, <span style="font-style: italic;">“Christ’s active obedience is his perfect performance of the requirements of the moral law.”<br /><br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" >having been filled with<br />the fruit of righteousness </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" >which comes through Jesus Christ, </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br />to the glory and praise of God.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">-Philippians 1:11</span></span></span><br /></div> <span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /><br />Jesus Christ - our Yom Kippur</span></span><br />Christ is our righteousness beloved; and without His active and passive obedience in satisfying the requirements and the demands of the Law, the fullness of that righteousness would be incomplete. It would be a righteousness of our own doing--not His. But the good news of the gospel is, by grace through faith in Christ alone He has imputed to sinful man His perfect righteousess so that we as His elect may have a right standing before a holy God. We can never be justified in the sight of God and obtain a true righteousness that does not fail by ourselves.<br /><br />Today is Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement in the Jewish calendar. It is the one day out of the year that the high priest could go into the holy of holies and offer a sacrifice for the sins of himself and for the sins of the people. It was a shadow of things to come. BUT NOW, the substance has come and the shadow has been done away with. Jesus Christ is our High Priest who once for all, for all time, for every time entered the Holy of Holies on the cross (Heb. 2:17; 7:26; 9:14ff; 6:19f); shed His own blood as a sacrifice for the sins of His chosen ones, redeemed us and has brought us into intimacy with God forever. The Apostle Paul even says that <span style="font-style: italic;">"He was raised for our justification"</span> (Roms. 4:25).<br /><br />May you rejoice today beloved that all has been accomplished in and through the sinless life and perfect death and bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ that is needed for our salvation. Do you know Him as your Lord today? Then take hope in this: you are clothed with the perfect rightouesness of Christ and therefore you will never face judgment or eternal wrath. What confidence we may have to approach the throne of grace to find help in time of need.<br /><br />Amen?<br />Solus Christos<br /></span>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1142341583706177402013-08-28T16:00:00.000-04:002013-08-28T16:24:41.520-04:00LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO!...rekindling the fires of biblical evangelism<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">"But I do not account my life of any value </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">nor as precious to myself, </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">if only I may finish my course and the ministry </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">that I received from the Lord Jesus, </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">-Acts 20:24</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=mattew+28%3A16-20%3B+luke+24%3B+Romans+15"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/who-cares2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 304px; margin: 0pt 0px 10px 10pt; width: 486px;" /></a>Do we have a passion for lost souls? Do we go "where Christ is not yet named" to proclaim the life giving truth of sola fide to people who need the Savior? Do we identify with the profound self-condemning burden of the Apostle Paul for others to know the Lord when he says, <i>"For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh... to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises"</i> <b>-Romans 9:3-4.</b> Or has apathy about the things for eternity numbed our hearts to the cries of those dying without Jesus Christ? Though God has chosen His elect in Christ before the foundations of the world (Eph. 1:3-5), He still commands us to go into all the world and preach the gospel; to call all men everywhere to repentance; and to be ambassadors for Christ (cp, Rom. 1:16, Acts 17, Phil. 1:29). <i><b>"Hell is burning while the church sleeps"</b></i> beloved. When will we wake up from the slumber of our souls, loosen our tongues and proclaim the cross of Christ without apology, without hesitation, and without fear?<br />
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In most gospel calls today, there is little talk about sin; repentance; justification by faith; the Law; Lordship; propitiation; loving Him more than all other loves; denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Him, etc. One might legitimately wonder in the absence of those things, what do people actually respond to when we see public calls to follow the Lord Jesus Christ? No where in the gospels did the Lord ever invite someone to simply accept Him and pray a sinners prayer. The gospel is not just an offer of salvation; the gospel is a call to follow the Lord; a command to repent of our sin; and a compelling to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:14-21). Amen?<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Correct Theology Should Not Make us Silent</span></b></span><br />
As one who believes passionately in the doctrines of grace; the five solas; historic reformed biblical Christianity; and God's sovereign election of His own from all eternity in Christ; I deeply fear that "correct sound theology" has made some of us silent, proud, lax rather than bold, dispassionate, and to abandon the proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the marketplace. Where are the Whitefields, the Edwards, the Baxters, the Watsons today; in short, where are the sovereign-grace evangelists of our day willing to do <i>"all things for the sake of the elect?"</i> (2 Tim. 2:10).<br />
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We need to come out from under the safety of our comfort zone and step away from the ease of our carefully, crafted, cultivated world, and go <i>"where Christ is not yet named"</i> (Roms. 15:20). Whether across the street or around the world; we all need to be faithful witnesses for Christ Jesus our Lord (Acts 1:8).<br />
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It is good news we have to proclaim beloved (Rom. 1:16): how can a sinful man or woman have peace with a holy God for eternity? (Rom. 5:1-2). We must come to the cross where the perfect "righteousness of God was put on display as a propitiation for our sins." Let's live it, defend it, proclaim it, and share it; and "not loving our lives as unto death." (Acts 20:24).<br />
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I hope these two biblical and practical lists below of "The Gospel Proclaimed: and "The Gospel Obeyed" will encourage you and strengthen you to go into all world and preach the gospel. Evangelism is not just for a few professionals in the body of Christ--we are all to be witnesses of His transforming grace right where the Lord has placed each of us in the world.<br />
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<span style="color: navy;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">THE GOSPEL PROCLAIMED:</span></b></span><br />
Any clear presentation of the gospel of grace would include the following in some measure:<br />
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<b>1. The Law -</b> Romans 3-4; Galatians 3-4<br />
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<b>2. Man's Inability to Save himself - Total Depravity -</b> Romans 3:10-18; Ephesians 2:1-3<br />
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<b>3. Justification by Faith Alone (the heart and soul of the gospel) -</b> Romans 3-5; Galatians 3-4<br />
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<b>4. Unmerited, Undeserved Grace -</b> Ephesians 1-2<br />
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<b>5. The Incarnation and Sinless Life of the Lord Jesus Christ -</b> John 1:1-14; Hebrews 2:9, 14-17<br />
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<b>6. The once for all Vicarious Penal Substitutionary Death of Christ on the Cross -</b> Hebrews 2:9, 17-18; 9:14<br />
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<b>7. Atonement, Expiation, and Propitiation in Christ -</b> Romans 3:24-26; 1 John 2:2; Hebrews 2:17<br />
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<b>8. The Triumphant Bodily Resurrection of Jesus from the Dead -</b> Philippians 2:5-12</blockquote>
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<b>9. Jesus Christ proclaimed as Lord -</b> Romans 10:9-10; Phil. 2:11<br />
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<b>10. The Call of the ungodly to Repentance from Sin -</b> Luke 24:46-49; Acts 2:36-42; 17:24-31; Romans 1-2<br />
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<b>11. The Prayer for God to grant Saving Faith to the Unregenerate -</b> Ephesians 2:8-9;<br />
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<b>12. The Call to Follow Christ as Lord -</b> Matthew 7:21-23; 16:24-28; Luke 14:24:25-35; Romans 10; 2 Cor. 5:14-21</blockquote>
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<span style="color: navy;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">THE GOSPEL OBEYED:</span></b></span><br />
What must one do to be saved? Man cannot do anything to be saved--he is hopelessly dead in trespass and sin. Man is completely impotent to save himself--there is no hope for him apart from Christ (Eph. 2:1-3; Roms. 3:10-18). Salvation is all of grace; all of faith; all of Christ; all of the kindness of God; all of the sanctifying and regenerative work of the Holy Spirit; and all based upon the Word of God--the gospel (Titus 3:4-7; Eph. 1:3-14). However, in saying that, the visible fruit of repentance by the internal work of grace will bear the following:<br />
<b></b><br />
<blockquote>
<b>1. Conviction, contrition and confession of sin</b><br />
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<b>2. Forsaking of all idols, loves, and all others--even self to follow Christ</b><br />
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<b>3. Forsaking of all other means of salvation except through Christ alone - Jesus Christ plus or minus nothing</b><br />
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<b>4. Forsaking of all religious practices, ceremonies, sacraments, and/or works righteousness</b><br />
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<b>5. Repentance from sin</b><br />
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<b>6. To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him</b><br />
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<b>7. Confession of Christ as Lord and belief in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead</b><br />
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<b>8. To trust solely in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved: that He is Lord-Sovereign over all; the only Savior; and the complete, once for all sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin</b><br />
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<b>9. In short: Turn to God; Trust in Christ; Take the Gift of the Holy Spirit</b></blockquote>
Nothing is more important than the preservation and proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We live in a very pragmatic time where what works has taken precedence over what is true, holy, reverent and what pleases God. May we never water-down the life giving truth of the gospel of grace for the sake of numbers, comfort of the sinner over conviction of sin, or to pave a more smoother path for ourselves, rather than preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 6:14).<br />
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And as we go into all the world, may we not charge people to hear the gospel message. Let us not demand a single penny for proclaiming its truth. It is His gospel; and we have no right to make money a prerequisite for ministry when that ministry is about the heralding of the Good News. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could go to any Christian concert, conference, evangelistic or worship gathering for whatever you could afford to give and never have to pay a ticket price again? Could you imagine the Apostle Paul charging tickets for people to hear him preach? Could you imagine the Lord demanding a fee before He gave the Sermon on the Mount? Could you imagine Peter asking for royalties to be paid before circulating one of his epistles? <i></i></div>
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<i>"Freely we have received; freely we must give."</i> Years ago, the Lord convicted me of this very thing and is why I stopped charging for my concerts, seminars, CD's... anything to do with the ministry. God broke my heart and I needed it to be crushed. I needed to repent of making money a precondition in providing ministry. Think about this beloved, I used to charge people to come to a church to worship the Lord. I used to charge people to have them hear about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. O wretched man am I. I am so grateful that the Lord, in any small measure, by His sanctifying grace alone, allows me to continue in ministry--for I certainly don't deserve to.<br />
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I thank the Lord for the faithful men and women that shared the whole gospel and not a watered-down substitute when I was young. How thankful I am the Lord in His sovereignty saved this wretched man from his sin and brought me into eternal life by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, on the Word alone, to the glory of God alone. In the words of A.W. Tozer, <i>"The cross is a radical thing."</i><br />
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His Unworthy Servant in His Unfailing Love,<br />
Steve</div>
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Titus 3:4-7</div>
SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-33837304168295843692013-08-21T13:00:00.000-04:002013-08-21T13:07:50.673-04:00A TWELVE POINT CURE FOR COMPLAINING...how to not let circumstances and attitudes rob you of your joy, contentment, and hope<a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Philippians+2%3A12-18" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207665518421580786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouKC5p2uxgfdO0R7wtjezgw1cyeVB7wtd55jt8mN5CHu3wlGbMbP14vhBMzvU0FSBlIf3g2hyphenhyphenHfmLa2KfmiBlcBb2hsh4HcdPcvKvi8DySgxe2t14D9H0IMLhIMxvQLGO_SDK/s400/stop_complaining.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">by Bill Izard</span></span><br />
Complaining is unbecoming of the true Christian and yet we are proficient at it. The cure is found in these verses. In Christ we are never hopeless or forsaken. Every trial has meaning. Meditate on this cure in order to change both your language and your heart.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">1. GOD COMMANDS ME NEVER TO COMPLAIN.</span></span></span><br />
Do all things without complaining and disputing. Philippians 2:14(NAS)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">2. GOD COMMANDS ME TO GIVE THANKS IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE.</span></span></span><br />
In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">3. GOD COMMANDS ME TO REJOICE ALWAYS, AND ESPECIALLY IN TIMES OF TRIAL.</span></span></span><br />
Rejoice in the Lord always. Phil. 4:4; Rejoice always. 1 Thessalonians 5:16; Count it all joy when you fall into various trials. James 1:2<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">4. I ALWAYS DESERVE MUCH WORSE THAN WHAT I AM SUFFERING NOW¾IN FACT, I DESERVE HELL.</span></span></span><br />
Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins? Lamentations 3:39 Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Luke 13:2-3<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">5. IN LIGHT OF THE ETERNAL HAPPINESS AND GLORY THAT I WILL EXPERIENCE IN HEAVEN, THIS PRESENT TRIAL IS EXTREMELY BRIEF AND INSIGNIFICANT, EVEN IF IT WERE TO LAST A LIFETIME.</span></span></span><br />
The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Rom. 8:18; For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4:19<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">6. MY SUFFERING IS FAR LESS THAN THAT WHICH CHRIST SUFFERED, AND HE DID NOT COMPLAIN.</span></span></span><br />
Who when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when he suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. 1 Peter 2:23<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">7. TO COMPLAIN IS TO SAY GOD IS NOT JUST.</span></span></span><br />
Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right? Genesis 18:25<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">8. FAITH AND PRAYER EXCLUDE COMPLAINING.</span></span></span><br />
I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered from all my fears. Psalm 34:4<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">9. THIS DIFFICULTY IS BEING USED BY GOD FOR MY GOOD AND IT IS FOOLISH FOR ME TO COMPLAIN AGAINST IT.</span></span></span><br />
And we know that all things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">10. THOSE MORE FAITHFUL THAN I HAVE SUFFERED FAR WORSE THAN I, AND DID SO WITHOUT COMPLAINT.</span></span></span><br />
…and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. All these, having gained approval through their faith… Hebrews 11:35-39<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">11. COMPLAINING DENIES THAT GOD'S GRACE IS ENTIRELY SUFFICIENT.</span></span></span><br />
My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">12. THE GREATEST SUFFERING, THE WORST TRIAL OR DIFFICULTY, CAN NEVER ROB ME OF THAT WHICH IS OF GREATEST VALUE TO ME AND MY GREATEST JOY, NAMELY THE LOVE OF CHRIST.</span></span></span><br />
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39<br />
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SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-57435976013160619392013-07-24T15:00:00.000-04:002013-07-24T14:57:48.765-04:00THERE IS NOTHING COMMON ABOUT GRACE...a biblical look at God's providential benevolence to all people<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ILBe-Wk53J9wT5LvhSSPxL2a6hJFGq6yH_UPSwJItcDEYBsXQK2BhN-XUMWpekM6oBcUi4Lt5JxW7B8GsN_HAlN60TlIHM-ejFciQL33bsUdRZkaREYgVGkrwvWPOYy2JSZX/s1600/blocksGrace3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ILBe-Wk53J9wT5LvhSSPxL2a6hJFGq6yH_UPSwJItcDEYBsXQK2BhN-XUMWpekM6oBcUi4Lt5JxW7B8GsN_HAlN60TlIHM-ejFciQL33bsUdRZkaREYgVGkrwvWPOYy2JSZX/s320/blocksGrace3.jpg" /></a></div>In Matthew five Jesus said, <span style="font-style: italic;">"the rain falls on the just and the unjust."</span> (compare Luke 6:27-36 as well). This is God's providential, merciful benevolence to all people—not just the elect. Theologians have referred to this general act of kindness as “common grace.” <b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />Common Grace is normally defined as:</b><i><br />"a theological concept in Protestant Christianity, primarily in Reformed and Calvinistic circles, referring to the grace of God that is common to all humankind. It is “common” because its benefits are experienced by the whole human race without distinction between one person and another. It is "grace" because it is undeserved and sovereignly bestowed by God. In this sense, it is distinguished from the Calvinistic understanding of "special" or "saving" grace, which extends only to those whom God has chosen to redeem." </i><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_grace"><span style="font-weight: bold;">-source obtained from Monergism.com</span></a><i><br /></i><br />Scriptures used to defend this theological distinctive are: Matt. 5:44-45; Matt. 37-39; Luke 6:35-36, 16:25; Acts 14:15-17; Psalm 33:5; Psalm 145:8-9; 104; 1 Tim. 4:4; Gen. 39:5, etc. This "common grace" can be seen in nature, by believers loving their neighbor and blessing the unregenerate through the fruit of a life of good works that by grace has a right-standing before God. This is what is usually held to as the definition for the phrase <i>"common grace"</i> in summarizing the bounties of God's providential benevolence and mercy upon all His creatures.<br /><br />While I agree with the meaning behind the term of "common grace", <span style="font-style: italic;">biblically </span>grace is never used to describe this universal benevolence and kindness of God.<br /><br />Grace is used some 124 times in the NT (ESV), and every mention speaks of redemption, salvation, Christ's person or ministry, our sanctification, God’s provision for us in equipping and providing for ministry, the gospel, the bestowing of spiritual gifts, etc. But not one time is the word grace itself ever used to describe God’s universal benevolence to all of His creatures - specifically the unregenerate.
<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The Definition of Grace
</span></span><br />Grace presupposes sin, guilt, and demerit; it addresses two facts: 1. we <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">have not</span> earned the favor of God; and 2. we <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">have</span> earned the curse of God.
<br /><br />Grace means we don’t get the curse we deserve AND that we get the blessings we don’t deserve. This is because Christ as our divine Substitute has acted fully in our place - imputing to us, by faith, the full merit of His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).
The Gospel, therefore, is the message of the grace of God to undeserving, unworthy, sinful people like me and you.<br /><br />The simple. historically accepted definition of grace is: ‘unmerited favor.’ Though this comes close to understanding grace, in and of itself is an inadequate definition. This is a definition more along the lines of kindness; but to really define grace--it needs to go further.
<br /><br />I was having dinner a while back with a friend of mine Jerry Bridges. He is one of the most profound Bible teachers of our day and his books reflect his deep love for the Lord and His Word. When we were discussing this issue of grace, he gave me a tremendous illustration to communicate the difference between providential benevolence and God's grace.<br /><br />He said,<br /><blockquote>A hungry hobo comes to your door asking for a meal. You give it to him freely, without him doing anything to earn it. This would be considered ‘kindness’, not ‘grace’.
<br /><br />Biblical correct definitions of grace would be:
1. Grace - <span style="font-style: italic;">‘God’s favor through Christ to those who deserve His disfavor.’</span>
This version is designed to compare/contrast the historically accepted inadequate definition of grace above.
Or 2. Grace - <span style="font-style: italic;">‘God’s blessings through Christ to those who deserve His curse.’</span>
This is the better of the two definitions.
</blockquote>To illustrate this Jerry went on in using his example of the hobo. He continued by saying,<br /><blockquote>The hobo robs you after eating your free meal. He then returns one month later. Instead of calling the police, you give him another meal.
<br /><br />Key components of the definition:
1. Christ is the only basis for both our redemption from the curse and our attaining any of God’s blessings.
2. We have assaulted the holiness of God, but yet have been His grace. Back to our hobo, this takes us from seeing ourselves as the hungry hobo to seeing ourselves as the robber.
</blockquote>IOW, grace is ‘God in action.’ Grace is not just a benevolent attitude on God’s part to all people. Grace is always ‘God in action’ for our good and for His glory.
Again,
every time the Bible mentions ‘grace’ it is always associated with ‘God in action.’ He is: saving us, justifying us, empowering us, sustaining us, equipping us, etc. ‘by grace.’
<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Words have Meaning</span></span><br />One of the reasons I enjoy writing (and reading) is that to effectively communicate one must place a high value on words.
Words mean something. Words in the Word of God mean profound eternal "somethings." Grace, when used in the Bible, means something weighty, treasured, and valuable. And though the historical or traditional meaning of "common grace" has lent itself to represent a general mercy or benevolence by God for all people (which again I affirm), it seems there is a danger - even if ever so slightly - of weakening the high value and rich meaning of "grace" when we use it in a manner which the Scriptures do not.
<br /><br />By comparison, when we speak of general and special revelation, we clearly have Scripture to support that distinction. Psalm 19:1-6 describes God's general revelation (the heavens declare His glory); and Psalm 19:7-9 describes His special revelation (the law of the Lord is just converting the soul). And this is done without having to alter the biblical meaning of the word <span style="font-style: italic;">“revelation” </span>in making that distinction.
To be consistent, the same principle should apply to grace... shouldn't it?<br /><br />I also understand the need to answer questions of faith and to look biblically for those answers. Dutch theologian, Louis Berkhof, gives us an example of the kinds of questions this issue of common grace may prompt. He asks:<br /><ul> <li>How can we explain the comparatively orderly life in the world, seeing that the whole world lies under the curse of sin? </li> <li>How is it that the earth yields precious fruit in rich abundance and does not simply bring forth thorns and thistles? </li> <li>How can we account for it that sinful man still "retains some knowledge of God, of natural things, and of the difference between good and evil, and shows some regard for virtue and for good outward behavior"? </li> <li>What explanation can be given of the special gifts and talents with which the natural man is endowed, and of the development of science and art by those who are entirely devoid of the new life that is in Christ Jesus? </li> <li>How can we explain the religious aspirations of men everywhere, even of those who did not come in touch with the Christian religion? </li> <li>How can the unregenerate still speak the truth, do good to others, and lead outwardly virtuous lives? </li> </ul> ...then and to come to the text of God's Word to answer them truthfully, correctly and biblically.
I see the answers to the above questions contained in rightly understanding God's universal providential benevolence--not in the phrase of "common grace."
May I say there is nothing "common" about grace; whether the word means a general community, universal application, or to display a pedestrian distinction.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">To quote again the profound words of G.S. Bishop when speaking of grace he says,</span> <blockquote style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">"Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the ax of justice; so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures; so adverse to God that they cannot turn to Him; so blind that they cannot see Him; so deaf that they cannot hear Him; and so dead that He Himself must open their graves."</span></span></blockquote></span> </blockquote>Therefore, we can see that grace is not used in the NT in a casual or ad-hoc manner to describe a universal benevolence or mercy given to all created beings. God is kind and benevolent to all people - reprobate and regenerate (Matt. 5:45). But grace is used in a more exalted way to describe God's work of redemption toward sinful men in the gospel (Acts 20:24; Roms. 5:15; 1 Cor. 1:4; Titus 2:11); and the person and ministry of Jesus Christ our Lord (John 1:14, 17; Acts 15:11; Roms. 1:7; Eph. 2:8-9). Even the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29).
This is a simple issue for me: when using biblical language, use it in the way that God has in describing the faith.<br /><br />Some want to discredit this kind of thinking by labeling me a hyper-Calvinist (which I am most definitely not); or by saying this departs from agreed theological nomenclature (which again, I affirm the orthodox meaning behind the phrase).<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Why Dumb-Down Grace?</span></span><br />But why dumb-down grace by calling it something biblically it is not. I am not arguing for using only biblical terms in any discussion. What I am contending for, however, is keeping terms that are stated and used in the biblical record true to their meaning and context...<span style="font-style: italic;"> biblically.</span> There is a difference. Grace is such a term that is part of the NT record and used in very specific ways over 120 times and carries with it a meaning that is lofty and profound.
Let's not alter that...<br /><br />I.e. - The word <span style="font-style: italic;">"Trinity"</span> is not a biblical term, but serves to concisely represent biblical truth. Terms such as " the five solas", "eschatology", "soteriology" etc. are not biblical terms, but they do clearly represent biblical truth.
We can use them to unfold categories of theological belief that are "commonly" understood when speaking of certain theological convictions and truths.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPsZIIwxkQh_vL_cxgHhNIC0EIzOpT1q6gMGjjJwIYORg7T0-c8StpJQ4urt5U_Iq2rohIXElJD-b70V0z8jFuweZ2WXLYzd6BUxXwhbmf1A0RhcUElBTZTjZ6gPQQ4ml4S-z/s1600-h/362431365_6397adcea9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPsZIIwxkQh_vL_cxgHhNIC0EIzOpT1q6gMGjjJwIYORg7T0-c8StpJQ4urt5U_Iq2rohIXElJD-b70V0z8jFuweZ2WXLYzd6BUxXwhbmf1A0RhcUElBTZTjZ6gPQQ4ml4S-z/s400/362431365_6397adcea9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099423900150008930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">One caveat here:</span></span> the heritage of the phrase "common grace" is well documented and foundational for this issue. But the historical sense of it means little and should not take precedence when the biblical record is so clear.<br /><br />IOW, I wouldn't point to the rich reformed historical heritage of paedo-baptism and favor it against the clear biblical record of credo-baptism just because paedo-baptism enjoys a n agreed historical tradition and practice among some of my reformed brothers (I mean, we are not Romanists). Though sadly, some in the reformed camp (no pun intended) stand more firmly on their historical practice over and against the biblical record to justify the baptizing of infants while at the same time deny the baptizing of adults who were once baptized as infants claiming that would be a "rebaptism."<br /><br />Some of you might remember, or were even there, when R.C. Sproul debated John MacArthur on this issue several years ago. R.C. conceded in his opening remarks that John had already won the debate because they had agreed to make their respective cases from the scope of God's Word. Simply, John had the weight of Scripture behind him on this issue, R.C. did not. Both of these men are tremendous pastors, teachers and theologians whom I greatly appreciate, love and respect in my life and ministry. But I was so encouraged that R.C. paid homage to the truth of God's Word over the historic tradition -- even though he ultimately didn't change his conviction on infant baptism. The biblical teaching should always trump the historic tradition. That same principle should govern our thinking when we are defining key and essentials aspects of Christianity.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Graciousness vs. Grace</span></span><br />In Jerry's hobo illustration, I do see the response as being one of graciousness--but to me that's not an act of grace, but an act of mercy and benevolence. IMHO, those two things are different.
Gracious implies genial, affable, urbane, merciful, compassionate. But an act of God's grace is redemptive, salvific. Maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but I don't think it's ta-MAY-toe, ta-MA-toe.
Again, words mean something; and grace is too important of a word to concede to theological labeling.<br /><br />Psalm 145:8-9 that some site in defense of the phrase "common grace" are some of my favorite verses on the benevolence of God.<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works."</blockquote>Spurgeon's commentary on these verses is especially profound. He does mention <span style="font-style: italic;">"his plans and his poses all manifest his grace, or free favour";</span> but then he does clarify it more as his commentary unfolds on the whole of it pertaining to these verses by emphasizing God's mercy, longsuffering, and compassion.
<br /><br />Consider these words: <blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"To all living men his aspect: he is gracious, or full of goodness and generosity. He treats creatures with kindness, his subjects with consideration, and his saints favour."
<br /><br />"To the suffering, the weak, the despondent, he is very pitiful: he feels for them, he feels with them: he this heartily, and in a practical manner. Of this pitifulness he is full, so the compassionates freely, constantly, deeply, divinely, and effectually."
</blockquote><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"What an ocean of compassion there must be since the Infinite God is full of Slow to anger. Even those who refuse his grace yet share in long suffering. When men do not repent, but, on the contrary, go from bad to worse, averse to let his wrath flame forth against them. Greatly patient and anxious that the sinner may live, he "lets the lifted thunder drop", and still bears. "Love suffereth long and is kind", and God is love. And of great mercy. This is his attitude towards the guilty. When men at last repent, find pardon awaiting them. Great is their sin, and great is God's mercy, need great help, and they have it though they deserve it not; for he is good to the greatly guilty."
</blockquote>This discussion comes down to a simple recognition that grace, biblically defined, does have a meaning that doesn't carry with it the idea of a universal or common benevolence or kindness. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">But something more powerful:</span> redemption, salvation, conformity to Christ; justification; imputation; propitiation; and glorification.<br /><br />Grace
is also representative of God's character (the grace of God) and of Jesus Christ (full of grace and truth; the word of His grace; as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.)<br /><br /><div>This is the heart and soul of it... To those with whom I disagree, I think we are on the same page here--just using different phrases to express the same, important truth.
<br /><br />To be clear, I have never claimed that grace is only used in a soteriological sense (though that is the majority of its usage in the NT). I listed above that grace is used in matters of provision and equipping for ministry (2 Cor. 9:8; 2 Tim. 2:1) ; in our sanctification (Col. 4:6; Titus 2:12); for the use and purpose of spiritual gifts (1 Peter 4:10); and also in relation to the character of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (cp, Col. 1:2; John 1:14-17; Heb. 10:29).
<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Grace Upon Grace</span></span><br />In closing, there is a wonderful phrase in the first chapter of John's gospel where he says, <blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace."</blockquote>"Grace upon grace. Literally, as Dr. MacArthur referred to this in a sermon by saying, "we are graced with grace" (cf, Eph. 1:5-8; 2:7). This is speaking to the super-abounding grace given to us. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Where sin once abounded, grace super-abounded..."</span> I am a great sinner; but He is a greater Savior.
<br /><br />This "grace upon grace" reality flows from the "fulness of Christ." As Calvin says, <blockquote>"He begins now to preach about the office of Christ, that it contains within itself an abundance of all blessings, so that no part of salvation must be sought anywhere else. True, indeed, the fountain of life, righteousness, virtue, and wisdom, is with God, but to us it is a hidden and inaccessible fountain. But an abundance of those things is exhibited to us in Christ,"
</blockquote>This is the language of sufficiency beloved.<br /><br />Paul echoes this in Colossians: Col. 1:18 <blockquote>"He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. Col. 1:19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, Col. 1:20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven."
AND, "that is, Christ Himself, Col. 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col. 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, Col. 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;"</blockquote>If we look at the flow of this section of Scripture (John 1:14-18) the outline unfolds according to Pink as follows:<br /><ol> <li style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Christ’s Incarnation—"The word became flesh": John 1:14.
2. </span></li> <li style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Christ’s Earthly sojourn—"And tabernacled among us:" John 1:14.
3. </span></li> <li style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Christ’s Essential Glory—"As of the only Begotten:" John 1:14.
4. </span></li> <li style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Christ’s Supreme excellency—"Preferred before:" John 1:15.
5. </span></li> <li style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Christ’s Divine sufficiency—"His fulness:" John 1:16.
6. </span></li> <li style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Christ’s Moral perfections—"Grace and truth:" John 1:17.
7. </span></li> <li><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Christ’s Wondrous revelation—Made known "the Father:" John 1:18.
</span></span> </li> </ol> Therefore, I would conclude the "all" in verse 16 pertains to all believers; for no unbeliever is partakers of His fulness and recipients of "grace upon grace." It could also be argued, I guess, that the all could mean: <span style="font-style: italic;">"John appeals to all his own contemporaries as participants with him in the fulness of the Logos."</span> (Robertson)
<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUR-gpb6GXcVxTjE8WdfuJDqfNrfyB8AH_8J1vvfijNnD1lCf9bJSbQdBPx4yTKmaPNKhLw3_3PjG4m4iUIAe6u5u7LJTh5qrShxwrPO1fWieXGAiQbf4YW1tCjG6lR-hI3Iqs/s1600-h/26092879_148ce348bb-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUR-gpb6GXcVxTjE8WdfuJDqfNrfyB8AH_8J1vvfijNnD1lCf9bJSbQdBPx4yTKmaPNKhLw3_3PjG4m4iUIAe6u5u7LJTh5qrShxwrPO1fWieXGAiQbf4YW1tCjG6lR-hI3Iqs/s400/26092879_148ce348bb-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099424999661636722" border="0" /></a>As to the example of Ezra: the context is not the general pagan world, but to the people of God. We know this to be certain for Ezra writes in 9:8: <span style="font-style: italic;">"that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage."</span> Ezra’s address is a penitent confession of sin, the sin of his people. Let this be the comfort of true penitents, that though their sins reach to the heavens, God’s mercy is in the heavens.
And part of that favor, as you say, is evidenced in releasing a remnant from captivity.
<br /><br />As some have rightly said, <span style="font-style: italic;">"there are so many things God has done for every single person in the world which we do not deserve."</span> Amen! His providential kindness and benevolence rests on all the sons of Adam.
<br /><br />I also like how John Gill approaches this phrase when he says, <blockquote>"the meaning is, grace is for the sake of grace; for there is no other cause of electing, justifying, pardoning, adopting, and regenerating grace, and even eternal life, but the grace, or free favour of God;" "...I also think, the abundance of it, at first conversion, with all after supplies, is intended; and that grace for grace, is the same with grace upon grace, heaps of grace;"</blockquote>The superabundance of grace that comes through Jesus. I'm certainly not married to the phrase "graced with grace" - but I thought it reflected well the "grace upon grace" plentifulness found in Christ Jesus our Lord. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Favor given to one who has already received favor"</span> also says it well.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Grace imparted; grace increasing.</b><br /></div><br />Grace not being static, but active. AT Robertson says, <blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"Hebrews 12:2 where "joy" and "cross" are balanced against each other. Here the picture is "grace" taking the place of "grace" like the manna fresh each morning, new grace for the new day and the new service."
<br /></blockquote>I know that Dan has an extensive knowledge of Greek and I would be interested on his thoughts as well. I'll defer to his wisdom on this.
<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Grace-Focused Worship</span></span><br />But here's the wonder and majesty of this issue for me in all this beloved. I awoke this morning worshipping the Lord and praising Him for His matchless, abounding, fathomless saving-sanctifying-glorifying grace.
This discussion about grace has caused me a fresh to reverence God today with joy. Why? Because He is a God of grace; and aren't you glad? Instead of His wrath He has given me His grace; instead of His justice, He has given me His mercy; and instead of His enmity, He has given me His unfailing love. Amen?
<br /><br />What hope, what promise, what forgiveness, what life and victory is given to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
<br /><br />Jesus Christ IS our all in all...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Further Study and Reading:</span><br />1. "The History and Theology of Calvinism" by Curt Daniel, Ph.D.<br />2. "Dogmatic Theology" by William G.T. Shedd<br />3. "Systematic Theology" by Wayne Grudem</span></span></div></div>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1140243634888069382013-07-20T06:00:00.000-04:002013-07-20T07:36:54.810-04:00THE NECESSITY AND URGENCY OF MAINTAINING SOUND DOCTRINE...the prototypical test for the local church in evangelicalism today<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIet1dYoetB7E4pmpsBu5gi5Urmy2dFOu4XvgucbhWfd5ciUNbxOk9Jn9-YmcPHEHzbQNUyOAnIM5DKQETsMuuu_kcAfpeBGSbFOJpanZmswwKk8pF7XAD5XR5vfQBIfDncklg/s1600-h/emergent-cartoon.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 361px; height: 476px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIet1dYoetB7E4pmpsBu5gi5Urmy2dFOu4XvgucbhWfd5ciUNbxOk9Jn9-YmcPHEHzbQNUyOAnIM5DKQETsMuuu_kcAfpeBGSbFOJpanZmswwKk8pF7XAD5XR5vfQBIfDncklg/s400/emergent-cartoon.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212524053173537122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">-2 Timothy 2:15</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you."</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">-2 Timothy 1:13-14<br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">-Titus 1:9</span><br /><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br />by A.W. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Tozer</span></span></span></span></span><br />It would be impossible to overemphasize the importance of sound doctrine in the life of a Christian. Right thinking about all spiritual matters is imperative if we would have right living. As men do not gather grapes of thorns nor figs of thistles, so sound character does not grow out of unsound teaching.<br /><br />The word doctrine means simply religious beliefs held and taught. It is the sacred task of all Christians, first as believers and then as teachers of religious beliefs, to be certain that these beliefs correspond exactly to truth. A precise agreement between belief and fact constitutes soundness in doctrine. We cannot afford to have less.<br /><br /><span style="color:blue;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Contend for the Faith</span></b></span><br />The apostles not only taught truth but contended for its purity against any who would corrupt it. The Pauline epistles resist every effort of false teachers to introduce doctrinal vagaries. john's epistles are sharp with condemnation of those teachers who harassed the young church by denying the incarnation and throwing doubts upon the doctrine of the Trinity; and Jude in his brief but powerful epistle rises to heights of burning eloquence as he pours scorn upon evil teachers who would mislead the saints.<br /><br />Each generation of Christians must look to its beliefs. While truth itself is unchanging, the minds of men are porous vessels out of which truth can leak and into which error may seep to dilute the truth they contain. The human heart is heretical by nature and runs to error as naturally as a garden to weeds. All a man, a church or a denomination needs to guarantee deterioration of doctrine is to take everything for granted and do nothing. The unattended garden will soon be overrun with weeds; the heart that fails to cultivate truth and root out error will shortly be a theological wilderness; the church or denomination that grows careless on the highway of truth will before long find itself astray, bogged down in some mud flat from which there is no escape.<br /><br /><span style="color:blue;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Faithfulness to Truth</span></b></span><br />In every field of human thought and activity accuracy is considered a virtue. To err ever so slightly is to invite serious loss, if not death itself. Only in religious thought is faithfulness to truth looked upon as a fault. When men deal with things earthly and temporal they demand truth; when they come to the consideration of things heavenly and eternal they hedge and hesitate as if truth either could not be discovered or didn't matter anyway.<br /><br />Montaigne said, <i>"that a liar is one who is brave toward God and a coward toward men; for a liar faces God and shrinks from men."</i> Is this not simply a proof of unbelief? Is it not to say that the liar believes in men but is not convinced of the existence of God, and is willing to risk the displeasure of a God who may not exist rather than that of man who obviously does?<br /><br /><span style="color:blue;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Carelessness in Religion</span></b></span><br />I think also that deep, basic unbelief is back of human carelessness in religion. The scientist, the physician, the navigator deals with matters he knows are real; and because these things are real the world demands that both teacher and practitioner be skilled in the knowledge of them. The teacher of spiritual things only is required to be unsure in his beliefs, ambiguous in his remarks and tolerant of every religious opinion expressed by anyone, even by the man least qualified to hold an opinion.<br /><br /><div>Haziness of doctrine has always been the mark of the liberal. When the Holy Scriptures are rejected as the final authority on religious belief something must be found to take their place. Historically that something has been either reason or sentiment: if sentiment, it has been humanism. Sometimes there has been an admixture of the two, as may be seen in liberal churches today. These will not quite give up the Bible, neither will they quite believe it; the result is an unclear body of beliefs more like a fog than a mountain, where anything may be true but nothing may be trusted as being certainly true.<br /><br />We have gotten accustomed to the blurred puffs of gray fog that pass for doctrine in modernistic churches and expect nothing better, but it is a cause for real alarm that the fog has begun of late to creep into many evangelical churches. From some previously unimpeachable sources are now coming vague statements consisting of a milky admixture of Scripture, science and human sentiment that is true to none of its ingredients because each one works to cancel the others out.<br /><br /><span style="color:blue;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Brainwashed Evangelicals</span></b></span><br />Certain of our evangelical brethren appear to be laboring under the impression that they are advanced thinkers because they are rethinking evolution and re-evaluating various Bible doctrines or even divine inspiration itself; but so far are they from being advanced thinkers that they are merely timid followers of modemism-fifty years behind the parade.<br /><br />Little by little evangelical Christians these days are being brainwashed. One evidence is that increasing numbers of them are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth. They say they believe but their beliefs have been so diluted as to be impossible of clear definition.<br /><br />Moral power has always accompanied definitive beliefs. Great saints have always been dogmatic. We need right now a return to a gentle dogmatism that smiles while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever."</div><div><br /><br /><div align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">by A.W. Tozer, The Best Of A.W. Tozer, pg. 174-176,<br />taken from Man, The Dwelling Place Of God</span></span></span></div></div></div>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1149606065763278032013-07-12T00:00:00.000-04:002013-07-11T22:50:36.251-04:00THE PRAYER OF A MINOR PROPHET...recovering the reverence of God in ministry<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/1%20Kings%2018%20Elijah-Mt%20Carmel%20Fire.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10pt 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 347px; height: 478px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/1%20Kings%2018%20Elijah-Mt%20Carmel%20Fire.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" > Too much is being made of postmodernism today. It's not that difficult to figure out, comprehend or confront. </span><br /><br />The issue in ministry is what it has always been--a right view of God: of His character, of His gospel and of His Word - proclaimed. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >No one ever lives greater than their view of God.</span><br /><br />So much of ministry today is focused on methodology rather than the Master; and everyone is trying to be the smartest guy in the room, trying to figure out new ways to figure out how to breakthrough the postmodern mindset in evangelism today. This is not that complicated beloved. How "culturally-correct" was Elijah when calling down fire on Mount Carmel; when Paul called the Stoic Athenian philosophers to repentance on Mars Hill; when Moses commanded Pharaoh to "let My people go"; when John the Baptist called the Pharisees coming out to see those being baptized as “a brood of vipers”; or when the Lord shrunk Gideon’s armies of 32,000 to 300 against a foe of 135,000, etc.? They weren't; that wasn’t their concern, focus, or preoccupation. They were not concerned with bringing the times into eternity; but brought eternity into time by proclaiming the truth of God's Word and calling people to live in the fear of the Lord.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >But today, the face of evangelicalism has been altered so dramatically that it looks "doctrinally disfigured"</span><br />suffering from one too many "botox injections" of pragmaticism and ecumenism; with severe "soteriological 'nips and tucks'" that gifted "plastic surgeons" skilled with the scalpel of New Perspectivism, Inclusivism, Open Theism and Postmodernism have cut away so much of authentic gospel "tissue" that what's left is just a synthetic, artificial substitute. The "religious legislative laser technicians" have almost completely burned away the aged wrinkles of faithfulness to God's Word trying to give a "new face of influence" through political activism--turning the body of Christ into just another lobbyist group or political action committee. Seminaries are having "theological lypo-suction" done at such alarming rates that even the doctrinal positions of the Emergent/Emerging Church are looking strangely... "orthodox" by comparison. And "full body makeovers" of local churches are being done so effectively as to not have to look like church, sound like church, act like church, be called a church, or function as a church that they could be featured on a special ecclesiastical episode of "The Swan."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >All sardonic metaphor aside,</span><br />here's the plain truth: the rule of faith is no longer the Scriptures, but experience; the goal of faith is no longer holiness, but happiness; the purpose of faith is no longer the glory of God, but being 'in conversation' with the culture; and the object of faith is no longer Christ, but self. In other words, 'Evangelical Christianity' is becoming completely unrecognizable.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >What's the solution?</span><br />We need to recover biblical ministry in the church today; the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (sola fide - justification and imputation); and a high view of God calling people to live in the fear of the Lord. The Lord never lowers His call on His people because of cultural vacillations or proclivities. IOW, you don't need to pepper church ministry with sponsoring "poker night" this week in order to appeal to pomos in your neighborhood.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >The right priority of biblical ministry can be summed up in one phrase beloved:</span> <i><br />"It's not about us, it's all about Him."</i><br /><br />As you read the following prayer written by A.W. Tozer at the beginning of his ministry, may it encourage you to recover the reverence of God in ministry once again.<br /><blockquote>"O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and was afraid. Thou hast called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. Thou art about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, my Lord, Thou hast stooped to honor me to be Thy servant. No man taketh this honor upon himself save he that is called of God as was Aaron. Thou has ordained me Thy messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected Thee, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the servant.<br /><br />My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfittedness for the work. The responsibility is not mine, but Thine. Thou hast said, 'I knew thee - I ordained thee - I sanctified thee,' and Thou hast also said, 'Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.' Who am I to argue with Thee or to call into question Thy sovereign choice? The decision is not mine but Thine. So be it, Lord. Thy will, not mine, be done. Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee Thou wilt honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live.<br /><br />It is time, O God, for Thee to work, for the enemy has entered into Thy pastures and the sheep are torn and scattered. And false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock. The sheep are deceived by these hirelings and follow them with touching loyalty while the wolf closes in to kill and destroy. I beseech Thee, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice so like Thine own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow Thee.<br /><br />Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religious scribe and thus loose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the face of the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offerings.<br /><br />Help me to remember that I am prophet not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to the crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that could make life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. Or, if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I should have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And, if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.<br /><br />And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven.<br /><br />Though I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee, therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with Thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness, even Thine only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.<br /><br />Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting. Amen."</blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-this has been an encore presentation-</span></div>SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1167929031906022422013-07-11T07:00:00.000-04:002013-07-11T10:31:41.936-04:00THE TREASURE OF BIBLICAL CONTENTMENT...active rest in the sovereignty of God<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6742/1254/1600/842978/vermeer033.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6742/1254/400/113891/vermeer033.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Phil. 4:10</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">Introduction:</span></span><br />Philippians, is a letter of deep gratitude—marked by the continuous use of the word joy and/or rejoice. Paul is writing this letter of thanksgiving and appreciation for the kindness and generosity of the believers at Philippi expressed to him. He warns them of false teachers (3:1-4:1), to inform them of his situation in Rome (1:12-26), to encourage them in unity (2:1-2), and to commemorate his dear friend and co-worker Epaphroditus (2:25).<br /><br />Paul finds himself incarcerated at Rome (1:13, 4:22), under house arrest—chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16) though he still was permitted to receive visitors and still havepthe opportunity to preach the gospel. He is at low ebb in his ministry and life anticipating a trial before Nero, which could result in his execution. These Philippian believers had a great love for him and they send Epaphroditus to Paul to bring to him what the apostle calls the <i>“sweet aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God”</i> (4:18).<br /><br />In these eleven verses (Phil. 4:10-20) the Apostle Paul teaches us seven key things about contentment. Let's begin with verse 10 and the first of these truths.<br /><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">Discontent can be caused by several things:</span></b><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> </span></span><br /><blockquote>-The death of a loved one or friend.<br />-The loss of estate or money.<br />-When relationships don’t satisfy our longings.<br />-When friendships prove unfaithful and distrustful.<br />-The broken heart for a wayward or rebellious child.<br />-When coming under great criticism or reproach unjustly. (discontent arising from disrespect savors too much pride—the Lord will use the arrows of another to teach us to have a lower opinion of ourselves than others may have).<br />-Suffering for the truth. (A carnal man makes more of his sufferings and less of his sins. The one heart cries, take away the punishment; the other heart cries, take away my iniquity.)<br />-The prosperity of the wicked—while the righteous suffer the loss of earthly things. (Psalm 37; 73)<br />-The evil of the times—when every mans opinion is his bible. That kind of error is corrupting and poisonous. The devil is the father and pride is the mother of pride—self-esteem and self-regard are two of its children.<br />-Covetousness—inadequate view of ones spiritual gifts and part in the body of Christ. Desiring someone else’s position, prominence or proficiency. (Jealousy, envy, or coveting the unholy trinity of wrongful desire).<br />-Burdens for the church. <span style="font-style: italic;">“Cain put the knife to Abel’s throat and ever since the church’s veins have bled; but she is like the vine, which by bleeding grows and like the palm tree—the more weight is laid upon it the higher it rises”</span> (Thomas Watson).<br />-Fear - the uncertainty of tomorrow (James 4:13-14).<br />-Sin (Psalm 32:2-4).</blockquote>This is the stuff of real faith beloved. Are we truly content in the Lord or are those just words we conveniently say out of religious programming rather than true love for the Master? These are but a few of the things that I know in my life if left unguarded, unchecked, and unnoticed will rob me of my daily contentment in the Lord.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">We can see discontent at the heart of sin:</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> </span>consider Adam and Eve in the Fall; Cain's murder of his brother Abel; David’s adultery; Satan’s heavenly rebellion; Nebuchednezar’s arrogance and pride; Demas’s apostasy; Judas’s betrayal; Herod’s death; and on and on it goes...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; ">Thomas Watson once said these profound words: </span><i style="font-weight: bold; "><br />“A good conscience can sleep in the mouth of a canon.”</i><span style="font-weight: bold; "><br /></span> <span style="font-weight: bold; ">Are we that content beloved?</span><br /></div><b style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">What is contentment?</span></b><br />Here are a few verses that will help us biblically define its meaning:<br /><blockquote>1 Tim. 6:6. <span style="font-style: italic;">“But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.”</span><br /><br />Heb.13:5, <span style="font-style: italic;">“Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.’”</span> (cf Deut. 31:6, 8; Josh. 1:5)<br /><br />2 Cor. 12:10, <span style="font-style: italic;">“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”</span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; ">We could say then that contentment is knowing that God orchestrates all things for our good and for His glory according to His holy purposes.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; ">It is being completely sufficed and satisfied with who God is and with what God does.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />“Blessed is he who does not get offended because of me.”</span> (Matthew 11:6, “the forgotten beatitude”)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">The Greek word for contentment is αυταρκεσ and means to be self sufficient, to be satisfied, to have enough.</span></span> To have an independence from aid or help. An independence from external circumstances supporting oneself without anyone’s aid. Paul was satisfied. But his soul-sufficiency is not derived from any resources which the soul has in itself. Paul is no vain boaster and would never say, <i>“I am the Captain of my soul”</i> (William Hendricksen). His contentment was only found in and through the person Jesus Christ alone.<br /><br />The Stoics had made the word contentment into a virtue in the Greek culture. They used it as a term of total indifference to mean “to be unmoved by joy or grief.” The phrase “I don’t care” would sum it up. No matter what occurred, blessing or tragedy, health or sickness, life or death, plenty or privation they would simply reply, <i>“I don’t care.”</i> The Apostle Paul was no Stoic and could rest not in fatalism, but in the sovereignty of God.<br /><br />This is where Paul continues to instruct us in Philippians 4 on learning the treasure of biblical contentment; and he points to the foundation of contentment in Christ—the sovereignty of God.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">1. Rest in God’s Sovereignty (v.10) - Trust</span></span></span><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">v.10 -</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">“But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity." </span><br /></div><br />Sovereignty means that God is in control of every area of your life. We like to pray, <i>“Thy will be done…”</i> but then get frustrated when He does it! (cp, Acts 16:19, 25ff; Psalm 37:3-7, 34; Is.45; Job 38-40; Phil. 2:13f). A great example of God’s sovereignty in contentment is to read through the life of Joseph in Genesis 37-50. It culminates in 50:20 with these familiar and powerful words when Joseph is confronting his brothers who sold him into slavery by saying, <i>“what you meant for evil, God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result.”</i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6742/1254/1600/24023/Daily%20Bread2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6742/1254/400/959291/Daily%20Bread2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>That’s biblical sovereignty in contentment in the most concise terms. Joseph was resigned to God’s purposes being accomplished even through the tragic events of his life done so by the hands of his own brothers—his own family.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly</span></span> (χαιρω - rejoice) a timeless aor. meaning <span style="font-style: italic;">“I did rejoice, I do rejoice, I am always rejoicing!”</span> This was Paul’s continuous state of personality and this rejoicing was great. Paul’s mega-rejoicing was motivated by the highest possible considerations as being in the closest union with the Lord, but also with the full implication of this gift.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">That now at last you have </span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">revived</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> your concern for me…</span></span> <blockquote><i>“Revived is a word properly applicable to plants or flowers, meaning to grow green again; to flourish again; to spring up again. Here the meaning is, that they had been again prospered in their care of him, and to Paul it seemed as if their care had sprung up anew”</i> (Barnes).<br /></blockquote>Just as in the winter a tree or shrub or flower seems to be dead and lifeless, but in the springtime blossoms again with the beauty and life that it demonstrated in the past, so with the Philippians. Their love for Paul though in the past was great and for a season seemed to be lifeless and silent. But now was blooming again for it had found a way for that expression of love to unfold. <i>“You caused your thought of me to sprout afresh after a long winter.”</i><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">Though you surely did care… </span></span><br />They never stopped caring for Paul though a long time had passed between their gifts. Dr. MacArthur has catalogued Paul's journey in contentment this way:<br /><ul> <li>Ten years have passed since Paul had received the last gift from the Philippians. </li> <li>Ten years since he arrived in Philippi</li> <li>Ten years since he preached the gospel there</li> <li>Ten years since Lydia and her household were won for Christ</li> <li>Ten years since he was throne in jail</li> <li>Ten years since the earthquake freed all the prisoners</li> <li>Ten years since the conversion of the Philippian jailer and his whole household</li> <li>Ten years since he went Thessalonica and to Berea</li> <li>Ten years since he left Macedonia for the cities of Athens and Corinth</li> <li>Ten years since Paul preached repentance and “the resurrection of the dead” at the Areopagus</li> <li>Ten years since he discipled Aquila and Priscilla</li> <li>Ten years since Crispus the leader of synagogue was converted with his whole household and the result many Corinthians believed the gospel. </li> <li>Ten years since the Philippians’ last expression of love for him. </li> </ul> <span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">But you lacked opportunity.</span></span> Within the season of God’s providence they could not respond to Paul’s needs <span style="font-style: italic;">“at that time.”</span> (v.15-16; 2 Cor. 11:8-9)<br /><br />But this didn’t bother Paul, for he was content to wait on the Lord. God is in control. He is sovereign in that He is ordering everything for His own holy purpose. Sovereignty is not fatalism—the end is all we see and the means are not significant. Nor is it what I call “botchulism”—man excusing his own sinful ways by saying, “God permitted it, therefore, He must have condoned it.” Nor is it “androidianism’—man living in some sort of paralyzed robotic state as a benign bystander being tugged along like a marionette on a string.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; ">Sovereignty is the confidence and assurance that the Lord is not only omniscient, that He know all things—but that He is also omnipotent, able to bring that which He wills and knows into existence and integrate into perfect conformity with His person and plan for all men. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Beloved, there are no coincidences in the Christian’s life. There are no accidents or cosmic surprises that disrupt the plans of God. He <span style="font-weight: bold;">IS</span> orchestrating all things for our good and His glory according to His divine purposes! Amen?<br /></div> </div><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">Because He is God</span></b><br />Because He is God, He must be reckoned with. Because He is God, He must not be trifled with. Because He is God, we must love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength—and love our neighbor as ourselves. Because He is God, we ought to worship Him in spirit and truth. Because He is God, we esteem Him with an undivided heart as First Love. Because He is God, we must approach Him clothed in contrition and we tremble at His Word. Because He is God, we give Him the preeminence in all things. Because He is God, he has given us His grace instead of His wrath; His love instead of His enmity; His mercy instead of His justice; joy unspeakable in glory instead of torment in hell for perpetuity.<br /><br />Because He is God, I have no right to myself. Because He is God, I must walk in love, and love others, as Christ loved me and gave Himself for me. Because He is God, I must be willing to forgive as God in Christ has forgiven me. Because He is God, we love the brethren. Because He is God, I cannot harbor anger, wrath, clamor, bitterness, and malice in my heart toward another. Because He is God, I must turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and give someone my cloak if they want my coat too. Because He is God, I must be willing to suffer the loss of all things, to gain everything. Because He is God, I can rest in the surety that He is orchestrating all things for our good and His glory. Because He is God, I cannot repay evil for evil, wrong for wrong, hurt for hurt. Because He is God, we may rejoice when our hearts are breaking and our world has been shaken. Because He is God, our trials are blessings—invited guests and not strangers.<br /><br />Because He is God, we keep our vows to our spouse even when he or she seems unlovable, unapproachable, unteachable, or uncaring. Because He is God, we train our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Because He is God, we cannot take another to court and sue for reparations. Because He is God, we have the right to be wronged. Because He is God, we love His Word more than daily food. Because He is God, pastors should preach the Word of God instead of being clever asinine raconteurs. Because He is God, the church must discipline sin and not wink at it. Because He is God, I cannot cherish my sin, but must daily repent of it. Because He is God, I’ve made a covenant with my eyes. Because He is God, I must guard my heart. Because He is God, I must not be motivated by mans applause, but by His “well done.” Because He is God, we cannot become unequally yoked with an unbeliever in any spiritual ministry or enterprise. Because He is God, all our possessions are for the Master’s use—they are not ours; they belong to Him. Because He is God, we must deny ourselves, daily take up our cross and follow Him.<br /><br />To do all to His glory, according to His divine purpose, under the authority of His Word, to seek His will more than earthly reward, to embrace the fellowship of His sufferings rather than the pleasures of this world even for a season, to live self-sacrificially in unreciprocated love and service to others—to do all this for no other reason than… because He is God!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">God alone</span></span> is the source, sustenance, and sustaining treasure of the Christians contentment. Anything else will be fleeting; anything else can become an idol; anything else will ultimately leave us empty, unsatisfied, and restless.SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-66858771800673566532013-06-11T10:34:00.000-04:002013-06-11T18:08:41.629-04:00ALL BELIEVERS IN JESUS ARE IN FULL TIME MINISTRY...not just a few professionals<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Updated</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And all who believed were together and had all things in common. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And they were selling their possessions and belongings </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And day by day, attending the temple together </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and breaking bread in their homes, </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">they received their food with glad and generous hearts, </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">praising God and having favor with all the people. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And the Lord added to their number day by day </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">those who were being saved. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">-Acts 2:42-47</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">The following represents some key pillars of what should define ministry for any true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. I certainly haven't arrived at these things in my own life and ministry. But they are there as key signposts to remind us all of what is important vs. what is urgent.</span></div>
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May they be an encouragement to you and be used by God to strengthen you as you serve Him in the sphere of influence He has sovereignly placed you today.</div>
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Take Heaven By Storm,</div>
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Steve</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">12 Essentials of Christian Ministry for All Believers in Jesus Christ</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">pray fervently: </span><br />
praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, -Eph. 6:18<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">study carefully: </span><br />
Now these Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. -Acts 17:11<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">embrace fidelity:</span><br />
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. -1 Thess. 2:13<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">contend earnestly:</span><br />
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. -Jude 3</blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">live missionally:</span><br />
and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, -Romans 15:20<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">serve sacrificially: </span><br />
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. -Phil. 2:1-4<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">teach faithfully:</span><br />
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. -Titus 2:1-8<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">love unconditionally:</span><br />
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. -1 Cor. 13:4-8a<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">walk obediently: </span><br />
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. -Titus 3:1-2<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">repent daily:</span><br />
Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” -Luke 17:3-4<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">worship continually:</span>Through Him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. -Hebrews 13:15<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">and watch expectantly.</span><br />
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. -2 Tim. 4:8</blockquote>
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SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1127833757410032322013-02-07T12:52:00.000-05:002013-02-07T12:55:40.612-05:00Everyone Deserves a Mulligan...sometimes you just need another swing at the ball<b>Preach the Word</b>
[4:1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. [3] For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [5] As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/rangebucket290.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/400/rangebucket290.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: navy;"><b>The Salesman-Marketer Driven Church</b></span></span> Churches are now seeking marketing-savvy breed of pastor.<br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Home on the Range--The Need to Get Back to the Basics</b></span></span>
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When the golf swing is in trouble, it's time to return to the fundamentals of the game. This is the situation before us today.<br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>A Poor Swing</b></span></span><br />
Listen to these unfortunate words: <i>But in the opinion of Mr. London of Focus on the Family, any church leader's success depends at least in part on bringing the best of corporate-marketing tactics to bear on a righteous cause. <br /><br />"Nearly every pastor is a salesman or a marketer of one kind or another because … we have a philosophy to sell. The best marketers and best salesmen will have more converts, will have more people, will take in more money. Evangelicals are marketers because they're really passionate about their product."</i> <b>H.B. London Jr., vice president of pastoral ministries at Focus on the Family.</b> <a class="sub" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0819/p01s03-ussc.html"><span style="color: blue;"><b>(source: The Christian Science Monitor).</b></span></a><br />
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I read with great interest <a class="sub" href="http://www.family.org/welcome/bios/a0032225.cfm"><span style="color: blue;"><b> Mr. London’s biography</b></span></a> considering the degrading labels he used to describe those who serve the Lord in pastoral ministry. Mr. London should know better. He has served for more than 30 years in pastoral ministry before joining FOTF’s staff; he’s a Nazarene by denomination (Dobson is too); and in 1990 was bestowed with a Doctor of Divinity degree from Point Loma Nazarene University.<br />
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His assignment now as vice president of Ministry Outreach/Pastoral Ministries Focus on the Family is to serve as liaison to pastors and churches – a kind of “pastor to pastors.” Since joining forces with Focus, H.B. has directed the development of ministries to pastors and their spouses, and given oversight to ministries affecting physicians, youth culture, the inner city, missionaries, chaplains and basketball camps for the children of single parents in many cities throughout the U.S. and Canada.<br />
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He communicates with thousands of pastors and church leaders each week through “The Pastor’s Weekly Briefing” (a fax network) and produces a bimonthly Pastor to Pastor cassette and newsletter.<br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Mr. London's Need of a Mulligan</b></span></span><br />
What is so disturbing, despite his many years in ministry, is that his quote above does not represent a biblical approach to pastoral ministry whatsoever; and is a insulting characterization of the office of being an under-shepherd of Christ by its assertions. Mind you, this is from a man who served as a pastor for more than 30 years and begs the question of what kind of pastor was he? The severe disconnect in his quote above represents the current shift of evangelicalism’s fascination with <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/3stoogesgolf.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/320/3stoogesgolf.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0 0 10px 10px;" /></a>the pragmatic rather than the biblical when it comes to church ministry. I now understand his current employ with Focus on the Family more fully in light of his words; for there exists in evangelicalism today no greater pragmatic influence by a Para-church institution lacking the foundation of sound biblical theology than Focus on the Family.<br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>"Salesman and Marketers..."</b></span></span><br />
<b>1. Comparing pastors to <i>“salesman or marketers.”</i></b> Paul warns against “peddling the Word of God for profit” as some sort of huckster marketing the truth as retail merchandise. This is a blight against all faithful pastors serving in many cases without much pay, help or support (prayer or otherwise). Certainly there are those within evangelical circles (mostly on TV) that have made money their aim—and using the gospel to obtain it. But to blanket all pastors underneath the salesman umbrella is a gross overstatement and certainly not indicative of the thousands of under-shepherds around the world who serve the Lord and His people with integrity—not treating the gospel as a salesman or marketer. <br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Gospel: Just "a Philosophy We Sell"</b></span></span><br />
<b>2. His justification is just as bad… <i>“we have a philosophy to sell.”</i></b> A philosophy to sell? Is this how an executive of pastoral ministries at FOTF views the treasure of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? <br />
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<b>Philosophy by classic definition: </b> "all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts; a discipline comprising as its core logic, aesthetics, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology; a pursuit of wisdom b : a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means; a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).<br />
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None of the above definitions comes close to defining biblical Christianity. What we proclaim is not theory; science; a general understanding of values by speculative… means; etc. Christianity is absolutely unique in its claims that the Word of God is God’s Word; it is absolute eternal truth free from error or imperfection; and is not the opinions or of men. The Apostle Paul leaves no room in what Scripture is when saying, <i>“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”</i> <b>-1 Thessalonians 2:13</b> He warns the young believers at Colosse about this very thing: <i>“see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”</i> <b>Colossians 2:8</b><br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/moneygiftwrapped1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/200/moneygiftwrapped.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a><span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>"Mo' Converts, Mo' People, Mo' Money"</b></span></span><br />
<b>3. But its his third description that should send us all screaming “bad form”: <i>“The best marketers and best salesmen will have more converts, will have more people, will take in more money."</i></b> Mr. London asserts that if you’re one of the best marketers and salesman you’ll “have more converts.” Salvation, regeneration, justification, adoption, seems to now be a calculated thing by those who can “sell it” to the audience most effectively. Skubalon! This is rubbish. This is nothing but the sandy gospel of Arminianism on steroids. Mr. London has obviously forgotten that only <i>“the Lord adds to the church daily the number which are being saved…”</i> And it is only the Lord that can say, <i>"I will build my church..."</i> He alone is its head, He alone is its architect, He alone is its builder, He alone is its chief cornerstone. Clever salesman and marketers do not and cannot produce converts. But don’t let truth stand in the way of a good market driven philosophy of church growth courtesy of Mr. London and Focus on the Family.<br />
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And Mr. London then draws the conclusion that because of more converts, there will be more people and then the crown jewel of his pastoral leadership by salesman marketeering—more money! On this point, there is not much commentary needed. Biblically, money is never the measuring rod for a pastor’s or local church’s success--ever. Paul considered himself <i>“…poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless; …we have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”</i> <b>-1 Corinthians 4:11b; 13b).</b> Mr. London's description for successful pastoral ministry is a bit different than the Apostle Paul's, isn't it? <br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>"Christianity... A Product"</b></span></span><br />
<b>4. And he finally attributes the "more converts, more people, more money" philosophy for ministry because: <i>"evangelicals are passionate about their product."</i></b> A product? Did you hear that beloved? Our Lord Jesus Christ is a product? The Holy Spirit is a product? God the Father is a product? The gospel of sola fide is a product? Salvation from the consequence of sin is a product? The cross is a product? The body of Christ is a product? Baptism and communion are products? Prayer is a product? Church discipline is a product? The imputed righteousness of Christ is a product? Worship is a product? The preaching and teaching of God's Word is a product? Repentance from sin is a product? The bodily resurrection of Christ is a product? How dare Mr. London play marbles with the diamonds of our faith!<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/james_dobson2001.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/200/james_dobson200.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0 0 10px 10px;" /></a> When money and numbers in ministry is the "focus" (no pun intended), then it's not real ministry—pastoral or otherwise. Pastors are not salesman and marketers, Mr. London, <span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>but I think I might know where one is -----></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>And the Mulligan Goes to...</b></span></span> The Mulligan today then goes to Mr. London and to Focus on the Family. They took “landing on the green” a little too literally. <b>Here is the tip for Mr. London and FOTF today:</b> pastoral ministry is hard work and in many ways, thankless labor. The faithful pastor is not a clever salesman or marketer as you suggest, but a shepherd, a soldier, an athlete, a farmer, a workman, a vessel, a servant, a teacher, a preacher, and a disciple-maker (cp, 2 Timothy 2; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). The game of golf, as with any sport, usually breaks down at the fundamentals--the basics. Time to do some serious hours at the practice <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/HBLONDON_new.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/320/HBLONDON_new.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> range, Mr. London, to recover your biblical - pastoral swing once again. God has not called you sir to be successful, but faithful! The biblical gospel offends; there is an offense to His cross; as Paul once said, "but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles." If the real gospel is being proclaimed "converts" would diminish, the crowds would dissipate as they did with our Lord, and the money would dwindle. The reward that awaits for the faithful pastor to the Lord Jesus Christ is not fame, money or notoriety; it is a crown of righteousness, a crown of glory, a crown of life, a crown of joy, and a crown which is imperishable (2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4; James 1:12; 2 Thess. 2:19; 1 Cor. 9:25). And not only to pastors, but to all who believe. This world is not our home beloved... set your minds on things above.<br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>A Word from a True "Master of the Game"</b></span></span><br />
"Help me to remember that I am prophet not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to the crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things... Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world... Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. <br />
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I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that could make life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. Or, if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I should have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And, if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them." <b>-A.W.Tozer, The Prayer of a Minor Prophet</b><br />
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Working it out on the driving range each day,<br />
Steve<br />
Acts 20SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-47004665482895031162013-01-29T19:16:00.002-05:002013-01-29T19:35:59.803-05:00The 107 ThesesThe need for reformation and revival is great in evangelicalism today. Money has become the number one plumbline and prerequisite for ministry; secular ownership of Christian publishing houses, music companies, bookstore chains and radio stations abounds; unsound doctrine is spoken against, but not stood against; and politics continues to be touted as the great savior for a nation in moral and spiritual decline.<br />
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But the great hope for any generation, including ours, is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! He alone is the answer.<br />
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May we pray today beloved that the Lord would revisit His people as He did in the Great Awakening through Jonathan Edwards and renew our hearts toward Him. May He bring revival to His church in every nation; repentance from sin; and reformation in the recovery of His gospel of justification by faith alone.<br />
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May the Lord open His heavens, wake us up from the lukewarm Laodicean sleep that plagues so much of evangelicalism and revive us again.<br />
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To that end, I humbly offer the following to you.<br />
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Still Pounding on Wittenberg's Door,<br />
Steve Camp<br />
2 Cor. 4:5-7<span style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblP1n_7bTKkhlGACBBA4SWJdFcvnkWK8NhJgcPDKe2qxvkV1Y9fAIf-EDYeRiFQC8o4q_ed43VkhxiC6_MJF_BxAbYIxTaMDv_ltTpzDCvnUo103em4f3po0g_Ix9UGHrE1eB/s1600-h/Finalwitt2-framed.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209952239501222034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblP1n_7bTKkhlGACBBA4SWJdFcvnkWK8NhJgcPDKe2qxvkV1Y9fAIf-EDYeRiFQC8o4q_ed43VkhxiC6_MJF_BxAbYIxTaMDv_ltTpzDCvnUo103em4f3po0g_Ix9UGHrE1eB/s400/Finalwitt2-framed.jpg" style="float: right; height: 468px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; width: 343px;" /></a><span style="color: blue; font-size: 130%;"><b>The Preamble to THE 107 THESES</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Those of us who represent our Lord Jesus Christ in ministry should be galvanized <b>by </b></span></i><b><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">mission</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">, not by ambition; <b>by mandate</b>, not by accolades; <b>by love for the Master</b>, not by the </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">allurements of this world. Is there justified concern that Contemporary Christian Music and ministry in general today has abandoned</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> its original calling and purpose and left the biblical standard of ministry and has failed to remain </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">accountable to the local church? I believe so. Beloved, it's time to "sound the alarm on the holy hill" for </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">we are calamitously on "the downgrade" in evangelicalism today.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />The Preamble<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Out of love and zeal for Biblical truth and the desire to bring it to light, I come to you, brethren, burdened and broken over the current state of Christian music. I come not out of a heart of condemnation, but out of convictions immersed in tears as one in desperate need daily of our Lord's grace to be conformed to His image. I come being aware of the depravity from which I have been saved and that my heart, apart from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, is desperately wicked and eternally sick. Early in my own musical journey I wrote songs that neither represented good music or precise theology. My motives were vitiated; my actions were not godly; and my lips were unclean. The thirst for prominence and position made my heart prideful, judgmental and calloused. But the Lord, out of His infinite grace and otherworldly love, broke me with His chastening hand to bring true repentance in my own life-and it's that life of repentance, which is my greatest desire and my greatest failing. It is out of the crucible of those experiences that I am driven to speak with conviction to these issues.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">This document is a call to Reformation-a clarion call to recover Biblical Christianity in the arts. Music is a powerful tool from the Lord Jesus to His church intended for worship, praise, encouragement, edification, evangelism, teaching, admonishing, and exhorting God's people to holiness-with always our chief aim "to glorify God and worship Him forever." But beloved, the serpentine foe of compromise has invaded the camp through years of specious living, skewed doctrine and most recently secular ownership of Christian music ministries. While I assert this, I recognize that there are godly men and women who love the Lord that work for these companies and record for these companies, but that's not the issue here. The crux of the matter is that the overall <i>nature</i> of our industry has dramatically shifted. The Apostle Paul warns, "it takes only a <i>little</i> leaven to leaven the <i>whole</i> lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). When sin is tolerated it ultimately permeates and corrupts the entire church. What is pure today will inevitably be polluted tomorrow if we do not "purge out the old leaven… (Ibid. 5:7). In the past several years, there has been a not-so-subtle drifting away from Christocentric music to an anthropocentric music. Sadly, this has resulted in various visible manifestations of spiritual sedition-where currently, the CCMI finds itself on a slippery slope sliding away at accelerated speeds from the Savior, the Scriptures and the church.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">History is a lucid teacher and we can learn from her. Give ear to the account of one man's battle against the roaring lion of modernity in his time:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Charles Hadden Spurgeon spent the final four years of his life at war against the trends of early modernism, which he rightly saw as a threat to Biblical Christianity. Spurgeon wanted to warn his flock about the dangers from moving away from the historic positions [<b>of the truth</b>]. 'Biblical truth is like the pinnacle of a steep, slippery mountain,' Spurgeon suggested. 'One step away, and you find yourself on the down-grade. Once a church or individual Christian get on the downgrade,' Spurgeon said, 'momentum takes over. Recovery is unusual and only happens when Christians get on the 'up-line' through spiritual revival.' History has vindicated Spurgeon's warnings about the down-grade. In the early part of the twentieth century the spreading of 'false doctrine and worldliness'-theological liberalism and modernism-ravaged denominational Christianity throughout the world. Most of the mainline denominations were violently if not fatally altered by these influences. A hundred years later, we are seeing history repeating itself again… 'False doctrine and worldliness'-the same two influences Spurgeon attacked-always go hand in hand, with worldliness leading the way. Christians today tend to forget that modernism was not first of all a theological agenda <i>but a methodological one.</i> (John F. MacArthur, Jr. <i>Ashamed of the Gospel</i> (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1993), 21-23, emphasis added.)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">We are seriously close, beloved, to being on the down-grade in Christian music, if, in fact, we have not already begun the slide. Though we are seeing an unprecedented interest by the secular arena with more press and publicity, I believe there are some danger signs we can't ignore. Gospel music today has become music for the moment, but not for eternity. Transitory, temporal, trivial messages that devalue Deity and raise "felt need" affairs above eternal "real need" concerns produce disposable, consumer-driven, cotton-candy music. This is playing marbles with diamonds. We are unequally yoked with an unbelieving world, sin goes undisciplined-is even tolerated for some artists because of their visibility and sales power-and the truth and authority of Scripture is all but abrogated. Biblical illiteracy is pandemic. Accountability to the local church has all but been abandoned. Moral pluralism and erroneous forms of ecumenism are the dyslexic doctrines of today. A politically correct, reductionist gospel that appeals only to the flesh and a syncretistic methodology in communication through the arts have sought to replace the true "Gospel According To Jesus" evidenced in the fruit of an obedient life fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit and His truth.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Contemporary Christian Music originally began unashamedly declaring Jesus Christ as Lord. Within a few years His name was replaced by several generic titles filtering out the name of God ultimately to the non-specific cognomen, "Love." This led to a multitude of pseudonyms: "The Man Upstairs"; "My Higher Power"; "Our Family Values Expert" <i>ad nauseam…ad infinitum</i>. This Biblical illiteracy I've coined as <i>theological ebonics</i>-Biblical language diminished to cultural unintelligible chatter affirmed as profound, acceptable spiritual truth. Spurgeon again reminds us of our duty of rightly representing the preeminent Christ by saying, "Jesus is <i>the Truth</i>. We believe <i>in Him</i>-not merely in His words. He Himself is Doctor and Doctrine, Revealer and Revelation, the Illuminator and the Light of Men. He is exalted in every word of truth, because He is its sum and substance. He sits above the gospel, like a prince on His own throne. Doctrine is most precious when we see it distilling from His lips and embodied in His person. Sermons [<b>and songs</b>] are valuable in proportion as they speak <i>of </i>Him and point <i>to</i> Him. A Christless gospel is no gospel and a Christless discourse is the cause of merriment to devils."</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Os Guinness is "spot on" when saying, "[we have seen a change] from an emphasis on 'serving God', to an emphasis on 'serving the self' in serving God." The object of faith is no longer Christ, but <i>our</i> self-esteem; the goal of faith is no longer holiness, but <i>our</i> happiness; and the source of faith is no longer the Scriptures, but <i>our</i> experience. Christian music currently reflects this. We are producing a generation of people that "feel" their God, but do not know their God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">We have been given a solemn and sacred duty to communicate through music the fathomless riches of God's eternal Word. The Word of God is the most holy thing we will ever hold in our hands in this lifetime. As Dr. John MacArthur says, "This book contains: the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved and practice it to be holy…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Lamentably, the music of heaven has been sold to the world-to the ones who had the deepest pockets and made the sweetest promises. In a very real sense, "Simon the Sorcerer" has succeeded in purchasing the work of God from the "apostles" of our industry (Acts 8:14-25). Could it be that the love of money is at the root of it all? Or could it be that ignorance has revealed the unschooled in matters of faith and doctrine? Unquestionably both. For many, money has been and continues to be the prerequisite for "ministry" and Biblical truth is no longer vital but vicarious! Departure from the Word of God is now clearly evidenced in our music, lyrics, business practices and alliances. Beloved, if we do not repent of our sins, God's judgement will surely be upon us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">When Martin Luther stood at Wittenberg's Door in the year 1517, he called for reformation from the recalcitrant Roman Church. Now it is our turn, almost five centuries later, to sound the alarm in our generation. This time, to call the Christian Music Industry to reformation-back to the supremacy, sufficiency and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Genuine revival-a fresh return to obedience in Christ-is surely needed today, but that would be <i>almost</i> impossible given the current environment of our industry. Why? True revival is marked by repentance; true repentance brings restitution; true restitution demands that Christian music be owned and operated only by believers whose aim is the glory of God consistent with Biblical truth. This means that the current CCMI labels must return <i>all</i> the money they have received to their respective secular counterparts that purchased them and divorce alliances with them. The CCMI has gone too far down the wide road of worldliness and there is not the tenacity of character and the Biblical courage of heart and mind to do the right thing no matter what the cost. These are serious times, beloved, that call for real answers. This is not a time for duplicitous people, proclaiming a diluted message, from disingenuous ministries. It is a time for those whose lives are tempered with the steel of righteousness, girded with the belt of truth, standing firm in the gospel of peace, raising high their shield of faith, guarded with the helmet of salvation, to wield the sword of the Spirit with a surgeon's exactitude, praying always with all prayer and supplication, with all perseverance for all the saints in the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:10-20)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Will <i>we</i> champion again the manifesto of the Reformers: <i>Sola Fide</i> (by faith alone); <i>Sola Gratia</i> (by grace alone); <i>Sola Scriptura</i> (on the Word alone); <i>Solus Christus</i> (because of Christ alone); and <i>Soli Deo Gloria</i> (to the glory of God alone)? Do <i>we</i> have the conviction of heart and courage of mind to do what's just? Do <i>we</i> have the boldness to shout above the roar of the marketplace that the Emperor has no clothes? Will <i>we</i> leave our careers, our contracts, our carefully cultivated plans and press releases, our unequally yoked record companies to serve the Lord again with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? There is no gray in this-it's a matter of obedience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Oh brethren, "we have a name to be alive, but we are dead" (Revelation 3:1). There is no greater love song to proclaim than the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord at Calvary, but yet others feel content to sing about the chaff of this world. What the New Testament church wrestled with the least is what our industry craves the most-money. How dare we think we can play politics with God, with His truth and with His church. We can't negotiate with sin no matter what kind of capital is at stake-and that really is the issue here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Let us "press on, that [we] may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of [us]" (Philippians 3:12). Let us "lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Let us fall on our faces before our Holy Lord, repent of our sin and return to our First Love. With lives bathed in His grace, let us provoke one another to love and good works. With undivided hearts may we leave the prodigal's pigpen and come back to the Father's house. Let us commit to prayer and fasting, seeking the Lord's will with a broken, contrite and obedient heart. Let us return to our churches and to the faithful pastors/elders that shepherd us-submitting ourselves to their godly leadership. May we be students of His Word being filled daily with His Spirit. Let us come away from an industry that has all but abandoned Christ and forge, by God's grace, what it was always meant to be…a ministry. Doing His work, His way, according to His Word, by His Holy Spirit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Pray on this: let us seek the Lord Jesus Christ that He would sovereignly move among His people to bring revival, renewal, repentance and reformation in Christian ministry and music again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The 107 Theses</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>PART ONE: TO DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">1. All our works, both musical and written, must produce a high view of God-with our chief aim being to glorify God and worship Him forever. (Job 40:6-41:34; Psalm 29:1-2; Jeremiah 9:23-24)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2. This means we are to represent God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in fullness of Trinitarian character and attributes revealed through the scriptures. (Romans 11:33-36; 2Thessalonians 2:13-14; Revelation 5:12)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">3. This is paramount-for it brings glory to God to reverence Him in the totality of His worth and works. It elicits holiness and obedience in the life of the believer. (Psalm 96:9; 103)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">4. Even in God's redemptive plan for man.…salvation never begins with man and his need but with God and His glory. And no one ever lives greater than his or her view of God. (Ephesians 1:3-14; Hebrews 11:6; 1John 1:7)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">5. "Whether, then, [we] eat or drink, or whatever [we] do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">6. We fail to glorify Him when we praise the servant through awards and accolades rather than exalt the Master. "I was but a pen in God's hand and what praise is due a pen?" (Baxter) God will not share His glory with another. (Psalm 115:1; Isaiah 42:8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">7. We fail to glorify Him when we speak of God out of our own vain imaginings or recreate Him in our own image; instead of honoring Him by how He revealed Himself through His holy Word. (Psalm 50:21; 1 Corinthians 2:13-16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">8. We fail to glorify Him when we make money a prerequisite for ministry; some, to their own destruction, teach that godliness is a means to financial gain. "Freely you have received; freely give." (Matthew 6:24-34, 10:8-10; Acts 3:6, 20:33; 1 Timothy 6:5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">9. We fail to glorify Him when we publicly honor with Him with our lips, but privately have hearts that are far from Him. (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:7-9) 10. God cannot be glorified where sin is pacified; and He cannot be extolled where sin is entertained. To live in and tolerate unrepentant sin is to write Ichabod across the doorpost of our lives and industry- "the glory of God has departed." ( 1 Samuel 4:21-22; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">11. We fail to glorify Him when pride struts like Nebuchadnezzar across the Babylonian palace of our accomplishments thinking our own hand has made us, our own hand has delivered us, our own hand has provided for us, our own hand has promoted us and our own hand has saved us. (Daniel 4:28-37; James 4:6)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">12. We fail to glorify Him when we strive to please man rather than to please God. (Galatians 10: 1-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:4)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">13. We fail to glorify Him when we speak and sing of the benefits of the gospel, but fail to proclaim the Gospel itself. (Matthew 4:17, 7:13-27, 9:13, 16:24-26; Luke 14:26-33; John 1:12-13; Acts 20:27; Romans 3-5, 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:2, 9:16; 2 Corinthians 4:5, 7:10; Galatians 1:6-8; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 2:9-18; 1 John 2:22-23, 4:1-4, 5:1-3)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>PART TWO: The authority and sufficiency of scripture-the hymnbook of Heaven</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">14. The highest worship of God is the preaching of His Word. (Luther) We cannot honor God more than listening to his Word with an obedient life. Music that is saturated accurately with the truth of God's Word is worthy of worship to the Lord. (Romans 10:14-17)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">15. There is only one inspired, infallible rule and authority for all matters of life and godliness and it is the sufficient, pure, perfect, inerrant Word of God. (Psalm 19:7-14; 2 Timothy 3:16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">16. For God has even "exalted His Word above His name." (Psalm 138:2)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">17. God's Word is His ultimate revelation and is thoroughly accurate, comprehensive and exhaustive in all its parts, even as it speaks to theology proper (the doctrine of God), doctrine, ethics, religious practice, science, geography, history (redemptive and actual), or any other topic. (Psalm 12:6; 119:160; John 17:17)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">18. All Scripture must harmonize (agree) with itself and thus interpret itself. Therefore, the greatest commentary and interpreter of Scripture is Scripture itself. ( 2 Peter 3:15-16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">19. Theology (the Word of God) and doxology ( a word of glory, a note of praise, or a saying ascribing worth) are inseparable. As David says, "Thy statutes are my songs, in the house of my pilgrimage." His Word is our music, His lawbook is our songbook, and His statutes are our songs. (Psalm 119: 54, 172)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">20. Scripture speaks to all of life-therefore, our music may speak to every aspect of living. However, it must be based upon and not contrary to God's Word in principle, ethic, content and conduct. ( 2 Timothy 3: 16-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">21. For instance, Esther and Song Of Solomon are the only books in the Bible that never mention the name of God. Yet, they speak with absolute clarity about the sovereignty of God in the political arena and of the beautiful expression of physical intimacy between a man and a woman in the context of a faithful, committed marriage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">22. In this Biblical world-view where are those like St. Paul, engaging the unsaved on Mars Hill, explaining "The Unknown God" in the midst of worldly philosophy and beliefs? That requires wisdom, integrity, cognitive reasoning, and a profound understanding of God's Word and unwavering courage to communicate the truth in love. (Acts 17: 16-34)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">23. As artists we have a tremendous responsibility to exegete the times. We are teachers of God's truth, through the arts, that are deserving of a more strict judgement. (Colossians 3:16; James 3:1)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">24. Paul soberly proclaims, "we are not like, as so many, peddling the Word of God for profit…." ( 2 Corinthians 2:17a) To peddle means to make retail of, to huckster or to pawn something off as merchandise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">25. Isaiah 1:22 uses the same Greek word in the LXX as Paul uses for "peddling" when saying, "Your silver has become dross and your wine mixed with water." Those who mix wine and water did so to cheat the buyer. It resembled real wine and had the aroma of real wine, but in actuality was nothing more than a watered-down substitute- a cheap imitation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">26. Paul sternly warns that there are many con men who by slick eloquence and deceptive speech huckster or corrupt the true Word of God as retail merchandise; they dilute its truth to suit itching ears, while representing it as genuine, to purposely deceive and cheat the recipient for the sake of financial gain.( 2 Corinthians 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 4:3-5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">27. As Paul admonishes he also affirms, "but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ." (2 Corinthians 2:17b)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">28. We have been given a sacred trust and holy privilege to be a steward of the mysteries of God in music ministry. If our music does not square with the truth of God's Word, it must be rejected and cannot be embraced as profitable for godliness, beneficial exhortation to the church or as an effectual proclamation of the gospel. Dare we take it flippantly? ( 1 Corinthians 4:1f; 2 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:13)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">29. Artistic license may be enjoyed when describing personal testimonies or life experiences, but our music must conform precisely to Biblical truth when addressing the person of God and His character, the gospel of Jesus Christ or the working of the Holy Spirit. (Psalm 50:16-23; 1 Timothy 6:3-5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">30. We need artists who will balance their zeal with knowledge to invest their lives in the daily discipline of Bible study, and then, to write with the fire, passion and enthusiasm which that study has illumined to communicate the glorious language of the church-the holy Word of God. (Psalm 1, 119)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">31. For if in our worship we pervert His Word, we pervert the truth about God. If in our music we distort His doctrine, we distort a right view of Him. If in our song we misrepresent the Scriptures, we misrepresent the Savior. And if in our ministries we twist His truth, we dishonor His character. (2 Timothy 2:15)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">32. Failure here is costly-for it is tantamount to breaking the third commandment: "do not take the name of the Lord God in vain." (Exodus 20:7)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">33. We are to crave the Word (1 Peter 2:2); have a delight in, a longing for and love of it (Ibid.); preach, admonish, exhort, and teach its truth (2 Timothy 4:2); take it as our song (Psalm 119:54); hide it deep in our hearts (Ibid. 119:11); meditate upon it (Ibid. 1:2); obey it (John 14:15); proclaim it (Matthew 4:23); guard it (1 Timothy 6:20); hope it (Romans 15:4); be sanctified by it (John 17:17); desire it more than all the world's delicacies and treasure it more than all the world's riches (Psalm 19:10); to be hearers and doers of it (James 1:22); contend for it (Jude 3); rightly divide it (2 Timothy 2:15); never add to it or take away from it (Revelation 22:18-19); for it is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean and true (Psalm 19:7-9).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>PART THREE: The Character of Christian Music</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">34. Our Creator God has given us music-psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to use for praise and worship, the proclamation of His name and attributes, to teach and admonish one another unto holy living and to provide thanksgiving for His worth and works ( 1 Chr. 16:7-36)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">35. Genuine Christian music has as its ultimate aim the glory of God. Anything less than this will at the end bear the fruit of self-glory and is music not honoring to the Lord. "Blessed is he who sings when no one is in the auditorium"-for that checks motive (Miller) (Psalms 18:1-6; 105:3)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">36. Music is used according to the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:16 to encourage council, warn, correct, comfort and teach the Biblical truth. According to David in Chronicles 25:1-5 the Levites used music to prophesy, give thanks and praise to the Lord. It was music rendered in the house of the Lord for the service of the house of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">37. The first song ever recorded in Scripture is in Exodus 15 as a song of deliverance written by Moses after God had delivered them out of Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh's army at the Red Sea. It describes God's glorious deeds, His inscrutable ways, His attributes and character, His preeminence as the only true God and His eternal reign as Sovereign Lord and King. (compare, 1 Chronicles 16:8-36)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">38. Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs flow from a life where His Word richly dwells and out of the life that is filled, or controlled, by the Holy Spirit. (Col. 3:16-17; Eph. 5:17-20) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">39. Life in the Spirit and life in the Word are identical bearing the fruit of godly music honoring to the Lord. ( 1 Tim. 1:18-19)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">40. Authentically Christian music was never intended for casual use or purely for entertainment. ( 1 Chronicles. 23:5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">41. Christian music, originally called Jesus Music, once fearlessly sang clearly about the gospel. Now it yodels of a Christ-less, watered down, pabulum-based, positive alternative, aura-fluff, cream of wheat, mush-kind-of-syrupy, God-as-my-girlfriend kind of thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">42. Christian music today lacks the power and authority that it once enjoyed for it has lost its identification with the Lord Jesus Christ. As Moses has said, " The Lord is my strength and my song" (Exodus 15:2)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">43. We are to sing a new song to the Lord. It is a song of the redeemed people of God. This new song is a different and distinctive song, a more glorious song, a purer, truer and more beautiful song than the world can ever sing. (Psalms 33:3; 96:1; 149:1; Rev. 5:9-10)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">44. "In scripture, the word new is used more frequently in relation to song than to any other feature of salvation." (MacArthur) New is not used to mean new in time, but new in character or of a different nature compared to what was old. (Isaiah 42:10)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">45. Christian music stands separate from the world's music for by definition it is Christ-centered music. Even the style is not neutral and music in and of itself is not amoral, but it is "the incarnation of the message." (Horton) Both must honor and bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Chronicles 15:16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">46. Therefore, when Christian artists today take the old song of the world, dress it up, modify it and say it now represents the person of Jesus Christ, a Christian message or describes the character of God, they fortuitously assault the gospel and diminish the gift that has been entrusted to them. This is inappropriate at best and sacrilegious at worst. We cannot pour new wine into old wineskins. (Psalm 137; Mark 2:22)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">47. Music can be appreciated and used in two wonderful, yet unique ways: creatively and redemptive. (Psalms 150:96:9)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">48. Creatively, it is enjoyed as part of God's creation, celebrated and shared by Christians and non-Christians alike under God's common benevolence- "the rain falls on the just and the unjust." (Matthew 5:45)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">49. Redemptively, it is used in the church corporately and individually as part of the totality of worship and praise to the One Triune God. (1Chronicles 25:1-8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">50. While God has created many expressions to communicate His truths, music is unique. It is the only art that has a place in heaven and will endure for eternity. The angels sing, the elect saints sing and someday, we will hear the Lord Jesus Christ Himself "sing praise in the midst of the assembly." (Hebrews 2:12; Revelation 15:3-4)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">51. Christian music is unlike the music of Babylon, the world, which near the end of the age will cease: "The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters, shall not be heard in you anymore." (Revelation 18:22)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">52. God promises to silence the song of the ungodly. "I will silence the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more." (Ezekiel 26:13)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">53. Beloved, as Christian artists, may we sing of that which endures for eternity</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>PART FOUR: The Character of the Christian Musician- Personal Integrity and Holiness</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">54. The Biblical model of the musician originated from the Levitical priesthood, as musicians were appointed by the Levites under King David's command, to proceed in worship, with the priests, before the ark of God. It's nature was prophetic to Israel and ecclesiastical in role, i.e., used in temple worship. (1Chronicles 15; 16; 23:5; 25:5-6)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">55. They were able to teach and were skillful in craft. "The chief of the Levites was Chenaniah, the master musician, who gave instruction to the singers because he was skillful". (1 Chronicles 15:22)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">56. They served in the context of temple worship. "Of the thirty-eight thousand Levites who ministered in the Temple, four thousand were appointed to lead in worship, thanksgiving, and praise of the Lord." The model is clear. Pastoral charge over the arts is essential. (1 Chronicles 23:5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">57. Those calling themselves Christians are characterized by new life in Jesus Christ-old things pass away, all things become new.(2 Corinthians 5:17)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">58. The Christian singer has a triumvirate charge of service to the Lord Jesus: Sound doctrine, Christ-centered worship and holy living. These three pillars elucidate the foundation of true Christian music and ministry and godly character. (Psalm 119:54, 172)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">59. Take away any one of theses pillars and the structure topples. For example, an obedient life given in worship to Christ absent of sound doctrine will be empty praise and on the path to error. (Colossians 3:16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">60. Secondly, the sound theology sung out of the beauty of holiness but lacking in heartfelt worship to Christ leads to pride or self-glory and the chastisement of the Father. (Hebrews 12:5-11)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">61. Lastly, a powerful doctrine sung in glory to Christ with an impure life is noise to the ears of our holy God. Submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the obedience to the Word of God are marks of the worthy walk of faith. However, when Biblical standard are dishonored and unrepentant sin persists we must adhere to the instruction of the Word-stop the music until life is right. (Amos 5:23-24)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">62. Godly character exhibited in response to sound doctrine is paramount in serving the Lord. To live privately what we proclaim publicly is the manifestation of genuine faith. That is why from the stockroom to the stage Christ-likeness should evidence our behavior. God has not called us to be successful but faithful. (2 Corinthians 6:3-10)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>PART FIVE: Guarding The Trust- Accountability to The local Church</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">63. Music, by Biblical definition, is a ministry. (1 Chronicles 16:37,42)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">64. Ministry is defined as service to God and His creatures as we employ our Spirit-given giftedness, according to the instruction of Scripture as good stewards of the manifold grace of God for the advancement of His Kingdom; that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 4: 10-12)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">65. God has designed genuine ministry to be inseparable from the life and leadership of the local church. Any ministry that does not strengthen one's commitment to the local church is inconsistent with the purpose of Christ. (Acts 2: 42-47; Hebrews 10:23-25)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">66. There are five reasons why we should love and serve the church: Firstly, Jesus Christ promised to build the Church- therefore, my commitment should be to it. (Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:39-47)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">67. Secondly, He purchased the Church with His own precious blood-therefore, I love those for whom He died. (1 Peter 1:19; 1 John 3: 14-16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">68. Thirdly, the church is the predominate agency through which God's will is manifested on earth-therefore, it is the community with whom I labor. (Ephesians 1:9-10; Colossians 1:28-29)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">69. Fourthly, the Church is the only earthly expression of heaven-therefore, we must daily grow together in conformity to the fullness of Christ.(2 Peter 3:10-14; Revelation 4:4-11; Ephesians 4:12-13)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">70. Fifthly, the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church-therefore, in light of the assured victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, our worship and toil is not in vain. (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 15:54-58)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">71. In response to these truths and to insure a life of godliness and holiness and to guard against blind spots in personal issues, vocation and theology-submission to the plurality of godly leaders within the church is essential. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">72. We are to obey, honor, and pray for the faithful pastors in the church who have been given this sacred trust. They are those who are instructed by the Lord to keep watch over souls as ones who will give an account. Woe to the shepherds who do not take their responsibility to shepherd the flock of God seriously. They dishonor the Savior. They disobey the Scriptures. They diminish their office and defame their calling. (Hebrews 13:7, 1 Peter 5:1-4)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">73. In the case of a Christian being overtaken in sin, proper discipline must be exercised within the church to bring restoration and reconciliation (as prescribed in Matthew 18:15-20; Galatians 6:1-2; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). This is to confirm repentance and to guard the purity of one's life personally as well as the entire body of Christ corporately.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>PART SIX: TO NOT BE UNEQUALLY YOKED WITH AN UNBELIEVING WORLD</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">74. The CCMI has committed spiritual adultery in joining itself with the wayward world in trying to forward the message of the gospel. This has and will prove to be fatal for Gospel music, as we know it today. (Deuteronomy 32:22-24; Psalm 1; Jeremiah 17:5-8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">75. We cannot partner with the believing world in common spiritual enterprise or ministry. To harness unbelievers and believers in a Christ-centered endeavor is to be unequally yoked. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">76. We must be separate from non-Christians in positions of ownership, authority or influence in the advancement of the gospel. (Ibid.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">77. The kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness are two mutually exclusive worlds; two opposing societies; two converse communities that are incompatible and incongruous with each other in regards to the faith. (Ibid.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">78. One is characterized by righteousness. Light, Christ, believers and the temple of God. Lawlessness, darkness, Belial, unbelievers and the temple of idols distinguish the other. One is based on God's truth-the other on Lucifer's lies. In matters of Christian faith and belief no partnership does or really can exist between these two realms. (Ibid.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">79. "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." (Titus 1:15-16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">80. God is our Father and we, as His children, must disavow all praetorian religious and spiritual alliances with sin and Satan or we will forfeit the joy and blessing that flow from obedient fellowship in the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 4:17-18)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">81. Satan's number one assault on the church is to infiltrate with error. He doesn't want to fight the church-he wants to join it. (John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:12-15; 1 Timothy 4:1)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">82. Undiscerning believers think it a profound ministry strategy to join forces with unregenerate people in forwarding the gospel. Unwittingly, they harness Jesus Christ, the Worthy One, with Belial or Satan, the worthless one, in an unholy alliance-the very essence of being unequally yoked. (2 Corinthians 6:15)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">83. "Ephraim is joined to idols. Let him alone" (Hosea 4:17)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">84. We are not, however, called to isolationism. We are called to be salt and light in the world. We are to be faithful witnesses of God's mercy, love, and grace to the lost and dying. We are to cultivate personal relationships with unbelievers, love our neighbor and our enemy, serve them and share our faith with them. (Matthew 5:13-16; 40-44)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">85. We are to be in the world but not of it-and this is our greatest challenge. Separation is not being divorced from our contact with the world, but from complicity and conformity to it. (1 John 2:15-17)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">86. For instance, it is not unBiblical to consult non-Christian experts in matters of business, craft or trade (though whenever possible, Christian experts respected in these fields are preferable because of shared integrity), but we can never engage in intimate binding-indissoluble relationships, alliances, or partnerships that result in shared responsibility or authority for ministry purposes. (Deuteronomy 22:9-11; Philippians 2:14-15)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">87. The promise of increased financial resources, wider distribution and a larger audience is not justification for the surrender or our spiritual autonomy. (Luke 4:4-12; Ephesians 5:8-12) 88. It is impossible for God to fully bless and use His children who are in compromise with non-believers. (Romans 8:7-8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">89. "Adulterers and adulteresses. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>PART SEVEN: TO BE ABOVE REPRAOCH IN ALL BUSINESS ACTIVITY</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">90. If true reformation in CCMI occurs, it will mean that every facet of music ministry will ultimately be affected and undergo godly transformation. The need to recapture "the economy of God" in our daily business activities is not optional, but essential.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">91. Honesty in business dealings, practice, relationships and all activities pursuant in our service to the church, the world and to the Lord Jesus is indispensable to effectively carrying out the calling and mission of Record Company Executives, Promoters, Agents, Managers, Artists, Publishers, etc. ( 1Peter 2:12-18)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">92. To have a good name in the community-at-large is vital in handling of the lesser things: business, money, trade, etc., in order to be entrusted with the superior things: His word, the church and the souls of men. (Psalm 15:2-5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">93. To that end, we must purpose to have our yes mean yes and our no mean no. (Matthew 5:37)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">94. To never sue a fellow Christian to resolve disputes, or risk damaging a witness or testimony to an unbeliever through civil litigation for requital. We will reserve the right to be wronged rather than wrong someone by demanding our rights. ( 1 Corinthians 6:1-7)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">95. Exhaustive means to settle conflicts should be pursued through Christian arbitration as overseen in the context of the local church under duly recognized pastoral authority. (Ibid.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">96. We will purpose to keep personal relationships more important than business deals; family more valuable than commodities; and faith more precious than fortune. The struggle is maintaining an eternal perspective in the transitory moments. May our light so shine before men. (Psalm 90:12; Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 5:22-33; Philippians 2:1-5; 1 Peter 3:7)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b>PART EIGHT: Reclaiming Christian Music for Christ</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">97. To bring reformation to Christian music we must purpose, by God's grace, to do several things. (2 Corinthians 13:7; 2 Timothy 2:1; Titus 2:12-13)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">98. Fast, mourn, weep, and pray over the sins of our industry, the church and our personal lives. (Nehemiah 1:5-11; Isaiah 6:4-39; Daniel 9:4-9; Ezra 9:6-15)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">99. Return to our First Love. (Matthew 22:37; Romans 5:5; 1Peter 1:8; 1John 5:3; Revelation 2:4) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">100. Remember how far we have fallen. (Luke 15:11-32; Revelation 2:5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">101. Repent of our sins. This is a complete, decisive change of mind and action. (Jeremiah 51:45; Luke 16:11; Revelation 2:5,16,22; 3:3,19)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">102. Repeat the deeds we did at first. "It is a reversal of the status quo, a deliberate repudiation of former sins and a complete return to the standards and will of God" (Thomas) (Ephesians 2:10; James: 2:14-26; Revelation 2:5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">103. Reform or be removed. The Lord promises to remove the lampstand from its place -unless [we] repent. God's judgement always follows habitual, unrepentant sin. (2 Timothy 2:19;Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 2:6)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">104. Renew your obedience to walk by, be-filled with, pray in, to not grieve or quench the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; Jude 20; Ephesians 4:30; 1Thessalonians 5:19) 105. Reconcile yourself to the local church. Place yourself, your family and your vocation under faithful pastoral instruction. (Hebrews 13:7, 17)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">106. Pray for the leaders of every facet of our industry that they will honor the Lord Jesus with obedient lives in doing the right thing, consistent with Scripture, no matter what the cost personally or corporately. (Ephesians 6:18-20; 1Timothy 2:1-3)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">107. Take a step of faith. Come away from the current industry model like Abraham venturing out into the wilderness with only the promise of God as his surety. Begin to build authentic Christian Music Ministry again. (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38, 11:1, 6)</span></div>
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SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14012689.post-1122399197188340882013-01-29T09:37:00.000-05:002013-01-29T19:07:24.778-05:00Peddling the Word of God for Profit...should we be charging for ministry?<img alt="" border="0" height="365" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/320/Coin.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" width="463" /><strong><em><span style="color: #990000;">an encore presentation</span></em></strong><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: darkgreen;"><b>Stewardship or Sales? The Means of Ministry</b></span></span><br />
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The Scriptures forbid charging for ministry (worship, preaching and teaching of God's Word, evangelism, fellowship of the church, psalms/hymns or spiritual songs, discipleship, etc. in any circumstance or situation. It is that black and white. Here are some important Scriptures to ponder in this matter (all verse quotations taken from the ESV):<br />
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<b>Matthew 10:8-9,</b> "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,[a] cast out demons. <b>You received without paying; give without pay.</b> 9Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts" (emphasis added).<br />
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<b>1 Corinthians 9:7-18,</b> "Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? 8Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. 15But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18What then is my reward? <b>That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel"</b> (emphasis added).<br />
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<b>2 Corinthians 2:15-17,</b> "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17<b>For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word,</b> but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."<br />
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<b>3 John 5-8,</b> "Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7For they have gone out for the sake of the name, <b>accepting nothing from the Gentiles [nonbelievers].</b> 8Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth" (emphasis added).<br />
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/1600/moneygiftwrapped.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="194" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6742/1254/320/moneygiftwrapped.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 230px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 337px;" width="292" /></a> God's people through faithful giving are to supply the financial support for ministry.<br />
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<span style="color: darkgreen;"><b>Ministry being:</b></span> <b>64.</b> Ministry is defined as service to God and His creatures as we employ our Spirit-given giftedness, according to the instruction of Scripture as good stewards of the manifold grace of God for the advancement of His kingdom; that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. <a class="sub" href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+peter+4%3A10-12"><span style="color: maroon;"><b>(1 Peter 4:10-12)</b></span></a><br />
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<b>65.</b> God has designed genuine ministry to be inseparable from the life and leadership of the local church. Any ministry that does not strengthen one's commitment to the local church is inconsistent with the purposes of Christ. <a class="sub" href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=acts+2%3A42-47"><span style="color: maroon;"><b>(Acts 2:42-47;</b></span></a> <a class="sub" href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=hebrews+10%3A23-25"><span style="color: maroon;"><b>Hebrews 10:23-25)</b></span></a> (source: from the <a class="sub" href="http://a1m.org/page.php?page=template10.php&pageid=fcf54d19dd342ec4d0b163b23018f777"><span style="color: blue;"><b>107 Theses</b></span></a> by Steve Camp, part five, #'s 64-65).<br />
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All genuine ministry for the Lord cannot have an advanced price tag to pay before the ministry is given. Why? Because then it is no longer ministry, but commerce, employ, trade or entertainment.<br />
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With ministry being defined above as<strong><em> </em></strong>service to God and His creatures; and with Christ as our example, we are to give all that we are for all that He is. I used to charge honorariums and tickets to my concerts. It was wrong and I have repented. The Lord deeply convicted me after studying His Word that there ws no justification for every charging for the work of the gospel. Think of what I was doing: charging people to pay a ticket to come to a church or civic venue to hear the gospel and worship the Lord. I was ashamed. How grateful I am to the Lord for His severe mercy and restorative grace over my sin of charging tickets for that which is eternal.<br />
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I now receive love offerings from churches; and I am very grateful for those that stand with this ministry in its convictions in this area and becoming <em>"fellow workers in the truth."<br />
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</em><b>One Final Thought in Closing</b><br />
The greatest proof-text people will misuse out of the Bible to try to “justify” charging for the ministry of the Lord is this familiar phrase: <i>"the workman is worthy of his hire."</i><br />
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I fully agree with that phrase for it is God’s Word; but they wrongly applied when trying to condone treating ministry like a business, trade, or entertainment.<br />
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It doesn't mean we have the right to charge for “hire”. More appropriately it means those <i>"who proclaim the gospel should receive their living by the gospel"</i> (1 Cor. 9:14b) and do so in a manner commensorate with the gospel.<br />
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The only question is how?<br />
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<strong>Answer:</strong> by not requiring a set fee or charging tickets for people to hear genuine ministry by those who want <em>“go into into all the world and preach the gospel.”</em> But, biblically, genuine ministry should be supported through the cheerful, faithful giving of God's people. Aren't you glad that the Lord didn't charge any of us to hear about the good news of the gopsel unto salvation? Aren't you glad that the Holy Spirit doesn't charge any of us for the spiritual gifts He gives to the church? <i><b></b></i><br />
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<i><b>Money, beloved, should not be a prerequisite for ministry.</b></i> Amen?<br />
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Please pray for CCM artists, pastors, authors, speakers, and evangelical leaders who are still trapped by the allure of a market-driven ministry; parroting worldly techniques rather than emulate the humility and servanthood of Christ. This principle should even effect Christian retail bookstore outlets and how they “sell” their items; but that is for another time.SJ Camphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15844201288864307481noreply@blogger.com83