Our Common Salvation

Jude wanted to write a treatise on "our common salvation," but was diverted to discuss heresy that had crept into the church.

This is a subject known doctrinally as soteriology, from the Greek soter, or to save.

The common man has no comprehension of what salvation means, and probably relates to a boxer being "saved by the bell."  A renowned theologian (R. C. Sproul) was asked if he was saved:  "Saved from what?"  The man was taken aback and had no answer; he didn't know what our salvation is from!   Actually, we are saved by God and from God (delivered from the wrath to come according to 1 Thess. 1:10).  We are as bad off as can be, but not too bad to be saved!

Christianity is a religion of salvation and this is pivotal.  "Salvation is of the Lord," says Jonah 2:9, and this means that God does all the work and gets all the credit and glory.  The other two possibilities are to be saved by a  combination of our efforts and God's, or to be saved by our efforts alone.  Only in the scenario that has God doing everything, can we have the assurance of salvation?

The Bible proclaims the saviorhood of God; this is His purpose in dying  ("...and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.").  The Scriptures speak of Christ as being the only way to be saved and that there is no other Savior (cf. Acts 4:12; John 14:6; Hos. 13:4;  Isa.43:11).

All three offices of Christ take part in our salvation:  as Prophet, we are saved from ignorance of sin; as Priest from the guilt of sin; as King from the dominion of sin (per D. James Kennedy).

There are many aspects to look at our salvation.   At the point of salvation we are saved from the penalty of sin or justified, then we are sanctified or saved from the power of sin, and in the state of glory, we will be saved from the presence of sin.  Another way of looking at this is that of our position (in Christ), our condition (fellowship and sanctification), and our expectation (glorification).  From the standpoint of the tenses, we are saved, we are being saved, and we shall be saved.  Our outlook is given perspective so that we have a worldview:  "Our past is forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured."  This all began in eternity past, is realized in time, and looks forward to, and is consummated in heaven.

Our salvation is a done deal, a fait accompli, a finished work--a divine accomplishment, not a human achievement.  Religion is a do-it-yourself proposition and says, "Do," but God says, "Done!"  The entire Trinity took part:  the Father planned and authored it, the Son secured and accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit applied it.

Only in Christianity can we have the assurance of salvation and this is not meant to be permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit.   Assurance enhances growth and is assuredly a boon to our spiritual well-being--otherwise, we are stunted and paralyzed in our walk.  Note that assurance and security can be distinguished, but not separated.  They go hand in hand and without one, you cannot have the other.  Assurance is not to satisfy idle curiosity, but meant to strengthen our faith, and is a sign of faith, not presumption.

Salvation is not by knowledge--that would be intellectualism--and not by emotion--that would be emotionalism--and not by works--that would be moralism.   It is not by faith plus works, not by faith plus being good, nor by faith plus law-keeping.  It is by grace alone, through faith alone,  in Christ alone.  Principle:  Don't divorce faith and faithfulness!  What kind of faith is saving faith is the issue:  only obedient and repentant faith will do.

There are only four possibilities for salvation to note:  by works alone; by faith plus works; by faith alone bringing about good works, and by faith alone equaling salvation minus good works.  The first is religion, the second is legalism, the third is correct Reformed teaching, and the last one is only antinomianism or easy-believism.  [This labeling from R. C. Sproul]  The formula during the Reformation was that we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

Our faith is simple--so simple a child can do it-- but not simplistic; it is childlike, but not childish.  It's not a matter of trying, but trusting--trust and obey!  It is the work of God (John 6:28-29 answers this question:  "What shall we do, to do the works of God?  It is the work of God that you believe..."); because we are incurably addicted to doing something for our salvation, according to Chuck Swindoll.   The reformer called this Soli Deo Gloria, or to God alone be the glory!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Do You Love The World-system?

Note that "God so loved the world [its people]," but I'm talking about the evil world-system dominated and controlled by Satan and what it has to offer in competition with God, not a blessing of His, for all good things come from the Father.

Watchman Nee wrote a famous book Love Not the World, and he was right if you want to be spiritual and walk with Jesus if you do love the world, the love of Father is not in you!  John said, "Love not the world, neither the things of the world," in 1 John 2;15 (this is a command, not advice or a suggestion!).  What is he talking about? The big three:  the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of life.   The world, or should I say, Satan, has a lot to offer to compete with what God has to offer.  Mainly, power, prestige, fame, fortune, entertainment, popularity, security, and many other things that a person may get (though not wrong in themselves, but can be misused).  If you love money, you will never have enough and that goes for any idol too, if you love it, you won't have enough.  When you've had too much of the devil's delicacies, you lose your appetite for the things of God!  The mindset on the flesh is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life!  (Cf. Rom. 8:6).

It's all right to watch TV, for example, if one has priorities (and one follows Paul's principles or standards laid down in Phil 4:8: "Whatever is true, noble, right...think on these things..." and doesn't let it rule or dominate his time or energy and become a god or what is really an idol, breaking the first of the Ten Commandments.  "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me!"  If you don't feel in the mood to pray after watching too much TV, perhaps the devil has done his damage and won over your heart, which should belong to God--He wants you, and to be number one in your life--God is a jealous God and will tolerate no rivals.  This doesn't mean other things don't have importance in your life, but that God is of first importance.  That's why Paul says a soldier doesn't get involved in civilian affairs, because of a conflict of interest.  The closer you walk with Jesus, the more perceptive you get to the devil trying to trip you up with what he has to offer and to get your attention--he knows your weaknesses too.

Now, let me make a point, that the more mature you get, the more responsible you are and God requires more of you.  He doesn't expect a child to be as discerning as an adult.  "Just a closer walk with Thee" should be our prayer.  The goal, according to Richard of Chichester, is to "love Christ more dearly, to know Him more clearly, and to walk more nearly!"  The more we feed our soul and spirit, the more sensitive it becomes--the nature that you feed (your carnal or your spiritual one) is the one that will dominate your thinking and behavior--the dog that gets fed the most usually wins the dogfight.

Sin is addicting as well as alienating and it enslaves just as it estranges.  It is like smoking making people dislike you and you being addicted to something you cannot stop--nip it in the bud and you won't be tempted.  It is far easier to resist the initial temptation to sin than all the consequences and results that follow suit when it spirals out of control.  Don't let your habits become gods, but ask God to set you free--"If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).  What do you think Jesus was talking about when he said people would "die in their sin?"

Just don't neglect feeding your spiritual self, because the consequences of neglect are severe and tragic.  Note that "[God] who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Tim. 6:17) means there are blessings from God and every good gift comes from God (cf. James 1:17).   Every day the battle starts all over and we must die daily and rededicate the day to Him--Live one day at a time, as it is written, "This is the day that the LORD has made, let us be glad and live today" (Ps. 118:24).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Should We Debate Sin?

"Remember this:  Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way [unbelief and impenitence]  will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins"  (James 5:20).  This doesn't mean we go around pointing out our neighbor's sin, but to preach the gospel (our commission) and let God make the seed of the Word grow, leaving the results to God.

Looking back on previous posts, I noticed that several of them deal with whether some practice, such as gambling, smoking, Sabbath-breaking, sex during a woman's period, shaving sideburns, tattoos, etc.,  are sin.  "To his own master, he stands or falls...."   It is not our job to convict of sin, ("Preach the Word") but the sole responsibility and burden of the Holy Spirit--"He shall convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment" (cf. John 16:8).   If we faithfully preach the Word God, it will not come back void, but God will accomplish His divine purpose, according to Isa. 55:11.

"He flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin"  (cf. Psa. 36:2).   "...He commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong" (Psa. 36:4b).

Jesus came "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (cf. Luke 19:1).  God wants us to admit our guilt and sinful nature, not that such and such is a sin.   "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?" (cf. Psa. 130:3).

"You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence" (cf. Psa. 90:8).  Taking the beam out of our own eye, before trying to dislodge the speck in our brother's eye, as Jesus said.   We should be so busy being convicted of our own sins that we don't worry about our neighbor's sins and be like Paul who saw himself as the "chief of sinners."  Thank God, He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor reward us according to our iniquities (cf. Psa. 103:10).

We can miss the point and concentrate on "sins" and not the root problem of "sin" (I mean the problem of the sin nature or tendency to sin inherent in us).   Paul exhorted the Romans to accept him who is weak in the faith, but let each be fully convinced in his own mind.  It is a spiritual fact that something may be a sin to you, and not to others.  Whatever is not of faith is sin, said Paul.  ("He that knows to do good, and does it not, sins"--James 4:17)   Christians have the Law written on their hearts and need no one to tell them right and wrong, for walking in the Spirit trumps all legalism.

Some believers strive to keep the letter of the Law but miss out on the spirit of it. "The Law of the Spirit has set us free from the law of sin and death"  (cf. Rom. 8:2).  In my opinion and experience, it is vain to debate whether something is a sin--we get nowhere fast, creating more heat than light!  What matters most to God, is where the heart is,  He looks at the motives, that we cannot judge or perceive.   Note that there are so-called gray areas that we shouldn't let someone judge us in.

To conclude, virtually anything in excess can be a sin; the vital issue is whether you control it or it controls you.  "...Sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must master it"  (cf. Gen. 4:7).   "For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him"  (cf. 2 Pet. 2:19b).   "'Everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible for me --but I will not be mastered by anything"  (cf. 1 Cor. 6:12).   Case in point:  C. H. Spurgeon said that he would quit smoking when it became a problem!   Psalm 119:133 says, "Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me...."  I have a good question:  Did  Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, sin, who lied to the officials?   Soli Deo Gloria!

Parading Our Freedom

When we sin we are not displaying and demonstrating our freedom, but proving our slavery.   "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). Do not be "entangled again in a yoke of bondage," but don't take advantage of grace either and misuse it.    A Christian ought to be free, yet not flaunt it or rub it in to make others envious:  "You shall know the truth, and truth shall set you free" (John 8:32).

We should set aside the "sin which so easily besets" us and pray for deliverance from "willful" or "presumptuous" sins. Some call this intentional sin and we are all guilty of it.    A good rule of thumb is whether we are in control of it or it controls us. Habits are hard to break but any ungodly habit should be overcome.  A man is not totally free until he has conquered himself.   The psalmist prayed not to "let any sin rule over him."  Paul said, in 1 Cor. 6:12 that "all things are lawful for him, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but I will not be enslaved by anything."  He also said that "not all things are constructive [edifying or for our good]."

We are also limited by our brother's conscience.  The legalist sees "sins" and doesn't see that the root problem is "sin," his fallen nature, and this must be dealt with,   transformed, and renewed from the inside out.   Do not offend his idea of right and wrong on questionable matters and leave room for difference of opinion.  Don't repress his sense of "ought" and code of conduct.   Weaker brothers have more scruples or qualms than you do and you should respect their code of conduct and conscience, and not show off!  

The stronger brother needs to grow in love to not offend the weaker brother, who may have qualms about something. The weaker brother needs to grow in knowledge and be set free.   Remember, not all possess "knowledge" and that  "knowledge puffs up, but love edifies"  (1 Cor. 8:1).  Don't think you know it all, have a monopoly on wisdom, or have cornered the market on truth because Scripture says,  "If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he does not know as he ought to know"  (1 Cor. 8:2).

You can say that many things are sin if you just say the body is a temple, and, therefore any mistreatment is a sin (for instance, being sedentary is unhealthy, too).  The Bible says that exercise is profitable, but we are not to exalt the body, nor mistreat it.  You may approve of something others may not, and you should keep your faith to yourself.  You could say that eating meat is sin because it has cholesterol--but everything is bad for you except vegetables; even Jesus exercised moderation in all things and abstinence in some things.

We like to show off that we are not religious, but there comes a time when we must take a stand for what's right and stand up for Jesus.  Being sensitive to sin (and the more sense of sin, the less sin) keeps us humble. I relate to a great believer who said, "I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior."  John Bunyan wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. When we point the finger, three are aiming back at us, so he that is without sin should cast the first stone, as Jesus said--we all have feet of clay (having weaknesses not readily apparent)  and live in glass houses that can be vulnerable.

The closer you approach God, the more of a sinner you feel you are.  Peter said in Luke 5:8:   "Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man."    In summation, sometimes we feel it is our duty to point out some one's sins trying to make them go into a guilt trip, but only the Holy Spirit can convict of sin and He will choose which ones--not use. Each individual must act according to his own conscience, not his brother's.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Chief Of Sinners

"But let him who boasts boast that he understands and knows me" (Jer. 9:24).

Our knowledge about God is no measure or gauge of our knowledge of God or personal acquaintance with him as Lord and Savior. It is tempting to be just content to be theologically correct and not apply what we know; still, thirst and desire for the truth is a good thing and a positive sign of spiritual life and of its fruit. The Bible says this about unbelievers and the reason for their condemnation: "Because they refused to love the truth and so be saved" (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10). Orthopraxy (right ethics) is important just as orthodoxy (right doctrine) is, and that is why the epistle of James was written: the faith you have is the faith you show!  However, one can be wrong in nonessential doctrine and still be a good Christian.    

John Bunyan wrote a masterpiece, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners!  Could Paul be the chief of sinners and still know God? Actually, yes! Jesus said in his great intercessory prayer that eternal life is to "know [God]." Being a Christian is not about being religious, memorizing the dance of the pious, or playing along with the game or the rules. There are indeed hypocrites who talk the talk but don't walk the walk and pretend to be Christians and are ones in name only (nominal Christians) in order to gain something (by ulterior motive).  

 NB:  Someone has wisely said that Christ didn't come to make bad people good, even though Christ changes lives and many who are born again have wonderful testimonies of being such vile sinners and have had their lives turned around. Someone then added that Christ came to make dead people live (spiritually, that is). All Christians are sinners--but justified sinners, though,(if one has a relationship with God through Jesus).

All of our righteousness is as "filthy rags" (Is 64:6), and our "fruitfulness" comes from God (Hosea 14:8). And all that we have done is through Christ's power (Isa 26:12 says He has actually has accomplished it through us!). What is paramount is knowing God (Hos 6:6 says: "I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." We have then only done our duty and what is required of us as a servant of God (vessels of honor). "Since You have performed for us all our works" (Isa. 26:12). "For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me" (Rom. 15:18). In other words, our goodness and virtue is God's gift to us, not our gift to God.   

God isn't looking for religious people who keep all the so-called "rules of engagement". He's looking for thirsty souls who want to seek his face and have a desire to have fellowship with him and worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Amos 6:13 mentions believers who boasted of what they had accomplished as if God didn't just use them to do his own will--it wasn't by their strength at all.  Paul said that he "would not venture to speak, but of what Christ had accomplished through [him]"  (Rom. 15:18).   "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD," says Zechariah 4:6.

God's chief controversy, or peeve, against Israel, as Hos. 4:1 says that "there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land." So, who is the better Christian? One who is moral and ethical and has a successful life, achieving the American dream, for instance, or the sinner, saved by grace, who knows he's a work in progress-- but truly knows the Lord? Prosperity, therefore, is not necessarily a sign of God's good favor or approval. Ps. 17:14 says the wicked have their reward or portion in this life.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is God Equal Opportunity?

In America we are obsessed with the Jeffersonian ideals of equality and that God created all men equal--this is our American way of thinking. This works fine for the government to give liberty, justice and equal rights to all, but God doesn't work that way--sorry to say. Do you think that the aborigine in Australia has the same opportunity as an American to hear the gospel? "How can they believe if they haven't heard?" says Paul in Romans 8. The clearly says in Rom. 1:20 that they are without excuse whoever they are-they have enough light in creation itself to condemn them and they also knowingly go against their own conscience, being self-condemned.

Did Sodom have the same chance as Capernaum which saw many signs and miracles? No. Did everyone at the time of Abraham in Ur have equal opportunity to respond to God's call, or did God single out him and call him in a special way as his chosen one? Evangelicals who believe in a chosen people (Israel) have a hard time admitting that God can choose individuals as well and that we are elect or chosen even before we are born. Did Esau have the same opportunity as Jacob whom God loved before he was born, while He hated Esau?

Revelation 3:20 is often quoted to say that God is standing at the door (i.e., of everyone's heart) and knocking for permission unto salvation. Let's look at the other verses in the letter to Laodicea while we quote this verse as it is often quoted out of context. Actually, Jesus says, "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore, and repent." Doesn't this mean Jesus discriminates? He is standing at the door of the church to read it in context and is addressed to the lukewarm believer who is out of fellowship--just being saved doesn't mean fellowship!  Jesus has no fellowship with unbelievers either, so the "cold" person may not refer to an unbeliever, but to a believer distancing himself from Christ. Do Christ and Belial have anything in common that they should fellowship? The believer that offends Christ is the lukewarm, complacent one. Jesus said to one inquirer, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Psalm 119:155 says, "Salvation is far from the wicked...." If salvation is far then how can they have equal opportunity with those to whom it is near? [A paradox!]

The "whosoever" of John 3:16 is often cited out of context as evidence that anyone can get saved. Actually, Christ said that "No one can come to the Father unless it has been granted him of the Father" (John 6:65). And "the Father draws [the wooing of the Holy Spirit] him" in John 6:44. You see, if God does woo all people the same, then the only way to get saved is by being better than someone else (But Scripture says in 1 Cor. 4:7, "Who makes you to differ? What do you have that you didn't receive?" Jonah says, "Salvation is of the Lord." This means it is not a cooperative venture where we do our best and God helps us. It's all grace and God gets all the glory. Soli Deo Gloria. This implies no merit system.

 Does anyone still not believe that the Holy Spirit doesn't take many times to sink in? The "whosoever" implies that anyone who believes will be saved but it doesn't say all can believe. "If anyone wills to do His will he shall know of the doctrine..." (John 7:17). Ultimately, our salvation is in God's hands and He chose us--we didn't choose him. ("I chose you and you didn't choose me..." as Jesus says in John 15:16.) (Cf. Eph. 1:5,11 [predestination] and Rom. 8:29-30.)   Soli Deo Gloria!

Habitual or Sinful Smoker?

Smoking is a bad habit--I'm sure no one would deny that, even if they think it is cool. Soon the reality sets in and they long for freedom from the drag, especially the cost and health concerns (do you have money to burn?). The prince of preachers C. H. Spurgeon was asked if he'd ever stop smoking--he said when it became a problem! (He defined a problem as having to smoke two at a time!) Smoking is one of the strongest addictions, nicotine to be exact is narcotic in its strength and smoking should be labeled a vice--like drinking and gambling or similar activity that is deleterious.

When a habit interferes with your Christian walk it is time to quit. There can be neutral habits like scratching your head that have no moral value positive nor negative but are just idiosyncrasies. I do not judge people just because they smoke, because smoking per se is not prohibited in Holy Writ; but it can be inferred from many passages that the addiction can be sinful. There isn't much to build an anti-smoking case on but it is there and every spiritually ambitious believer should consider letting God give him victory over this vice which is a vicious habit.

1 Cor. 6:12 says that all things are indeed permissible, but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Cor. 9:27 says that we should bring our body under subjection, lest, when we have preached to others, we ourselves should be disqualified. Gal. urges us not to be entangled in bondage and stay free in the Spirit. Most important though are Rom. 12: 1 saying that we should present our bodies as living sacrifices and 1 Cor. 6:19-20 saying that our bodies are not our own, but belong to God--they are not to do with what we want ourselves. When people first started to smoke they didn't know the hazards, except that it was a dirty habit.

It is only recently that tobacco is a known carcinogen and even second-hand smoke isn't safe. I know of an old Christian man who smokes a pipe, but he's in control of it, not vice versa. My uncle Bob chewed snuff his whole adult life with it being nothing more than a nuisance to others. If we can't afford to smoke it is a matter of stewardship, not being cool or of our liberty.

I have acquired a taste for wine, and I am not an alcoholic and I don't have cravings, just an appreciation on occasion. Jeremiah in the Old Testament drank wine but he respected abstinence. I know that you can have victory over the flesh in Christ who makes us more than conquerors.  Sin is "lawlessness" and sinners are known to be a "law unto themselves" making up their rules as they go along, not subject to any authority. The ultimate question you must ask:  Do you control it, or does it control you?  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty--not bondage. "All wrongdoing is sin:" Case closed.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Whatever Became of Sin?

This is the title of a book by Dr. Karl Menninger, the eminent psychiatrist. For the most part, psychiatrists see all mental problems as a chemical imbalance  (because we do not have a soul, just a material body), so this book was revolutionary in thought. Billy Graham says sin is a disease. The only cure is the blood of Christ. [The solution to our three problems of sin, death, and Satan.] The three areas of sin are the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes (cf. 1 John 2:15). The Greek word hamartia means to "miss the mark" or to fall short of a goal; it is an archery term and we sin when we miss achieving the norm or mark of God's law as the standard.

To label sin as human weakness, bad habits, mistakes, errors, or shortcomings merely makes the sin more dangerous--like mislabeling poison as the essence of peppermint! There are basically five names for sin: lawlessness (1 John 3:4); iniquity or deviating from right (Hos. 14:1); missing the mark (Rom. 3:23); trespassing or selfishness (Mark 8:34); and unbelief (1 John 5:10).

A renowned philosopher said that the "absurd is sin without God." Take God out of the equation and you can have no sin. When we violate our fellow man we sin against him; when we violate God's holiness we sin against Him. So what is sin? A succinct definition of sin is any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the Law of God, or the will of God.

Jesus mentioned sins of the heart--these have to do with our mental attitude. There are sins of commission (when God's Law is couched in negative terms, as R. C. Sproul says, such as "Thou shalt not..."), and sins of omission (not sins we haven't gotten around to committing yet, but where we fall short of the glory of God and fail to do what Jesus would do, or what is commanded). John Bunyan wrote a book Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and Paul called himself the chief of sinners also, so we need not despair that our sins are too bad to be forgiven. Charlie Riggs sees sin as any thought, word, act, omission or desires contrary to the Law of God.

Of course, sin is universal and we are born sinners: "We are not sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners," as it has been said. The point to see our sin is not that we are "good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation". "We can't escape our birthright," Billy Graham says.

Not all sins are equal though; there are some more heinous or egregious than others and are an abomination and special offense to God. There is no such thing as venial and mortal sins as Rome teaches. Venial being forgivable, and mortal being those the kill the justification of grace and require the sacrament of penance ("the second plank of salvation for those who have made shipwreck of their faith).

No sin can make you lose your salvation, and all your sins, as a believe, are forgivable and covered by the blood of Christ. But remember Christ is always making intercession for us when we sin (Heb. 7:25) and when we sin we only have to confess it and move on according to 1 John 1:9 ("If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness").  Soli Deo Gloria!

Equality Of Sin

This question is raised by those who want to believe pseudo-saints sins are just as bad as rapists, murderers, or thieves. They may have a pride problem and self-righteous attitude and God hates pride, but the point is that there is a gradation of sin, though one can drown in 6 feet of water as well as 60 feet. Remember the words of our Lord who told Pilate that the one who delivered him over had the "greater sin." Are all sins equal in severity in God's eyes? Do all sins deserve the same punishment? Obviously, if there is justice in the afterlife, Hitler will get a severer sentence than your typical run-of-the-mill sinner. It was said of Judas that it would've been better had he never been born--and so there you are. Jesus did say that some sins deserve fewer whips than others. God is a God of justice as well as mercy and there will be no cruelty in hell, only what justice demands.

If all sins were equal, that would encourage the slanderer to go all the way from character assassination to murder, since they are the same. Jesus did say that lusting was committing adultery, but he didn't say they were the same. Rome has divided sin into mortal and venial. Those which destroy the grace of salvation are more serious and require penance and are called mortal. All sins are mortal in the sense that they deserve eternal hell, but no sin is mortal in the sense that it cancels the state of grace. All sins are venial to the Christian, in that he only needs to confess them and repent to regain fellowship, not a state of grace or salvation.

The closer you get to God the more you see your shortcomings and sins; you don't begin to see yourself as perfect or having "arrived." There are certain sins that are an abomination to the Lord: homosexuality, bestiality, incest, to name a few. Remember, how Lot said to the men in Sodom not to "do such a disgusting sin." We live in an age of sexual predators and perverts and this is becoming more rampant every day, but we must not go along with a society that we are just progressing in leniency and toleration; it is alright to be shocked and abhorred at our society. We are often shocked at others' sins when we should be shocked at ours.   NB: The Pharisees considered all commandments of equal weight, but Jesus changed that and called some more serious (cf. Matt. 23:23).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Gambling Sin?

To be sure, there are no impersonal forces at work in God's universe such as fate, luck, chance or fortune. Fate is impersonal; God is personal. Luck is dumb; God is omniscient. Fortune is blind; God sees all. Prov. 16:33 is quoted: "The lot is cast unto the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD." Yes, God rules over all and doesn't leave anything to chance (which doesn't exist as a force, but only as a mathematical possibility); so worshiping at the idol of chance is insulting to our Maker's providence and sovereignty. In essence, we are testing God and our desire to get rich is clearly condemned.

I don't want to deflate someone's balloon, or a good thing going, but gambling can be a serious sin. Gambling per se is not sinning--that is, it is not specifically prohibited by Scripture--but, like smoking is a bad habit or way of life to succumb to and Paul certainly didn't want any undisciplined lifestyle (cf. 1 Cor 6:12: "...but I will not be mastered by anything"). What may be a sin for me, with greater light, may not be for someone else ("anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins"). Today we have people whose retirement plan is to win the lottery! Many poor people who can't afford to gamble are using good money to gamble and hoping to strike it rich. Some idle rich who have nothing better to do gamble for the fun of it not realizing that God will make them give an account someday. I realize that modern society is based on greed and gambling in the market, but you cannot equate the evil of a casino to the capitalistic system that is necessary.

There is a necessary risk, and then there's uncalled for risk that is unwise. There might be a little wiggle room for "penny machines" for amusement and blowing hard-earned cash--well, as they say easy come easy go. Many simply do not respect the value of a dollar! We are merely stewards of what God has entrusted us with and we don't own anything ("For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," says Ps. 24:1).

The big question to ask is whether Jesus would gamble. What would Jesus do? Making honest money is not evil: Wesley said to make as much as you can, save as much as you can, and give away as much as you can. It is in serving money (not using money) and loving it as an idol--anything that takes the place of God--that is evil. There are extenuating circumstances, of course, and you can't absolutely build an anti-gambling case from the Bible (you have to deduct or infer it). Obviously, playing penny poker or penny machines is trivial and a diversion for some.

But the most important aspect is being a responsible steward with our blessings. It all belongs to God and He lets us use it. I do not condemn Indians for owning casinos, because there are those that know what they are doing, and you don't throw away the baby with the bathwater. I also wonder about the dependence of governments on gambling revenue, whether it is moral.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Verdict: Guilty As Sin.

This doctrine is referred to as the doctrine of "total depravity" by Calvinists and is the first point in the acrostic known as TULIP.

In Latin you say mea culpa or I am to blame: put away the pointing of the finger and the blame game!   We cannot just blame Adam for our sins because, though we are culpable with Adam who stands as the head of our race, we all individually verified and confirm our status in the divine verdict and sinned, because we are born sinners. Psalm 51:4 says, "In sin did my mother conceive me." The theological maxim says: "We are not sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners." Billy Graham says, "we cannot escape our birthright." Original sin is the name given to the result of the first sin, not to the first sin per se. It is not environmental or societal that we sin but intrinsic to our very nature.  "We didn't cease to be human we ceased to be good," says R. C. Sproul.

 It is commonplace to assume that man is basically good (as humanists believe) but man is basically evil. And this nature permeates his makeup through and through. It is like being pregnant; you cannot be only a little pregnant. If man were basically good, why is sin so prevalent and so universal; wouldn't we see some sinless personages? If it's environmental, how did it get that way? The rub is that we are basically, intrinsically, inherently evil and no part of us escapes the corruption of sin and doesn't have a fallen nature. Our complete soul: intellect, affections, and volition. They say, "nobody's perfect" and "to err is human;" and this is a right diagnosis.

Sin is not peripheral or tangential to our nature but we are totally flawed (note that we are totally depraved, meaning every aspect of us is flawed, but not utterly depraved, meaning as bad as we can be)  by a sin nature, through and through.  We are not as bad as we can be, but as bad off as can be.  There is no sliding scale or grading on the curve even though the run-of-the-mill sinner looks like a saint compared to the likes of Nero or Hitler who are seen as paradigms of evil. Even though some never lose faith in the basic goodness of man, it is not man's estimation of man, but God's estimation of man that counts. We are radically corrupt and totally corrupt, but not utterly corrupt; we are as bad off as we can be but not as bad as we can be. We are degenerated and are degrading to the imago Dei that we have as icons of God. When we expose the dark side (like the moon--and everyone has a dark side) we see that God's diagnosis is correct and we are all found wanting on God's scale of justice.

There is a "catch-22": we don't know how bad we are till we have tried to be good, and we must try to be good to know how bad we are. We all have "feet of clay," says Chuck Swindoll (weak spots as well as our forte, or strong suit). We have gone from creation to corruption, from perfection to rejection. We cannot clean up our acts because Jesus sees through the veneer. Sin permeates the core of our soul and as Jeremiah says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." We cannot do anything apart from Christ's power (John 15:5).

Those who are in flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). "All our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). We must be wooed by the Holy Spirit, we don't come to Christ all on our own--the Spirit draws us!  "No man can come to Me unless the Father grants it..." (John 6:44). "You were dead in trespasses and sin..." (Eph. 2:1). What can a dead man do to please God?  Soli Deo Gloria!

Whatever Became Of Sin?

The man of few words President Calvin Coolidge was asked by his wife what the preacher preached about: "Sin" Then she asked him what he said: "I think he was against it." I'm not out to get anybody nor do I want a soapbox and I don't have an ax to grind; I simply think sin is not mentioned enough in the church today.

I heard that a renowned preacher doesn't preach on the "divisive" issue of "sin" allegedly because it is such a "killjoy" term. Today we hardly ever hear a preacher denounce sin or preach repentance. Sin doesn't exist in their jargon. Sin is a "taboo" word to some preachers who only want to preach what their church wants to hear. Eminent psychiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger, M.D. wrote a book called Whatever Became of Sin? as it is ignored in the therapy and since it is the root of all problems, it should be encountered. Famous philosopher Albert Camus wrote, "The absurd is sin without God." That means that if there is no God, there is no sin!

Actually, we are all sinners since sin is universal (we say "to err is human" and "nobody's perfect." Original sin is the result of that first sin in the so-called "perfect environment" of the garden of Eden. We must all see ourselves as sinners, even the worst of sinners to be saved: John Bunyan wrote, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and Paul said that "Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." Even Isaiah said, "Woe is me, I am undone...."

Samuel Rutherford said, "The greater sense of sin the less sin." The more sanctified we become the more aware of our shortcomings we become. It is the job of the preacher to take a stand and denounce sin and to intercede corporately for the church. To become Christians we must "renounce" sin and repent of all known sin. We cannot escape our birthright, says Billy Graham, and have a sin nature and even though we are saints, says Martin Luther, we are at the same time sinners (cf. Gal. 12:17).  Sin is the disease and the cause of all problems.

Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4); transgression of the Law; iniquity or deviating from right; trespassing or egoism (putting self first); unbelief (Rom. 14:23--"Whatever is not of faith is sin.") All unrighteousness and wrongdoing is sin (1 John 5:17; Gal. 6:1). Any thought, word, deed, act, omission or desire contrary to the Law of God is a sin. Any want of conformity to or transgression of the moral law is a sin. Sins cannot be labeled "mortal and venial" like Romanists insist, because all sins are mortal in the sense that they separate us from God and no sin is mortal in that it can cut off your salvation. According to Psalm 19:12 there is "unknown sin:" We are responsible for what we know but that doesn't mean we aren't sinning unbeknownst to us. It is only because we have a mind and a will that we are capable of sin; animals cannot be sinners or immoral.

A ""run-of-the-mill sinner looks like a saint compared to Adolf Hitler but can still go to hell--it doesn't matter how deep the water is that we drown in. There are sins of omission like failing to love our brethren; this is falling short of the glory of God or missing the mark and failing to achieve the aim of hitting the diving target. Sins of commission are when God forbids something like lust and we go ahead and do it, willingly or unwillingly, presumptuously or ignorantly.

All sin is against God (David prays, "Against you and you only have I sinned," in Psalm 51:4). Sin can be against our neighbor also according to 1 Kings 8:46. When we sin against God we violate His holiness, when we sin against our fellow man we violate their humanity. When we sin we are not demonstrating our freedom but proving our slavery if we do something unprofitable--"All things are permissible, but not all things are profitable, all things are permissible but I will not be brought under the power of any." (Cf. 1 Cor. 6:12; 10:23). Not all sins are as heinous, or egregious but some are actually an abomination to the Lord and detestable in His sight. Just calling sin "weakness, faults, mistakes, quirks, peccadilloes, etc. is like labeling poison "Essence of Peppermint" and making it more dangerous.

James 4:17 says, "If you don't do what you know is right you have sinned." The only cure from antinomianism or legalism is a knowledge of the Scriptures: "For by the Law is the knowledge of sin (Indeed it is the straightedge of the Law that shows us how crooked we really are.)" We are all culpable before God and to ourselves and to our fellow man and God doesn't punish us for one another's sins (Ezek. 18:4 says, "The soul that sins shall die.") We can be glad that God doesn't deal with us according to our sins or punish us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10).

Finally, no matter how we have sinned God is greater and bigger than our failures: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they be red as crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isa. 1:18).   NB:  Karl Menninger defined sin as the refusal of the love of others [and God].  Soli Deo Gloria!

Are Christians Always Obedient?

God gives His Spirit to those who are obedient! (cf. Acts 5:32).    The point is that believers are obedient to the faith (cf. Acts 6:7, Romans 1:5; 16:26).   Nonbelievers are referred to by Paul as "sons of disobedience." The writer of Hebrews equates unbelief with disobedience in Heb. 3:18. John MacArthur says that faith is only manifested in obedience. Paul referred to the "obedience of faith." Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes. But Uzziah disobeyed God by offering a sacrifice and God made him a leper. King David disobeyed God by committing adultery and conducting a census. Moses even disobeyed God and was kept from entering the promised land. And so all believers are disobedient in some sense.

But Luther said we are sinners at the same time justified. We obeyed the gospel and are considered obedient. Heb. 5:9 says that God gives eternal salvation to all who "obey" Him. Acts 2:39 says, "He gives the Holy Spirit to all who obey Him." And so, if we are Christians who have salvation and the Holy Spirit; consequently we have already "obeyed Him." We are forgiven of all our sins of omission and commission--if we were remiss God filled in the gap in our stead.

When Jesus says, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" He is talking to unbelievers who didn't obey the gospel to repent and believe in it. There are no believers to whom Christ will say this--we don't just call Him Lord, but we have Him as our personal Lord and Savior. There are no such creatures as "carnal Christians" who have not accepted Christ as Lord; nevertheless, there are Christians who are in the flesh and living defeated lives.   CAVEAT:  CHRISTIANS ARE JUSTIFIED SINNERS (CF. GAL. 2:17).     Soli Deo Gloria!

Genuine Repentance Is The Requisite For Salvation

Salvation is a summons to faith and is a turning from sin to God. Some believers refer to their salvation experience as when they repented or forsook sin. Paul says, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret..." (2 Cor. 7:10). God isn't fooled by mere outward show: He says, "Rend your hearts and not your garments" (Joel 2:13). William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, deplored the rise of salvation without repentance.

Billy Graham says that genuine repentance and saving or true faith go hand in hand and are complementary to each other; faith is like the flip side of the penitent coin. Repentance is a recurring motif in the Bible. Jesus opened His ministry proclaiming, "Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand." One must bring forth the fruits of repentance for it to be real (cf. Matt. 3:8: "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance"). Faith and repentance are linked or coupled by Luke in Acts 20:21, "Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul said, "...Repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with [your] repentance."

Repentance is not a one-time act but according to Martin Luther a progressive lifelong event. We never stop repenting. This was the first of Luther's Ninety-FiveTheses.

Repentance is "coming clean" and it is "throwing in the towel." It is more than "eating your humble pie," and it is not a human work but the work of God in the heart. Watchman Nee says, "Our end is God's beginning." We all have to come to our limits or the end of ourselves. 2 Tim. 2:24 says that God "grants" repentance. "Then to the Gentiles God has also granted repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18). It is a gift.

It is doing an about-face, doing a 180-degree turn, or making a U-turn. You renounce and repudiate sin--all your sins. Note that is imperative--it is a mandate. It is not simply regretted, feeling sorry, or emotionalism. Attrition is like feeling sorry over the consequences like getting caught. Esau had attrition and regretted what he had done. Contrition is true repentance. "A broken and contrite heart, you will not despise..." (Ps. 51:17).

We are commanded to preach repentance: "And that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations..." (Luke 24:47). "Unless you repent you shall likewise perish," Jesus said in Luke 13:3.

The Greek word metanoia means "afterthought" or to "think after." One must have a complete change of heart: intellect, affection, and will. Our whole being and soul is involved.   Soli Deo Gloria!

How Depraved Are We?

Man is depraved through and through, as bad off as he can be, but not as bad as he can be. It is like being pregnant; you can't be a little pregnant. Note that this is God's estimation of man, not man's estimation of man. Sin affects every aspect of our being which means we have a radical corruption or total depravity. Rom. 7:18a says, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh."

I don't mean utter depravity (that we are as bad as we can be), but total depravity (every aspect of our being is spoiled by sin). We all have feet of clay (we all have weaknesses not readily apparent) and can't "clean up our act;" nor ingratiate ourselves to God. We show our solidarity in Adam when we sin--we sin because we are sinners, we are not sinners because we sin. It is not okay to "fudge a little" because we a diabolically alive--we all are like a moon that has a "dark side" no one can see. We may be a run-of-the-mill sinner compared to Hitler and see ourselves as saints in comparison; but Christ is the standard and exemplar, not Hitler.

We are inherently bad, biased to evil, having lost our inclination to good at the fall. Evil permeates our nature and we are defiant volitionally. This is all God's estimation of man, not man's estimation of himself. This is called original sin by some. Augustine of Hippo said we can only do evil (non posse non peccare). But Jesus sees through the veneer and our facade. We are "by nature children of wrath" and enemies of God before we are saved.

We must see how bad we are to be good and we don't know how bad we are till we've tried to be good. There are many verses that support depravity including Jer. 17:9 ("The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?"); Isa. 1:5-6, 64:6; Jer. 13:23; Rom. 8:8; Gen. 6:4-5. The law shows us how we are: "Indeed, it is the straightedge of the law that shows us how crooked we are" (J. B. Phillips trans. of Rom. 3:23).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Are Some Reprobate?

When Jonathan Edwards preached "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" to bring on the Great Awakening in 1741, his text was Deut. 32:35 as follows: "Their step shall slip in due time; the day of their calamity is at hand."

Reprobate means condemned beforehand. (Those that believe not are condemned already.)  Paul calls them vessels of wrath as opposed to vessels of mercy. It's God's call who we are. Even our niceness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God. God doesn't actively force a person to reject Him or disobey Him--He does it on his own accord. Jean Calvin called this doctrine the "horrible decree." The opposite of reprobation is an election which is clearly mentioned in Titus and 1 Peter. I don't believe in double-predestination or that God makes some reject Him--that is called hyper-Calvinism and Calvin didn't believe that. "To the elect...." If you can prove reprobation which is a doctrine with much consternation like predestination (nobody likes to talk about it), you can by default prove election.

In my view, God passes over the non-elect (known as preterition) and lets them go their own way, but all of us would reject God if He hadn't had worked in our hearts and wills to make us willing to do His will (cf. Phil. 2:13). Compare John 6:44 and 6:65 which say that one cannot come to Jesus unless it has been granted him and the Father draws him (woos him--elko, the Greek word actually means to drag).

Three verses stand out to be brought to our attention.  [All verses in NKJV.] Jude 4 says, "For certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation...." 1 Peter 2:8 says, "They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which also they were appointed." And finally 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." These verses are pretty straightforward and don't need commentary. [All italics are mine.]

Is not God the potter and we the clay; cannot God do with us as He sees fit, whether for common or for honorable use. How then can God blame us if He chooses? This is the question that Paul anticipates in Romans 9:19, "You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?'" If you can answer this you deserve a doctorate in theology. Nota bene:  Paul knew ahead of time that people would wonder about the election and try to reconcile it with free will. The fact is, is that we cannot resist God's will--He always gets His way. NB: REBROBATE IS A BIBLICAL TERM FOUND IN 2 COR. 13:5FF.    Soli Deo Gloria!

On The Enslaved Will

Martin Luther said that the freedom of the will is a grandiose term and fit only for God. Our wills are enslaved to the old sin nature and inclined to evil. They are biased and prone to evil, not good. Luther said that man has not ceased to be man, but ceased to be good. We are only free in the sense that God doesn't force us to do evil--we do it on our own volition. St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, said that we are "free, but not freed." This is not a mind game, but only stressing that we don't have liberty, though we are responsible moral agents. We concur with our evil and no one forces us to do evil, which would be determinism or coercion. We are voluntary slaves to evil. God doesn't force anyone to do something he doesn't want to do. There is no outside force pulling strings.

There are many Bible verses that stress the lack of freedom to respond to Christ on our own without the wooing of the Spirit. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God who showeth mercy." "Who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. " "The way of man is not in himself."

The freedom of the will so to speak is a curse, since we are free to do evil. Augustine said that we are non posse non peccare, which means we can only do evil. Luther said the will can only do evil, too.

According to Martin Luther, the will is enslaved to the old sin nature and not free. Augustine of Hippo said that the will is "free but not freed." He wasn't playing mind games but saying that we are responsible agents to God for our choices, but don't have liberty. He doesn't force us to do evil, because we do it on our own initiative. The freedom of the will is a curse because we can only do evil according to Luther. Where did free will help Esau? There are many Bible verses that show that man doesn't have free will as far as the ability to choose and come to Christ apart from grace(see John 6:44, 65), and the wooing of the Spirit. "For who can resist His will?" (Rom. 9:19).  "It is not of him that willeth ...." "Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." "For the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23).

We are biased or prone to evil, not good. Martin Luther said we have not ceased to be man, but have ceased to be good. The whole matter can be summed up in the phrase: "We don't need free will--we need wills made free!" We are inclined to evil, not good--the ability lost at the fall.

This is one of the oldest debates in Christendom. The British monk Pelagius and St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo debated it and so did Luther and Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. The prevalence of the doctrine of freedom of the will in today's church is due to the influence of the Wesleyan Arminians. Don't let anyone make you think that the bondage of the will is a new doctrine or that it is not orthodox, because it is the original doctrine defended by the church fathers and the reformers.   
Soli Deo Gloria!

Our Dark Side

Mark Twain is quoted by Swindoll as saying that we are all like a moon that has a dark side no one sees. This is true. We all have "feet of clay" (having weaknesses not readily apparent), and are vulnerable to sin because of our very nature. We cannot clean up our act before we can come to Jesus; we must come as we are, but we cannot stay that way. We must see how bad we are before we can become good. It's not how bad we are, but how bad off we are. It is like the distance of a deaf man to a symphony or a blind man to the Mona Lisa. We cannot bridge the gap. Jesus sees through the veneer and we cannot fool him.

Humanism means man is the measure of all things; basically, down with God and up with man and think man is basically good, but we an inherently bad. You must realize that we are not sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners. It is our constituted nature to sin. We can deal with sins in the plural, but our problem is sin in the singular--our old sin nature inherited from Adam. This is God's estimation of man, not man's estimation of man.

The totality of our nature is permeated with sin and our image of God is marred and defaced morally. "No one knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good," says C. S. Lewis. The paradox is that we must see our bankruptcy--the truly bad person thinks he is alright! We must realize how bad we are before we can be good!  The way up, by paradox, is down.

We are sinful in toto and in solidarity with Adam completely. Someone has said, "We cannot escape our birthright." We cannot ingratiate ourselves with God, because we "have feet of clay." That means we have hidden vulnerabilities. We are permeated with sin through and through--there is no vestige of righteousness.

R. C. Sproul writes of a man who never lost his faith in the basic goodness of man despite being held captive in Iraq--this is sheer ignorance! Compared to Saddam Hussein the run-of-the-mill sinner looks like a saint; however, he is just as bad off from God's viewpoint and they both must come to Jesus the same way in childlike repentance and faith.   Soli Deo Gloria!