The Focus Of Our Life

 

"I  wanted to write to you concerning our common salvation..." Jude 3 

Ask Christians if we should have a Christ-centered theology and church. A church without theology is a dead church and theology. Theology is always relevant and necessary but not sufficient. You could know all the theology in the world and fail in the point of Christian love which is the aim and be worthless.   We all have a theology we must realize that but how good our theology is is the point.

A Christ-centered gospel means that the gospel was about Jesus Christ's good news is about him. He solved the sin question by his death burial and resurrection. He conquered death itself and showed that there is life after death with infallible proofs according to Luke. Our whole lives should be gospel-centered because we are grace-oriented and focused on the gospel as we strive to know nothing but Christ and Christ crucified in our message. That means keeping the main thing the main thing and not majoring on minors but realizing that the Great Commission is our aim and goal as Christians someday it shall be called the great completion and we need a great commitment to it. 

We must realize that our salvation began in eternity past, is realized in time, and will be completed in eternity, and looks forward to heaven. Our Father purposed and authored our salvation, and the Son actually secured, accomplished, and achieved it but the Holy Spirit applies it to our lives.  All three members of the Godhead are necessary!  We must also realize that the whole person gets saved and we get rescued from the dominion of sin and that salvation is more than forgiveness. 

The whole point in justification is that God realized that we are reckoned as saints, not sinners anymore and that reconciliation ensures we are restored to our relationship with God and propitiation or that the actual sacrifice was made in the temple of God on our behalf by the blood of Christ itself. Salvation not only forgives us, but it also delivers us from the power of sin and regenerates us so that our spirit is alive and can know and Love and serve God in a relationship. 

Finally, we must realize that we are saved by grace alone not by any combination of grace and good deeds or good works or pre-salvation attempts to please God. Christ as a sacrifice and crucified saved us from the penalty of sin; his coming saves us from the power of sin and in heaven he saves us from the judgment of sin.

The foundation of all our lives is in Christ the solid Rock, not any one person or church or theology. What matters in faith is the object of the faith, not how strong the faith is.  You can move mountains with mirror mustard-seed faith and we can all walk on water by walking by faith.  You can be fanatical in your faith and have blind faith for no reason or not know why you believe or have a zeal but not according to knowledge but it matters what you believe in God and what kind of a god you believe in how big your God is not how big your faith is.

As Christians walking with the Lord we have the courage to face tomorrow, to live one day at a time, and to realize that we can live everything in the light of eternity and not be discouraged for we know that God is in control of our lives and that he holds our future and our destiny is in his hands. We know that we may have bad times but we must accept them for God gives the good times also and he has a purpose for them we see everything as related to the gospel that God will work everything for our good because of Christ what he has done and proven his love for us by redeeming us from the slave market of sin so we no longer servants of sin but servants of righteousness.

When we are Christ-oriented we have peace with one another ("My peace I leave with you...")  and we bare the image of Christ and have a natural love for one another as Jesus said we shall know we are disciples if we love one another. Christ said that the legacy he leaves is his peace and peace is the hallmark or calling card of the Christian life for there is no peace for the wicked. Jesus said peace to you and only Christianity can offer this. We can have peace with God, peace with our neighbors, and peace in our future. 

We must not doubt the saviorhood of Christ, that was His mission!   For in the Gospel of Christ, our past is forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured. It also means that we have been saved that our sins have been forgiven both past, present, and future and then we are being forgiven and being saved right now continually and ongoing basis as we have victory in power over sin and we shall be saved ultimately from the presence of sin itself in the final judgment and wrath of God.

That's what Christianity is about... salvation!   It is a religion of salvation and the saviourhood of Jesus should not be questioned for there is no name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, he is the only Savior of the world and there is no other one who came to save us for He was surely a man on a mission to seek and to save those who are lost.

We must recognize that the gospel is not new, it was given to Adam and Eve called the Protoevangelium and it was revealed more and more throughout the Old Testament until finally explained in Jesus Christ. We have always been saved by grace through faith in the Lord!  Looking ahead or behind.  Paul elaborated on the gospel message and the book of Romans is the highlight of the Bible's theology you could say that all roads lead to Romans. And Romans has highlighted in Romans chapter 8. This is the quintessence of the gospel.

Therefore, the foundation of our life is in the finished work of Christ it is a done deal we do not need to do this or do that we do not have a to-do list. Christianity is about having what Christ has done for us it is done and done already we just accept that fact. And rest in faith knowing that Christ did the work for us on our behalf and we can do nothing to save ourselves not even any pre-salvation work. Our present Christian life is based on faith as we walk in faith in the Spirit of God by his power we do not have permission to live in the flesh anymore or to sin because we have forgiven but we have the power to live in the Spirit. And our hope is not diminished as we hope for heaven with Christ in which we are like him and reign with him eternally our future is secure knowing that Christ is in us right now he has given us the earnest of our inheritance the Holy Spirit taking up residence with our spirit.

Therefore, we must realize that we are complete in Christ and that Christ fulfills us and gives us meaning and purpose in life as we are called to serve him and glorify him in our lives and to do his will. Without Christ, we are nothing Paul said he counted rubbish at all things he had compared to what he knows in Christ. Our past is not worth holding on to compared to the value of knowing Christ. What eternal life is about, not about improving our lives but having a transformation of our lives and knowing God is real and wants a relationship with us personally because he loves us.

The Great Benediction that closes Second Corinthians mentions Jesus first and specifically the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hours with the love of God in the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the triune formula that they all work in harmony and unity with each other for one objective our salvation.  If these three things are what is so unique about the Christian experience when we encounter God in our lives. 

Christianity is grace-oriented and stressed and is salvation by grace, not by work or merit which has no place in our salvation. And we experienced the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit as proof of our salvation since we love because he first loved us and the love of God constrains us as we love another. And the fellowship is unique in the Christian life because we all have fellowship centered in Jesus Christ in the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit in his name.  Whenever we walk in the Spirit we have fellowship with one another.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Beatific Vision, A Sermon Is Needed

Men have always imagined what God must be like and Christians have longed to see visions and revelations of God, known as theophanies. But no one knows what God looks like because God is Spirit (cf. John 4:24)! Moses saw the backside of the glory of Christ, who does reveal Himself, but the Father doesn't and no man has ever seen the Father. Our faith concerns the God who is there!
A child was asked what he was drawing in class: "I'm drawing a picture of God!" The child had to learn that no one can draw God, but the child answered that people will see now what He looks like. Children have an innocent faith and we are to mimic it (cf. Matt. 18:3).  It would be good to see Jesus through their eyes.  Hebrews says that we do see Jesus (cf. Heb. 2:9), and we sense His presence when two or three are gathered in His name as a promise (cf. Matt. 18:20).

He indwells each of us and we can have an existential encounter with Him as we read Scripture, fellowship, worship, or pray. Christians see the glory of God in His work on earth and will see God's glory in heaven, to our delight. The prophets who claimed they "saw God" were seeing theophanies, and not God in His fullness. We cannot bear to look at the sun in its brightness, much less look at the glory of God directly. That's one reason God reveals Himself propositionally and in the Word.

Christians want Christ to be seen in them and also to seek Christ being glorified. As Paul said in Col. 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." He also boasted that Christ was glorified in him. We wait till Christ be formed in us and in our brethren as a sign of maturity. God will never give up making us in His image and we are works in progress (cf. Phil. 1:6).

The Greek disciples came to the apostles and said they "[wanted] to see Jesus" (cf. John 12:19); we have a much greater thing in that we have the Word of God and full revelation of the wisdom and knowledge of God in it--we're better off than being with Christ in person also, because we have the inner blessing of the Spirit. The apostles said that it would suffice to see the Father, but Jesus said that to see Him was to see the Father! All that we can know and see God is revealed in Christ! In eternity we'll see the big picture!

The infidel doesn't see God anywhere at work, but the believer sees His fingerprint everywhere, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, at work. No amount of proof will convince someone who doesn't want to do God's will or sincerely have a relationship with him; to the believer and honest seeker, there is ample evidence--no one can disbelieve due to lack of evidence!

In glory, we shall behold Him as He is and we shall be like Him too, able to take it in. It is said that some angels always do behold the face of God and that Gabriel "[stands] in the presence of God"; we'll have more privilege than an angel! People generally say that seeing is believing; however, believing is seeing! Don't envy those who have seen a vision or revelation, as Jesus told Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed" (cf. John 20:29). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who maintained they could see but were "blind guides," in fact, the "blind leading the blind"; think how much worse it is to think you see and be blind, or not knowing you're blind! Christ came to open our eyes and to make the blind see, and Satan has blinded the eyes of all who don't believe in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

Caveat: Don't reduce God to one dimension or put Him in a box, emphasizing one aspect, like seeing Him just as: the Old, Doting Grandpa who says, "Boys will be boys;" the Kind Father; the Man Upstairs; Cosmic Killjoy; the Great Spirit; the Strict, Mean Judge; the Higher Power; or even as the Great Mathematical Mind. Whenever we have an inadequate perception of God it's idolatry and our God is too small, thinking of Him in human terms. How big is your God?  This is just as important as seeing Him. God cannot be limited, defined, or confined, and we must know that He is beyond comprehension, known as His profundity, and we will never fully apprehend His glory, nature, or essence throughout eternity ("the finite cannot contain the infinite," says the maxim).

The eyes of our heart are opened upon salvation and we can literally say we see and were blind, just like the blind man Jesus healed said, "I was blind, but now I see!" No one can argue the fact that we have spiritual eyes enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit living in our hearts. Theologians have attempted definitions of God in vain, for He cannot be described, only known, loved, and worshiped!

It is the childish faith that seeks to know God through pictures, visions, or experiences, but the mature obedient believer clings to the Word and hears God speaking His message through it; just like Francis Schaeffer wrote: "He is there, and He is not silent!" The problem with man is not only is he blind to spiritual truth, but spiritually hard-of-hearing and turns a deaf ear to the gospel message that he does hear. Man isn't faithful to the God he does see and is without excuse.

The pagan Emperor Trajan once asked a Christian why his God was invisible and you couldn't see him (it sounded atheistic to him--just worshiping a spirit), and he was informed and given the scoop: "Look at the sun!" Trajan said he couldn't because it's too bright. "Then don't you now realize that, if you cannot behold God's creation, how much less the splendor and glory of God?" Jesus said that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24).

But we don't need to see Him in order to know Him, because Jesus said blessed is he who believes and hasn't seen (cf. John 20:29). We can see with the eyes of our hearts which are opened by the Holy Spirit's illuminating ministry. We are seeing the glory of God when our eyes are opened to see how He is manifest in believers, and we see Jesus in them and they see Him in us--this is only a taste of the glory which shall be revealed to us. As Hebrews 2:9 (ESV) says: "But we see him [i.e., Jesus, with our spiritual eyes] ...."

We shall all be satisfied in heaven by beholding the face of God (in Jesus), but only because we will not be in the flesh, but without any sin to corrupt our spiritual bodies and souls. God has revealed Himself throughout the Bible in many theophanies (revelation of God, such as in the burning bush) and Christophanies (revelation of Jesus, such as the Angel of the LORD). From the burning bush to appearances as the Angel of the LORD, to Gideon and as the Son of Man, to Daniel's friends in the furnace, and to Daniel in a vision. John saw Jesus in His glory at the transfiguration and then finally at Patmos in a vision of heaven.

Jesus is how God manifests Himself as the embodiment, personification, or icon of God. When Philip (cf. John 14:8-9) asked Jesus during the Last Supper in the Upper Room to show them the Father, Christ said, that he who has seen Him has seen the Father--they are one! All that God wants to reveal of Himself is presented in the Son--all that God has to say to us and all that we can know. God is Spirit, according to Jesus, and became a man for our sake so we would have something to relate to and what to think of when we meditate on God. Jesus is analogous to the sun because He gives light to all He shines on, and makes life possible too.

Jesus has the Shekinah (glory of God), not reflected the glory of God, as Moses had after being in His presence. Jesus does not reflect light--He is light: John 8:12 says, "... I am the light of the world...." Jesus willingly veiled His glory because they couldn't behold it in full. Jesus has all the glory of the Father, there is no diminishing of it, but He voluntarily laid it aside (known as the kenosis in Philippians 2) while incarnated on earth before His ascension. Actually, Jesus shines brighter than the sun, which is only an analogy or symbol of Him.

In glory, we shall behold Him: "... [B]ut we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he [Jesus]" (1 John 3:2, ESV). Moses wanted to see God's face but God said that no man shall see His face and live [in the flesh], as Jesus told Moses in Exodus 33:23. Jesus said in His Beatitudes that the pure in heart are blessed, for they shall see God [in the NT God usually refers to God the Father].

Don't forget the Aaronic benediction in Numbers 6:24-26 as a promise to claim: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." What man has always yearned for is a God they can see; one that has skin on and we can relate to. Jesus is just that incarnation: God with skin on!

Jesus said that "God is glorified in Him" (cf. John 10:34) and this is when He is glorified. At His priestly prayer in John 17 Jesus besought the return of His glory after He had glorified the Father by doing all His will and being obedient in His subordination and humility. He did it by accomplishing all God's work for Him on earth that was given Him to do (cf. John 17:4). By analogy we give up our glory to share His glory and to glorify God: "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever" (The Westminster Shorter Catechism, ca. 1646).

Everyone will bow to the glory of God, either at Judgment Day, or to become a believer and surrender the control over himself, and even others, to the lordship of Christ. We must give up the ownership of our lives and realize we owe all to Him because He purchased us at the cross with His blood. But Jesus wants more than our bodies dedicated to Him as reasonable service (cf. Rom. 12:1), He wants us (to surrender everything we have and are to His lordship)! This entails and involves giving up your personal throne and kingdom and surrender it to God's sovereignty and guidance or plan for your life--we don't ask God to bless our plans, but Him to reveal His plan.

We leave our throne to bow to His and ultimately get a crown to reign with Him, just like Jesus left His throne in Heaven to humble Himself in obedience all the way to the cross. This surrender and acknowledgment of His lordship are not only done at salvation but renewed daily, as we learn to walk in the Spirit and in fellowship with God and our brethren (cf. 1 John 1:7). We actually have more authority in Christ after surrendering our authority and this is a paradox indeed (i.e., if we are lords, we are to become servants for Christ's sake and humble and meek enough that no service is beneath our dignity). We have nothing in comparison to lose and everything in eternity to gain, including the right to rule in glory with Christ, as we go from glory to glory to an ultimate glorified state in the New Jerusalem.

He doesn't want sacrifice or offering, or even going through the motions of the rituals of worship--Jesus internalized religion to make it a matter of the heart (He said evil comes out from the heart of man) because the Pharisees had externalized it to outward obedience to the letter of the Law, and neglect of the spirit of the Law. He wants all there is of us--all of our minds, hearts, souls, spirits, strength, and wills. John was stunned at the sight of the Lord, so just imagine how we would react!

Jesus is the great Inspector General of the church and we all need to pass muster and be ready for daily inspection of our daily walk--take regular spiritual check-ups so as not to jeopardize your testimony to the world. Paul said to "test yourselves whether you are in the faith." We are to examine ourselves (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5)--not others--regularly and especially before the Lord's Supper (cf. 1 Cor. 11:28).  We are fruit inspectors--not detectives. We must examine ourselves first because judgment begins at the house of God, and when we have cast the beam out of our own eye we can help someone else with the speck in theirs.

In other words, don't throw bricks if you live in a glasshouse, because we all have feet of clay or have vulnerabilities not readily apparent--we may see the sins of others as obvious; however, we just sin differently and have no right to look down on our brother or criticize him, and we are all vulnerable to Satan's attack, which Martin Luther called the Anfectung, and we should never succumb to this nor even his accusations. If we take care of our witness and testimony, God will take care of our reputation and open doors for us--we must just be ready!

Men have always imagined what God must be like and Christians have longed to see visions and revelations of God, known as theophanies. But no one knows what God looks like because God is Spirit (cf. John 4:24)! Moses saw the backside of the glory of Christ, who does reveal Himself, but the Father doesn't and no man has ever seen the Father. Our faith concerns the God who is there!


He indwells each of us and we can have an existential encounter with Him as we read Scripture, fellowship, worship, or pray. Christians see the glory of God in His work on earth and will see God's glory in heaven, to our delight. The prophets who claimed they "saw God" were seeing theophanies, and not God in His fullness. We cannot bear to look at the sun in its brightness, much less look at the glory of God directly. That's one reason God reveals Himself propositionally and in the Word.

Christians want Christ to be seen in them and also to seek Christ being glorified. As Paul said in Col. 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." He also boasted that Christ was glorified in him. We wait till Christ be formed in us and in our brethren as a sign of maturity. God will never give up making us in His image and we are works in progress (cf. Phil. 1:6).

The Greek disciples who came to the apostles and said they "[wanted] to see Jesus"; we have a much greater thing in that we have the Word of God and full revelation of the wisdom and knowledge of God in it--we're better off than being with Christ in person also because we have the inner blessing of the Spirit. The apostles said that it would suffice to see the Father, but Jesus said that to see Him was to see the Father! All that we can know and see God is revealed in Christ! In eternity we'll see the big picture!

The infidel doesn't see God anywhere at work, but the believer sees His fingerprint everywhere, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, at work. No amount of proof will convince someone who doesn't want to do God's will or sincerely have a relationship with him; to the believer and honest seeker, there is ample evidence--no one can disbelieve due to lack of evidence!

In glory, we shall behold Christ as He is and we shall be like Him too, able to take it in. It is said that some angels always do behold the face of God and that Gabriel "[stands] in the presence of God"; we'll have more privilege than an angel! People generally say that seeing is believing; however, believing is seeing! Don't envy those who have seen a vision or revelation, as Jesus told Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed" (cf. John 20:29). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who maintained they could see but were "blind guides," in fact, the "blind leading the blind"; think how much worse it is to think you see and be blind, or not knowing you're blind! Christ came to open our eyes and to make the blind see, and Satan has blinded the eyes of all who don't believe in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

Caveat: Don't reduce God to one dimension or put Him in a box, emphasizing one aspect, like seeing Him just as: the Old, Doting Grandpa who says, "Boys will be boys;" the Kind Father; the Man Upstairs; Cosmic Killjoy; the Great Spirit; the Strict, Mean Judge; the Higher Power; or even as the Great Mathematical Mind. Whenever we have an inadequate perception of God it's idolatry and our God is too small, thinking of Him in human terms. How big is your God, is just as important as seeing Him. God cannot be limited, defined, or confined, and we must know that He is beyond comprehension, known as His profundity, and we will never fully apprehend His glory, nature, or essence throughout eternity ("the finite cannot contain the infinite," says the maxim).

The eyes of our hearts are opened upon salvation and we can literally say we see and were blind, just like the blind man Jesus healed said, "I was blind, but now I see!" No one can argue the fact that we have spiritual eyes enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit living in our hearts. Theologians have attempted definitions of God in vain, for He cannot be described, only known, loved, and worshiped!

It is the childish faith that seeks to know God through pictures, visions, or experiences, but the mature obedient believer clings to the Word and hears God speaking His message through it; just like Francis Schaeffer wrote: "He is there, and He is not silent!" The problem with man is not only is he blind to spiritual truth, but spiritually hard-of-hearing and turns a deaf ear to the gospel message that he does hear. Man isn't faithful to the God he does see and is without excuse. Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is The Significance Of The Theological Dimension?

 What you make of God is the most important aspect of your personality and worldview and it affects your whole life, well-being, and temperament. According to scholar and philosopher Dr. Mortimer Adler, “With the exception of certain mathematicians and physicists, all authors of the Great Books are represented in the chapter on God.” (cf. The Great Ideas Syntopicon).

The study of God or theology is the most important endeavor we can engage in and contains the secrets of life and its meaning, purpose, destiny, and origin. You can't live without your life making some kind of statement for or against God; you’re either light to those in darkness or part of the problem of men in darkness. The highest endeavor we can engage in is in thought.

And thoughts of God humble the mind and expand our thinking and our intellect more than any other subject matter. It boggles the mind and blows us away and leaves us a spiritual workout to broaden our thinking. Theology is the “highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy,” according to Spurgeon. If there is a God, this is the most important of all academic subjects and studies to undertake. Theology has been considered a science in its own right; it’s been called the “queen of sciences.”

But our goal in knowing “about God” must not be second-hand knowledge but first-hand acquaintance and experience—know God personally in a relationship and applying our knowledge to knowledge “of God.” “Taste and see that the LORD is good” The proof of the pudding is in the eating!

NB:  Everyone has a theology and is a theologian; what kind is up to you and how you apply it of most significance.  You cannot avoid theology or the truths of Scripture. You can have a sound theology without a sound life, but not a sound life without a sound theology.  You can also have an orthodox theology without an ethical life which is called praxeology or putting into pactice what we preach.  Getting A's in theology will not profit one if not applied and made real in one's life experience.     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Four Concepts Of God

What do you think when thoughts of God enter your mind?  What image do your conjure up? 

There are four views of God from our perspective, based on whether He's engaged, judgmental, or any combination thereof.  First:  people see God as authoritative (both engaged or personal and judgmental) and as somewhat of a father figure, authority figure, or caretaker who exercises it as both personal and judgmental. Some speculate this is how we came to believe in God as a throwback to our need for a father figure.

The second way to see God is as a Life Coach or benevolent figure or Benefactor (trouble arises when people want the benefits apart from the Benefactor or in limiting God to this role). He is Almighty God and immanent in our lives as an Advocate, Counselor, Guide, Role Model, and Leader.  He is both engaged or personal but non-judgmental. This idea of God is too human and in our image. Many see this God as their friend and they as His sidekicks or insiders. 

Third: to see God as a Critic in Chief or Inspector General who is both judgmental and disengaged or impersonal; these people fear the displeasure of God and appear to be God-fearing individuals; they even may believe in karma or impersonal fate.  Who'd be attracted to a God like this? 

The fourth way to see God and many do is that He is merely a force, influence, inspiration, or power behind creation: "the force be with you." Note that we use things or forces but we know persons; these people haven't conceived of God as a loving personage.  He is seen as the cosmic force behind all lifeforms. This god is both disengaged or impersonal and distant.  How do you think people believe in "Mother Nature?"  This god may be nature itself and unknowable. You'd be surprised as to how many people believe George Lucas' version of the Force even with a dark side. 

The concept you have of God determines your destiny: you must be right about the Person of Jesus and who He is!  People who see God as the critic are more likely to be judgmental themselves. People who see God as authoritative are more likely to be control freaks and to be boss people around and to even micromanage. If you believe God cares about our predicament and is engaged and personal, then you are more likely to be charitable and to work for the betterment of mankind in relief work or good causes. 

Note that how we see God is the most important thing about us and reflects our character and personality and how we apply what we know and how wise we are; for the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge:    The real concept of God is that He is personal and involved or engaged with us personally and that He is near to us but that He is far from the wicked and stands as the Judge of all the earth, but we are delivered from the wrath to come.   All four concepts have some truth to them, but we must put them into perspective and in the right relationship. We are accountable to our God and must live according to His will to please Him.  God is both transcendent or distant and above and beyond but He is also immanent and nearby and not far from any one of us. 

So what are we to conclude? Beware lest you put God into your box and limit Him and His infinite nature that cannot be grasped by finite intellects.  Don't let your idea of God be too small!   The problem comes when we limit God to our specs and see Him in only one dimension.  In a sense, He is all of the four concepts but in perspective to His holiness; God is whatever we need Him to be for us:  I AM THAT I AM or I AM WHO I AM or I AM THAT I AM.  Actually, it's simply:   I AM ... ad infinitum with no predicate:  He fills in the necessary completion: God's name is fearful (cf Judges 13:18)!  

God meets our needs wherever we are and fulfills the by the provision; Jehovah-Jireh, or, the LORD is our Provider.  We must not look to a Man Upstairs, Cosmic Killjoy, Benefactor, Pure Mathematical Mind, Fearful Celestial Policeman, Ultimate Spark of Life, Wizard of Oz, Superman, Mean Judge, Kind Father Time, Sentimental Grandfather, Jolly Old Santa Clause, Great Spirit in the Sky, or Magician to bring wonders. We must remain in awe of God and this means true fear of God that we never lose the initial wonder and reverence for God.

Note that only in the Christian faith is God a personal one we can know, love, and have faith in.  Other faiths like Islam denies we can know God because He is too Supreme and definitely doesn't love us.  This is one of the most profound truths of the faith:  Jesus loves us and delivered His life up on our behalf.  The whole point of Christianity is that Christ is God and all we need to know of Him is revealed in His person wth begins with a leap of faith to begin a living relationship with the living God.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Promoting Our Brand Of Christianity

"... You are always on their lips but far from their hearts," (cf. Jer. 12:2, NIV). 


Many believers err in being converted to the program, not to Christ!  Those who fail at seeing the light in service within the church don't do Him justice as servants--we are here to grow up into a mature person able to serve Christ within the capacity of our spiritual gifting.  While others love Christ and are anti-establishment, fearing and disrespecting any organization.  The church is not an institution or organization so much as an organism, a living body of believers learning to interact and connect with others, serving Christ in concert and set up for its purpose of fulfilling with a great commitment to the Great Commission.

But there are believers who push their brand of Christianity as if they are right and everyone else is wrong by default.  That's what defines a cult!  No church has a monopoly on the truth and we are all in this together as one church in Christ though there are many local bodies of believers.  Many churches are too involved in programs such as charity or relief efforts and not in spreading the good news of Christ.  We must turn stones into bread but not at the expense of the Great Commission or the sharing of the gospel message--some don't even know it.

We all have a place in the church body and we must seek to find a church not only that we can agree with but where we can feel at home and even serve in the body; after all, the Great Commission was given to the church at large as well as the believer--we must not shirk our duty in either capacity.  Being a member of a church and not an attendee who has no commitment is also vital for growth.  Just as we are dedicated to Christ we must not avoid dedication and service to our church.  Belonging to a church fulfills us in the sense of feeling a sense of belonging that may take away our desire to belong to the world and its entities.  The divine order is to believe, then belong, and then to become.

Finally, we bear Christ's image and become a living and serving member in the body doing His will.  We must never forget that our paramount belonging is to Christ and we must never compromise our faith.  It is the duty of the church to prepare the body for service and application of the faith within their spheres of influence. A genuine believer can worship in any authentic Bible-believing church, but that doesn't mean we are to become interdenominational or come to the conviction that doctrine doesn't matter in the church's teaching--we must adhere to sound teaching and always fight heresy that can creep in. But for cooperation purposes, it's not wrong to be nondenominational and some churches label themselves that because they only want to be known as Evangelicals that are not necessarily affiliated. But note that we are not trying to impress a church or advertise and promote it, but must keep our eyes on promoting Christ and promulgating the gospel message in its purity.

Sometimes churches can become dysfunctional!  Some members are in rebellion and refuse God's will and go astray and disobey the gospel.  We should never be offensive believers, neither in the body or without. We must remember that Satan fosters rebellion and desires to split the fellowship into factions or parties.  This can happen when zealous believers (but not according to knowledge) favor their own agendas and hobbyhorses and don't seek God's will but only ask God to bless their wills.  We must realize that there is authority in the body for a reason and Christ commands the respect of authority as well as purity of doctrine.

So then, we must refrain from playing church and even doing church or our version of it and submit to all authority, even in the body.  All of us contribute and are meant for a purpose in Christ, He has a place for us in His body and can give us purpose, meaning, and dignity within it.  One's church ought to be known by its message, fruit, and mission.  "For lack of vision, the people perish," (cf. Prov. 29:18).  Churchgoing isn't a passive activity,  but being involved and a chance to connect and take a spiritual checkup or workout and to examine our fruit!

Christ is perfect as the head and we must all remember that we are imperfect, we still can be used by God, but also that God has chosen to use us as vessels of honor to do His will and we can do everything to the glory of Christ and in His name--that's why we are known by how we exalt our Lord and give Him preeminence. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!  (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17). We shouldn't be known by our doctrines or distinguishing teachings as much as how we are obedient to the Great Commission and provide a place for the members to fit in and grow together as a functioning body. 

So what is Churchianity?  

Some Christians "play" church and go through the motions of worship and never go for the right reason--to worship God--they say, "I didn't get much out of worship today!" (maybe they should concentrate on what they put into it). God condemns us for having worship without our heart in it or hypocritical worship, this is just "memorizing the Dance of the Pious." A real hypocrite (hypocrite means wearing a mask, or acting in a play) is not one who falls short of his ideals, but one who uses religion as a cover-up and knows he is insincere.

The theme of Psalms is Ps. 29:2, "Ascribe the Lord the glory due to His name, worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness." Deut. 17 condemns insincere and dishonest worship or sacrifice. Amaziah (cf. 2 Chron. 25:2) was known for doing the will of the Lord, but not with a true heart. Malachi condemned the lip service of his day. Jer. 12:2 and Isaiah 29:13 also bemoan lip service and insincere worship not from the heart.

Someone has said that there are four persons that we show: The one God sees; the one you see; the one the world sees; and the one your intimate friends see. Let's be careful not to just have a "public persona" and parade our spirituality or piety. Worship should be a delight and our feelings should be in it (or we are blaspheming God, which is like doing it as a "duty" not because we want to) as the command "Delight yourself in the Lord..." says.

In summary: Psa. 84:1 says, "My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the Lord" and Psa. 122:1 says, "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'"  "Blessed are those who hear the joyful shout," (cf. Psalm 89:15).

We can worship or be edified in a "crowd," but we need to function in a local body of believers with our spiritual gift. Rick Warren says that there is no "one-size-fits-all" for worship and there are many ways to worship.  We are to be committed to our church as a token of our commitment to Christ--they go hand in hand--and then we will grow and be accountable.

I  denounce and disapprove the legalistic crowd that goes to church thinking that will make them a Christian, like going into a garage will make you a car, or eating a donut will make you a cop. They are called the "nod-to-God" crowd, which thinks it is fulfilling its obligation by a short visit to the local church, just out of guilt. The true Christian wants to worship God fellowship with other believers with whom he is a "fellow on the same ship."

I think some megachurches miss the boat in worship, they don't know the preacher nor each other (and is the worship in the Spirit and in the truth?). But different people are at different stages and God has a purpose for their existence--megachurches aren't where I'm at though.

Some think their religious performance is enough to save them. To some, it's only a formality and not a relationship. John MacArthur says, "We can't enter through our religious emotion or our sanctified feelings...Lip service is no good--there must be obedience...You don't get into the kingdom by sincerity, by religiosity, by reformation, by kindness, by service to the church, not even by simply naming the name of Christ; you get there only by personal trust and faith in [the person and work of] Christ." We can have a form of godliness and be empty. The church at Sardis had a reputation that it was alive, yet it was dead (see Rev. 3:1). We can even have "sanctimonious emotions" and be sentimental and not know Christ. There is a difference between knowing the Word and knowing the Author of the Word.

We can have many experiences in church and everyone has a different one, but I believe we should test our experiences by the Word of God and not the Word of God by our experiences. That's an important concept--we are not to become either rationalists nor empiricists (going by reason or experience only), but belief in the Bible (revelation) and anchored in sound teaching or doctrine (cf. Titus 2:1).

The more we learn, the more we realize where the wiggle room is and what is not worth fighting about--they generate more heat than light and are not worth the adrenaline.  We are to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," (cf. Eph. 4:30).  Sectarianism is a sin according to 1 Cor. 1, and we shouldn't divide into factions if we can help it. As Augustine said, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

In sum, we must not major on minors and be certain to keep the main thing the main thing; they will know we are Christians by our love. Soli Deo Gloria!

The Assault On Truth

"TRUTH forever on the scaffold, WRONG forever on the throne."--James Russell Lowell, The Present Crisis, 1844" TRUTH is that which corresponds with [describes] REALITY."--John Locke (now known as the correspondence theory of Truth)
"To begin learning, you must admit your IGNORANCE."--Socrates
"...as the TRUTH is in Jesus" (Eph. 4:21, NKJV).
"... Everyone who is of the TRUTH hears My voice" (John 18:37, NKJV).
"... [B]ecause they refused to love the TRUTH and so be saved" (2 Thess. 2:10, ESV).
"Politics without PRINCIPLE ."--one of the seven deadly sins that will destroy society per Mahatma Gandhi
"These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A LYING tongue..." (Proverbs 6:17-17, NKJV).
"Only simpletons believe EVERYTHING they're told" (Proverbs 14:15, NLT).
"If the FOUNDATIONS are destroyed, What can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3, NKJV).
"No nation has ever survived the loss of its gods."--George Bernard Shaw
"The simple believe ANYTHING..." (Proverbs 14:15, NIV). (ALL EMPHASIS MINE.)


Who would ever think that someday the very notion of truth would come into the debate, not just not knowing what it is like Pilate, but denying it exists--this is Postmodernism! There is no universal belief, but there is universal truth.
NB: WE LIVE IN THE POST-TRUTH ERA NOW POLITICALLY.

Pres. Trump has told at least 118 outright lies in less than a year in office, according to an investigative report team of The New York Times, while Obama told a mere total of 18 combined in his two terms--not exaggerations, nor differences of judgment or opinion, mistakes, or misspeaking, but proven lies with evidence! For example, he claimed to have signed more bills than any president except one in his first year (which is a big fat lie); however, he delegitimizes the "mainstream press," because they didn't cover this so-called fact, or, in reality, a lie of his. He claimed that 3-5 million illegal aliens voted for Clinton to give her the popular vote with no basis in fact or evidence to substantiate it. 

 Yet despite these prevarications, his base hasn't yet realized that our president is a congenital, habitual, boldfaced, shameless, pathological liar and the truth is not in him--he will even prevaricate about easily verified data that can be Googled! What's more, he repeats his lies and refuses to correct them or own up to them. The joke around the Beltway being circulated is that George Washington said, "I cannot tell a lie," Richard Nixon couldn't tell the truth, Jimmy Carter promised not to lie, but Donald J. Trump cannot tell the difference! It is even said of Trump that he lies even when the truth will do and won't do him any harm.


Basically, his base relies on FOX News and his Twitter feed for their information and news flashes and to be informed of the latest news cycle, twisted in favor of the president's viewpoint. If you only rely on one source of input or worldview you'll lose your discernment! FOX News is unapologetic about the president and refuses to criticize him, even if he is patently wrong. Breitbart News is the president's propaganda machine armed by his self-proclaimed "wingman," Steven Bannon, a right-wing party hardliner, called a "white nationalist" and a spokesman in his media for the "alt-right," which is set against the establishment GOP. Trump resents a free press and strives to discredit it, realizing it inhibits his power and authority and is a wannabe despot who is only limited by our governmental system of checks and balances, which he wants to destroy and discredit because he doesn't want restraint on his agenda, power, and authority.


How is it that the public tolerate such lies coming from the top? Some even know it and are unconcerned or apathetic, even thinking it doesn't matter. Pragmatism is not concerned with truth, but what works, or results, as the effectiveness of an idea or policy. People just believe in what "works" for them! We live in the age of Postmodernism, whereby truth is individualized and relative to a situation, person, or time: "You've got to change with the times!" \

Everything is in a state of flux. The citizenry doesn't know what truth is any better than Pilate, who asked Christ at his trial: "What is truth?" People are simply clueless and think truth is unknowable, and you cannot claim to speak for it. Our president has the so-called bully pulpit to propagate his dangerous ideas and notions, and more than that, we have a bully in the pulpit! He spends a large portion of his time insulting various constituencies politicians and opponents he deems his enemies in a paranoid mindset.


Joseph Goebbels, the "notorious chief of Nazi propaganda," believed in telling big lies or whoppers and frequent lies to fool and brainwash or condition the common man, in his ignorance (Scripture says the simpleton believes anything in Prov. 14:15) --a large section of Trump's base is uneducated working-class folks who don't know how to fact-check, or do any research. They are mostly highly gullible and don't think for themselves or make up their own opinions--but are just sponges of the conservative media and radio hosts (they're also called ditto-heads). These naive people buy into the lies of the alternative universe of Trump politics. Trump couldn't be truer to the ideas of Joseph Goebbels, "notorious chief of Nazi Propaganda, because he is engaged in propaganda himself, telling lies over and over again until they get accepted, even big lies a la Goebbels, and never admitting error or that it was a lie, and to this day he has never admitted being wrong or apologized for it. The president sees it as a sign of weakness to say, "I'm sorry!" or "I was wrong!" Never before has any president been able to lie with such impunity and unchallenged by his partisans.


In the final analysis, education is going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of your ignorance, and Trump doesn't seem to gain anything by O.J.T. and his learning curve is extremely low. As Socrates said, you will never arrive at the truth, unless you admit you could be wrong! No one has a monopoly on wisdom or truth and doesn't need feedback, rebuke, or correction by others at times when he makes mistakes--if you've never made a mistake, you've never made anything, goes the proverb. In modern terminology, truth has become "a short-term contract," and, even if knowable, not communicable--denying universal and objective truth (true whether believed or not), there's no Truth with a capital T! In sum, it's the truth that's under siege and Christians must not stand in the sidelines, (1 Tim. 6:12, NKJV, says, "Fight the good fight of faith..."), but make their stand clear and declare their Christian colors, even if it means going solo: The true statesman will stand for the truth, declare his colors, and let the chips fall where they may in a posture of moral courage. (By definition: Believing something doesn't make it true, and not believing it doesn't make it false or wrong.


CAVEAT: Just like the emperor who wore no clothes, many of the leaders of the GOP know in their hearts that Trump is a liar, but for the sake of self-preservation and survival instinct, and because they want to look out for Number One; Job One is protection of party reputation and their job security. They refuse to acknowledge this because it would be political suicide, as they are also afraid of Trump's base, and in effect, they are his ENABLERS and are equally guilty of dismantling our democracy and its foundations under the rule of law, the US Constitution being the supreme law of the land.


Two germane verses from the Word come to mind: "Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!" (Deut. 32:29, NKJV). "The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3, NLT).

I deplore the reality that the day has finally arrived for politicians to be more concerned with public opinion than the truth and/or principle; how can a man call something crooked, if he has no idea what straight is? The truth does matter, whether we realize it or not, Jesus said in John 18:37, NKJV, "... Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." As a word to the wise is sufficient: Paul depicts unbelievers as those "who suppress the truth" (cf. Rom. 1:18) and who "reject the truth" (cf. Rom. 2:8; Titus 1:14). He also says they "exchange the truth of God for a lie" (cf. Rom. 1:25). Their judgment draws nigh: "because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they may be saved ... that they should believe the lie" (2 Thess. 2:10-11, NKJV). We can only hope if perchance God may do a work of grace in their conversion: "... Perhaps God will change their mind and give them a knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 2:25, CEB).


Knowing this, one realizes that the truth is the antiseptic of error and wrongdoing and we must never give up fighting the "good fight" (cf. 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7) for Him who came to bear witness of the truth (cf. John 18:37). Paul tells Titus that the "acknowledgment of the truth ... accords with godliness" (Titus 1:2, NKJV). One should never feel he has a monopoly on the truth, has cornered the market, or closed his mind to new ideas whose time has come--no one has all the truth! Note and apply Paul's admonition: "And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Cor. 14:8, ESV). Those of us who know what to do should declare our colors and take our stand, as the immortal words in Esther 4:14, NKJV, say, "... Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"


There is a condition to finding truth: "Science says to sit down before the facts as a little child, be prepared to go up every preconceived notion, be willing to be led to whatever end Nature will lead you, or you will know nothing." Finally, bear in mind, in the search for ultimate truth, the immortal axiom of St. Augustine: "All truth is God's truth," and similarly of St. Thomas Aquinas, "All truth meets at the top." Soli Deo Gloria!

Assurance And Security Part 3

The best Bible verse I've seen for eternal security is Rom. 8:29-30, which says that all who are predestined are justified--none are lost ("For whom He foreknew, He predestined, and whom He predestined, He called, and whom He called He justified"). Jesus also said none are lost except the son of perdition and we are "kept" (See Jude vv. 1-4 for the promise). Without eternal security, there is no assurance of salvation like Romanists maintain. If our salvation depends on our behavior or conduct we might blow it in the end. Who would know that he would endure to the end unless God promised it in His Word? "He who endures to the end shall be saved." (This is not a proviso of salvation, but a promise that we will be saved.) (Matt. 10:22; 24:13) God doesn't quit on us, but finishes what He starts (He doesn't teach us to swim to let us drown): "For He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion" (Phil. 1:6). "Tetelestai!" (It is finished, PAID IN FULL!.) Soli Deo Gloria.

Assurance And Security Part 2

The doctrines of eternal security and assurance of salvation are interconnected. The truth or falsity of one bears on the credibility of the other. Romanists deny any sure doctrine of assurance, though they say assurance is possible for some by divine revelation to that effect, and say that one who is born-again cannot say for sure that he is numbered among the predestined--that would be presumption. St. Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, said that this is not arrogant stoutness (presumption), but faith. Wesleyans believe in present assurance, but deny any perseverance is guaranteed. They believe they can lose their salvation and deny the ditty, "Once saved, always saved." Most Lutherans believe that if you lose your faith, you will lose your salvation, even though Martin Luther was orthodox in his belief of the perseverance of the saints. Security is a fact, assurance is an acknowledgment of a fact and the two can be distinguished or differentiated, but not separated.  You cannot logically affirm one without the other!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Notes From Lecture Of Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, Jr.

Dr. Johnson (predecessor of Norman L. Geisler and my first teacher of sound doctrine,) mentioned three assurances of salvation: The evidential (works of righteousness, love of the brethren, overcoming sin per 1 John 3:7); the internal witness of the Holy Spirit per (Rom. 8:16 as the Spirit bears witness with our spirit); and the external witness of the reliable Word of God itself. Trusting in the Word cannot be more reliable, so we should cling to our favorite verse of assurance, e.g., John 6:37 which says, "He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." This is like having a "spiritual birth certificate."

Salvation brings life, but assurance brings joy. "Do we have faith to die by or just one we can live with?" says Dr. Johnson.

He made it clear that one can be saved and have no assurance or a weak faith with doubts. It is God's will for us to know for sure absolutely. Not just out of curiosity, but as a boon to our faith and a duty to God to have a strong faith. Augustine of Hippo said that assurance is no "arrogant stoutness," but faith, and no presumption at all. What shall we trust: God's infallible Word or our experience?   Soli Deo Gloria!

Note:  Dr. Johnson baptized me and was criticized at DTS (Dallas Theological Seminary) for his strict Reformed theology. He was the pastor at Believers Chapel in Dallas, Texas.   He also was one of Charles Swindoll's professors at DTS.   

Basic Assurance

I have seen stats and data that support the conclusion that most Christians are not sure of their salvation. At least 50 percent of Christians claim to be unsure. In some churches, 95 percent of the members are unsure (mostly Roman Catholic). Assurance of salvation does not belong to the essence of faith and doesn't always exist with saving faith. God is more interested in whether our faith is sincere and unfeigned and not hypocritical than being unwavering. Everyone's faith is tested at times because it is more precious as gold and silver in God's eyes. Someone whose faith has never been tested has weak faith. It isn't the amount of faith, but the object of the faith.

We don't need divine intervention or a revelation to the effect that we are saved, like hearing voices or seeing visions, to know we are saved. God's Word is true and He cannot lie. If we have done our part of the promise of salvation and God's Word says we're saved, then God has more to lose than we do by not saving us, we would lose our soul, but God would lose His deity. Some claim to have experiences, but we should still base our assurance on the Word of God and stand on the promises of God, relying on His Word, not walking in the "glow" of some experience, or clinging to the memory of some emotional encounter.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Assurance And Security...

"Our assurance is not based on our feelings, behavior...but on the character of God...." We may have a question of semantics here, but it seems to me that we are reassured by our subjective experience and objective faith in God's Word. Our ultimate "security" is in God's hands as we are inscribed on the palms of His hands (cf. Isaiah 49:16). We are sealed and a down payment has been paid to guarantee His promise. We are given assurance and security as a GIFT.

One cannot be "unborn" nor "unjustified" and so our salvation is as permanent as adoption can be. God's judgment of our justification is permanent. Christ is interceding for us, so who can be against us?

Do I understand you, that you don't believe in the final perseverance of the saints? Do you believe that it doesn't matter how you live as long as you know you are saved (antinomianism which is libertinism)? False security and presumption are wrong. Do you dichotomize (split into two factions) Christians into spiritual spheres? I don't believe some Christians can sin and say that it's alright because they are "carnal" Christians, but Christians can be carnal at times. (Look at the reality of Rom. 7--"Oh, wretched man that I am.") This is not a "Christian experience," but it is, nevertheless, the experience of many. This seems to be the anticlimax of the book of Romans but it is really the starting point--our END IS GOD'S BEGINNING according to Watchman Nee.

I believe you can fall away, but not absolutely, and finally. I do not believe that apostasy is a "clear and present danger" for the believer. I have heard it said that you should not believe in "eternal security" but perseverance. That means that we cooperate with God in our final security. I disagree with this, partly out of a personal experience where I can say I have strayed from the Lord and He has brought me back out of grace, and partly out of scripture.

The difference is not that we can say, "Now that I am a Christian I can go see a for fun and not worry about my salvation." I do not think any real genuine believer would ever say that it is only hypothetical. You can do what you want to if you love Jesus, but the things you want to do are different and are changed. We are held and kept in His hands and He has a tight grip on us. We do persevere in the end, though we may have our ups and downs and backslide, God, will heal us.

No Christian ever truly presumes on the grace of God or purposely goes astray; it usually happens slowly (he drifts away), by not being in fellowship or not going to church and waking up one day and realizing what you did, as God grants you repentance like the prodigal son. The Christian may go into sin, but he doesn't want to deep inside, he is just succumbing to temptation--it's not a temptation to some, who have no right to judge. God can cure him of his weakness and bring him back to the fold. If God allows it to happen, He has a purpose, because no one can thwart God's plan or resist His will.

One must understand that perseverance does not mean we will not sin frequently, or fall into it, but that our faith will not fail (David never lost faith, though he was out of fellowship for about one year). We should really give God the glory and stress the preservation that He does on our behalf. A word to the wise is sufficient: The Scriptural caveat is, "Let him who thinks he stands to take heed lest he falls" (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12). There, but for the grace of God go I. NB: Security and assurance can be distinguished but not separated--they go hand in hand and cannot exist independently.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Assurance Of Salvation Part 5

First of all, it must be recognized that there is no assurance without eternal security, for one would never know if he were to persevere. Apostasy is never the final lot for the Christian--it is not a "clear and present danger," so to speak, even though one can temporarily be led astray by false teachers, Christ is watching out for His sheep. (We can fall from grace, but not absolutely.) "You have fallen from grace..." does not mean you've lost your salvation.

Faith in Christ is faith in His Word. Leaning on the everlasting promises. "Not one of them has failed." Good advice is to take a favorite salvation verse like John 1:13 and call it your spiritual birth certificate. God says it in His Word; I believe it in my heart; that settles it in my mind.

The entire book of First John was written primarily to give assurance of salvation and offers 7 tests that would be impossible without salvation to follow: Loving the brethren (1 John 3:9); Overcoming the world (5:4); Having the inner witness (5:10); Doing righteousness (2:3); Confessing the Lordship of Christ (4:15); Keeping His commands.

There are pseudo assurances such as spiritual interest, Bible knowledge, experiences, and moral behavior.

Some people have spurious faith and fall away and repudiate the faith. They were never true believers according to 1 John 2:19 which says that the went away that it would be manifest that they were not of us. They were enamored with some of the ideas of the faith or philosophies or: "converted" to the program, but not converted to Christ. They are "spiritual dropouts."

Jonathan Edwards wrote an entire book to give assurance as he studied the so-called "holy affections," which were impossible without conversion. (Having fellowship, sensitivity to sin, obeying God, rejecting the world, expecting the return of Christ, decreasing sin, love of the brethren, answered prayer, and experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit). His book was written in 1748 and is called  A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections.  He wrote it because of the Great Awakening, [which began about 1741] and so many people were being converted he wanted to bring some perspective to the converts.

To remain uncertain is to paralyze our walk and it is God's will for us to "know" that we have eternal life, not just "hope so" (cf. 1 John 5:13). Paul says, "...I KNOW whom I have believed and am confident that He is able to KEEP that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:9--Emphasis added).  Soli Deo Gloria  

Assurance Of Salvation Part 4

I agree in theory that one must rest on the promises of God! We are fruit inspectors, but not of each other's fruit, but of our own--only we know if we are experiencing the joy of the Lord, etc. R. C. Sproul says that we "must search our OWN hearts." If we have come to a true love of the Lord, it is added assurance, because this is impossible without saving faith. (Cf. 1 Pet. 1:2-10)

 Assurance can be intermittent and immediate assurance is not of the essence but of the well-being of our faith according to The Westminster Confession (ca. 1646). The Christian that says he knows he is saved because he feels it in his heart will be silenced when one of another religion can duplicate his feelings if they are not based on objective historical fact and the Word of God. Without the historical fact of the resurrection, all the feelings in the world would be useless and meaningless and in vain.

The best way to be sure is to have faith in God's Word--holding Him to His promises as the Supreme Promise Keeper: 1 John 5:13, John 1:12, Rom. 10:9-10, et alia. But note well that our faith is not perfect but God only requires UNFEIGNED faith, we are not to be hypocrites but to be sincere and honest with God.

The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints as the Reformed theology calls it or better known as "eternal security" should be called the doctrine of the "Preservation of the Saints" according to R. C. Sproul because it is really God's keeping power and not our ability. If our salvation depended upon us we would blow it. God does make us responsible for "Keep [yourselves] in the love of God."

Two verses that might be problematic are Mat. 24:13 and James 5:11 which say, "He that endures to the end shall be saved." and "Blessed is he who endures." These can be seen as "provisos" or requirements, but also as promises! I believe that we can fall, but not ultimately, we can fail the Lord, but not ultimately. We can even embrace heresy, but God will rescue us in the end. God will never lead us beyond that we are able, so there is to be no fear that we will be burned at the stake and lose our faith. We can backslide, but we will not despair. As far away from the Lord that I have gone, but God never gave up on me, even though I couldn't believe how far I had gone after I had come back to him.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Assurance Of Salvation Part 3

I hope you see the IRONY in my claiming (in a humble manner) that I am an expert on the subject of salvation assurance. I have studied it for a very long time, but it is my experience that I have learned the lessons through the school of hard knocks. No one really wants to be an expert on this subject, because it is embarrassing that one has struggled in this area. Why do we feel ashamed of our doubts? Doubt is an element of faith, not the opposite of it. I believe, help thou mine unbelief it says, right? \

What I have found out is that without the doctrine of eternal security there is no assurance, and that is why Catholics deny it, even present assurance of salvation. Lutherans are split, some thinking that if you lose your faith, you can lose it, but Martin Luther believed in the security of the believer like Calvin. The point is, is that we won't lose our faith. We can fall, but not absolutely.

There is no experience that you can claim that means your "in." God doesn't want you to base your assurance on experience (re attestation, e.g., tongues)--I don't care if you have prophesied in Christ's name, or have cast out demons.  One must have faith in Christ alone for one's salvation, not in experiences, Like Christ said that he is blessed who believes and hasn't seen, so is he blessed who haven't had experiences of wonderment or awe. I am not trying to brag of my knowledge per se, but this is one area where I really believe I have a grip on and a solid take.

God wants us to be sure and the apostle John says in 1 John 5:13 that he wrote the letter that they might "know." Michael Faraday, the great scientist, was asked on his death bed what his speculations were now. He said, "I don't have any speculations, I have certainties!" "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:9).   Tongues isn't the only attestation experience (cf. Rom. 8:16).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Assurance Of Salvation Part 2

I am sort of an expert on this subject and would like to share some lessons I've learned in my spiritual journey.

Assurance is not presumption as the Catholics would have you believe, for Augustine said it was faith, even though Catholics say you must have a divine revelation to the effect to be sure of one's numbering in the elect; otherwise one is sinning unto presumption. There are four possibilities of assurance (according to R. C. Sproul): One can be sure of salvation and not be saved; one can be unsaved and know it; one can be saved and know it, or one can be saved and not know it. Assurance doesn't belong to the essence of faith (according to The Westminster Confession).

Some people have syllogistic (a major premise, followed by a minor premise, leading to a conclusion) assurance (As John MacArthur would say.): All Americans are saved, I am an American, ergo I am saved! They can be very ridiculous and there are many people talking about Heaven that are not going there, as the spiritual says. This is the phenomenon of false assurance.

True assurance comes from tried and proven faith through trials and tribulations and tests. One may or may not have an emotional reaction at salvation, but one shouldn't cling to the memory of some experience in the past as assurance, but only to present obedience and fruit. "Only he who is obedient believes, and only he believes who is obedient," said Dietrich Bonhoeffer. (Obedience is the true test of faith--Abraham obeyed God.) God is not impressed with feelings but with faith. A relationship based on feelings is shallow. The person that says he knows he is saved because of a warm feeling will be silenced when someone of another religion can duplicate his experience. One must base his assurance on the Word of God and stand on His promises and take God at His Word.

Assurance is commanded and enhances our sanctification and if one is or a backslider his assurance may be taken away. "Be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure ..." (2 Pet. 1:10). "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith, test yourselves..." (2 Cor. 13:5 cf. 1 Cor. 11:28).

We are guaranteed by God to endure to the end and not to lose our faith. Hab. 3:18 says that "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord" through the crops fail, etc. Only when one loses the Lord has he lost all, and a Christian cannot lose the Lord. However, it is a synergistic effort or you could say we persevere as God preserves.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Assurance Of Salvation Part 1

My area of expertise seems to be the assurance of salvation since I have backslid so many times and have had to repent and do the first things over and go back to square one so to speak ("I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely"). Sometimes I have compared myself to other Christians and have been discouraged, e.g. when they say they hear God's voice audibly and I don't, I think something is wrong. It is not just a matter of curiosity, but for our well-being. 

We are commanded to seek assurance: "Let us draw near to God with full assurance of faith;" "Be diligent to make your calling and election sure..."  "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith, test yourselves...." It seems like I have been saved many times, which I know is not biblical. I have a tendency to compare myself with others and wonder if I should be experiencing the same thing e.g., hearing audible voices from God.

I know the best assurance is that which comes from a holy and obedient life per Is. 32:17, which says, "The fruit of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance." Chuck Swindoll adds that only obedient Christians can have assurance. Disobedience and consequent chastisement take away one's feeling of the joy of salvation and one may doubt his position in Christ.

Remember: David prayed for the "joy" of his salvation to be returned in Psa. 51:12, not his salvation (after Nathan had told him of his sin and he repented).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Assurance Automatic?

Assurance belongs to the well-being of faith, but not to the being of faith (the bene esse, not the esse). It is not an automatic fruit, but, like all fruit, must be grown. Obedience and sanctification bring about the testimony of the Spirit within. Now, when I am talking of assurance, I am not talking about objective assurance or the knowledge that Christ died and rose again according to Scripture, but the subjective reality that it applies to you personally--like maybe you wonder if you have repented enough, etc. 

The church of Rome has a pernicious doctrine that denies any assurance or ultimate security, except by divine revelation to that effect. The Canons of Dort (ca. 1618) condemned this position. They affirmed that it arises from good works, a good conscience, measure of faith (it can be intermittent or in degree), and from the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit ("The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God").

Christians can struggle with assurance and have carnal doubts, but usually, this is in the state of backsliding and maybe God's way of warning him. Martin Luther called this attack the "Anfectung" of Satan, whereby he wants to take away our security in Christ. The Westminster Confession asserts that infallible assurance does not belong to the essence of salvation. 

We can feel abandoned by God, but we aren't, for He has promised us he "will never leave us nor forsake us." Sproul says we do not have to know we are saved to be saved, and I agree from personal experience. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints (which really means God preserves as we persevere) affirms not only our present security but also our continuity in the state of grace and in the end we will not fall from it.

In sum, we are exhorted to "make our calling and election sure," and it a tremendous benefit or boon to our well-being to have this knowledge which leads to higher levels of sanctification.  Remember, it's not an automatic fruit, and we can be saved without assurance, but the more pressing concern is those who have false assurance and think they are saved when not.  Soli Deo Gloria!

On The Enslaved Will

The bondage of the will or what Martin Luther called the enslaved will was the subject of his book "De Servo Arbitrio." A diatribe was written against the scholar Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam a well-known prototype "Arminian" and protagonist of "free will" as the Romanists defined it.  The Remonstrants objected to Reformed theology and were answered by the Canons of Dort in 1618, which delineated the so-called five points of Calvinism.  Jacobus Arminius was the architect of the Arminian heresy, which deviated from orthodox theology stemming from the days of Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.

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.

Augustine 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 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. Augustine said we are "free, but not freed;" we have a free will in a sense, but not liberty.  Soli Deo Gloria!