When It Seems Like A Raw Deal

"...I will wait till my renewal should come" (Job 14:14).

It is a normal initial human reaction to be angry at God after a traumatic event (to do do something foolish because of it though or to stay that way isn't), and I would doubt one's humanity if he had no reaction. We want to avoid internalized anger through which can lead to psychiatric problems or of exploding in a fit of anger.  But we all need to see the perspective of others who have been there and done that; for instance, my own father killed himself when I was a young man of 21.   I commend any public acknowledgment or confession to get any inner feelings out there to deal with and not have a show of piety or of a Pollyanna Christianity that pretends everything is okay--this cannot last--Jesus sees through the veneer; sooner or later we all have to face the music.

No trial comes into our life that isn't "Father-filtered" if you will--God knows we will overcome and learn from the experience.  It is said that God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.   We should never pray for an easy problem-free life because we will become weak people--Jesus didn't even exempt himself from suffering.  From my own experience, I am glad and grateful for what I have gone through and survived, though I had a tendency to get very bitter after my wife of 10 years divorced me and left me homeless.  I am a survivor!  We either become bitter or better it is well said (the same sun hardens the clay and melts butter), and I confess that I was not without bitterness or anger at first--God won however and I now praise God for His wisdom (indeed all things do work together for good).

I asked God why I had to go through all the problems I had in subsequent years which seemed far more than my brothers (from my point of view it seemed like their lives were smooth sailing, now I realize their trials were different), I kept saying to myself: "Why me, Lord?"  But God spoke to me in the Bible:  "My grace is sufficient for thee."  These problems were actually compliments, that in the end I would benefit and give glory to God.  God has made it up to me and blessed me more than I had dreamt of as He promises in Joel 2:25.  I didn't want to be another "victim of circumstance" as so many people are and don't rise above the occasion.  Horace Mann said that difficulties show what men are.  It is not what happens to us but in us, that counts; our experience is not as much as what happens to us but what we do with that experience, or how we respond (not react).

We eventually learn to cope and develop therapeutic skill and by this wisdom, we are able to pass it on to others (2 Cor. 1:4 says God is a God of comfort so that we can comfort others).  It's not abnormal to get angry or depressed, as long as we are in control and know that there is a time to put it to rest and go on with our marching orders.  Perhaps this even is our ministry and we are called to do something proactive to prevent it from repeating.  It is easy to say God was speaking to them, but He is also speaking to us and we should heed what He is saying.   Soli Deo Gloria!

How Can Grace Be Irresistible?

Some believers sincerely deny irresistible grace, wrongly assuming it makes God look like a despot and we are merely robots.  If it wasn't for the grace of God, none of us would believe!  It's grace all the way; God saw no merit in us to warrant salvation, neither presalvation work nor preparation to qualify us, and nothing that merits it, which would be the beginning of salvation by works, as the Catholic adds works to faith and merit to grace, distorting the way of salvation, by grace alone, through Christ alone, in Christ alone and only God getting the glory--"Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9).

Rome erroneously sees faith as a work (the Council of Trent declared in 1546 that sola fide or through faith alone, was anathema), but we are not saved by works!  Man is incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation (cf. John 6:28-29,  "...What can we do, to do the works of God?  This is the work of God, to believe in Him whom He has sent").  Faith is God's work in us, but our act, God doesn't believe for us.

Now if you object to God being overwhelming or irresistible, think of a young lad who vows never to like girls or a monk who vows not to marry and suddenly God has other intentions or plans!   The change their tune pretty quickly: They cannot deny acting willingly even though it wasn't their plan; it was like getting an offer they couldn't refuse.  Celibacy is a gift of God and not everyone can make it without a mate to help them ("The LORD will create a new thing on earth--the woman will protect the man," says Jeremiah 31:22).

The Scriptural support is given in Romans 5:21 that says, "grace reigns through righteousness."  Grace is sovereign and God will save whom He desires to save according to Romans 9:16 saying, "Not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy."  Zechariah 4:6 also says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD."   If salvation is a monergistic or one-way, unilateral endeavor or work, and not a cooperation or synergistic work, then it has to be irresistible in effect. God gives us an offer we can't refuse!  Rome claims man merely "cooperates" with God to get saved (making room for some merit that we deserve to be saved in effect), or what is ultimately making man able to save himself!   [Our calls can be effective or noneffective but when God calls it never falls on deaf ears--do you think Lazarus had a choice in being raised from the dead?]  It can be called the efficacious calling of God that quickens or kindles faith in us as we are regenerated in the Spirit.

Arminians believe that faith precedes regeneration and is the cause of it. The Reformed position is that we are elected "unto faith" and not because of it.  They believe that God elects us because He merely foresees who will believe.  Romans 8:29-30 militates against this view and clearly demonstrates that this so-called "prescient" view is erroneous.  1 John 5:1 in the ESV says that those who believe have been born of God (past tense) and this verifies the doctrine.  2 Thess. 2:13 also militates against Arminianism:  "...He has chosen you unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit [N.B. coming first!] and belief in the truth." John 6:44 says, "No man can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws [woos] him."  If you came to Christ on your own, you probably left on your own too!  The word to woo (Elko in Greek) in the verse means to drag and not just to entice or lead. God can make even make the unwilling willing!

 God doesn't offer to save us--He saves us!  Anything less would be limiting the plenipotence (omnipotence) of God. "Who makes you to differ? What do you have that you didn't receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7).  We were no more worthy, sincere, nor moral to merit salvation, but were chosen "according to His purpose and grace." Jesus declared our helplessness to believe in our own strength, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (cf. John 15:5).  

In conclusion, we should, therefore, affirm the primacy of grace, which is the sine qua non of faith (without which it doesn't exist or necessary and sufficient).  Rome believes grace is necessary, but not sufficient to work regeneration--we merely cooperate and are made able to save ourselves by merit added to grace.  God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11) and we have no claim on God--He didn't have to save anyone and our destiny is ultimately in His hands (Eph. 1:4). "You did not choose Me, but I chose you..." (John 15:16). "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt. 22:14). Soli Deo Gloria!

Is God Fair?

Jacob was paranoid:  "All these things are against me"  (Gen. 42:36).  Job had his time of being appalled at his circumstances and sudden disaster:  "My worst fears have come upon me."  But Paul said of his sufferings:  "But none of these things move me" (Acts 20:24).  We must never give up the faith that "If God can be for us, who can be against us?"  They must come because the same hammer breaks the glass, forges the steal, the same sun melts the butter, hardens the clay--we either become bitter or better through the crucible of suffering or the school of hard knocks because God never promised us a bed of roses.  Hardship or Reality 101 is part of the divine curriculum.

But don't break faith or lose heart--God loves us as His children and discipline means we belong to Him ("Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep thy Word," says Psalm 119:67).  God's grace is not only necessary but sufficient for us ("My grace is sufficient for thee," says 2 Cor. 9:8).  Believers have always inquired, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  [There are no good people!]  Let's see why the Bible says, "...Can anyone say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?'" (Dan. 4:35).

Life is unfair, just look at what happened to Jesus.  But don't jump to the conclusion that God is ergo unfair.  It doesn't necessarily follow, as I intend to show.  The question should not be, "Is God fair?" but are you fair? Who do you think you are?  Do you trust yourself and your standards enough to judge the whole earth?  God is fair is a given and a no-brainer to any person of faith--but we have a struggle when the trial, tribulation, suffering, adversity or temptation happens to us personally, don't we?  Like when Job's comforters reprimanded him that he had preached to others, and now trouble comes to him and he can't take it (cf. Job 4:3ff  "See how you have instructed many...but now trouble comes to you and you are discouraged....").

God sees the big picture and we only see our own little world!  Who has the advantage?  To get specific, is it fair that Jesus had to die?  Even the objective onlooker realizes he suffered a great injustice at the hand of Rome, yet God is fair and decreed that this should this; He does not tolerate sin but remains holy, and untouched by sin,  We tend to put God in a box, like saying, "I like to think of God as a ...."  Luther said to Erasmus:   "Your thoughts of God are too human."  There is always more to God than we can apprehend!  "The finite cannot grasp the infinite", the Greeks said.

Job was told, "Canst thou by searching find out God?"   There is no "higher law" that God must obey:  He is a law unto Himself--autonomous!   Only He can set aside His laws.   God wants to see if we will trust Him through thick and thin when the chips are down.  Let the chips fall where they may, God is in control! He does what is right, He never does what is wrong, because all wrongdoing is a sin.

"How can God be just, and the Justifier?"  The Bible says God's ways are unfathomable and inscrutable and no one can discern His ways, "as the heavens are higher than the earth" (cf. Isaiah 55:9; Rom. 11:33).  ("How unsearchable his judgments and His paths beyond tracing out.")  We sometimes cry out for justice, but do we really want to get what we deserve?  Or do we want mercy and grace?  Some will receive justice from God, and others mercy and grace (mercy is not getting what you deserve--judgment; grace is getting what you don't deserve--eternal life), but no one will receive injustice. 

Grace and mercy are a form of non-justice, but not injustice--there is a nuance of meaning that you must realize here.  Karma is disproved by Christ's sufferings--He certainly didn't deserve what He got at the hand of Rome.  God tempers His justice with mercy and only give the evil-doer his due or just dessert, and not beyond what strict justice would demand--God is not cruel. Remember, God is not obligated to be merciful, just because He was merciful to one and we have no claim on His mercy and cannot demand it, but can only accept it as a gift by grace through faith in Christ.

People instinctively think that when something goes wrong that God is unfair.  They don't think they could possibly be reaping what they have sown.  Even Job didn't accuse God of wrong-doing and accepted evil at the hand of God as well as a blessing.  What is fair is the question, not is God fair.  For Abraham said, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?"  We don't judge God, he judges us!  We don't have some standard of right and wrong and see if God measures up!

What God does is fair by definition because God is fair, period, no if's, and's, or but's.  Today they say that art is what an artist says is art!  It is similar with God.  We say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder too.  But God said all creation was good after He created it and we are not to object to His standards.  R. C. Sproul says, "God is therefore never arbitrary, whimsical, or capricious, He always does what is right." Amen!  Amen!  He never acts out of character but is always true to Himself.

Because there is no immediate retribution, we tend to think we have gotten away with something--But God is only giving us space to repent and judge He will--either in Christ or at the Great White Throne Judgment at the Last Day.  We want revenge sometimes but must not take the law into our own hands but trust God and  His using the government to get the job done.  "Vengeance is mine, saith the LORD."  No one gets away with anything.  What seems like God being unfair is often just suffering the consequences for our own foolishness or sin!   Either they are disciplined by God as believers and their sins are judged on the cross, or they pay for their own sins in the final judgment for all eternity.  The point is this:  Something is fair because God says so--to have some other standard other than this self-attesting one would be to appeal to some standard higher than God.  For instance, if I said, common sense should be the standard, because that's just common sense.  (This is circular reasoning when we appeal to the source we are using as proof itself.)

Now in Psalm 73 Asaph bemoans the prosperity of the wicked--a common complaint against God.  But Psalm 17:14  says that some people's reward is in this life ("...whose portion is in this life")  and the rule still applies that they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7).   We tend to think that if someone gets something, that we also deserve it.  If God saves one person, for instance, He is not obligated to save another--He could have elected to save no one!  Remember and keep faith in the goodness of God and the profundity or incomprehensibility of God--we cannot figure Him out and never will!

In the economy of God, it pays to trust God and it is more blessed to give than to receive, but also the laws of reaping what you sow and the promised rewards to people who are industrious and work hard are in effect despite being a believer or not.  God blesses some people in all ways, but all in some ways, because of common grace given to all--"God is good to all, and His compassion is over all creation" (Psa. 145:9).  God doesn't know how to be anything but good.  The proof of the pudding is in the eating--"Taste and see that the Lord is good," says Psalm 34:8.  God is good all the time! (Neh. 1:7).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Are You a Success?

"If you haven't made a mistake, you haven't made anything!"
"If you haven't failed, you haven't tried!"

Mother Teresa of Calcutta wisely said, "We are not called to success, but to faithfulness."  She also said that  "true holiness consists in doing the will of God with a smile."  Everyone fails at something sometimes and you haven't lived until you find out that you're human and have limitations.  King George III said that you shouldn't try so hard to do what you enjoy, but enjoy what you do.  One of my bros. tells me that if you do what you're good at, you may have the opportunity to do what you want to do.

What's a success in your book?  [Before we proceed, let me define "success":  I do not mean making a certain amount of money, or landing that dream job or getting fame or power,  but God making your way prosperous as it says in Ps. 1 for those who are godly; in other words, having God's approval, glory, and blessing in your endeavors.]   Furthermore,  John wishes that "all may go well with you" in 3 John 2--but we must "never boast, except in the Lord" because 1 Cor. 4:7 says:  "Who makes you different from anyone else?   What do you have that you didn't receive?" Think of what George Whitefield said of a man going to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God, go I."

"I am confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living" (Ps. 27:13).  It's not about achieving the so-called American dream or cashing in your spiritual lottery ticket and thinking that godliness is a means of financial gain (all false doctrines), but finding fulfillment and meaning in Christ and making an impact in His kingdom, while we influence others to His glory.

Success in the eyes of the world is no sign of God's favor ("For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked," says Ps. 72:3), because the rain falls on the unjust as well as the just and for "those in this world whose reward is in this life" (Ps. 17":14) some people's "portion is in this life," it is written in the Psalms.  God blesses all people but some people in all ways and some in some, but all are blessed in some way because God is good--no one can deny that!

The more accurate questions would be:  "Are you in the will of God?"  If you are, then you are really successful, regardless of what the world thinks.  Many people give themselves a pat on the back and congratulate themselves for the success:  We deserve no accolades--God gets the glory!  (E.g., the self-made Englishman who worships his creator doesn't praise God!)   Psa. 100:4 says that "He has made us, and not we ourselves." We seem to be the product of our genes, our environment, our family and friends, and many other factors, but we are not the slave to them by the grace of God--Providence must be put into the equation.  The old debate, nature vs. nurture thinks everything can be explained.  God must be reckoned with and given the glory--Soli Deo Gloria!

Ambition is not sinful, if to the glory of God and not selfish (Jer. 45:5:  "Do you have great plans for yourself?")  Isa. 26:12 says, "All that we have accomplished, [God has] done."  The Jews were reprimanded by Amos in chapter 6 verse 13:  "You who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar [nothing] and say, "Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?"  Success is not so much a matter of self-confidence, as God-confidence.  We are only responsible for the gifts and opportunities we have.  Isa. 45:7 says that God brings prosperity.  Deut. 8:18 says that God brings the power to get wealth

If you give yourself the credit or think that it was your hard work that brought you success, it isn't the kind of success God calls us to.   "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God"  (2 Cor. 3:5).  We are merely vessels of honor that God has used:   Providence is at work:   "He who is faithful in little, shall be faithful in much."   Give God the glory for what He has wrought in you and be like Paul:  "I venture not to speak, but of what the Lord has accomplished through me" (Rom. 15:18).   To use a cliché, our success is more a matter of trusting, than trying and being a faithful steward of what God gives us, rather than our abilities--"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong"  (Eccl. 9:11).  Sin is usually the downfall, not ability or effort.

Many people are hard workers and never get anywhere, and others just seem to inherit or fall into prosperity by fate or destiny, but it is Providence in reality and they are giving God the credit.  The book of Eccl. says "Luck and chance happen to all.," which means that there are not explainable events that are attributed to forces other than God--but we know that there is no such thing as an accident or fortuitous event with God, but a time and purpose for everything--there are no maverick molecules!

 A note on the will of God:

We have the power and ability to thwart God's preceptive will but not the right--we are culpable for sin, which is the violation of God's revealed will.  God's decreed will is none of our business and we are not to seek it.  Evil is simply not His plan.   Now can you see why necromancy, seances, and fortune-telling are taboo or off-limits?   Soli Deo Gloria!

God Reaching Down to Us

Christianity may be summed up in grace or God reaching down to us (condescending) and acting on our behalf in doing for us what we didn't deserve--this is unique in Christianity.  All other religions are based on works because man is incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation (cf. John 6:28-29) and are summed up in man's effort to gain the approbation or approval of God by his good deeds, rituals, morality, etc.   You might say man's vain effort in reaching out to please God.

The Christian life is about seeking God and His presence and face in our daily walk.  But this does not take place apart from grace:  we didn't find Him; He found us.  Pascal said that he would not have sought God, had He first found Him.  Paul said that "there is none that seeks God" in Rom. 3.  God's chief quarrel with man, says John Stott, is that he doesn't seek.  God is no man's debtor and if we seek we will find. 

The miracle is that He is found by those who were not looking:  "I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me" (Isa. 65:1). Many people are looking for the benefits, not the Benefactor.   Actually, according to R. C. Sproul, the search for God begins at conversion, it doesn't end there. Jonathan Edwards said that seeking God is the main business of the Christian.   When we say we found God, we really mean He found us.  We begin our search for God at salvation because only in the Spirit can we know Him and be aware of Him.   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!

Are Works Imperative?

   

"...Set an example of good works yourself..."  (Tit. 2:7).

 There is a grand distinction between religion and Christianity:  works out of a pure motive and not for applause versus to ingratiate oneself, or to get brownie points with a deity.  Religion says, "Do!" while Christ says, "Done!"  Christians are not "do-gooders" per se but do good deeds because they want to, not because they have to.  The key is not "in order to," but "therefore."  Good works logically follow a changed life, through which Christ lives. Changing lives is Jesus' business and the point of salvation.   In a works religion, you never know how much is enough!

Since salvation is a gift only in Christianity, the person is free to do good out of gratitude.  We don't have to, but want to! Many Americans have fallen prey to the misconception that achieving the "American dream" or "living the good life" is all that is necessary to accomplish salvation; that they have "made it."  God requires perfection and any effort to earn one's way is in vain.  We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone (a living one), in the person and work of Christ alone according to the Reformers.

Some misguided souls subscribe to the credo that since salvation is by grace alone, works aren't necessary or don't follow (but we say grace is necessary and sufficient).  The Reformed doctrine is that salvation is "by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."  Works equaling salvation is the essence of religion; combining works and faith for salvation is legalism.  Faith that produces no works is antinomians, being against the law or lawless.  The prevalent view that faith alone without any evidence (some will say gifts of the Spirit like speaking in tongues) will suffice is erroneous, being initial evidence validates salvation or the filling of the Spirit.  This is known as antinomianism or "no-lordship salvation."

Nota bene: if you don't have good works to "work out" (cf. Phil. 2:12) your salvation is suspect.  The kind of works I am referring to is good deeds not works of the law.  We are not saved by works;  but not without them either--but unto works!  Works (or righteousness) prove faith to self others and God, as well as yourself (cf. Isa. 32:17); but are not the substitute for it.  We must put our faith into action--as James would say, "The faith you have is the faith you show" (cf. James 2:18).

There is no irreconcilable difference between Paul and James; they come from two vantage points:  Paul was dealing with those who couldn't do enough and thought the Law of Moses was necessary;  James was dealing with "do-nothing" libertines.  Paul would say, "I'll show you my works."  James would counter, "I'll show you my faith."  Paul talked about being "rich in faith" (1 Tim. 6:18).  James talked about being "rich in deeds" (James 2:5).  James says, "But someone will say, 'You have faith, I have deeds,' Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do"  (James 2:18).

Faith doesn't have a dormant or inert stage; it can't be left in mothballs! It goes places!  Faith and works are distinguished, but cannot be separated.  Faith without works is dead (James 2:17, 26).

Our works will be judged (for reward)  not our faith per Romans 2:6; Psalm 62:12; Prov. 24:1  (our faith is a gift according to Rom. 12:3, Acts 14:27; 2 Pet. 1:1, et al.)!  "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ" (1 Cor. 3:15; 2 Cor. 5:10).  "God will repay each person according to what he has done'"  (Rom. 2:6).   Our works have to do with our testimony (Matt. 5:16; Tit. 1:16, 2:14)--"By their works they deny Him."  We are to be a people "zealous of good works" (Tit. 1:16).  We are to be "thoroughly furnished unto all good works" and  "are created unto good works" (2 Tim. 3:17; Eph. 2:10).  The faith we have is the faith we have is the faith we show!  Faith must be authenticated by works or it's suspect.

It is important that we give the glory to God (Soli Deo Gloria).   "I venture not to boast of anything but what Christ has accomplished through me" (cf. Rom. 15:18;  Amos 6:13).  Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing."  Isa. 26:12 reads, "All that we have accomplished you have done for us."  The reason God blesses us is so that we can bear fruit (cf. 2 Cor. 9:8).  We are commanded to do good works (Gal. 6:10; Phil. 2:12).   Most of all the importance of it all is summed up:  "Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God"  (Col. 2:10)--note how they are correlated.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Tithing Mandatory?

You will not find a Protestant sermon on tithing until the nineteenth century. The early church Fathers said that Christians don't tithe, they give offerings. The Roman Church, however, taxed its members but this is not the same thing. The interest in tithing began when the church became more evangelical and needed money for missions, which really got jump-started in the 19th century.

Now, most fundamentalist churches preach tithing, though the mainline denominations, by and large, don't. There are some scholars, even today, that preach against tithing as mandatory. However, Congress outlawed mandatory tithing.

Now, why would anyone be against tithing? Firstly, no one can out-give God and the principle of giving an orderly amount that is commensurate with your income still stands. But, and this is an important "but," the tithe was a tax on Israel as a theocratic state to support the temple. They had no choice and it was duly collected. It is parallel to us as we pay our taxes. Sure, God is going to bless the individual who gives selflessly, but not because he thinks he is obligated to.  God is no man's debtor.  "For God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). We are not to give by compulsion or because we "have to"--we should give because we "want to."  Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Faith A Gift?

Is faith a gift or a work? "Who makes you to differ? What do you have that you didn't receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7). Are we not clay in the hands of the potter? "For it has been granted unto you...to believe..." (Phil. 1:29). Jesus is the "author and finisher of our faith;" hence He originated it. Let us live according to "the faith God has distributed to each [of us]..." (Rom. 12:3).

Romanists believe it is a meritorious work because they believe in merit plus grace and not sola gratia or grace alone as the reformers championed. "This is the work of God [not our work] that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29). "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God [antecedent is faith as the gift], lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). If faith were a work then we would be saved by works.

Faith is not our salvation and faith is not reckoned as righteousness but unto righteousness (cf. Rom. 4:3 translation of dia meaning unto). Faith is the instrumental cause of salvation and we don't put faith in faith but in God. God opened the door of faith to the Gentiles in Acts 14:27 and He opened Lydia's heart to believe in Acts 16:14. It might be interpreted as God quickening faith within us.

Why is this important? 1 John 5:1 says that "Everyone who believes that Christ is the Christ has been born of God [ESV]." That means that regeneration precedes faith--we don't conjure up faith and then get saved. God gives us faith and expects us to use it. It is our faith but it is the gift of God. "Who believed through grace" means that we're enabled by God to believe. 2 Pet. 1:1 says, we have "received a precious faith like theirs." Ergo we are given faith. This doctrine is important so that we don't revert to Romanism and have a merit-based rather than grace based salvation. God wants all the glory (Soli Deo Gloria). To sum up, "Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Faith A Gift Or A Meritorious Work?

This is an issue that separates Arminian and Reformed theologians. If you believe faith is a work, then you are saved by works.  But we are saved by grace:  "Not by works of righteousness which we have done," (cf. Titus 3:5).   If you believe faith is a gift, then you are saved by the grace of God. Titus 3:7 says we are "justified by grace." Faith is not something we conjure up, but it is bestowed on us through the preaching of the Word. "Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).
Regeneration actually precedes faith according to John Piper and John Orr.  NB:  If we could believe prior to or without regeneration, what good is regeneration?  The fact is that God quickens faith in us.  The Spirit is like the wind that blows where it wills. "For by grace are you saved by faith, and that (the complete deal) not of yourselves, it is the gift of God..." (Eph. 2:8-9).

We don't psyche ourselves up for faith, and we don't catch it like an illness from others, we don't conjure it up--it comes directly from the Holy Spirit who quickens faith within us. He overcomes our hardened heart and reluctance to believe. God has the ability to cause us to do something willingly in His omnipotence. Rome, on the other hand, has made faith into a meritorious work and denies that there is any such "gift."

Some pertinent verses are as follows:

"For you have believed through grace..." (Acts 18:27). "...To those who have obtained like precious faith..." (2 Pet. 1:1). "For it has been granted unto you ... to believe in Him..." (Phil. 1:29). "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ HAS BEEN born of God..." (1 John 5:1 ESV, emphasis mine; (2 Thess 2:13) says "sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.'   Nota bene  HAS BEEN means this is the past tense indicating that regeneration precedes faith. "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him..." (John 6:29). "God ... opened the door of faith to the Gentiles..." (Acts 14:27). "God opened Lydia's heart to pay attention to Paul..." (Acts 16:14). "What do you have that you didn't receive?"  (1 Cor. 4:7).

Faith is our act (God doesn't have faith--He doesn't believe for us!), but it is God's work in us. Soli Deo Gloria. God gets all the glory, and we have nothing to boast of. It isn't our virtue nor our wisdom, but God's. God is no man's debtor and isn't obligated to save anyone, or salvation would be justice, not grace.  It is grace that He saves anyone. God works all things "according to the pleasure of His will." "We are the clay, He is the potter" (See Isaiah 64:8).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Simple, But Not Ignorant Faith

God wants us to have simple faith, but not simplistic, childlike, but not childish.

Some say we should keep our walk as simple as possible. But the mature Christian has developed a taste for the Word and doesn't balk at the deep things of God's Word. Augustine has said, we believe in order to understand, and our faith is enhanced as we gain a better understanding. Our faith is growing and living like Peter says, "Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Being negative to knowledge per se is not an option, the reason the Jews went into captivity was lack of knowledge ("For this reason, My people go into exile, because they have no knowledge," says Isa. 5:13.) We can have a simple walk with the Lord and know him in a deeper communion. Ignorance is not bliss, as they say, but knowledge and confidence are like Siamese twins that are linked together, says Charles Swindoll. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free," says John 8:32.

Eccles. 12 says "Much study is weary to the flesh." Well, it's not weary to the spirit, especially if God is in it according to Phil. 4:13, which says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Make sure were just not slothful with our minds--love God with all your mind. "Of making many books there is no end." We need scholars, though everyone is not cut out to be one so that we don't have to start out at square one and rediscover the Trinity, the rapture, the deity of Christ, or Providence.

Everyone isn't intellectual, but some are and they shouldn't be treated with contempt and become "anti-intellectual."  We are commanded to study to show ourselves approved. The commandment to love God with all our "heart, soul, and mind" is appropriate, and we should not have lazy minds. "Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord" (Hos. 6:3).  "For I desire the knowledge of God more than burnt offering" (Hos. 6:6).

Paul says he'd rather have us not ignorant in Rom. 1:13. When it says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good," it means that learning about God makes us thirsty for more and makes us want to turn it into a knowledge of God. "Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good...." God equates ignorance with foolish men and knowledge with wise men. (Ignorance in the Bible comes from the same Latin root word as an ignoramus and agnostic, from the Greek, means the same thing.)   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Christianity Different?

There is a vast difference between "religion" and Christianity. Religion is the best that man can do, while Christianity is the best that God can do. All religions have their emphasis on human achievement, while Christianity stresses God's accomplishment. Religion is based on man's merit, while Christianity is based on Christ's merit on our behalf. Religion is secured through works, not grace, which is unique to Christianity.  Religion is about men trying to find God or reaching out to God, but Christianity is God reaching down to men and finding them where they are.   In a works system, you never know how much is enough--so you never have assurance. Only Christianity gives assurance of salvation.

Religion is essentially a do-it-yourself proposition, whereby you lift yourself up by your own bootstraps (in the Hindu religion, for instance, one must suffer his karma ( an iron-clad system of cause and effect), and be his own island, there is no hope for the outcast or failure). Religion has nothing to say to the failures, losers, and outcasts.

On the other hand, only if you realize you are a sinner and a failure does Christianity have any message for you. Truth, not just Christianity, is exclusive.   Christianity claims to be the only way to Heaven, but not because Christians are egotistical (if something is true because I say so, that is egotism), but because Christ himself made this truth claim: "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through Me [Jesus]." Truth, by its very nature, is intolerant of error. Christianity is not a system of ethics, but a relationship with Christ.  It's not about knowing or reciting a creed but knowing a Person.  If you take Mohammad out of Islam, or Buddha out of Buddhism,  you still have the religion intact, but if you take Christ out of Christianity, you disembowel it.

Christianity is a religion of paradoxes: The way up is down, the meek shall inherit the earth, etc. The way to be filled is only to be emptied.  There are miracles in other religions, but they are believed because the religion is already believed, you take the miracles out of Christianity and you destroy the faith because the miracles give testimony to the truth. Only in Christianity can you know for sure that you are saved; no Muslim knows for sure he is going to Paradise, or Hindu or Buddhist that he is going to Nirvana. Yes, Christianity is so unique that it couldn't be a religion of man's invention, but of divine origin. Christianity seems too good to be true to some, a fairy tale comes true, but only a Jesus could invent a Jesus! 

Jesus, never toned down his requirements to get followers, but made stringent terms and even tried to discourage followers, because He knew the cross that had to be borne. The invitation is to all to come to Christ: "Ho, everyone who thirsts..." "Taste and see that the Lord is good."   Jesus invites scrutiny!  Yes, salvation is free, but it costs everything. It costs more to miss out!  Other religions are popular because of geopolitical or cultural concerns, but Christianity requires you to die to yourself and deny yourself. Hardly something one would make up. Works have a place in both systems, but they are an "in order to" in religion, while they are a "therefore" in Christianity. Religion boils down to being a system of "doing" while Christianity is "done."  It's a done deal, a fait accompli! 

In short, religion is a list of "dos" and "don'ts," while Christianity is a relationship with a personal, living, growing, vital fellowship with Christ. How many people claim that Allah loves them, or that they have a relationship with Mohammad or Allah, or Buddha? How many sings, "Allah loves me ..." What if Obi-Wan Kenobi told Luke Skywalker that the force loved him?   We can only be satisfied with the love of a person equal or superior to us. The truth is, is that they don't know their "gods" and don't believe they can know them. Christianity believes in a personal God that we can know and have fellowship with. It is not a system of ethics or rules to live by, but a relationship. Religion always says, "do" and Christianity says, "done."  We don't boast in our achievements, but glory in God's accomplishment on the cross on our behalf. Works have a part in both, but in religion, they are a "have to" not a "want to."

Christ's work on the cross has been accomplished, it is finished, and we can add nothing to it, we cannot improve upon it, all we need is faith in that work on our behalf. Christianity is the only faith that stresses grace. God did for us what we couldn't do and reached down to us, taking the initiative. Salvation is a free gift and we cannot earn it or deserve it, or pay it back, but we can know security in it. Christianity is the only "positive" faith system that offers hope to failures, outcasts, and sinners. Buddhism and Hinduism are negative and pessimistic religions that view life as evil and view Nirvana essentially as the cessation of consciousness. Heaven of the Bible is clearly not of human imagination, as it seems Paradise of Islam or the Third Heaven of Mormonism is.

The problem is that people get enough religion to make them immune to the real thing, just like getting vaccinated. Man is an imitator, but God wants to regenerate us--viva la difference!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Saved By Grace Alone

The Reformers believed in "Five Only's" (anything else is not Christianity) which are as follows: sola gratia (grace alone); soli Christo (through Christ alone); sola fide (by faith alone); sola Scriptura (Scripture alone as authority); and Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory). There are three possibilities of salvation scenarios: by man's effort alone, by a combination of man and God's effort, and by God's work alone. The only way we can have the assurance of salvation is if it is by God's work alone; otherwise, you never know how much work is enough for salvation.

Arminians believe that God gives equal grace to all and that believers just improved and took advantage of that grace by virtue of their works of faith, repentance, etc. In other words, they meet God half-way and cooperate with Him. They are really patting themselves on the back for their salvation. God wouldn't be God if He didn't get all the glory for our salvation. We don't get any of the glory for it. We share in HIS glory, it is not ours. Titus 3:7 says we are "saved by grace." "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

When you realize that faith is a gift of God you will realize that salvation is grace from beginning to end. It is the work of God, though it is our act--God doesn't exercise faith ("What do you have that you didn't receive?"). Christ is the "author and finisher of our faith". You have "believed through grace" (cf. Acts 18:27), and "it has been granted unto you...to believe..." (Phil. 1:29; cf. 1 Pet. 1:1). Actually, God opens our hearts to believe and overcomes our reluctance and makes the unwilling willing. "God opened the heart of Lydia to pay attention ..." (Acts 16:14). We did not psych ourselves up for faith, nor did we conjure it up or catch it like a fever; rather, it came to us by the preaching of the Word. ("Faith comes by the hearing, and by hearing of the Word of God.")

Repentance is the flip-side of faith and also is "granted." (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 5:31; 11:18) Faith and repentance go hand in hand, and  are complimentary. You cannot have saving faith without genuine repentance. But remember that the whole deal is the gift of God. Martin Luther says we contribute nothing to our salvation.  "Salvation is of the Lord"  (Jonah 2:9). 

Luther could not harmonize Paul and James on justification. James said we were justified by faith and works and Paul that we were justified by faith alone. What James is saying is that a mere profession of faith, a dead faith without any resultant work, does not justify. The Reformers formulation was that we are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Paul was referring to the works of the law, and they do not justify. James is talking about any work proceeding from faith, and it is the natural consequence of true living faith, which is a living relationship with Jesus Christ. "If a man SAYS he has faith..." refers to a mere profession (just saying we have faith or lip service).

The demons believe the facts about God, but don't do acts of faith that result. A mere head knowledge or assent (known as "story faith" or "historical faith") will not do (this is called acquiescence). We are not justified by the works of the law, but if no good deeds result, our faith is useless and dead. We will all get the opportunity to demonstrate our faith and prove it by our actions, just like Abraham had his opportunity with Isaac. So Paul stresses the initial act of faith and James the evidential acts that follow. Mere profession of faith doesn't cut it.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Justified By Works?

Martin Luther almost didn't accept the book of James as part of the canon, because it seemed to teach justification by works instead of by faith as Rom. 1:17 says. "The just shall live by faith." (Cf.  Hab. 2:4; Heb. 10:38; Gal. 3:11) In fact, the cry of the reformation and rallying cry was sola fide or faith alone. R. C. Sproul points out 4 possibilities of mixing faith and works: (1) Works = Salvation (which is religion); (2) Works + Faith = Salvation (which is legalism); (3) Faith = Salvation - Works (which is antinomianism); and (4) Faith = Salvation + Works (which is correct evangelicalism).

Notice that works and faith all play a part in whether one realizes it or not. Everyone has some sort of faith and does some sort of work. We are not against works per se; just works done in the energy of the flesh instead of the Spirit. In Religion and Legalism works is a "have to" or an "in order to;" according to the gospel works is a "want to" or a "therefore." We see works as an honor and privilege, not a duty.

NB:  we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Good works always follow genuine faith. Spurious faith doesn't produce genuine works. The gospel is different because of grace and the fact that you can know you are saved. In a works religion, you never know how much works is enough! But religion will always be with us because man is incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation. Jesus was asked what work to do to inherit the Kingdom, and He said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him ..." Faith is our "act", but it is the "work" of God--God doesn't exercise faith, He merely bestows it.

James is talking about a "profession of faith" and Paul is talking about "living faith." For sure, we are saved by faith alone, but not the kind of faith that is alone (without works). Paul is saying we are not saved by the works of the law, and James is saying we need to demonstrate and exhibit our faith. The book of James talks of the human viewpoint. The faith you have is the faith you show! You just can't say you have faith, or you just can't make the claim without proof. You must demonstrate your faith by works. Paul urges us to be rich in good deeds, James to be rich in faith. We are a people "zealous of good works" (cf.Titus 2:14)  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Will To Change

The Bible never attributes to man the ability to change his heart. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spot, then neither can you do good who are accustomed to evil" (cf. Jer. 13:23). "You WILL not come to Me ..." (Cf. John 5:40, emphasis mine). Freedom of the will is contradictory to the sovereign grace of God; they both cannot exist. Either man is in control of his destiny, or God is. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts." (Cf. Zech. 4:6)

The question is what makes man willing? God must work in the heart. We cannot do anything to merit grace or prepare ourselves for salvation. God is not man's debtor.

We cannot change of our own volition or will, we are volitionally defiant. But no one is so sinful or so hardened that God cannot save him. (He can take a heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh according to Ezek. 36:26.)  Arminians give themselves the credit for responding positively to the gospel as if they took advantage and made good on the grace of God while others don't. They actually pat themselves on the back for their salvation!

To believe in free will and the sovereign grace of God, is biblical, and you are confused to dichotomize them, and you are ignorant, and if you believe you were saved by both.   Face it, God made you willing and able to believe and wooed you to Himself. Had it not been for the Holy Spirit, you would not have believed.   Soli Deo Gloria!