Hermeneutics Made Simple

Fundamentalists are those who believe in the fundamental doctrines by definition, but they were known from the 1925 Scope's monkey trial as those who took the Bible literally, whatever that means.  We believe that the Bible is literally true, but not everything is meant to be taken literally.  This is a loaded question and you lose either way:  Do you take the Bible literally?  They want to make a fool of you and prove you don't know how to read a book!  We are to learn the basic principles of interpretation and avoid what is called subjectivism.  We are to take the Bible at face value and not spiritualize it or think there is some secret or hidden interpretation that God has revealed only to us ("no Scripture is of any private interpretation" means you don't have a monopoly on truth or a secret revelation)--it God doesn't show this to the church body it is not truth and it must stand the test of time as orthodox and not contradict anything already accepted.

lSt. Bonaventure taught that there were seven ways to interpret Scripture and Thomas Aquinas taught four (historical, allegorical, moral, and anagogical).  Way back to the church fathers, Origin taught three ways (literal or what happened, moral or how it applies, and spiritual or what it teaches regarding our faith).  Erroneous interpretation results when people insist on spiritualizing or not taking something literal that was obviously meant that way.  Jesus believed in a literal Jonah, for example.  Even the ancient Jews didn't regard Hosea's narrative as an allegory but literal too.

The Word of God is alive but today's understanding of a "living document" like the US Constitution, doesn't apply--truth is timeless!   According to Hebrews 4:12, that means it is always relevant and never gets dated or becomes obsolete or passe, and it works on the believer's heart.   It doesn't mean that it is alive in the sense that we are free to indulge in modern-day interpretations that are clearly not what the writers meant--you must ask what the writer meant by what he said and not take it out of context (context of the language, the customs, the history, the paragraph, the chapter, the book, and even according to what the whole analogy of Scripture teaches).

There are no special methodologies to interpreting Scripture that you wouldn't use in any other book, except that you interpret it as it is written (this is called genre analysis:  regarding poetry as poetry, parables as parables, history as history, didactive portions as teachings, etc.).  Sometimes the Bible does use poetic license for instance, but in historical accounts, it is meticulous to be exact and mention details to show how much attention the writer paid to them.   All the laws of logic apply to the Bible just as to any book we cannot make illogical deductions on presuppositions or what is called eisegesis or reading into the Bible instead of exegesis or reading out of the Bible what it really means to say.  You can make any book say anything you want it too if you ignore the principles of hermeneutics, much more the Bible.  Satan was adept at taking verses out of context and trying to use the Word to his advantage.

The Bible is said to be its own Supreme Court because "Holy Scripture is its own interpreter" (or sacra Scriptura sui interpres in Latin):  If you don't understand an implicit passage or obscure one, check out an explicit or clear one that is parallel. That's why we have to cross-reference and study Bibles and commentaries: to take advantage of centuries of scholarship by God's people.

There are many basic principles one should heed:  We interpret the Old Testament in light of the New Testament and vice versa--you can distinguish but not separate them (before the New Testament was written for the first 20 or so years they considered the Old Testament the Scriptures).  We must learn not to make false inferences by taking a verse out of immediate context--it is easy to jump to the conclusion that it is plain as day when that isn't the rest of the story on the subject matter.  We must guard against forcing our prejudices into the passage and make it a proof text for what we want to believe--especially if our interpretation depends upon a certain translation and not the Greek text itself.

There are many errors because students don't realize that only the original texts are authoritative in any doctrinal dispute or misunderstanding.  We must realize that the Bible uses virtually every figure of speech known and they are to be interpreted appropriately:  For instance, a parable cannot be interpreted to the nth degree, but is only meant to teach one main idea.  It is a good idea to make sure your interpretation is not way out in left field by checking commentaries of reputable scholars you know you can trust.

NB:   Remember that no Scripture is of any private interpretation. The New Testament trumps the Old in case there is a question of authority:  For example, if something is repeated in the New Testament it is doubly important, and if ignored, not so (like the example of the Sabbath Day command not being repeated in the New Testament and therefore we are not under obligation to observe it).  Gross error often results from not recognizing the recipient and what the author meant to say.  Never, and I mean never, make deductions based on isolated texts! Never pit one text against another ("The sum [entirety] of your Word is truth" according to Ps. 119:160).

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that the first condition of interpreting Scripture is to know the Author!  The Word must not just be important to us, but take precedence.  God will not speak to you unless you are teachable: Possessing a willing spirit, an open mind, and a needy heart.  It is not the mental faculties that are as important as the condition of the person spiritually.  Above all, read with a purpose and pray for God's Spirit to do His job of illumination because we all have the anointing to teach us according to 1 John 2:27.

Remember, as Protestants, we believe in the right to dissent, disagree, and protest and we are not at the mercy of church dogma like Catholics are; however, we are exhorted to "rightly divide the Word of truth" in 2 Tim. 2:15.  The key to understanding Scripture is the one it is about--Jesus.  You should be able to see Him as the scarlet thread or common motif running throughout the Bible and on every page.   One caveat:  You will never know the truth if you think you have arrived and have nothing to learn or won't admit you could be wrong--the first step to learning is admitting ignorance!

In principle, one shouldn't rely too much on any one commentary or translation, or make your doctrines dependent upon them.  Learn comparative reading if you don't know the original languages. Commentaries are not inspired, though they can indeed br inspiring!  Johnny Cash said the Scriptures shed a lot of light on the commentaries!  Having a working knowledge of the original tongues or knowing ones way around using a lexicon and dictionary can be invaluable and give you an advantage.  It is vital to know what teachers you can trust and teach sound doctrine so you don't err from the truth or go off on a tangent.  In resolving a doctrinal dispute don't proof-text or trust some gifted teacher just because he says so--challenge them and learn to think independently.  As you grow in your reading you may become partial to one translation and this is all right, as long as you realize that God speaks through all of them and you don't become a student of one version. When you get Bible fatigue or have lost the pizzazz from reading one version too much (overexposure and over-familiarity), it may be helpful to try a new version and see what insights and "Aha!" moments God may give you as you encounter Him personally in the Word.

Interpreting the Bible has no special rules that you wouldn't apply to any book, but hermeneutics is a special problem for us since we live two thousand years after the fact and are of a foreign culture and language and might not know the historical backdrop they were immersed in--so there is a lot of work that may go into interpretation and we are not to think it is some mystical thing that we have a special connection to the Almighty to understand things by "experience" or existential encounter.  God may speak to us in an "Aha!" moment but we must be careful to make teachings and doctrines this way. The Bible doesn't "become Word of God" upon an "existential encounter," as Karl Barth believed, but it is the Word believed and experienced or not.   Many cults have started because believers felt God was speaking exclusively to them and they were enlightened.  The Gnostics taught that you had to have special secret knowledge that only they had and this was one of the first heresies that St. John the Elder refuted.

The conclusion of the matter is that I would be missing the mark if I failed to mention in passing how important it is to see the big picture, i.e., survey the entire Word of God (don't just casually peruse)  and be able to put everything into its perspective  in the light of the whole analogy of Scripture or the big picture, as it were: Psalms 119:160, NKJV, says, "The entirety [or sum] of Your word is truth...." The NIV says, "All your words are true...."

FINAL CAVEAT:  DON'T BASE SOME FAR-OUT OR FAR-FETCHED TRUTH BASED ON SOME ISOLATED PASSAGE!  ("NO SCRIPTURE IS OF ANY PRIVATE INTERPRETATION!")    

Soli Deo Gloria!
  

From High To High?

We are supposed to walk "from faith to faith" (increasing in a living, saving faith) and not walk according to feeling from high to high.  Some Christians get addicted to that "just-born-again" feeling or high and seek it in their daily walk as much as possible, even paying admission at so-called Christian concerts done by professional musicians and vocalists making money off of them.  They shouldn't charge admission if led by God but only take freewill offerings.  Sincere, but immature believers think that ecstasy is the measure of faith, but it is obedience only--Christianity is not emotionalism!  Some are going for comfort, assurance, or even entertainment, and this is the wrong motive. 

Worship isn't entertainment and it isn't done vicariously as if it is a performance.  If worship is the missing ingredient in their life they need to find a church that worships God in Spirit and in truth like Jesus said in John 4:24.   We don't just go to concerts to supplement our experience in God or to find Him and they are no substitute for and a parody of the real thing.   They should find out that you cannot walk in the glow of some religious experience for long--sooner or later you need to have the faith that pleases God and come down to reality.

The Christian life is not about living on Cloud Nine or on some perpetual religious high, but learning to know God and having a relationship with Him in obedience to His will.  Growth only comes from true experience in the school of hard knocks of adversity, trials, discipline, and suffering for Christ, not religious highs.  Believers must learn that it's not about them and about Christ and not get their eyes off of Him and onto a "worship leader, which can be idolatry." 

God isn't looking for celebrities or star power, but plain folk and even the outcasts, the riff-raff, and scum of society. The seeker must examine his own heart and find out his real motive to know whether it is God's will to support such professional worship of which there is no precedent in Scripture.

In sum, we don't need a lift; however, we do need edification, though.  Emotional faith won't stand the test of adversity either.  I think Paul would say, "Show me your emotions and I'll show you my faith!" The divine order:  Fact, faith, then feeling. We love with our whole heart, including our minds and wills.    Soli Deo Gloria!

At The Crossroads

"... We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.." (Acts 14:22, NIV).

We all have to go through the refining fires of God's trials and tribulations or confront our hour of trial and decision in God's crucible to prove our faith is genuine, and to find out what manner of people we are.   Don't break faith in crises, because we all have to pay our dues.  To be rewarded you must endure to the end and follow Jesus through thick and thin, regardless the cost--we have committed ourselves to taking up our cross. Jesus faced His great confrontation between Himself and the cross at Gethsemane, knowing what He was getting into, He had second thoughts and besought the Father for another way, if at all possible. It was like having a moment of truth spiritually and He found out who He really was (and may have suffered an identity crisis)--the only way for our salvation.   His prayer of relinquishment, committing Himself to the Father's will and ratifying it (i.e., not using His divine powers independently), settled matters for Him and assured that His sacrifice would be totally voluntary and not coerced.  It was the Father's plan and purpose to be fulfilled in Christ and the Lord's accomplishment and work, and there was no Plan B!

The three members of the Trinity all collaborated in this and each had a necessary role to play.  If Jesus had to pray for the Father's will to be done, how much more do we?  We can be assured that Jesus identifies fully with the weaknesses of our flesh and can adequately intercede on our behalf--for he recognized that the flesh was weak, even though the spirit can be willing, meaning we're only human.  Jesus didn't rely upon his supernatural powers to make it through the Garden of Gethsemane experience and was immediately strengthened by an angel after he had sweat like drops of blood to show what angst He was experiencing.  We can be assured that Jesus was tempted in all manners as we are, yet without sin (cf. Heb. 4:15), and no one has surpassed the way He defeated Satan's temptations.

A silversmith refines his metal until he can see himself in it, getting out all the dross.  God does so with us, and when He can see the reflection of Himself in us He is pleased with our sanctification process.  Once a famous sculptor was asked how he could make a horse out of an odd piece of stone; he replied that all he had to do is take away everything that didn't look like a horse!  God does likewise with us, taking away our human shortcomings and perfecting virtue and godliness in our character and takes away everything that doesn't resemble Jesus.

Jesus was honest enough to warn us of the trials we would face, possibly even the test of martyrdom and our crosses pale in comparison to His.  He didn't ask us to do anything He didn't do Himself, for He always practiced what He preached and preached what He practiced. It is the trials, adversities, temptations, divine discipline,  and suffering from calamity et al. that God brings into our lives that is for our own good (Rom. 8:28 says:  "... [Al]l things work together for good...").  We do not build character by an easy life without these difficulties and this is God's way of building our character.

Experience is not what happens to you, but in you, it is well said.  What do you do with your experiences?  The reason bad things happen to good people (and bad people!--and there are no good people!) is that the same sun melts the butter, hardens the clay or people either become bitter or better by the same experience!  There is such a thing as negative stress that works for our benefit and keeps us from becoming weak people. It was discovered by Viktor Frankl during WWII that, if a prisoner in a concentration camp knew the "why," he could endure any "how." Modern psychology denies that suffering can have meaning and be beneficial to our character.

And so we must expect a difficult life, not a bed of roses!  It's is the sign of God's love letters sent in mysterious envelopes.  Oftentimes they come so we can find out what kind of person we are because God already knows.  Job courageously and patiently said, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold"  (Job 23:10).   We can endure any trial if we realize this and that there is a reason for it.  No cross, no crown!   Jesus didn't exempt Himself from the rough roads and will be with us in ours.  "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (cf. Ex. 33:19).  Isaiah says, "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver, I have tried you in the furnace of affliction" (Is. 48:10, ESV).

When we suffer for Christ, consider it an honor to suffer for His name's sake and there is a great reward.  Let's thank God for the manifold opportunities trials bring to witness and share in the sufferings of Christ.  "... [E]ven Christ learned obedience from what he suffered"  (Heb. 5:8).  Lay out the welcome mat and rejoice in sufferings like Paul and Silas in jail singing unto the Lord--they are friends and opportunities to find new ways to trust God's providence in all circumstances.  The trials are inevitable and no one is promised an easy path to heaven as in the book I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.  We could not grow without this negative stress and it is God's pruning process--not punishing process!  "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10). "... [F]or he does not willingly afflict, or grieve the children of men" (Lam. 3:33, ESV).  Our faith is more precious than gold or silver and must be tested to see if it is the genuine article.

Jesus didn't have to go to the cross because He knew all things are possible with God; He asked for a way out, but in the end, He exercised faith in the Father in His commitment to His will.  His prayer was not answered in the affirmative, but God assured Him that He would be with Him throughout it.  So don't be surprised if God doesn't answer all your prayers as "yes!"  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you..." (Isa. 43:2a, ESV).  But His hour of trial guaranteed it would be voluntary and He ratified the agreement He made in heaven to secure our salvation.  Jesus was a man on a mission and was born to die and He knew that only He could accomplish our salvation--He could then proclaim, "Mission accomplished!"  He did this at Calvary after His cry of dereliction ("tetelestai," "Paid in Full," or "It is finished.").  The reason He asked for a way out, is because He knew what He was getting into--a taste of hell itself on our behalf, or a separation from the Father. Jesus suffered this punishment of hell so we wouldn't have to--this is called penal substitution.  He is our substitute and now represents us to the Father interceding at His right hand.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Recognizing A Man Of God

This term is used too loosely and the meaning has been defined in too many ways. Many men have been called men of God; I hope it hasn't gone to their heads!  The first thing people notice is your piety and religiosity.  They see you reading the Bible all the time or hear you witness to everyone you get a chance to.  Then you get a reputation for being a Christian and everyone is watching your every step! Once you get labeled your life is under a microscope and you are under the pressure to "perform." Notice that the Pharisees were thought to be men of God or of being pious for their long-winded prayers on the street corners and strict adherence to the letter of the law.  The real man of God doesn't think of himself that way but as being the chief of sinners--the closer your walk with Christ, the more aware you become of your failings and sins--especially ones of omission!  You think of all the missed chances you had, wasted opportunities, and good deeds you could have done and regretted it with perfect hindsight.  It has been said that if we watch our character, our reputation will take care of itself!

The man of God isn't measured by how religious he is, like how long he prays or how many hours he reads or studies the Bible--I've known babes in Christ who put mature men of God to shame in these categories.  There's nothing like the first love we have when converted and original fascination with the Word that latter becomes Bible fatigue or the same-old, same-old.  You can get the bug to witness and win people to Christ ("he who wins souls is wise," says Prov. 11:30), but sometimes this is just because this is his calling and gift and how God uses him--we are not all evangelists.  Some of us plant seeds, some water, and some reap, but God gives the increase all the way.  Many believers have memorized the Dance of the Pious and mimic Christian behavior, as it were, and some are just going through the motions or playing church, but have no reality the rest of the week.

The man of God knows his God and knows what God requires of him, being oriented to the will of God:  He senses some calling and knows how God uses him and is purpose-driven and grace-oriented (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10).  God has ownership of his life and he doesn't copy Christ's behavior as much as let Christ live through him. Gal. 2:20 shows the relinquished life, the exchanged life, and the surrendered life.  And so it isn't as much as trying to be like Christ as letting Christ live through you and in you. The man of God has confidence that he knows God's will and is brave to do it like Daniel who knew when to defy the king.  According to J. I. Packer knowing God entails having a great energy for God (being tireless and spiritually ambitious), being involved in great tasks (attempting great things for God, and expecting greater things from God), great boldness and courage for God (he's not afraid to stand up and be counted and show his Christian colors and take stands, even if unpopular), great thoughts of God (he meditates and is humbled by God's greatness which affects his thinking), and great contentment in his God--whether living or dying.  "He shall be strong and do exploits" (cf. KJV) or "stand firm and take action" (cf. HCSB), or "firmly resist him [the Antichrist]"  according to Dan. 11:32, NIV.  He is basically ready to meet his Maker.( Case in point:  St. Francis of Assisi was asked what he would do if he had one more hour to live while he was tending his garden, and he replied:  "I'd finish this row!" He had no unfinished business!)  Matthew Henry said that it is the duty of each day to prepare for like it were his last.  This is not being dismal, it is realism.

In the seventeenth century, it was every gentleman's hobby to do a discourse on biblical themes.  One can be very conversant and familiar with the Bible and know his way around the block theologically, even getting A's in theology class and hardly know his God.  You can know a lot about without knowing a lot of God.  It is said by Packer that a great deal of knowledge of God is better than a whole lot about God and the width of our knowledge about Him is no gauge of our knowledge of Him.  The man of God doesn't acquire knowledge for its own sake or as an end in itself, but as a means to an end.  Everyone doesn't need to be a scholar and God can use the uneducated just as well to do His will.

The man of God is a friend of God and sees God as both his Savior and Lord.  I've heard it said by William Jay of Bath that he is "a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior."  Only when you see yourself as a real sinner, can Christ be a real Savior to you.  George Whitefield was known to say the famous line:  "There but for the grace of God, go I."  Both Paul and John Bunyan (Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and Pilgrim's Progress) saw themselves in the dim light in this regard.  What we have to do is realize what Paul said, "I am what I am by the grace of God" (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10).  And so humility and meekness are paramount, but this doesn't mean having low self-esteem, but not higher thoughts of yourself than necessary.  True humility is not about thinking less of yourself, but of thinking of yourself less!

You can be a man or woman of God being relatively ignorant of the Word, but applying what you do know and being faithful to it.  God isn't calling us to success but to faithfulness, according to St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  The more you know the more responsible you become! God makes the man or woman of God especially wise, full of knowledge and wisdom, even if that is not their gift: St. Teresa is credited with many sayings that survive her and scholars everywhere quote her; she was was a humble, and faithful servant.  God isn't looking for our achievements (God may burn up the ones we're most proud!) but our obedience!  "To obey is better than sacrifice" is what Samuel told King Saul in 1 Sam. 15:22.

There were three men of God in Scripture that "walked with God."  "Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God."  The others who did are Abraham and Enoch who took a final walk with God to paradise.  The man of God knows how to stay in fellowship with his Lord by keeping short accounts of his sins and making confession a discipline and constant practice.  He knows when he's having fellowship with his brother as a fruit of fellowship with the Father and the Son.  This implies that he prays without ceasing or what that means is that the communication line is always open and he makes himself available to hear from God--he is in sync with God and on the same page as his brothers.

Being in fellowship implies being filled with the Spirit, which is a continual, renewing thing, and not a one-time event.  As a result of this, he manifests the fruit of the Spirit throughout his life as a testimony.  Others see Christ in him and he models the Christian way (early believers were known as members of the Way).  In short, he knows Jesus who is the Way and therefore knows the Way--he knows what he is doing! Love is the telltale sign, to know Him is to love Him.  Jesus is not one of many ways, nor the best way, but the ONLY way, someone wise said.

As a corollary to the above, the man of God can find God and can recognize His presence.  He has found the Lord, or should I say the Lord has found him!  There may be times when God seems MIA and the whereabouts of God is in question, but He knows that he will eventually find him and won't give up on God during trials and tribulations, which don't make him bitter, but better.  He knows, for instance, that the same sun melts the butter, but hardens the clay.

The man of God knows what God is telling him and knows how to get it from the Word, though He may use other means like dreams or visions (God hasn't retired them).  A man of God should be and is a man of the Word and loves the Bible in that he relies on it and knows how to go to it with every problem and dilemma.  "O, how I love thy law.  It is my meditation all the day long," says Psalm 119:97. He respects the Word and the teaching of it and is a student of the Word making progress, even if not as fast as some. He who won't read the Bible is not better off than he who can't!  I've seen people of low reading skills become very adept at the Word because God gave them insight and illumination through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Understanding the Word is not a matter of intellect, but of the condition of our will, mind, and heart: Are they needy, receptive, open-minded, willing, and teachable?  Understanding the Word is not just for the scholar but for the man who knows his God and seeks His enlightenment to open the eyes of his heart (cf. Eph. 1:18).

The man of God is one of vision and purpose and knows what he wants out of life and of the Lord, and doesn't give up on his dreams or hopes.  He lives his life in light of eternity but not in the future or in the past.  You can do a lot of things and expend a lot of energy, but if you aren't purpose-driven you are just busy for its own sake and there is no virtue in being busy per se.  Sometimes you have time on your hands but you know how to redeem it and make the most of the opportunities and open doors that God gives.  As David said, "My times are in Your hand," in Psalm 31:15.  Therefore, he is never too busy for the Lord's work and never feels interrupted because God is in charge of his daily agenda and schedule.

Finally, the man of God lives in relinquishment to God's will and is constantly wondering about what Jesus would do or what God's will is: Whether he needs spiritual counseling or verification of a hunch.  He lives the substituted life with Christ living through Him (cf. Gal. 2:20).  God doesn't always spell it out but expects us to search for it and be devoted to it.  In my early days as a believer, I couldn't understand why some Christians were always wondering what God's will was, but this just showed that I wasn't ready for it and not that devoted to it.  In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed for the Father's will to be done nonetheless, and pronounced his amen in resignation! If He had to do it, so must we.  But if we are not willing to do God's will we will not know it. according to John 7:17!    Soli Deo Gloria!

In Adam's Fall, We Sinned All

The title is from The New England Primer and shows how Adam represented us all in his willful sin. He was posse non peccare and posse peccare or able not to sin and able to sin according to Augustine. God gave him the free will to choose to love Him; however, it is not that Adam chose evil as some suggest, but that he chose self over God.  He was the head of his wife and is the head of our race and we would've done the same thing.  His sin was a prototype of all sin in rejecting God's divine nature.  Especially His wisdom, love, justice, and omniscience.  

They rejected God's authority, doubted His goodness, disputed His wisdom, repudiated His justice, contradicted His truth, and spurned His grace (someone has said). Eve was deceived and may have been confused, but Adam knew what he was doing and chose to be on Eve's side rather than God, probably because of his love for her and not wanting to lose her to death.

God had every reason to place a test in the garden (note that the first sin was committed in a perfect environment) and there was only one command to obey--anyone could've kept it.  God, for sure, didn't want obedience without love and wanted man to love of a free will or voluntarily  (I use the term free will sparingly because of Martin Luther's book The Bondage of the Will (De Servo Arbritrio) in which he says it is too grandiose of a term.  (By the way, Calvin was in agreement.) There is a natural will and a spiritual will.  Free will has been debated since St. Augustine of Hippo, who said we are "free but not freed." He meant we do have free will in a sense, but no liberty.  

Our nature is enslaved to sin and even the will is depraved and unable to please God. God gave Adam free will that we don't have anymore and he sinned.  It is reckoned that he represented us and we have been deemed sinners because of him.  Yes, we had free will in Adam and blew it when we chose self and became sinners by nature, by choice, and by birth.  Sin is our birthright and there is no escape!  There is no position of neutrality for our will--it is tainted with sin (cf. Rom. 1:32; 7:15).

God was not inviting trouble or taking a chance on the so-called "risky gift of free will" because He is sovereign and omniscient and had planned for this to happen and took it into consideration--there was no plan B.  If we are reckoned sinners in Adam we have become enslaved to this sin in our whole being (total depravity) and Adam lost his free will and got an enslaved will. Only God has the ultimate free will (a term not mentioned in Scripture except for free will or voluntary offerings) and yet God is unable or not free to sin or be the agent of evil.  We, on the other hand, are incapable of doing good or anything that pleases God (cf. Is. 64:6). The Arminian believes some do desire to repent and be believe the gospel, while the Reformed tradition holds that God quickens that lost desire within us.

We don't need free wills to be saved, we need wills made free.  God's salvation went according to plan and we love Him because He first loved us!  God chose us, we didn't choose Him (cf. John 15:16).  God's dilemma:  No one chose Him, and so He was obliged to elect some according to His purpose and grace and the good pleasure of His will (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9;  Eph. 1:5).  You may say:  "I came to Christ of my own free will and by myself [without any wooing or divine intervention]!" That person probably left Christ all by himself too.  What God is able to do is make the unwilling willing ("[For] it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure," says Phil. 2:13, ESV) and God can turn that heart of stone into a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" ("Ezek. 36:27, NKJV). Remember:  We are called and chosen unto salvation as Mathew 22:14 says, "Many are called, but few are chosen." Our destiny is ultimately in God's hands; God reserves the right to have mercy on whom He will--He isn't obligated to save anyone or it would be justice and not mercy (cf. Rom. 9:15).  Romans 9:16 says:  "So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy."

Now, after the fall, man is non posse non peccare (unable not to sin or only able to sin!) according to Augustine.  [Note that we are not talking in reference to the natural faculty of choice but spiritual will.]  God doesn't coerce us or force us to do anything we don't want to do by any outside force (called determinism), but His grace is irresistible or efficacious and does God's will.  Adam had the inclination to do good but lost that at the fall--man is still human, not an automaton, but has lost this inclination to do good. We are free to act according to our nature, but God made us the way we are like clay in the hands of a potter, and determined our nature.  

Adam chose against God, but He saved him anyway.  We are free in our state of sin in that we are voluntary sinners and our real freedom is to choose our own poison.  Romans 9:19 says that no one can resist God's will--His omnipotence overpowers us.  There is "not one maverick molecule in the universe" that is left to chance--God doesn't play dice with the universe, according to Einstein, and leaves nothing to chance.

You cannot say, "From now on, I will be good."  All things being equal, that doesn't last any longer than a diet with good intentions.  Apart from the Holy Spirit ("No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him," says John 6:44, ESV) without His wooing, no one can choose Christ, and God must intervene and work grace in our hearts.  We are slaves to act the way we want to and are in rebellion against God in our old sin nature.  We are indeed free to choose whatever we desire, but we do not desire Christ without grace.  "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know..." (John 7:17). That work is called redemption and causes us to repent and believe the gospel in the process known as conversion.  A spiritually dead man cannot believe or choose anything spiritual.  God must open our spiritual eyes to the truth ("I was blind, but now I see").

The essence of freedom is self-determination and we do make a decision ourselves and in this sense, we are still free. We never act by compulsion or as a programmed robot, but willingly.  We sin according to our own volition.  But whenever you look at a sinner you should say, "There but for the grace of God, go I" as George Whitefield said.   We can thank God for changing us and softening our hearts by grace ("... [Gr]ace might reign through righteousness," says Rom. 5:20).

Let me cite an everyday example of wooing:  In the process of courtship you fall in love and entice your lover to marry you (by an act of free will, of course), and you never interfered with her free will but got her to marry you and get your will done--she couldn't resist your proposition and was converted!

We all can act naturally according to enlightened self-interest in our old sin nature.  A sure sign of genuine saving faith is a heartfelt love for God and this is impossible without a relationship with Him--no one loved God before salvation.  We are not elected because we want to believe or we do believe (that would be merit-based and is called the prescient view, which Rom. 8:29-30 militates against), but we believe because we are the elect (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13, 1 John 5:1, Rom. 8:29-30). 

In the Reformed tradition of the order of salvation or ordo salutis, regeneration precedes faith!  Scripture clearly says, "We love Him because He first loved us." The unsaved, lost, and unregenerate man has no desire to repent, believe in the gospel, and choose Christ or he would have something to boast in his salvation before God.  No one will say, "I wanted to believe, but couldn't!"  This is because Reformed theology teaches that if left to ourselves, none would choose Christ.

Salvation is totally of God and He gets all the glory.  Soli Deo Gloria! According to C. H. Spurgeon the essence of Reformed theology is:  "Salvation is of the Lord, [it is not a cooperative venture, as theologians say, "monergistic, not synergistic"]" says Jonah 2:9.  God must change us and do a work of grace and regeneration, quickening our spirits to believe and repent because we have no inclination to obey God before salvation--we must be born again.  When we are saved we are set free: "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed (cf. John 8:36)." We are not born free, we are set free--we are born slaves!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is God Fair?

We are in no position to judge God, but He is our judge and we have no right to question His fairness, for what's fair is what He decrees as fair by its very nature and definition.  One recalls the parable of the Prodigal Son whereby the elder brother is dispirited at the grace shown the younger one and thinks it's unfair.  He should've celebrated the fact that he had always been the son and never suffered estrangement.

Too many Christians think that it is unfair that criminals who make deathbed conversions can get saved when they lived their whole life for Christ.  They should've noted that they get to live for Christ, not had to live for Him.  It is a privilege to live for Christ and one should be thankful for all the opportunities and be stewards of them.  He has become the recipient of greater reward, as God rewards according to our deeds whether we are in Christ a short time or long time.  We don't have to be Christians, we get to be Christians!  Many who are first shall be last, according to Christ, and the last, first.  The classic example of deathbed conversion is the famed thief or malefactor on the cross on the right side of Christ and to whom He said, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise."

In the final analysis, life may not always be fair because some people's portion is in this life and others have to learn the hard way--but God will make it all fair in the end at the judgment and He is just in all His ways.  And so, who's to say that inequity defines unfairness?  God is the moral center of the universe, thank God!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Does God Woo All?

NOTE: I USE THE TERM ARMINIAN TO REFER TO THOSE WHO DENY THE TULIP FORMULA OF CALVINISM  (OR REFORMED THEOLOGY) BUT SOME THEOLOGIANS CLAIM TO BE FOUR-POINTERS, DENYING THE LIMITE OR DEFINITE ATONEMENT SCHEMA. THERE ARE ONLY TWO INTERPATIONS OF THE GOSPELS OF GRACE: ARMINIAN AND CALVINIST AND MOST FALL SOMEWHERE INBETWEEN, LIKE ARMINIANS WHO AFFIRM ETERNAL SECURITY. 

There is no question that we cannot come to Christ apart from the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives to make us able and willing to believe ("This is the work of God, that you believe..." according to John 6:29).  Some theologians of the Arminian persuasion do admit to the wooing of the Holy Spirit and even have a name for the pre-salvation work of Christ in our hearts, known as prevenient grace, whereby God makes you able to respond to the gospel. Calvinists or Reformed theologians subscribe to an efficacious grace or as it is called irresistible grace (cf. Rom. 5:21). 

God doesn't try to save sinners, He saves them.  He doesn't offer to save us but saves us.  The word for wooing in Koine (Greek )is elko, which means to compel or drag.  You can picture drawing water from a well.  God has the power to make the most unwilling willing, and to turn hearts of stone into hearts of flesh! God literally drags us into the kingdom and makes believers out of us!

The big issue is whether God draws all and if He does, does He draw them equally? And if all are wooed, why do some not respond?   The golden chain of redemption in Romans 8:29-30 says that whom He foreknew He called.  There is a general gospel call given to all the world (cf. Titus 2:11), but the inner calling of the Holy Spirit is only given to the elect. (cf. Acts 2:32).  "The elect obtained unto it, and the rest were hardened,"  (cf. Rom. 11:7). "As many as were elected believed..." (Acts 13:48).  We are commanded to call all because we do not know whom the elect are, but God looks on the heart and knows those who are His.  God doesn't draw all equally, because some need more work than others and are given more grace ("Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more," according to Rom. 5:20).

The Arminian will not admit that God doesn't draw some at all, but leaves them in their sin. (Passing them by is called preterition).   God reserves the right to have mercy on whom He will have mercy according to Romans 9:15.  No one can resist God's will according to Romans 9:19 and if God decides to save someone, they will get saved--He is determined to bring about the salvation of the elect at the appointed time.  This brings up the issue or doctrine of preterition, which is when God passes over the non-elect so that they will receive the justice of God and not the mercy of God. He doesn't work fresh evil in their hearts but simply lets them go their way of sin and follow their hearts in the flesh, enslaved to sin.

"No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them," (cf. John 6:44).  We cannot respond to the gospel apart from the wooing, and this wooing  guarantees that we will respond to the gospel message--the Greek word elko means "to compel by irresistible superiority." Arminians like the word "woo" because it doesn't sound authoritarian, but that is downgrading God's omnipotence and sovereignty.  Arminians believe God may only draw those He sees will respond, but cannot say why God doesn't woo the others who fail to come to Christ.  Perhaps it is the intensity of the wooing! We cannot attribute some merit to ourselves for responding to the wooing ministry, for salvation is by grace alone.

The big question is why some people respond and others don't.  According to Scripture, we are called according to His purpose and grace and to the pleasure of His good will, nothing inherent in us to boast of.  "What do you have that you didn't receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7).  We have no inherent virtue or wisdom to qualify us for the kingdom. The only explanation is that faith is a gift from God and the result of regeneration not the cause of it--we don't conjure it up, but faith is not achieved but given.  We believer through grace. (Acts 18:27).  

However, the Arminian believes some respond favorably because of something in them such as being less biased or smarter, which makes salvation is ultimately based on their merit and works and not grace and faith.  If  you can come to God in faith without being regenerated, what good is it?  There is a tug on the heart as the elect hears the gospel message ("Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God" according to Rom. 10:17).        Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is Saving Faith?

You gotta have faith!  How big is your God, not how big is your faith?  It depends on the strength of our God, not our faith.  Without faith, you cannot please God! (Cf. Heb. 11:6).  A real, genuine faith is one that grows and is not static or going nowhere.  True faith consists of right knowledge (you cannot subscribe to heresy), assent or agreement, and trust or reliance on it.  We don't have blind faith, for we have sound reasons to believe and don't believe in spite of the evidence.  We don't believe something we know isn't true--there is ample and compelling circumstantial evidence for the open-minded and willing person--no one can say there is lack of evidence.  We don't have faith in faith, but in the object of Christ (the object saves not the faith).  Faith is a verb and entails action:  "By faith Abraham obeyed ..." and so forth.  It is a matter of the will--it is volitional.  We choose to believe of our own ("If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know..." (cf. John 7:17, ESV), but God quickens faith in us and makes us alive--dead people cannot believe!

We must take the leap of faith from the seed planted.  Faith is not a work (if it were we would have merit before God, but we are not saved by works).   If it were a work, we would foul it up somehow!   The faith you have is the faith you show:  Paul says, "I'll show you my works by my faith," while James says, "I'll show you my faith by my works."  We are saved by faith alone, according to the Reformation doctrine, but not by a faith that is alone.  Works are no substitute for faith, but only evidence of it, as we are saved unto works, not by works.

The theological axiom applies:  "Only he who is obedient believes, only he who believes is obedient." Obedience is the only true test of faith and they are correlated in Hebrews 3:18 and John 3:36. The obedience of faith separates the bogus profession of faith and the reality of faith as seen in Acts 6:7 ("... [M]any of the priests became obedient to the faith") and Romans 1:5.  You must trust and obey! (Mark 10:9 says, "What God has joined together let not man put asunder.")

Faith is given, not achieved--it is the gift of God and we do not conjure it up.   It is the work of God as His gift, but we must use it and take the leap.  "... [H]e greatly helped those who through grace had believed" (Acts 18:27, ESV).  But there is a difference between head belief and heart belief:  the demons also believe and tremble!  The first step to faith is a positive attitude expressed in listening, then understanding with the mind, then believing with the heart, and finally trusting and relying on will or volition.  The result:  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope"  (Romans 15:13, ESV).

What is the progression of faith?  Openness to the truth (unbelievers reject the truth), acceptance of the gospel message, willingness to obey God's will in relinquishment, surrender to the Lordship of Christ, and self-denial and willingness to follow Jesus.  We must give up, surrender, and commit to what we know is true.  The elements of faith in progression are:  Knowing, reckoning, yielding, obeying, trusting, delighting, committing, waiting, and anticipating.

Its logical conclusion is a relationship with Jesus with a love for Him--"[T]hough you have not seen him, you love him (cf. 1 Pet. 1:8, ESV). Faith begets fruit and works, no fruit, no faith!  "If you love me, you will keep my commandments"  (John 14:15, ESV).  Note that no one has perfect faith:  God requires only sincere, unfeigned faith according to 1 Tim. 1:5 says:  "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (ESV). Final Caveat: Beware of easy-believism whereby one thinks he is saved by merely believing without submitting to His lordship.  Soli Deo Gloria!

On Cloud Nine

Is it realistic to expect Christians to always have their minds literally focused on Christ?  Hebrews 3:1; 12:2 says:  "Looking to Jesus...."  He is our Exemplar and the one to emulate.  Put everything in respect to the Lord first.  The only philosophy or worldview that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point and premier focus.  We are not to be so heavenly minded, we are no earthly good, it is well said. This means don't have the perspective of man but see things through Christ's eyes and remembering Him at every opportunity--keeping the door of prayer open. We can be doing the most menial task and do it with the Lord in mind, as unto the Lord and in the name of the Lord, but we must concentrate on the job at hand and not try to multitask.  "Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness..." (Jer. 48:10, ESV).

Being a believer doesn't entail that we neglect the mundane because it is not spiritual.  Scripture warrants no distinguishing between sacred and secular duties--they are all to be done as unto the Lord! We need a disciplined mind that redeems the time for the Lord and makes the most of the opportunity given us. You cannot walk in the glow of some mystical or surreal experience for the rest of your life and think that is being spiritual.  God honors faith and a faith walk more than going by feelings or being dependent on them. Faith is what pleases God (cf. Heb. 11:6).

When we bring glory to God through our works we are minding heavenly things.  The goal of our thoughts and the pleasure of our thinking should be heavenly as we delight in the things of God in heaven: "Delight yourself in the LORD..." (cf. Psalm 37:4).  As we walk with the Lord in fellowship we enjoy His presence and blessing on our life, and we can see things in light of eternity as we have a more abundant life and live life to the fullest. 

Cloistered virtue is no virtue:  The monks of the dark ages would escape from the world to meditate in monasteries and their retreat from the world's cares was thought to make them "holy." ("Holier than thou" is more like it!)  God has put us in the world, but we are not part of it (cf. John 15:19).

We do not live for the here and now, as the heathen do, but in light of eternity and in preparation for the coming of the Lord.  When we see things from the divine viewpoint in Christ's perspective, we can live confidently and keep focused on what's really important--"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..." (cf. Matt. 6:33).   I know of no greater joy than of doing the Lord's work and if I can see that what I am doing has His blessing I enjoy it all the more--we live for the approbation and applause of our Savior, not man's approval.  If we are ready to meet our Maker we have certainly gotten our minds focused on the eternal and have put everything into perspective.

The more we treasure things in heaven and the more we have at stake here, the more focused we will be on heavenly things.  Once you've experienced the joy of the Lord, you will not settle for the cheap thrills of this life and what it has to offer.  We don't chase earthly fantasies or dreams that have no spiritual benefit. We need heavenly goals and a divine purpose, setting our plans on something that will outlast this life and count in eternity. 

An example of a heavenly philosophy would be:  I want to be a great Christian with a great commitment to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.  Having the right mindset (getting our thinking straightened out) will give us endurance and orientation to face the trials and tribulations of life--our attitude counts.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Going By The Rules

"And Samuel said, 'Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams"  (1 Sam. 15:22, ESV).

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye" (Psalm 32:8, ESV).

"The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip"  (Psalm 37:31, ESV).

"... [T]o bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all nations"  (Rom. 1:5, ESV).

"... [A]nd a great number of priests were becoming obedient to the faith"  (Acts 6:7, NASB).

"And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him"  (Acts 5:32, ESV).

"But he said, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'" (Luke 11:28, ESV).

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22, ESV).

"You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14, ESV).

"Make me to know your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths" (Psalm 25:4, ESV).

God is angry at the people of Judah because of their ignorance ("Therefore, my people go into exile for lack of knowledge" per Is. 5:13, ESV and "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge ...," Hos. 4:6a, ESV).  Jeremiah 8:7 (ESV) says in a similar vein:  "... [B]ut my people know not the rules of the LORD."  The people of God do not know the way:  "Then I said, 'These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God'" (Jeremiah 5:4, ESV).  Micah echoes a similar controversy of the LORD:  "But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan...."   Hosea says "a people without understanding shall come to ruin" in verse 4:14 (ESV).

The very essence of knowing Jesus is applying that knowledge in doing what Jesus would do; however, one must first know Him and learn of Him to do that (What would Jesus do?).  But we don't imitate Jesus, we let Him live through us.  "I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20, ESV).  This defines a life of inhabitation, not imitation.  According to the aforementioned passage, the Christian life is about relinquished life, the exchanged life, substituted, inhabited, and the surrendered life.

Remember what is says about the Israelites in Judges 21:25, where each man did what was right in his own eyes, for they had no king. Obedience is the true test of faith according to Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  "Only he who believes is obedient, and only he is obedient who believes."  See how they are correlated and can be distinguished, but not separated, as seen in Heb. 3:18 (ESV):  "And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." "Obey your leaders and submit to them ..." (Heb. 13:17, ESV).  We have an easier yoke than the Jews in obeying the will of God and not the yoke of the Law.

There are some legalistic Christians who can't have enough rules and measure their spirituality or piety by how well they keep them--basically inclined to refrain from doing pleasurable things, and not following the Lord in the positive things.  The problem arises when they make up their own rules that "go beyond that which is written" (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6, ESV).  Baptists have always been known as being rule-obsessed and for what they don't do, rather than what they do do.  The Pharisees of Jesus' day were also ruleS-obsessed and had over 600 additional prohibitions and commands to the 613 laws of Moses. You practically had to be a scribe or lawyer to be able to know your way around the law and its loopholes.

On the other hand, Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light.  Their rules were simply traditions of men and nullified the grace of God and made their worship in vain    ("[I]n vain do they worship me teaching as doctrines the commandments of men," says Mark 7:7 in the ESV). For instance, they had made the Sabbath a burden when Jesus said in Mark 2:27 that man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man!  There were not supposed to be any hard and fast rules as to what was forbidden and God never defined what "work" was.  Salvation is not Jesus plus obeying church rules such as tithing, nor Jesus plus Sabbath keeping, nor Jesus plus asceticism, fasting, or self-denial, nor Jesus plus secret knowledge, nor even Jesus plus church, nor Jesus plus anything--we must realize that it is by Jesus alone since our faith must be in Christ alone.

In Martin Luther's time, the Antinomians arose who said, "Freed from the Law, O blessed condition, now I can sin all I want and still have remission."  The point of salvation is that we are freed from the power of the law and sin and are no longer under the law--the law cannot condemn us, claim us, nor control us (see Romans 8:1-4)!  As Christians, we are not under the law (see Romans 6:14), but we are not lawless.  We are not free to do as we want, but as we ought!  We have been given the power to obey God and to overcome sin, instead of being its slave.  The problem arises when we go beyond that which is written according to 1 Cor. 4:6 and make up our own laws as we go along, instead of obeying the Word.  The only test of faith is obedience and the Christian has a supernatural yearning to obey the Lord through the Word in love as a motive ("... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love," says Gal. 5:6, ESV).

To cite an example, let's say that you don't believe in drinking.  It may be a no-no for you! Fine, but you cannot make an ironclad biblical case for being a teetotaler.  Paul clearly says in 1 Cor. 6:12 that all things are lawful, but we are not to be enslaved by anything.  The point is that we don't want to be brought under the power of any sin (Psalm 119:133 says not to let any sin have dominion over us). Some sects are known for being highly "religious" or legalistic and forget that Christianity is about knowing the Lord, not following rules that are unbiblical. True, Christianity is not about a list of do's and don'ts or some catalog of rules or being moral and ethical.  It can be said:  Evil is being good without God, and that is where some people err in believing the essence of Christianity is about obeying the Golden Rule.

There are many commands in the Bible and God's moral code has not been rescinded--we are not free to covet our neighbor's wife, just because we are not under the law.  But true believers don't do it because they have to, or even want to, but because they feel they get to--we get to go to church, we get to pray, we get to witness for Christ.  If you haven't reached that point in spirituality where you want to please your Maker and Lord you may just see the Christian life as a list of rules.  If Christianity were just about rules you could compare your "performance" with another's and measure thereby your spirituality, but Paul says:  "Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves.  But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding" (2 Cor. 10:12, ESV).

The Bible never gives us the right to do what is wrong, nor sanctions us the right to do what is right in our own eyes as spiritual lone rangers. The problem arises when we obey the letter of the law without respect to the spirit of the law.  Antinomians have a distaste for the law and are anti-law. They think that freedom meant license to sin or disobedience to the moral code.  "Do we then overflow [make void] the law by this faith?  By no means!  On the contrary, we uphold the law" (Rom. 3:31, ESV)  Romans 6:1 (ESV) says, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means!  How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

Even though the essence of Christianity is a relationship with the living God, the New Testament does list rules to live by and guides to our spirituality (i.e., praying without ceasing, in everything giving thanks, abstaining from all appearance of evil, etc., per 1 Thess. 5:17ff).  We are not to become morally lax simply because we are free in Christ.  People who are rule-obsessed tend to major on the minors and miss the point of a relationship with Christ.  We have to beware of elevating tradition to the level of law and binding people where they ought to be free.  Christianity is not about making bad people good, but dead people alive (in a vital relationship with Christ).

Christians are regenerate but also have two natures: The old nature knows no law; the new nature needs no law.  The question is which one will they let rule their life?  To be carnally minded is death, and to be spiritually minded is life, says Paul.  The Christian lives by a higher law: The law of love and knows that love is the fulfillment of the law!  "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8, ESV).  Soli Deo Gloria!