Will You Shake Your Fist or Fall on Your Face?

This morning I had a message from someone asking for some clarification on some things we had discussed earlier. I responded to the questions and asked if I could post the questions and response here. The person agreed, so here it is:

hey nick, i figured i hadn't bugged you for a while.. So i have a question for you. Last time we talked, you said something about how some people when they meet Jesus, will have their fists in the air and saying, "but I lived a good life..."" something like that.. and Jesus turns them away.. Is there scripture I can read to understand that better? I hope my question makes some sense.. Oh and can you explain the Christianity is about substitution thing again. I think i understand it, but i wanna be sure. Hopefully this all makes sense.. :)

RESPONSE:

I think what I was thinking about at that time was this:

Matt 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Here we see that Jesus NEVER knew them. It wasn’t that He knew them and they fell away… It also means it’s pretty important for Jesus to “know” someone. It’s not just that He knows who someone is, He knows who everyone is. When God “knows” someone, it’s and intimate relationship. It sheds light on passages like Rom. 8:29-39 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; ³⁰ and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” He didn’t just know about people beforehand, He planned to have a close relationship before the foundation of the world!

The “shaking the fist” thing is kind of my paraphrase of the second half of Romans 1, and Revelation 16:8-11. Romans 1 talks about how people suppress the knowledge of God and do not obey Him even though they know He exists, and they have a pretty good idea of what He requires of us.

Revelation 16:8-11:

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. ⁹ Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
 ¹⁰ Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, ¹¹ and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.

There will be so many plagues and judgements in the Tribulation period (they start in chapter 6), and even though the people know the judgement is coming from God, they will refuse to repent and acknowledge God as Lord, hence the shaking of fists.

On substitution:
2 Cor. 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Basically, we failed dismally to keep the law. We never had a chance. The law was to show us God’s holy standard. If we never broke the law (from birth) and we ALWAYS loved God perfectly and our neighbour as ourselves (impossible), then we would be righteous before God and He would take us to Heaven. Rom. 3:19 says that the law is to shut us up (my paraphrase) and show us we are guilty and deserve God’s judgement. We earned it like a paycheque, because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).

God can’t lie, or He would be unrighteous. He said He is holy and will punish sin. If He lets us off the hook He would be unrighteous, a liar, and there would be no justice. Remember, sin usually if not always hurts people, and sinners should be punished if only for the victims’ sakes. So how does anyone get pardoned for sin and become righteous before God without God compromising His holiness? Answer: substitution. Jesus lived a perfect life. He ALWAYS kept the law. He ALWAYS loved God perfectly, and He ALWAYS loved His neighbour as Himself. He was and remains perfect, yet God poured out His just wrath against OUR sin on Him. Jesus suffered more than we can imagine, and not just physically. God put our sin on Jesus, and His perfect righteousness on us.

Think about it. We can stand before a HOLY God clothed in the PERFECT righteousness of Christ! It’s not our righteousness, it’s a foreign righteousness. Even Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, says in Phil. 3:8-9 “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish (dung – KJV) so that I may gain Christ, ⁹ and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”

That’s substitution, and it happened at the cross. The difference between the fist shakers and those who fall on their faces before a holy God is that God in His love chose to have mercy on His people before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1:4-6 “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. ⁵In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

There is nothing in any of us that makes us more “open” to being saved than anyone else. If it were not for God’s grace, we too would still be shaking our fists at God. Eph. 2:3-5 says, “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ”. Hope this helps.

Speaking in Tongues

Over the years I’ve been hearing more and more about speaking in tongues. I have been looking to see what the Bible has to say about it, and I would like to share some of what I have found. I have pasted the text of 1 Corinthians 14 below, along with some comments that I think might be helpful, but I’m by no means an expert on this. Chapters 12 and 13 could have been included as well, but I limited my comments to this chapter.

There was a real gift of “languages” that was operating, but a counterfeit, pagan gibberish had also come into the Corinthian church. It seems that for the most part, when “tongue” is in the singular, the fake pagan gibberish is being talked about, and when “tongues” appears in the plural, it was the real gift. The KJV seems to insert the word “unknown” when it’s the pagan gibberish.

The notes were for my own benefit. Hopefully it comes across making sense. For the record, I believe that tongues have ceased and that this sign gift is not for our time. I base this on 1 Cor. 13:8-10, among other things. The following chapter describes how tongues were to be regulated in the apostolic age.

1 Corinthians 14

 ¹Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

 ²For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God (Greek indicates “a god”, small g); for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. (See ch. 12:2-3, there was a fake/demonic version of tongues as well as the real thing. The gifts are to edify the church. God does not need us to speak to him in some unintelligible speech, and this type of “prayer” is never found in the Bible. In fact, Jesus said not to use empty repetitions.)

 ³But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification (that’s the purpose of the gifts, see chapter 12:7) and exhortation and consolation (edifying, exhorting, and consoling are apparently the definition of “prophesy”, and it seems that new revelation was given too).

 ⁴One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself (which is not the purpose, I believe Paul is pointing out their self-centeredness here – See Rom. 15:2-3); but one who prophesies edifies the church (edification of others is the purpose).

 ⁵Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues (even though he knows God gives the gifts as He desires, see ch. 12:11, 30), but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.

 ⁶But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you (where’s the edification?) unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching?

 ⁷Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?

 ⁸For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

 ⁹So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

 ¹⁰There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.

 ¹¹If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me.

 ¹²So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. (Doesn’t this rule out a “private prayer language”? That wouldn’t edify the church.)

 ¹³Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. (It has been established that God gives the gifts to whom he wants. Therefore, I think this is sarcastic. Paul’s saying “You’re so busy trying to be super-spiritual to lift yourselves up, why don’t you pray for something that can help someone else?”)

 ¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit (Greek “pneuma” could be translated “breath” or “wind”) prays, but my mind is unfruitful (which is not good).

 ¹⁵What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit (breath) AND I will pray with the mind also (I will pray with my breath AND my brain, together); I will sing with the spirit (or breath) AND I will sing with the mind also (again, breath and brain together).

 ¹⁶Otherwise, if you bless in the spirit only (with your breath but not your brain), how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?

 ¹⁷For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified (notice again, edifying others is important).

 ¹⁸I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all;

 ¹⁹however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

 ²⁰Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

 ²¹In the Law it is written, "By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to me," says the Lord. (Quote from the OT, prophesying judgment.)

 ²²So then tongues are for a sign (a sign points to something – maybe the coming judgment in AD 70?), not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign (“for a sign” is not in the Greek), not to unbelievers but to those who believe. (Prophecy is for believers. It’s not a sign because it doesn’t point to anything, like tongues did. With tongues, when the signified judgment came, the sign was no longer needed. Same thing happened with the Assyrians in the OT.)

 ²³Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad?

 ²⁴But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all;

 ²⁵the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

 ²⁶What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation LET ALL THINGS BE DONE FOR EDIFICATION.

 ²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue (I think the KJV is wrong to put “unknown” here), it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret;

 ²⁸but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God (Greek states “THE God” here, big G). (Note in v. 27-28 that tongues are under control. No one needs to be rolling on the floor or “flipped out”. It seems to me that the modern Charismatic movement has many of the same problems that Paul was trying to fix here.)

 ²⁹Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment.

 ³⁰But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent (notice that the gift is under the person’s control).

 ³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;

 ³²and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets (gifts are under a person’s control);

 ³³for God is not a God of confusion but of peace. (Incidentally, it appears that the role of prophet in the revelatory sense was phased out too. They are not mentioned with elders and deacons in the Pastoral Epistles. Also, we have the completed canon of Scripture now.)

As in all the churches of the saints, ³⁴The women are to keep silent in the churches (apparently the women were not to speak in tongues or prophesy, and perhaps they were not to address the congregation at all. Compare with v. 28); for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says.

 ³⁵If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church (Women seem to play a big part in the modern Charismatic movement as well.).

 ³⁶Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only? (Do you make the rules, Corinthians?)

 ³⁷If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment. (Anyone who disagrees with the Apostle is wrong.)

 ³⁸But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

 ³⁹Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues.

 ⁴⁰But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

Challenge Your Traditions

Everyone has a certain worldview. This worldview is shaped by many things, including where we grew up, what our family make-up was like, where we went to church (if we did), and who the relevant authorities were. What our parents believe is generally what we believe, at least initially. Then factors like where we go to school, the friendships we develop, and significant experiences we have begin to shape who we are and what we believe.

When I was young, Christian values and morals were instilled in me, we had Bible stories read to us at home and taught to us at Sunday school. Before I had the mental capacity to critically evaluate things for myself, certain beliefs were passed to me by my parents, Sunday school teachers, secular school teachers, friends, TV, and others. This is just a fact that we all face, and it’s not necessarily bad or good. Our formative years are ones where we are very vulnerable though, and this is one reason why being a parent is such a great responsibility.

Most of what we learn in our early years is just accepted without question. From birth we are cared for by others. They know what is good for us, they have all the resources to provide food and shelter, and when someone says “Don’t touch, that’s hot!” we tend to trust them and find out sooner or later that they were right.

When it comes to matters of doctrine, the same principle applies. None of us is uninfluenced by others. None of us has gone to the Bible with out any preconceived ideas and just taken their beliefs straight from the text. Even if someone were to come to the Bible without any outside influences, that person would still not have the ability to understand things like the culture or time in which the author and his primary audience lived, or how different parts of the Bible come together to provide a “full picture” of a given doctrine.

The point I’m getting to is this: If we had parents that attended a given church or belonged to a certain denomination, and then we attended the same church and grew up there without much outside influence in our theology, what we believe will be largely affected by what that denomination or church teaches. Unless that person seeks out various other positions and compares them to the Bible, how can that person know that what he or she has been taught all of their lives is the correct understanding of what the Scripture says?

Some of the readers here will likely be very cautious at this point and that’s a good thing. I’m not saying that people should check out Hinduism or Voodoo or something to see if there is truth to their teachings. I’m not advocating “church hopping” either. I’m assuming a mature Christian person who is searching for the truth as presented in the Bible.

We all know there are many interpretations of the same verses, and the Bible can be made to say anything someone wants it to. I am just saying that if you believe only what your church, family, and friends believe the Bible says, and all of you are fairly like-minded, you will never be challenged on your beliefs. It has been said that those who are most blinded by their traditions are those who believe they have none.

There are so many differing positions on so many subjects that you cannot just assume that the church you happen to end up in is one of the few that has everything right. Even if you chose the church or denomination yourself, you should always be maturing and growing in your walk with God and your understanding of the Bible. If the only resources to help you understand the Bible come from your own church you are at risk of being misinformed because most denominations place emphasis on certain portions of the Bible and de-emphasize others. This can be very subtle and it can be unintentional. Add to this the fact that portions of the Bible can be “spun” a certain way, and it becomes clear that one must try to understand the positions that differ from the ones we hold, and verify or disprove them by a careful study of the Bible. What you believe absolutely must be able to withstand the scrutiny of others who believe differently. There may just be someone out there who can provide a helpful perspective. There has to be a balance between being so open-minded that you’re “tossed about with every wind of doctrine”, and being so closed-minded that you miss the truth when you see it.

Perseverance of the Saints

This is the one everybody likes to believe in. OK, well not everybody. This doctrine is referred to as “once saved, always saved”, eternal security, or the preservation of the saints. Let me start by saying that I have struggled to put my thoughts into print on this but it’s not because I find it hard to believe.

Arminians, or those who are not Calvinists, believe that the hinge - the point at which salvation is effective or not - lies with man. They say yes, God has made salvation possible in Jesus Christ, but we must believe for the atonement to be effective. How can this lead to security? If man “throws the switch” so to speak, can’t we “unthrow” it? Some would argue that once we make the decision to “accept Jesus” (as if we stand in judgment of Him) that God then obligates Himself to keep us, but I believe that when the triune God accepts us (because He judges us), He will keep His chosen for His own sake, and for His glory!

There was a time when I wasn’t sure about the security of the believer. As some of you know, I grew up Mennonite. Even among Mennonites, there is a wide range of beliefs on many topics so I’ll narrow it down even more. I grew up Old Colony Mennonite. For those who don’t know, this means black clothes for preachers (all the time, not just when preaching), no assurance of salvation, long homemade dresses on most of the women, and black “head coverings” for the women. Some go as far as not using rubber tires because of some obscure and misapplied Bible verse, although this was not my experience. People lived lives of pure legalism, and had no understanding of the gospel.

When I was old enough to drive I began attending a Sommerfeld Mennonite church. There was somewhat less bondage here, but it was still taught that there was no assurance of salvation. Thinking about it now, it really felt like a works salvation church. As long as you were “good” after trusting Christ you were saved, but if you committed one of the “big” sins you were lost. The big sins seemed to be defined by how much gossip they would produce. Sins like pride wouldn’t produce much, but being a drunk or committing sexual sin or anything “juicy” would produce a lot.

Then my family and I started attending a Baptist church. Here eternal security was preached. The teaching here was more biblical, although there was still much legalism. The definition the church had for legalism was adding works to salvation, so they didn’t believe they were legalistic even though there were many extra-biblical “standards” to aid in sanctification. Some of the rules to attend the Bible College there were simply laughable. Anyway, my assessment of the teaching here was that if you responded to an altar call and “prayed the prayer” in response, perhaps, to an emotional appeal or to the music, that you were saved forever. If you later left the church and lived a life of sin, the church prayed for “rededication”. If the sin was bad enough, maybe whether someone had really ever been saved was called into question, but this was rare.

Some might be thinking at this point, “Who is he to say we can judge if someone is saved or not?” It turns out that the Bible has something to say about this. 1 John 2:3-6 says:

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Further, 1 John 3:6-10 says:

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

This of course does not mean we must be completely sinless, but if the unbroken practice of our lives is to not keep His commandments, the Bible says we have not been saved.

So what about those who made professions of faith, but then something happened like the death of someone close to them, or they were impacted horribly by someone else’s sin and then they left the faith? Well we know that salvation is forever:

1 Pet 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

John 17:11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

John 10:28-29 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Rom 8:33-39 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “ For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So we look at people who once professed faith, and now they have fallen away. If we try to use personal experience in this way and we say that they lost their salvation, we have elevated our experience above the Bible. We know (or we should know) that the Bible doesn’t contradict itself. So we study further and come to 1 John 2:19:

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

This verse explains why some people who were professing Christians left the faith. They were never really “of us”. The fact that they left indicates that their faith was a mere profession. If we preached the gospel the way Jesus did, we wouldn’t have the false conversions. We need to count the cost and take up our crosses daily, and we should tell people this up front when evangelizing. Salvation is not necessarily going to give you a wonderful life this side of eternity.

So what about the verses that say things like “he who endures to the end will be saved” or “if you continue in the faith” or other similar statements? I would say that because we know the Bible clearly says salvation is eternal, that these are descriptive of what a saved person will be like, not prescriptive of what it takes to be saved. In other words, these statements will be true of those who are really saved. They will endure to the end, and they will continue in the faith. It’s not that we work really hard and try really hard, and if we can remain faithful to the end, we will be worthy of being saved.

Finally, be aware that there is such a thing as a false believer. They are called false brethren, and tares whom the enemy has planted. I am told that tares look just like wheat, but have no edible grain. Tares look just like Christians but do not have the Holy Spirit in them, so they are not Christians (Rom. 8:9). If you keep in mind that not all who profess to be believers really are, it will help us to make sense of people who have left the faith, and it will help us make sense of those who go to church and call themselves Christians, but whose lives do not show that they are children of God.

New Baby!

My wife and I welcomed baby  #4 into the world on Saturday night. Jaxton Quinn was born at 9:46 PM tipping the scales at a whopping 8 lbs 1 oz, our biggest yet. This makes three boys and one lonely little princess.

At the moment, Mom and Baby are catching up on some sleep they missed during the night. Both are doing well. Praising the Lord for this wonderful blessing, and a big thank you to the medical staff at Boundary Trails Health Centre.

Psalm 139:13-16

For you formed my inward parts;
   you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
   my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,
   intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,
   the days that were formed for me,
   when as yet there was none of them.

Irresistable Grace

How do you sleep at night? Did you tell everyone you met today about Jesus? Will there be people you talked to today who may never hear the good news because you didn’t say anything? Or if you did say something to someone, did you come on too strong and just end up pushing them further out of reach? So how do you sleep at night?

I don’t know about you, but I sleep just fine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect in these things either, even though I know that we need to fulfill the Great Commission. I know that we need to tell people about our awesome saviour, because no one gets to the Father except through Him. I also know that I can’t save people, no matter how polished my presentation.

However, the other side of the coin is also true. I don’t need to worry about saying the wrong thing and pushing this person away forever. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard someone comment, “What if an unbeliever sees/hears this? People might turn away from Christ forever because of you!” I know we as Christians mess up and prove ourselves unworthy all the time when we should be living and speaking in such a way as to adorn the gospel of Christ, but the Bible is clear that if God has set His saving love on you, He will get you!

In John 6:37-39 Jesus says:

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

How can Jesus say that all that the Father gives Him shall come to Him? Foreknowledge? Yes, He does know the future perfectly, but I think it’s more than that. He is a powerful, perfect Saviour, and He is able to save whom He wishes.

Psalm 115:3 – But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases

Psalm 135:6 – Whatever the LORD pleases, He does

Isa. 46:10 – “I will accomplish all My good pleasure”

Eph. 1:11 – Who works all things after the counsel of His will

In fact, it’s the Father’s will that Jesus lose nothing of that which He gave Him. If Jesus doesn’t save all of them, or if He loses even one that was saved, He would be in violation of the Father’s will. That just can’t happen!

Am I saying that God forces people to be saved against their will? No, I’m saying that because we were dead in trespasses and sins, that God mercifully raises us up to spiritual life. Would anyone contend that Jesus raised Lazarus against his will? No, just like Lazarus was physically dead before Jesus raised him, we were spiritually dead before Jesus raised us.

Another analogy is that of Lot and his rescue from Sodom. Gen. 19:15-16:

When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."
But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.

While the analogy is not perfect, would Lot have complained that the angels seized his hand to bring him and his family out of Sodom?

God changes hearts. Salvation is of the Lord. All that the Father gives the Son will come to Him in saving faith. Even the faith is a gift from God. God removes our rebellious hearts of stone and replaces them with hearts of flesh (Eze. 36:26) so that now we desire to come to Him. He changes our wills so that we want to obey the gospel.

1 Cor. 1:26-31 - For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,

so that no man may boast before God.

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."

The alternative is that the dead, slave-to-sin person, who is a natural man and can’t receive the things of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14) , somehow conjures up faith and repentance. According to the Bible, this is impossible. Faith and repentance are gifts from God. I think we all start out thinking that it was all our decision, but eventually it should become clear that it was God in His mercy Who saved us.

Phil. 1:29 - For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake

Gal. 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith

2 Pet. 1:1 -  Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

2 Tim. 2 24-26 - The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,

with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

It's interesting to me that although this seems to be the clear teaching of the Bible, I did not see it before. Like the reformers would say: "semper reformanda", always reforming.

Limited Atonement

Pop quiz!

Do you believe that it was Christ’s intention at the cross to save every single individual who ever lived or would live? If so, then you believe in a limited atonement. You believe that although the Father desires to save every person, Jesus made full atonement on the cross, and the Holy Spirit “woos” everyone, patiently working to change the free choices of men, that it all could be for nothing because man’s almighty free will could reject all of this and end up in eternal torment.

Think about it. If His intention was to save every single soul, He did not fulfill His intention, because the Bible tells us that there are people who will suffer in Hell for eternity. Even worse, there were already people in torment while Jesus was hanging on that cross. Was He suffering agony in place of those who were already lost?

The doctrine of limited atonement is a contentious one because of the strong emotional response that both sides have to it. Before getting into it too far, I would ask that we remember that while emotions are a gift from God, they should not guide our theology. His written Word must inform our minds, and then our emotions can respond.

The doctrine of limited atonement (also known as particular atonement) basically says that Christ’s death actually saves, as opposed to only making salvation possible under the condition that we “accept His gift”. Put another way, I believe that Jesus is a perfect saviour, meaning that every single person that He intended to save will without a doubt be in Heaven for all eternity! Praise the Lord!

Let me be clear. I’m NOT saying that we don’t need to have personal faith. The Bible is clear that we MUST believe to be saved. You will remember from previous posts that the Bible teaches that God is the One Who grants us faith.

I am also NOT saying that Christ’s death was not powerful enough to save absolutely everyone. Jesus is the Almighty God. He is eternal, and all powerful. He could have saved everyone in a billion Earths. The question is: who did He intend to save?

If you’re like me, you have been taught that Jesus wanted to save every person who ever lived throughout history. That does have a kind of emotional appeal, but let’s look at this a little closer. Is it loving for God to provide a conditional atonement that is equally available to every person when He knows that not one of them can change their wicked heart and respond in faith?

"Many divines say that Christ did something when he died that enabled God to be just, and yet the Justifier of the ungodly. What that something is they do not tell us. They believe in an atonement made for everybody; but then, their atonement is just this. They believe that Judas was atoned for just as much as Peter; they believe that the damned in hell were as much an object of Jesus Christ’s satisfaction as the saved in heaven; and though they do not say it in proper words, yet they must mean it, for it is a fair inference, that in the case of multitudes, Christ died in vain, for he died for them all, they say; and yet so ineffectual was his dying for them, that though he died for them they are damned afterwards. Now, such an atonement I despise — I reject it.

I may be called a Calvinist for preaching a limited atonement; but I had rather believe a limited atonement that is efficacious for all men for whom it was intended, than an universal atonement that is not efficacious for anybody, except the will of man be joined with it.” - C. H. Spurgeon:

If God really wants to save everyone, He certainly can. Look at some verses on God’s sovereignty:

Psalm 115:3 - But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Psalm 135:6 - Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.

Isaiah 46:10 - Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure

Daniel 4:35 - And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Proverbs 21:1 - The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

We are, for the most part, happy that God is in control of hurricanes, earthquakes, even the hearts of kings or politicians, but we have a problem when it gets personal. “Sure, let Him turn the heart of the king, but I want my free will!”

I haven’t found anything in the Bible to suggest that He limits His sovereignty when it comes to man. Some say that God is a “Perfect Gentleman” and would never override our free will, but remember, if He leaves us to ourselves we will remain dead in sin, and slaves to it.

Further, we say we believe in a “substitutionary atonement”. This means that Jesus actually bore the righteous wrath of the Father IN THE PLACE OF those He saved. We say “Christ died for you.” If He paid for the sins of every single person who ever lived or would live, how would God punish these people for the same sins again? You may say, “They didn’t accept what Jesus did for them.” But isn’t that a sin? One that Jesus paid for, according to Arminian theology?

Isaiah 53:11 says “He (the Father) shall see of the travail of his (Jesus’) soul, and shall be satisfied.” The Father was satisfied with Jesus sacrifice. His wrath against sin was extinguished. If Jesus’ death was in the place of absolutely everyone, and the Father was satisfied with regard to everyone’s sin, then no one could be punished for their sins. They would already have been paid for.

Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

John 8:47 "He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, BECAUSE you are not of God."

John 10:25-28

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me. "But you do not believe (why?) BECAUSE you are not of My sheep. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

Notice Jesus does NOT say that they aren’t His sheep because they don’t believe. Watch the order of the words.

John 12:37-40

But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,

He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

Rom. 9:15-21

For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

It pretty much speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

Other passages could be mentioned, like John 17 where Jesus prays not for the world, but for those who the Father gave to Him out of the world. Or Luke 8:10 where Jesus says that He speaks to the crowds in parables so they will see without seeing and hear without understanding. Surely these are not the actions of One who is doing all He can to save everyone. He is not politely standing at the door of everyone’s heart, patiently waiting for the mighty creature to allow his maker in. He is the powerful Sovereign of the universe, and those that He desires to save will definitely be saved.

For more on limited atonement, check out these links:

Part 1 http://nocompromiseradio.com/podcastupload/download.php?filename=2010-03-23_nc03-23-10.mp3

Part 2 http://nocompromiseradio.com/podcastupload/download.php?filename=2010-03-30_nc03-30-10.mp3