Throw Out the Bondwoman and her Son

This is one of those sermons....one that I almost turned off because the speaker's voice "turned me off", however I was prevented from turning it off, and I listened, and I heard, and I was so very blessed by this message. The past week or so I've been dialoguing with Seventh Day Adventists, if you don't know who or what they are about, do a careful search about them and you will find that they are a heretical cult that tries to present itself as a harmless Christian denomination. It is not. They teach heresy, the worst twisting of scriptures to support a dead false prophetess Ellen G. White. Anyway, I'm getting side tracked. This sermon was like a refreshing cup of cool water after having the life sucked out of me by these heretics that refuse to see the falseness of their religion.

Please take the next 45 minutes to be blessed by this sermon, one that I know I will have to revisit often.

What Are You Celebrating This Week?

Today in remembrance of what October 31 really should bring to mind to Christians, I'm posting a video series by R.C. Sproul. I hope everyone who happens to come by this blog will submit to the wisdom to put this valuable oil in their lamps. The embedded video will go on to each successive video (there are 10 in this series) or you can look at each in your own time by going to this link:

Luther and the Reformation






Also check out this link: Reformation Day

How Free Are We Really?

It's been an incredibly busy couple of months including yard work, vacation, more yard work, scanning family albums, more yard work, you get the idea...anyway, scanning photos from the family albums has afforded me the time to listen to many sermons. I've had the pleasure the past few days to feast on God's word with the able companionship of Pastor R.C. Sproul. I'm not in 100% agreement with him on all things, however this topic isn't one of those things.

The matter of free will often comes up in Christian social media conversations...how free are we? If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed...but prior to salvation, were you free to choose the Lord's way over the love you had for yourself and this world?

I love what Dr. Sproul asks about grace: Is it an absolute prerequisite to salvation OR is grace just simply an aid?

Believer's Baptism

Number 5 on the list of things that need to happen in order to be saved is the need of baptism:

There are many views on how this needs to be accomplished; infant baptism, adults only baptism by immersion, baptism by sprinkling, to name a few. I will give my view on this issue....and will try to make it as brief as I can without (hopefully) oversimplifying it. And I hope you will do your own research on this complex topic by using the Bible as your source main source of information.

Let's first begin with reviewing the above Bible verses (all Bible verses in this post will be from the ESV version):

Matthew 28:19-20  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Mark 16:16  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 2:38  And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.




Acts22:16  And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'

We can also add to the above list the passages which tell of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist even though He being perfect needed no forgiveness of sins....and there is this one with Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch:

Acts 8:36-37  And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?"   And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 

There are the exceptions to the rule, such as the thief that hung on the cross beside Jesus who received no baptism (that we know of, the ritual of baptism was already in use at the time of Christ). Some take this to mean that the water baptism is a physical type for the spiritual effect of having our sins washed away by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

 1John 5:4-8 
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. 
 And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.  
Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. 
And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 
 For there are three that testify: 
the Spirit
and the water 
and the blood; 
and these three agree.


My own view on this is that water baptism is necessary as part of the believer's testimony of the truth of his conversion. Whether the thief on the cross was or was not baptized in water is irrelevant to your and my circumstances. We are not hanging on a literal wooden cross which makes it impossible to perform such a simple task in obedience to following Jesus. Some say it must be in "the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19) some say in the name of Jesus only (Acts 2:38), the important matter is that you confess your sins and be baptized in the sacrifice of God in Christ for the remission of sins, with the realization of the incredible price Jesus paid in order to wash those sins away having died to self, being born anew in the Spirit, and then beginning a new life that is alive in Christ.


I hope this little series on salvation basics was helpful, but please do your own research, read the above verses in their full context by reading the entire books of the Bible carefully. There is so much there that cannot be summed up in a blog post. I pray that you study to show yourselves approved, and receive the full blessings from seeking the Lord with all your hearts.

To Confess Christ the Son of God

I've been using the above as a springboard in examining the steps that need to be a part of the salvation process. I am not one to rigidly hold to formulas in regards to what needs to happen to be saved. However there are essential ingredients that need to be there in order for it to truly be true. Just as you need certain ingredients to make a meatloaf (for instance) you cannot use the ingredients to make a cake and then call it a meatloaf. The above outline is the skeleton, the basic framework of what needs to happen in order to be saved by grace through faith in Jesus.

In the previous installments I've looked at hearing the word, believing in Jesus, and repenting of sin. Now we will look at what is meant by confessing Christ.

I'll begin, as I did previously, with the verses mentioned in the outline:

Matthew 10:32-33 (KJV)
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.



Acts 8:37  (KJV)
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.


and to these I'll add:

Romans 10:9-10  (KJV)
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.


But what does it mean to confess Jesus? Is it a one time event at baptism that you shout "I believe in Jesus for the remission of my sins!!!" and have that be the magic incantation that "gets you in"? No. Yet that is what I often see. If you continue the above Matthew passage, it gives us another clue about what this is talking about.

Matthew 10:34-40 (KJV)
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.   For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.   And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.   He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.   And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.   He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.   He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

The confession that is spoken about in the Bible is the kind that will cause people who hate Jesus to also hate you, and if you decide that your relationships with family and friends are more valuable to you than risking those relationships, knowing that you might lose that bond of love and friendship with those persons and if you would rather keep your earthly relationships and your earthly rewards rather than speak up the warnings given in God's word, you have decided against confessing Jesus.

True worship and true confession can come only through the One who makes all things true. Without Jesus transforming power none of us could tell the truth because the Bible says:

1 Corinthians 12:3 (KJV)
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

We must be beggars at Jesus feet asking Him for those things that are needful for our salvation. He will turn no one away who asks things of Him that are in accordance with His will.

Matthew 7:7-8  (KJV)
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:   For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.


James 1:5 (KJV)
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.



1 John 5:14-15  (KJV)
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:   And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

The next and final installment of this series will be on the topic of the believer's baptism. I hope you  will be able to join me next time.

A Much Needed Message for Today

Last night I listened to this awesome sermon. It starts out slowly. It is my impression (I may be wrong) that this topic is one that is very different from his usual topics. The first 10 minutes of the sermon, it seems to me, is given to prepare his congregation for this new message, in the attempt to shore up his listeners so they will not turn away from the severity of this subject. He wants his listeners to know that he has given this topic a lot of research, and tears, and devoted study of God's word, to learn the whole council of God on a matter that has caused much damage to many people, and caused many in the church to abandon what the Bible has to say about it. It is approximately an hour and twenty minutes long. I hope you will take the time to listen:


It's Evening in Sodom from Grace Chapel on Vimeo.

Repentance

Have you noticed that not many pastors preach on the topic of repentance anymore? Repentance has gone out of fashion, true humility is out and pride is in. Did God approve of that idea?

Luke 3:2-9 ... the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;   As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.  Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?   Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (ESV)


Acts 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (ESV)


Luke 15:4-10  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.  "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.'  Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

We've all heard or read the parable of the prodigal son. The son foolishly squandered everything his father gave to him, until realizing his foolishness, turned back to his father in humble submission asking for forgiveness, and everything was restored to him. But what about the other son, the one that "didn't need" repentance? He always remained with the father, did what he was told to do, was possibly happy that his good for nothing loser brother was gone and now all attention could go to himself. He got angry when his brother returned, rather than rejoice with his father. Let's take a look:

Luke 15:28-32  But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"

Pride is a terrible thing, hatred and anger is at the root of it, and Jesus said he who is angry with his brother is guilty of murder. Does that not require repentance? Does that not call for humility before a holy God who can cast people into outer darkness (no vision) and fire (feelings of torment) forever? None of us are perfect, we must all approach the Lord in humility asking forgiveness for the things we have done, for the sorrow we have caused him and our fellow men. 

Have you repented of your sins before the feet of Jesus?