Archive for the ‘Free-will Salvation’ Category
Why A Christian Should Not Say “This” To A Non-Christian
We have all heard it before. It may have been in an evangelistic meeting, a bible study or even in a personal evangelistic encounter. The one thing that we hear the most at the beginning is that “God loves you just the way you are.” But, does God really love the sinful person?
Think about this. If you are a non-Christian and you hear someone say that “God loves you”, would you not be happy to hear that? Of course you would. So, if you then are told that you need to come to Jesus and be saved your first thought might be … Saved? … Saved from what? … And why?
This is why a Christian should never tell a non-Christian that God loves Him. The fact is that God does “not” love the non-Christian. In Psalm 5: 4, 5 we read:
4. For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with you.
5. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You “hate all” workers of iniquity.
Basically the word iniquity means “sinful”. Who is it among us that are without sin? The answer is no one is without sin. We are all sinful people. Not only is God not pleased with they who are not disciples of Jesus, He hates them as well; not just their sin but “them” the non-Christian.
There are other verses in the bible that explain this, and many more that say specifically who it is that God does love, and we may look at them in a later post.
Because we stand in a sinful state before God He demands from us that we pay the penalty for the sins we have committed; having been found guilty for not being obedient to His holy Law that He has given to us to follow.
You see, God is a holy God; perfect in every way. He expects from us to be perfect as well, but we are not perfect. We are workers of iniquity, doing what we want and not what God wants. We always seek to do our will and we do not want the things of God. We are actually hostile, or enemies, to God. In short, we have offended this holy God and in His justice He demands retribution because of it. This is what angers Him and why it is that He hates they who do offend Him.
However, even in our sinfulness, being enemies of God, we are given an opportunity to make amends to God for our sins. For God knows that we are acting in ignorance to what we are doing. That is why God tells us in Acts 17: 30 the following:
30. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
So, even though God does not love us in our sinful state, He does give us a chance to turn from our sinful activities and come back to Him so that we can know His love. But, before we can do that, we need to know what the consequences are for our sinfulness, and what needs to be done in order not to be found guilty for our sins on the coming judgement day.
Sinful man does not know that God has a hatred for him, and that he already stands condemned before Him. The unsaved person needs to be told about this and be given the chance to repent for his sins, and be told in Whom it is that he must believe in order to receive forgiveness.
In our next message we will look at what the two choices are for the sinful person, and why we must, by faith, believe in Jesus in order to receive forgiveness for our sinful life and be brought into the family of God where we can know and truly experience the love of God.
And We Knew Him Not
It is that time of the year again. It is the Christmas season and in the midst of all of the glitter, decorations and materialism some find time to recognize the coming birth of Jesus. Each year, though, it seems that the babe in a manger plays a smaller role in the season as more and more people see this time of the year less as celebrating the birth of Jesus and more as a time for spending money, giving gifts, and most importantly – gift receiving. However, it has been this way from the very start.
Yes, it is the time for celebrating the birth of Jesus but so few people actually know who Jesus is. There are, as it seems, even some who call themselves Christians who know or really care about Jesus other than the fact that He is the babe in a manger; with shepherds on the hillside and three Wise Men coming from the East to worship Him.
Like I said, though, this is the way it has been ever since Jesus was born. In the Gospel of John 1: 1 – 3 & 10 God tells us the following:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
Can you imagine it? If we would be truthful, however, we would all admit that we would have been the same. We would not have recognized the Creator of all things. That God came down to be with us and to show us our sinfulness, and how it has separated us from Him. He came to remove that wall of separation so that we could have fellowship with Him and to be forgiven for our sins, and we would have none of it.
We like our sin. We do not want to change, and we want to keep what we have and not care about the babe in the manger after He is grown. We do not want to see that He is the One Who is offering Himself to be the one to bring us back to God. Our sinfulness will not let us, even today, see that Jesus is the Creator of all things. That He is the one who has given us life and breath and all things to enjoy in grateful praise to Christ our King.
The One Who laid out the universe and created man in His image, however, still calls out to us today to come to Him. Not just to see Him as the babe in a manger but to see Him as He really is – The Creator who has made all things, and to know that without Him nothing was made that was made. He is still in the world today, in His people, and the world still does not know Him.
The offer of salvation, of being forgiven for our sins and to submit to Him as Lord, and to believe in Him and to receive Him as the only One who can save us from the coming wrath of God is still being held out to us by Jesus. Only He can forgive our sins. Only Jesus can offer us eternal life in Heaven.
Now is the time to see Jesus as God, not just as a babe in a manger. Now is the time to come to Him, to see Him as Lord and to ask Him for forgiveness for our sins, and to believe in your heart that He was raised from the dead and so be saved from the wrath to come. Then will you be able to see Jesus for who He really is; as the Creator of all things and worship Him and Him alone as the one Who has made all things. For Jesus, as He was in the beginning, Who was the Word and, as the Word, is God.
For when one recognizes Jesus as the Creator, and to know Him as our Lord and Savior – as God, is what makes Christmas truly “Merry”…..
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will…
Have You Ever Thought … “What If I Am Not Chosen?”
Reformation theology believes and teaches that man will never, of his own will, ever choose to believe in Jesus as Lord and come to Him to receive forgiveness for sins, and so be saved from the wrath that is to come from God.
They cannot do so for they are spiritually dead in their sins; enslaved to their sin and bound by Satan; and that they do only what their sinful and selfish will allows them to do. Being in this state of total depravity is the reason that the Bible teaches that no one seeks after God. Even Jesus says in John 5: 40:
“You will not come to me that you might have life.”
Basically, since this is the condition of man, God in His wisdom and love has chosen to save a people for Himself, even if no one deserves to be saved. So, God has chosen those who will be saved, and all He has chosen for salvation will come to Jesus to have life.
When I talk with people about the doctrine of election someone will always ask me, “what if I am not chosen?” My response is this. What makes you think that you are “not” among the elect?
It is not for us, you me or anyone, to know who are the elect. What we are to know is if whether or not we want to be among the elect and so be saved. If someone says that they do not want to be so, then they have no right to be upset if they are not; for they already believe what they want to believe.
Someone else might say, “But what if I want to come to Jesus and I am not among the elect?” Again, one needs to ask themselves “why” they want to come to Jesus and believe on Him, and how come it is that they want to do so?
Jesus said in John 6: 37
“All that the Father gives to me will come to me; and he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.”
If you find that you have an urge to confess that Jesus is Lord, that you know you are a sinful person and want to be forgiven for your sins, and you believe that only Jesus can forgive you and save you from the coming wrath of God, and you believe in your heart that God the Father has raised Him from the dead know this. You can only do so because it is God’s will that you do so!
Think of this. In the second part of 1 Corinthians 12: 3 we are told:
“No man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.”
Only they who have born again by the Spirit of God have the Holy Spirit living in them, and it is the Holy Spirit Who gives them the freedom to confess that Jesus is Lord. In fact, only by having the Holy Spirit can they understand the spiritual things of God, like the good news of salvation found only in Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 2: 14 we read:
“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.”
As you can see, unless one has the Holy Spirit in them they cannot understand the Gospel of Jesus, neither can they call Jesus Lord and to believe on Him as the Savior of their sins. Only they who have been born again will have the Holy Spirit in them, and only the elect of God will be born again.
They who choose “not” to believe in Jesus do so of their own will for it is the only thing their enslaved and sinful will allows them to do.
So, if you are worried that you are not among the elect the answer lies in you. If you are, the answer is already in your heart and in your mouth as you confess that Jesus is Lord and that you believe that He has been raised from the dead.
If you still have worries about being among the elect remember this from Acts 2: 21
“whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Can you do that? Do you have the desire to call upon the name of Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Remember what Jesus said, “ whoever comes to me I will not cast away”.
Will you not do so right now? Call upon Jesus and be saved. Then you will find out that “yes” you are among the elect of God, chosen to be forgiven for your sins and that you have been saved from facing the wrath of God which is to come on that great and final day of judgement.
Do you want to be among the elect? Then confess with your mouth that only Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that He was raised from the dead and you will be saved. Then you will know that “yes” you are chosen. That you are among the elect of God…
Elect – Whose Salvation Is Kept By God
In Christendom there are two views of thought when it comes to keeping one’s salvation once they have been born again by the Spirit of God.
In short, they are Free Will and Election. Free Will salvation states that Jesus has done all He can in providing a blanket salvation that covers everyone and that now it is up to man to decide whether or not he will accept or reject the offer of salvation that Jesus gives. Basically man is responsible for his salvation because he must now do his part in receiving the salvation that Jesus has provided.
Since man is responsible for receiving salvation, by choosing, of his own free will, to accept or reject the offer, he places himself in the position of being responsible for keeping this salvation. Since it was by his decision to accept Jesus that he was saved, he now has to work daily to make sure he does not do or say anything that could cause him to lose it. In addition, he must also take care not to become complacent of his salvation and decide somewhere down the road to turn away from Christ and, in doing so, he would lose his salvation never to get it back again.
If you look at it in that respect you can see how one who believes in Free Will salvation really does not have any lasting assurance, or even peaceful assurance, of his eternal salvation still being with him when he dies. This is because it is his responsibility, by his power, that he must rely upon in order to keep the salvation that he chose to accept, that Jesus provided for all to receive.
The other view of keeping one’s salvation is that it is not by man’s power or will that this is done by it is due to the power of God that it is kept.
You see, in the doctrine of election it is God who looks at man and sees that spiritually he is dead to God. Un-saved man does not want to bow to the God of the Bible – Jesus. Un-saved man does not want God, does not look for Him and is actually at enmity with God. Basically, God sees that man, of his own will, will never chose to accept the offer of salvation because he really does not believe that he needs to be saved, that he has been good enough to get into Heaven on his own goodness.
So, God, in His great desire to have a people of His own, chose from before the beginning of time who would be saved and, in His time, they come to Jesus for forgiveness and they do so willingly. This in itself is another story for another time.
What this means, however, is that under the doctrine of Election it is God’s responsibility not only to save someone it is also His responsibility to keep that person saved. In a section of 1 Peter chapter one is a little known verse that so many gloss over that explains this well. However, in order to understand this you must read the verse in its context; which we will now do.
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
3 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(the elect), 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In writing to the pilgrims, Peter calls them the elect (select, chosen) and in talking about their salvation he finishes with saying that it has been made ready for them, for their arrival in Heaven, and that they are being kept by the power of God until then.
This way, since salvation under the doctrine of election is the responsibility of God in saving they whom He choses, it is also God’s responsibility to keep them saved. And, many time Jesus made the comment that of all that God the Father has given Him He would not lose any of them; not one soul will be lost whom Jesus has saved.
Since it is the responsibility of God to save whom He wills, it is also God’s responsibility to keep them saved whom He has chosen for salvation. To have this knowledge that it is God who works in me to will and to do of His good pleasure provides for me, as it should for all who have been saved by His power, great assurance of my eternal salvation because it does not depend on me in keeping my salvation because I am being kept saved by the power of God.
Salvation, from start to finish, is all of God. It is by His will that anyone is saved and it is by His will that they whom He has saved will be kept saved.
Jesus has given us the promise that “ALL whom the Father has given Him will come to Him and that He will not reject any of them, and that He will keep them until the end and that He will not lose not even one of them.”
I guess the question now is… who is responsibility for your salvation and for keeping it?
How Deep Is Your Trust In God
Trust is a word that is not used that much in biblical teaching these days, yet it is central to the faith of all of God’s elect. For without faith no one would be able to trust in the Lord, and the level of faith that one has will determine how deep is their trust in God.
One of the first verses that I ever learned as a new disciple of Jesus is the following from Proverb 3: 5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Once learned, however, I started to wonder about how does one trust and from where does it come? In looking up the definition of “trust” I learned that, basically, it is a level of confidence that someone has in another person; confident in the fact that what someone has said they would do they will actually do.
So, the question is this, “how does one gain trust?” If we believe what we are told from someone in whom we have faith that they speak truth, will we not trust in them to do what they say? But wait a minute. From where comes this faith? Where does it originate?
In thinking this I remembered another verse that was one of the early ones that I took as a guide in growing with Jesus in my walk with Him. It came from Hebrews 11: 1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith – the substance of things hoped for. It is evidence that generates our trust. Here we can see the connection. Depending on our level of faith will determine how deep is our trust. Where, then, do we get this faith?
Here is where I like reading the 1599 Geneva Bible, because in it the translation makes more sense, and I believe is more accurate, than any modern language. One verse that is in all translations is this – Romans 10: 17
Then faith is by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Knowing from where faith comes sure helps because our faith – faith that we think we have – is considered as nothing. Unless God gives us the ability to hear and understand the Word of God, we will not grow any faith, and only perfect faith is the faith that God will accept; for we are imperfect people and any faith that we have is an imperfect faith. If we cannot generate any faith that God will allow from where, then, does this faith come?
In Romans 3: 20-22 we read (pay special attention to verse 22 and the parts that are in bold lettering)
20 Therefore by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the Law cometh the knowledge of sin.
21 But now is the righteousness of God made manifest without the Law, having witness of the Law, and of the Prophets,
22 To wit, the righteousness of God by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that believe.
Now you might think that this is a lot to read but it shows from where the “faith” originates that we need to not only believe in Jesus but to also “trust” in Him as we grow and walk with Him.
We are given the “faith” of Jesus, which is a perfect faith and the only faith that God will accept. Think of this. We come to God and we say that we have our own faith by which we believe. Another one comes and says “Lord the only faith that I have to offer is the faith of Jesus given to me so that I could believe”. Which faith do you think God the Father will accept?
Which one would you accept?
When we come to Christ and bow to Him as Lord and receive Him as Savior we can only do so by faith; faith that we cannot generate because we are spiritually dead and can do nothing to please God. So we are given the gift of faith with which to believe:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God – Ephesians 2: 8
With this gift of faith, faith that comes from Jesus, we are not only given the ability to believe in Him but we also learn to “trust” in Him. In our walk with Jesus we will learn to have confidence that He will do what He says He will do, and it is with the “faith of Jesus”, given as a gift, with which we can then live our lives in trusting the Lord with all our hearts, not trusting in our own understanding, and in all things that come our way – the highs and the lows, the good and the bad, the rough path and easy road – and in “all” of these things we will have the faith to trust in God no matter what the situation.
So, the more “faith” that we have, the faith of Jesus that was given to us as a gift, the more “trust” we will have in the Lord our God. Faith and trust go together. You cannot have deep trust without perfect faith. Faith is a gift. God takes the faith of Jesus and gives it to us and with this perfect faith we can have trust in our Lord. When we “Trust in the Lord with all our heart” we do so with the “faith of Jesus”.
As we grow in our walk with our Lord we will begin to see our faith increase from the highs and lows that we experience, as we see the Lord working in our lives in all our ways, and we will also notice, and acknowledge, a deeper trust in our Lord in reigning over our lives, and we will find ourselves heading down paths that we normally have not taken with a trust that says, “wherever you lead I will follow”.
Faith is a gift and trust is the evidence of that faith. Why would anyone want to trust in their own imperfect faith when the faith of Jesus is the only true faith that provides us with the ability to trust in our Lord?
So, how deep is your faith? I guess it will depend on whose faith you are trusting…
Faith – The Gift Of Life
At night Jesus receives a visitor; it is Nicodemus, a Ruler of the Jews. During their conversation Jesus tells Nicodemus that unless one is “born again” not only will he not see the Kingdom of God but he will not be allowed to enter.
Imagine that! Of all of the things that someone can do to try to be allowed into Heaven they can only do so if they are “born again”. The question is this:
- What does it mean to be “born again” and how does one accomplish that? How do we receive this “gift of life”?
If one needs this experience – to be “born again” – that would insinuate that one is somehow dead. Indeed we are dead, spiritually dead to God because of our sinful nature. Our sins separate us from God and we do not want God in our lives. We love our sin and our way of life. We do not seek God nor do we even desire to do so. And, even if we did, we would search for a God that would fit our needs, our desires, our wants. One that would allow us to continue living as we are but allow us into Heaven, if we are good enough. I have even heard people say that, “God is so loving, He would never send me to Hell and would forgive or overlook my “bad” points and would let me into Heaven to be with Him.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. As Jesus said, “unless you are “born again” you will not be allowed into Heaven.” But, if we are dead, how do we become “born again” if we do seek God or want Him on His terms? We are dead and we cannot do anything.
In Colossians 2: 13 we read the following:
13 And you which were dead in sins, and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him (Jesus), forgiving you all your trespasses,
Here we see that it is God who makes us alive having forgiven us for our sins. But, do we not do something in the process? Should we not come to Jesus to ask Him to forgive us and to “accept” Him as our personal Savior? Actually, there is nothing in the Bible about anyone “accepting” Jesus as a personal Savior. In fact, in John 6: 44 Jesus says the following:
44 No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him:
This is a simple, but a very important, statement by Him. No one, neither you, me nor anyone can come to Jesus on our own unless we are drawn by God the Father. Here is a good example of how this works.
Remember the story of Lazarus? In short he died. When Jesus, Who loved him, came to his grave He asked that they remove the stone from the opening. Then He did the most remarkable thing, He specifically called “Lazarus” and ordered him to “come forth”. Question… Being dead, did Lazarus have any ability at all to obey the command to “come forth”? Of course not. Lazarus was dead and was not able to do anything at all until… Until he was first given life so that he could respond; he was given life, he obeyed the command of Jesus and he “came forth” out of the grave.
The same goes for anyone who is drawn by God to “come forth” to Jesus. We can only obey the command to come forth after we have been made alive, that is, “born again”. A good explanation of this can be found in Ephesians 2: 4 – 5
4 But God which is rich in mercy, through his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead by sins, hath quickened us (born again) together in Christ, by whose grace ye are saved,
It takes God to make us alive so that we can respond, just like Lazarus needed to be made alive so that he could respond. Once having been made alive (born again) we also need the will, the desire and the ability to come to Jesus for forgiveness for our sins, and to trust in Him for our salvation; so that by what Jesus has done for us will we be allowed into Heaven. Once having been “born again” only by faith can we do so, and here is where faith becomes the “gift of life”.
In Ephesians 2: 8 – 9 God tells us:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast himself.
God gives us the gift of faith by which we can believe on Jesus and to come to Him for salvation, trusting in Him as the only one who can provide for our eternal security with God in Heaven. Faith is not something that we can do on our own, we cannot do anything to generate faith as it needs to be given to us as a gift, a gift of life, so that we cannot boast about how “we” were able to save ourselves by creating our own faith by which we believed.
The Father draws us, makes us alive spiritually – that is, the act of being “born again” – and gives us the gift of faith that is needed to believe. It is by this gift of faith – this gift of life – that we receive Jesus as Lord and to trust in Him as Savior for providing salvation (forgiveness for our sins) by what He has done through His death, burial and resurrection from the grave, and to insure our eternal life in Heaven with God.
Yes, faith is a gift as we are told in Ephesians. Without this gift of faith we would not believe and come forth unto Jesus our Lord and Savior. This gift of faith truly is a “gift of life”.
Is There Discrimination Against Christians? … Yes!
The basic meaning of “discrimination” is prejudice, bigotry, bias, intolerance, etc. Without a proper realization of what it means to discriminate against something or someone how can it be told that discrimination is real and that it is a clear and present danger.
The 1st Amendment of the Constitution begins this way:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
The Bible is the guide for how Christians are to live while in this world, and the 1st Amendment guarantees our rights in living out our lives as guided by the Bible. The problem arises when secular society sees differently on whether the Bible or secular humanism should rule the lifestyle of the average citizen. As the Church has become less important in the societal life of the average citizen so has the influence of the Bible become less important as a guide for morality, and because of that so has the outspokenness of Christians become no longer welcomed.
The decline of Christian influence because of the increase of secular humanism has now made Christianity irrelevant in the average life of the non-Christian in the United States. Thus what was once considered immoral or unnatural has now become the norm and is now the leader in how the average person is to view their lifestyle. In most cases, as long as love is involved, it is OK to now do what the Bible calls sinful because society says it is OK to do.
This is where discrimination comes to the fore. Here is an example. Secular society says that homosexuality is OK. After all, they love one another and they should be able to marry like heterosexuals. The Bible, however, says much about the homosexual relationship but let us look at some verses from the New Testament. In Romans 1: 26-27 we read:
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
So, Christians, “born again” Christians, see homosexuality as an unnatural act, and one that God says is a sinful activity. Secular society says that it is OK. What was once seen as evil is now seen as good and for that reason Christians have no right in “judging” others in a relationship that is now deemed “natural”. Basically, we are being told to stop spreading ridiculous ideas about homosexuality being sinful. They tell us that we should embrace this movement and allow it to go on, no matter what we believe, and to refrain in protesting in our responding to it being forced upon us, even though it goes against our religious beliefs to participate in it in any way that acknowledges its legitimacy, and by doing so we are being discriminated against and are looked upon as being intolerant bigots.
This clearly is a violation of our 1st Amendment rights in being denied our God-given, and Constitutional guarantee, to freely exercise our religious beliefs by refusing to participate in this activity in any way that would make it look as a legitimate activity instead of it being a sinful activity as proclaimed by God and the Bible.
As for homosexual marriages, in Matthew 19: 4-6 Jesus said the following:
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Clearly, Jesus says that a marriage is to be between “a man and a woman”. Jesus also stated that “what God has joined together, let no man separate.” By secular society saying that homosexuals can legally get married is to go against Jesus (who is God in flesh) by separating what God has joined together by willfully disobeying God in so doing.
Again, by forcing Christians to participate in a homosexual wedding, even if they are only forced to provide a service as part of the activity, is to violate their 1st Amendment right to refuse to engage in an activity that legitimizes this un-natural activity, one that God says not to do and, in being forced to do so, they are being discriminated against by that very act.
Yes, discrimination is being done in a big way, covered by a secular society crying foul for the “civil rights” being denied of people engaging in an activity that God says is an un-natural and sinful activity, and doing so by using secular law which they make superior to God’s Law.
In short, you are guilty of discrimination against Christians and you are in violation of their 1st Amendment right to freely exercise their religious beliefs. What is worse, you are willfully disobeying the commands of God in allowing this activity to take place.
Are You Working Or Resting For Salvation?
Back in the 80’s I was an Ordained Elder and, on what was known as “Laity Sunday”, I had been asked to bring the message. So I selected a topic about “Finding Rest In A Busy World” and I preached a sermon on the following verses from Matthew 11:
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
I felt that it was a good sermon and that it got the point across about resting in Jesus from the hustle and bustle of the busy world. In the years that followed that verse kept bothering me and I kept thinking that I was missing the true spiritual aspect of those verses. Well, the other day it came to me what I do believe is the real meaning of what Jesus was saying.
Yes, we can find rest when we bring all of our cares and woes to Him in prayer, and He will give us peace of such a nature that it will give us relief from worry in a way that allows us to rest in our trust for Him. However, there is more, a much deeper meaning that we find in these verses. The two key words at which we must look, and compare with other scripture verses, are the words “labor” and “rest”.
The word “labor” actually means to be wearied from working hard, toiling, etc. That I could understand but what was missing was working hard at what? What is it that Jesus is talking about from which we should stop working hard in doing? That is the question and it has taken me quite a long time in noticing what it is about what Jesus is talking.
Actually the thought of what it is, to which Jesus is alluding, came to me when I was reading, again for the umpteenth time, from the book of Hebrews in chapter four. First in Hebrews 4: 1 we read the following:
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.
Then, in verse ten of chapter 4 we read this:
For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
It was at this point that I could feel I was at the very edge of seeing what it is about what Jesus is talking, and it was then that I remembered what Ephesians 2: 8, 9 says:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
There it is… “not of works”… ! Do you see it? When we are saved it is not because of any works that we have done but by faith given to us with which to believe. In other words, we cease or “rest” from our works, or from trying to earn salvation and just trust in Jesus for having done for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
In the salvation of anyone we are to rest from working at being saved and just trust in Jesus for saving us and, in doing so, we will find rest for our souls. We have this promise of entering into His rest just by “resting” from laboring or toiling at our works in trying to be saved. As in Hebrews 4: 10, when we are saved it is because we have “ceased from our works” and just enter into the rest given by Jesus.
By resting from our works of righteousness, that we thought we could do, and trusting instead in the works of Jesus, we will find that by entering into His rest we will find rest for our souls in our salvation.
In short, just stop trying to earn salvation by your works, instead rest by faith in the finished works of Jesus, and you will find true rest for your souls.
Resting is as simple as admitting that we cannot save ourselves and seeing the need to bow before Jesus to proclaim our sinfulness, to call out to Him and confess that Jesus is Lord, and that you want to rest from your sinful works and instead trust in Him for forgiveness. Only by doing so can one have the rest that Jesus promises.
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Will you not now stop from your works and look to the rest that Jesus gives? Will you not proclaim Him as Lord and believe that God has raised Him from the grave? Take His love and forgiveness upon you and follow Him. Just trust in Jesus and enter into the rest that only Jesus can give. The promise remains, even to today, for entering into His rest. Do not resist and come up short of entering.
Stop trying to earn salvation. Be released from the feeling of guilt. Enter into the rest that Jesus will give to all who call upon Him as Lord. Only then will your soul find true rest.
Knowing God’s Elect
What is amazing is that the average “Christian” of today does not like to talk about the theology of election as it is a teaching that does not allow man to believe in a doctrine of salvation in which he cannot, and does not, participate. The thing is that there are numerous Scripture verses that mention or talk about this very act of salvation.
However, in the 1st letter to the Thessalonians there is a little read and often overlooked verse that speaks volumes about election. In the 1st chapter and verse 4 the Apostle Paul writes the following:
4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
And the word for “election” here means “divine selection or being chosen”, but the amazing thing is that Paul follows up this statement with the reason “why” he knows that they have been elected by God for salvation. In verse five we read:
5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance,
So, what is so important about this you might ask. Anyone can “preach” the word or the gospel of salvation but it always takes the power of the Holy Spirit to effectually make it work in saving the elect. Again, Paul makes this comparison in the very next chapter in 1 Thessalonians and in verse 13 we read:
13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
It is because of the Word, working in an effective manner in those whom God chooses, do they believe for “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10: 17). The question, then, is this. Who are they who will hear? The answer is quite easy. In the Gospel of John and in Chapter 8 Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and discussing with them about Who He is. I won’t quote the whole of Scripture, especially verses 42 through 47, you can look that up yourself, for the important verse at which we must look is the latter part of verse 46 and then verse 47. For in them we read the following:
46 ….. why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
By these verses we see very clearly that unless one belongs to God they will not “hear” the words of God. In addition in Chapter 10 of the Gospel of John Jesus makes another very clear statement. In talking about being the “Good Shepherd” Jesus says this in verses 14 through 16:
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
His sheep – they who belong to Him – will hear His voice and will respond to Him in an effectual and favorable way of submission to His Lordship, and in the receiving of the forgiveness of sins and salvation from facing the wrath of God. As Jesus says in chapter 6: 37 of the Gospel of John:
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
All who are named in God’s election, the Word of God will work in them in a powerful way in making them alive in the spirit, in giving them a new heart that will grant them the ability to respond to the call of the Good Shepherd, and they will “hear” his voice and will come to Him and follow Him; all because God has chosen to elect they who will be saved. Even though no one deserves to be saved.
Yes, we can know God’s elect. For only in them will we see that the “gospel did not come to them in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance,”. God does elect they who will be saved. If He does not do so… no one would be saved. For man, of his own will, would never choose to be saved.
Are you among God’s elect? Did the Word of God come to you in power with the effectual working of the Holy Spirit? If you have confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and have believed in your heart that God the Father has raised Him from the dead, and if you have you called upon Jesus as Lord in submission to Him then you can know that you have the assurance of God’s saving grace and that you, too, have been forgiven for your sins and are now in God’s hands for all eternity. That is the assurance of God’s working power in your salvation because you are among the elect of God..
Born Again By The Word Of God
As a Biblical Student of Reformation Theology, believing in the doctrine of election, I am often asked how can I believe in being an Evangelical and doing the work of an Evangelist? My response is to say, “It is easy.” … 🙂
“Easy?” they will say, “how can it be easy if God has already chosen who will be saved?” At this point I begin to remind them of a few scripture verses.
Remember how Paul first went to Corinth? In a dream God told him in Acts 18:
9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
God told Paul that He had “many people in this city.” and Paul stayed there for more than a year preaching the Word to them. It was through that preaching that God saved those who were “His” people. Only by hearing the Word of God can anyone be born again by the Spirit of God.
In Romans 10: 17 Paul says the following:
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The Word of God is two-fold. First there is the written or spoken Word of God, that His disciples are commanded to share with the world, and second there is Jesus Himself, Who is the Word of God (see John 1:1), it is He Who works through the Holy Spirit to give understanding of the Gospel and opens their heart to receive it and to respond to it. As all who are saved receives a measure of faith, it needs to be applied – first, in order for it to work; so that one can respond with the faith needed in believing the gospel of Jesus.
In Ephesians 2: 8, 9 Paul writes the following:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
This is why Paul can also write in that same chapter, but in verse 1 the following:
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
Since we are spiritually dead in our sinful nature, and cannot understand or respond favorably to anything of God, we first need to be made spiritually alive in order to respond as God wants of us. It is because of the Word coming into our hearts and taking out the old one and giving us a new heart, a soft, welcoming and receiving heart that one becomes willing to respond to the Word, to be able to cry out to Jesus for forgiveness for our sins and to be willing to submit to Him as Lord in order for Him to be our Savior.
However, in order for all of this to happen we first need to hear the Word of God so that we can have the faith that is needed to be able to believe and be saved from the wrath of God that is to come in the end times.
Yes, I do believe in the doctrine of election but I also know that God has people, everywhere, whom He intends to save, but it takes for them to hear the Word in order for that to be achieved. As Paul tells it in Romans 10:
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
How about you? Do you want to be forgiven for your sinfulness and be given the gift of salvation? It is as easy as doing what these verses in Romans 10: 8-10 says:
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
How much more can this be any easier? Just call upon Jesus and proclaim Him to be Lord. Confess your sinfulness and believe with your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead and you, too, will find out that you have been given the gift of salvation, and that you have been born again into the family of God.
Riff's Christian Journal 