Worldly Wisdom

Recently journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Rob Bell concerning Bell’s heretical book Love Wins in which Bell denies the existence of eternal judgment, thus paving the way to a Universalist Gospel. In light of the recent devastation in Japan caused by the Tsunami, Bashir began the interview by asking Bell to answer what he thought to be a theological conundrum.

“Either God is all powerful, but He does not care about the people of Japan therefore the people are suffering or God does care about the people, but He is not all powerful.”

When Bell finally got around to giving an answer, he just said it is a paradox.

It is not a paradox, the question is a loaded question, a logical fallacy.

This is akin to asking, “Have you stopped beating your wife”? You cannot affirm or deny, you must reject the question because it contains erroneous information.

Likewise in response to the devastation in Japan, to conclude that either God is all powerful and does not care or God cares and is not all powerful, is to state categories of factual error.The truth is:

• God is all powerful
• God is all caring

What God is doing in the world, what He has decreed to happen in the world, what He has permitted to happen in the world, seems foolish or weak to the wisdom of the world.

So from the perspective of man what is happening often does not make sense and sometimes seems to be foolish.

Some in the religious community may begin to point fingers and say, “well it is because of specific sins that these people were judged.” We do not know that and cannot make those types of categorical statements.

God is all powerful and He can stop any “natural” disaster that He chooses.

Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.’

Amos 3:6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?

God does things for His Glory and for our good.

Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
So from man’s perspective, worldly wisdom, all is Vanity

Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
We simply do not fully know the answer to the question why God does what He does.

We do know that we are responsible for our sin, and that God deals with us with grace and mercy.

All men have sinned against God and are worthy of not just temporary judgment, but eternal judgment. We know that when disaster strikes it reminds us of our total inability to rely on our own ingenuity for our salvation. Events like this are a gracious reminder of coming day of eternal judgment.

Luke 13:4–5 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
Our response should be to make sure that we are in a right relationship with God. We should make sure our affections are towards God.

Worldly wisdom rejects such notions as foolish and weak. So the atheist denies the existence of God…at least the one revealed in Holy Scripture, and the religious create a God patterned after their own wisdom and not according to the Scriptures.

Wednesday October 21, 2009 @ GRBC

Building A Biblical Church

Topic This Wednesday: Biblical Understanding of the Gospel
 
 

The Gospel According to Rome

On occasion you may hear me state from the pulpit that the Roman Catholic Church teaches another gospel and thus I provide the warning that Paul gave in the first century to the church at Galatia.

Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

It is not that we do not appreciate the dedication and devotion to those who comprise the Church of Rome. The good works that the church provides all over the world is to be commended. However, because those works are done to merit justifying favor with God the motive for them must be condemned.

Nathan Businitz wrote a brief but good article on this topic posted at the Shepherds’ Fellowship that is worth reading.

The Gospel according to Rome

Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009

(By Nathan Busenitz)

When it comes to an understanding of the gospel, the critical difference between the Reformed view and the Roman Catholic view centers on the role that good works play in the sinner's justification.

The Reformers taught that justification is by "faith alone" (hence, the Reformation principle of sola fide). By this, they meant that the believer's righteous standing before God is based solely on the imputed righteousness of Christ; and that salvation is received by grace alone through faith apart from any human effort or merit. This is not to say that good works were unimportant to the Reformers. But they saw good works as the fruit of justification, and not as a basis for it or a contributor to it.

By contrast, the Roman Catholic church teaches that good works participate in and contribute to the sinner's justification. As a result, the believer's righteous standing before God is largely based on his or her own good works (in addition to Christ's work on the Cross). Thus, from the Roman Catholic perspective, justification is not by faith alone, but rather by "faith co-operating with works" (to borrow a phrase from the Council of Trent). 

That is a major distinction. So, is salvation by grace alone through faith apart from works? Or is eternal life is gained through faith PLUS good works?

According to Rome, the answer is faith PLUS works. Thus, the Catholic Catechism states:

The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them [fn, Cf. DS 1569-1570]; the Second Vatican Council confirms: "The bishops, succors of the apostles, receive from the Lord . . . the mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments" (P 2068; ellipsis in original).

Notice how "Baptism and the observance of the Commandments" (in context, the Ten Commandments) have been added to "faith" for what is required to "attain salvation."

Along these same lines, The Catholic Answers website notes that “good works are meritorious,” stating that “our obedience and love, combined with our faith, will be rewarded with eternal life.” The Catholic Encyclopedia (in an article entitled “Sanctifying Grace”) further states that the sinner “is formally justified and made holy by his own personal justice and holiness.” The article adds that “over and above faith other acts are necessary for justification” including fear, hope, charity, penance with contrition, and almsgiving.

Such sources help provide context for the words of Catholic theologian Ludwig Ott:

The Council of Trent teaches that for the justified eternal life is both a gift of grace promised by God and a reward for his own good works and merits. As God's grace is the presupposition and foundation of good works, by which man merits eternal life, so salutary works are, at the same time gifts of God and meritorious acts of man. . . . Blessedness in heaven is the reward for good works performed on this earth, and rewards and merit are correlative concepts. . . . A just man merits for himself through each good work . . . eternal life (if he dies in a state of grace). (Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, 264, 267)

On the one hand, Ott wants us to believe that "eternal life is . . . a gift of grace." But on the other hand, it is also "a reward for his [the sinner's] own good works and merits." This, then, underscores the inherent contradiction in Roman Catholic soteriology. On the one hand, salvation is by grace. On the other hand, salvation is by works (as faith co-operates with good deeds to merit eternal life).

But, biblically speaking, both cannot be true. As the apostle Paul explains in Romans 11:6, "If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."

The New Testament gospel stresses the fact that "by grace you have been saved, through faith, it is the gift of God, not a result of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9); and that salvation is received "not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy" (Titus 3:5).

When we compare the gospel according to Rome with the gospel of the New Testament we quickly find that the two are not compatible. By adding works into the equation, the Roman Catholic Church nullifies true grace. 

Woman at the Well

" Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee." (John 4:1-3, NKJV)

On Sunday evenings we are going through a verse by verse study of the Gospel of John. As of January the 13th we have arrived at the fourth chapter in our study. In chapter three Jesus had drifted out into the countryside of Judea where He encountered John the Baptist. John’s disciples were concerned that Jesus was getting to be more popular than John. John the Baptist replied, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30, NKJV)

The popularity that Jesus began to amass was troublesome because He knew that the crowds of people would want physical deliverance not spiritual deliverance. The people would want to make Jesus an earthly King. This very circumstance occurs in John 6:15. " Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone." (John 6:15, NKJV)

Jesus’ mission was not to save His people from their temporary circumstances of life, but to deliver them from the greatest crises all men face. He came to save us from our sin. "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”" (Matthew 1:21, NKJV)

Join us next Sunday evening as we discuss “Christ’s Witness to the Woman at the Well.”

Merry Christmas! Season’s Greetings! Or is it Happy Holidays now?

Every year it seems the "reason for the season" continues to fade a little more from our cultural awareness. One of the telling signs is that increasingly fewer Christmas cards actually have the word "Christmas" on them. Our society seems bent on removing any mention of Christ from the public arena, even during the Christmas season. Unfortunately most of us are too preoccupied with our hectic schedules and increased obligations at this time of year to give much notice.

If you get a chance to catch your breath this season, it may be rewarding to spend a few minutes considering the real "reason for the season." Perhaps the best summary as to why Jesus came to earth in the first place is recorded in Matthew 1:21 "…she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." The name Jesus means deliverer or savior. The reason Jesus came to earth was to "save His people from their sins."

Even in a beautiful season like Christmas we are never far from the consequences of sin. War, sickness, disease, fear, anxiety, divorce, and death are all the result of sin. Sin is that ugly, corrupting influence that disturbs every relationship whether it is the one with our fellow man or with God. As the apostle Paul stated in Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The ultimate consequence of sin is death. As Romans 6:23a states "for the wages of sin is death…"

Thomas Watson, the great Puritan writer who lived in the 17th century said, "Sin has turned beauty into deformity and the wicked takes more care to have his sin covered than cured." These words still ring true today. People naturally try to look away from the ugliness of sin, yet in this world its presence is impossible to avoid. What is needed is a cure for sin, not a temporary covering.

Christmas is a time that is associated with giving. We give gifts to each other as an expression of our love for one another. In John 3:16 the Bible states that "…God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." The beauty of Christmas is that Jesus has come to provide the cure for sin. Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that God "…made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

How will Jesus cure your sin? In Romans 10:9 the Bible gives the answer, "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." This Christmas you can receive the greatest gift ever given, Jesus Christ. Call on Him now, confess your sin, and he will give you the gift of eternal life.

Do you hear the voice of God calling you? Jesus said in John 10:27-30 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 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. I and My Father are one."

Jesus also said, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32) If you would like to make public your profession of faith please give us a call, send an email or better still stop by next Sunday morning and share with us your joy in Christ.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Look and Live

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up," (John 3:14, NKJV)

On Sunday nights here at LABC we are going through the Gospel of John verse by verse. Last evening we discussed the passage found in the third chapter of John concerning the serpent in the wilderness. In the context of John’s gospel Jesus is trying to teach Nicodemus what the meaning of the new birth (3:5) by using three illustrations.

The first illustration He employs is a theological. In John 3:5-7 Jesus explains that the new birth is ultimately fulfilled in the New Covenant as proclaimed by Ezekiel (36:25-26). The second example is that of wind as Jesus explains its mysterious effects in John 3:8. The third analogy given in John 3:14-15 is that of the serpent in the wilderness.
In what ways did lifting up the brass serpent (see Numbers 21) in the wilderness illustrate salvation? Below are just a few for your consideration:

1. The cure was for those who were bitten—men must recognize their need for salvation (John 3:19)
2. The cure was received by looking—men must call on the Lord by faith not works (John 3:15)
3. There was only one cure—men must trust in Christ alone (John 14:6)
4. The cure was given by God—salvation is solely a work of God’s grace (John 1:13)
5. The cure always worked—salvation is not partial it is permanent (John 3:16)
6. The cure was individually administered—people do not get saved in groups (John 3:18)
7. The cure was proclaimed to others—those who are saved have an obligation to point others to Christ (John 3:14)

On October 19th, 1879 C. H. Spurgeon preached a sermon on this text in John. His message is still relevant today. You can read it by clicking on the following link.

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/1500.htm