sin

SIN

what is sin, were did it come from, what is the punishment for it? Well before I answer the question at hand I need to say this. The evangelic church today has let sin leave the church and the poet, this is a thing that beings worry and concerned to me. Why might you ask well because the sheep still need to hear about sin and what God does to these who sin. With the state of the church on sin as it is many sheep have not worried about there sin, and what it could do to them. Many pastes today don't want to heart someones felling for make them fell like there a bad person, when in fact that is what they are. The bible says that there is no not one that is good, we see in Rom 3:10 it says “as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;” so sin is on all man, 1Co 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” so what did Adam do to have all die? What is the word die meaning ? Well this is answered In the first book of the bible, Genesis. Gen 3:1-7 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” we see the first sin of man here the fall, and this is were all man died In Adam, when Adam ate of the tree, he had broken the law of God and he had bright sin in to the world. So now ever man after this is born of sin not born in sin. When someone is born in sin that is saying that they are born in to a world that has sin but they are not a sinner, but we see this is not true. In fact that view of being born in to sin is called Pelagianisam, were they believe that we are without sin until we have sinned for the first time, but we know it is not true. When Adam ate of the fruit, he had fallen from the grace and purer state he was in, before he fell from the fruit he had ate. Well this has answered part of one and most of two, but lets keep with what is sin. ( http://dictionary.reference.com/ transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam. any act regarded as such a transgression, esp. a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense: It's a sin to waste time.) so this is from a dictionary, what does the wcf or the lbc or 1689? the lbc says this “ They being the root, and by God's appointment, standing in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of the sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation, being now conceived in sin, and by nature children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death, and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus set them free.” so we see that sin is not something that we chosse to do but something that we are bron of. a.w. Pink has this to say about sin "Sin is more than an act or a series of acts; it is a man’s make-up." the prince of preachers had this to say “Sin is a deliberate treason against the majesty of God, an assault upon His crown, an insult offered to His throne. Charles h. spurgeon” pink also had this to say about sin “What is sin? Sin is a species of rebellion against God. It is self-pleasing: it is the utter ignoring of God’s claims: being completely indifferent whether my conduct pleases or displeases Him.” Augustine had this to say “Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in Him.” so we see throw out the church age sin was in the popet and not cased out. So that is what sin is, but were does man get it well like we saw in genisens “Gen 3:1-3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" so adam now has taken the heart that we had, wich was peur and not sinful, to a state of sin that was not a state of God but a state that no matter what it was going to sin. This is called total depravity by the reformed Christians, now I must say that not all think that we are totally depraved in are state with God before regeneration form God. What is total depravity? We total depravity is this that man in the state that they are In are utterly and totally sinful. They have no good in them. Some will say that we are not as bad as we could be, but I find this to be against what is in the word of God. Man has been sinful from the start of time we see in the fall (genesis chapter 3, the fall of man) with this fall we have now be put in to a world of sin, and amity with God, that has no right standing with him. We see with the fall that we have now become dead in are sins and trespassers, that man can not get out of with out the help of God, so the big thing is how is sin going to affect us with God and what has to be done to change it.

So what is sin going to do to us with God? Well the fall is the starting point of this whole thing, ( Gen 3:1-24 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever--" therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.) what do we see here, we see how and not only how but why we are like what we are now (a life of sin) but is there a point were we have to say that sin is not something we are born with but that we must do? Well I say this to that what does the word say? Does it say that we are born sinless ( without any sin what so ever) or does it say we are born of sin (the word of that I use there is one that is used because when many say in sin they would be saying that we are born with out sin but in a sinful world) we see in (Psa 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.) so are not born in a sinful mother that was of the same nature was in Adam after the fall? Well what else can we find to back the thinking that we are born with sin in are heart, well lets stay in the old testament for now ( Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?) now this is showing us that we wont know are heart is like this, we see it asks us who can understand it, God does but what about man can man know there own heart? Well if God can and we are all siners with out the help of christ, then what are we? Well the bible say that we are a fool (Psa 14:1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.) so if we say there is no God and we are a fool then can we know what are hearts are? Well I would hold to say no. the man out of regeneration can not know that his heart is wicked. But that is the old testament what does the new testament say about are hearts, and the sin that we have? (Mat 15:18-20 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone." ) so what is Christ saying well just look at it, he is saying that what every comes from the mouth is from the heart. When someone says I hate you that is not just them saying it but there heart. There heart is were the sin lies it comes from the heart. The heart is with out a doubt the thing that leads us in to sin. But I think there is yet more to being seen here, what does the sinful act do were is it in the relationship to the cross? Well that can be answered with the verse as well lets look first at were does it come from the sinful act that is. It all goes back to the fall. So then what has happened? Well man is bead in there sins. (Eph 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ) but with that does it come to all are dead in there sins well yes (1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.) now we are just going to look at the first part, the part that has to do with Adam, as we see that the fall after all is the key to sin, so in Adam all die, meaning what well meaning this, after the fall Adam was now a sinner, but wait I thought we were a sinner from birth, well we are but with Adam he was in the right standing with God with out a atonement for sin because there was no sin to atone for. But after the fall there was. So we all died in Adams fall or sin of eating the fruit. So how can one be in sin because of one man, well that is something that is called when he had kids they were of the same heart and so on and so forth. Now does sin do to us is there a punishment for it? Well again I will go to the bible and see what it says, lets go to the heart of the problem what is the punishment of sin? Well what does the bible say, it says that the punishment for sin is hell, we see this all over the place, the bible gives us a clear pitcher of what will happen if we do not repent of the sins, so the sin that we hold is what kills us? For is it the way of life that we have death? Well lets go to the bible, first I want to say that when we see the word dead in the bible when it is in context to sin like in (1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive) this is in the right standing we have with God not that we are dead in the flesh, now we have a dead spirit of God that makes the flesh sin. The heart is what will bring on to hell the state of the heart with God is what kills, not the dissection that man makes “the chose for God is one that cant be made with out regeneration” that is free will and with that we have the chose to sin or do good but I have showed you that we don't have a say if we sin your not. With sin we are in total bondage to the sin we live in. so what I have showed here to day? Well I have showed that we are in sin all the time and that we have no way out but through Christ and his death on the cross. Now before I end this I would like to say this.

What I have said here in this writing is not one that has come from my own accord but from the heart of the word of God, I put the writings here for you all to get to know the heart of the man before he has the grace of God in him and I wish that we take this as a, reminder of what we are in Christ and what others are on the outside of Christ, I did not bring the writings to you for any other means then to help you know and understand what the sin that he hold is and what it cant do to us. I pray that all have the writings I put out there in this that they do not think I am putting them to shame but only, to bring the light of what man is in everyday of his life to light for all of us the unsaved and the saved. May the gory go to God and God only with the writings I have done.

Soli deo Gloria

may God bring the grace that I have gotten to your hearts today and for ever more, amen.

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

A Case for "Lordship Salvation"

First off, I would like to define what I mean by “lordship salvation.” Lordship salvation teaches that when a person is saved, this person will show fruit of their repentance, and that these works show that this person is a true Christian. It calls for holiness and the progressive sanctification of the believer, by the work of the Holy Spirit in a man or woman’s life.

In fact, the late A.W. Pink once remarked that: “Yes, there are tens of thousands who have been deluded into thinking that they have ‘accepted Christ as their Saviour,’ whose lives show plainly that they reject Him as their Lord."

Today, there’s been a sharp dispute between a view known as “Lordship Salvation” and “Free Grace theology.” One person laid down 8 points of free-grace theology, which is worth passing along.

1.) The only condition of eternal life is simple faith in Jesus
2.) Simple faith in Christ is intellectual assent
3.) The specific object of saving faith is Jesus and results in the promise of eternal life to all who simply believe in Him.
4.) Turning from one’s sins is not faith & isn’t a condition of eternal life
--At this point, the author notes: “Free grace advocates admit that turning from sin is not faithand is not a condition of eternal life. Please not that turning from sins is part of a Christian requirement, not a requirement to become a Christian. Repentence is not a condition of eternal life according to basic free grace theology”
5.) Perseverence in faith and good works is not a condition of eternal life
6.) Good works are not indispensible for assurance
7.) Eternal life is not based on future judgment of works
8.) Eternal life and eternal rewards must be distinguished by noting that the former is a gift and the latter is earned.

Furthermore, even more concerning is the remark by this Free-Grace proponent are the statements: “No matter what a believer does, he is eternally secure,” and “perseverence is a rewards issue, not an eternal life issue.” (I’ll deal with those later)

Now, to be fair, I can recognize that it’s a reaction against the Roman Catholicism, in which the salvation is by faith and works. Yet, as I pointed out in one of my previous notes, “Fruit,” John the Baptist told the people coming to the Jordan River to be baptized: “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance… Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:8 & 10)


First off, I would like to establish the authority of Christ as Lord. There are over 100 references to Christ as “Lord” in Scripture. In the gospels alone, Matthew 14:30, Matthew 17:4, Matthew 18:21, Matthew 20:30, Luke 2:11, Luke 5:8 & 12, Luke 7:6, Luke 10:1, Luke 11:1, Luke 24:3, John 11:3, 12, 21, 27, 32-33 & 39, John 14:5, John 21:7 & 15-17, refer to Christ as Lord.

Furthermore, Jesus Himself states in Matthew 28:18 that: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

And, in a similar vein, Paul writes: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

I see this harkening back to what Daniel wrote: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

As John MacArthur summed it up: “The question in salvation is not whether Jesus is Lord, but whether we are submissive to His lordship.”

With that, I would like to get into a defense of Lordship salvation. But, I'd like to clarify that we're not saved by the law.

Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly states: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Furthermore, Paul notes: “…if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (Galatians 2:21)

He also goes on to write: “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for 'The righteous shall live by faith.'" (Galatians 3:10-11)

“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

“It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:26-28)

Yet, with all that being said, obedience to Christ and His commandments are not optional for Christians.

First off, we get a picture of regeneration in Ezekiel, as I’ve noted before: “ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

Furthermore, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6:46-49)

He also says: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing… Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:5 & 9-10)

Similarly, Paul states in Romans 8:10-14 that: "if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

We also see this theme of obedience as a fruit of belief in the Book of 1st John.
“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.” (1st John 2:3-6)

“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” (1st John 3:23-24)

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith.” (1st John 5:2-4)

Again, I must stress that our obedience doesn’t save us, but it shows that we are indeed saved. We certainly won’t obey perfectly, but, we’ll continue in sanctification, which entails obedience.

To again quote John MacArthur, who, along with the likes of Paul Washer and Tim Conway, promotes Lordship salvation: “We do not ‘make’ Christ Lord; He is Lord! Those who will not receive Him as Lord are guilty of rejecting Him. ‘Faith’ that rejects His sovereign authority is really unbelief. Conversely, acknowledging His lordship is no more a human work than repentance (cf. 2 Timothy 2:26) or faith itself (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9). In fact, it is an important element of divinely produced saving faith, not something added to faith.”


The 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith states in Chapter 16, point 2, that: “These good works, done in obedience to God's commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith: and by them believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the Gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto, that, having their fruit unto holiness, they may have the end, eternal life.” The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith almost mirrors this statement.

I must also say that, as I mentioned before, the statements posed by the Free-Grace proponent that all it takes is mental assent to become a Christian and that “No matter what a believer does, he is eternally secure,” as well as “perseverance is a rewards issue, not an eternal life issue,” are troubling.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that these statements, in many cases can be outright damning, given the passages of Scripture that I listed. The problem is that, given these statements, forces one into the borderline antinomian view of eternal security, often summed up in the popular phrase “once-saved, always saved.” And, unfortunately, this view of eternal security, when taken to it’s logical end results in “carnal Christianity.” By the term “carnal Christianity” or the doctrine of the “carnal Christian,” I’m referring to those who are “Christians” yet show no sign of regeneration and continue on in their worldly living, with no evidence of change.

That, my friends, proves to result also in an almost blasphemously low view of regeneration and sanctification, as well as the person of Christ.

I close with a quote from the Puritan Bible commentator Matthew Henry: “All the grace contained in [the Bible] is owing to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; and, unless we consent to Him as our Lord we cannot expect any benefit by Him as our Savior.”

R.C. Sproul on Election

This message from R.C. Sproul deals with election & the sovereignty of God in salvation.

Prepare!!!

One of the things that, has sadly been on my mind recently, is, of all things, death. Within a matter of about 3 weeks, at least 4 people that I know of have passed away. I myself have lost my own father to cancer about 10 years ago, when I was only 11 years old.

According to King David: “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.” (Psalm 103:15-16)

One of the verses that I can’t get out of my mind, a passage that’s convicting for me, myself is: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’" (James 4:13-15)


I struggle with this, myself, but, it seems that a lot of us, and as I said, myself included, don’t live in light of an impending death. We read a parable that Jesus tells in Luke 12, to a person who insisted that He tell his brother to divide his inheritance: "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16-21)

In fact, Peter writes, to Christians, no less: “But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly…But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2nd Peter 3:7 & 10-13)

Along the same lines, the author of Hebrews writes: “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27)



In the New Testament, we have three main pictures of judgment.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46)


“So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2nd Cor. 5:9-10)

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:11-15)


Now, in light of this, we, as Christians must realize that there is an impending day of death and judgment. Although we certainly aren’t saved by our works, we will be held accountable for our works before a Holy and righteous God.

However, it must be stressed, our hope is in heaven, and a joyful eternity with Christ. To sum it up, I’ll use the words of Paul: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain…My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” (Philippians 1:21 & 23) Furthermore, we read: “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2nd Cor. 5:8)

And, we also get this brief description of heaven in Hebrews 12: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24)

On the other hand, if there are non-Christians reading this blog piece, REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL!!! Seven times (Matthew 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30 & Luke 13:28) hell is referred to as a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Furthermore, in Matthew 8:12, 22:13 & 25:30 hell is described as darkness & in Matt. 13:42 & 13:50, hell is referred to as a furnace.

It’s also worth noting: "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." (Revelation 14:9-11)

Furthermore, we read the words of Christ: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36)

I apologize for the rambling nature of this blog piece. But, that being said, my point is, life is short. According to King David: “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.” (Psalm 103:15-16)

And, although, in context this was in reference to God’s judgment on wayward Israel, I think these words should ring true for all of us: “…prepare to meet your God..” (Amos 4:12)

Mongerism vs. Synergism

These two videos deal with the heart of the difference between Reformed people and Arminians. This issue had initially been settled at the Council of Orange in 529 AD, as a result of the Pelagian heresy.

Adoption

One of the things that sticks out in my childhood is the day of March 9th, 1998, the day of my adoption. On that day, because of an unexpected blizzard, my mom, my dad and I wound up taking the train into the Cook County courthouse in downtown Chicago. On a normal day, the ride on Metra into downtown Chicago from my hometown of Wheaton would have taken about 45 minutes. However, because of the blizzard, which resulted in the switches along the tracks freezing up, the train trip took nearly 2 and ½ hours. Anyway, to make a long story short, after an interview with a judge, permission was granted for my parents to finally adopt me after many years of waiting.

Although I had been raised in the Phillips family since I was taken in as a foster child when I was 7 months old, and was considered their child, I wasn’t officially made their child until that day. With that, came a change in name, from Donielle (“Donnie”) Dean Ecford, to Caleb Donnell Phillips, my parents officially became my parents and my brother, Aaron, officially became my brother.

And, this is just a picture of what God does to the unregenerate person whom He saves through Christ. In fact, just on Friday, Al Mohler, the President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote on his blog: “The adoption of any child is a portrait of God’s grace. Just as every earthly marriage points in some way to the marriage supper of the Lamb, every adopted child is a pointer to the Gospel.”

It’s first worth noting that in response to the claims of the Pharisees that God was their Father: “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me…You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.’” (John 8:42 & 44)

That being said, Paul writes to the Christians in Galatia: “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:4-7)

Similarly, Paul wrote in Romans: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:14-17)

And, in Epehsians: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3-7)

Now, this adoption has implications for the believer.

As Paul noted in Galatians 4:7 and Romans 8:17, we enjoy an inheritance. According to Titus 3:7, we are “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Plus, according to James 2:5, we are heirs to the Kingdom of God. Peter describes our inheritance as “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…” (1st Peter 1:4)

Furthermore, we also read the words of Jesus: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” (Matthew 25:31-34)

Now, with all this being said, there is a another aspect to our adoption as sons (and daughters) of God: discipline. Yet, interestingly enough, God’s discipline is actually seen as a sign of love.

Throughout the Old Testament, we read of God’s judgments on Israel, including the invasions of the Babylonians and Assyrians. We see a picture of this in Ezekiel 20:33-49

“Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.” (Psalm 94:12)

In John 15:1-2, we read Christ’s words: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”


Furthermore, we read: “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:4-11)

And, in His rebuke to the Church at Laodicea, which Jesus Himself describes as “lukewarm” (Rev. 3:16) as well as “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17) says: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Rev. 3:19)

The last thing I wish to touch on is, as we’re adopted by God, those who are Christians are our brothers and sisters in Christ, whom we love.

To quote John Newton, the author of the hymn “Amazing Grace,” regarding the love that transcends even family and denominational lines: “The children of God, who therefore stand in the relation of brethren to each other, though they have too many unhappy differences in points of smaller importance, agree in supreme love they bear to their heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ their Saviour; of course they agree in disliking and avoiding sin, which is contrary to the will and command of the God whom they love and worship. Upon these accounts they love one another, they are like-minded; and they live in a world where the bulk of mankind are against them, have no regard to their Beloved, and live in the sinful practices which his grace taught them to hate. Their situation, therefore, increases their affection to each other. They are washed by the same blood, supplied by the same grace, opposed by the same enemies, and have the same heaven in view: therefore they love one another with a pure heart fervently….It extends to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, cannot be confined within the pale of a denomination, nor restrained to those with whom it is more immediately connected.”

Therefore:“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1st John 2:9-11)


“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….We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” (1st John 3:10-11 & 14-16)

With this, I’d like to close with a quote from Al Mohler: “The wonder of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is this — not one of us is worthy of adoption. In our sinfulness, not one of us has any claim on the Father’s love, much less a right to adoption. But, the infinitely rich mercy of God is shown us in Christ, in whom believers are adopted by the Father. And this adoption, thanks be to God, is eternal and irreversible.”

Quotes (#12)

"Any of the teaching that is good is in the Word of God, and any that is not in the Word of God is not good. I am a Bible Christian and if an archangel with a wingspread as broad as a constellation shining like the sun were to come and offer me some new truth, I’d ask him for a reference. If he could not show me where it is found in the Bible, I would bow him out and say, 'I’m awfully sorry, you don’t bring any references with you.'”-A.W. Tozer (1897-1963)
HT: DefendingContending