Warrior, woodsmith, teacher, preacher

I can't do two blogs at once very well.

2007-11-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

In case you have not noticed, I've been tied up at my other blog. I am too old and too focused to work on two blogs at the same time.

False prophets and profits

2007-10-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

False Prophets and Their Profits
1 Tim 6:3-5

Ø Back on this again—Why is this such an area of stress for Paul to Timothy
o First, the false teachers were plentiful
o Second, in reading the two letters to Timothy, one gets the impression that he needed to be encouraged to stand up and fight the false teachers
o It is always an option, (though a wrong one, to let it slide—with disastrous consequences
o But fighting against error has its costs

1. The First Problem With False Prophets—They Oppose the Truth—1 Tim 6:3) "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness…”

a. Language analysis

(1) If—is a first class condition, which assumes that whatever is being addressed is going to happen—So, SINCE there are false teachers…

(2) “…Teaches otherwise…” is heterodidaskalei—the word “hetero” we should be familiar with—it means “…of a different kind…”, and is in the present active tense, indicating a habit of life.

b. The False Prophets taught lies as a matter of habit

(1) They were teaching Strange doctrines— heterodidaskalon—“…a doctrine of a different kind…”, one that does not match with the teachings of the Bible. What are some of these teachers and teachings?

(a) Paul speaks in Galatians of “another Jesus” taught by false prophets—Gal 1:6-9—this “other” gospel, which Paul condemns as a perversion of the truth, teaches that believers much obey the OT dietary and ceremonial laws in order to be a Christian—we still have this set of false teachings today, in the leftovers of the Armstrong Cult, and in the 7th Day Adventists heresy

(b) Jesus, in Matthew 24, warns of false Christs and false prophets that will arise to deceive many

(c) Peter in 2 Pet 2:1-3, warns of false prophets who bring in destructive heresies, teaching people that they can live any old way they want to live, and still claim to be a believer. See 2 Pet 2:18-22.

(d) Peter makes the point that the Old Testament saints had to deal with them too.

(2) The False Prophets rejected “…Sound Doctrine…” “….Sound Doctrine…”Literally means “healthy teaching, or (1 Tim 6:3) “wholesome teaching.” “Sound…” refers to good health, soundness, not in need of a doctor. It is where we get our word “hygiene.” —

1 Tim 1:10 "for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,"

1 Tim 6:3 "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,"

2 Tim 1:13 "Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."

2 Tim 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;"

Titus 1:9 "holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

Titus 1:13 "… rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,"

Titus 2:1-2 "But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;"

(3) First, they rejected the words of Jesus Himself! “…even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness…”

(a) This could be referring to the earliest Gospels written
(b) Or it could refer to collections of Jesus’ sayings which had been gathered as Luke and the other writers were preparing and being prepared to write by the Holy Spirit
(c) Or it could refer to the True Doctrine about Who Jesus Is and What He Has Done (i.e., the Gospel)
(d) Either way, they rejected the Truth about Him!

(4) Then, they rejected the Truth about godliness itself.

(a) Godliness (Eusebia) refers to living for God and in accordance with God’s will
(b) Godly people have some of it
(c) Lost people don’t.

(5) They reject Sound Doctrine about salvation—Eph 2:8-10—By Grace, Through Faith, Unto Good Works

(6) The False teachers taught and lived NOT in accordance with sound doctrine

(7) There are those today who are unsound, and who believe that a consistent lifestyle is not required of believers. That idea is a distortion of Grace, it stands against “sound doctrine,” it is literally unhealthy spiritually

(i) God wants His people to live in a Godly fashion—it was, after all, Ungodliness that unleashed His wrath against sin to begin with—Rom 1:18

c. Key verses (Mac)

(1) The Fruit of a Christian’s life is not the number of people they have led to the Lord
(2) The Fruit of a Christian’s life is moral excellence produced by the indwelling Spirit of God—Gal 5:22-24
(3) The False prophets produce bad fruit—Mat 7:15-20

2. The Second Problem With False Prophets: They are ignorant and proud of their ignorance!—“… 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions 5 useless wranglings …”

a. The False Prophets have false Pride (which implies conceit and arrogance.)

(1) Pride—Mac—The attitude of false teachers can be summarized in one word: pride. It takes an immense ego to place oneself as judge of the Bible. Such egotism blatantly usurps the place of God…[conceit] is from a Greek slang word which means puffed up like a cloud of smoke. In English slang, we would describe such a person as “blowing smoke,” or “full of hot air…”

(1 Cor 4:6) "Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other."

(1 Cor 4:18-19) "Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power."

(1 Cor 5:2) "And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you."

(Col 2:18) "Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,"

(1 Tim 3:6) "not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil."

(2) The word can also refer to a person who is arrogant enough to believe that their views and opinions are superior to the Word of God.

b. Knowing Nothing –This is a present particple

(1) The false teacher is habitually ignorant, and proud of it—what an indictment!

c. They are addicted to stupidity—They are hooked on the debate, the argument, the “Gotcha”

(1) Now, it is not always wrong to debate—Jesus did it with the Pharisees, etc.,
(2) But this is talking about fruitless debate:

d. What are the results of these pointless and fruitless false teachings? “...envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions 5 useless wranglings…”

3. The Third Problem With False Prophets—They are listening to the wrong people— “…of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain…”

a. If a man is paying attention to false doctrines, and if he is not grounded, he may be drawn in to them.

b. Who writes this stuff?
(1) Men of Corrupt minds
(a) The depraved mind is a powerfully ignorant thing
(Rom 8:7) "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."

(1 Cor 2:14) "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

(Rom 1:28) "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;"

(Eph 4:17-19) "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."

(2) Destitute of Truth—“deprived” of Truth (NASB)

(a) They had been presented with the Truth
(b) But the false prophet had robbed it from them before it could take root, like parable of the soils.

(3) Men seeking profits for the Prophets .and they get their cut too)—
(4) Even in Paul’s day there were those who used religion to rip people off—2 Tim 3:1-9

4. The Cure For False Prophets— Doctrine. and Quarantine –(from 6:2)— “…Teach and exhort these things…” “…From such withdraw yourself." (present tense imperative verbs)

a. Doctrine“…Teach and exhort these things…” “teach and exhort—present imperative—teach the Truth, exhort the believers, and keep it up.

(1) The first, most desirable and best outcome is that no one would fall under the spell of false doctrines and false teachers—Jude 1:20-21 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

(2) The second most desirable outcome is for the false prophet and those deceived by the false prophet to see the Truth and be saved.

Jude 1:22-23 "And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

(James 5:19-20) "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins."

b. Quarantine—Church Discipline—“…From such withdraw yourself."

(1) Leaven in the lump—sin in the camp—the church must be prepared to quarantine the infection of false teachings.
(2) This is not the first alternative, but it is a valid one.
(3) There are steps to follow, and there are direct instructions and examples given, but the fact is that discipline is one of the marks of a true New Testament church.

(Titus 3:10-11) "Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned."

(2 Th 3:6) "But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us..”

c. A church, like the Corinthians in 1 Cor 5, that refuses to obey the command to discipline its members is rejecting this specific command.

d. Examples

(1) 1 Cor 5
(2) Rev 2

Mat 5:17-18

2007-10-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

Sermon on the Mount 11
Jesus’ View of The Bible
Mat 5:17-18

Introductory Thoughts:

· The Sermon on the Mount—The King’s instructions for the Kingdom of Heaven
· The Beatitudes: The inward attitudes result in outward behavior:

· These are the character traits of all true believers
· The Inward attitudes (3-6)
· Outward to people (7-9)
· Outward touching the world around us (10-16)
· Context—how we are to respond to a hostile world.
· Persecution is inevitable in a lost world
· Our attitude to persecution
· Salt and Light

· Now we move into a new section of the sermon

1. Various Views on The Law and the Gospel

a. Continuity (cultic version)

(1) The Law applies today just as in the OT
(2) Salvation is by works/grace combination
(3) Invalid for obvious reasons

b. Continuity (regular churches): a mixed approach

(1) No distinction between the covenants

(2) Most OT laws apply today just as before
(3) Infant baptism replaced circumcision
(4) The ministry replaced the OT priesthood
(5) Ceremony and ritual are important

(6) The New Covenant is a continuation of the Mosaic Law, just as the Mosaic Law was a continuation of the Abrahamic Covenant.
(4) Invalid: the covenants are not lined up that way

c. Selective continuity—
(1) take the parts of the Law that you like and ignore the rest—
(2) invalid: There must be a way to discern what of the Law is still in effect and which is not!

d. Total Discontinuity—There is no Law at all today, there is no ethical standard.

e. (Finally, the True way) The Doctrines of Promise and Fulfillment—

(1) The Larger Context to follow—Christ is going to begin to give the Laws of the New Covenant, and He first gives the relationship of New and Old.

(2) Key phrase: “But I say unto You…” (12 times total in Mat) Mat 5:22, Mat 5:28, Mat 5:32, Mat 5:34, Mat 5:39, Mat 5:44.

(a) What Christ is doing—
(b) Correcting the Jewish leaders’ misunderstanding of the Old Law
(c) Changing the Law to reflect the coming New Covenant.

(3) What this passage (17-20) teaches us about the Bible
(a) It is one Bible
(b) It has total authority, to the letter
(c) It is the Standard for all things
(d) The Source of the Authority is the Author

2. Jesus Relationship to the Old Testament : “…17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill…”

a. The first Statement is a mouthful. “…Think not that I am come to destroy…”

(1) He Could! He has the authority to dismantle what He Himself has established.
(2) What a claim of authority to even admit the possibility!

b. The Law and the Prophets—the entire OT.

(1) (Mat 7:12) ""Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

(2) (Mat 22:40) ""On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.""

(3) (Luke 16:16) ""The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it."

(4) (John 1:45) "Philip found Nathanael nd said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.""
(5) (Rom 3:21) "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,"

(6) (Luke 24:44) "Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.""

c. The definite statement—I am NOT come to destroy

(1) In the Greek, the statement is emphatic—NOT,

(2) In the Greek, it reads like this: “… NOT for a moment should you think that I have come to destroy…

3. What about the Law?
a. First, the Law is good—in its place—1 Tim 1:8 "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;" (See 1 Tim 1:9-11)
d. The purpose of the Law
(1) To set God’s moral standards
(2) to demonstrate His will for morality
(3) to convict men of their need of a Savior. (Rom 3:19-20).
(4) The Law cannot save, nor can it keep one saved; the Law convicts and shuts up. but, the LAW is an expression of God’s righteousness.
(5) Second, many of the same things will be in the New Covenant—God’s moral code does not change.

e. The fulfillment of the Law by Christ—“…but to fulfill…”

make come true, bring about (of Scripture); fill, make full; bring to completion, complete, accomplish, finish; make fully known, proclaim fully (Rom 15:19; Col 1:25); supply fully (Php 4:18, 19

(1) There is some scholarly disagreement as to what “fulfill” means.
(a) Fulfill the prophecies about Him?
(b) Complete the Law and the Prophets?
(c) Fulfill them and culminate them as the New Covenant comes in.
(d) My position is… “Yes!”

(2) First, Jesus taught the Law fully (and correctly) Mat 7:28-29

(a) The Scribes and Pharisees knew the Law, but they did not know the Law giver, nor were their interpretations correct.

(b) They ignored the most important matters Mat 23:13-26

(c) They were religious to cover up their evil

(d) They gained converts to their position, not to God

(e) They argued about meaningless matters: 23:16-22

(f) They majored on minors and ignored the majors—Mat 23:23

(3) Christ Lived the Law fully—

(a) John 8:46 "Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?"
(b) Heb 4:15 "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

(c) In His personal character, He WAS The Law fully.

(d) The Law was God’s statement on ethics and morality written in stone; Christ Jesus was God’s statement on ethics and morality written in flesh and bone—1 Pet 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

(4) Christ fulfilled the Judicial provisions of the Law—He became the sacrifice for sinners. Gal 3:13, 2 Cor 5:21, Rom 5:6-8, 3:31

(5) Christ fulfilled the Ceremonial provisions of the Law—Heb 9-10

4. The Bible Stands On The Authority of Christ— “…For, Verily I say unto You…”

a. Verily—“Amen…” – indicates strong affirmation

b. Jesus’ Personal Authority Stands Behind The Bible—“…I say…”

c. Context—the inaugural address of the King of Kings

(4) His Authority is Eternal—Rev 1:8 “… I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty…”
(5) His Authority is absolute—Mat 9:2-6, Mat 28:18-20

(6) Jesus’ Personal Reputation is Staked on the Bible—He affirms the Truth of the following

(a) Moses—Mk 12:26
(b) Adam and Eve—Mat 19:4,
(c) Jonah—Mat 12:39-41
(d) Satan— Luke 10:18 "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."
(e) Abraham—Jn 8:56
(f) Sodom, Lot’s Wife—Lk 17:9
(g) Abel—Lk 11:51
(h) The Genesis Creation account—Gen 1:26-28—Mat 19:1-11
(i) Noah—Mat 24:38-39

(7) The Bible is Permanent—“…till heaven and earth pass…”

(a) God’s Word is eternally settled—Ps 119:89
(b) Jesus’ Word is permanent—Mat 24:35
(c) God’s Word is relevant—Heb 4:12
(i) Relevant as to morality, law, ethics, society
(ii) Relevant as to man’s nature
(iii) Relevant as to sin and its consequences
(iv) Relevant as to our need of salvation
(v) Relevant as to the way of salvation
(vi) Relevant as to the coming end

5. The Extent of The Inspiration Of The Scriptures— “…One Jot or One Tittle Shall in No Wise Pass From the Law…”

a. The Theology
(1) Verbally inspired
(2) Fully inspired
(3) Fully authoritative
(4) Without error

(5) Jot and tittle—smallest parts of the Hebrew Alphabet

(6) Pass From—be annulled.

(7) The Certainty of the Bible—till all be fulfilled

b. First, we see all will be fulfilled

(1) All Has been so far (examples)
(a) Mat 12:15-21
(b) Mat 27:9
(c) Mat 27:35
(d) Acts 13:25-35

(2) All Will be fulfilled
(a) Acts 1:11
(b) 1 Cor 15:21-25
(c) Rev 17:15-17

c. Second, we see the principle of promise and fulfillment—The OT is promise, the NT is fulfillment.

d. Third, we see promises guaranteed by the character of God—Heb 6:13-18

5. Applications

a. The Lordship of Christ requires inerrancy
(1) A Bible with errors means a Savior who was wrong.
(2) He ties His Words to the Word – if it is not true, He is not true
b. Our attitude to the Word
(1) We are to honor the Word in our lives—Titus 2:1-8
(2) We are to be diligent in its study—2 Tim 2:15
(3) We are to defend the Bible—Jude 3-4
(4) We are to be ready to answer—1 Pet 3:15

Sermon on the Mount 11

2007-08-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Introductory Thoughts:

· The Sermon on the Mount—The King’s instructions for the Kingdom of Heaven
· The Beatitudes: The inward attitudes result in outward behavior:

· These are the character traits of all true believers
· The Inward attitudes (3-6)
· Outward to people (7-9)
· Outward touching the world around us (10-16)
· Context—how we are to respond to a hostile world.
· Persecution is inevitable in a lost world
· Our attitude to persecution
· Salt and Light

· Now we move into a new section of the sermon

1. Various Views on The Law and the Gospel

a. Continuity (cultic version)

(1) The Law applies today just as in the OT
(2) Salvation is by works/grace combination
(3) Invalid for obvious reasons

b. Continuity (regular churches): a mixed approach

(1) No distinction between the covenants

(2) Most OT laws apply today just as before
(3) Infant baptism replaced circumcision
(4) The ministry replaced the OT priesthood
(5) Ceremony and ritual are important

(6) The New Covenant is a continuation of the Mosaic Law, just as the Mosaic Law was a continuation of the Abrahamic Covenant.
(4) Invalid: the covenants are not lined up that way

c. Selective continuity—
(1) take the parts of the Law that you like and ignore the rest—
(2) invalid: with the Law, it is all or nothing. Gal 3:13 "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"

d. Total Discontinuity—There is no Law at all today, there is no ethical standard.

e. (Orthodox and True) The Doctrines of Promise and Fulfillment—The Larger Context to follow—Christ is going to begin to give the Laws of the New Covenant, and He first gives the relationship of New and Old.

(1) Key phrase: “But I say unto You…” (12 times total in Mat) Mat 5:22, Mat 5:28, Mat 5:32, Mat 5:34, Mat 5:39, Mat 5:44.

(a) What Christ is doing—

(b) Correcting the Jewish leaders’ misunderstanding of the Old Law
(c) Changing the Law to reflect the coming New Covenant.

(2) What this passage (17-20) teaches us about the Bible
(a) It is one Bible
(b) It has total authority, to the letter
(3) It is the Standard for all things
(4) The Source of the Authority is the Author

2. Jesus Relationship to the Old Testament : “…17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill…”

a. The first Statement is a mouthful. “…Think not that I am come to destroy…”

(1) He Could! He has the authority to dismantle what He Himself has established.
(2) What a claim of authority to even admit the possibility!
(3) But He was not going to do so at THAT time

b. The Law and the Prophets—the entire OT.

(1) (Mat 7:12) ""Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

(2) (Mat 22:40) ""On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.""

(3) (Luke 16:16) ""The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it."

(4) (John 1:45) "Philip found Nathanael nd said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.""
(5) (Rom 3:21) "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,"

(6) (Luke 24:44) "Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.""

c. The definite statement—I am NOT come to destroy

(1) In the Greek, the statement is emphatic—NOT,

(2) In the Greek, it reads like this: “… NOT for a moment should you think that I have come to destroy…”

(3) First, the Law is good—in its place—1 Tim 1:8 "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;" (See 1 Tim 1:9-11)

(4) The purpose of the Law
(a) To set God’s moral standards
(b) to demonstrate His will for morality
(c) to convict men of their need of a Savior. (Rom 3:19-20).
(d) The Law cannot save, nor can it keep one saved; the Law convicts and shuts up. but, the LAW is an expression of God’s righteousness.

(5) Second, many of the same things will be in the New Covenant—God’s moral code does not change.

d. The fulfillment of the Law by Christ—“…but to fulfill…”

make come true, bring about (of Scripture); fill, make full; bring to completion, complete, accomplish, finish; make fully known, proclaim fully (Rom 15:19; Col 1:25); supply fully (Php 4:18, 19

(1) There is some scholarly disagreement as to what “fulfill” means.
(a) Fulfill the prophecies about Him?
(b) Complete the Law and the Prophets?
(c) Fulfill them and culminate them as the New Covenant comes in.
(d) My position is… “Yes!”

(2) First, Jesus taught the Law fully (and correctly) Mat 7:28-29

(a) The Scribes and Pharisees knew the Law, but they did not know the Law giver, nor were their interpretations correct.

(b) They ignored the most important matters Mat 23:13-26

(c) They were religious to cover up their evil

(d) They gained converts to their position, not to God

(e) They argued about meaningless matters: 23:16-22

(f) They majored on minors and ignored the majors—Mat 23:23

(3) Christ Lived the Law fully—

(a) John 8:46 "Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?"
(b) Heb 4:15 "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

(c) In His personal character, He WAS The Law fully.

(d) The Law was God’s statement on ethics and morality written in stone; Christ Jesus was God’s statement on ethics and morality written in flesh and bone—1 Pet 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

(4) Christ fulfilled the Judicial provisions of the Law—He became the sacrifice for sinners. Gal 3:13, 2 Cor 5:21, Rom 5:6-8, 3:31

(5) Christ fulfilled the Ceremonial provisions of the Law—Heb 9-10

3. The Bible Stands On The Authority of Christ— “…For, Verily I say unto You…”

a. Verily—“Amen…” – indicates strong affirmation

b. Jesus’ Personal Authority Stands Behind The Bible—“…I say…”

c. Context—the inaugural address of the King of Kings

(1) His Authority is Eternal—Rev 1:8 “… I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty…”
(2) His Authority is absolute—Mat 9:2-6, Mat 28:18-20

(3) Jesus’ Personal Reputation is Staked on the Bible—He affirms the Truth of the following

(a) Moses—Mk 12:26
(b) Adam and Eve—Mat 19:4,
(c) Jonah—Mat 12:39-41
(d) Satan— Luke 10:18 "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."
(e) Abraham—Jn 8:56
(f) Sodom, Lot’s Wife—Lk 17:9
(g) Abel—Lk 11:51
(h) The Genesis Creation account—Gen 1:26-28—Mat 19:1-11
(i) Noah—Mat 24:38-39

(4) The Bible is Permanent—“…till heaven and earth pass…”

(a) God’s Word is eternally settled—Ps 119:89
(b) Jesus’ Word is permanent—Mat 24:35
(c) God’s Word is relevant—Heb 4:12
(i) Relevant as to morality, law, ethics, society
(ii) Relevant as to man’s nature
(iii) Relevant as to sin and its consequences
(iv) Relevant as to our need of salvation
(v) Relevant as to the way of salvation
(vi) Relevant as to the coming end

4. The Extent of The Inspiration Of The Scriptures— “…One Jot or One Tittle Shall in No Wise Pass From the Law…”

a. The Theology
(1) Verbally inspired
(2) Fully inspired
(3) Fully authoritative
(4) Without error

(5) Jot and tittle—smallest parts of the Hebrew Alphabet

(6) Pass From—be annulled.

(7) The Certainty of the Bible—till all be fulfilled

b. First, we see all will be fulfilled

(1) All Has been so far (examples)
(a) Mat 12:15-21
(b) Mat 27:9
(c) Mat 27:35
(d) Acts 13:25-35

(2) All Will be fulfilled
(a) Acts 1:11
(b) 1 Cor 15:21-25
(c) Rev 17:15-17

c. Second, we see the principle of promise and fulfillment—The OT is promise, the NT is fulfillment.

d. Third, we see promises guaranteed by the character of God—Heb 6:13-18

5. Applications

a. The Lordship of Christ requires inerrancy
(1) A Bible with errors means a Savior who was wrong.
(2) He ties His Words to the Word – if it is not true, He is not true
b. Our attitude to the Word
(1) We are to honor the Word in our lives—Titus 2:1-8
(2) We are to be diligent in its study—2 Tim 2:15
(3) We are to defend the Bible—Jude 3-4
(4) We are to be ready to answer—1 Pet 3:15

2007-08-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

I Thirst
John 19:28

Ø Have YOU ever been really thirsty?
Ø Have you ever had, or nearly have had, heat prostration or heat stroke?

1. Context, Background, and Theologyè “28…Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said*, “I am thirsty.”

a. Why was it necessary for Jesus Christ to Die? There are many reasons, but here are five categories of answers which perhaps sum it all up.

(1) To bring glory to God the Father and receive Glory from the Father

(John 17:1) "Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,"

(John 17:4) ""I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do."

(2) To satisfy the Law of God

Rom 3:31 “…Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law…”

(3) To turn aside the wrath of God

(Rom 1:18) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"

(Rom 5:9) "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

(4) To Destroy Satan and his works

(1 John 3:8) "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."

(Gen 3:15) "…He shall crush your head….”

(5) To be substitutionary Sacrifice for sinners è

(Isa 53:5) "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."

b. God’s plan of redemption was decided, determined, designed, declared (in prophecy) and decreed before the world began—Rev 13:8, 17:8, 1 Pet 1:18-21, Titus 1:1-2

c. Jesus was no helpless victim, nor was He an unwilling participant in this event

(1) He possessed within Himself the power to destroy all His enemies, as He demonstrated when they came to get Him (John 18:4-6
(2) He had the power to lay His life down and to take it up again (John 10:15-17)
(3) He poured out His own life, He “gave up the ghost…”

d. So, each word said there on Calvary needs to be understood in the light of all that was going on there, as Jesus hung on the Cross..

e. Biblical Context—this is the fifth word from the Cross, and it is uttered by One who could see the finish line in sight.

2. What Jesus Knew —(John 19:28) "…, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said*…”

a. Jesus Knew

(1) The word for “to know” here is εἰδὼς, Innate knowledge

(2) And as a perfect participle, it indicates sure and complete knowledge

b. Why Jesus Knew all things were accomplished—He had accomplished them

(1) “All things” included everything to do with His mission on Earth, not just His crucifixion

(2) All was done—the word here is tetelestai, which Jesus was about to say to the world. Before He said it, He knew it was true, because He had accomplished His mission.

(3) His statement in John 17:1 indicates that even before entering the depths of His Passion, Christ Jesus had a definite and certain knowledge of the outcome

c. The paperwork was not yet done—“…to fulfill the Scripture…”

(1) Part of His mission was to fulfill the Scriptures—Mat 5:17-20

(2) His fulfillment of prophecy was and IS one of the most important parts of His ministry

(a) During His ministry on Earth, there were literally hundreds of prophesies that were literally and directly fulfilled.

(i) His Virgin Birth—Is 7:14
(ii) His ancestry, through Abraham, David, etc.
(iii) His birth place—Micah 5:2

(b) And on and on, hundreds of literal fulfillments

(3) Here the statement is plain

(a) He was aware of fulfilling the scriptures,
(b) He was consciously dealing with this issue, so that in everything, the Glory of the Father would shine through

(4) What scriptures were being fulfilled in this one statement of thirst?

(Psa 22:15) "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death."

(Psa 69:21) "They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

3. “I Thirst”

a. Language—this is in the present tense, expressing continuity

b. Why, of all of the physical sufferings of the Cross, did Jesus highlight this one for special attention?

(1) He did not say, “my feet and hands hurt,” in spite of the nails
(2) He did not say, “my back is in agony,” from the scourging He received.

(3) He did not say, “my forehead is in agony,” from the crown of thorns they forced upon His brow

(4) He did not say, “My face hurts,” from where they plucked out hunks of His beard.

(5) He said, “I am thirsty.” Why?

(6) Because thirst is one of the greatest desires, and dehydration is an extremely painful and dangerous condition

c. Facts About Thirst

(1) Thirst is dangerous painful: Symptoms of severe dehydration include:

(a) Muscle spasms
(b) Vomiting
(c) Racing pulse
(d) Shriveled skin
(e) Dim vision
(f) Painful urination
(g) Confusion
(h) Difficulty breathing
(i) Seizures
(j) Chest and Abdominal pain

(2) Thirst is immediate—you can live for a long time without food, but not long at all without water.

(3) Thirst is deadly—for many it is the immediate cause of death, however it is brought on—10% fluid loss and above can be fatal.

(4) Given that Jesus had begin sweating drops of blood in the Garden, and given the beatings, the bleeding from the scourging, the dragging of a Cross through the streets, and given His extreme distress from the position in which He was hanging, His thirst just have been beyond imagination.

d. He Said “I” thirst—imagine that!

(1) The Creator of water had none
(2) The one who was the giver of the water of life was seeing His poured out

4. All Human Beings Thirst

a. Saved people have thirsted and have been filled

(1) For righteousness—(Mat 5:6) "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled."

(2) For the Water of life—John 4

(John 4:13-15) "Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." 15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.""

(John 6:35) "And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

(Rev 7:16) ""They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;"

b. Ah, but the Lost!

(Luke 16:22-24) ""So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'"

For This, You Will Answer

2007-07-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

The Only Thing
2 Tim 4:1-5

Introductory Notes

· Dangerous Times—2 Tim 3:1-13
· God’s Man and God’s Word—2 Tim 3:14-17

1. The Charge—2 Tim 4:1 “…I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 preach the Word…”

a. The Word Meanings

(1) “…Charge…”—This is a legal word, having to do with testifying in a court of law or ordering someone else to testify truthfully. It is like the judge charging the jury to do their duty, or a military man being given orders to carry out.

(2) “…before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom…” The young preacher, Timothy, is placed face to face with Jesus, to whom he will answer for every word preached.

(3) “…Preach the Word…”—that means to proclaim the Word of God, not to preach about it, at it, around it, or from it, but to preach the Word itself!

(4) This word is an imperative, which means it is a command.

b. The illustration:

(1) As a Christian, I will answer to Christ Jesus someday for how well I lived for Him. How well did I fulfill Ir role as husband, father, and Christian man. But as a man of God, I have a much greater responsibility for which I will also answer.

James 3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

(2) I will stand one day, at the Judgment Seat of Christ. I will not be looking up into the face of some preacher, but into the Face of God.
(3) I will stand there in front of the Lord Jesus Himself and answer for every word I preach, every sermon and every lesson I bring out, everything that I studied in God’s Word.
(4) I will not answer for whether or not I made every meeting.
(5) I will not answer for whether or not I made people feel good about themselves
(6) I will not answer for whether or not I was popular, socially acceptable, or affectionately thought of by the people.
(7) I will not answer for whether or not I took care of every errand someone in the church thought the preacher ought to do.
(8) I will answer to God for what God has called me to do—to preach His Word.
(9) Everything in this passage is a finger pointing to me and to every preacher of the Gospel.

· The Holy Spirit says, through Paul, a simple command—preach the Word.

2. What is preaching the Word?

a. What it is not

(1) Hobby horses
(2) Entertainment
(3) Emotional exercises in search of a meaning
(4) Speeches intended to make you feel good.

b. Preaching the Word is proclaiming the Word

(1) The OT examples—3800 times—“thus saith the LORD,” “God said…” or words to that effect!
(2) The clearest OT Example—Neh 8
(a) They read the Word publicly, and the people stood for this reading.

(b) Neh 8:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

(i) They read distinctly—that means they read in such a way as to make the words clear and understandable.
(ii) They gave the sense—that is, they gave the meaning of the words they were reading
(iii) They caused them to understand—that is, they explained the words and the meaning in such a way that the people could make application to their own lives.

(3) The NT Examples—

(a) John the Baptist—The prophets prophesied him, and he preached them!

(b) Jesus—taught, preached, everywhere. Jesus did not teach simply and sweetly, but He preached the deep things of the Word, often having to explain what He said to His disciples afterward.

(c) Luke 24—Christ exposited the OT!

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Luke 24:32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"

(d) The Apostles—declared the Word, preached the Word—examples, Peter, Stephen, Philip—they gave clear exposition of the Old Testament history, showing that Christ was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

(e) Paul’s teaching and preaching

Acts 17:2 "Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,"

Acts 19:8 "And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God."

(f) Paul’s instructions

Rom 1:15 "So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also."

Rom 10:13-15 "… "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." 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? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!""

Rom 16:25 "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ…”

1 Cor 9:16 "… woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!"

1 Cor 15:11 "Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed."

Titus 1:1-3 "… God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, …"

1 Tim 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Titus 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

3. Necessary Questions:

a. Why preach the Word?

(1) God commands His man to do so.
(2) The example has been set

(a) Prophets and patriarchs of the OT
(b) The Lord Jesus
(c) The Apostles and Prophets of the NT
(d) The Great Godly men of history.

(3) Only preaching the Word Saves Sinners—

1 Cor 1:17-18 "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

1 Cor 1:23 "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;"

1 Pet 1:23-25 "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. …: 25… the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."

(4) Only preaching the Word grows saints

Eph 4:11-12 "… pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…”

(5) Only preaching the Word prepares warriors—every part of the Gospel armor is related to the Word.

b. Who preaches the Word?

(1) Those qualified (by God’s standards)

(a) 1 Tim 3:1-7 “…A bishop then must be…”

ü blameless
ü the husband of one wife
ü vigilant
ü sober
ü of good behaviour
ü given to hospitality
ü apt to teach
ü Not given to wine
ü no striker
ü not greedy of filthy lucre
ü but patient, not a brawler,
ü not covetous
ü One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
ü 6 Not a novice…”
ü 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; …”

(c) Titus 1:9 “…Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers…”

(2) Those called (by God’s Spirit)—Gal 1:15-16 "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen…”

4. When, and How Preach the Word?

a. In season…Out of season—

(1) When it is convenient, when it is not convenient.
(2) When it is popular, when it is not popular.
(3) When times are good, and when they are bad.
(4) It is like your marriage covenant—for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health…

b. Reprove (with all longsuffering and doctrine)

(1) This is to rebuke by making convincing arguments, through preaching and teaching, by giving evidence in the Bible.

(2) This word means to convince or convict. It is the same word used of the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry in John 16:8— “… And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:…”

(3) It means to challenge people with the Word of God, that they might be convicted of the sin in their life.

c. Rebuke (with all longsuffering and doctrine)—This is beyond reproof and conviction. This is a plain old reprimand, a sharp rebuke. The argument has been given, now it boils down to standing up and rebuking those who will not listen.

(1) This is the word used when Jesus rebuked the sea

Mat 8:26 "A…Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."

(2) This is the word used when Jesus cast out demons

Mat 8:26 "And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."

d. Exhort (with all longsuffering and doctrine)—This is positive, this is the encouragement given.

e. With all longsuffering and doctrine.

(1) The preacher-teacher must be patient
(2) The preacher-teacher must always be willing, ready, and prepared to teach.
(3) The preacher-teacher must always undergird all messages with the doctrines of the Bible, not the ideas of men.

5. Why Preach the Word in this manner? (4:3-4)

a. The season will come when most people in most churches won’t want to hear sound doctrine!—the hard times we talked about Wednesday evening. Now is such a time.

(1) Note, this doesn’t talk about the totally non-religious!
(2) The unchurched lost man or woman does not care what the preacher preaches—they are not there!

(3) This is talking about lost religious folks, who have a form of religion, but deny the power thereof, and who won’t endure sound doctrine!

b. The Hypocrites won’t endure sound doctrine, so they will become apparent.

(1) Sound doctrine will smoke out lost church members. They will either get right or get out.
(2) Sound doctrine will challenge weak Christians and strengthen them.

c. The Hypocrites, the Lost religious people, will find teachers they like, who will preach what they want to hear.

(1) First, they will gather, heap, to themselves teachers and preachers who will teach and preach what they want to hear.

(a) Why are there so many heretics on the airwaves and so many preachers willing to compromise to draw a crowd?

(b) Because demand creates supply.

(2) Itching ears—Their ears want to be tickled, be soothed. They don’t want to hear anything that will challenge their beliefs or convict them of their sins.

d. The hypocrites will listen to fables, myths. They will be perverted from (turned from) the Truth to myths.

(1) Myths about who God is and what He is like.
(2) Myths like the carnal Christian theory, which says people can have eternal life, but show no evidence of eternal life within them.
(3) Myths like the ridiculous idea that there is any significance whatsoever to a name on a church roll when the person matching the name has no interest at all in the things of God or in that local church.
(4) Myths like emotional shaggy dog stories which make us laugh, cry, or get stirred up, but which mean nothing biblically.
(5) Myths about Truth, which says that God has changed His rules for nearly everything, that any lifestyle is acceptable to God.

e. Biblical preaching is offensive to the natural mind, to the lost man or woman, and to some degree to the undiscipled Christian.

(1) Biblical preaching inflames the opposition of the proud.
(2) Biblical preaching offends the merely religious
(3) Biblical preaching does not please those looking for a positive, ego-comforting, feel-good message.

6. How is the preacher to Conduct His Ministry in the light of all this?

a. Watch In ALL Things—The ministry is not conducted on autopilot. You must continually be on guard and watchful in all areas.

(1) Watch yourself

Acts 20:28 ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…

1 Cor 10:12 "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."

1 Tim 4:16 "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you."

(2) Watch out for the sheep—God places His men on guard over the sheep of His pasture; you are to guard against dangers from without and from within.

Acts 20:28 ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

(3) Take heed to the mission you have been given. God has given His men a mission in life, and each man’s mission is not the same, but the overall goal of all the missions is the same goal.

1 Cor 3:10 "According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it."

Col 4:17 "And say to Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.""

b. Endure hardships—There are many trials and hardships in the ministry. The Man of God must endure them. 2 Tim 2:3 "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ…”

c. Evangelize—you must be ever ready to evangelize, to speak the Word to all you encounter.

d. Prove—to completely carry out and finish—God has given you the ministry of the Word, and you are to carry out and finish that ministry completely.

The Good Minister

2007-07-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

The True Preacher and His Duties

1 Tim 4:6-11

1. A Good Minister: "If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

a. A True Preacher Is A Teacher “"If you instruct the brethren in these things…”

(1) If you instruct—in this case, a rare Greek word that means, “to put under.”
(2) this is one of the key tests of the true preacher, does he teach the people?

(3) There are some who seem to think that one can be a preacher without being a teacher—there are no Bible verses to support such a thing—preaching and teaching must go together.

(4) The very definition of pastor, in the only time the noun form is used to describe the New Covenant preacher, is wrapped up in the gift of God to the church in the form of teaching pastors (plural)—(Eph 4:11) "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,"

(5) The heart of the great commission is not to make converts, but to make disciples by teaching them.

(6) Examples of the verb form of “shepherd”

(a) (John 21:16) "He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep.""
(b) (Acts 20:28) ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."
(c) (1 Pet 5:2) "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;"
(7) Bottom line—it is hard to imagine a New Testament preacher who was not only a preacher but a teacher.

b. A Good Minister is a Good student—“…[constantly] nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine…”

(1) The word “…constantly…” expresses that this is a present participle, which refers to continuity, a lifestyle habit—the true preacher never stops learning
(a) Example—Bro. Charles Dinkins
(b) Example—William Tyndale, waiting to be martyred, requested a Hebrew Bible and Hebrew dictionary that he might study
(c) And of Course, Paul…(2 Tim 4:13) "Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come; and the books, especially the parchments."

(2) Nourished is the word “entrepho,’ which is a rare word. The philosopher Plato used the word to describe the education of a lawyer—“nourished in the laws…”

(3) The nourishment is in the words of the faith, [tois logois tēs pisteōs] not some magic-like “faith word,” but as so many other times, THE faith is in view, the doctrines and teachings of “the faith once delivered to the saints.”

(4) “Sound Doctrine” goes beyond the basic teachings of the faith, to the deeper things (1 Cor 2:6 ff), and to the practical implications and applications of our faith.

(5) There is such a thing as bad doctrine

(a) False theories about Who Jesus Is
(b) False teaching about salvation
(c) Denial of the full sufficiency of God’s Word
(d) Denial of the Lordship of Christ
(e) Human traditions set over and against the Word of God
(f) “Prophecies” by modern day “prophets”
(g) Gnostic “secrets”

c. A Good Minister is a careful student —“…which you have carefully followed…”

(1) This no doubt refers to the discipling that had occurred when Paul taught Timothy

(2) The word means “to walk alongside of,” indicating perhaps even the manner of the instructions Timothy received while traveling with Paul.

(3) The verb is in the perfect tense, which tells us that for Timothy, the study and personal application were an established and settled habit—2 Tim 2:15

d. A Good Minister Rejects Ignorance—“…7 But reject profane and old wives' fables…”

(1) Reject—turn away from

(2) Profane—the word refers to godless things

(3) Old wive’s fables—the word for “fable” is a word that talks about fictional stories that are not true and have no basis in Truth

(1 Tim 1:4) "nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith."

(2 Tim 4:4) "and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."

(Titus 1:14) "not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth."

(2 Pet 1:16) "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."

(4) The True Preacher does not buy the lines of the heretics, nor does he believe in human traditions and legends

(5) The theology of the Gnostic heretics was fanciful, mystical, and ridiculous—here Paul compares it to the ghost stories, scary stories and legends that a pagan grandmother might tell her grandchildren

2. A Good Minister Stays in Spiritual Shape— “…and exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come 9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance …”

a. A Spiritual Workout

(1) The word “exercise” is “gymnasia,”.

(2) He is not saying that bodily exercise is of no account, just that it is not of much worth, since it is not about eternity.

(3) Instead of being a physical athlete, the true preacher is to be a spiritual athlete, worked out and prepared for the contest by rigorous instruction and hard work—

(2 Tim 2:15) "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

(Col 1:29) "To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily."

(1 Tim 5:17) "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine."

(4) What a true preacher does, by way of preparation and spiritual training, is to study the Word and allow God to work in his life to create godliness, and to grow in prayer and in experiential knowledge of God.

b. The Spiritual Fitness Goal: Godliness

(1) Godliness refers to that character trait which is serious and reverent about the things of God

(2) The True Preacher has the same mindset as the Lord.

(Col 3:2) "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

(Phil 2:5) "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,"

(1 Cor 2:16) "For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ."

(3) The True Preacher has set his mind on God and His ways—Mat 6:33

c. Pain Brings Gain “…godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come…”

(1) There is no area of our lives which godliness will not go

(2) The life now—living for Christ
(3) The Life To Come—living with Christ for all eternity.

d. Paul’s Amen—“…9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance…”

3. Why the Good Minister Does What He Does è (1 Tim 4:10) "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe."

a. Two battles fought by every man of God

(1) Labor—(Col 1:28-29) "Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily."

(2) Suffer Reproach—strive, agonizomai, agonize

b. What makes it worth it all, and then some

(1) Our Faith—“…we trust…”
(2) The Object of Our Faith “…in the living God…”
(3) The Goal of the ministry “… the Savior of all men…” Available for all, but it is only effective to those who believe.
(4) The Family of Faith “…especially of those who believe…”

4. A Good Minister Preaches With Authority—“…11 These things command and teach…”

a. These things—everything brought up, chiefly “the Faith” and the various instructions having to do with the apostates.

b. Command—

(1) Paraggello—a word almost always identified with authority, often with the authority of Jesus

(2) Some examples

(Acts 1:4) "And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me;"

(Acts 16:18) "…Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour."

(Acts 17:30) ""Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,"

c. In Authoritative preaching, the preacher takes into account the following things

(1) The Authority of the Writer—2 Pet 1:18-21, 2 Tim 3:16-17

(2) The Accuracy of the Text—Mat 5:17-20, Jn 17:17

(3) The Example of the Savior—(Mat 7:28-29) "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

d. And Teach—covered already, but a reminder that if preaching contains no teaching it is not real preaching

Apostasy

2007-07-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Apostasy

1 Tim 4:1-5

1. Preliminary Thoughts

a. The chapter division does not help here—Chapter 4 is definitely a continuation of the thoughts of chapter 3.

(1) The church is the pillar and ground of the Truth
(2) The heart of the Truth is Who and What Jesus is.
(3) Chapter 4 is largely concerned with continuing the defense of the faith first mentioned in chapter 1—why is this theme repeated again and again? Because this was then (as it is now) a major problem,
(4) In general these verses deal with the idea of apostasy, and in particular with one specific group of false teachers that were apparently in Ephesus.

b. What does the word “apostasy”mean?

(1) There are actually two terms used that m mean the same thing, apostasia, and aphistemi

(2) Very simply, apostasy means to depart. Most of the references to this word merely mean that, to depart from this place, etc.

(3) Twice, it refers to believers departing from sin, or pulling away from false teachers

(4) But in this passage and other places, it refers to leaving the faith, and in one riveting use, the Holy Spirit tells us a very important fact about things to come.

2 Thes 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

(5) Just before the rapture, there is going to be the greatest apostasy in the history of the church—and there have been some great ones already.

(6) Jesus talks about this apostasy in Mat 24:23-28

(7) And after the Rapture, when the church is gone and the restraining hand of the Spirit of God is drawn back, THE Apostasy (Greek) will be complete.

(8) But, until then, apostasy has been and will be a problem.

(Acts 20:28-31) ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears."

2. What Does This Passage Teach Us About Apostasy? (1 Tim 4:1-5) "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons…”

a. Apostasy is a certainty—it will happen “…the Spirit expressly says…”

(1) First, there is no doubt that the Holy Spirit has told Paul this, and that Paul has been inspired by God to write this.
(2) But there have also been warnings about apostasy throughout the ministry of Jesus and in the ministries and writings of the other apostles, and elsewhere in Paul’s writings

(Mark 13:22) ""For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

(Acts 20:29) ""For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock."

(3) Latter Times—can mean any time from the time Jesus came until now.

(4) the last days began when Jesus came the first time—(Heb 1:1-2)

(5) Pentecost was part of the “last days”—(Acts 2:17) "'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh…”

b. False Doctrines and heresies will multiply as the last days grows on
(2 Tim 3:1) "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:"

(2 Pet 3:3) "knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,"

c. Apostates will depart from the faith

(1) From “the faith once delivered…”

(2) There is a body of doctrinal beliefs that the Bible calls “the faith.” It is The Faith to the exclusion of other beliefs, and it is to be believed in and practiced by every believer—Mat 28:19-20

d. Facts about the faith

(1) The Faith is something we must obey (Rom 16:26)

(Acts 6:7) "… a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith."

(Rom 1:5) "Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,"

(2) We can become stronger in the faith

(Acts 14:22) "strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.""

(Acts 16:5) "So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily."

(3) One can be weak in the faith and still be in the faith

(Rom 14:1) "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things."

(4) The Faith is a place to take a stand

( (1 Cor 16:13) "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong."

(5) Every person in the church is supposed to be built up, established, and unified in the faith
(Eph 4:13) "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;"

(Col 2:7) "rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

(1 Tim 3:9) "holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience."

(6) The Faith is something we must fight for

(2 Tim 4:7) "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

(1 Pet 5:9) "Resist him, steadfast in the faith…”

(Jude 1:3) "…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

(a) Church is no game, nor a country club, nor a place to come in to be made to feel good.

(b) Church is about witnessing “the faith” to the lost, and teaching “the faith” to those who get saved, and helping people learn to walk and live “the faith”

(c) We may differ as a church, and between churches, as to non-essential points of understanding—Romans 14—but on matters of life and death (The Christian Worldview, The Bible, Salvation by Grace through Faith, The Trinity, the Person and Work of Christ, the Lordship of Christ, the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, and the need for a consistent Christian life, etc., on those doctrines that constitute the faith, there can be no compromise

c. Facts about apostates

(1) The apostate has no root

(a) The Parable of the Soils (Luke 8)
(b) The Context—Jesus is explaining to the disciples that which is hidden from the crowd

(Luke 8:13) ""But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away."

(2) The Apostate has no real fruit—Mat 7:13-20 (Mat 7:15-16) ""Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them by their fruits. …"

(3) The Apostate teaches doctrines of demons

(1 Tim 4:1) "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,"

(1 Cor 10:20-21) "Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons."

(a) False religions are demonic in origin
(b) False religions are demon-inspired as to teachings
(c) False religions are utterly false

(4) The Apostate has an evil heart of unbeliefè (Heb 3:12) "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;"

(5) The Apostate participates in, excuses, or ignores Immoral behavior. Rev 2:14, 2:20-23

(6) In other words, an apostate is someone who claimed to be born again, who claimed to be saved, but was never saved and who proved it by departing, morally and doctrinally, from “…the faith once delivered to the saints…” (Jude 3)

3. Why Does Apostasy Happen?

a. The Apostate is listening to the wrong voices è he has been deceived “…giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons...”

(1) Here is the problem—without discernment, there is no ability to recognize a fake teaching è Lost people have no discernment,

(2) The second problem is that they are drawn away and deceived, not by persuasive men (though they may be the tools), but they are led away by satanic forces, the demonic hordes, who are always looking for someone to devour.

(3) In opposing apostasy, we are not opposing men and women—this is not about winning an argument or convincing someone by logic—there is no logic with an apostate, for they are under demonic influence.

(Eph 6:11-12) "… 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

b. The bottom line is that the lost church member who departs from he faith is deceived by deceiving spirits, and then begins to believe, support, and teach doctrines of the Devil and his crew.

c. What are the effects of Apostasy in an apostate? “…speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” They become so intent that they lose all sense of reality and truth, and they are ready to lie, cheat, steal, and personally attack true believers. They are so insensitive to sin, that they blaspheme God and harass His people and His church.

4. The Nature of and Truth About This Particular apostasy “…3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods…”

a. First, note the illogical and blatantly false nature of this false teaching—God instituted marriage in Genesis, and the Bible holds marriage to be “the institution which God loves (Mal 2) and in the NT, the New Covenant abolishes all dietary laws.

b. Forbidding to marry—

(1) there were several cult groups in Paul’s day which forbade marriage—and this has continued in various forms.

(2) The Cathars, in France in the 1100s and 1200s practiced a form of this, by not allowing relations between husband and wife after baptism.

(3) The Shaker religion forbade marriage

(4) Some denominations do not allow their ministers to marry, which has resulted in centuries of great problems that result from forcing men to live in that abnormal state.

(5) Abstaining from foods
(a) In the OT, there was a ceremonial set of laws about what one could and could not eat—observant Jews follow these codes today.
(b) But in the NT, the Law has been fulfilled and superseded—(See Acts 10, Acts 15, Gal 2-3)

(c) Again, several cult groups restrict the diets of their members in some ways.

5. The Answer, simple, direct, and biblical—“…from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

a. The Answer to This Heresy

(1) Those who believe and know the Truth will understand
(2) God created these foods to be thankfully consumed
(3) God created no bad creatures
(4) The Word, and Prayer
(a) The Word tells us that the dietary laws are fulfilled and no longer in use
(b) Prayer dedicates the food to God.

b. How does this relate to illegal drugs, etc.? It does NOT relate—those are not food items.

c. A model for the last of the last days

(1) We live in an age lacking discernment

(2) We live in an age when many leaders in so-called Bible-believing churches give in to every trend and fad instead of preaching the Truth.

(3) We live in an age when doctrinal accuracy and precision, even about the most vital doctrines, is lacking

(4) We live in a time when the making of distinctions is considered ill-mannered and rude.

(5) We live in the age of itching ears
(a) 2 Tim 3:1-13
(b) 2 Tim 4:1-5

b. We live in an age when (in America anyway) like that of Laodecia (Rev 3:14-22)

1 Tim 3:16, part 1

2007-07-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

I’m Glad I Know Who Jesus Is
Part 1
1 Tim 3:16

1. Analysis of the Passage

a. This is an ancient hymn of the church, one inspired by the Holy Spirit

(1) In the original, there is a natural rhythm to it
(2) It is meant to give a theological definition to the Truth delivered to the saints, and preserved and defended by the church—3:14-15

b. Each line is organized the same way in the original, with a verb in the aorist tense followed by a noun

(1) The aorist tense is a snapshot, a moment in time.
(2) But these things did not all happen at a moment in time as man sees it—but to God, each one was a done deal before He made the worlds.

c. Each line tells a different doctrine about Who and What Jesus is
d. Each line is vital for our salvation, for Christ’s mediation, for our reconciliation
(1) God was revealed in flesh
(2) The Holy Spirit vindicated Christ’s Ministry
(3) The Angels witnessed everything
(4) Christ was preached
(5) People believed
(6) Christ Ascended

e. Why are these events so important?

(1) Christianity is a fact-based faith
(2) Our faith is not about religious feelings and being uplifted
(a) The purpose of church is not to make you feel good about yourself and to give you some words of comfort.
(b) The purpose of the church is to attack the gates of Hell and rescue the perishing.
(c) The purpose of church is to be the training ground for people equipped to take the Gospel to every corner of this town, this county, this region, this sate, this nation, and this world.

(3) Our faith, first and most of all, is about real things that happened in real time to real people—and the apostles and other early church leaders are constantly telling us this in the Bible.

(4) Two examples
(a) Stephen’s sermon—Acts 7—here is a man on trial for his life, and he gave them a HISTORY lesson!
(b) Paul’s declaration of faith—1 Cor 15:1-11
(5) So, an attack on the facts is an attack on salvation
(6) This is why every cult group winds up with some kind of works salvation

2. The Great Mystery: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness…”

a. First, What is a Mystery in the Bible?

(1) It is something that was concealed, but is being or is going to be revealed (Mark 4:11) "And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,"

(2) The Gospel is a mystery since eternity past—

(a) (Rom 16:25) "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began"

(b) (1 Cor 2:7) "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,"

(c) (Eph 3:9) "and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;"

(3) The New Testament contains several of these mysteries—things previously concealed that are now being revealed.

(4) Resurrection and rapture is a mystery revealed by Paul—(1 Cor 15:51-52) "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

(5) Part of the mystery is that Christ dwells in us through the Holy Spirit (Col 1:26-27) "the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

(6) There is also a mystery of Evil—the development of the kingdom of the antichrist. (2 Th 2:7) "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way."

b. Context: 3:14-15

(1) The “faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) has in it “some things hard to understand…” 2 Pet 3:15, indeed it includes deep teachings which are for mature believers (1 Cor 2:6-16)

(2) The basic facts that one must believe to be saved, however, are very simple: Rom 10:8-9 "But what does it say? "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."

c. But, believers are not to remain babes—Heb 5:12-14

(1) The list of deep doctrinal truths found in 1 Tim 3:16 is thought by most commentators to be from an early confession of faith, or perhaps from an early hymn of the faith
(2) This list of facts about Who and What Jesus is constitutes the outline of what we call Christology

d. There is no argument about one thing, this is a great mystery
(1) What is a mystery? A mystery is something which was unknown before and which is now being made known, such as God’s revelations to Paul concerning the nature and meaning of the New Testament Church.

(2) “Godliness” the idea that God became flesh is a great (mega) mystery—but the point is, that it has all been revealed.

e. Jesus the Revelator!
(1) John 1:14-18
(2) Rev 1:1-2
(3) Heb 1:1-2
(4) The point—Jesus, in His Life, Person, and Work, has revealed the great mystery of the Gospel, and the church, the pillar and ground of the Truth, is supposed to be the bulwark, the fortress, the defender of the Truth.

3. God was manifested in the flesh

a. He, Jesus, the Messiah, was manifested in flesh

“…The verb is used by Paul elsewhere of the incarnation (Romans 16:26; Colossians 1:26) as well as of the second coming (Colossians 3:4). ..” A. T. Robertson

b. The incarnation, the Son of God coming in human flesh, has these key elements, each of which cult groups and liberal theologians attack.
(1) He was pre-existent, in fact, He is eternal, the Alpha and the Omega—Mal 5:2, John 8:58, Rev 1:8
(2) He was and is God—John 1:1
(3) He did not cease to possess His Deity while on Earth, but He took on something extra—humanity—Phil 2:5-11

(4) He came into this earth as a real man, from the moment of conception in the virgin’s womb, what is really striking about Him is that physically, there was nothing striking about Him.

(5) He was made in all points like us—but without sinè He had no sin, He did no sin, He knew (personally) no sin—Heb 4:15-16

c. This is a key doctrine of the Bible, and has been much abused and attacked. The basic areas of attack have been:

(1) Attack #1èTo say that Christ was only a man, though with a special relationship with God (Ebionism). In this version of the Gospel, as in the false teachings of Joel Hemphill, there really is nothing special about Jesus but that He had faith.

John 1:1-3 "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."

John 8:24 ""Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.""

John 8:58 "Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.""

John 20:28 "And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!""

(2) Attack #2èTo say that Christ was not a man, that He did not come in the flesh, but that He was an illusion, a totally spiritual being who only appeared to be human—Docetism –Heb 2:17-18 "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted."

(3) Attack #3èTo say that Christ was less than fully God, that He was created—Arianism—(John 1:3) "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."

(4) Attack #4èTo say that Christ was a man who became God—adoptionism –Micah 5:2 ""But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.""

(5) Attack #5èTo say that Christ had a sin nature—Heb 4:15-16 "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

d. Why have these attacks been launched against the doctrine of Christ’s Person?

(1) Because the mystery of lawlessness (2 Thes 2:2) has also been revealed and is working to keep men and women, boys and girls, from Salvation in Christ.

(2) The spirit of Antichrists is already in the world—1 John2:18-23—attacking our Faith

(3) And because if He is not who the Bible says He is, He cannot do what the Bible says He can.

Must, Part 2

2007-07-17T06:10:00.001-07:00

Must, Part II

Readings: Acts 6:1-7, 1 Tim 3:8-15

Ø A great need in churches today—Biblical leadership
Ø Tradition has left us a confusing mess, and few churches follow the Biblical leadership model
Ø But those who do usually prosper above their contemporaries

What is a Deacon? He is a man with:\
(1) A servant’s heart, feet, and hands
(2) A calling of God to serve
(3) A heart to ease the burden of the eldership
(4) A man who meets the qualifications of Acts 6 and 1 Tim 3

1. Where Deacons Came From: The Background—Acts 6:1-2

a. The Dispute in the Church—

(1) The “Grecians:”
(a) The Greek-Speaking Jews were Jews who had adopted much of Greek culture, including the language.
(b) Some of the more proper Jews looked down upon them almost as much as they did Gentiles.
(2) The Hebrews: These were Jews who had been raised in Palestine, and who spoke the native Aramaic dialect and followed Jewish culture.
(3) The Greek-Speaking Jews were complaining that the Hebrew-Speaking Jews were not taking care of the Greek-speaking widows.

b. The Situation Was Difficult and Dangerous
(1) This threatened the unity of the church.
(2) It was causing so much trouble that the apostles, who were the elders of this first church, had no time to pray, study, or disciple new believers—and, this was not their gifting nor their calling

c. The Solution Given by the Apostles to the people—6:2b-4
(1) It is not that they were too good to serve tables, nor that the serving of the tables was of no importance.
(2) But their calling was to the Word and prayer, and to be faithful to that calling requires total dedication.
(3) The decision of the church, and the task of the deacons— Acts 6:3 The church picked out qualified men which the apostles approved, ordained, and set to the task.

2. What were the Tasks of the Seven? Acts 6:3

a. To release the men of God to be able to devote themselves to the Bible and Prayer

b. To serve tables
(1) Of the Widow
(2) Of the poor
(3) Of the missionary
(4) Of the elders

c. Who were the supervisors of the deacons? The apostles, who were operating as the pastoral team, using shared leadership

d. However, the deacon is not limited in ministry—two of the greatest early evangelists, Stephen and Philip, were of the seven original deacons.

e. It is not required that deacons be preachers, teachers or exhorters—they are workers. But it is also not forbidden for them to exercise the gifts God has given them.

3. Biblically, what are the Deacon’s Qualifications?

a. The First List of Qualifications—Acts 6:3

(1) They must be “…men…”—the word in the original is the Greek word used only for males.

(2) They must be of “…honest report…” The literal meaning in the original is “complete witness,” and it refers to a man with a good reputation.

(3) They must be “…full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom…” this speaks of a man controlled by the Holy Spirit who is also wise and prudent, a man who can be trusted spiritually and practically.

b. The Second List of qualifications—1 Tim 3:8-12

(1) A Deacon must be a reverent man who loves and fears the Lord.“…grave…”.

(2) A Deacon must be a man with a reputation for honest speech—“…not doubletongued…”.

(3) He must not be a drinker—“…not given to wine…”,

(4) He cannot be a money-grubber—“…not greedy…”.

(5) He must be a man who knows and believes the doctrines of the faith, and whose conscience is clear—“…9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience….”

(6) He must not be new to the congregation, but someone whose character has been tested over time, and whose character is continually tested.

(7) The Greek verb in verse 10 has a tense which indicates continued action—“…10 And let these also first be proved;…”

c. The Deacons’ Wives

(1) Why are there no instructions for the wives of elders (pastors)? Because they have a full time job just taking care of their man.

(2) A Deacon’s wife must be serious, not a back-biter, a sober-minded, and a spiritual woman: "…Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things."

(3) The deacon’s wife must be reverent and God-fearing. She should be a godly woman of prayer and a woman of the Book.

(4) The Deacon’s wife cannot be a slanderer. A woman who is a slanderer and a back-biter is not the wife a deacon should have.

(5) If a man has a wife who is a slanderer and a back-biter, he is as unqualified to be a deacon as is a divorced and remarried man.

(6) The Deacon’s wife must be sober-minded and trustworthy

(7) Why all of these concerns?

(a) The Deacons will be dealing with serious personal things
(b) The Deacons will be dealing with money, needs, and business
(c) The last thing needed is for their wives to hinder the process…

4. The results: Effective Church Leadership

a. The first result—Greater Publication—“…Then the word of God spread…”.

(1) The Preachers, the eldership were able to devote themselves to the Word and Prayer. This made the preachers mightier in the Word. Their time alone with the Lord made them better servants of God. Their time discipling people caused rapid progress in discipleship

(2) The People, being well-taught, spread the Word (see Eph 4:12-16).

(3) Because of the power of the pulpit when bathed in prayer and steeped in the Word, the lost were convicted.

(4) Because of the power of the pulpit, the saved people were growing faster.

(5) Because of the preaching and prayer, the members became doctrinally mature and stable.

(6) Because of the preaching and prayer, the members became better able to speak the Truth in love as mature believers should.

(7) Because of all of this, the church grew in numbers and in spiritual and moral power.

b. The Second Result–Greater propagation

(1) Eph 4:11-16 True Church Growth is Biblical growth.

(a) Man’s program is all about methods and cotton candy preaching.

(b) God’s program of church growth is not based on catchy phrases and special days, nor is it based on the pastor cajoling people to attend church who really don’t want to be there.

(c) God’s program of church growth is: For the church to major on four things,

(i) The Apostle’s Doctrine
(ii) Fellowship (koinonia, not dinners),
(iii) the Breaking of Bread
(iv) Prayer.
(d) God’s program is for the men of God to preach, teach, and lead.
(e) God’s program is for the people to grow in grace because of powerful teaching and preaching.
(f) God’s program is for spiritually mature Christians to naturally spread the Gospel through their witness.

c. The Third Result of a Biblical deacon ministry was—greater penetration a deeper reach “…and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith."

5. Finally, we see the Deacon’s Reward—(1 Tim 3:13) "For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus."

a. If a man serves well as a deacon, he will be appreciated and loved by the chuch

b. If a man serves well as a deacon, God will make him bolder and stronger in faith, so that he can serve even more and even better.

How to Run the Church

2007-07-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

Ought:
How To Do Church

(1 Tim 3:14-15)

1. A Side Point—Divine Providence Makes Our Plans: "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 15 but if I am delayed…”

a. Paul had intended to return to Ephesus at this point—he never did

b. Divine Providence is that characteristic and power of God by which He controls the course o f human history and individual human lives

(1) Human History—Acts 17:24-27, Is 42:8-11
(2) Individual Lives—Ps 139:13-16, Gal 1:13-15

c. Paul, at this time, does not realize that he will never be in Ephesus again

2. How To Conduct Yourself In Church—“…I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God…”

a. Some peoples claim that there are no normal forms of organization, leadership, or polity (organization) for the NT church—this gives them the leeway to set up the church according to their tastes—this verse destroys that entire idea

b. The purpose of this letter, supplemented by other passages in other books, is to show us how the Apostles organized the local church, so that we might follow their example.

c. This entire book is dedicated to telling us how we are to do church!

d. Here is what we have looked at so far in our study of Timothy:

(1) How to fight against false teachers

(a) Given the amount of time the New Testament spends telling us how to deal with false teachers, this must be very important
(b) Examples

(i) 1st Corinthians in part, dealt with false teachers who had denied the bodily resurrection of Jesus

(ii) 2nd Corinthians dealt with “super-apostles” who were teaching false doctrines and deceiving believers

(iii) The entire book of Galatians was about defending salvation by Grace against false teachers who denied it

(iv) The Ephesian letter teaches about spiritual warfare, because in that city of pagan religion, fighting against demonic forces was all too common.

(v) In Colossians, they were fighting against a false teacher who had organized his own cult religion

(vi) In 1st Thessalonians, there was confusion about the end times

(vii) In 2nd Thessalonians, a cult group that had broken off from the true church and were forging letters as if from Paul, teaching that the Lord had already returned and the Thessalonians had missed it.

(viii) In 1st and 2nd Timothy, here before us, there were several different kinds of false doctrine being dealt with

(ix) In Titus, there were false teachers in the churches in Crete which Titus had to take on head on and deal with.

(x) In 2 Peter and Jude, a dangerous cult was spreading through several churches

(xi) In 1, 2, and 3 John, a group we now know as the Gnostics had penetrated several churches

(xii) In the seven churches of Asia in Rev 2 and 3, there were problems with false teachers in five of the seven churches.

(xiii) And, there is more to come!

(2) 1 Timothy tells men and women how to worship and serve?

(a) There are distinct, overlapping, and complementary ways of Serving God in the church
(b) All are to serve, but not in the same way

(3) 1 Timothy tells us How to organize the government of the local New Testament church

(a) Paul names two offices, elder/overseer/pastor, and deacon

(b) Paul gives qualifications for those offices

(c) Titus 1 and Acts 14, 15, 20 suggest to us that these were regular and widespread practices

(d) Since Paul was the man through whom the Lord had decided to reveal church Truth—Eph 2:11-3:21, these things are seen to really fit together well, and belong to his ministry.

(4) Several things yet remain to be studied, and among the mosts vital are

(a) How pastors are to serve

(b) How pastors are to be treated by the church

3. What the church is—“…the Household of God…”

a. Not a physical building—“God’s House…” is not brick and mortar, but is flesh and blood. The congregation does not meet at the church—wherever the congregation is, that IS the church.

b. The Assembly, the ecclesia, is the congregation gathered together for conducting church—Mat 16:17-20

c. “In the household…” refers to your relationship to other believers when you meet together.

(1) We are little stones (1 Pet 2:1-5)
(2) He is the chief corner stone—Eph 2:20

4. What the Church is To Be, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

a. The church of the LIVING God

(1) God spoke of this often in the OT

(2) The Church is the Church of The Living God

(a) In the OT, it is a phrase that emphasizes the falsehood of the dead “gods” of the pagans—(Jer 10:1-10) ***
(b) In the NT, it is a confession of faith

(Mat 16:16) "Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.""

(John 6:69) ""Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.""

(2 Cor 6:16) "And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.""

b. The Church is The bulwark [pillar and ground] of Truth

(1) In Ephesus and other places, the pagan temples had large columns with stone bases, which not only were beautiful but also functional, in that they held the building together

(2) Paul is using that architectural form to illustrate the centrality and importance of the Word, and of the importance of the church protecting and preserving the Word of God.

(a) 2 Tim 1:13-14
(b) 2 Tim 2:1-2

c. The Word of God is the Only authority the church has

(1) God holds His Word in such esteem, that He puts it over His own Name—Ps 138:2—"I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name." Why?

(a) First, because God truly loves the Word of Truth that He ordained before the ages (1 Cor 2), which has eternally been settled in Heaven (Ps 119:89)

(b) Second, because the Word of God is an objective standard by which to measure everything—it is easy to claim to be serving in the Name of the Lord, but the only way that can be tested and measured is by reference to God’s Word—see Mat 7:21-23, 1 John 2:18-23, 4:1-3, Is 8:19-20

(2) The Word of God tells us how be saved—Romans 10:9

(3) The Word of God tells us Who Jesus Is—

(Mat 16:16) "Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.""

(John 8:58) "Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.""

(John 20:28-29) "And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.""

(4) The Word of God tells us What Jesus Has Done

(Mat 1:21) ""And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.""

(5) The Word of God tells us How we are to respond to Him

(Acts 16:30-31) "And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.""

(Rom 10:9-10) "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."

(6) The Word of God tells us how to live for Him

(Mat 28:19-20) ""Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."

(John 10:27) ""My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

(7) The Word of God tells us what True New Covenant worship is

(8) The Word of God tells us what is right and wrong behavior for a believer

(9) The Word of God gives us that sure and certain hope of the return of the Lord and our going to be with him.

(10) And the church is supposed to be the bulwark, the fortress of the Truth, the repository of the Truth, the legacy-keeper, the succession of Truth preachers and Truth teachers that have safeguarded and who still safeguard this Holy Word

The Godly Pastor, From: Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan

2007-07-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

Sir,” said Christian, “I am a man that am come from the City of Destruction, and am going to the Mount Zion; and I was told by the man that stands at the gate, at, the head of this way, that if I called here, you would show me excellent things, such as would be a help to me in my journey.”

Then said the Interpreter, “Come in; I will show that which will be profitable to you.” So he commanded his man to light the candle, and bid Christian follow him: so he took him into a private room, and bid his man open a door; the which when he had done, Christian saw the picture of a very serious man hung up against the wall; and this was the fashion of the picture. His eyes lifted up to heaven, the best of books in his hand, the law of truth was written upon his lips, the world was behind his back. He stood as if he pleaded with men, and a crown of gold did hang over his head.

Then said Christian, “What does this mean?”

Inter. The man whose picture this is, is one of a yousand; he can beget children, 1 Corinthians 4:15, travail in birth with children, Galatians 4:19, and nurse them himself when they are born.

And whereas you see him with his eyes lift up to heaven, the best of books in his hand, and the law of truth writ on his lips: it is to show you that his work is to know, and unfold dark things to sinners; even as also you saw him stand as if he pleaded with men: and whereas you saw the world as cast behind him, and that a crown hangs over his head; that is to show you that slighting and despising the things that are present, for the love that he has to his Master’s service, he is sure in the world that comes next to have glory for his reward.

Now, said the Interpreter, I have showed you this picture first, because the man whose picture this is, is the only man whom the Lord of the place where you are going, has authorised to be your guide in all difficult places you may meet with in the way: wherefore, take good heed to what I have showed you, and bear well in your mind what you hast seen, lest in your journey you meet with some that pretend to lead you right, but their way goes down to death.

Can You Withstand Heresy?

2007-07-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Can You Withstand Heresy?
A Biblical Refutation of the Destructive Heresy of Joel Hemphill

He has won eight “Dove” awards, he is a Gospel music legend, and he is about to be installed (October 2007) in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He has appeared on the Gaither “Homecoming” videos, he has written dozens of hit Southern Gospel anthems, and he is considered by many to be a Godly man and a minister of Christ. However, the truth is that this man, by his own published admission, is a traitor to “…the faith once delivered to the saints…”. He is a denier of the Deity, the Lordship and the pre-existence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and a purveyor of salvation by works. Indeed, to find so glaring a heresy as this, one would have to look to the Ebionites, descended from the Judiazers, who existed for a brief period 1800 years ago.
Gospel music singer Joel Hemphill’s tract, “Can You Face Reality?”, is a poorly-written, self-contradictory snippet of a destructive heresy, one just as destructive as those encountered by Peter. 2 Pet 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. He flatly and plainly denies the lordship and deity of our Lord Jesus Christ and sets up a system of salvation by works. In the process, he ignores numerous scriptures, distorts and quotes others out of context, makes patently false statements about the Bible, publishes distortions and lies about history, uses unreliable theological sources, and misquotes and quotes out of context well-respected Christian teachers. His heresy is so far out that he literally exceeds other heresies of the day by denying the Lordship, pre-existence and eternality of Christ Jesus our Lord. Hemphill’s heresy exceeds that of the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, each of which has higher view of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ than Hemphill does, and it is being subsidized by the dollars of born-again believers who do not know nor realize the depth of these heresies.
Rather than give equal time to the Devil’s man, we will not answer his tract line by line, but will instead teach the truth about the Nature of God, and thereby demonstrate the gross and deadly errors taught by Hemphill and others. Secondly, we will address the total lack of discernment shown by many Christians and church leaders who mindlessly play and sing the music of lost heretics, and who even invite them in to their churches.

What is The Nature of God?

Throughout the history of the church, the enemies of God have attacked the Biblical teaching concerning His Nature, particularly the Deity of the Son of God. The doctrine we touch upon here is one of the most attacked (and best and most consistently defended) of all the major teachings of the Faith: God is Triune, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Spirit (three persons or personalities that are distinct)--yet there is only one God. This has been called the doctrine of the TRINITY since the days of the early church. The early church wars and the philosophical debates surrounding that doctrine, have obscured the fact that the doctrine of the Trinity is solidly supported by Holy Scripture, and is directly drawn from the scriptures. The simple statement we have made, stripped of the technically philosophical terms, expresses what the Bible everywhere teaches about the subject. I Frankly don't understand it for one second. However, I recognize fully that the Bible teaches these truths, so I believe them and teach them whether I understand them or not.

The key presupposition we must have as we approach the doctrine of the Trinity is this: BELIEVE WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES, AND DON'T TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT. This doctrine speaks of the very essential nature of God, how can we expect to understand it? Indeed, nearly every cult that has departed from the evangelical Christian faith has either begun from someone trying to explain the Trinity. The view of the entire orthodox church, including evangelicals, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholics, has always been that denial of the doctrine of the Trinity constitutes departure from "the faith once delivered to the saints." (Jude 3)

What are the Basic Ideas of the Trinity? Mat 28:19….baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"

“…In the Name….” MONOTHEISM--There is only One True God. – the foundation of the doctrine of God's tri-unity is that there is only One God. It is emphatically taught in both the Old and New Testaments. "hear oh, Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD." (Dt 6:4). “...there is no god with me..." (Dt 32:39); "...I am the LORD, and there is none else..."(Is 45:18) "...before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me..." (Is 43:10). "There is one God and one mediator between God and man..."(1 Tim 2:5); "...and this is eternal life, that they might know thee, the only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent..." (Jn 17:3).

PLURALITY: “…in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” Within the One True God exists a plurality of persons. First, there are plural terms and names applied to God. The most prevalent in the Bible is the Hebrew Elohim. God also is described with plural pronouns, "...Let us make man in our image.." (Gen 1:25), Gen 11:6-8 "And the LORD said, "….. 7 "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city." Isa 6:8 "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?"

In Isaiah 48:16-17 --The Trinity in Isaiah! Isa 48:16 "Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit Have sent Me."
17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.. 18 Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

We next see that THE FATHER IS GOD--“…in the name of the Father,,,” Jesus is often called the Son of God, therefore God is a Father, and the Father is God. There is no scripture that even hints that the Father ever ceases to be a separate person. Jesus continually refers to the Father as a separate Person. Jesus continually talks to the Father. Jesus tells us to pray to the Father. On more than one occasion, the Father speaks. Mat 17:5 "While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!""

We must understand that Jesus Christ is Eternal God. This is the foundation doctrine of Christianity--Jesus Himself said "...If you believe not that I AM he, you shall die in your sins..." (JN 8:24) This is not just a speculative, philosophical teaching--unless God redeems us Himself, we cannot be redeemed. Jesus is called God by others, John 20:28 ,Rom 9:5, 1 Tim 3:16 ; Jesus claimed the titles and prerogatives of God, John 8:58, Mat 12:8, Mat 9:2-6. Jesus is called God by the Father, Heb 1:4-14 . Finally, Jesus is called Jehovah—compare the scriptures below: John 12:37-41/Is 6:1, 9-10, Ps 24:7,10/1 Cor 2:8,, James 2:1, Is 8:13-14/1 Pet 2:5-8, Ps 23:1/Jn 10:11, Is 40:10-11/1 Pet. 5:4
Is 44:6, Jer 23:5-6, Joel 2:32/Acts 4:12.

Furthermore, Jesus is worshipped. In Is 42:8, Ex 20:3, and many other OT passages forbid the worship of anyone but Jehovah God Himself--yet we see in many passages that Christ is worshipped . Jesus is worshipped by men: Luke 24:51-52, Mat 28:9, Mat 14:31-33. Jesus accepts the worship of men—John 20:29. He is worshipped by angels at the order of the Father—Heb 1:4-14. Finally, Jesus is worshipped in Heaven itself.—Phil 2:9-11, Rev 5:6-14.

Jesus did and does The works of God : Creation (Jn 1:3, Heb 1:2) , Preservation of the universe (Col. 1:17, Heb 1:2-3), the sending of the Spirit of God (Jn 16:7) , the forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:30-31) and the giving of eternal life (Jn 17:2-3) .

Jesus possesses divine attributes. He has Self existence (Jn 5:26, 8:58), Eternity (Jn 1:1-2, 14 Micah 5:2), Omniscience (Jn 1:48), Omnipotence--(Mt 28:18-20, omnipresence (Mt 18:20--note that He was on earth, and in the flesh, and used the present tense, showing that He had this attribute even in His earthly ministry), Immutability (Heb 13:8), and Sovereignty (Mt 11:27).
ü Jesus is God, and that fact seals our redemption, for the One who died for us is Very God of Very God, a Person of infinite worth, who laid down His life and took it up again.

ü Jesus is God, which seals our resurrection
ü Jesus is God, which guarantees our preservation
ü Jesus is God, which guarantees His return in power.

Not only is the Son of God also God the Son, the Holy Spirit is a Person (not an it), and He is God. The Holy Spirit is a Person--not a force, influence, etc. Many cults and sects deny His personality. He is turned into some kind of "divine electricity,", a sort of impersonal force for God and good in the world. This, of course, goes along with their denial of the Trinity. However, when we look at the Bible, we find that He has personal qualities ascribed to Him by scripture. He can be lied to—Acts 5:1-5, He can be tested—Acts 5:1-5. The Holy spirit has Personal Qualities, such as understanding and knowledge, (1 Cor 2:10-11), a will (1 Cor 12:11), love (Rom 15:30), and Grief (Eph 4:30). The Holy Spirit performs Personal Actions: He speaks (1 Tim 4:1, Rev 2:7), He teaches (Lk 12:12, Jn 14:26), He commands (Acts 13:2), He intercedes (Rom 8:26). Personal characterizations applied to Him: Comforter (Jn 14:16), Witness (Heb 10:15, Rom 8:16), Justifier and Sanctifier (1 Cor 6:11), Intercessor (Rom 8:26). Pronouns used of Him (Jn 14:26, Jn 16:7).

The Holy Spirit is God-- The Holy Spirit is called God – Act 5:3-5, 1 Cor 3:16--Compare with 2 Cor 6:16). Indirectly, the Holy Spirit is also called Jehovah-! It was Jehovah who spoke by the prophets (Lk 1:68-70) yet Peter says it was the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:20, also compare 2 Sam 23:2-3 with Acts 1:16). It was Jehovah that Israel rebelled against in the wilderness (Ps 78:4, 17-18), but Isaiah says it was the Holy Spirit (Is 63:10). In Dt 32:12, Jehovah led Israel, but in Is 63:14, It says the Holy Spirit led them. Jehovah commissioned Isaiah the prophet (Is 6:6-8), but Paul says (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) that it was the Holy Spirit who commissioned the prophet (Acts 28:25-26). The Holy Spirit Demonstrates the Attributes of God: Holiliness (Rom 1:4, cw Ex15:11), Eternality (Heb 9:14), Omnipresence (Ps139:7), Omniscience (1 Cor 2:10-11), Omnipotence ( Lk 1:35, Mic. 3:8, Is 40:28), Sovereignty (Mat 4:1--He led Jesus!) (Jn 3:8, 1 Cor 12:11, Acts 13:2-4, 20:28).

The Importance of the Doctrine of the Trinity--Mat 28:20 ""teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."
God is a God of Relationship—Mat 3:16-17 . People mess relationships--the human race is a race at war with itself. Guess what? God does not have this problem! What the doctrine of the Trinity teaches us is that God is a God of relationship! -- The most long-lasting and tranquil relationship which has ever existed or will ever exist is the all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Psa 90:1-2, John 17:5, 24, Heb 9:14. -God is not like us in our failure to relate--He does not leave us nor forsake us. God will never leave, God will never forsake--and God will never divorce one of His own.

And this relational nature of God means that we can have Representation in heaven. Christ is our Representative. Jesus is both our Representative and our example in Baptism: Mat 3:15.--Remember, we can't go to heaven without righteousness--and our righteousnesses are filthy rags..our works cannot save us....we must have the righteousness of God. Jesus, in His earthly ministry, fulfilled the righteousness of God for us. Christ Jesus lived for us! Jesus was our representative on the cross... Isa 53:5; WE could not pay the price; WE could not stand in that place and endure the totality of God's wrath against a sinful race; WE could not stand in the presence of a Holy and just God for even one second! The Sin was Ours, the Guilt was Ours, the Iniquity was Ours, the Shame was ours, the punishment and the stripes were Ours--but the blood was HIS!!!!! My Representative, my Substitute, endured the wrath of God for me. And No Mere Man Could have done that for even one of us.....Only a being, a Person of infinite strength and power could have hung on that cross enduring that wrath, and satisfied that debt! Without the doctrine of the Trinity, there is no representation, because unless God has stood in our place, we are doomed, doomed, doomed! Jesus is our representative in all dealings with God the Father (1 Tim 2:5 ). How can I, a sinful man, approach the Almighty, Holy Father in heaven? I have a Mediator, a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, a Holy Hand that joins my hand with the Father. Jesus is our Representative at the throne of Grace--He is our priest in the Holy of Holies—Heb 4:14-16. Jesus is our Representative in the court of the Most High—Zech 3:1-7, Heb 7:25-26.

The ultimate aim of the Representation by Christ Jesus is Redemption and Reconciliation through the Person and Work of Christ, through the blood of the Lamb ( 1 Pet 1:18-21). Redemption was ordained and planned before God made the world--Christ was the Lamb Slain from the foundation of the world. God the Father sent His Son on a Holy Mission--and the objective location of that mission was a small, rocky, ugly, hill outside the gates of an ancient city in the mountains of Palestine. The hill was Calvary; the City was Jerusalem; And the mission the Son accomplished on the cross was our reconciliation with God. Rom 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Will You Withstand Heresy?

Having seen the Truth plainly taught, what is to be done? First, pray earnestly for the salvation of Joel Hemphill and others caught up in this vile heresy. Second, refuse to buy or sing any song written by or recorded by this man unless and until he repents and recants. Third, write or email the Southern Gospel Music Association (www.sgma.org), and demand that they reconsider placing this self-admitted heretic in the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame. Fourth, copy, forward, reprint, and distribute this tract, to spread the word about this destructive heresy.

Charles T. Buntin
New Covenant Counseling Ministries, Bible Teacher
Mayfield, KY 42066—see my blog at http://mainto4.blogspot.com/
mainto4@newwavecomm.net

For additional reading on this subject, we recommend the following book:
The Forgotten Trinity, By James R. White, Alpha-Omega Ministries

Qualifications for pastoral ministry

2007-07-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

Must, Part 1

1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-11

Introductory Thoughts

Ø What do we call someone who holds this office?

o In over 20 instances, the office is called “elder”—presbuteros, or presbuteroi

o In six instances, the office is described as “overseer,” or bishop—episkopos

o Only once is this office is referred to as “pastor,” poimen, in Eph 4:11, though the verb form is used three more times.

(John 21:16) "He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep.""

(Acts 20:28) ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

(1 Pet 5:2) "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;"

o This became the common usage through a series of historical events in Baptist history

o So as not to confuse anyone, I will use the term we are all most familiar with

Ø Several questions seldom asked, and even more seldom answered, are:

o “What are the Biblical qualifications for pastors?”
o “What is the Biblical job description of pastors?”
o “What particular spiritual gifts do pastors need to have?”

o Neither you nor I can really know if a man has been called by God, but the Bible gives us a list of qualifications that can give us a true indication.

o If a man says he has been called to the Gospel ministry and he does not have these qualifications, he is either deceived or he is lying.

o The Pastors’ Character
o The Pastors’ Families
o The Pastors’ Gifts

1. First, the concept of “must”

a. “Must” is a very important Biblical principle
b. Some examples

(Mat 24:6) ""And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass…”

(John 3:7) "" You must be born again.'"
(John 3:14) ""And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,"
(John 3:30) ""He must increase, but I must decrease."
(John 4:24) ""God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.""
(John 10:16) ""And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, …”

c. If this or any church would be pleasing to God, they MUST call a man with these qualifications.

2. The Character of the Pastors of the Church

a. A vital topic in this day

(1) Pastoral scandals

(a) Rev. Radic, that sold the church
(b)Rev. Haggard who visited the gay prostitute
(c) The associate pastor at Belleview Baptist in Memphis who had a previous conviction of molestation

(2) Lack of respect for the office

(3) Lack of respect for the men who hold the office and do it right.

b. “…Must…” —these are things that must be, not optional.

c. “…blameless…”

(1) This does not mean “sinless,” else no one would ever qualify.
(2) This means “no legitimate charges can be brought” of anything of a serious nature

d. “temperate” literally means “wineless.” And “not given to wine…” Why mention this twice? Because it is a vital requirement, that many want to overlook in this day

e. “…sober-minded…” A man to be taken seriously, who takes life seriously.

(1) If I was a physician, a surgeon, and I was doing to operate on you today, I believe that you would take this very seriously, and you would want me to be serious about the procedure

(2) What I do here from this pulpit is of far more importance—I am a soul surgeon, dealing with the eternal destinies of people who are going to exist forever.

"Biblical preaching must be soaked in the blood of Jesus and singed by the fires of hell." John Piper

I will one day stand before my Lord, and my ministry will be questioned on the basis of my faithfulness to the Truth in my preaching and teaching. I will not be questioned on my likeability, nor on my manner of dress, or any other such petty thing. I will be judged at the Bema Seat for how well I exercised my calling, which is to preach the Truth to men and women who are in danger at any moment of falling into an eternal abyss, a lake of fire.

(Acts 20:26-27) . 26 "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God."

(2 Cor 5:10-11) "… we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences…”

(James 3:1) "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

(2 Tim 4:1-2) "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. …”

f. “…of good behavior…” a man with an ordered life.

g. “…hospitable…” a man who loves people and being around people.

h. “…not violent…” Literally, not a striker

i. “…gentle, not quarrelsome…” Not someone spoiling for a fight. You can oppose false teachers or knuckleheads and still be peaceful.

j. “…not greedy for money, not covetous…” 1 Tim 6:6-10, Acts 20:23

(1) The church should adequately support the man of God—if he is a true man of God, he will labor over the Word, struggle with difficult passages, and carefully weigh the effects of what he is teaching and preaching—James 3:1-2

(2) The church should fix it so that he does not have to worry about his family’s well being

(3) But the ministry is not about becoming wealthy

3. The Pastor’s Family

a. Note that there is no job description for the wife of a pastor (but there is one for the wife of a deacon). The reason is that the wife of a man of God has plenty to do just being his wife.

b. “…must be…the husband of one wife…”

(1) Must…

(2) The Pastors must be males—the word “husband” is a word that can only refer to a male.

(3) The Pastors must each have only one wife—Literally, they must be “one-woman men…”

(4) Each pastor must be totally committed to one and only one woman.

c. The pastors’ home lives must be respectable; The Pastor must have a well-run household, with his children not being riotous or unruly, and who are submitted to his leadership—3:4b-5

4. The Pastors’ Spiritual Gifts

a. They must be apt to teach “…Titus 1:9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught…”

(1) Well taught—has this man been discipled in the faith, and who discipled this man?

(2) Timothy had been well taught, by example, experience, and doctrine:

(3) The Discipleship Principle—

2 Tim 1:13 "Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim 2: 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

b. Not a novice—amateur night in the pulpit is never an option

c. Exhorter—A Bible preacher is not to be a shrinking violet nor a dry teacher, but is gifted to stir the souls of all who listen and encourage them.

d. Convincer—A Bible preacher is a man gifted to convince and convict. “…, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”

e. Able to shut down false teachers

2 Tim 4:2 "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."

Titus 1:13 "This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,"

Titus 2:15 "Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you."

f. Able to rule well—the administrative gift is often overlooked but is just as much a part of the package as any other.

(1) There is a problem here with this word “rule,” and it causes problems however one looks at it, especially for Americans, because we don’t have a king—our governors govern, our presidents preside

(2) First, we cannot ignore this word, pass it by, nor negate it, for it is integral to this subject, and it is repeated twice for emphasis

(3) The problem comes with the English word, “rule,” which is no longer a good communicator of the meaning of this Greek word, and this has caused problems

(4) The word, translated “rule,” προΐστημι, proistēmi, means to ; to stand before, or to preside, or to maintain. Let’s see how it is used

1 Thessalonians 5:12
Them that labour among you (tous kopiōntas en humin). Old word for toil even if weary.
And are over you in the Lord (kai proistamenous humōn en Kuriōi). Same article with this participle. Literally, those who stand in front of you, your leaders in the Lord, the presbyters or bishops and deacons. Get acquainted with them and follow them.
And admonish you (kai nouthetountas humas). Old verb from nouthetēs and this from nous (mind) and tithēmi, to put. Putting sense into the heads of people. A thankless, but a necessary, task. The same article connects all three participles, different functions of the same leaders in the church.

1 Tim 5:17 "Let the elders who preside well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine."

Heb 13:7 "Remember those who preside over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct."

Heb 13:17 "Obey those who preside over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you."

Heb 13:24 "Greet all those who preside over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you."

***Mat 20:17-28—servant leadership

***1 Pet 5:1-5

5. Application—how can we judge?

a. Brother, how do YOU know if a man is not really called?
(1) The same way I know that a woman is not called to pastor
(2) The Word settles all arguments—Is 8:19-20
b. By their fruits you shall know them—Mat 7:15-20

2007-07-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

How To Worship In the Assembly
Part 2
1 Tim 2:9-15

a. Where this puts us: This is a continuation of 1 Tim 2:8èWe are talking about behavior in the assembly of the church

b. The main points in today’s text are very simple.
(1) Women are vital to the church
(2) Women are to be known for who and what they are, not how they look
(3) Women are to learn
(4) Women are not to lead
(5) Women are to be cared for by their Christian Children

1. Women are Vital to the Church

a. Women are full partners in Salvation, and in the ministries of the church—“…in like manner also…”

b. The Gifts and ministry of women. are “like” those of the men that is, they are to be done in the same holy manner, though there are distinctions in the ministries of men and women.

(1) Like the men, they are to pray for all people, for the lost, for government leaders
(2) Like the men, they have One True God to Whom they turn
(3) Like the men, women have continual and instant access to the Mediator
(4) And as the men, they are to be holy and separate

c. The Status of women in Paul’s Day was often dismal

(1) High Born Greco-Roman women, were usually the property of their husbands, and were not often out in public—in a pagan household, the father ruled absolutely
(2) The dishonorable exceptions were “ladies of the evening…”
(3) The honorable exceptions (Lydia, for example) must have been exceptional indeed, and were most likely widows or the daughters of very wealthy and powerful men.
(4) Slaves were slaves, and had no privileges of any kind
(5) Even the “priestesses” of the temples, etc. were not some kind of super-feminist force. Pagan women had little real status at all.
(6) Jewish women had a higher status than pagan women (within their communities and families), but they were still considered very lowly.

d. The difference among Christians

(1) Women were, from the beginning considered equal partners in Salvation—Gal 3:28

(2) Women were a vital part of the ministry of Christ on Earth
(a) His mother’s cousin, Elizabeth
(b) His mother
(c) Anna
(d) Martha and her sister Mary
(e) Mary Magdalene
(f) Joanna the wife of Chuza
(g) Susanna

(3) Women figure prominently in the history of the early church
(a) Priscilla
(b) Claudia
(c) Dorcas
(d) Phoebe
(e) Philip’s daughters
(f) Tryphena and Tryphosa

(4) Women figure prominently in church history since then.
(a) Katie Luther
(b) Suzanna Wesley
(c) Fanny Crosby
(d) Lottie Moon

(5) There are many great Christian women in our day
(a) Beverly LaHaye
(b) Kay Arthur
(c) Beth Moore
(d) Anne Graham Lotz
(e) Ruth Graham

2. Women are to be known for who and what they are, not how they look
"…in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works…”

a. What this phrase does NOT mean

(1) This does not mean that women must dress in toe sacks and block shoes.

(a) The clothing mentioned here as being over the top is of a very special type

(b) Wealthy Greek and Roman women would sometimes spend huge fortunes on one outfit, including having strands of real gold and precious jewels woven into their hair—they did not wear these outfits all the time, this was “formal wear,” and like the formal wear that celebrities wear today, the intention of the dress was to draw attention to the wearer”

(c) Even in the early church, there were a few well-off people (see James 2, and 1 Cor 11), and in Ephesus, apparently, some of the wealthy women from this culture were attending the meetings of the church dressed in this special attire. Paul very gently corrects this, because the ostentation was a distraction.

(2) The question is not clothing, but attitude.
(3) And, again, the context is how to act in the assembly of the saints.

b. What this phrase does refer to

(1) “In Like Manner…” as the men, the women are to be holy in life
(a) “…Their adornment…” 1 Pet 3:1-6èthe moral and ethical character of the women of old, women of God helps us to understand this adornment of a quiet spirit
(b) There is nothing wrong with jewelry or nice clothing per se, the problem arises if the woman values them over the real adornment of holy living
(2) “…In like manner…” as the men, they are to pray and worship without anger and strife

3. Women are to learn “…11 Let a woman learn in silence…”

a. Again, we must clue ourselves in to the Greco-Roman culture

(1) With rare exceptions, women were taught very little about anything.
(2) The idea that a woman was to be taught and was to gain knowledge as a part of her way of life was a revolutionary idea, one which separated

b. First, every true believer is to be discipled in The Faith.

(1) Mat 28:19-20
(2) Eph 4:11-16

c. Second, every true believer is to grow in Christ—Heb 5:12ff, 2 Pet 3:18

d. Third, the first line teacher of every adult Christian woman is to be her husband! Eph 5:25ff

e. The issue of silence—

(1) The word here does not refer to absolute silence, but to a quiet, peaceful attitude—see same word in 2 Thes 3:12

(2) There are two places where women are told to be silent in the church, and both of them are in passages where leadership and preaching are the subjects. See 1 Cor 14:33-35

(3) There are other places where it seems to be taken for granted that women are to pray aloud during the service, though not in a leadership role

(4) This is backed up strongly by the appearance of the next topic.

4. Women are not to lead, have authority over, nor teach adult men—“…with all submission. 12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression…”

a. If human language means anything, this is the teaching of the Bible in this area

(1) The example of the OT—with the exception of Deborah noted below.
(a) Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, etc.—all of the national and spiritual leaders were men except Deborah

(2) The NT—

(a) there were many women of great faith who could have been picked to be an apostle—but Jesus picked only men

(b) There were two more possibilities, one to take Judas’ place, and one to be the apostle to the Gentiles, but God picked Matthias and Paul

(c) Every NT book was written by a man

(d) Every NT church was led by a plurality of men.

(e) The qualifications for church leadership specifically call for males to lead the church—1 Tim 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-11

(3) People have often asked me how it is that there are so many women teachers in this day, and does that fact deny the clear teaching that men are to be the leaders

(a) First of all, the habits, practices, and traditions of man can NEVER override the clear teaching of scripture. If every church in the land was pastured by a woman, the Bible would still call for male leadership.

(b) The Answer is found in a recognition of the Deborah Principle—Deborah was the only authorized female leader of the people of God in the Old Testament—

(c) Why? Because the men of her generation were spiritual wimps, like Barak
(d) If men do not do their job, someone will!

(4) I am firmly convinced that a combination of men who won’t go, men who were abused and burned out of the ministry, and men too busy following the latest fads to really preach has opened up a door for the Deborah Principle to take effect.

5. Women are to be cared for by their Christian Children “…15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control."

a. Note: “…she will be saved IN childbearing…if THEY…”.

b. This is a theological football: some of the ideas that have been put forth:

(1) Some say this is referring back to Christ being born of a woman

(2) Some say that this really means that salvation is partly or wholly influenced for women by childbearing

(3) Some say that this refers to a woman’s children taking care of her when she is old, using the alternative meaning of sozo, to be preserved.

(4) Context—this statement was in reaction to or explanation of, what Paul just said about male authority in teaching—a reminder that women exercise great influence over every child they raise.

c. What this does NOT mean è it does NOT mean that there is some way for women to work out their salvation by having children

God In Three Persons--The Holy Spirit

2007-06-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

John 14:16-17, 26, 15:26-27

· This is one of the most confused doctrinal areas
· Some Baptists are so scared of anything to do with the doctrine of the Spirit
· Others get pulled out into doctrinal error and excess
· The most common doctrinal error about the Holy Spirit is about His Person, that He is an “it,” a force, an influence, some kind of divine electrical current.
· The second most common doctrinal error concerns His Work—The Work of the Spirit is not to make everyone feel good—it is to empower believers —The work of the Spirit is intimately tied in with the work of the Son, but in this present age, there are distinctive things that are his.
o Gifting the Church (Rom 12, 1 Cor 12)
o Teaching the church

(John 14:26) ""But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

o Convicting the World and individuals–Jn 16:8-11

o Training, organizing and sending missionaries

(Acts 13:1-2) "Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.""

· And, of course, it must be mentioned that the Spirit is the Father’s gift to Jesus’ people, as we continue to see the Trinity displayed in an obvious manner.

· In considering the Spirit’s ministry to us, the actions of the Trinity are seen plainly in the Bible

· One of the strongest proofs of the Trinity, often overlooked, are the many passages where the work of the Triune God is displayed and taught in strictly Trinitarian terms.
(1) Some Examples—of course, our text is one—(John 14:16-17)

(Rom 1:1-4) "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."

(Eph 3:14-16) "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,"

(Eph 1:3) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,"

(Eph 1:13-14) "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."

(Eph 4:4-6) "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

(1 John 4:13-15) "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."

(Heb 9:14) "how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

· As we begin our look at the Holy Spirit, we will be guided in this first sermon by a few of His job titles.

1. His First Title—Another Helper, or Another Comforter—This identification by itself is sufficient to prove both the personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit.

a. First, the Holy Spirit is Another when compared with Christ Jesus
(1) In the Greek, there are two ways to say “another.” Another Comforter (allon paraklēton). Another of like kind (allon, not heteron
(a) Another of a different kind would be “hetero,”
(b) another of the same kind would be “…allon…”—This is Another of the same kind.
(2) Another of the same kind—since Jesus is a Person, so is the Spirit
(3) Since Jesus is divine, so is the Spirit—they are the same “kind”

b. Second, The Spirit is Another “Helper” or “Comforter,” This defines His basic function: to minister to the people of God

(1) Paraclete—one called alongside to help.
(2) ), … from parakaleō, was used for legal assistant, pleader, advocate, one who pleads another’s cause…” (A T. Robertson)

c. We now have two Counselors

(1) One in the Throne Room in Heaven, there to intercede on our behalf—Heb 1:1-3, Rom 8:34, Heb 7:25

(Heb 1:1) "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,"

(Rom 8:34) "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."

(Heb 7:25) "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

(2) Another here within us, also ready to intercede, “from this end…”.

(Rom 8:26-27) "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

(3) And, what is the intercession for?
(a) We are accused by Satan day and night (Rev 12:10)
(b) We are tempted, tested, melted and purified day and night.
(Zec 3:1-2) "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"

(Luke 22:31-32) "And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.""

2. His Second Title: The Spirit of Truth—Jn 14:17, 15:26, 16:13

Whom (ho). Grammatical neuter gender (ho) agreeing with pneuma (grammatical), but rightly rendered in English by “whom” and note masculine ekeinos (verse 26). He is a person, not a mere influence. (A.T. Robertson)

a. The Spirit of Truth

(1) As the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit came upon the OT Prophets and thereby inspired the Holy Scriptures—2 Pet 1:18-21
(2) As the Spirit of Truth, He caused the apostles to remember what He had said to them
(3) As the Spirit of Truth, He taught them things after Pentecost that they were not ready for before Pentecost
(4) As the Spirit of Truth, He guides Bible teachers today in discerning Truth—1 John 4:1-6

b. Teach you all things

(1) There were entire vital parts of Truth that had not been revealed, and these would be revealed through the men God so called to do, AFTER the coming of the Spirit in power on Pentecost.
(a) Paul’s revelations about the church in Eph 2 and 3
(b) The structure of the church, given in 1 Tim, 2 Tim, Titus, and other places.
(c) The full revelation of the Spirit Himself
(d) The full revelation of Jesus
(2) The pre-authentication of the New Covenant Scriptures
(a) Heb 2:1-4
(b) 2 Pet 3:15ff

(1 Cor 14:37-38) "If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant."

3. The Witnessing Spirit—“He will testify of me”

a. It is common today to encounter ministries that lift up the Holy Spirit and their entire ministry is about the Holy Spirit this, and the Holy Spirit that, and how to be slain in the Spirit, etc.

b. Does the Bible support this format of ministry?

(John 15:26-27) “… He will testify of Me. 27 "And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

(John 16:12-15) ""I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."

c. A true Holy Spirit ministry would not exalt the Spirit, but would exalt the Son.

Intro to 1 Timothy

2007-06-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Preparatory Notes to the Exposition of Timothy

1. Basic Facts

a. This is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to one of his missionary colleagues, Timothy
(1) He had led Timothy to the Lord
(2) He had discipled Timothy
(3) He knew Timothy and his family
(4) Timothy was one of the most involved of Paul’s assistants, working with Paul from the time Timothy was saved until Paul’s execution
(5) An overview of the message of Timothy

b. The time and location of the writing of this epistle can be pinpointed with great accuracy by a careful examination of Acts 19-20 and 1 Tim 1:5 and 3:14-15

c. The purpose of the letter is plainly spelled out in 1 Tim 1:3 and 3:14-15—to fight against false teachers and to finish the organization of the church in Ephesus

d. Here are the things Paul emphasized for this young missionary
(1) Preaching—4:11-16
(2) Doctrine—4:1-7, 16,
(3) Prayers—2:1-8
(4) Caring for widows and orphans—5:3-16
(5) Choosing effective and Spiritual leaders—3:1-13
(6) Organizing the church along lines that had become normal by this point.
(7) Opposing and contradicting false doctrine—1:6-20, 4:1-7, 6:3-5, 6:20-21
(8) Personal holiness—6:11-14, 4:16
(9) Spiritual Warfare—1:18, 6:12

2. Paul:

a. His Nameèsmall. Early church tradition described him as short, bow-legged, bald-headed, with a crooked nose, which would explain the charge his enemies made against him—2 Cor 10:10 “…they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.” 11Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.”

(1) Saul, Paul, his Jewish name and his Gentile name
(2) It is only during his first missionary journey (Acts 13:9) that a conscious and obvious switch is made, and after that point, he is never again referred to as Saul in the New Testament, except when he is telling the story of his conversion.

b. Paul: his background, education, and character—

(1) Background

(a) Native to Tarsus—(Acts 22:3) ""I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia…."

(i) Tarsus, a free city
(ii) Tarsus, an academic city
(iii) Tarsus, a Greek and Roman city with a vital Jewish minority

(b) A Freeborn Roman Citizen—Acts 22:25-29
(i) The Rights of Romans
(A) Not to be beaten
(B) Not to be crucified
(C) Not to be bound
(D) “A Roman’s body was not to be violated.”
(ii) Freeborn—in some manner, Tarsus had been made a free city, and Paul’s father or perhaps grandfather had been granted citizenship.

(c) A Religious Pedigree—Phil 3:1-10
(d) Raised to have a trade—every Pharisee had a trade, even if he was rich.

(2) Paul had some Greek and Roman Education

(a) Apparently educated in the Greek classics—He quoted pagan poets on Mars Hill—Acts 17:28—Tarsus was a center of academia!

(b) Intimately familiar with Roman and Greek culture, and with Jewish laws and traditions—1 Cor 9:19-23

(c) he speaks of athletic contests as if he had seen them as a boy, and he talks about shadow boxing—1 Cor 9:24-27

(d) A master of languages—He spoke in tongues more than any of them (1 Cor 14)

(3) A Roman citizen, something that was not totally unusual for a Jew of his day, but which tells us about his family—it was a family of wealth and influence.

(4) Paul’s Jewish education
(a) Paul had a strict Jewish upbringing and was trained by the greatest Rabbit of his day, Gamaliel—Acts 22:3-4
(b) He was a zealous Jew: he persecuted Christians—Acts 8:1-3, 9:1-2

c. Paul’s Providential Preparation
(1) Gal 1:13-16
(2) Prepared to defend the Gospel against Jewish legalism—Galatians, Romans (Lloyd-Jones)
(3) Prepared to preach to all the Roman world
(4) Prepared to Debate with scholars—1 Cor 2:1-6
(5) Prepared to preach to the simple—1 Cor 1:17-18,

d. Paul’s Conversion and commission—Acts 9:1-16

1 Tim 1:1-10

2007-06-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

An Exposition of 1 Timothy
Sermon 1
1 Timothy 1:1-10

1. A True Father and A True Son—“…Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope, 2to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord….”

a. Paul was a true (spiritual) father

(1) He was an apostle of Jesus, a special messenger and witness of the Gospel

(2) Usually, Paul says that he is an apostle by the WILL of God, But here He uses a different word, one which means a command by a higher authority

(3) Paul was COMMANDED to be an apostle

(Acts 9:15-16) "But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake.""

(a) God’s Hand had rested on Paul’s shoulders from the beginning—Gal 1:13-15
(b) In the Fullness of time, God’s time, God called Paul to Himself, the chains fell off, his heart was free—and Paul followed.

(4) Paul had a true Hope
(a) Not maybe so, but surely so
(b) Hope in the Bible is never conditional, it is always certain
(c) Hope is certain knowledge based on knowing the character of God, and based on believing in the Person and Work of Christ, and based on a personal relationship with Christ. Heb 6:18-19 "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;"

b. Timothy was a true spiritual child—Paul’s True son in the faith

(1) The word “true” indicates a legitimate son, not a false one or illegitimate one
(2) This was a young man led to the Lord and discipled by Paul personally.
(3) He often accompanied Paul on missions as a co-worker, and he was the scribe for several of Paul’s letters.
(4) His mother Eunice and grandmother Lois were devout believers
(5) “…Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord…” Three things we all need!

2. An Urgent Mission—Protect the Flock—“…3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia; remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.

a. A False Cult was attacking the Ephesian church

b. Cults, Isms, and False Prophets

(1) Right now, in 2007, This is the age of the cults, the false religions claiming to be Christian, but even in the apostolic times, these things existed

(2) A few months after this letter was written, Paul visited the elders of this very church (Acts 20:17-36), and warned them against these sorts of false teachers. The elders were told:

(Acts 20:28-31) ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears."

c. Paul’s warning to Timothy

(1) Instruct—In the Greek, to give a military order and give it in an authoritative way.
(a) Bible teachers can and should speak with authority—as Jesus did (Mat 7:28-29)
(b) “But, we aren’t Jesus!” Yes, but we have His completed word, and we have the Holy Spirit
(c) The man of God is to speak with authority and say “thus saith the Lord…”

(2) Watch out for Certain men—
(a) these were specific men who had arisen in the Ephesian church (as Paul later warned in Acts 20:28-31)
(b) They were teaching false doctrines and were tossing weak believers around –Eph 4:13-15

(c) They were teaching Strange doctrines— heterodidaskalon—“…a doctrine of a different kind…”, one that does not match with the teachings of the Bible

(d) Paul speaks in Galatians of “another Jesus” taught by false prophets

(e) Jesus, in Matthew 24, warns of false Christs and false prophets that will arise

d. The teachings of the cult in Ephesus

(1) Myths and geneologies—there are and were branches of Judaism which find symbolic meaning in the “begats” and in Jewish folklore—this is very similar to Kabbalism, practiced by the popular singer “Madonna.”

(2) The Ephesian church had shown a weakness to these things in the incident of the “spell books” in Acts 19.

(3) Mere (useless) speculation—there is nothing to be found of any use in any legend, myth, or idea of human invention

(a) If someone has a “word” supposedly from God, let that “word” be tested against the Bible, precept upon precept, line upon line

(b) The false prophets cannot do that, because their lies will not stand against truth.

(4) Turning aside from Truth èTruth, a small sampling
(a) Our Lord is Truth (John 1:14) “…, full of grace and truth."
(b) Christ is the Source of Truth (John 1:17) "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
(c) Worship must be in truth—(John 4:23) “…the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…”
(d) Knowledge of the Truth makes us free—Jn 8:32
(e) The Holy Spirit is our Guide to all Truth—Jn 16:13
(f) We are sanctified (made holy) by the Truth (John 17:17) ""Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."
(g) Truth identifies you with Jesus—John 18:37”… Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.""
(h) The Truth Grows us up in Christ—(Eph 4:15) "but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ;"
(i) Truth is the first weapon in spiritual warfare—(Eph 6:14) "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,"
(j) Not loving Truth leads to death—(2 Th 2:10) "and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
(k) And these false teachers had turned aside from the Truth, and were trying to turn others aside as well

(5) Fruitless discussion—
(a) If you and I are discussing Truth, with the Bible as the judge of all things, fruit will almost certainly be the result.
(b) But if we are arguing the fine points of things that are not even from the Bible, there can be no fruit

(6) Wanting to be teachers of the Law
(a) [rather than teachers of New Covenant truth]
(b) and since these men were apparently not even Jewish, they were unqualified to talk about the Jewish Law anyway
(c) and did not have any clue about their own cluelessness.

e. There were other false doctrines of this cult, and Paul deals with them later in the letter

3. The Law and Gospel Taught Correctly—“… 5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith…”

a. The goals of Biblical instruction:

(1) love from a pure heart (the expression of a born again believer—Mat 5:8).
(2) A good conscience—a clear one, one which is a true sign of a true believer.

(a) A consistent lifestyle—“My sheep…follow me…”
(b) the Law cannot make anyone holy
(c) The Spirit, however, can cause people to walk as God wants us to walk.

(3) Sincere faith—saving faith, confessing Christ as Lord and Savior—Rom 10:9

b. Rom 8:1-4 “…Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit…”
(1) The Law cannot save
(2) The Law cannot make holy
(3) But grace does BOTH—Eph 2:8-10

c. How then, is the Law Used Lawfully?—1 Tim 1:9-10 “…realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person…”

(1) The Law

(a) does not save nor keep saved
(b) is not for believers
(c) The Law is the Holy Spirit’s prime weapon in the conviction of the lost
(d) The Law Shuts Our Mouth—Rom 3:19-20, 7:9

(2) Those for Whom the Law is intended— “…but for those who are …”

(a) lawless and rebellious— (1 Sam 15:23) "…rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry…”

(i) Lawless people have no commitment to any standard of righteousness, but are a law unto themselves
(ii) This naturally leads to rebellion against authority
(iii) There are at least four sources of spiritual authority in the life of a born-again Christian
Ø The Word of God
Ø The Holy Spirit
Ø The Local Church
Ø The Leadership of the Local church

(iv) the lawless and rebellious rebel against all levels of God’s authority

(b) ungodly and sinners——ungodly means the person has no respect for anything sacred, and that leads to a sinful lifestyle

(c) unholy and profane—This is a particular problem for lost church members, who are apathetic about holy living, and this leads them to be “profane,” which means they do not care about anything sacred

(d) those who kill their fathers or mothers—Why is this separate from “murderers?” Because it deals with the lack of subjection to and respect of parents, and as Jesus told us in The Sermon on the Mount, hatred = murder.

(e) for murderers—For assassins of character and of life, for abortionists and drug dealers, all of whom are murderers.

(f) immoral—the Greek word is “porneois,” from where we get “pornography,” and it refers to sexual sin in general

(g) homosexuals—it may be shocking to see homosexuality ranked alongside these other sins, but homosexuality is a denial of the creation ordinance of God (He made them male and female and told them to multiply), and it is a particularly rebellious sin—see Rom 1:24-27

(h) kidnappers—“slave traders,” or others who catch people and imprison them for selfish reasons. I would think that a modern category would be drug dealers.

(i) liars and perjurers—bearers of false witness, particularly those who have “gone to trial,” are heinous in God’s sight.

(j) whatever else is contrary to sound teaching—A host of things are contrary to sound teaching, and the New Testament spells these out!

d. The Holy Spirit takes these and other facts and uses them to convict and convince lost people of their lost state.

e. That is the Law, What about the Gospel? Tell the Story

So, How are Timothy and his allies in Ephesus to deal with False teachers?

By preaching and teaching the truth, exposing and rebuking false doctrines and false teachers, and teaching the church to be the church.

1 Tim 1:11

2007-06-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

An Exposition of 1 Timothy
Sermon 3
1 Timothy 1:11
“…sound doctrine,
according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust…”

1. “…Sound Doctrine…”

a. “….Sound Doctrine…”Literally means “healthy teaching, or (1 Tim 6:3) “wholesome teaching.”

(1) “Sound…” refers to good health, soundness, not in need of a doctor. It is where we get our word “hygiene.” —(Luke 5:31) "Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick."

b. The Sound Doctrine about salvation—Eph 2:8-10—
(1) By Grace, Through Faith, Unto Good Works
(2) The False teachers taught and lived NOT in accordance with sound doctrine, and there are those today who are unsound, and who believe that a consistent lifestyle is not required of believers. That idea is a distortion of Grace
(3) Check out this passage: (1 Tim 6:3-5)
(4) What did Paul tell Timothy and Titus to do about Sound Doctrine, Healthy Teaching?

(2 Tim 1:13) "Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."

(2 Tim 4:3) "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;"

(Titus 1:9) "holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

(Titus 1:13) "…rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,"

(Titus 2:1-2) "But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;"

b. So, there is a body of beliefs that is a sacred trust

(1) Jude refers to it as “the faith once delivered to the saints…”
(2) The Bible refers to “the faith” many times.

Acts 6:7 "… great company of the priests were obedient to THE FAITH."

Acts 14:22 "… and exhorting them to continue in THE FAITH…”

Acts 16:5 "And so were the churches established in THE FAITH…"

Rom 1:5 "By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to THE FAITH …”

1 Cor 16:13 "Watch ye, stand fast in THE FAITH, …”

2 Cor 13:5 "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in THE FAITH…”

Eph 4:13 "Till we all come in the unity of THE FAITH…”

Phil 1:27 "… with one mind striving together for THE FAITH of the gospel;"

Col 1:23 "… continue in THE FAITH grounded and settled,…"

Col 2:7 "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in THE FAITH, …”

1 Tim 1:2 "Unto Timothy, my own son in THE FAITH: …”

1 Tim 3:9 "Holding the mystery of THE FAITH…"

1 Tim 4:1 "… in the latter times some shall depart from THE FAITH,…”

2 Tim 3:8 "… men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning THE FAITH."

2 Tim 4:7 "… I have kept THE FAITH:"

Titus 1:13 "… rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in THE FAITH;"

Heb 4:14 "… let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."

c. What is “…the faith …?”

(1) The Basis of the Faith—The Holy Scriptures
(a) The Old Covenant writings
(b) The New Covenant writings

(2) The Form of the Faith—doctrine, Truth about What Jesus has Done for us.
(a) 1 Tim 1:12-13, 3:16
(b) Summed up best perhaps, in 1 Cor 15
(c) Christ Crucified, Risen, Returning!
(d) A summary of the most important parts of the faith.
(i) Jesus is Lord
(ii) He was virgin born
(iii) He never sinned
(iv) He died as our substitute
(v) He was buried
(vi) He rose on the 3rd day
(vii) He ascended to the Father
(viii) He is interceding for us now
(ix) He is coming back for His people, then to rule and reign.

(3) The Faith is knowledge that results in conduct and character that is Christlike—(Eph 4:13) "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;"

(Phil 1:27) "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,"

(Col 1:23) "if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister."

(Col 2:7) "rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

(a) This is mentioned a lot in 1 Timothy

(1 Tim 1:2) "To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord."

(1 Tim 1:19) "having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,"

(1 Tim 3:9) "holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience."

(1 Tim 3:13) "For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus."

(1 Tim 4:1) "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,"

(1 Tim 5:8) "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

(1 Tim 6:10) "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

(1 Tim 6:21) "by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen."

2. The Glorious Gospel, The Blessed God, Committed to Every Man of God—1:11

a. Glory
(1) The External expression of the inward reality of a person, place, or thing.
(2) God’s Glory—the revelation of Who and What He Is

(a) We cannot see the Father—His Glory must always be reflected to be visible—but we can see the glory of His moral, creative, and spiritual glory by the things he has made.

(b) The primary exhibition of the Father’s Glory during the earthly ministry of Christ was Christ Himself, excelling in moral, ethical, and spiritual glory, who had no sin, did no sin, and knew no sin—John 1:14-18

(c) But the primary exhibition of God’s Glory in this dispensation is in the glorious ministry of the Spirit, revealing Christ to lost people, saving them, and discipling them—2 Cor 3!!

(d) The Gospel is the ultimate expression of the glory of our God, because his Mercy, Love, Grace, Power, Omniscience, Sovereignty, Holiness, and Providence are all involved in His unfolding of the glorious plan of redemption.

(e) There is to be Glory in the Church—Eph 3:21—Because it is through His church that these things will happen.

b. The Blessed God—the word here is…Markarios!

(1) God is fully happy and pleased with Himself all the time

(2) Of Course God is happy

(a) He never needs counseling, though many of us have tried to Give Him advice from time to time!
(b) He has no “issues” within Himself
(c) He has enjoyed eternal communion and harmony within His 3 persons
(d) All His works are perfect
(e) All His ways are right

(3) Piper’s list (partial)

(a) God is happy with His Son

(Mat 17:5) "While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!""

(b) God is happy with His own works

(Psa 135:6) "Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places."

(c) God is happy with His Creation

Gen 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

(d) God is happy with those he has Chosen

(e) God is happy with the Cross

(Isa 53:10) "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand."

(f) God Is pleased at doing good to all who trust in Him.

c. A sacred trust of doctrine to be handed down. 2 Tim 2:2 “…the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

1 Tim 1:12-17

2007-06-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

An Exposition of 1 Timothy
Sermon 4
A Trophy of Grace: 1:12-17

Ø Why does The Holy Spirit include this testimony at this place and time?

(1) It almost looks out of place
(2) Some think was a digression, a tangent that Paul went out on
(3) The truth is, that he gives his testimony at this time to show that God can and does convert and use the most unlikely people in His service.
(4) Paul is saying, “look, I was a false teacher, I persecuted the church, I murdered Christians, and God turned me around….”
(5) We must never forget that false teachers, against whom we MUST defend the faith, are still potential converts to the Truth—as was Paul.

1. Grace For Paul

a. A Great Trophy: “…And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry…”

b. “I Thank…” Thanksgiving to God is often a missing element, even in the lives of true believers
(1) We forget what we were
(2) We forget what He has done for us
(3) We forget where we would be without Him
(4) We forget His many Providences for us
(5) We forget that He is the Source of life, breath, and all things—Acts 17:24-27

c. Christ Jesus our Lord—the Lordship of Christ is a major doctrine that cannot be soft pedaled. If Christ is not Lord, He is not Savior

d. What did Christ Jesus Our Lord do for Paul?

(1) “…Who enabled, strengthened…”

(a) The word refers to empowerment, it is related to dunamis, God’s dynamic power
(b) Paul knows he can “do all things…” but only “through Christ, who strengthens me…”

(2) “…considered me faithful…”

(a) God had counted Paul’s faith as righteousness, as with Abraham, and as will all believers (Gen 15:6, Rom 4:6-8)
(b) Now God “considers” Paul to be faithful—He counts Paul as faithful because God’s grace going to make him faithful, and God’s hand is going to guide and mould him.
(c) God is the source of Paul’s faithfulness to his calling. It is God alone who sustains him.

(3) Putting me into the ministry—

(a) First, God Chose Paul for this ministry—

(Acts 9:15-16) "…Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake.""

(Gal 1:15) "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace,"

(b) Putting—Paul was placed in the ministry by God

(c) “…ministry…” The word here is “table servant…” Paul did not consider his ministry to put him in an exalted position.

(d) William Barclay compares this to the Spartans’ practice of rewarding athletic champions. When a Spartan warrior won an athletic contest, he did not receive any tangible reward. Rather, he won the right to stand next to his king during the next battle
(e) For Paul, the honor was in being put into the ministry by God

e. Paul had a great need for Great Grace— “…13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man,,,”

(1) "although I was formerly…” Before his salvation he had been a gross sinner, a truly evil man

(2) “…a blasphemer…” He had denied the true God and the Truth about Jesus, he had slandered God—to the Jew, blasphemy is a capital crime

(3) “…a persecutor…” “…one who pursues like a hunterè He had persecuted true believers, hunted them down like rats

(4) “…an insolent man…” ὑβριστήν,..” …sadist, a violent person. The word indicates one who in pride and insolence deliberately and contemptuously mistreats, wrongs, and hurts another person just to hurt and deliberately humiliate the person. It speaks of treatment which is calculated publicly to insult and openly to humiliate the person who suffers it…” (Rogers and Rogers, page 488)

(a) Paul had been a sadistic hater of God’s people

(b) Paul himself had been the ultimate in false teachers—he hated the Truth so much that he was willing to do anything to stamp it out

(Acts 8:1-3) "... At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison."

(Acts 9:1-2) "Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem."

f. The distinction between ignorance and willful disobedience—“…I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief…”.

g. Paul Received Great Grace —14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

(1) Is always the LORD’s grace, lest we should ever think we added anything to it at all

(a) 1 Cor 1:29, Eph 2:9—
(b) we have no grounds to boast

(2) Exceedingly abundant
(a) The literal Greek is “hyper-abundant.”
(b) It means that the Grace of God is ‘way far more than we will ever need
(3) In Christ Jesus—We are Accepted in Him—

(Eph 1:6) "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

(Gal 2:20) ""I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

h. Paul, the example of What God Can Do—16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

2. Grace for Ya’ll “…This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief…”

a. There were many things for Jesus to do on Earth

(1) Fulfill the Old Testament Law—Mat 5:17,18

(2) Witness to the Truth—John 18:36-38

(3) To Teach and Preach—Is 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound…”

(4) Fulfill all the prophecies about Him: Ps 22, Is 61, many more.

(5) Heal, cast out demons, and comfort the broken hearted, and work miracles

(6) To found His Church—“…I will build my church…” Mat 16:17

(7) To fulfill all righteousness—(Mat 3:15) "But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him."

b. But the great Mission that was over all and had priority over all was to Save Sinners

(Mat 1:21) ""And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.""

(Luke 9:56) ""For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."

(Luke 19:10) ""for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.""

(Heb 7:25) "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

c. We ALL have a great need because we are not just hurt or wounded by sin, we are dead in our trespasses and sins, and unless God makes us alive, we will never be Saved.

(Eph 2:1) "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins…”

d. “…You must be born again…”, does not speak of our actions—God must cause us to be born again by His Great Grace, because the dead can only live when God makes them alive. You had nothing more to do with your second birth than you did with your first birth.

(James 1:18) "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."

(1 Pet 1:22-23) "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,"

3. Glory To God—(1 Tim 1:17) "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever….”

a. To which of the Persons of the Trinity is this exclamation addressed?
(1) To the Invisible God—John 1:18
(2) To the Father

b. Attributes of God mentioned in this verse
(1) Sovereignty—God is King
(2) Eternality—God is without beginning or end
(a) We are without end—we will always exist—but every creature has a beginning.
(b) Only the Eternal Spirit (Heb 9:14), and the Son, who has always been (John 1:1-2) and the Father, are without beginning or end.
(c) Immortality—God has life in Himself, and He cannot be hurt, killed, assassinated, etc.
(d) Invisibility—God is Spirit
(e) Only wise—Omniscience

c. Praises to God mentioned in this verse
(1) Honor—God is to be honored and respected,
(2) God is to be glorified, to be spoken of and praised as one who has “kabod,” weight, importance. All of this is His Due—Ps 96:8

4. “… Amen..."

a. ON the Surface, such a small word, one which many say without a thought, and others with great thought

b. Some interesting facts—

(1) Amen is probably the most universal word in human language. According to the Zondervan Pictoral Encyclopedia of the Bible, only “ma” comes close as a word used in many languages
(2) Its meaning in each language is the same—“truth.”
(3) It is used 51 times in the New Testament as “amen,” a direct carry-over from the Greek, but 126 times in all. Every time Jesus says, (depending on your translation) “verily, verily”, or “most assuredly,” he is saying “amen up front.”

c. Here are some of the many things that the New Testament “amens”

(1) Jesus Amens the authority of the Bible. (Mat 5:18) ""For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."

(2) Jesus Amens the authority of the Local New Testament Church. (Mat 18:18) ""Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

(3) Jesus Amens discipleship. (Mat 28:20) ""teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."

(4) Jesus Amens the necessity of the New Birth— (John 3:3) "Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.""

(5) Jesus Amens that Faith in Christ yields eternal life. (John 6:47) ""Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life."

(6) Jesus Amens that He is Jehovah God. (John 8:58) "Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.""

(7) Paul Amens that Satan will be crushed under the feet of God’s people. (Rom 16:20) "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

(8) Paul Amens that the church is to glorify God. (Eph 3:21) "to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

(9) Peter Amens that men of God should speak with all authority and lay it on the line for the Lord. (1 Pet 4:11) "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

(10) The Risen Lord Amens that He has the Keys—(Rev 1:18) ""I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

(11) The Living Creatures around the Throne and the Saints who are to be saved in the Great Tribulation Amen the Glory of God— (Rev 5:14) "Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever." (Rev 7:12) "saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.""

(12) The last two Amens of the Bible tell us Jesus is coming Soon and His Grace is here to sustain us until Heaven. (Rev 22:20-21) "He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."

And you know what I say to that?

AMEN!

1 Tim 1:18-20

2007-06-21T21:34:00.001-07:00

An Exposition of 1 Timothy
This Means War!
1 Tim 1:18-20

Ø ORI, War Plans, War Order
Ø Illustration—the “unknown” aircraft circles the field and asks for landing and parking coordinates
Ø The Wing Commander meets the plane, and off steps the Inspector General
Ø The “Two Biggest lies” take place
o The IG says, “we’re here to help you.”
o The Wing Commander says, “we’re glad to see you…”

Ø Then we were instructed to carry out our war order, launch the aircraft, and to do this under simulated war conditions.

Ø How much higher was the stress level, however, when my phone rang at 0200 on August 2, 1990, and I received the very simple message—“ Captain Buntin, Report to the command post.”

o Iraq had invaded Kuwait, and we knew that we would respond
o Then, on August 6, 1990, when the national command authorities made their decision, we launched the fleet of cargo planes at our disposal. The first troops on the ground were mechanics I sent to service our aircraft.
o An army designed and trained to fight against the Russians in the forests, towns, and cities of Western Europe was instead going to be unleashed against the soldiers of a madman on the most-used battlefield in history, the sands of Mesopotamia, known to us as Iraq.
o A navy, designed, built, and trained to sink the Russian Navy off the coast of Iceland moved its might to the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea to search for SCUD missles..
o An Air Force designed to Return Forces to Germany and engage in a desperate battle to control the air over the Fulda Gap of Germany, was going to instead move forces to Saudi Arabia and face a foe whose aircraft, for the most part, remained hidden for fear.
o This was NOT a drill
o What were we fighting for? Oil? The freedom of Kuwait? To prevent a madman from controlling the world oil market? The historians will still be debating that issue when the Rapture occurs. As military professionals, we did not concern ourselves with those questions, we just did our duty.

Ø The Spiritual war we fight is also NO war game—there is nothing so real as THIS war, and unlike the First Gulf War, the stakes are higher than oil, land, pride, even liberty—this battle is for souls of a multitude no man can number

1. Ordered to Fight—(1 Tim 1:18) "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,"

a. The War Order: “… 18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy…”

(1) Charge—a solemn charge. A military term referring to a solemn responsibility that must be carried out without regard to costs—What Ewell did not do at Culp’s Hill
(2) Commit—to hand over a responsibility
(3) Paul has handed Timothy a difficult set of war orders to be carried out without question

b. The Warrior’s Commission—According to prophecies made (at Timothy’s ordination)

c. What Is Spiritual Warfare? “…wage the good warfare…)

(1) Spiritual Warfare: a neglected doctrine
(a) Fear of “superstition”
(b) God’s Word

(2) Spiritual Warfare: An abused doctrine

(a) TV preachers have turned this into a circus, complete with preaching clowns.
(b) The R. W. Shamback example
(c) The Jesse Duplantis Example
(d) The Bennie Hinn Show

(3) Spiritual Warfare: a necessary Doctrine—1 Pet 5:8-9

d. The Origin of Spiritual Warfare—Satan’s Rebellion

e. What is involved in waging Warfare?
(1) Joining up
(2) Training
(3) Being tried and tested
(4) Knowledge
(a) General military knowledge
(b) Knowledge about weapons, equipment, and special functions of each career field, and training to be able to use all of them professionally
(c) Constant study and reading to improve knowledge and skills

f. Waging Spiritual Warfare

(1) We enlist at Salvation—the all-volunteer army of God
(2) WE are to be trained (discipled) thoroughly—Mat 28:19-20
(3) We will be tested and tried—(John 16:33) ""These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation…”
(4) We are to be taught all that we need to know (Acts 20:26-27)
(5) We must learn where the battlefield is located —2 Cor 10:4-6
(6) We must learn to use our weapons—2 Cor 10:4-6, Eph 6:10-18

g. So, the War Order is for Timothy to wage spiritual warfare in the hearts and minds of the people in Ephesus, fighting against false teachers and false doctrines which had invaded the church.

2. Ready to Fight “…19 having faith and a good conscience…”

a. Faith and conscience—see 1:5 and 3:9
b. Faith—in The Faith, Doctrinal purity
(1) Timothy is warned later on in this letter to safeguard, to watch, his own doctrinal purity.
(2) Faith is necessary for the fight—not just faith in Christ, but adherence to The Faith Once Delivered to the Saints (Jude 3-4)
(3) Every one of the weapons of our warfare is related to the Word and Prayer—Eph 6:14-18
(4) What did Jesus Use when attacked?—The Bible

c. A good conscience
(1) You cannot fight the war unless your conscience in clear between you and your Father
(2) The Warrior will be wounded, but he must keep short accounts with his God.

3. Traitors to the Cause—“…which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, 20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander..”

a. The false teachers have Self Inflicted Wounds, and they have joined the other side while claiming to be on our side!

b. The false teachers, two of whom are NAMED right here, rejected both Truth and Conscience

c. Like the false teachers in 1, 2, and 3, John, Jude and 2 Peter

d. They rejected Faith

(1) They taught doctrines which were not in accord with THE Faith
(2) They taught heresies that denied the essence of Christianity

e. They rejected Conscience

(1) Again, like the other false teachers, their lifestyles were unconcerned with holiness, they soft-pedaled sin, and they were “open minded”
(2) In Jude and 2 Peter, we find them guilty of all sorts of vile behavior
(3) Rev 2:18-24!!!!

4. The Traitors Receive Courts Martial—“…whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme…”

a. This is not like the providential battles fought by Job, Jesus, Paul, and Peter, whom God Himself submitted to trial by allowing Satan to attack them
(1) Those things are character building exercises for believer
(2) Or, they are designed to purify the metal and make the believer stronger and more ready for warfare.

b. No, these men were traitors to the cause, they had joined the other side, and Paul was turning them over to the Enemy to whom they actually belonged. He was removing the umbrella of protection from their lives, in the hope that they might repent and get right with God.

c. The prime NT example of this process—the man in 1 Cor. 5.

(1) He was living in open, gross, and rebellious sin, and was remaining in fellowship with the church
(2) The church had done nothing, and was, in fact, puffed up about their open-mindedness
(a) “Oh, yes, we are praying for him, and for her, and we hope that they will get it together sometime. In the meanwhile, we are not doing anything to push them away…”
(b) There may be many here in this service who would have the same attitude!
(c) But WHAT SAITH THE LORD?

(3) What was Paul’s reaction?
(4) READ 1 Cor 5
(a) Paul was practically incredulous that this situation was going on with the church doing nothing
(b) He takes the church to the woodshed
(c) He commands them to put the man out of the church

(5) What is the footnote here? The man, being cast out of the church, repented, and in 2 Cor 2, Paul says this: 2 Cor 2:5-11èbecause: The main purpose of church discipline is to rehabilitate and restore the offending party

(Jude 1:22-23) "And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

1 Tim 2:1-8

2007-06-21T21:33:00.001-07:00

An Exposition of 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 2:1-8
The 4th Pillar Of the New Testament Church: Prayer

1. Pray —“…2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men…”

a. The command to pray—Mat 6:1-15: “…When you pray…pray like this”

b. The Importance of Prayer

(1) Paul exhorts, urges, that this practice in the church be followed universally
(2) “First of all…” does not refer to time, but to importance—prayer is a top priority for the local church
(a) Jesus taught His disciples (and us) to pray
(b) Jesus set the example by frequent seasons of prayer
(c) The churches in Acts prayed often, and powerfully
(d) The Early Christians would pray in unison sometimes.
(e) The Apostles, in their letters (particularly Paul) often recorded prayers and benedictions in their letters

c. The Forms of prayer—The Words used here—three of these are words with shades of different meanings

(1) The First word, δεήσεις, is prayer where there is deep-felt need
(a) It means there is a felt closeness, we can be as persistent and desperate as we need to be.
(b) And we must ask—is there a deep-felt need in our hearts to see our friends and family saved?
(c) If every believer spent five minutes in hell, perhaps our attitudes would be better about the urgency to pray for the lost.

(2) προσευχάς—is prayer as a sincere act of worship and praise.

(3) ἐντεύξεις–intercessory prayer—

(4) εὐχαριστίας—glorifying and giving thanks for God’s previous answers to prayer—thanking God for His mercies while praying for more mercies

d. The First object of prayer—everyone All Men—the word “men” is anthropon, which, in this case means all people.

(1) We are to pray for the salvation of all people, just as we are to witness and evangelize all people, and just as Jesus died for all.

(John 3:16) ""For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

(1 John 2:2) "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

e. Pray especially for National Leaders—“… for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. …”

(1) For the leaders—which in Paul’s case were a bunch of perverted, violent monsters, such as the Roman Emperor Nero.

(2) Why pray for the rulers? “…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. …”

(3) The God of Order and Justice—God ordained government to maintain at least a semblance of justice and law—(Rom 13:1-7), (1 Pet 2:11-16

2. Pray for the Lost—“…3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth…”

a. God wants us to pray for all—it is good in His sight

(1) We might often not be sure about God’s will in come matters
(2) But this we know—if we are praying for the salvation of all, we are touching the heart of God.

b. God Desires the Salvation AND THE DISCIPLESHIP of all! “…4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth…”

(1) First, God has a heart for the Lost, and He desires their salvation—
(a) if you realize your need of His Grace, remember, He is not against you, He is for you!

(b) The offer of salvation is to every human being, and any human being, who calls upon the name of the Lord

(1 Tim 4:10) "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe."

(1 John 2:2) "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

(Rom 10:13) "For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.""

(Rev 22:17) "And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."
"

(c) But what of those who never hear?
(i) They HAVE heard—
(ii) God’s witness in Nature—Ps 19:1-6
(iii) God’s attributes spelled out in creation—Rom 1:19-21
(iv) These should lead anyone who can see, hear, or feel them, to seek God—they are accountable

(d) But regardless of them, YOU are accountable for much, much, more.

(e) What we see here is God’s heart for the lost
(i) Be encouraged!
(ii) God’s hand is not Short

59:1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear

(iii) Jesus will cast none out who come to Him—John 6:37
(iv) As long as you are alive, the way to the Cross is ever open, it is only closed by your death.

(f) But God’s desire does not stop with Salvation—the unquoted PHRASE here is of utmost importanceè “…4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth…”
(i) The Greek word is “epignosis,” which means FULL knowledge of the Truth
(ii) This hearkens back to the Great Commission

(Mat 28:19-20) …20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…”

(g) If you are here today and you are yet a babe in Christ after many years, that is NOT God’s will for you. God’s will for each of His children is that we come to a FULL KNOWLEDGE of the Truth.

(h) If you are here today and are lost, that is NOT God’s desire for you—His desire is that you be saved

3. Pray Through the Mediator—“…5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time…”

a. One God—Trinitarian Christianity does not teach three gods, but one Triune God, and this One God sent His One True Son to be the Mediator
(1) If He were an angel, He could not represent men to God, nor God to men
(2) If He were only God, and not man, He could not be ours.
(3) If He were man only, and not God, He could no sooner stand in the brightness of God’s Presence than we could
(4) But as the God-Man, He touches both God and Man, and pleads our case.

b. A Ransom for ALL—this word ALL cannot be denied or played with—Jesus died for ALL
(1) But the propitiation, the reconciliation, the turning aside of God’s wrath is (Rom 3:25-26) through FAITH in His blood
(2) No faith, no salvation—His death is sufficient to have saved every person born, but alas, the fountain must be accessed by Faith and Faith Alone.

c. In Due Time—Gal 4:4-6

d. Paul was called and appointed to his ministry to take the Gospel to ALL, and He wants us to pray about it. (1 Tim 2:7) "for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle; I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying; a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth."

4. Let us Pray What We Preach—“…(1 Tim 2:8) "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting…”

a. Paul, in verse 8, says that he wants men everywhere to lead in prayer—
b. He wants Holy hands lifted—those who are trying to genuinely life for the Lord, those who own Him as Lord
c. He wants wrath, and doubt left behind.
d. He Wants the MEN to pray publicly

(1) The Greek word in verse 8 is not anthropon, but it is “andra…”, which means “males.”
(2) God wants the men of this and every church to rise up and pray.
(a) This is not about mouthing a few words.
(b) This is not about the pastor or a deacon or two praying.
(c) This is the heart and essence of shared leadership and gifts—God wants men to lead in prayer and be serious about it.

e. This is not to minimize the praying women of this church, but God has ordained male leadership, and today, I ask men to lead—come up to the front, take a mike, and pray

(1) What man will pray to bind demonic forces right now?
(2) What man will pray for the sick in our congregation?
(3) What man will pray for the lost who are among us in this building right now?
(4) What man will pray for the lost in this town?
(5) What man will pray for revival in America?
(6) What man will pray for our national leaders?
(7) What man will pray for our youth?
(8) What man will pray for the leadership of our church?
(9) What man will pray for revival, right now, in this church?

Pray! People of God, Pray!

1 Tim 2:5-7

2007-06-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Only One
1 Tim 2:5-7

1. Only One God

a. There is only one True and living God

(Jer 10:10) "But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation."

(John 17:3) ""And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

(1 Th 1:9) "For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,"

(1 John 5:20) "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."

b. There are no other Gods

(Isa 45:14) "Thus says the LORD: …. There is no other God.'""

(Isa 45:21) "…? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me."

(1 Cor 8:4) "Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one."

c. Common False Statements

(1) “We are going to the same place via different roads”
(2) We “all worship the same God in different ways”
(3) NO, NO, NO!

d. What we need to know about false “gods”
(1) First, God tells us not to worship them—Ex 20
(2) Second, the false “gods” are often demonically inspired

(Deu 32:16-17) "They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger. 17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, To new gods, new arrivals That your fathers did no ear."

(3) Christians should not toy with these things—Acts 19:13-20!!

(1 Cor 10:20-21) "Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you “cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons."

(1 Tim 4:1) "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,"

(4) False "gods" are created by their own worshippers
(5) The false "gods" are created in the images of those worshippers—(1) They want a God who is just like them

Psa 50:21 “…You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you…”

(6) This does not even make logical sense, as the LORD points out to Isaiah in this excerpt:

Isa 44:19-20 “…no one considers in his heart, Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, "I have burned half of it in the fire, Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?" He feeds on ashes; A deceived heart has turned him aside; And he cannot deliver his soul, Nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

(7) What 'god' is any good, if it is something that I or any other man has made? Is this not the height of lunacy? False Gods are man-made, vain, empty things.
(8) False Gods cannot save—Isa 45:20 "…: unto a god that cannot save."

e. Monotheism does not detract from the Trinity:
(1) God is One and God is three.
(2) God IS three in one, He EXISTS as three in one, He always has been three in one.

2. Only One Mediator

a. What is a mediator?

(1) A strictly human mediator is one who is an honest broker, who takes the side of neither party in negotiating a settlement—Jesus is NOT that kind of mediator

(2) In a very real sense, Noah, Moses, and other patriarchs took on the role of mediator—especially Moses, who received the Law from God and implemented it.—But Jesus is not that kind of mediator either

(3) He is the ONE mediator, a mediator of a different sort, a mediator like none other—His role of mediator is as solitary and different as God Himself is… “…One God…One Mediator…”

(4) Jesus is the Mediator who reconciled sinful man and righteous God by taking upon Himself the sin that caused the separation

b. Why is a mediator needed?

(1) Because of man’s sin and rebellion against the Holy and Righteous One True and Living God—Our sin separates us from God.
(2) God’s own righteous wrath against sin means there must be a satisfaction
(3) God’s Perfections make us incompatible with Him in our natural last state.
(4) To effect reconciliation and redemption, we must have a Mediator
(5) A mediator is needed, or we can never be saved!

c. Are there any other mediators possible or required?
(1) NO! As there is only one God, there is only one Mediator
(2) You can go directly to God without mediation by any man, any saint, any organization—it is between me and my Savior!

d. Who is the Mediator?
(1) Who is this advocate that will speak for us?
(2) Who will stand for us in the courts of Heaven?
(3) The man, Christ Jesus
(4) Man—He must be, and is, man to pay the price for humanity
(5) But He is also God, the Son of God and God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, co-equal, co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit.

(6) This is why the doctrine of the Trinity and all of the surrounding doctrines are so vital, and why the false teachers on TV are so deadly in their lying false religion

(7) If the Father and the Son are not distinct persons, the mediation of Christ becomes a joke, a game, a morality play.

(8) See the Mediator’s prayer in John 17, See the role of the Eternal Spirit in Heb 9:14, and realize that for all eternity, there has been and is a distinction between Father, Son, and Spirit = God

3. Only One Price

a. He Gave Himself:
(1) He had predicted this and described it ahead of time—John 10:14-17
(2) No other price would do!
(3) No other mediator was possible.
(a) An Angel could not be our Mediator, for Angels are neither God nor man
(b) A mere man, even a perfect one, could not be our mediator, for he would not be God
(c) Only One Who is God and Man could pay the price

b. He Was In Total Control
(1) He was not taken against his will and executed—He allowed them to take him, after showing His power—John 18:4-6—He knocked them down with a word
(2) He told Peter there was elite guard on standby—twelve legions of angels

(Mat 26:53-54) "… 53 "Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 "How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?""

c. One Price, and He alone paid it
(1) No saint has paid a penny
(2) Mary redeemed no one
(3) We ourselves brought nothing in our hands—Jesus paid it All!

d. One Price, many people—He gave Himself as the ONLY Ransom for ALL
(1) What price could there be other than this!
(2) What can wash away my sins?? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

4. Only One Time— “… to be testified in due time…”

a. The Plan was Eternal—1 Pet 1:18-21, Titus 1:1-2, 2 Tim 1:9

b. The Timing was Essential—Gal 4:4-6

(1) The hour, minute, day, and second, that the Passover lambs were being slain, Jesus was pouring out His life’s blood

(2) Darkness took the Earth
(3) An Earthquake shook the Earth
(4) The Veil in the Temple was torn in two
(5) The Universe looked on in shock and awe
(6) The honor guard of seventy-two thousand Angels bowed their heads
(7) The Savior cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
(8) Satan expected to win, he was waiting for the final blow
(1 Cor 2:7-8) "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

(9) Then he heard, not the voice of defeat, but the simple statement of triumph
(10) Jesus said, “…It Is Finished—Tetelestai” and my soul went free!

5. Only One Gospel—“…7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle; I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying; a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth…”

a. Paul was a man on a mission—the salvation of the lost—He knew the divine importance of that mission, and he knew the costs of that mission

b. I know that a straight-from-the-shoulder approach offends some folks

(1) I know that many in this and every age are offended by authoritative preaching

(2) I know that a few are offended by naming of the names of heretics

(3) But men of God have a responsibility which transcends manners or sensibilities or anything else

(4) We have a responsibility to deal with the souls of men and women in a desperate fight for eternity

(Heb 13:7) "Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct."

(Heb 13:17) "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you."

c. (Read the Godly Pastor from the Pilgrim)

"...Sir,” said Christian, “I am a man that am come from the City of Destruction, and am going to the Mount Zion; and I was told by the man that stands at the gate, at, the head of this way, that if I called here, you would show me excellent things, such as would be a help to me in my journey.”

Then said the Interpreter, “Come in; I will show that which will be profitable to you.” So he commanded his man to light the candle, and bid Christian follow him: so he took him into a private room, and bid his man open a door; the which when he had done, Christian saw the picture of a very serious man hung up against the wall; and this was the fashion of the picture. His eyes lifted up to heaven, the best of books in his hand, the law of truth was written upon his lips, the world was behind his back. He stood as if he pleaded with men, and a crown of gold did hang over his head.

Then said Christian, “What does this mean?”

Inter. The man whose picture this is, is one of a yousand; he can beget children, 1 Corinthians 4:15, travail in birth with children, Galatians 4:19, and nurse them himself when they are born.

And whereas you see him with his eyes lift up to heaven, the best of books in his hand, and the law of truth writ on his lips: it is to show you that his work is to know, and unfold dark things to sinners; even as also you saw him stand as if he pleaded with men: and whereas you saw the world as cast behind him, and that a crown hangs over his head; that is to show you that slighting and despising the things that are present, for the love that he has to his Master’s service, he is sure in the world that comes next to have glory for his reward.

Now, said the Interpreter, I have showed you this picture first, because the man whose picture this is, is the only man whom the Lord of the place where you are going, has authorised to be your guide in all difficult places you may meet with in the way: wherefore, take good heed to what I have showed you, and bear well in your mind what you hast seen, lest in your journey you meet with some that pretend to lead you right, but their way goes down to death…”

d. Faith and Truth—
(1) Faith, which unites us with Christ
(2) Truth, which is absolutely necessary and which is objective and true.

Our Father In Heaven

2007-06-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

1. He is Father

a. The antidote to all cults is truth—there IS a Father, He IS in Heaven, united with the Spirit and the Son, yet distinct from them—Some examples—

(Gal 1:1) "Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),"

(Gal 1:3-4) "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,"

(1 Cor 1:3) "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

(1 Cor 8:6) "yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live."

(1 Cor 15:24) "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power."

(2 Cor 1:2-3) "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,"

b. He is called the Father over 260 times—

c. He calls Jesus His Son, and he speaks out loud to announce His very Presence

(Mat 3:17) "And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.""

(Mat 17:5) "While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!""

(2 Pet 1:17) "For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.""

2. He is OUR Father

a. He is OURs—He has a relationship with us, He is ONLY the Father of believers
(1) He is the creator of all, but the Father only of born again believers.
(2) The Lost have a father—the Devil (Jn 8:44)
(3) The Holy Spirit witnesses our relationship—Rom 8:15, Gal 4:4-6—Note that the word “son” is a legal term which can apply to men and women.
b. There are many who claim God as Father, but He is not their Father—some of them are called “spots” on our love feast—Jude.
3. He is our Father in Heaven—5:48, 6:1, 6:9

a. God is omnipresent in a real sense, but there is a special place, His very presence, where He sits enthroned—we call that place “Heaven.”
b. In the Baptism of Jesus (Mat 3:16-17), at the Mount of Transfiguration (Mat 17:1-5), and in the High Priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17, the Father is in Heaven, and the Son is on Earth.
c. The scene in Heaven—Rev 4:1-11

4. He is our Father who sees in Secret and Who IS in Secret.
(Psa 91:1-2) "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.""

a. Our intimate, personal communication with God guarantees our safety and protection.

b. Our communication with Our Father is meant to be personal and private—(Deu 29:29) ""The secret things belong to the LORD our God, …”

c. God sees into the innermost part of each of us, He knows us better than we can know ourselves—(Psa 139:14-15) "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."

d. Our relationship with God provides us with the ultimate of spiritual hiding places. (Psa 32:7) "You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah"

(Psa 27:5) "For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock."

(Psa 31:19-20) "Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! 20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion From the strife of tongues."

5. He is our Father, Who knows our needs before we ask—Mat 6:8

a. First of all, NEEDS—not wants. A need is something we cannot survive without.

b. Second, HE knows our needs before we ask—He is God, He is omniscient, He knows all things.

6. He is our Father who is the source of our daily bread—Mat 6:11, 30-33

Mat 6:31 “… do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
a. God takes care of the things we need—and we need Him most of all—Mat 6:33
b. Like the manna, our supply is new every morning.

(Lam 3:22-23) "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."

7. He is Our Father, whose Name is Holy—6:9

a. “Holy” means separate, different, distinct.
b. When considering God, His Holiness defines all.
c. God’s Name is HOLY—He is not one who can be or should be taken lightly, nor should He be spoken about flippantly.

8. Our Father is our King—6:10a …He is our Father whose Kingdom is glorious, powerful, and eternal—6:13b

a. God’s Sovereignty
(1) God is “Lord of Heaven and Earth…” Acts 17:24
(2) God is in Control

(Psa 115:3) "But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases."

(Psa 135:6) "Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places."

b. Many theologians speculate as to whether the Kingdom of God is now or in the future—the answer is: YES!

c. The rebellion of the nations and of the principalities and powers in the heavenlies, the rebellion against the Lord and against His Christ is ridiculous, no matter how powerful it seems. God laughs them to derision—Ps 2

d. God not only has won the war, He has called and is calling a people for Himself, all formal members of the rebellion against Himself, a trophy of His grace and mercy.

e. And one day, His kingdom will be fully triumphant.
(Phil 2:9-11) "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

9. Our Father is the God Whose will shall be done everywhere—6:10b

a. This is the required caveat with each and every of our prayers—your will be done.

b. Just as with His kingdom, we pray for His will to be done here just as it is in Heaven—fully, immediately, and willingly.

10. He is our Father, who will forgive us if we forgive others.

a. Some explanation is in order
(1) This is not salvation by works, nothing of the sort.
(2) However, communion with our Father depends on walking with Him, and one of the chief determinants is whether or not we forgive as He forgives—

b. Mat 18:21-35

11. He is our Father, who will not allow us to be tested beyond endurance—6:13a

a. God tempts no one—James 1:13-14
b. But God allows testing and attacks, as with Job and Peter
(1) Job, accused by Satan before God, was tested by the attacks of Satan against his material wealth, family, and reputation, things of the most importance to him. (the attack against his reputation came from his friends, who thought he must have done something wrong to deserve is troubles.

(2) Peter was “sifted” in the area of his life that was most important to him—his self image as a brave and courageous warrior for His Lord

(Luke 22:31-34) "And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." 33 But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." 34 Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.""

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus will say to Peter, James, and John: “Pray that ye enter not into temptation” (Luke 22:40). That is the idea here. Here we have a “Permissive imperative” as grammarians term it. The idea is then: “Do not allow us to be led into temptation.” There is a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13), but it is a terrible risk.

12. He is our Father, who will deliver us from the evil One

a. The defender—our intercessor, the Lord Christ Himself
b. The Saint’s defense—
(1) Take your stand (Eph 6:10-12
(2) Submit (to God) Resist (the Devil)

(James 4:7) "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

(1 Pet 5:9) "Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."

Ø He is the Father who sent His Son to live for us and to die for us and rise for us to ascend for us, to intercede for us and return for us.

c. The question is—Is He YOUR Father

The Greatest Hymn

2007-06-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

Introductory Thoughts

· The Greatest Hymn ever written
· This was written to solve the problems mentioned in 2:1-4

1. Who Jesus Is—2:6

a. The Deity of Christ Jesus—Phil 2:6 "… He existed in the form of God…”

(1) Form = [morphe]
(2) “…existed…” a present participle—

b. He “…did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped…”
(1) “…Did not regard…” is in the aorist tense—He did not think for one moment that He needed to be grasping about Who He Is. [The illustration of the old paratrooper and the young paratrooper]
(2) The word “equality” is in the plural form— equal in all things

c. Doctrinal point—Jesus is God.

(1) His inward reality is that He is the eternal God--John 1:1-2, 14, Micah 5:2, John 8:58, Rev 22:13

(2) His outward expression of that inward reality has eternally been to reveal the Father—John 1:18.

John 1:18 ”…No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

(3) He is not “a” God, He is The God— John 20:28
(4) He is not “god in the sense that all men are divine”—
(5) He is not “a man in whom God came to dwell”—
(6) He is not “the son of God only”—He is God
(7) He is not a man who became God—
(8) Christ is the eternal God, very God of very God, one with the Father and Spirit, yet distinct in His personality.
(9) If you examine the pages of scripture, you will find:
(a) He is called God.
(b) He accepts worship from men and angels
(c) He does the works of God

Ø Creation
Ø Preservation of the universe
Ø The sending of the Spirit of God
Ø The forgiveness of sins
Ø The giving of eternal life –
Ø He demonstrated His power over nature, over disease, demon powers, even over death,

(d) He possesses divine attributes.

Ø Self existence
Ø Eternity
Ø Omniscience
Ø Omnipresence
Ø Immutability
Ø Sovereignty
Ø Omnipotence

2. What Jesus Did—three self humiliations—leaving Heaven, becoming a man, dying for sinners.

a. The Self Humiliation of leaving the Glories of Heaven—John 17:5, 24

b. The Self-Humiliation of Christ Jesus to Manhood—Phil 2:7—7but £emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

(1) Of what did He NOT empty Himself? Not of His deity, power, sinlessness, or holiness

(2) Of What DID He then empty Himself?

(a) He emptied Himself of the external revelation of His Glory (except on the Mount of Transfiguration)

(b) He emptied Himself of the full and independent use of His attributes—though sometimes He did use them—Nathaniel, or “who touched me?”

(c) He emptied Himself of His own authority—He submitted Himself completely to the Father’s will

(d) He emptied Himself of all wealth—2 Cor 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich."

(e) He no longer had the eternal face-to-face communion He’d always enjoyed with the Father

(3) How did He empty Himself?
(a) By coming as a man
(b) By taking on the morphe (nature) of a servant.

(c) When God became a man, it was a team assignment!
(d) The Father prepared Him a body—Heb 10:5
(e) The Spirit overshadowed Mary and caused the virgin conception—Lk 1:35
(f) The Son BECAME flesh—John 1:14

(4) The purpose of His self-humiliation was our salvation—Gal 4:4-5 "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."

c. The Self-Humiliation of Christ Jesus to Death—Phil 2:8

(1) He humbled Himself to die the death of a common criminal;
(a) He was in control of the situation all the time
(b) Help was standing by (Mat 26:53) ""Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?"
(c) He knocked them down—John 18:4-6

(d) He laid down His own life—no one took it!—John
John 10:17-18 ""Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.""

(2) Not just any death—but the death of the Cross, a cursed death.
(Gal 3:13) "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),"

3. What the Father did

a. He planned salvation before the World was made
b. He sent His Son to Die
c. He called Him forth from the dead
d. He sat Him down on the right hand of the majesty on high
e. He has highly exalted Him.
f. The Exaltation of Christ Jesus by the Father—Phil 2:9

(1) Has …exalted—this exaltation is a done dead. Christ Jesus reigns now.
(2) Has HIGHLY exalted
(a) His is the Highest place—1 Pet 3:21-22
(b) His is the Highest Name

g. Wherein is His exaltation?
(1) In His bodily resurrection
(2) In His 40 days of post resurrection appearances
(3) In His glorious ascension
(4) In His being seated at the right hand of the throne
(5) In His intercession for the saints
(6) In His present rule over the universe
(7) In His future return and rule after the consummation of all things.
(8) The Total Victory of Christ—Every knee will bow, Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God The Father

4. What WE are to do —Phil 2:1-5— Eph 3:21

a. If (1st class condition: “since…”) Since Christ is our Mediator and Savior
(1) —5 "Therefore if [since] there is any consolation [encouragement] in Christ è There is consolation and encouragement in Christ! Heb 4:14-16
(2) Because of Him, we are forgiven
(3) Because of Him, we will live forever
(4) Because of Him, death has no sting—1 Cor 15:55 ""O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?""
(5) Because of Him, we have power to live for God—Rom 6:14 "… sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
(6) Because of Him, we have an advocate in heaven—1 Tim 2:5

b. Since Christ is our loving Shepherd— John 10:7-15
c. Since the Holy Spirit unifies our fellowship— Rom 12:5, 1 Cor 12:13, Eph 4:3-4
d. Since The Love of God has been given to us—Rom 5:1-5
e. What Paul Wants to See— “…2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded…”

(1) “…Like minded…” = “mind the same thing…” four statements—the basis for true unity
(2) What “…Like Minded…” Means:

(a) Like minded means mutual Love—“…having the same love…”
(i) Love between the brethren in a church is required, not suggested—1 John 4:7-11
(ii) John 13:34-35 ""A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.""
(iii) Love is not gushy emotion, but is a life of action—1 John 3:14-19, James 2:1-9

(b) Like minded means Mutual Agreement— “…being of one accord, of one mind…”
(i) Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
(ii) 1 Cor 15:1-11—we do not drop our differences; we cling to the heart of the faith.
(iii) Eph 4:4-6 "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

(c) Like minded means Mutual Consideration— “… 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself…”
(i) What is your motive for being in church?
(ii) What is your motive for doing whatever it is you do in church?
(iii) Do you think you are better than others?

(d) Like minded means Mutual Concern—“…4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others…”

(i) But we are to be concerned about others in the church
(ii) We are to be concerned about their physical welfare
(iii) We are to be concerned about their spiritual welfare.
(2) Note of caution—“…this is not a command for unity at the expense of truth. It assumes that “the same thing” is also the right thing…” (Expositor’s Commentary)

5. Our Supreme Example— “…Phil 2:5 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…"

a. If He can disregard His own divine prerogatives, we can learn humility

b. If He can humiliate Himself by becoming a man, we can “wash some feet…”

c. If He can humiliate Himself to die for us, we can learn to live for Him.

d. The Exaltation of Christ Jesus by the Father—2:9-11—There is no limit to our inheritance.

God Finishes What He Starts

2007-06-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

1. God Finishes What He Starts—Because He Is God— Rom 8:11

a. The Implications of The Attributes of God for the doctrine of the Security of the True Believer.
(1) Because God is absolute, that is, Supreme, Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient, He can do whatever He wants to do. Specifically, He can keep His promises.
(a) No one can stop Him, nor can they hinder Him.
(b) No one has the right to challenge Him or to call Him into account for His actions, for His Providence
(2) Because God is Eternal and Immutable (unchanging), His promises are eternal and immutable (unchanging).
(3) Because He is Just, God will keep His promises.
(4) Because He is Holy, God will accomplish His promise to save us by making us holy.

b. God Finishes What He Starts—

(1) Salvation is, from beginning to end, an act of God and of God alone.
Psa 3:8 "Salvation belongs to the LORD…”
Jonah 2:9 "….. Salvation is of the LORD.""
Titus 3:5 "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…”
Mat 1:21 ""…He will save His people from their sins.""
Eph 2:10 "For we are His workmanship…”
James 1:18 "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth…”

(2) God Saves Sinners

c. God Finishes What He Starts—Mal 3:6 Phil 1:6, 1 Cor 1:4-9, John 10:27-28, Rom 8:31-32

2. God Finishes What He Starts, and the Indwelling Spirit is proof that He has started—

a. Reminder—who is the Holy Spirit?
(1) e is a Who, not a What. He is the Holy Dove, the Third Person of the Trinity.
(2) He is God—the Creator, Illuminator, Convictor, etc.
(3) He is our Comforter

b. The Old Covenant and the Spirit—He was revealed somewhat, even in the Old Testament.
(1) He was revealed as the Creator-Gen 1:2, Job 33:4
(2) He was revealed as the Illuminator of the prophets. Neh 9:30
(3) He filled certain people for certain tasks—Exo 31:3, Exo 35:31,
(4) He came upon certain people for specific purposes—2 Chr 24:20
(5) In a sense, He dwelt within Israel corporately— Isa 63:10-11
(6) There were certain men, such as Daniel, who appear to have been indwelt by the Spirit—Dan 5:14
(7) But the universal indwelling of all believers was not a feature of the Old Covenant

c. The New Covenant Difference—John 14:17, John 7:37-39

(1) Old Covenant believers were led by the Spirit and had the guidance of the Spirit, especially in the inspiration of the Old Covenant Scriptures. 2 Pet 1:20-21
(2) But one of the differences in the New Covenant is that the Holy Spirit indwells us, individually and corporately.

d. The Individual indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
(1) Each one of us, individually, is a temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 6:19-20
(2) Each one of us has been placed in the corporate Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 12:13
(3) Each one of us is a building block of the Full Temple of God. 1 Pet 2:5
e. The Corporate Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
(1) Said of the church at Corinth. 1 Cor 3:16
(2) 2 Cor 6:16

(3) Said again of the church at Ephesus—Eph 2:19-22
f. For the Believer in Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance.Eph 1:13- 14
g. God Finishes What He Starts, and the Indwelling Spirit is proof that He has started—11

3. God Finishes What He Starts, and the Bodily Resurrection and Glorification of Believers is the Finish—Rom 8:11
a. An Ancient Faith—faith in physical resurrection was the ancient faith of God’s people, not some late addition.

(1) Job—Job 19:25-27
(2) Martha— John 11:21-24
(3) The controversy between the Pharisees and the Saducees. Acts 23:6-8
b. A Future Reality—We will be bodily resurrected—in fact, both saved and lost will be bodily resurrected at some point, but the saved will be raised to new life, and glorified. 1 Th 4:16-18, John 17:22

4. If you are indwelt by the Spirit, you will take part in the resurrection of Life!

a. The real question we examine here is this: "Is it possible for a person who has been truly saved to lose their salvation?"

(1) The resounding Biblical answer is "NO!"

(2) The problem is, that this real question is lost in a fog of doctrinal misunderstandings, misrepresentations, and and deviations from the subject, and both "sides" of this debate are guilty.

b. We must avoid giving false security:

c. But True Security is Rooted in certain Biblical Principles

(1) The Nature of God, mentioned already

(2) Justification by Faith

(a) The Nature of Justification—a legal declaration of “not guilty” by God

(b) The Author of Justification--God—Rom 8:33-34 "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."

(c) The effects of Justification

Rom 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Rom 4:8 "Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.""

(3) The Nature of Salvation

(a) The Fact that Salvation is 100 percent a work of God—already mentioned.

(b) The Fact that Salvation is a permanent change of state John 5:24, John 6:47

(c) The Fact that, as a part of the gift of Salvation, we become adopted children of God (Gal 3:26-4:7). This forever changes our RELATIONSHIP to God—When we sin, God deals with us as a Father to a child (Heb 12:4-8), not as a judge to a criminal.

(4) Assurance is not the same as perseverance

(a) A false professor may have assurance, because he or she has been deceived
(b) A true believer may NOT have assurance, either because of a tender conscience, lack of good teaching, or unresolved sin issues.

(5) Perseverance Is Through the Power of God—1 Pet 1:3-5

The Holy Spirit Changes Our Nature

2007-06-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

1. Since Christ is In You….

a. 1st class condition
b. What is your hope of Glory?
(1) The hope of Glory is in a relationship.
(2) Col 1:26-27 “… Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

c. The question: “Is Christ IN you now?”

(1) Is there evidence of a changed life?
(2) Is God working in your life?
(3) Do you see the fruit of spiritual life working in you, or do you see other, rotten, fruit? Gal 5:19-24
(4) Christ In You—the answer to a mystery

(a) The OT predicted the coming of the messiah and that the Gentiles would partake of salvation….but it did not reveal that the Messiah would actually live in each member of His redeemed church, made up mostly of Gentiles. That believers, both Jew and Gentile, now possess the surpassing riches of the indwelling Christ is the glorious revealed mystery (MacArthur, page 1834)

(b) Eph 3:8- 11

d. Christ in you—the heart of the Christian life.

(1) John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
(2) Gal 2:20 ""I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

(3) Eph 3:16-19 "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

e. Christ in you—the definitive evidence of real salvation.

2. The Body is Dead

a. The Greek has the sense of, “…on the one hand…” and “…on the other hand…”
(1) If Christ is in you, on the one hand, the body is dead; on the other hand, the Spirit is life.
(2) The two concepts are linked absolutely.

b. The Body is dead.
(1) Not “flesh.” Previously, Paul has been talking about “flesh,” but that refers to our fallen human nature, and is a different Greek word than “body.”
(2) Here, Paul is referring to our body, our physical frame. He says our body is dead.
(3) Not “put to death,” or “being put to death,” but DEAD.
(4) The body is, as it were, the seat of death; there is a principle of decay and of death in the bodies of all of us, and the process of decay is increasing and growing. Ever since the Fall, the moment we enter into this world and begin to live we also begin to die. You first breath is one of the last you will ever take!…Man’s body is not what is was when God created him at the beginning…Ever since the Fall, we are born with the seeds of illness, weakness, decay, and death in us. The moment we are born we are beginning to die! The process of decay becomes obvious after a certain age; by the age of twenty-five we have all developed as much as we ever shall develop, and from then on the elements of decay become more and more obvious. And not only is all this true of us, but the body is dead also in a moral sense. The body is the instrument that sin most readily uses; it is, as it were, the seat of sin. The body gives sin its chance and it opportunity, and it remains there in the body.

c. We are NOT saying that no good can come of the body—that would be gnosticism. We are not saying that the body is inherently evil, but that the body is inherently corruptible, the seat of decay and corruption, and as such, the body must be controlled by spiritual discipline.

(1) Illustration of physical conditioning. The mind must tell the body what to do.

3. The Body is Dead Because of Sin

a. Sin is the cause of all decay, corruption, evil, misery, and death. Sin is the answer to the problem of evil.

b. The Effects of Sin

(1) Sin brought death into the world. Rom 5:12
(2) Sin even corrupted the creation—Rom 8:18-22
(3) The first animal blood shed was because of man’s sin—Gen 3:21
(4) Creation was not intended to be as it is now—Is 11:1-9

c. And the death of the human body, the deadness of our physical bodies, their propensity to sin, is because of sin.

d. Three types of sin—

(1) Imputed sin—Rom 5:12
(2) Inherited sin—our body, soul, and spirit inherited sinfulness from our fathers. We were “…conceived in sin, shapen in iniquity…”, as David said (Ps 51:5)
(3) Personal Sin—because we are born sinners, we begin to sin as soon as we are able—even little babies sin. Psa 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies."

e. The Pulse test—Take your pulse; if you have one, you are a sinner!

(1) We are all sinners here.
(2) Therefore, we all have bodies that are dead, that are the seat of death, that are corruptible, that are liable to sin, and that is because of sin. We should hate sin.

4. The Spirit is Life
a. Not referring to the Holy Spirit, but to the spirit within man.

b. If I belong to Christ, if He lives in me, my spirit is alive. John 5:24, John 11:25-26 , Eph 2:1, Col 3:1-2

5. The Spirit is Life Because of Righteousness.

a. Righteousness imputed (justification)

(1) Deals with the guilt of sin
(2) Propitiation and Redemption
(3) Justification
(4) Imputation (account closed).

b. Righteousness imparted (sanctification)

(1) Deals with the power of sin
(2) Rom 6:12-14
(3) Fight sin—you can!
(4) Resist Satan—You can!

c. Righteousness completed (glorification)

(1) Deals with the final absence of sin.
(2) The goal of our Christian life—to be conformed to the image of Christ and share His glory (Jn 17)
(3) The Golden chain…Rom 8:28-30

6. The culmination—Resurrection to life—1 Cor 15:51-58, 1 Thes 4:16-18

Five Characteristics of a Saved Person

2007-06-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Five characteristics of saved people.

1. A Saved Person is After the Spirit— Rom 8:5-6

a. Remember, a person who is “after,” (according to) the flesh is one dominated by the flesh.
(1) In attitude, in beliefs, in actions, the lost person takes after the flesh, not after righteousness.
(2) This fleshly demeanor can be high-brow, even religious after a fashion, but the lost person is dominated by fleshly, worldly concerns and ways.

b. So, one “after,” (according to) the Spirit is one dominated by the Spirit of God—A spiritual person will be different.
(1) The Spiritual man walks according to the Spirit—This happens because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and it is obvious through conduct— Rom 8:4, Ezek 36:27 ""I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."

(2) A truly spiritual person is sensitive to, and places importance in, Truth. John 16:13, 1 John 4:6, John 14:17,
(3) A Spiritual person has the “witness of the Spirit”

(a) The Spirit witnesses to us that we are His children—Rom 8:16 , Gal 4:6 , 1 John 4:13 "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit."
(b) The Spirit Guides us in ministry—Acts 13:2 "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
(c) The True believer has an inkling when something is “just not right.”

2. A Saved Person Minds the Spirit— Rom 8:5-6
a. The Contrast—The lost person’s mind is consumed with this world and with the things of this world. The Spiritual mind is consumed with the things of God. 1 Cor 2:14-16

b. The Spiritual mind is consumed with his relationship with God, Communion With God

c. A spiritual person is concerned about his or her relationship with God.

d. The Spiritual man or woman considers actions and plans in the light of that relationship.

e. The True Believer values his or her relationship with God over all other treasures.

f. The Spiritual mind is consumed with his or her relationship with the world in the light of his relationship with God. Mat 10:37 "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

g. The True Christian does not say: “I hope my relationship with God does not cause me difficulty with people around me.”

h. The True believer’s heart concern is: “Will the people around me affect my relationship with God?”

i. The Spiritual mind is consumed with awareness of sin—1 Tim 1:15 "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

j. A truly born again man or woman is sensitive to sin, aware of sin, burdened by sin.

k. The Christian is mournful about his or her sins, and cannot sin without feeling.

l. The Spiritual mind is consumed with the Savior, His Person and Work.

m. The mind of the True Christian wants to more about Jesus.

n. The True Believer wants a deeper relationship with the Savior.

o. The Spiritual mind is consumed with The Way of Salvation and Doctrinal Truth.

p. The Spiritual mind desires Prayer

q. The Spiritual mind is concerned about the Souls of All Others

r. The Spiritual mind is primed to the Fact That We At War With the Enemy

s. The Spiritual mind loves the Bible

3. A Saved Person Has Life— Rom 8:5-6

a. The Saved Person is Spiritually Alive—John 6:63 ""It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."

b. The Saved Person has LIFE NOW—there are evidences of life

(1) Growth—2 Pet 3:18 ”… grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."
(2) Movement—to follow means to move.
(3) Breathing (prayer) Mat 6:5 ""And when you pray, James 5:16 "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
(4) Luke 18:1 "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;"
(5) The Right Heart—keep your accounts short between you and your Lord.
(6) Taking Nourishment—(the Bible)

c. The Saved Person has eternal life. John 5:24

4. A Saved Person Has Peace— Rom 8:5-6 “…to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

a. Peace With God— Rom 5:1 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
b. Peace—not the peace of God, nor peace of mind—that is a separate thing, a quality which develops over our entire Christian life.
c. This is a cessation of warfare, a changing of sides
(1) Peace with God, no more war.
(2) Peace with God, an end to rebellion
(3) Peace with God, we have left the rebel kingdom and the rebel army and we have been inducted into the Army of the Lord.
(4) Peace with God, we love Him and His ways, we love His Word, and His People.
d. Christianity is not primarily about our worldly needs, but about our greatest need.
(1) Many people seek to have their needs met through the church
(a) Social
(b) Financial
(c) Psychological
(2) Most of the great heresies of today center on man, on man’s needs, on man’s wants and desires, and on man’s part in whatever they conceive salvation to be.
(3) The Bible starts and ends with God
(4) The Christian Faith Meets our Greatest need—peace WITH God, reconciliation with our Creator and King.

b. But once you have peace with God, then you can have the peace OF God, through discipleship. Phil 4:4-9

2. A Saved Person Can Please God—through the ministry of Christ—Rom 8:8 "So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

a. In Christ, God is pleased with us. Luke 3:22 "And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."" Eph 1:6-7
b. As We follow Christ, We please our Father anew. (2 Cor 5:1-9), Heb 11:5 Heb 13:16 , 1 Th 4:1-7

Seven Characteristics of a Lost Person

2007-06-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Seven Characteristics of a Lost Person

1. A Lost Person is “After” the Flesh—Rom 8:5

a. A Person Dominated by Flesh—What is Flesh?
(1) The word, which is common in the New Testament, can mean three things:
(a) Mankind in general—
(b) A person’s body in particular—for a saved person, the remnant of the fallen nature resides in the body which is used to sinning. Gal 5:16-
(c) Or our fallen human nature—Gal 5:19, Gal 6:8
(2) In this verse, it is talking about our fallen human nature, the totality of our lostness.
b. A Lost Person is under the authority and rule of the flesh, the lost human nature.

(1) "…after the flesh….” The Greek could be translated literally as “…those being according to…” indicating a person’s fundamental essence, bent, or disposition. (MacArthur)
(2) “The word the apostle uses carries the idea of being under something else, under authority in particular.” (Lloyd-Jones, Romans 8:5-17, page 4)
c. So, a lost person is under the authority and bent of the flesh, the lost nature.

2. A Lost Person “Minds” the Flesh—"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh…

a. The Greek means, “to set the mind,” and this refers to the way the mind of a lost person naturally works. Their mind is on the flesh.
b. The Mind of the Flesh dominates the lost person—Phil 3: 18-19, 1 John 2:15
c. The two types of fleshly minds: lowbrow and highbrow sinners
(1) The Low-minded fleshly person: Gal 5:19-21 "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: ., uncleanness, lewdness, …, outbursts of wrath…., murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…."
(2) The high-minded Fleshly Person—Gal 5:19-21 "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication,……, …. hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, … 21 envy, …”
(3) To mind the things of the flesh includes political interests without God, social interests without God, cultural interests without God. That is what the expression means. Paul has in mind man’s highest pursuits, his philosophy, his art, his culture, his music, that never get beyond the flesh. God is outside it all, He is excluded from it; there is nothing spiritual about it. …’ (Lloyd-Jones, 6)
3. A Lost Person is spiritually dead. Rom 8:6

a. The minds of the lost are the minds of death and darkness—Eph 4:17-18
(1) The understanding is dark—1 John 2:11
(2) Their thoughts are evil—Gen 6:5
(a) Psa 94:11 "The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile."
(b) Prov 15:26 "The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant."
(c) Prov 24:9 "The devising of foolishness is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men."
(d) Mat 15:19 ""For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."
(e) Rom 1:21 "because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."
(3) They have a defiled mind—Titus 1:15 "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled."
(4) They are blinded—2 Cor 4:3-4 "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."
(5) The Lost are spiritually dead. What are the characteristics of the dead?
(a) They cannot make themselves alive
(b) They cannot communicate with the living.
(c) Except for divine intervention and an act of God's power, there is no possibility of changing the state of the dead.

b. How dead is spiritual death? Just like physical death, spiritual death means there is NO LIFE in the dead. John 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

(1) A Lost person is spiritually dead--they have NO Spritual life nor any spiritual capacity whatsoever.

c. Willing Servants of the lost world, Satan, and of Sin "...Eph 2:2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world..." According to this world's course--The lost walk according to the course of "this world..." They dance to the world's tune, so to speak.

(1) Servants of Satan "...according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience..."
(2) Slaves to sin-- Eph 2:3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, *** John 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
(3) Willing Slaves to our own natures-- "and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."
(4) By nature--we were born this way--Psa 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

4. A Lost Person has a Mind of Flesh that Hates God—Rom 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."

a. Total Alienation to God—Col 1:21 "…alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked work…”
b. Lost people hate God—the World system hates God—John 15:18-19
c. Religious Lost people hate the True God.

5. A Lost Person has a Mind of Flesh that is not subject to the Law of God. Rom 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."

a. Can anyone living today disagree with this? The World system, the elites of our nation, the entertainment media, and the great minds of our secular society hate the Law of God, and will not be subject to it.

(1) Prov 14:34 "Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people."
(2) Isa 5:20-21 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!"
(3) Prov 17:15 "He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD."
(4) Prov 24:24 "He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous," Him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him."
(5) Prov 28:4 "Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But such as keep the law contend with them."
(6) Mal 2:17 "You have wearied the LORD with your words; Yet you say, "In what way have we wearied Him?" In that you say, "Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the LORD, And He delights in them," Or, "Where is the God of justice?""
(7) Rom 1:32 "who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."

b. In our time, only those of us who believe in standards of moral behavior are the bad guys. But let me assure you—If you love sin, you hate God, and if you put up with wickedness in the name of toleration, you are not subject to God.
c. The mind after the flesh is not subject to God.

6. A Lost Person has a Mind of Flesh that cannot be subject to the Law of God— Rom 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."

a. Lost people are unable to comply because they are spiritually dead. 1 Cor 2:14

7. A Lost Person cannot Please God, except by answering the call to salvation.

a. You cannot please Him with your works, because they are as filthy rags.
b. You cannot please Him with your words, because they are words based on ignorance.
c. You cannot impress Him with your theories about life, because they come from a corrupt and spiritually and morally bankrupt mind and heart.
d. You cannot gain His favor with your human religion, because it is not only false, it is an insult to God.

No Condemnation, 3

2007-06-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

1. What The Law Cannot Do, and Why— Rom 8:3

a. The Law Cannot Save— Gal 2:16
(1) The Law Cannot save because of the lost person’s past guilt.
(a) Every thought, word, and deed has been recorded, and if you are lost today, every one of those sins is on your account, and it grows daily.
(b) Even if you were able, from this point forward, to live pleasing to God, your past guilt is against you.
(2) The Law cannot save because we love our sin—we do not want righteousness.
(a) We love our sin, we do not love God’s Law.
(b) We love our sin more than life itself.
(c) We want to do what we want to do.
(d) Now, we don’t want the consequences of our sin, but we don’t want righteousness either. Most people want to have their sin and heaven too.
(3) The Law cannot save because we cannot meet the standards of the Law
(a) Your sin nature, your lost condition, your innate depravity, and your spiritual insensitivity make it impossible for you to meet God’s standards.
(b) Mat 5:20
b. The Law Cannot Make Holy
(1) It amazes me that there are those who can see that the Law cannot save, but who think it can make holy.
(2) Gal 3:3
(3) Heb 10:1-3
c. The Problem is not the Law, but the weakness of Our Flesh
(1) The Law is not inaccurate, it is not wrong, it is inadequate—the Law can only convict—Rom 3:19
(2) If we are lost, our entire being hates God’s Law, hates God’s people, and hates God.
(3) But even if we are saved, our flesh, our human nature, our bodies, all are opposed to righteousness, and we struggle with our humanness. It is only by the power of the Spirit that we can live holy lives before God.

d. What is required
(1) For the lost person, they need a new heart, a new life—they need spiritual resurrection.
(2) For the saved person, they need to be discipled in walking in the Spirit and putting the Body to death, one day at a time.

2. What God Did and How— God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

a. First, God Did It—“Salvation is of the Lord!” Jonah 2:9
b. He Sent His Son
c. He Sent His Son in the Likeness of sinful flesh.
(1) Jesus is a Man, a real man, His flesh is human flesh—John 1:14, Heb 2:14-18
(2) But Jesus had no human father, He was, and always remained, Holy—Luke 1:35
(3) Jesus was and is, sinless—John 8:46, 2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1 Pet 1:19, 2:22, 1 John 3:5
(4) So, being in the Likeness of sinful flesh, he was the perfect sacrifice, without blemish, without spot.

d. Christ Came—on account of sin:
(1) Jesus Came to Earth to Die, and it was our sins that brought Him here—Mat 1:21
(2) Though He healed many, that was not His main mission.
(3) Though He preached and taught, and discipled His men, that was not His main mission.
(4) Though He demonstrated great works of power, that was not His main mission.
(5) He did not come to set an example, He did not come to start a social revolution, He did not come to preach love and toleration, He came to die as a sacrifice for the sins of a lost race, to make the way open for salvation—1 Cor 15:3-4, Gal 4:4-5

e. This is How Much God Hates Sin—He condemned sin in the flesh, God hates sin so much, and God loves sinners so much, that He sent His Son to die to redeem a lost race.
(1) God’s Holiness cannot stand sin: Rom 1:18
(2) God is merciful and loving—Psa 145:8
(3) In The Cross of Christ, these attributes of God do not conflict, they harmonize—Psa 101:1, Psa 85:10
(4) And in the Blood of Christ, we escape the justice of divine wrath. Because He died for us, we can live for Him! Rom 5:9

f. And, in the Cross, we see just how much God hates sin!
(1) Christ Jesus was and is, the apple of God’s eye. He was and is the beloved Son of the perfect Father.
(2) Throughout all eternity, Father and Son were never in the slight least bit of conflict, never had a cross word, never had anything but the perfect Father-Son relationship.
(3) The Father cries: Heb 1:6 " Let all the angels of God worship Him.""
(4) And beginning in the Garden, the night before, The Son takes upon Himself our sins, and the relationship begins to change, as Christ takes the role of the condemned criminal.
(5) Hear His sighs, hear His agony, see the sweat fall dark from His brow with blood, as the perfect Son of God takes upon Himself our guilt and shame.
(6) Imagine the internal conflict as the One who is all lovely takes on Himself the guilt of our ugliness.
(7) Imagine the pain as the One who has never sinned puts our record on His shoulders.
(8) Imagine the horror, as the One who made heaven and earth looks into the dark night of our Soul and sees the pit of Hell.
(9) Imagine the degradation as the One who is worthy of all Glory reaches into the dark, slimy pit of our sin and smears our dirt upon Himself!
(10) Imagine the guilt, as the accumulated sins of a multitude no man can number, most of whom were not even born yet, are put upon the shoulders of the One who never sinned.
(11) See the darkness cover the face of the ground, hear the thunder crash, feel the earth tremble, as the wrath of God the Father is poured out on God the Son. And now you see—How Much God Hates Sin!

3. The Result of Real Redemption—He Died to Make Us Holy—4 (Don’t miss this—the Law’s requirement is righteous.)

a. The first way this is so: In Justification, the Law is fulfilled for us—Rom 3:28
(1) He obeyed perfectly
(2) He died in our place
(3) We Trust in Him
(4) True faith results in legal justification—right with God
(5) This is not something that happens in us, but it is something that is done for us.
b. In sanctification, the Righteousness of God is fulfilled IN us—
(1) The Law is God’s righteous expression of human morality, and His intention is for His people to follow God in this, NOT to see how much they can get away with
(2) This does not happen in us by our wills or by our works, and it does not happen by us rigidly observing a set of laws. This happens by the ministry of the Holy Spirit within us and by the discipleship ministry of the local church.

c. Our Walk
(1) What our Walk is NOT:
(a) We do not walk according to the flesh, unlawfully—we do not walk in unholiness.

(b) We do not walk according to the flesh, Lawfully, that is, we are not freed from the Law to be put back under the Law, rather, the Holy Spirit will guide and lead us in the way we should go.
(2) Our Walk IS—“…according to the Spirit." Gal 5:18-24
(a) The lifestyle of a person walking according to the Spirit is going to show some real spiritual fruit—
(b) If there is no evidence of fruit in your life, you are not a child of God.

No condemnation part 2

2007-06-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

1. There Is No Condemnation, for God Justifies and Regenerates! 8:2

a. The Law of the Spirit of Life—this is the whole Gospel—It is contrasted with the moral Law. But why is it called the Law of the Spirit of Life?
(1) It is a Law, it is the legal justification of the sinner by the imputed righteousness of Christ.
(a) It is a law of obedience—but the obedience, the righteousness, is all Christ’s
(b) It is not a law of human merit—the merit is all Christ’s
(c) But it is a Law of Life—it is not just that we have been justified, but we have also been regenerated, made alive, given a new heart, given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(2) There are many, especially those who believe in Grace, who misunderstand this—they think that salvation only includes the great transaction, and they refuse to realize that the great transaction is not real unless there is a changed life!

b. For the law of the Spirit of life—the New Birth, which creates a new man!
(1) 2 Cor 5:17, 1 Pet 1:3, James 1:18
(2) The New Birth is something that happens to us, not something we do!
(3) John 3:3, 3:5, 3:7—the verbs and infinitives are passive—the New Birth happens to you; you can do nothing to generate it.
(4) An Obedient Man—though the law of the Spirit of life is not a law of obedience, the indwelling Spirit creates obedience—Rom 16:25-26
(5) A spiritual man—indwelt by the Holy Spirit—8:9
(6) A New Man, Created by the Power of God—Eph 2:4-5, 2 Cor 4:6

c. Freedom for the Free Born-- hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

(1) The verb is aorist—a point in time
(2) Justification is a legal transaction, a declaration of “not guilty,” but it is always accompanied by regeneration, being made alive in Christ.
(3) Justification makes you free, and regeneration changes you, which helps you live out your freedom.
(4) We do not become free to return to slavery to the Law—Gal 5:1
(5) and we do not become free to remain in slavery to sin. We become free to live in freedom, serving Christ and following Him—***Gal 5:18-24

2. What The Law Cannot Do, and Why— Rom 8:3 "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh,

a. The Law Cannot Save— Gal 2:16

(1) The Law Cannot save because of our past guilt.
(a) Every thought, word, and deed has been recorded, and if you are lost today, every one of those sins is on your account, and it grows daily.
(b) Even if you were able, from this point forward, to live pleasing to God, your past guilt is against you.
(2) The Law cannot save because we love our sin—we do not want righteousness.
(a) We love our sin, we do not love God’s Law.
(b) We love our sin more than life itself.
(c) We want to do what we want to do.
(d) Now, we don’t want the consequences of our sin, but we don’t want righteousness either. Most people want to have their sin and heaven too.
(3) The Law cannot save because we cannot meet the standards of the Law
(a) Your sin nature, your lost condition, your innate depravity, and your spiritual insensitivity make it impossible for you to meet God’s standards.
(b) Mat 5:20
b. The Law Cannot Make Holy
(1) It amazes me that there are those who can see that the Law cannot save, but who think it can make holy.
(2) Gal 3:3
(3) Heb 10:1-3
c. The Problem is not the Law, but the weakness of Our Flesh
(1) The Law is not inaccurate, it is not wrong, it is inadequate—the Law can only convict—Rom 3:19
(2) If we are lost, our entire being hates God’s Law, hates God’s people, and hates God.
(3) But even if we are saved, our flesh, our human nature, our bodies, all are opposed to righteousness, and we struggle with our humanness. It is only by the power of the Spirit that we can live holy lives before God.

d. What is required
(1) For the lost person, they need a new heart, a new life—they need spiritual resurrection.
(2) For the saved person, they need to be discipled in walking in the Spirit and putting the Body to death, one day at a time.

2. What God Did and How— God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

a. First, God Did It—“Salvation is of the Lord!” Jonah 2:9
b. He Sent His Son
c. He Sent His Son in the Likeness of sinful flesh.
(1) Jesus is a Man, a real man, His flesh is human flesh—John 1:14, Heb 2:14-18
(2) But Jesus had no human father, He was, and always remained, Holy—Luke 1:35
(3) Jesus was and is, sinless—John 8:46, 2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1 Pet 1:19, 2:22, 1 John 3:5
(4) So, being in the Likeness of sinful flesh, he was the perfect sacrifice, without blemish, without spot.

d. Christ Came—on account of sin:
(1) Jesus Came to Earth to Die, and it was our sins that brought Him here—Mat 1:21
(2) Though He healed many, that was not His main mission.
(3) Though He preached and taught, and discipled His men, that was not His main mission.
(4) Though He demonstrated great works of power, that was not His main mission.
(5) He did not come to set an example, He did not come to start a social revolution, He did not come to preach love and toleration, He came to die as a sacrifice for the sins of a lost race, to make the way open for salvation—1 Cor 15:3-4, Gal 4:4-5

e. This is How Much God Hates Sin—He condemned sin in the flesh, God hates sin so much, and God loves sinners so much, that He sent His Son to die to redeem a lost race.

(1) God’s Holiness cannot stand sin: Rom 1:18
(2) God is merciful and loving—Psa 145:8
(3) In The Cross of Christ, these attributes of God do not conflict, they harmonize—Psa 101:1, Psa 85:10
(4) And in the Blood of Christ, we escape the justice of divine wrath. Because He died for us, we can live for Him! Rom 5:9

f. And, in the Cross, we see just how much God hates sin!
(1) Christ Jesus was and is, the apple of God’s eye. He was and is the beloved Son of the perfect Father.
(2) Throughout all eternity, Father and Son were never in the slight least bit of conflict, never had a cross word, never had anything but the perfect Father-Son relationship.
(3) The Father cries: Heb 1:6 " Let all the angels of God worship Him.""
(4) And beginning in the Garden, the night before, The Son takes upon Himself our sins, and the relationship begins to change, as Christ takes the role of the condemned criminal.
(5) Hear His sighs, hear His agony, see the sweat fall dark from His brow with blood, as the perfect Son of God takes upon Himself our guilt and shame.
(6) Imagine the internal conflict as the One who is all lovely takes on Himself the guilt of our ugliness.
(7) Imagine the pain as the One who has never sinned puts our record on His shoulders.
(8) Imagine the horror, as the One who made heaven and earth looks into the dark night of our Soul and sees the pit of Hell.
(9) Imagine the degradation as the One who is worthy of all Glory reaches into the dark, slimy pit of our sin and smears our dirt upon Himself!
(10) Imagine the guilt, as the accumulated sins of a multitude no man can number, most of whom were not even born yet, are put upon the shoulders of the One who never sinned.
(11) See the darkness cover the face of the ground, hear the thunder crash, feel the earth tremble, as the wrath of God the Father is poured out on God the Son. And now you see—How Much God Hates Sin!

g. He did not die for us to take sin lightly!
h. He did not die for us to think sin is funny!
i. He did not die for us to take the Christian life lightly!
j. He died to set us free!
k. He died to give us life!
l. He died to make us Holy!

No Condemnation, Romans 8:1-4

2007-06-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

No Condemnation
Reading: Romans 8:1-4

The prevailing theme of this chapter is the security and perseverance of the true Believer in Christ.

8:1-4—The True Christian is secure because the Son has died for us, and because we have been changed permanently.

8:5-13—The True Christian is secure because The Spirit indwells us.

8:14-17—The True Christian is secure because of the doctrine of Adoption

8:18-25—The True Christian is secure because we have a guaranteed inheritance.

8:28-30—The True Christian is secure because of the Sovereignty of God: the doctrines of election, foreknowledge, predestination, and justification.

8:31-34—The True Christian is secure because the Character of God is at stake in our salvation.

8:35-39—The True Christian is secure because nothing can separate us from God.

* A proper understanding of the Biblical doctrine of the security of the believer is essential for the Christian. We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with attacks from the world and Satan, and we must, we need, to understand that if we are true believers, Satan cannot hurt us.

* But we also must understand that the Biblical doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is NOT the doctrine of carnal security.

1. The Lost World Is Under Condemnation. Rom 8:1

a. The plague of plagues—sin

b. Condemnation—

(1) The word, katakrima, is a legal word, used in judicial proceedings. It is the opposite of justified. This word means the sentence is adverse, it is “guilty”, and it has been pronounced.

(2) There is no condemnation for the saved, but there is condemnation for the lost.

c. If you are not IN Christ, you are condemned.

(1) The lost world is condemned twice—by Adam’s sin and by their sin. Rom 5:12-18
(2) The excuses that some use daily will not work at the judgment:

(a) I am not that bad
(b) I am not as bad as that one over there or this one here…
(c) I have lived a decent life.

(3) Truth—if you are not In Christ, the sentence is determined, and judgment is a mere formality. John 3:19, John 3:36,
(4) There is only one way outèActs 4:12 ""Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.""

2. There is No Condemnation For Those in Christ— Rom 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus

a. Therefore…Chapters 6 and 7 of Romans are a parenthesis dealing with question that arose from the doctrine of justification. Now we return to the main theme— The theme is grace: salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

(1) Rom 5:1 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
(2) Rom 5:11 "And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."
(3) Rom 5:20-21 "Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
(4) To get the flow, read 5:20-21 è 8:1

b. Therefore, now, no…IN the original, it is, “…not therefore now, condemnation…”
(1) words that hit us hard. Since we are justified by faith, since we are united to Christ, therefore…
(2) Now—presently, and in the future
(3) No condemnation—no means NO!
(4) No Condemnation— John 5:24 As believers, we will not even be judged (for salvation). Rom 5:16, Rom 5:18, Rom 3:24-26, Rom 4:6-8, John 10:28

(a) We have been justified by God, we have had our sins paid for, we are saved, we will not be tried judicially, let alone condemned, the account of our sins has been closed permanently!

b. Rom 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…”

(1) Are in Christ—if you ever were in Christ, you still are in Christ, if you are not now in Christ, you never were in Christ.
(2) In Christ means united with Him.
(3) The basic equation of life and death—1 Cor 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

c. What it means to be in Christ—Eph 1:3-14
(1) Blessed in Christ by the Father— Eph 1:3
(2) Chosen in Christ—Eph 1:4
(3) Destined to adoption in Christ—Eph 1:5
(4) Accepted in Christ—Eph 1:6
(5) Redeemed and forgiven in Christ—Eph 1:7-8
(6) Illumined in Christ—Eph 1:9
(7) To Be Gathered in Christ—Eph 1:10
(8) Heirs in Christ— Eph 1:11
(9) Sealed in Christ— Eph 1:13-14

d. Who Walk—the external evidence of true salvation—discussed at the end of 8:4

2. There Is No Condemnation, for God Justifies and Regenerates! 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

a. The Law of the Spirit of Life—this is the whole Gospel—It is contrasted with the moral Law. But why is it called the Law of the Spirit of Life?

(1) It is a Law, it is the legal justification of the sinner by the imputed righteousness of Christ.
(a) It is a law of obedience—but the obedience, the righteousness, is all Christ’s
(b) It is not a law of human merit—the merit is all Christ’s
(c) But it is a Law of Life—it is not just that we have been justified, but we have also been regenerated, made alive, given a new heart, given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

(2) There are many, especially those who believe in Grace, who misunderstand this—they think that salvation only includes the great transaction, and they refuse to realize that the great transaction is not real unless there is a changed life!

b. For the law of the Spirit of life—the New Birth, which creates a new man!

(1) 2 Cor 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
(2) 1 Pet 1:3 "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

(3) An Obedient Man—though the law of the Spirit of life is not a law of obedience, the indwelling Spirit creates obedience—Rom 16:25-26

(4) A spiritual man—indwelt by the Holy Spirit—8:9

(5) A New Man, Created by the Power of God—Eph 2:4-5, 2 Cor 4:6

c. Freedom for the Free Born-- hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

(1) The verb is aorist—a point in time
(2) Justification is a legal transaction, a declaration of “not guilty,” but it is always accompanied by regeneration, being made alive in Christ.
(3) Justification makes you free, and regeneration changes you, which helps you live out your freedom.
(4) We do not become free to return to slavery to the Law—Gal 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

(5) and we do not become free to remain in slavery to sin. We become free to live in freedom, serving Christ and following Him—***Gal 5:18-24

The Law and the Christian, 3

2007-06-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

The Christian And The Law, 3
Reading: Romans 7:8-25

Introductory Thoughts

Ø There are four possible positions normally taken in looking at this passage.
o The man (Paul) being talked about is a saved man with a sin problem.
o The man being talked about is a lost man.
o This is a man under conviction
o This is Paul describing his own experience in being convicted by the Law
Ø The problem most people have had in dealing with this passage is that they try to make it a universal. The want to find a way to make it apply to all believers or to all non-believers
o What they miss is this: this is Paul’s individual testimony of the Law and its work in convicting Paul of sin and revealing his need for salvation.
o Look at how many times “I” or such words are used! This is Paul talking about his own experience!
o This is God using the Law to convict this religious man of his sin.
Ø The second thing you need to understand is that there are no normative types of salvation experiences, that is, everyone’s experience is not exactly the same.
o All must know and confess that they are sinners
o All must repent and believe in Christ
o But from there on out, there is a lot of variety in the way that people come to faith.
o Paul and the Phillipian jailer had “violent,” wrenching experiences.
o The Ethiopian Eunuch had a polite discussion with Phillip in his chariot.
o Lydia’s heart was opened as she listened to Paul speak.

Ø You must know you are a sinner, you must put your faith in Christ, there has to be a changed life as a result, but the details are as varied as there are Christians.

1. But what purpose is the Law?
a. I had not known sin, but by the law The Law helps define what sin is. One of the categories of sin is any violation of the Law. Is that an Old Testament teaching? NO! It is a New Testament Teaching. 1 John 3:4
b. I had not known sin, but by the law—The Law helps us know that WE are sinners.
c. More about this later, but Paul also gives us HIS personal sin problem— for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

2. The Law Convicting Sinners—

a. The Commandment actually excited sin. 7:8
(1) He thought he was covetous before, but now, it is greater.
(2) This is a recognizable human phenomenon —tell me I can’t do it, and I am going to want to do it, in many cases.
(3) The first stage of conviction by Paul was more sin!

b. …without the law sin was dead. That is, it was under cover, under the veneer of human religion, out of sight, out of mind.

c. The Law Kills—7:9.
(1) He wasn’t really spiritually alive, he just thought he was.
(2) But the Law awakened sin in his members, and it flamed to full life—Paul realized he was dead. Remember, Paul had been under conviction: Acts 9:1-5
d. Sin Kills 7:10-11
(1) The Law, which tells us how to live, only tells the lost sinner that he is a dead man—guilty, condemned, and hopeless.
(2) The Law excited the rebellion in his heart, and actually made his situation more desperate.
e. The Mechanics of what was going on—7:13
(1) When the Law began to really work on him, it revealed to him the depth of his own depravity and sinfulness;
(2) As he looked at the Holy Law, and really understood it experientially, his own sin became more and more apparent.
f. Applied to the Whole Race—Rom 3:19-20
(1) What then is the purpose of the Law? To show us our need of salvation!
(2) To be our schoolmaster—Gal 3:24
(3) To Convict the Lost—1 Tim 1:8-11
(4) The Law Is Good—7:12

g. The Law is holy—it is set apart, it is God’s Word, and the Law is good. The Law is God’s expression of His will for the conduct of human beings.
(1) The Commandment—the particular law that had convicted Paul, “thou shalt not covet,” Paul says that commandment is holy just and good.
(2) Holy—set apart for a special purpose
(3) Just—it is right, it is not unfair, it is not wrong, it is not unreasonable, it is just.
(4) Good—The commandment is Good. It is not a bad thing. It is not the fault of the commandment that I sin, the commandment is good.

2. Why This is not a Saved Man—
a. An open contradiction between 7:14 and 6:14—Rom 7:14 "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Rom 6:14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

b. Other contradictions:
(1) True Believers have the ability to fight against sin. Rom 6:12—but 7:18 says this man has no power
(2) True believers are not the slaves of sin, but this man is. Compare 6:14 with 7:23
c. The similarities that confuse—
(1) The man under conviction wants to obey the Law because of his attachment to it, but he finds he cannot—7:15
(2) “I consent”—to speak with the Law, to go along with it.
(3) His actions don’t show it, but he knows that the Law is right and he is wrong.
(4) The power of sin in the life of a lost religious person is so great that in spite of his knowledge of right and wrong, he will do the wrong more often than not.
(5) Virtue training, morality education, sexual abstinence campaigns, great, motivational speakers, anti-drug campaigns, none of these will work, because the Law can only show us our need, not meet that need.
(6) As a religious man, his mind is telling him that he is wrong, but he finds that he has no power to oppose sin in his life. 7:17
(7) The Law shows him his utter depravity—Rom 7:18
d. The Difference: the True Believer has a struggle, but through the Spirit he can have victory. (more about that in the next chapter)—Gal 5:16-18
e. This is a man with head religion. He knows the Law, he assents to the Law, but he finds that the Law just shows him his sin more and more—18 …..to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not…. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members… 25 …. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

3. Paul the Pharisee—The Religious Man
a. Acts 22:3
b. Paul’s analysis to the Phillipians of his upbringing under the Law—Phil 3:4-6
c. Before His Conversion, he had been under conviction—Acts 9:1-5
d. The Law Cleaning Paul’s Plow—Context—Rom 7:12-13
e. The Law Convicting the Religious man
(1) The Law shows him his slavery to sin—7:14
(2) The evidence of his slavery in his life—7:15
(3) His inability to do right—7:16-17
(a) Like the man who says, “I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn’t help it.”
(b) His mind is overcome by his sin.
(c) His will is of no power at all—because he does not have the power—7:18-20
f. Paul’s own analysis about this state—
(1) 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. In his mind, he wants to do good, but he is under an influence which his mind cannot defeat.
(2) “…For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,…” His delight in the Law is intellectual only. He sees its consistency, it makes sense, he can see that it is true, it is beautiful to him, but it has no power over his conduct. He knows the Truth in the same sense that the demons believe (James 2:19), but this head knowledge gives him no power over sin.
(3) and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Captivity—in the original, a man taken captive at the point of a spear (Lloyd-Jones), totally helpless, with no ability to fight.

g. The Moment of Truth –He realized his need of salvation
(1) The reality sinks in—24 O wretched man that I am!
(a) He is no righteous man, he is a lost man with religion.
(b) He realizes that all of his works, all of his efforts, all of his pious pretension, these are all meaningless!

(2) He realizes his need of a Savior—who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
(3) His Joy at being found by Christ—25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(4) He ascribes nothing to his own work
(5) He sees in Christ the answer to every need
(6) He Thanks God for his salvation.

4. Paul’s other summaries of how God worked in his life.
a. Gal 1:13-16
b. His attitude change—Ph 3:7-10

The Christian and the Law, part 2

2007-06-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Introductory Thoughts

* I fear that the presentation of the Gospel in many circles in our day is weak, anemic, and incomplete.

* What is missing is the preaching of conviction, the preaching of the Holiness of God, the sinfulness of sin, and the just demands of God’s Moral Law.

* Paul, in the text before us today, explains the goodness of the Law and also explains the need of sinful man to be convicted by that Law. In the text in Mark, we see Christ using the Law in the art of conviction of a self-righteous, lost man.

1. Another Big Question, and the answer. Rom 7:7

a. Is the Law sin?
(1) The message of grace is, in our day, often so distorted by easy-believism that one would almost think the Law was sin.
(2) Many would denigrate the Law, hold it up to ridicule, disregard it totally, and would teach and act as if character and conduct were meaningless to a Christian.
(3) The Law is no way of salvation, we are free from the Law, but the Law is not bad, nor is the Law sin. The Law is the just expectation of God upon the race He created.

b. But what purpose is the Law?
(1) I had not known sin, but by the law The Law helps define what sin is. One of the categories of sin is any violation of the Law. Is that an Old Testament teaching? NO! It is a New Testament Teaching. 1 John 3:4
(2) I had not known sin, but by the law—The Law helps us know that WE are sinners.
(3) More about this later, but Paul also gives us HIS personal sin problem— for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

2. The Law Convicting Sinners—

a. The Commandment actually excited sin. 7:8
(1) He thought he was covetous before, but now, it is greater.
(2) This is a recognizable human phenomenon —tell me I can’t do it, and I am going to want to do it, in many cases.
(3) The first stage of conviction by Paul was more sin!

b. …without the law sin was dead. That is, it was under cover, under the veneer of human religion, out of sight, out of mind.

c. The Law Kills—7:9.
(1) He wasn’t really spiritually alive, he just thought he was.
(2) But the Law awakened sin in his members, and it flamed to full life—Paul realized he was dead. Remember, Paul had been under conviction: Acts 9:1-5

d. Sin Kills 7:10-11

(1) The Law, which tells us how to live, only tells the lost sinner that he is a dead man—guilty, condemned, and hopeless.
(2) The Law excited the rebellion in his heart, and actually made his situation more desperate.

e. The Mechanics of what was going on—7:13
(1) When the Law began to really work on him, it revealed to him the depth of his own depravity and sinfulness;
(2) As he looked at the Holy Law, and really understood it experientially, his own sin became more and more apparent.

f. Applied to the Whole Race—Rom 3:19-20
(1) What then is the purpose of the Law? To show us our need of salvation!
(2) To be our schoolmaster—Gal 3:24
(3) To Convict the Lost—1 Tim 1:8-11
(4) The Law Is Good—7:12

g. The Law is holy—it is set apart, it is God’s Word, and the Law is good. The Law is God’s expression of His will for the conduct of human beings.

(1) The Commandment—the particular law that had convicted Paul, “thou shalt not covet,” Paul says that commandment is holy just and good.
(2) Holy—set apart for a special purpose
(3) Just—it is right, it is not unfair, it is not wrong, it is not unreasonable, it is just.
(4) Good—The commandment is Good. It is not a bad thing. It is not the fault of the commandment that I sin, the commandment is good.

3. Jesus’ Method of Evangelism, Using the Law—Mk 10:17ff

a. Please note—Christ did not always use the same way of dealing with lost people. He approached them individually, meeting their need at their point of need.

b. The Man Came Running—The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19 tells us he is young, and Luke 18 tells us he is a ruler).

c. What would our typical response be? Here is the richest young man in town, a leader among men, handsome, debonair, from the best family, and he wants to be saved! Well, just repeat the sinner’s prayer, young man—you’ll be teaching a boy’s Sunday School class in a month, and you’ll be on the church board next year.

(1) I mean, that’s all there is to it, isn’t it? I mean, he wants eternal life, right?

(a) Everyone wants eternal life, whether they believe in anything or not.
(b) A desire to live eternally says nothing about the spiritual state of someone, and even less about what they know of God, sin, salvation, repentance, and faith.
(c) Eternal life is only for those who desire it on God’s terms, not on their own.

d. Jesus’ Curious Response—18-19
(1) Implied question—do you realize Who I AM?
(2) Don’t flatter the preacher, boy! Give the glory to God!
(3) The commandments? Lord, you aren’t going to preach the LAW to him are you? Jesus, haven’t you been briefed on the latest evangelistic methods, haven’t you been to the latest church growth conferences? Don’t you know that you are supposed to cater to this man’s psychological needs and help him with his self-esteem? Don’t you know that you are supposed to make him feel comfortable in church so that he will kind of grow into the idea of salvation? The LAW? Lord, what are you thinking?
(4) The Lord sneaks an extra one in—perhaps just for this fellow-- Defraud not

e. The Big Lie, and What it Reveals—20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

(1) He lied right here!
(2) But he showed that he thought of himself as righteous. Don’t lead this guy in “the sinner’s prayer,” because he doesn’t think he really is a sinner!

f. The Loving Truth—This preaches on its own!

(1) Love is consistent only with Truth, hard truth or not. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him,
(2) The Arrow Hits Home on a command not mentioned before—“Do not covet.” Jesus says, “give it all up…”.

(a) Is this for all of us? No, it was an individual instruction issued only to this young man.
(b) This was a test—Christ might have actually required him to go through with it, or it might have been like Abraham’s test, but the point is, if you are not willing to chuck it all to follow Christ, you are not ready to follow Him.
(c) Christ knew the man would not .

g. Oh no! You blew it! This guy was ready to commit, and you ran him off with the Law!

(1) No, this man was about to become another lost church member, and Christ confronted him with the Truth.
(2) This man was a sinner and not aware of that fact, and Christ used the Law to perform soul-convicting exploratory surgery.

.

The Christian and the Law part 1

2007-06-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

The Christian And The Law, 1
Reading: Romans 7:1-6

Introductory Thoughts

* Romans So Far:

** Paul is writing to them explaining the Gospel—Rom 1:16-17

** The Gospel starts with God, who is justly angry at the sin and rebellion of mankind—Rom 1: 18

** Whether a human being is a pagan or a Jew, human religion won’t work, and as a race, we really don’ want any part of God’s way—Rom 3:9-11

** Gentile or Jew, religious or non-religious, our efforts and squirming don’t help—we all stand guilty before God—Rom 3:19-20

** There is a way of righteousness, but it is God’s way—Rom 3:21-22

** Salvation is by Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone—Rom 3:24, 28

** Justification is a legal transaction, where the righteousness of Christ has been put to our account, and the account has been closed—Rom 4:6-8

** We have peace with God, we have been reconciled to Him by the Cross—Rom 5:1, 10

** Where once we were dead in Adam, we are now alive in Christ—Rom 5:12, Rom 5:20-21

** Grace is not a license to sin, but a freedom to serve Christ—Rom 6:1-2, 14

** We were the servants of sin, now we are the servants of Christ Jesus our Lord—Rom 6:17

* And now, we begin to look at the relationship that the Law has to the Christian, both now and before.

1. Preliminary Question: What is the Law?
a. Ps 19
(1) The Law of nature
(2) The Law of Conscience
(3) The Written Law
(1) Torah—the Books of Moses
(2) The prophets
(3) The New Covenant Scriptures

b. What is the effect of Law?
(1) It cannot save
(2) It cannot save
(3) It can only convict—Rom 3:19-20

2. Introduction to Romans 7

a. We begin with the third of the five big questions which began in Chapter 6—Rom 7:1

b. There are many common misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the relationship between the Law and the Christian. Each of these statements contains a grain of truth and a grain of error.

(1) One is that we are under the Law (or under some law or another) for salvation.

(2) Another is that we are still under the Law (or some law or another) to maintain salvation

(3) Another false teaching is that the Law is dead, null, and void, and of no effect for anyone any more.

(4) Another false teaching is that the Law has nothing to say to the believer in Christ.

c. Answers:

(1) Are we under the Law (or under some law or another) for salvation? NO! The Law is not now, nor was it ever, a way of being right with God—Gal 2:16
(2) Are we still under the Law (or some law or another) to maintain salvation? WE do not begin with grace, then revert to Law to maintain grace—Gal 3:1-3
(3) Is the Law dead, null, and void, and of no effect for anyone any more? NO! Again, Rom 3:19-20
(4) Does the Law tell us anything that is useful today?
(1) There are many in our day, inside Christendom and outside as well, who would like to say that no part of the Law is valid on any level. This is often because they wish to define morality for themselves in a way that will meet their lusts.
(2) As we will learn in a later lesson, Rom 7:12 “….the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
(3) As an expression of Truth, as an expression of God’s rules for human life, as a moral guide, the Law is true and good—
(4) The Law is never inaccurate, but it is always inadequate.

(5) Does the Law have anything at all to say to the believer in Christ? Yes!
(1) Grace enables us to serve Christ, but the moral Law (as applied in this day) is still an expression of God’s standards of right and wrong!
(2) The Gospel is not a license to sin, nor is it an excuse to declare every kind of immoral behavior to be moral and acceptable.
(3) Mat 5:17-19
(4)

d. So, Romans chapter 7 teaches us how the Law relates to us as New Testament believers in Christ.

(1) 7:1-6 talks about the Law and the Christian
(2) 7:7-13 defends the Law as just, good, righteous.
(3) 7:14-25 is one of the most difficult passages to understand in the New Testament, as the apostle Paul speaks of his own personal struggles, (I believe) when he was under conviction, and before he was actually saved, and how God used the Law to work in his life to convict him.

3. The Principle: Rom 7:1, The Law has dominion over the living only

a. “brethren,”

(1) Not addressed to Jewish believers, else Paul would have called them “brethren according to the flesh.”
(2) Addressed to Christians, Jew and Gentile alike.

b. “…for I speak to them that know the law…” Both the Jews and the Gentile Romans knew law, and a General Principle of any law is that it has dominion over all under its sway

(1) You don’t arrest dead people for a crime
(2) There is no point in trying dead people for a crime
(3) The dominion of the Law is for living people only.

c. The dominion of the Law
(1) Law has dominion—example, the US Constitution. Wherever American authority rules, that authority is subject to the Constitution.
(2) Law has total dominion—only a higher authority may negate or change the law. Those subject to it may protest, and in a democratic society, they may work to change the Law, but if they are under its dominion, they are under its dominion.
(3) Law has lifelong dominion— the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? As long as a man is alive, he is under the Law.
d. The Bondage of the Law—because Law has total, lifelong, dominion, Law is a bondage, onerous to the extent that the Law is itself a burden.

4. The Illustration—7:2-3

a. The Illustration: marriage. Paul uses this illustration for at least two reasons.
(1) Marriage is a legal bond that all people are familiar with in some way.
(2) Secondly, we know from Paul’s writings that marriage resembles the spiritual union between a believer and Christ—Eph 5:22-33

b. The Principle: Marriage is forever, but death breaks the bond—

c. Four points of interest about marriage as the illustration here. (Lloyd-Jones)

(1) Male headship
(2) The binding character of marriage
(3) The only legal possibility for a new relationship is the death of one of the parties.
(4) The object of the relationship is fruit.

d. So, for the Law and us, before we died with Christ:

(1) The law had dominion, it was our head
(2) The Law was our head
(3) We were bound by the Law
(4) We were bound to the Law until death.
(5) Our marriage to the Law has borne fruit, but all of the wrong kind.

5. And now we have died with Christ— Rom 7:4 "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ;

a. This is the historic aorist tense, something that has happened once for all.
b. This is a very violent and strong term, like a condemned person being put to death. It is not that we became dead passively, or especially, through our own action, but that we were put to death with reference to the Law.

c. The old dominion is broken, but the old husband is still alive—the Law is not dead, we are!
d. The bond is severed—we are no longer married to the Law, because we have died.

(1) We are now free from the Law.
(2) The fruit of our relationship to the Law is now of no interest to us.
(3) Now we have another husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, and if marriage is forever in God’s eyes, then His salvation is forever as well. If you are His, you will stay His forever.
(4) In applying the illustration to salvation, since the bond may be broken only by death, and since the definition of salvation is that we have, present possession, eternal life, once we belong to Christ, the bond cannot be broken.

6. The Lifestyle Contrast—5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

a. In The Flesh—
(1) The Law aroused our passions when we were lost.
(2) The fruit of that relationship is death—Rom 6:23
b. We have now been delivered SO THAT WE CAN SERVE CHRIST
(1) In the Spirit
(2) Not in the Letter

c. What is “the letter?”—2 Cor 3:1-18
(1) It is NOT referring to the New Testament Scriptures
(2) Nor is it referring to the Gospel in the Old Testament—e.g. Ps 22, Ps 2, Is 53, Jer 31:33, etc.
(3) It is referring to the Law
(4) The distinction is shown in Heb 2:1-4

d. What is “in the Spirit?”
(1) Acts 2:42-47
(2) Gal 5:22-24

Choose This Day (Part 2)

2007-06-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

He died to make us Holy—Rom 6:18

a. First, the two key words in this verse are not “sin” and “righteousness” they are “made free” and “became.”
(1) They are both aorist participles
(2) They are both in the passive mood
(3) So what? This means that they were made free and became holy by some act and Actor outside of them
b. First, we were freed at a point in time
c. We were slaves to sin, now we are no more
d. This freedom took effect in each of our lives as the instant of justification
e. At that same instant, we became servants of righteousness—now we must come to know it, reckon it, and do it.
f. AT Robertson—“…there is no middle ground …in this war…”

2. Paul Explains the analogy again—6:19-21

a. He essentially apologizes for using slavery as an example, then bores in on the fact
b. The word is very appropriate, with “habitual” sins, addictions, and proud self-sufficiency reigning in so many lives today
(1) Servants to uncleanness
(2) Patently true in sexual sins, in drunkenness, and all fleshly sins, especially in slaves like drug addicts.
c. He is saying: “Give it up, but give it up to God!
d. Instructions—
(1) Just like the old master, yet not at all really like him—
(2) Yield to God!

e. What they were, and the effect of it—6:20-21
(1) Imperfect tense, continual action in time past—the old lifestyle
(2) NLT—“In those days, when you were slaves to sin, you weren’t concerned with doing what is right…”.
(3) NLT—“And what was the result? It was not good, since now you are ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom...”.
f. The effect of Righteousness—6:22
(1) We ARE free—aorist—a done deal
(2) We are God’s servants—aorist
(3) You do what is right—present tense—holy living
(4) The end is eternal life
(a) Not that we earn salvation
(b) But living the Christian life is part of the chain of events, as we are kept by God’s power—1 Pet 1:3-5

3. We Earn Death—the wages of sin
a. The Curse of Works Religion

b. Works are bondage—Rom 8:15, Gal 2:4, 4:3, Gal 4:9, 4:24-25, 5:1

c. Wherein lies the bondage?

(1) Perfect performance required
(2) Perfect record keeping required
(3) Perfect memory and knowledge required
(4) No grace for mistakes, slips, passionate emotions of anger, etc.

d. The False Doctrine of Mixing Works and Grace

(1) Works and grace mixtures we see:

(a) God gets you started (even that with your help) and you must keep it going.
(b) God graciously gives you seven steps (or some other number) to jump through to get there, and even more after you get started, so you can complete the course.
(c) God saves you by grace, and keeps you by Law.

(2) Works and grace (as a way of salvation) cannot mix—Rom 11:5-6
(3) Where do works fit in? They are an evidence of the reality of salvation—Mat 7:20, Heb 12:4-8, Eph 2:10

4. Sin Is A Harsh Master—the wages of sin

a. What is Sin?

(1) General categories—1 John 3:4, Rom 14:23, 1 John 5:17, James 4:17
(2) Specifics—Prov 21:4, Gal 5:19-21

b. What Does Sin Do In This Life?

(1) Disease
(2) Family Problems
(3) Guilt, Psychological Misery
(4) Financial and personal ruin

c. What Is The Generational Impact of Sin? Exo 20:5, Num 14:18
(1) Diseases and disabilities from Godless lifestyles.
(2) Spiritual sickness from demonic influence
(3) Moral degeneration from bad examples and habits
(4) Spiritual ignorance from being unchurched.
d. What Is The Eternal Impact of Sin? Eternal damnation

5. Sin Pays—But It Pays A Dreadful Price—the wages of sin is death

a. The Original Payment—Rom 5:12
b. The basic equation of mankind: 1 Cor 15:22
(1) There are two alternatives, you are dead, or you are alive.

(2) If you are Christ’s today, if you have been born again, if you are a believer in and a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are in Christ, and therefore alive. That life is yours today, and you have the sure promise of the Almighty Sovereign God that He will bring that promise to full fruition and complete your redemption.

(3) If you are lost today, if you think that this Christianity stuff is a lot of hokum, if you do not believe in Christ and follow Christ, then you are in Adam, and you are dead.

(4) You may think you are alive, but you are dead in Adam, and if you stay in Adam, that death will come to full fruition as your condemnation becomes complete.

c. The Payment Each Receives During Life—the increasing misery of sinfulness.
d. Payment Made By The Redeemer—Mat 1:21, 1 Pet 1:18-21
e. The Final Payment By The Lost—Mat 25:46, Rev 20:15

6. Salvation Is A Gift of God, Salvation is Forever —but the gift of God is eternal life

a. But—everything about Grace is different from Works.
b. The Gift Of God
c. Eternal Life Is Real Life, not “potential life” John 10:10
d. Eternal Life Is Eternal—John 5:24, John 6:47

7. Christ is the Only Way of Salvation—through Jesus Christ our Lord

a. Through
b. Through Christ Alone—Acts 4:12, John 14:6
c. Christ Is Lord

Choose this Day....

2007-06-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

1. The Next Major Question and Answer—Rom 6:15 "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

a. Chapters 6 and 7 of Romans are dominated by several questions, in particular five major questions, and this is the second one: Rom 6:1-26:15, 7:7, 7:13, 7:24

b. Again, the basic question: shall grace make us sin, or shall grace give us license to sin?
(1) Some say that grace salvation doctrine gives license to sin.
(2) that grace makes Christianity conduct-neutral (explain)
(3) The truth is, that true grace makes us sensitive to and aware of our sin.

c. But the language reveals a shift in emphasis that is crucial to understanding
(1) In Rom 6:1, the verb tense is the present tense—so the question asked is “…shall we continue in a life of sin?”
(2) Rom 6:15 is much stronger. The verb is an aorist subjunctive, and Paul thereby is saying, “…shall we freely give in to sin, even occasionally?”
(3) AT Robertson says the question really amounts to this: “…Surely, the objector says, we may take a night off now and then and sin a little bit “since we are under grace.”
d. Therefore, the answer to the question is, again, NO!

2. The Axiom that explains everything—6:16

a. What is an axiom? A law or principle for which no proof is required—it is just plainly true.

b. Know Ye Not…. This is common knowledge type stuff—anyone on earth should know this principle.

(1) If a criminal surrenders, he has given up his freedom.
(2) If a young person enlists in the military, they have given up much of their freedom.
(3) If you take a job with a company, you have agreed to follow their rules and regulations.
(4) If a soldier on the battlefield surrenders, he has submitted himself to the will of his enemy. And A formal surrender is not needed. If you obey someone, you have made yourself their servant.
(5) Example from business—if you yield to your boss’ dishonest suggestion, then you are stuck from then on out, because he has something on you.
(6) The way that government people and soldiers have been trapped by spies is to first do this little favor, then that one, and then they are hooked.
(7) If you yield to an addictive drug, it then has you as a slave.
(8)
c. The question is, whose servant are YOU?
(1) Are you a servant of death?
(2) Are you a servant of righteousness?
(3) Even taking a night off to sin will yield a great amount of difficulty, and can end up being a devastation and devouring, as with David.
(4) Prov 5:7-14

3. The Way Of Salvation--Rom 6:17 "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you."

a. Thank God, first of all
(1) How You Are Saved—by Him and by Him alone—that is why He is thanked! See 1 Cor 1:4, 1 Thes 1:2-10
(2) You are saved because of God, and because of Him alone
(3) Why you cannot save yourself, in whole or in part—
(a) A lost person has no capacity to respond to God. 1 Cor 2:14
(b) A lost person has no interest in seeking God. Rom 3:9-12

b. What You Were—You were (imperfect tense—continual, but in times past) slaves to sin
c. Heart Salvation—but you have obeyed from the heart (aorist)
(1) Obeyed—God commands repentance and faith, and we must give—Acts 17:30-31
(2) Rom 10:8-13

d. How is it then that a dead, blind, hard, heart believes? We have a real problem here—Acts 8:37. As natural men and women, we do not have control of our hearts—they are spiritually dead. The New Testament talks about blinded hearts, darkened hearts, and hardened hearts. Eph 4:18, Jer 17:9-10, Acts 2:37, Acts 16:14

e. Saved by doctrine—

(1) Rom 6:17, 1 Cor 15:1-11,
(2) The form of words—
(a) 2 Tim 1:13, 2 Tim 2:1-2, Col 1:23, Col 2:7, 1 Tim 3:9

f. These doctrines were “delivered” (aorist) at the right time, to be used once for all—Jude 3, 4

4. He died to make us Holy—Rom 6:18

a. First, the two key words in this verse are not “sin” and “righteousness” they are “made free” and “became.”
(1) They are both aorist participles
(2) They are both in the passive mood
(3) So what? This means that they were made free and became holy by some act and Actor outside of them
b. First, we were freed at a point in time
c. We were slaves to sin, now we are no more
d. This freedom took effect in each of our lives as the instant of justification
e. At that same instant, we became servants of righteousness—now we must come to know it, reckon it, and do it.
f. AT Robertson—“…there is no middle ground …in this war…”

5. Paul Explains the analogy again—6:19

a. He essentially apologizes for using slavery as an example, then bores in on the fact
b. The word is very appropriate, with “habitual” sins, addictions, and proud self-sufficiency reigning in so many lives today
(1) Servants to uncleanness
(2) Patently true in sexual sins, in drunkenness, and all fleshly sins, especially in slaves like drug addicts.

c. He is saying: “Give it up, but give it up to God!
d. Instructions—
(1) Just like the old master, yet not at all really like him—
(2) Yield to God!

Freedom From Sin

2007-06-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Introductory Thoughts

The common views among professing Christians today can be summarized by saying they often have a very loose and easy view about sin. Sin has been insulated to be “mistakes,” “bad choices,” “the result of abuse, alcoholism, drugs, bi-polarity,” or any other excuse for what is, in a very simple word, “sin.”

Some Biblical facts about sin

Sin is and has always been the source of all evil, rebellion, disease, and misery in the world
Sin is universal—Rom 3:9-12, 3:23
One man’s sin brought death to the world (Rom 5:12)
Sin’s payoff is death—Rom 6:23
Sin is never God’s fault—Ps 51
Sin is our fault.—Ps 51, James 1:14-15
Doing anything that is not from faith is sin—Rom 14:23
Neglecting to do that which we know we should do, is sin—James 4:17
To lust after a woman, hate in your heart, or desire that which belongs to your neighbor is sin—Mat 5:21-48
Transgressing God’s Law (in any of its forms) is sin—1 Jn 3:4
All unrighteousness is sin—1 Jn 5:17
Your sin will find you out—Num 32:23

Myths about sin

Myth #1: All sin is the same—that is obviously not true, becaus the consequences of some sins far out weigh the consequences of others.
Myth #2—As believers, we can’t help sinning—this passage we are studying today puts the lie to that idea.
Myth #3—As believers, we can be perfect—no one can seriously believe this unless he takes a very loose view of what sin is—1 John 1:5-10 for the contrast.

1. Therefore—the context
a. The first anticipated question—Rom 6:1-2
b. Our identification with Christ—we have been baptized into His body by the Holy Spirit, and we have been identified with Him. Through Him we have life—6:3-5
c. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
d. We have traveled the road from knowing to reckoning—we have taken it to the bank that the old man is dead, and therefore we are no longer subject to the old man’s desires and sinfulness.

2. Don’t Do IT!—Rom 6:12 “… Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
.
a. First, this is a command, a present imperative—do not continue to let sin reign over you…
b. The verse, in the Greek, begins with “NOT!”—Literallyè “NOT therefore do let reign, sin…”
(1) Sin says “yes,” the demonic forces we wrestle with say “yes,” people who want us to sin with them say, “yes,”
(2) But the Bible says, “NOT!”
c. Not what?
(1) Don’t let sin “reign.”
(2) Do NOT listen to or “obey” sin; YOU are in charge.
(3) We are no longer in the kingdom of Satan, so we are not obligated to follow his kingdom’s way—Col 1:13, Eph 5:1-8
(4) In your mortal body—our human nature is the part of us that is subject to the temptation to sin. Again, our bodies and minds are not inherently evil, but they are inherently corruptible.
(5) Sin attacks our minds (2 Cor 10:5-6) the enemy casts about to snag us—James 1:14-15, our body weighs in, letting us know what its desires are.
(6) But we do not have to give in—we are not in that kingdom any more.

3. The two alternatives—6:13 “…And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God…”
a. The Theological background: spiritual warfare
(1) 2 Cor 10:4-6 è the battlefield, the strategy
(2) Eph 6:10-18 èthe weapons
(3) Mat 4:1-11, tactics è how to fight
(a) Zec 3:1-6
(b) Mat 16:19-24
b. The Linguistic Background: Two Kings, Two Kingdoms
(1) Sin—
(a) “reigns” over those who are in that camp
(b) Lightfoot—“Sin is regarded as a sovereign (v 12) who demands the military service of its subjects, levies their quota of arms (V 13)and gives them their soldier’s pay of death (v23)…”
(2) Righteousness—the kingdom of the King of Kings, who secures the release of the captives, bids them join HIS forces, where He will equip them (Eph 6:10-18) and give them eternal life (6:23)
(3) Instruments
(a) From “hopla,” (s Hoplite), a heavily armored and armed infantryman
(b) This is all about spiritual warfare—the illustration of controlling African wars by who gets the gunpowder.
(4) The question is this: Which Army will you choose?

c. Do not present your body to the army of darkness, to sin—“don’t go on presenting your body…”
(1) Pr 1:10
(2) Pr 4:14
(3) Ps 1:1-3
(4) Instruments (weapons) of unrighteousness
(a) Weapons do not operate themselves
(b) Our bodies do not rule, if we fall into sin, it is because we “gave it up”
d. Do present your body to God—Rom 12:1-2
(1) Aorist imperative—do it now, once for all!
(2) As being alive—we are alive, through Christ
(3) Instruments of righteousness—weapons of war!

4. Sin Cannot be King—Rom 6:14 “…For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace

a. First, no dominion for sin.
(1) Sin will launch guerilla raids and cross-border attacks
(2) Sin may take some territory, if we do not resist
(3) But if you are born again, sin will not have dominion over you.
b. Law Vs. Grace
(1) Law is an enslaving taskmaster—Gal 3:10-13
(2) Law can only convict, not save—Rom 3:19-20
(3) Moses can only hurt, never heal.
(4) Grace is freedom to serve God—Gal 5:1ff, cf. 5:19-24
(5) Only Grace can defeat sin—Eph 2:10

rom 6:6-11

2007-06-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

You Can Take This To The Bank:
The Old Man Is Dead
Rom 6:6-11

The next two chapters of Romans are dominated by five major questions:

Rom 6:1-2, Rom 6:15, Rom 7:7, Rom 7:13, Rom 7:24

1. The Journey from Knowing to reckoning
a. Knowing—6:6-10—the things God wants us to know about our salvation
b. Reckoning—an accountant’s term—to put on our account.

2. The Problem of the Christian Life
a. We are not saved, by works—Ep 2:8-9
b. We are not kept saved by our works—1 Pet 1:3-5
c. We to live in grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit—Gal 5:22-24, Eph 5:18-19
d. Yet, The Bible Says,
(1) “if you love me, keep my commandments.”
“without holiness, no one will see God…” 1 John 2:3
1 John 2:4; 1 John 3:22; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 5:2;
1 John 5:3; 2 John 1:6; Rev 12:17; Rev 14:12
Rev 22:14

e. Problems
(1) Yet, there are those who say implicitly that the Christian life is not about conduct.
(2) There are others which say that we are to live perfect, sinless lives.
(3) However, every scripture depicting the Christian life depicts it as being all about obedience.
(4) The Christian is caught between the twin cliffs of legalism and license.
f. Here is the answer
(1) We are saved by Grace through faith in Christ, plus nothing.
(2) This salvation is a total act of God
(3) The maintaining of our salvation is totally a work of God.
(4) And this salvation will result in:
(a) a desire to live Godly
(b) a desire to please the One who has loved us
(c) a need for fellowship with God and His people
(d) a need for His Word in our lives.
(e) A need for prayer
(f) an ability to fight against sin in our life
(g) a love of the things of God
(h) and a hatred of the things of the world.
(i) An expression of at least one spiritual gift

2. What Do We Know? Rom 6:6 “… Knowing this…”,

a. Context—6:1-5—identification with Christ is the key to eternal life.
b. Knowing—ginosko, to know by experience. Present participle—we are the ones knowing
c. The first thing we know is that the old man was crucified with Christ.
(1) This is substitution—none of us were literally on that Cross
(2) What is the Old Man? The old man is the old nature—the sinful self that desired to sin, that loved sin, and that cared nothing for God. The old man is the old self, before Christ.
(3) “Old” here is not the Greek word for old in years (archaios), but instead the word palaios, which refers to something worn out, useless, fit only for the garbage dump.

d. The Old man died on the cross along with our Savior—that our old man is crucified with him,
(1) Is crucified—aorist tense—this is not something that is happening to us gradually, it is not a process. Our old man was crucified, it is a done deal, it has happened. The old man is dead.
(2) Paul uses this type of language in other places: Gal 2:20, Gal 5:24, Col 3:9-10,
(3) In Eph 4:20-24, Paul tells us just that, that we must put off the characteristic habits of the old man so that we can adopt the habits of the new man.
e. As we are about to see, the old man is dead, but his legacy remains, that is the characteristics and habits he left in our bodies. Paul is telling us to put off the old habits and start making new ones.

3. The Body of Sin—that the body of sin might be destroyed,
a. What is the body of sin?
(1) First, it has to do with our literal bodies—look at the attention Paul pays to the body in Romans: Rom 6:12-13, 6:19, Rom 7:4-5, Rom 7:23-24, Rom 8:10-11, Rom 8:13, Rom 8:23
(2) Second, it is not that the bodies themselves are evil. We have to be careful here—some have tried to say that the body and anything physical is inherently evil, and that is not true.
(3) The body is like a dumb animal—it will act in accordance with its training. The problem is that our bodies are used to the reign and rule of sin. The old man is dead—but we still carry his carcass around.
(4) Moreover, the body has potential to be put to God’s service, if we present it to Him and dedicate it to Him—Rom 12:1
(5) The problem is that we must still deal with the physical body that remembers the old man, and we must out off the characteristics of the old man, which are still present in that physical body
(6) Again, I want to be very clear on this, it is not that the body is inherently evil, but our body is subject to habits of sin that the old man enjoyed, and our body must be brought under subjection to righteousness.
(7) Why is it that very small children wear diapers? Because they have not yet been trained to control all their bodily habits. The bodies of those infants are not intentionally obnoxious—but their bodies must be trained to obey good hygiene.
(8) The body of sin, then, is the memory and influence of the old master, sin, and the old, dead self. After all, it is difficult to do much in the way of sin without a body which has appetites for the sin.
(9) What does it mean for the body of sin to be destroyed? “…katargeoô (done away with) literally means “to render inoperative or invalid,” to make something ineffective by removing its power of control. (John Mac Arthur, Jr.)
(10) Destroying the body of sin means to render ineffective the influence of remembered sin by bringing the body under subjection. Rom 6:12-13, 19, Col 3:5, 1 Cor 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: ……..

b. How is it that we do this? What are the methods?

(1) Well, first of all, this is the subject of much of the next two chapters of Romans.
(2) The short answer is to learn to walk in the Spirit and to follow the Spirit of God in your life, but without some explanation, that sounds like so much religious mumbo-jumbo.
(3) The “how to” follows, but first, we still have some things we must know and put to our account before we can really attack the “how to.”

c. The Goal: No longer Sin’s Servant—that henceforth we should not serve sin.

(1) If you belong to Christ, if you are indeed one of his, Who and What now reigns supreme in your life? Rom 5:

4. The Old Man Is Dead—The Freedom of Death— Rom 6: 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. There is a certain type of freedom in death.
a. For unbelievers, it is a freedom at a horrible price, but there is a certain amount of freedom.
(1) No more bills or bill collectors.
(2) No more news reports on Monica Lewinski
(3) No more stock market reports.
(4) No more work, no more deadlines.
(5) If you had a habit—alcohol, drugs, tobacco, once dead you are free from that habit.

b. For believers, the freedom is complete—free from all the things that unbelievers are free from, but also free from pain, Free from care, free from worry, Standing in the blessed presence of Jesus, and In that day, redemption complete.

c. And he that is dead is freed from sin!

(1) We have died with Christ, we are under His reign and rule, and sin is no longer our master.
(2) Yes, the Old Man’s carcass is still with us, we must deal with the terrible legacy the old man left behind, but we are not under sin’s dominion.

d. I still have sin, because I am a whole person, body, Soul, and Spirit, and my physical body is used to sinning—the challenge of discipleship is to bring the body under subjection and defeat the sin that lives in it still.

2. If=since—8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

a. If—a first class condition (since) we have died with Him

b. Christ’s Mission Was To Die—8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

c. What Christ did NOT come to do:

(1) He did not come to hob knob with the Pharisees and Saducees.
(2) He did not come to form a new social-political movement and give power to the people.
(3) He did not come to overthrow the socio-economic system of His day.
(4) He did not come (that is, His primary mission was NOT) to set an example for us, though He did set many wonderful examples.
(5) His primary mission was not to preach the Truth, though He did preach the Truth.
(6) His primary mission was not to show wondrous signs, though He did show many wondrous signs.
(7) Jesus’ primary mission was to come to Earth to die for our sins. John 1:29, Mat 1:21, Mat 16:21-23, Luke 24:25-27, 1 Pet 1:18-20

5. We Believe
a. A Most Unusual Thing: Death Leads to Life—6:8
(1) We believe a most unusual thing—If( since) we be dead with Christ—we believe that we can be identified with the death of One who died long ago—
(2) We believe, furthermore, that by being identified with His death, we are then Identified with Christ in His life, His resurrection—but only if we are with Him in His death.
(3) Just as He came to die, He came to bring life. John 1:4, 10:10, John 5:24-26, Gal 2:20

b. We Know A Wonderful Thing: The Person and Work Of Christ Frees Us From Sin and Death—9-10

(1) He Died for our sins
(2) He was raised from the dead
(3) He has been restored to His position in Glory.

6. We Must Account This Thing To Be True—6:11

a. WE have to put this to our account, in our minds—we have to understand, know, and count that this is true.
b. As we war with the enemy every day, we need to know who we are in Christ.

The Passion of Christ

2007-06-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

The Passion the Point of the Film is the Fact of the Act
By: Charles T. Buntin , M.S., M.A.R.
OK, I went to see THE movie. Having heard, like everyone else, the hype, the protests, the reviews given by people who had thoroughly researched a film they had never seen, and the objections raised by those who hate everything Christian, I thought I was ready for whatever came on the screen; I was wrong. The Passion of the Christ is a masterful film, and it is a deeply affecting event. No movie has ever had the effect on me that this one had, and is still having. Since I saw the movie this afternoon, I’ve had trouble thinking about anything else. I plan on seeing it several times, and will be in line to buy the DVD when it comes out.
First, let’s deal with some controversial issues. The film is not anti-semitic, period. Some of the Jewish leaders and some of the rabble they rouse are shown to be what they were historically; hard-hearted haters of Jesus, and scheming fanatics. However, other members of the Council attempted to object to the proceedings, and many of the common people obviously sympathized with Jesus. If anything, the movie is anti-Italian; the Roman soldiers who beat and torture Jesus come off as vicious and sadistic proto-mafiosi thugs—which, historically, they probably were. Other Roman soldiers seem troubled by the whole mess, and toward the end, one or two appear to be genuinely sympathetic to the Lord. Some reviewers find the depiction of Pilate as sympathetic, making him appear “almost saintly.” I did not see that at all. To me, he comes off as the “Uber-wimp” politician, an existentialist who has no moral strength, and who is afraid to take a stand, letting events take their course. His one goal is to keep himself out of harm’s way. When his scheming doesn’t work, he tries to pass the buck. That is a biblically-accurate depiction, and it is certainly not sympathetic. Some reviewers thought that the movie did not spend enough time dealing with the teachings of Jesus; this is a specious charge. First of all, the flashback sequences do deal with many of the essential teachings of the Lord, but that is not really the point anyway. For “true believers,” whether they be evangelical or non-evangelical, the whole point of His life was his sacrificial substitutionary atonement and subsequent resurrection. He saw that as His mission, and this film centers on that historical set of events. That is another bone of contention for some reviewers—Gibson treats the events of the passion of Christ as historical. Well, they are historical; get over it. I mean, how dare we treat history as historical—who ever heard of such a thing?
Now, the film. The movie starts with a quote from Isaiah 53:5 “...He was wounded for our transgressions...”, and that sets the tone—this is a film about the sacrifice of Christ. For reviewers who are not people of faith and who are not well read in the faith, this is a key point which can’t be missed if they are to understand the film. Of course this is a two-hour slugfest: it’s about the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Messiah! Previous “Jesus” movies which depict the Lord as some kind of waif-like creature or plastic saint, and who short-change the violence of His last 12 hours miss the whole point of His life—He came to earth to die for our sins. Every Old Testament sacrifice prefigured His sacrifice, and his sacrifice was prophesied in some detail over 1,000 years before it happened. Being then a movie about a sacrifice, the violence is overwhelmingly graphic, and it is convincing. From Jesus sweating blood and agonizing in prayer until they take Him down from the Cross, the violence is unremitting, except for the flashbacks to His earlier years. Jim Caviezel, the actor who portrays Christ, does a strikingly effective job, expressing a full range of emotions through an increasingly unrecognizable face. The cinematography is stunning, the pulsating score is perfectly tuned without overwhelming the film, and the costumes and location have the ring of authenticity. The story closely follows the biblical accounts, with some details coming from tradition and legend; I found some of the legendary elements to be intriguing. The female actresses who depict Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Claudia, the wife of Pilate all turn in Oscar-quality work. There are simply too many stellar performances to mention them all. The detail work is so fine, that one could see it several times and notice something new each time.
My final evaluation is this: it is a genuine work of art as a film, and a riveting experience for the viewer. However, the overall effect of the movie will also depend on the faith of the viewer. Because the pace of the story and the detail of the movie is so overwhelming for a Biblically-illiterate person, the film will probably not be an effective evangelistic tool, and the legendary elements make it problematic as a teaching tool. However, as an experience to help believers understand what the Lord endured for our salvation, and to help unbelievers understand why we are the way we are, it is unsurpassed. As an event which obviously desires to revive the conversation about the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, it is certainly accomplishing that mission. See it.

Where Was Jesus' Spirit When His Body Was in the Tomb?

2007-06-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

Introductory Thoughts

We who are evangelical Protestants take some pride that our doctrine is completely Bible-based. In our minds, we are the children of the Reformation, and Sola Scriptura is both our heritage and one of the basic doctrines of our Faith. We like to think that we do not have extra-Biblical traditions, in distinction from the liturgical, traditional churches such as the Roman Catholic Church. To a great degree, all of these things are true. However, though it may be uncomfortable for us to admit, traditions do exist within our communions, some extra-Biblical, and some with a dubious Biblical basis. Sometimes these traditions hold as much or more authority than doctrines which are central to the Faith. In this writer’s own experience, pulpit committees in some circles are often more highly concerned with a pastoral candidate’s position on traditional denominational shibboleths than on the vital issues of the Faith, and more churches split over traditions than over “real” doctrine.
In examining the historical background for some denominational traditions with little or no basis in scripture, this writer has come to the conclusion that these extra-Biblical teachings usually achieve initial popularity, and then the status of accepted tradition, for several reasons, but one reason stands out. Perhaps the primary appeal of extra-Biblical traditions is that these traditions are usually emotionally satisfying--they have a particularly dramatic appeal; in the pastoral slang of my denomination, they “preach well.” Traditions with this emotional appeal become memorialized in songs and hymns, they become the regular fare of revivalist preachers, they become part of dramatic productions and devotional books, and so forth. While evangelical teachers and preachers decry extra-Biblical religious traditions (especially those of “the other guy”), we often acquiesce to and quietly ignore our “harmless” traditions to keep congregational peace so we can concentrate on central issues of the faith. As a pastoral practice, this idea is not necessarily a bad one. However, these traditions can get out of hand, and when traditional beliefs develop and grow to the point where they negatively impact vital Christian doctrine, they are no longer harmless, and must be dealt with. Currently, in some evangelical circles, there are two traditional doctrines which have thus mutated into a dangerous form: the “slain in the Spirit” doctrine, and the doctrine which we will call “the Weekend in Hell,” (the teaching that Jesus, during the three days that His body was in the tomb, made a trip to Hell, or, in the modern version, spent the whole weekend in Hell). This paper will deal with The Weekend in Hell.
What Is “The Weekend In Hell” Doctrine?
The “Weekend in Hell” is a tradition of long standing in Christendom, and though eminent commentators have long denied its Biblical basis, “weekend in Hell” has survived as a popular belief. This is probably because in its older form, “weekend in Hell” was not considered sufficiently dangerous to warrant much effort to contradict it. Additionally, there are scriptures which can be read in such a way as to lend Biblical credence to “weekend in Hell”, so it was perhaps not considered a totally extra-Biblical teaching, just a mistaken interpretation and application of difficult passages.
It is not certain when or where the “weekend in Hell” teaching first originated, but it crept into the Apostle’s Creed around the year 750 A.D., after first appearing in an Arian creed in 360, and in some other creeds and doctrinal statements.1 The older version of “weekend in Hell” held that Jesus visited the abode of the dead to preach to the “spirits in prison.” There were variations of this; some held that He visited the abode of the righteous dead only, to announce their liberation. Others believed Christ visited the abode of the wicked dead, and preached, as Peter said, to the spirits who were disobedient in the days of Noah. In the older version, the “weekend in Hell” teaching had an air of triumph, as Christ visited the nether regions to announce His victory, and there were no elements in the old version of “weekend in Hell” which undermined vital doctrine.
However, in the twentieth century, the “weekend in Hell” doctrine has mutated into a form which is of concern because it has serious implications for the most vital doctrine of the Christian faith, the Person and Work of Christ (Christology). This mutated form of “weekend in Hell” originated with the real father of the “Faith Movement,” the faith healer E. W. Kenyon, and has been continued and embellished by the modern leaders of the Faith Movement, especially Kenneth Copeland.2 Through the Faith Movement’s influence in charismatic circles, the “weekend in Hell” doctrine has begun to slip into popular Christian songs, and has become a featured part of some Christian dramatic productions. In the modern version of the “weekend in Hell”, the problematic but triumphal doctrine of the visit of Christ to the abode of the dead is turned into a full-scale attack on the efficacy of the Cross. In the Faith Movement version, Christ dies spiritually on the Cross as well as physically, and is transported to the abode of the wicked dead to be tormented by demonic forces for three days as a final payment on the atonement.3 In the Faith Message version of the “weekend in Hell”, Jesus is abused by demons for three days, and wanders around hell in disgrace as a kind of “wormy, washed-up shell of a spirit,” until God allows Him to speak the “faith word” and overcome His enemies.4 This is not only preached over the airwaves and published in tracts and books, there are several popular Easter plays which have been produced showing this theme. In one I saw on Christian TV, black-clad demons torment a weak pitiful Jesus in Hell, then, with loud crashing music, Jesus is “born again” in Hell, and dispatches the demons with a flashing sword. This is great Hollywood--but it is also quite incorrect; in fact, one might call it blasphemous.
In order to understand the doctrine of the “weekend in Hell,” and to demonstrate that it is a dangerous doctrine that both grows from and leads to heresy, we need to examine the elements of the myth, and then see what the scriptures really say about where the Spirit of Jesus was while His body was in the tomb.
Elements of the Weekend In Hell Doctrine
There are several component parts to this doctrine, and in order to understand it, we need to look at each part.
(1) Preliminary to the entire idea of the “weekend in Hell” is the idea that Old Testament believers were held captive in Hell, and could not be let loose until Jesus came and got them. Consider this:
a. The first thing we have to imagine is that the abode of the dead Old Testament saints is somewhere other than heaven, or the very presence of God. I am aware that this is commonly taught, but there is simply no scripture at all which even remotely informs us that there is such a place. The spirits of the Old Testament saints went to be with God when they departed this earth.
Eccl 12:6-7 6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. 7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. [emphasis mine]
b. Enoch and Elijah were bodily assumed up to heaven, and from his appearance with Elijah on the mount, Moses’ spirit was also in heaven.
Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
2 Ki 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Luke 9:29-32 29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.
c. Not only that, but consider the following passage:
Mat 27:50-53 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
If Jesus was to suffer in Hell for three days to finish the atonement, what is happening here? Why are these saints rising? They are rising as a witness of the completeness of the Cross; these saints are foreshadowing what Christ Himself will do in three days. Just as we will experience in the translation of believers and resurrection of those who sleep, the spirits of these Old Testament saints came from the presence of God to collect their bodies.
(2) The second part of the “weekend in Hell” doctrine is that Satan owned "the keys" to death, hell, and the grave, and that Jesus had to go win them from him.
a. There are ABSOLUTELY NO scriptures which even remotely suggest that Satan ever had any keys to anything.
b. Furthermore, God opens and shuts, and no one stops Him in going either direction.
Isa 22:22 The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
Isa 45:1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held; To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
Rev 3:7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens":
c. There are only two verses in the Bible where these keys are mentioned. The devil is never seen with them.
Mat 16:19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Rev 1:18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Now think, did the Devil EVER have the power of life and death? Did Satan EVER have authority to sentence anyone to Hell? The answer is “no!” God alone has, and has always had, that power and authority.
The Misunderstood Passages
There are only two passages which can be construed to teach the “weekend in Hell” theory: 1 Pet 3:18-20 and Eph 4:8-10. Let’s look at them one at a time.
1 Peter 3:18-20
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. [emphasis mine]
Let’s answer some questions about this passage which will help us understand it.
(1) Who are the “spirits in prison?” The answer is obvious from the context--those who were disobedient in the time of Noah. Are any others included in this verse? No. Are any righteous dead included in this passage? No. The only people mentioned are those who were disobedient in Noah’s time. If Christ did make a “trip to Hell,” the only people He spoke with were these.
(2) How did Christ preach to these “spirits in prison?” Does it tell us that He personally traveled to talk to them? Again, the answer is obvious from the context: it was “through the Spirit,” i.e., through the Holy Spirit, (1 Pet 3:18).
(3) If we buy the “trip to Hell” theory, what is Christ supposed to have said to these people? Did He offer them a second chance at salvation? Did He just go to gloat? No.
(4) How, when, and in what form was the message delivered to the “spirits in prison?” “Who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah.” To What were they disobedient? Well, study this verse:
2 Pet 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; [emphasis mine]
I submit to you that the antediluvian “spirits in prison” were disobedient to the message sent to them through the preaching of Noah, and that Christ had, in the time of Noah, preached to them through the ministry of the Spirit (2 Pet 1:19-21). Christ had spoken to these people through the preaching of Noah, which the antediluvian world ignored. This passage is not talking about some “weekend in Hell,” but is comparing the time of Noah with Peter’s time, as the following verses illustrate:
1 Pet 3:20-21 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 There is also an antitype which now saves us; baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
As to the old world, Christ sent his Spirit; gave warning by Noah. But though the patience of God waits long, it will cease at last. And the spirits of disobedient sinners, as soon as they are out of their bodies, are committed to the prison of hell, where those that despised Noah’s warning now are, and from whence there is no redemption. Noah’s salvation in the ark upon the water, which carried him above the floods, set forth the salvation of all true believers. That temporal salvation by the ark was a type of the eternal salvation of believers by baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew Henry).
Ephesians 4:8-10
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended"; what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
The common interpretation of this verse by those who support the “weekend in Hell” theory is this:
(1) “He led captivity captive”--that is, He loosed all of those poor Old Testament believers from Hell. Of course, this requires the development of an entire false cosmology about eternity.
(2) “Now this, ‘He ascended’; what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?” The common interpretation by the purveyors of this doctrine is that this means Christ went to Hell (the lower parts of the earth).
Dealing with the second part first, when Christ ascended, from where did He ascend? Did Christ ascend from Hell? No, from outside Jerusalem (Acts 1:9-11). What happened when He ascended? “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” Ten days after His ascension from outside Jerusalem, He gave the church the gift of the Spirit, and through that the gifts of the Spirit. This is talking about the only ascension of Christ mentioned in the Bible, that which is recorded in Acts 1:9-11. Now some may say, “But, to what does this “lower parts of the earth” refer? Some automatically assume that “lower parts” refers to Hell. But the use of the phrase in the Bible does not bear this out. There are only four other instances of this type of terminology which I could discover in the scriptures:
Psa 139:15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psa 63:9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
Is 44:23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
Ezek 32:24 "There is Elam and all her multitude, All around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, Who caused their terror in the land of the living; Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
The Hebrew phrase tahton ’erets to which the apostle’s… (the lower parts of the earth), answers, is used for the earth in opposition to heaven, Isaiah 44:23; probably for the grave in Psalms 63:10; as a poetical designation for the womb in Psalms 139:15; and for Hades or the invisible world, Ezekiel 32:24. Perhaps the majority of commentators take this last to be the meaning of the passage before us. They suppose the reference is to the descensus ad inferos, or to Christ’s “descending into hell.” But in the first place this idea is entirely foreign to the meaning of the passage in the Psalm on which the apostle is commenting. In the second place, there as here, the only descent of which the context speaks is opposed to the ascending to heaven. ‘He that ascended to heaven is he who first descended to earth.’ In the third place, this is the opposition so often expressed in other places and in other forms of expression, as in John 3:13, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven.” John 6:38, “I came down from heaven.” John 8:14, “I know whence I came and whither I go.” John 16:28, “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” The expression of the apostle therefore means, “the lower parts, viz. the earth.” The genitive is the common genitive of apposition. Compare Acts 2:19, where the heaven above is opposed to the earth beneath; and John 8:23. (Charles Hodge. Commentary on Ephesians).
While Ps 63:9 may be inferred to mean Hell, it is by no means certain. The other two references refer (a) to the womb as a metaphor, and (b) to lower elevations as opposed to mountains. There is little to go on, therefore, but certainly nothing to suggest that we may interpret “lower parts” to mean Christ went to Hell. I believe that the descent into the “lower parts of the earth” refers to the entire Humiliation of Christ, followed by His triumph. Indeed, if one compares Eph 4:8-10 with Phil 2:5-11, the relationship between the two passages becomes obvious. Christ descended to earth in humility, but He ascended to heaven in victory. For a masterful exegesis of this passage, I refer the reader to Christian Unity: an Exposition of Ephesians 4:1-16, by Dr. D. M. Lloyd-Jones, pages 156-161. Dr. Lloyd-Jones concludes his explanation of this passage by saying:
“This exposition and explanation avoids all confusion and unnecessary speculation about what our Lord may of may not have done after His death and before His resurrection. These speculations have crept into our creeds, but they have no real scriptural warrant.”
(3) “He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” So, what does it mean that He "descended?" He “came down” when He came to Earth, to be born in the womb of the Virgin Mary--See also John 17:5.
Could the Ephesians 4 passage mean that Jesus took a weekend excursion to Hell? Only if you bring that meaning with you, it is not found in the exposition of the passage.
The Heart of the “weekend in Hell” doctrinal error--Who is Jesus?
The heart of this entire myth, of the “weekend in Hell” is a misunderstanding of Who Jesus Is. The central answer to the whole set of heretical teachings which surround this popular myth about Christ is to return to the Central Doctrine of Christianity--the Person of Christ.
(1) First, what was the nature of Jesus without the veil of His flesh? What did the disciples see on the mount?
Mat 17:1-9 1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
Without the veil of His flesh, Christ’s essence as God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, shone forth. Who is Jesus? Jesus is God. He is the God-Man. While His body lay in the tomb, wherever the rest of Him was, you can be sure of one thing--His Deity was not veiled in flesh for those three days. If Jesus had gone to Hell and walked around, the demons would have been hiding from Him the whole time, and Satan would have been thinking about adding a basement--so he could hide!
(2) Second, Jesus demonstrated His DIVINE power during His life on Earth--he demonstrated His authority over every realm while in the flesh, and it was not through “WORD FAITH,” it was through His divine power and Godhood. (See my article on Kenosis).
Christ Possessed the Power and Attributes of God while in His earthly ministry. The Son of God, during His earthly ministry, had power over:
Nature -- Matthew 8:27
Disease -- Matthew 8:16-17
Demonic forces-- Matthew 8:28-34
Death-- Jairus' Daughter (Mat 9:25); The son of the Widow of Nain (Luk 7:14-15); Lazarus (Jn 11:43-44); His own resurrection (Jn 10:17-18).
On earth, His humanity did not displace His deity, but instead, His Godhood was veiled by His humanity.
Heb 10:19-20 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
When His flesh was torn, the veil of the temple was torn.
Mat 27:51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
Mark 15:38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
On two occasions, he raised the veil of His humanity --
(1) On the Mount of Transfiguration, He allowed the disciples with Him to see His Glorious being as it really was (Mark 9:1-9)
(2) When the soldiers came to get Him in the Garden, He knocked them to the ground by saying ..."I AM." (the word he, which follows "I AM" in most translations is not in the original) (Jn 18:4-6). As an old puritan might have said: “He lift up the hem of His veil but a bit, and knocked them all down.”
So where was His Spirit While His Body was in the Tomb?
Well, let's let Jesus Himself tell us . . .
He was in Paradise
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
Now there are some people who will try to say that "paradise" is something other than the Heaven where God is. However, only other two instances of "paradise" are in the Bible, and they obviously apply to Heaven:
2 Cor 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Jesus' Spirit was with the Father
Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' "Having said this, He breathed His last.
Was the Father in hell? I don't think so!
Furthermore, when the Cross was finished, the sacrifice was finished, and there was no more suffering to be done
Jn 19:30..It is finished!"
Bottom Line -- Believe the Bible, not myths (Isa. 8:19-20)
1 Tim 1:4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.
1 Tim 4:7 But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
2 Tim 4:4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Titus 1:14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.
2 Pet 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
The only thing the Devil had in the three days the Body of Christ was in the tomb was a headache--because he knew Christ’s Soul and Spirit were in the presence of the Father, and they were not in HELL!
And the Devil, unlike the TV preachers, had heard Jesus say, "It is finished!"
1 Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. II, Wm. B. Eerdman’s reprint, 1976, p. 532, note 3.
2 D. R. McConnell, A Different Gospel, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1988, p. 116-133.
3 Ibid., p. 120.
4 Hank Hannegraaff, Christianity in Crisis, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 1993, p.163-174.

The False Doctrine of Kenosis

2007-06-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

The Empty God
By: Charles T. Buntin , M.S., M.A.R.
A Biblical and Theological Answer to the False Doctrine of Kenosis
Introduction
An increasingly prevalent teaching in evangelical circles, particularly in charismatic circles, is the doctrine of Kenosis. This false teaching is drawn from impure wells, it is dangerous because of the other false doctrines it leads to, and it flies in the face of the heart of Christian teaching. What is it? The doctrine teaches that the Messiah, in order to assume the form of a servant and become incarnate (into human flesh), had to give up some, several, or even all the powers and attributes of God and "live as a mere man." The advocates of this heresy, in an effort to assume an orthodox posture, try to say that the Son somehow "remains God," though He has given up all parts of that being. This teaching, which denies so much of the heart of the orthodox faith, comes from the misinterpretation and misconstruction of one Greek word.
This word, and the doctrine it describes, refer to the deep, mysterious, but vitally important passage of Philippians 2:5-8, and especially in verse 7, where it says Christ "made himself of no reputation," or "emptied himself." The word in the original is ekenosen, from the root word kenoo, which can mean "to empty." The other references to the word are Romans 4:14, where the meaning is "made void," 1 Corinthians 1:17, where it means "of none effect," 1 Corinthians 9:15, where it means "make void," and 2 Corinthians 9:3, where it means "to be in vain." These references all refer to abstract principles, such as faith, preaching, or boasting--none of them refer to a person, or even to an object. Therefore, the use of the word as it is used in Philippians 2:7 is unique. The question, which shall be repeated later is "of what did Christ empty Himself?" The teachers of Kenosis say that what Christ did was to "empty Himself of all power."
The doctrinal area in which we are dealing is not academic, it involves the very heart and center of our faith. It is also not just a matter for scholars, but is for all of us. Kenotic teaching has become prominent in charismatic circles, and is the basis for much of what they promulgate. Indeed, much of the weird theology that surrounds the so-called "faith" movement is based on a Kenotic understanding of the incarnation, combined with a new-age-like leap of logic that says that since Jesus left His powers and attributes behind and lived as a mere man, we born-again believers are ". . . just as much an Incarnation of God as Jesus was" (Kenneth Copeland)
In another leap of logic, these teachers move then to the Mormon-like doctrine of apotheosis (we are little Gods). This trend so concerned Walter Martin that the last thing he wrote before going home to be with the Lord was a contribution to a book refuting these theological trends among TV evangelists.1 This paper on Kenosis is not a detailed analysis, but is instead an expanded outline with footnotes, covering these major areas:
The Doctrine of Kenosis This part of the paper includes reference material that traces this view to the 19th-century German liberal theologians that first promulgated the Kenotic teaching, and compares it with modern Kenotic teaching.
The orthodox position on Christ's humiliation. Includes quotations from noted Evangelical Scholars on the subject.
A Critical Refutation of the Kenosis doctrine.
An alternative method of handling the "problem verses" without deviating from orthodox Christology.
I. The Doctrine of Kenosis
A. Classic Kenotic Teaching
(1) "About the middle of the nineteenth century a new form of Christology made its appearance in the Kenotic theories."2 This is how Berkhof introduces the subject. He then delineates three forms of Kenotic teaching--the first, and least offensive, seems to fit the general view: "Thomasius distinguishes between the absolute and essential attributes of God . . . and His relative attributes, which are not essential to the Godhead, such as omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience; and maintains that the Logos while retaining His divine self-consciousness, laid the latter aside, in order to take unto Himself veritable human nature."3
(2) "The essence of the original kenotic view is stated clearly by J. M. Creed. 'The Divine Logos by His Incarnation divested Himself of His divine attributes of omniscience and omnipotence, so that in His incarnate life the divine Person is revealed and solely revealed through a human consciousness.'"4
(3) Charles Hodge classes this view under Modern Forms of the Doctrine [Christology], and includes it under a class of doctrines called Theistical Christology taught by various German theological liberals of that era.5 One form of the view is as follows. "...that the Eternal Logos, by a process of self-limitation, divested Himself of all his divine attributes. He ceased to be omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. He reduced Himself, so to speak, to the dimensions of a man."6
B. Comparison with the view of Kenneth Copeland (as a representative of the "Faith Message" school of thought).
This seems to be the general view of the entire "faith message" school of thought, and it is becoming prominent in other charismatic circles as well.
(1) "Jesus hadn't come to earth as God; He'd come as a man. He'd laid aside His divine power and had taken on the form of a human being--with all its limitations."7
(2) "They [orthodox Christians] mistakenly believe that Jesus was able to work wonders, to perform miracles, and to live above sin because He had divine power that we don't have...They don't realize that when Jesus came to earth, He voluntarily gave up that advantage [deity] living His life here not as God, but as a man. He had no innate supernatural powers. He had no ability to perform miracles until after He was anointed by the Holy Spirit... He ministered as a man anointed by the Holy Spirit."8
C. General Comment
The writer of this paper has encountered this teaching in other theological circles, and in at least one other prominent tele-evangelist who is not from the "faith message" camp.
II. A Positive Affirmation, from Scripture, of the Orthodox Position on Christ's Humiliation in Relation to Philippians 2:5-11.
Includes quotations from noted Evangelical Scholars on the subject.
A. The self-emptying of Christ was mainly an emptying of the external trappings and Glory of Deity.
The context of Phil. 2:5-11 is that Christ emptied Himself by taking on the form of a servant. Indeed, the overall issue, from 2:1 through the end of verse 15, is on various forms of outward expression, Christ being the example for the life of the saints in Philippi.
(1) Paul was stressing to the Philippians that they should be self-sacrificing, and should not have personal glory in mind as they live their life. Then, he used the Incarnation as an example. (2:1-5)
(2) Christ, says Paul, was in the form (morphe, an outward expression of an inward reality) of God, and did not consider this Glory, this expression of equality with the Father something to be grasped, or held on to (see John 17:1-5, 24).
(3) Most modern translations say in verse 7 "emptied Himself", but the King James and the New King James read, "made Himself of no reputation." About this difference, one evangelical scholar wrote "The A.V., while not an exact translation, goes far to express the act of the Lord."9 ( In this quote, A.V. stands for Authorized Version, or King James). Then it says, "taking the form of a servant." As we have been talking about outward expressions, vainglory, outward form, etc., and as that is the subject from here through verse 15, the plain sense of scripture here is that Christ's self-emptying was of the outward glory and majesty of Godhood, and that He accomplished that action by taking the form of a servant. This, of course, is what Paul is asking the Philippians to do. Context is vital here--Paul is not telling the Philippians to lay aside, discard, or disregard their natural abilities and talents, (attributes and powers), he is telling them to submit them to the will of God and the good of the whole church.
a. Possibly because of the negative theological background for it, B.B. Warfield went so far as to call the literal translation of kenoo as "emptied Himself" a "mistranslation."10
b. "Nothing in this passage teaches that the Eternal Word (John 1.1) emptied Himself of either His divine nature or His attributes, but only the outward and visible manifestation of the Godhead."11
c. "He emptied, stripped Himself if the insignia of Majesty"12 (Emphasis added)
d. "When occasion demanded, He exercised His divine attributes."13
(4) Verses 8-11 continue the thought--Christ is "...found in appearance as a man...", and continued His voluntary humiliation through to the Cross, then is exalted by the Father (as He discussed with the Father in John 17).
(5) Other Scriptural references that establish the same principal:
a. John 1:1-14. After laying out His perfections, [(1) "The Word was God"--Deity; (2) "He was in the beginning with God," Eternity; (3) "All things were made through Him..." Creator; (4) "In Him was life..." Self Existence;] John says "and the Word became flesh." It is not that God the Son gave up anything, but that He added something--He took humanity to Himself.
b. 2 Cor 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." He gave up the external glories of His riches, but did He really give up ownership? No--in His earthly ministry, He claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath, and exercised dominion over natural phenomena, disease and demonic forces, and even demonstrated His possession of the power of life and death. His poverty did not consist as much in what He gave up (for He still retained title to it) as in what He took on--our nature.
c. 2 Cor 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." In His act of atonement, did He give up His own essential Holiness? No, again, it was not that He gave up anything, it was that He added something--He took our sins upon Himself.
B. Do the Scriptures bear out that He possessed the attributes and powers of deity while on earth?
The first, and most obvious reference is His personal conversation with the Father in John 17--He asks (in a "man to man, equal to equal" way) for the return of His Glory. He never mentions the return of His power or attributes--because He still retained them!
(1) Omniscience--John 11:11-14 ("...when Jesus was fifty miles away...")14 John 2:24-25, 6:64, 70-71. As for the instances when He seems to be claiming ignorance, they have to do with Him speaking from His humanity, and taking our place, and involve a complete understanding of the orthodox teaching concerning the relationship between the Divine and Human in Christ, which will be discussed in section IV.
(2) Omnipotence: (demonstrated most vividly in the power over life and death) John 10:17-18, 5:21-23, Luke 7:14, John 11:43-44, Mat 28:18-20, John 18:5-6.
(3) Omnipresence: Matt 18:20, John 1:48 (Ps 139, Gen 16:13), John 3:13 (MAJ . . . Text)
(4) Providence: Heb 1:1-3--Note that "upholding all things" was predicated of Him in the context of His earthly ministry of declaring God's truth, and before His atonement, resurrection, and exaltation. Col. 1:17--"In Him all things consist [hold together]" The universe is upheld by His word of power--He holds it together--that is an essential part of who He is. There is no intimation anywhere in scripture that He gave up this function upon Incarnation.
(5) Sovereignty: Mk 2:28, Mat 11:27, John 17:2. John 3:35
C. Having looked at the issue piecemeal, we can now conclude it with the powerful testimony of the book of Colossians.
(1) Paul says that in Christ ". . .are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," (2:3) and ". . . Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (2:8-9, emphasis added)
(2) The argument might be (and has been) made that those verses apply to Christ in His exaltation, and not in His humiliation. First, that logic leans to the Gnostic idea of "progression," that the Logos after His exaltation was materially and essentially different (and improved) as a person from what He was during His humiliation. This is the very idea that Paul was fighting in the book of Colossians! The clincher, however, lies in the earlier verses in chapter 1: ". . . It pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself...through the blood of His cross." (1:19-20) All the fullness of God dwelt in Him bodily during His earthly ministry!
III. A Critical Refutation, from Scripture and from Evangelical Scholars,of the things implied and taught by the Kenosis Doctrine.
The theologians who crafted Kenotic doctrine were trying to deal with two problems. The first problem was in how to deal with those texts of scripture (as used by the cults) which seem to indicate that Christ was less than fully God, yet do justice to the obvious Biblical teaching that He was "Very God of Very God." The second problem was posed by their understanding that He lived His life in submission to the will of the Father, and largely as a man with a full indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They could not reconcile that in their minds with His full deity. The problem with these teachers was that they were theological liberals--they did not accept the verbal, plenary, inspiration of the Bible. Because of this, they crafted an erroneous philosophical theological answer, and ignored the fact that the problems were already solved by scripture, and had been fully worked out by the teachers and leaders of the early church during the period from A.D. 250-451. In their effort to improve on the Council of Chalcedon, they created many more problems than those they sought to solve--and did not really solve what they had originally perceived to be problems in the orthodox faith.
A. The philosophical and theological bases for the Doctrine of Kenosis are highly suspect.
The thought process began with an incorrect concept of God as the Absolute and Almighty God.
(1) Thomasius of Erlangen, one of the first and leading proponents, ". . . distinguishes between the absolute and essential attributes of God," and taught that omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence ". . . are not essential to the Godhead..."15
This is patently ridiculous, and there is absolutely no Biblical basis for classing the three "omni" attributes as non-essential for Deity. Philosophical theologians may find a way to make this add up, but in the words of one of this century's great Bible teachers, ". . .There is no other possible alternative between an absolutely supreme God, and no God at all."16 It is impossible to conceive of any being worthy of the title of I AM who does not possess the essential attributes continually posited to God by the Bible. The Bible never mentions God as anything but absolute. The three attributes in question, absolute Knowledge, Potency, and Presence, are foundational to who Jehovah is. The sarcastic charges made by Jehovah against false "gods" usually center in their ignorance, impotence, and immobility (Deut 4:28, Is 45:20, Jer. 10:5, 15). In comparison to idols, Jeremiah says "He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things...the LORD Almighty is His name." (10:16) Indeed, if one reads the awesome passages like Is 40, Job 38:1-42:6, Ps 90, Rom 11:33-36, etc., as well as the countless other verses and passages that extol and marvel at the greatness of the Almighty Jehovah, there can be no other conclusion but that God is Absolute. There is no Biblical way that the Son could give up his divine knowledge, potency, and presence, and remain "in essence" God. The distinction is strictly one of human philosophy. Concerning Kenosis, Charles Hodge, the leading American evangelical scholar of the last century, wrote
"The theory in question is inconsistent with the clear doctrine both of revealed and natural religion concerning the nature of God. He is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and immutable. any theory, therefore, which assumes that God lays aside His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, and becomes as feeble, ignorant, and circumscribed as an infant, contradicts the first principle of all religion..."17
It must be pointed out here that Hodge fully accepted the doctrine of the incarnation, that God came in the flesh, as an infant and a man. However, he saw it in the light of historic Christology, as discussed in section IV, that while all of that was true, Christ was not confined to that form of a servant, and was not limited by it, except that He willingly gave up the exercise of His Glory, and sometimes chose not to use His other powers, though He retained them fully.
Berkhof shines more light on the philosophical antecedents of Kenosis when he writes: "The theory is based on the pantheistic conception that God and man are not so absolutely different but that the one can be transformed into the other. The Hegelian idea of becoming is applied to God, and the absolute line of demarcation is obliterated."18 The theologians who concocted this heresy were German scholars steeped in the insidious philosophy of Hegel, the forerunner of both communism and fascism.
B. The vital doctrine of Immutability is completely destroyed by Kenotic teaching.
(Cf. Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8)
(1) Biblically, there was no essential change of the nature of the Second Person of the Trinity in His Incarnation, because He did not lose the essential attributes of deity, He took on human flesh and a human nature. In His own essence, He did not change (Heb 13:8).
(2) Beyond its effect on the immutability of the Son, it would destroy the integrity of the Triune God if He ceased to be fully and totally the Absolute God during His Incarnation, . "It means a virtual destruction of the Trinity, and therefore takes away our very God. The humanized Son, self-emptied of His divine attributes, could no longer be a divine subsistence in the Trinitarian life."19
C. If the God-Man who died on the cross was not both fully God and fully Man, then the integrity of the atonement is destroyed.
The Blood that redeemed the Church was the "Blood of God." Acts 20:28 If He was any less than God, then His blood sacrifice was not infinitely powerful and able to redeem all who believe in every age.
IV. An alternative method of handling the "problem verses" without deviating from orthodox Christology.
There are three Biblical concepts which are at the heart of this method: (A) Understanding the biblical doctrine of the two natures of Christ. (B) Understanding His role as our Kinsman-Redeemer and substitute, and (C) Understanding and admitting the existence of the Biblical concept of "mystery"--the fact that there are some things which must be just believed, because there is no way to understand them.
A. Understanding the biblical doctrine of the two natures of Christ.
The Trinitarian Controversy (A.D. 320-381) led directly into a great controversy over the Nature of Christ's Person. Understanding the doctrinal dimensions of this fight, and understanding the conclusions reached by the church are vital to understanding how to combat the cults in this area, since the cults of today are merely the heresies of yesterday refried. During this period of Church History, there were many evil things done in the name of one doctrine or another, yet miraculously, truth triumphed.
(1) As the early church wrestled with understanding the Biblical teaching about Christ, there were three views that became most prominent. I will try to illustrate these views by assigning different ways of writing the term , "God-Man" to each view.
a. The Monophysites taught that Christ was the God-man, that is, He was not fully God and Fully man, but a third entity which was a fusion of the two natures (The Kenotic teaching is closest to this among the early heresies.) This heresy was basically a leftover of the Origenistic tendencies of Arianism, and grew strongest in the areas that had been strongest for the Arian view. The battle cry of this party was that Mary was the Theotokos, or Mother of God. The Monophysites carried this erroneous teaching (which survived, though without the Christological conclusions attached) to extremes, and made of Christ a new category of being, with one nature, will, and personality, each a fusion of God and Man.20
b. The Nestorians taught that Christ was the God, Man with two natures so separate as to be a split personality. This teaching developed because of the objections of the church and theological school of Antioch to the growing cult of Mary among monophysite believers.21
c. The orthodox view, which was approved by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and which has been accepted and proven to be fully Biblical by evangelical Christians since the Reformation, was that Christ was the God-Man, fully God and fully Man, one person with two unmixed natures.22
(1) The important key concept in the orthodox doctrine is whatever Christ did, He did as a whole person. For instance, when His human body was beaten, tortured, and died, He suffered as a whole person, so that though God cannot be killed, it can be said that God Died for Our Sins.23
(2) Because of the Truth of the two natures, we can Biblically say:24
a. Christ is infinite OR Christ is finite. He existed from all eternity OR He was born in Bethlehem
b. He was omniscient OR He was limited in knowledge
c. He is David's Lord YET David's son
d. He is the Ancient of Days YET He was born as an infant
e. He is God over all YET He is the son of Mary
f. He upholds all things YET He is weary with His journey
g. Without Him was nothing made that was made YET He can do nothing without the Father
h. His natural form is the form of God YET He takes on Him the form of a servant
i. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, YET He increases in stature
j. He Knows the Father perfectly YET He increases in wisdom
k. In His own name, he gives a new and more perfect law and proclaims Himself Lord of the Sabbath and greater than the temple, YET He is born under the law and is subject to the law
l. He is the Prince of Peace YET His souls is troubled
m. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, YET He goes to death at the order of a Roman governor
n. He is with us always unto the end of the world, YET The disciples saw Him being received into heaven out of their sight.
B. Understanding His role as our Kinsman-Redeemer and substitute.
Why was is necessary for the Redeemer to be the God-Man? Why is the doctrine of the two natures of Christ so important? The answers lie in God's law of the goel, or Kinsman-Redeemer, (Lev 25) illustrated beautifully by the historical story of Ruth. Scofield summarizes the principle concisely in his note on Is 59:20.25
(1) The kinsman redemption was of persons, and an inheritance (Lev 25:48, 25:25; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:7, 11, 14.).
(2) The Redeemer must be a kinsman (Lev 25:48-49; Ruth 3:12-13; Gal 4:4, Heb 2:14-15).
(3) The Redeemer must be able to redeem (Ruth 4:4-6; Jer. 50:34; John 10:11, 18).
(4) Redemption is effected by the goel (Kinsman-Redeemer) paying the just demand in full (Lev 25:27; 1 Pet 1:18-19; Gal 3:13).
(5) Therefore, what we see as Christ's humiliation was done as our goel, our redeemer, our substitute. When He was living, acting, speaking, suffering, denying full knowledge of events, claiming total dependence on the Spirit, etc. as a man, he was doing these things out of His human nature, and in our place. Yet, because He was also God, He could pay the whole price--he lived, acted, spoke, and suffered as no other man ever had or ever could.
C. Understanding and admitting the existence of the Biblical concept of "mystery."
There are some things which must be just believed, because there is no way to understand them.
(1) God is unsearchable (Eccl. 3:11, Is 40:28, Rom 11:33-36, Job 5:9, Job 11:7)
(2) There are many mysteries in the gospel (1 Tim 3:16, Eph 5:25, 1 Col 15:51)
(3) Christ Himself is a mystery (Rom 16:25, 1 Cor 2:7, Eph 1:9, 3:4, 3:9, Col. 1:27)
D. The three core concepts related above should help us understand how Christ lived His life on earth.
He lived in appearance as a man (Isaiah 53:3, Phil. 2:8), and submitted His will to the Father, and lived His life as a man anointed by the Spirit (Luke 4:16-21). Yet, He retained all His powers, and demonstrated His abilities often as a vindication of His messiahship and proof of His authority (Mk 2:1-12). In the mysterious verse John 5:17, ". . . My Father has been working until now, and I have been working," we are given a clue that He did many of His works "in His own right," though they were always in accordance with the will of the Father. On one occasion, He even lifted the veil of His flesh, took off His servant nature, so His three closest disciples could see Him as He really was (Mat 17:2). On another occasion, He "lifted the hem of His veil a bit"--when they came to arrest Him, He said "I AM," and they all fell down (John 18:4-6).
If we were to make an illustration of Jesus as if He were a policeman going under cover in a bad neighborhood, the Kenosis doctrine has the policeman leaving his weapons at home, along with his badge and other symbols of authority. He can call on headquarters for help, but he himself is helpless and defenseless. The orthodox teaching has the policeman himself as a "lethal weapon", he is a martial arts expert who can kill with a blow--he is skilled on the level that he can reach within a man's chest and pull out his still-beating heart--he can defeat multiple opponents. He can leave His I.D. , badge, uniform, etc., behind just like cop number one, but he cannot cease to be the walking weapon that he is. He looks normal, he appears as helpless as the first policeman, but he has the ability within himself to defend himself. He might choose to call for help; he might even choose to allow himself to be shackled, hurt or killed for the good of the mission--but he has the ability within himself to defeat his enemies. Raise that illustration, and the powers of the second policeman to infinity, and the illustration shows the difference in the two doctrines.
One of the beauties and glorious mysteries of the cross is that He who hung there was at that moment sustaining the universe--the very breath of the Roman soldiers was in His grip. He could have destroyed the Roman empire with a wink, with a thought, but He voluntarily restrained His great power, submitted to the plan He and the Father had agreed to before the world was made, and laid down His life. The entire Trinity was involved here--The Father pouring out His wrath , the Son Propitiating the wrath (Rom 1:18, 3:25-2, 5:8-11), and the Spirit involved in a way the Bible does not specify (Heb 9:14). This is a great mystery, but it cannot be solved by reducing the Son to something not quite God.
E. It is from applying the core concepts above that we can construct meaningful and orthodox answers to the questions of those who refuse to believe in the God of the Bible.
The answer is not to deviate from Truth ourselves through less-than-precise theology--it is to present the whole Truth unvarnished and uncut.
J.I. Packer, the dean of living evangelical theologians, completely rejects the doctrine of Kenosis, as illustrated in his book Knowing God. He says plainly, "The Kenosis theory will not stand."26 I encourage the reader, to see what this Christian leader says about the subject. I hope that my study will be of help, and if you have been infected with this false doctrine I pray you will seriously consider modifying your views in this vital area.
1 Walter Martin's last published writing was a refutation of apotheosis in the book The Agony of Deceit , (Moody Press, 1990). Included in that same book is an article by Dr. Rod Rosenbladt entitled Who Do TV Preachers Say That I Am?, which refutes, among other things, the teaching of Kenosis.
2 L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, (Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1940) pg 327.
3 Ibid.
4 Ralph P. Martin, Kenosis, The New Bible Dictionary (Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973), pg 6.89
5 Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology vol. II/III, (Reprint by Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977) pp 428-440.
6 Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, Who Do TV Preachers Say That I Am? The Agony of Deceit, (Moody Press, 1990) pp 114-115.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 W. E. Vine, (Edited by F. F. Bruce) Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Fleming H. Revell Company, 1981) N. T. Vol. 2, pg 25.
10 Berkhof, op. cit. pg 328.
11 C. I. Scofied, The Scofield Reference Bible (Oxford University Press, 1917), pg 1258.
12 Lightfoot, cited by Scofield, ibid.
13 Moorehead, cited by Scofield, ibid.
14 Scofield, op. cit. pg 1145.
15 Berkhof, op. cit. 327.
16 A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God (Baker Book House, 1975) pg 29.
17 Hodge, op cit, pg 439.
18 Berkhof, op. cit. pg 328.
19 Ibid. 329
20 Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. III (Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977) p705-783.
21 Ibid
22 Loraine Boettner, Studies in Theology, (The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1973) pp 195-203.
23 Hodge, op. cit.
24 Boettner, op. cit. 197.
25 Scofield, op. cit. pg 765.
26 J. I. Packer, Knowing God, (InterVarsity Press, 1973) pg. 52.

romans 6:3-5

2007-06-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

* Remember, Paul is here answering objections to the doctrines of Grace.
* Nothing in this passage, therefore, can be made to contradict salvation by Grace, nothing can be made to contradict justification by faith.

1. Preliminary Questions:
a. What is the subject of 6:3-11?
(1) Context—Rom 5:15-21—you are in Adam, or you are in Christ, one or the other.
(2) The question being answered, 6:1-2—we died to sin!
(3) We are one with Christ! Gal 2:20, Eph 2:4-6
(4) The subject is our union with Christ

b. What is the meaning of “baptized” here? (two incorrect views). It is NOT about water baptism

(1) Does “baptize” always refer to water baptism? No! 1 Cor 10:1-4, Mat 20:22-23, 1 Cor 12:13, Acts 1:5
(2) The Problem of the Sound of Words
(a) Baptize—not really an English word, but an anglicized Greek word: Why? (example of “bishop vs. overseer.”)
(b) Our ears are conditioned to think of the religious ceremony of water baptism any time we hear the word “baptism,” but the word often means something other than water baptism
(c) The word “baptiso” means “to immerse,” or “ to place into.” It only means “place into water” if that is the obvious context.

b. What Kind of Baptism Is This?
(2) Holy Spirit Baptism—One of the key concepts missed by many in the baptism/salvation discussion is a proper understanding of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

(3) The outpouring, or baptism, of the Holy Spirit was predicted in the Old Testament in several places: Isa 44:3, Joel 2:28-29
(4) The Baptism in the Holy Spirit was defined by John the Baptiser, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, as being a distinctive part of the ministry of Christ. Indeed, the baptism of water was contrasted with the baptism in the Spirit—Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16
(5) Christ promised the outpouring, or baptism, of the Spirit to His disciples: Acts 1:5
(6) The initial outpouring came on the day of Pentecost, and there were other outpourings in the books of Acts. Some of these outpourings came to those who had been baptized in water, and some came to those who had not yet been baptized in water. Acts 10:47-48, Acts 11:15-16
(7) In discussing the ministry of the Spirit in the Body of Christ (the church) Paul made it plain to the Corinthians that it was Spirit Baptism which placed them in Christ—1 Cor 12:12-13
(8) Therefore we understand that when baptism is talked about in the Bible, there is a way to distinguish between water baptism and Spirit Baptism in those scriptures which do not specifically tell which type is being discussed.
(9) That way is this: if the passage is talking about being placed into Christ, then it is talking about Spirit Baptism, not Water Baptism, for Spirit Baptism is how we are placed into Christ.

(10) In the our passage in Romans 6, for example, it is obvious that the context is being placed into Christ and the passage dwells on the believer's identification with Christ, with His death, and with His resurrection. In this passage, the believer is not baptized into WATER, but into the death of Christ. Rom 6:4-5
(11) The common interpretation of those who teach that water baptism is found in this verse is this: "...we have been united together in the likeness of His death..."

(12) This phrase is taken by them to mean burial, or immersion in water. I marvel that anyone really thinks that is true--for Christ's death happened NOT in the tomb, when He was buried, but His death took place ON THE CROSS! Water Baptism bears no resemblance whatsoever to His death, but instead to His burial! The likeness of His death is that our old man has been crucified with Him, and that sin therefore has no dominion over us--which is the subject of this entire chapter! The likeness of His death is that our old self has died, and a new self has been born.

(13) This, of course, accords with what Paul also says in Galatians—Gal 2:20

(14) The following verses also refer to Spirit Baptism. Col 2:9-13. (I defy anyone to demonstrate how to baptize in water "without hands...")
(15) A major misquoted and misused verse is also Gal 3:27 –is this talking about water baptism? No, as the immediate context reveals…..Gal 3:26 "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

c. Galatians 3 contrasts the work of the Spirit with human works.
(1) The Works of The Spirit
(a) 3:1—True Doctrine
(b) 3:2—Hearing of faith, receive Spirit
(c) 3:3—In Spirit
(d) 3:5—Spirit = hearing of faith
(e) 3:6—Righteous by faith
(f) 3:7—Children of Faith
(g) 3:8—Gospel preached to Abraham—no baptism here!
(h) 3:9—faith’s blessing
(i) 3:11—faith = justification
(j) 3:12—faith is NOT works
(k) 3:14—Blessing = promise of Spirit
(l) 3:22—Promise by faith = them that believe
(m) 3:24—just by faith
(n) 3:25—After faith, no schoolmaster
(o) 3:26—Children of God by faith
(p) 3:27—baptism = Spirit Baptism

(2) Human Works
(a) 3:1—bewitched
(b) 3:2—works
(c) 3:3—In flesh
(d) 3:5—Works
(e) 3:10—works = curse
(f) 3:11—Law = no justification
(g) 3:12—works are not faith
(h) 3:13—Law = curse
(i) 3:21—Law not against promises
(j) 3:23—before faith, there was Law, works
(k) 3:24—Law, school master, preparatory

(3) Why, after all the positive things being about faith, and all the negative things being about works, would Paul suddenly put a human work (water baptism) in as the determining factor in our salvation? That interpretation is ridiculous.

2. Baptism Unto Death—Rom 6:3

a. Reminder: subject of this passage: living for Christ. Subject of 6:3-11: union with Christ.
b. Know ye not…..They should have known the relationship between salvation and lifestyle. “Don’t you know,” says Paul, that as many of you as were immersed into Christ, as were placed into Christ, were also placed into His death?
c. This is not about experience, but about fact. Rom 5:12-21
(1) We died in Adam, we sinned in Adam, we were not literally present in the garden, but Adam was our Federal Head, our representative, and we died with him there.
(a) Died to righteousness
(b) Died spiritually
(c) Died to God
(d) Became children of Adam, children of wrath, came under the reign and rule of sin.
(2) But as we died in Adam, if we are Christ’s we died with Him, not physically present there, but our Federal Head, our representative, was there.
(i) Died to sin (penalty and reign)
(ii) Became one with Him
(3) When did we die with Him? When did this become effective in our life?
(i) When we were baptized into Christ
(ii) When we believed and were justified
(4) Christ’s death became effective for us the moment that we trusted in Him for salvation: at that instant, we were identified with Him, at that instant, we were baptized into His Body.

3. The Responsibility of the Believer—Rom 6:4

a. Therefore: why are we placed into Christ?
(1) Picture: Christ’s resurrection.
(2) Antitype: walk in new life.
b. Christ raised by the Glory of God—Eph 1:19-22
c. We have been raised as well to heavenly places. (Eph 2:4-6, 1:7-11)
d. Therefore our walk should reflect this fact. Not “should” as we use it, but a definite thing.

4. The Promise of Glorification—6:5

a. If—if we are really saved
b. Shall—not maybe, but definitely—In God’s mind, it is true already—Eph 1:3-5
c. Sharing in His life, His Glory
(1) John 17:24
(2) 2 Cor 3:16-18