Part 6: His Call For You August 20, 2010

His Call For You To Understand His Truth

 

1Corinthians 2:14 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

We discussed above that it is salvation that Jesus talked about as being impossible for men, but possible with God.  You may have tried in your own strength and wisdom to comprehend the Bible and even to live like a Christian and found yourself greatly discouraged and frustrated.  Such was the case with me.  You cannot rightly understand the gospel, nor respond to it, in and of your own desire or striving.  It must be spiritually understood, and this can only be granted as a gift from God.  Our lack of capability serves a glorious purpose: “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1Cor 1:29),”and “that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1Cor 2:5).”

Part 5: His Call Is For All, But Not All Will Come August 19, 2010

 

John 7:37 “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Romans 10:13 “For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Matthew 16:24 “If anyone would come after me…”

Part 4: How Does Jesus Make Entrance Into His Kingdom Possible? August 18, 2010

 

 

With Man, This is Impossible.

Matthew 19:23-26 “And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”  But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

It is common for Christians to make “all things” mean “whatever I want God to do for me.”  What many people miss out on here is a much greater and stunning truth.  With man salvation itself is impossible, and can only be granted as a gift from God.

Part 3: Exalting The True God That Natural Man Hates August 17, 2010

 

 He is our Creator 

 

The people of the world do exactly what the Bible said they would do and have “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever (Romans 1:25)!”  Read Romans chapter one in entirety and you will find reason to tremble with fear for where our nation is headed.  The people have commonly become “futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts (are) darkened (Romans 1:21).”  One needs only to open up the science curriculum of every public school and you will witness the doctrine of a people who “claiming to be wise, (have become) fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles (Romans 1:23).”  They do “not see fit to acknowledge God (Romans 1:28)” and rather give glory to some cosmic explosion, primordial soup, and millions and millions of years of mutations.  This is not glorious.  If it didn’t make such a shipwreck of people’s souls I would be inclined to laugh, but instead I groan and shake my head in dismay.  This inglorious foolishness I do not wish to expound upon but rather the Glory of my Creator.

Part 2: Our Culture’s Critical Problem With The True God August 16, 2010

Part 2 of “An Appeal To The Modern Mind.”

God is indeed “separated from sinners,” and not just by distance but by nature.  What I mean is this: everything that God is the natural man hates, and all that comes out of the heart of man, God by nature must despise.  The Word of God teaches that in our natural human state we are all “alienated and hostile in our mind (towards God), doing evil deeds (Colossians 1:21).”  You might be thinking “but I love God,” and yet if you are not a Christian you do not yet love the true God and this I hope to prove to you in love and for your good. 

Isaiah 45:5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.”

An Appeal to the Modern Mind: Confronting Objections And Delusions About The Christian God August 15, 2010

Part 1: Combating Universalism and Relativistic Thinking

 

 There are two belief systems on the up rise today that often go hand in hand, called Universalism and Relativism.  A Universalist typically believes that each person can find their own way to God that is right for them.  They would say that most religions are based on similar truths and values, and therefore each path leads a person to God.  It might be a different rendition of God, but as long as the religion assents to a “higher power” of some kind, it is all the same thing to the Universalist.  Exclusivists who would say that their religion is the “only way,” would likely be frowned upon by the Universalist who seeks to include everyone in their view of heaven.

Yet many who think this way are also Relativists, so it is not fitting that they should get very worked up about the exclusivist, since after all everyone’s truth is true for them.  But regardless, I have come across these people and have found they can be quite distraught by the Absolutist.  He is content with every kind of truth except for that which says that there is definite absolute truth, and that kind of discussion makes him feel unnerved.  So to be clear: Relativists absolutely believe that whatever you believe to be true is good and true for you and that there is absolutely no absolute truth.  What you believe is right for you, and what I believe is right for me.

Do you find yourself confused?  I sure do.  I cannot reason how to intelligibly write about a subject that defies basic logic.  I suppose I could argue against this from a philosophical perspective, and that would be good.  But instead, I am going to address this from scripture to explain to the reader why Christianity is indeed exclusive and to what extent. 

My Tiresome Sin June 15, 2010

Does sin tire you out?  I mean really?  Do you know what it feels like to groan along with creation “as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23)?  You go out in the world and everywhere is sin.  It’s in your ears, it’s in your view; you aren’t looking for it but it is looking for you.  Do you relate?  I become so weary and tired of sin.

It’s not only out there, it’s within.  And this I find to be even more tiresome.  How much I relate to the apostle Paul who said “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing (Romans 8:18-19).”  Your words tumble out of a tongue that seems set on fire by hell, your motives get skewed, your excuses get wimpy, and you say you want to make changes but a little laziness just seems to take over.  Your desires are lacking, your passion is up and down, and your appetite for the Word of God is much weaker than it should be.  You know the good you ought to do but do not do it and sin.  It’s me.  How I want to change.  How I want to be more like Jesus Christ.

“Through Many A Sleepless Night” June 13, 2010

I have never slept well.  Even as a kid I don’t think I can remember having an easy time getting to sleep or staying asleep.  Sometimes this can be a very discouraging problem.  There are so many things a person wants to accomplish, and it can be very difficult to do with little (or sometimes even zero) sleep.  It is physically, emotionally, and mentally draining.  I know I’ve written about this before, but I thought I’d remind myself of a section of scripture that has always helped me, and if you have struggles to sleep it might help you too.

One scripture that I tend to read every morning after a hard night’s sleep is found in 2Corinthians 11:23-29 where the apostle Paul boasts in his weaknesses and sufferings.  He describes being lashed by the Jews and beaten with rods.  He was stoned and he was shipwrecked.  He was “in danger from rivers, danger from robbers” and danger from all the different people groups who would have loved to have him killed.  Then we see in verse 23 that he was “in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”   

“Still The Atoning Blood Is Near, That Quenched The Wrath Of Hostile Heaven” May 21, 2010

I read Ezekiel 16 yesterday.  This must be one of the most heart wrenching and stomach sickening books in the Bible, and yet its end produces such a sense of amazement in me.  Its end makes me want to fall down and worship the God of Heaven and Earth with my face to the ground.  It simply takes your breath away.

Here is the Lord.  Here are His people Israel whom He has loved and chosen not because of anything worthy in them.  Here is why they are chosen: “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.  It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)…” 

Jesus My Saviour, My Friend, My Coming King April 16, 2010

Who has loved me more than Jesus, when He bore my sin away?  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed my transgressions from me.  Oh what a Saviour!  Mighty Redeemer is He!  He took my shame and bore God’s wrath to set this captive free.

And now what friend do I have like Jesus, who at sun down watches over my sleep?  He keeps account of my tossings; He puts my tears in His bottle, are they not all written down?  Who knows my frame like the Lord does?  He remembers that I am but dust.  He does not keep His anger forever, or treat me as my sins deserve.  What rest I have in Jesus!  He who keeps me in the palm of His hand will never leave me or forsake me.  If I am faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

I love You so my Jesus, who hears my every prayer, who treats me with compassion, who covers me with care.  Even in the darkness His word is a lamp unto my feet and I know that He is working out His perfect will for me.

Who gives hope for the future like Jesus?  The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.  The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.  Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, but blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

Jesus Christ, my friend and Lord, I know that He is coming swiftly.  Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay.  He who has overcome death is coming, He who destroys the power of sin is coming, and He who has loved me from the foundations of the world- He is coming. 

Psalm 73:4 “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.”