John 3;1-21
As we bring our studies on Regeneration and Conversion to a close, we want to warn you about a theory, being proclaimed, Today.
It is base upon a few verses, whose scope is confined to God's People.
The Belief has been erroneously applied, to mean that, at The Cross, the sin question was settled;
that all the sins, of all men, were placed upon Jesus Christ.
This opinion affirms that Jesus Christ did as much for those, who would not believe, as He did, for all who believe.
Thus, those who advocate this theory, say, the one issue between Christ and Sinners, is not the sin question, but, it is The Son question.
This is another product of the past 20 Century's Liberalism.
We shall now show, The Folly of This Theory--
NUMBER 1-UNBELIEF IS A SIN-If all the sins of all men were laid upon Jesus Christ, then The
Sin of Unbelief was laid upon Him.
If Unbelief is a sin, and Christ didn't suffer the penalty of it, then all sin wasn't laid on The Lord
Jesus Christ. Wouldn't this limit The Atonement to Believers/
The Power of Unbelief resides in a man's depraved condition.
NUMBER 2-Christ said, ''Ye shall die in your sins.''
JOHN 8;21-24--''Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins; whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he hill himself/ because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.''
The Lord was speaking of that, Which lay on the other side, of His Death and Resurrection.
Christ didn't bear these sins. Notice it says ''SINS,'' not Sin.
They Jews did not seek Christ where they could find Him. They didn't seek The Suffering
Saviour, so Christ said, ''Whither I go ye cannot come.''
He ascended to Heaven, but they couldn't go There, apart from Christ.
NUMBER 3-The Dead shall be judged, according to their works--Revelation 20;12-[Turn].
If the only issue between God and Sinners, is their attitude toward Christ, if the only ground of condemnation is rejecting Christ-It would be meaningless to arraign them, for their works.
NUMBER 4-There will be degrees of punishment--
Matthew 11;22-''But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.''
Mark 12;40-''Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers; these shall receive greater damnation.''
Hebrews 10;28-29-[Turn].
If all the sins of all men were laid on Christ, how could there be any degrees of punishment for the lost/
NUMBER 5-The UnEvangelized have not heard of Christ.
Not having heard of Him, they couldn't be charged with rejecting Him, if all the sins of men were laid upon Christ. If this was true, John 14;6 would be false.
The Unbeliever is condemned in Adam, but incurs new condemnation, after hearing The Gospel.
Only The Hopelessly Lost know, What Salvation delivers from;
Only The Saved in Heaven, know What God's Salvation delivers to.
Both know these things imperfectly.
Eternity will disclose new horrors in Hell and new glories in Heaven.
Unbelief is two-fold; Negative and Positive.
Negative is the unbelief of the heathen, who have never heard The Gospel-How can they believe on Him, whom they never heard of/
Positive is the sin of those, who, hear The Gospel, but make light of it, and think, it is foolishness, thus incurring new condemnation-Hebrews 10;28-29-[Turn].
If you profess to know Christ, ask yourself if Regeneration came before your Conversion.
It must in God's order of Salvation.
--END--
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
FAITH IS EXERCISED IN CONVERSION-Part 4
Man's sin is not a manifestation of freedom, but of perversion.
The Scripture Witness to freedom is limited to man's relation to God-
John 8;32-36--''And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free/Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.''
Freedom, therefore, becomes actualized in submission.
The more communion with God, the more free the lives of God's people become.
Christians are free from something lesser to something greater.
All, embracing The Lord Jesus Christ by faith are ordained of God to Eternal Life-Acts 13;48-
[Turn].
WHAT IS SAVING FAITH/
Faith can be known only, by what it does.
Its Nature is seen, in the way, it expresses itself.
But, let me, 1st of all, clear the ground, by saying, that faith, which saves the soul, is no mere
unreasonable assumption, such as passes for Christian Faith.
Day after Day, We hear people, chant the words, ''I believe,'' Who, no more know, What it is to
believe, to the saving of the soul, than a pig knows, what it is to fly.
These people can give no coherent account, of what they believe, or, why they believe it.
Yet, they pass as Christians, and think they're Christians.
George Whitfield once asked a man, of this sort, ''What do you believe/'', and the man replied,
''I believe what the church believes''.
Mr. Whitfield then asked, ''And what does the church believe/''
To which, the man replied, ''Oh, the church believes, what I believe''.
Mr. Whitfield then asked, ''What do you both believe/''
The man replied, ''The same as each other.''
This is as intelligent, as much that passes for Christian Faith in Today's Religious World.
Hebrews 11;1 defines and describes faith--The basic definition must be understood.
The following examples illustrate it;
The key is in verse 27-''As seeing him who is invisible.''
Faith apprehends as a real fact, what is not revealed to the natural senses.
Faith is conviction of things when they are not seen-giving substance to things hoped for.
Don't overlook the meaning of the two words-substance and evidence.
The word substance is made of two Greek words, meaning, ''that which stands under a foundation''. Thus it speaks of the ground, on which, One builds hope;
It stands for the whole body of documents, bearing on the ownership of one's property,
forming the evidence of ownership.
''Faith is a title deed of things hoped for.'' The Holy Spirit's energized act of faith, that is exercised on The Lord Jesus is The Title Deed, which God places in the believer's hand, guaranteeing him, possession of the thing, for which he trusted.
The word ''Evidence'' means, ''A Proof of that, by which, a thing is proved or tested.''
It means being convinced.
It is a conviction put to the test-as when Noah built The Ark.
Saving Faith is not just a mental assent, to certain propositions; It reaches The Heart.
Today, There's a kind of unbelieving believing, which is very common.
Many say they have trusted Christ, yet they never serve Him.
Many affirm that Christ arose from The Grave, but live, as though, He were dead.
Many will say, they believe in a coming Day of Judgment, yet live as though, they were wholly
unaccountable to a Holy and Righteous God.
Now get this truth; There are no Atheists among the devils. They know too much, to ever
have succumbed to that delusion--James 2;19-''The devils also believe, and tremble.''
But, Why/ Because they believe not only, in God's Existence, but also, in His Power and
Absolute Sovereignty.
Faith which saves the soul has confidence in Jesus Christ, as Sin-Bearer, Deliverer, Teacher,
Master, Guide, and Lord. The Regenerated Man has a living faith--Thus, he believes on Christ.
Christ is The Object of Faith, Its Living Goal, Its Magnet.
Faith is always in motion towards Christ. I Peter 2;4--''To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.'' We are ever coming.
There's nothing static in true faith. Each Grace is a living movement, granted to The Regenerated Person by God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the living, magnetic Center, Who draws The Regenerated into His Fellowship, by His Spirit and Word.
The Regenerated Person believes in Christ--Colossians 1;4-''Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints.''
Christ is the sphere of the believer's life. Christ surrounds him on all sides. Jesus Christ is the
foundation of The Life of Faith--It is ob Him, by His Power, that the structure of faith is built--
2 Timothy 1;12-[TURN]
Faith is joined to the person trusted, not only the goal, the sphere, the supporting basis;
but Jesus Christ is The Person, in whom faith centers.
-end-
The Scripture Witness to freedom is limited to man's relation to God-
John 8;32-36--''And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free/Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.''
Freedom, therefore, becomes actualized in submission.
The more communion with God, the more free the lives of God's people become.
Christians are free from something lesser to something greater.
All, embracing The Lord Jesus Christ by faith are ordained of God to Eternal Life-Acts 13;48-
[Turn].
WHAT IS SAVING FAITH/
Faith can be known only, by what it does.
Its Nature is seen, in the way, it expresses itself.
But, let me, 1st of all, clear the ground, by saying, that faith, which saves the soul, is no mere
unreasonable assumption, such as passes for Christian Faith.
Day after Day, We hear people, chant the words, ''I believe,'' Who, no more know, What it is to
believe, to the saving of the soul, than a pig knows, what it is to fly.
These people can give no coherent account, of what they believe, or, why they believe it.
Yet, they pass as Christians, and think they're Christians.
George Whitfield once asked a man, of this sort, ''What do you believe/'', and the man replied,
''I believe what the church believes''.
Mr. Whitfield then asked, ''And what does the church believe/''
To which, the man replied, ''Oh, the church believes, what I believe''.
Mr. Whitfield then asked, ''What do you both believe/''
The man replied, ''The same as each other.''
This is as intelligent, as much that passes for Christian Faith in Today's Religious World.
Hebrews 11;1 defines and describes faith--The basic definition must be understood.
The following examples illustrate it;
The key is in verse 27-''As seeing him who is invisible.''
Faith apprehends as a real fact, what is not revealed to the natural senses.
Faith is conviction of things when they are not seen-giving substance to things hoped for.
Don't overlook the meaning of the two words-substance and evidence.
The word substance is made of two Greek words, meaning, ''that which stands under a foundation''. Thus it speaks of the ground, on which, One builds hope;
It stands for the whole body of documents, bearing on the ownership of one's property,
forming the evidence of ownership.
''Faith is a title deed of things hoped for.'' The Holy Spirit's energized act of faith, that is exercised on The Lord Jesus is The Title Deed, which God places in the believer's hand, guaranteeing him, possession of the thing, for which he trusted.
The word ''Evidence'' means, ''A Proof of that, by which, a thing is proved or tested.''
It means being convinced.
It is a conviction put to the test-as when Noah built The Ark.
Saving Faith is not just a mental assent, to certain propositions; It reaches The Heart.
Today, There's a kind of unbelieving believing, which is very common.
Many say they have trusted Christ, yet they never serve Him.
Many affirm that Christ arose from The Grave, but live, as though, He were dead.
Many will say, they believe in a coming Day of Judgment, yet live as though, they were wholly
unaccountable to a Holy and Righteous God.
Now get this truth; There are no Atheists among the devils. They know too much, to ever
have succumbed to that delusion--James 2;19-''The devils also believe, and tremble.''
But, Why/ Because they believe not only, in God's Existence, but also, in His Power and
Absolute Sovereignty.
Faith which saves the soul has confidence in Jesus Christ, as Sin-Bearer, Deliverer, Teacher,
Master, Guide, and Lord. The Regenerated Man has a living faith--Thus, he believes on Christ.
Christ is The Object of Faith, Its Living Goal, Its Magnet.
Faith is always in motion towards Christ. I Peter 2;4--''To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.'' We are ever coming.
There's nothing static in true faith. Each Grace is a living movement, granted to The Regenerated Person by God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the living, magnetic Center, Who draws The Regenerated into His Fellowship, by His Spirit and Word.
The Regenerated Person believes in Christ--Colossians 1;4-''Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints.''
Christ is the sphere of the believer's life. Christ surrounds him on all sides. Jesus Christ is the
foundation of The Life of Faith--It is ob Him, by His Power, that the structure of faith is built--
2 Timothy 1;12-[TURN]
Faith is joined to the person trusted, not only the goal, the sphere, the supporting basis;
but Jesus Christ is The Person, in whom faith centers.
-end-
Thursday, August 7, 2008
FAITH IS EXERCISED IN CONVERSION-Part 3
Now, I want to raise some important questions;
NUMBER ONE--Does Freedom mean that man is a self-sufficient being/
I Corinthians 3;5-[Turn].
NUMBER TWO--Is there a self--determining factor in the will of man/
Arminians call this factor The Freedom of the Will.
If The Will determines itself, then the action is both the cause and effect.
How can it be both/
Every effect has a cause, and there is one uncaused cause.
By necessity, the uncaused cause must be Eternal and Unchangeable.
No act of The Will can come into existence, without a cause, which supposes every act of The Will determined with some act of The Will coming before it.
NUMBER THREE--Is The Will inclined to do something before it exerts its own power on itself/
If this were true, then the inclination, is not wholly of itself.
It is absurd to suppose that man can have an inclination, to do something good, which is contrary to his nature.
Man by Nature, is sinful;
Therefore, He doesn't have any inclination for good, in a spiritual sense.
NUMBER FOUR--Does Liberty consist in The Will determining Its own acts/
If this is true, then The Will makes a choice prior to understanding.
There can be no act of The Will without some motive of inducement.
If The Will is not determined by some outside power, then it seeks, desires, and chooses nothing.
NUMBER FIVE--Is Man Free, or is he enslaved/
The Slavery of Fallen Man is the only Biblical approach to the subject.
Failure to set the proper approach is the root cause of the problem.
Man, by nature, is enslaved to sin, and can be made free only by the grace of The Sovereign
God in Regeneration.
Freedom in Theology is the freedom of the man of God.
The Will that determines is The Will, that must be determined.
Therefore, if The Will is determined, there must be The Determiner.
What is The Determiner/
The student of Scripture knows that inward actions are above The Sinner's Ability to direct
toward a good cause because;
1. The Fountain is bad--
2. The Tree is corrupt--
3. The Mind is darkened--
4. The Heart is deceived--
5. Darkness rather than Light is loved.
If it were possible, for The Depraved Will to be convinced with Divine Truth, It would hate Error, not Truth.
The common view of Liberty is that man does as he pleases, but that, is inconsistent with liberty.
This would make fallen man embrace the very thing that he will not let God possess.
According to this view, God has no virtue at all, and is under necessity.
THIS IS BLASPHEMY/
God is The Highest of All; His virtue is not rewardable.
He is infinitely above any receiving of reward from the creature, and is eternally happy and free.
His creatures therefore, cannot be profitable to Him.
God doesn't live for His Creatures, but for Himself.
NUMBER ONE--Does Freedom mean that man is a self-sufficient being/
I Corinthians 3;5-[Turn].
NUMBER TWO--Is there a self--determining factor in the will of man/
Arminians call this factor The Freedom of the Will.
If The Will determines itself, then the action is both the cause and effect.
How can it be both/
Every effect has a cause, and there is one uncaused cause.
By necessity, the uncaused cause must be Eternal and Unchangeable.
No act of The Will can come into existence, without a cause, which supposes every act of The Will determined with some act of The Will coming before it.
NUMBER THREE--Is The Will inclined to do something before it exerts its own power on itself/
If this were true, then the inclination, is not wholly of itself.
It is absurd to suppose that man can have an inclination, to do something good, which is contrary to his nature.
Man by Nature, is sinful;
Therefore, He doesn't have any inclination for good, in a spiritual sense.
NUMBER FOUR--Does Liberty consist in The Will determining Its own acts/
If this is true, then The Will makes a choice prior to understanding.
There can be no act of The Will without some motive of inducement.
If The Will is not determined by some outside power, then it seeks, desires, and chooses nothing.
NUMBER FIVE--Is Man Free, or is he enslaved/
The Slavery of Fallen Man is the only Biblical approach to the subject.
Failure to set the proper approach is the root cause of the problem.
Man, by nature, is enslaved to sin, and can be made free only by the grace of The Sovereign
God in Regeneration.
Freedom in Theology is the freedom of the man of God.
The Will that determines is The Will, that must be determined.
Therefore, if The Will is determined, there must be The Determiner.
What is The Determiner/
The student of Scripture knows that inward actions are above The Sinner's Ability to direct
toward a good cause because;
1. The Fountain is bad--
2. The Tree is corrupt--
3. The Mind is darkened--
4. The Heart is deceived--
5. Darkness rather than Light is loved.
If it were possible, for The Depraved Will to be convinced with Divine Truth, It would hate Error, not Truth.
The common view of Liberty is that man does as he pleases, but that, is inconsistent with liberty.
This would make fallen man embrace the very thing that he will not let God possess.
According to this view, God has no virtue at all, and is under necessity.
THIS IS BLASPHEMY/
God is The Highest of All; His virtue is not rewardable.
He is infinitely above any receiving of reward from the creature, and is eternally happy and free.
His creatures therefore, cannot be profitable to Him.
God doesn't live for His Creatures, but for Himself.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
FAITH IS EXERCISED IN CONVERSION-Part 2
John 5;40-''And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life''.
The Arminian argument on this verse, is as follows;
One-Man has a will.
Two-He is entirely free.
Three- Men must make themselves willing to come to Christ, otherwise, They will not be saved,
Now, This sounds plausible to one, with limited knowledge of the Holy Bible, but in the light of The
Revelation of God's Mind, we present four unanswerable arguments;
One-Everyone outside of Christ is a spiritually dead man;
therefore, he will not come to Christ, that he might have life.
Two-There's life in Jesus Christ, but John 5;40 says ''Ye will not come to me''.
Three-There's life for everyone that comes to Christ for it, but the text says, ''Ye will not come,''
Four-N o man, by nature, will ever come to Christ. [John 6;44]--[TURN].
NO MAN CAN COME. . .
Therefore the sinner, apart from Divine help, is unable to will and unwilling, to be able, to come to Jesus Christ.
According to the context of John 3;16-21, there are two different worlds and two different loves;
One is from Above, and the other from beneath.
There is 1st of all, the world that God so loved, that He gave His only Begotten Son.
And, Second, there is the world, that lies in darkness-I John 5;19-[Turn].
This world loves Darkness rather than Light-John 3;19-20-[Turn].
Thus, the world, outside of Christ, lies in darkness, and is void of spiritual light and life.
What is meant, by the expression, ''Freedom of The Will''/
The Dictionary states;
''The faculty of conscious and particularly of deliberate action; The power of control, the mind has over its own actions-THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL.
The power of choosing one's own actions; the art or process of choosing, or asserting one's choice;
Volition-my hands are obedient to my will'' [unquote].
Freedom, therefore, means;
''The state of being at liberty rather than being in confinement, or under restraint-Exemption from external control, interference, or regulation.
Free Will means the doctrine that human action expresses personal choice, and is not solely determined by physical or Divine forces--made or done freely of one's accord, voluntarily''
[UNQUOTE].
The Arminian argument on this verse, is as follows;
One-Man has a will.
Two-He is entirely free.
Three- Men must make themselves willing to come to Christ, otherwise, They will not be saved,
Now, This sounds plausible to one, with limited knowledge of the Holy Bible, but in the light of The
Revelation of God's Mind, we present four unanswerable arguments;
One-Everyone outside of Christ is a spiritually dead man;
therefore, he will not come to Christ, that he might have life.
Two-There's life in Jesus Christ, but John 5;40 says ''Ye will not come to me''.
Three-There's life for everyone that comes to Christ for it, but the text says, ''Ye will not come,''
Four-N o man, by nature, will ever come to Christ. [John 6;44]--[TURN].
NO MAN CAN COME. . .
Therefore the sinner, apart from Divine help, is unable to will and unwilling, to be able, to come to Jesus Christ.
According to the context of John 3;16-21, there are two different worlds and two different loves;
One is from Above, and the other from beneath.
There is 1st of all, the world that God so loved, that He gave His only Begotten Son.
And, Second, there is the world, that lies in darkness-I John 5;19-[Turn].
This world loves Darkness rather than Light-John 3;19-20-[Turn].
Thus, the world, outside of Christ, lies in darkness, and is void of spiritual light and life.
What is meant, by the expression, ''Freedom of The Will''/
The Dictionary states;
''The faculty of conscious and particularly of deliberate action; The power of control, the mind has over its own actions-THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL.
The power of choosing one's own actions; the art or process of choosing, or asserting one's choice;
Volition-my hands are obedient to my will'' [unquote].
Freedom, therefore, means;
''The state of being at liberty rather than being in confinement, or under restraint-Exemption from external control, interference, or regulation.
Free Will means the doctrine that human action expresses personal choice, and is not solely determined by physical or Divine forces--made or done freely of one's accord, voluntarily''
[UNQUOTE].
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