Posted by Pastor Pat on November 12, 2010
Part 3
I. Justification is looked upon as a provision of grace and thus a gift (Romans 3:24; 5:16,17; Titus 3:5-7) and is appropriated by means of faith and stands in direct contrast of being attained by works (Acts 13:38, 39; Romans 3:21, 22, 26, 28, 30; 4:2-6, 9, 11, 13; 9:30-33; 10:1-13; Gal. 2:16, 17, 21; 3:6, 8, 11, 21-26; Titus 3:5).
Because this is true, you and I have nothing to boast in or of. The Scriptural evidence is so overwhelming that it is impossible to get around it. If it could have been attained by works, then it would not have been by faith. In the Heidelberg Disputation of 1518 Martin Luther made the following comments. Theology of the Cross – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology_of_the_Cross
• He is not righteous who does much, but he who, without work, believes much in Christ.
• The law says “Do this”, and it is never done. Grace says, “believe in this” and everything is already done.
II. Justification is based on the sinless life and sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:17; 3:25; 5:18, 19) and thus justifying faith finds its object in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22; 4:22-24).
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Filed Under: Paul
Posted by Pastor Pat on November 9, 2010
Part 2
In Romans 3 the word “justified” is used several times (Rom. 3:4, 10, 20, 24, 26, 28, 30 [see also “righteous” Rom. 3:5, 21, 22, 25, 26). Only God can declare a man righteous and yet men continually seek ways to make themselves righteous.
“THERE ARE fundamentally only two doctrines of salvation: that salvation is from God, and that salvation is from ourselves. The former is the doctrine of common Christianity; the latter is the doctrine of universal heathenism. “The principle of heathenism is, negatively, the denial of the true God, and of the gift of his grace; and, positively, the notion that salvation can be secured by man’s own power and wisdom. Whether the works through which heathenism seeks the way of salvation bear a more ritual or a more ethical characteristic, whether they are of a more positive or of a more negative nature, in any case man remains his own Savior; all religions except the Christian are autosoteric . . . And philosophy has made no advance upon this.”
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Posted by Pastor Pat on November 6, 2010
Part 1
Romans 3:19-31
How can I be right with God? What does it mean to be right with God? How would you like to never have to worry about God being mad, angry, or upset with you? How would you like to find rest in the midst of life’s struggles? How would you like to finally measure up to God’s righteous expectations for you? Apart from sounding incredible, it also sounds impossible. But you and I can be right before God.
The book of Romans has already created a dilemma within man by revealing his position of complete spiritual bankruptcy before God (Romans 1:18-3:20). Chapter three verse ten is emphatic, “there is none righteous no not one.” In light of his condition man is barred from God’s presence, guilty of sin and a recipient of God’s full and undiluted wrath. In our next post we will consider the doctrine of justification by faith.
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 3, 2010
Read Ephesians 1:3-14
Throughout this short letter, Paul speaks of God’s superabundant activities flowing from Himself to His people. Such words as “rich, lavish, surpassing greatness, surpassing riches, unfathomable riches, surpasses knowledge and far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (1:7, 8, 18, 19; 2:4, 7; 3:8, 16, 18, 19, 20) are employed in an attempt to capture the magnitude of God’s person and work to redeem His people from sin’s debt and to adopt them as sons. All of this was written by Him into His story (1:4, 5, 9, 11, 21; 2:7, 10; 3:11).
Paul’s opening sentence reaches from verse 3 to verse 14. Here is an avalanche of descriptive words that unveil what God did in the securing of His people for Himself. Here we read of God as a tri-unity working (energy) to secure for Himself worshipping sons and daughters. Our passage speaks of God the Father blessing (v. 3), choosing (v. 4) and adopting (vv. 5, 6) trespassers into His family. We can equally note the activity of the Son to redeem slaves by forgiving debt by means of His own substitutionary and voluntary death (vv. 7, 8). It is the Son who makes known to us the mystery of their eternal purpose (vv. 9, 10), how from rebellion, division, and damnation He brings peace, harmony, and life. It is through Him and in Him all things created find the object that silences the rage from within and the loneliness that robs and destroys. What is the outcome, the inheritance of His activity? Through Him, the alienated are adopted, the rebel is restored, the indebted are pardoned and the forsaken are chosen.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on November 20, 2009
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
The intent of this article is to show how what we once were in Adam we no longer are, but still have. Paul’s point from the beginning of the letter all the way through chapter 3 is to note how those who were once in sin’s debt and alienated from God are now redeemed from sin and adopted into God’s family. He is their Father and they are His children.
Paul is clear in verses 17 through 22 as to what this in Adam condition looks like both as a state and as a function. I would like us to consider the graphic nature of Paul’s language in describing those apart from Christ. There are several descriptive phrases that help us mark the unbelieving state and practice.
First, there is the futility of their mind (v. 17). The word “futility” speaks to vanity, emptiness. “The word contains the idea of aimlessness, the leading to no object or end.”[1] It is the same word used in Romans 8:20 (“For the creation was subjected to futility. . .”) and in 2 Peter 2:18 (“For speaking out arrogant words of vanity. . . ”). There is emptiness to the conclusion drawn by those who do not and will not acknowledge God. Because there is no fear of God within their thinking, they have no wisdom (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10). This is the manner of life that characterizes the unbelieving.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on October 25, 2009
2 Corinthians 9:6
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in every thing, you may have an abundance for every good deed;
While teaching the teens in the earlier part of the year I spoke on “The Seven Laws of the Jungle.” These “Laws” are dispensationally generic meaning regardless as to the dispensation they neither change nor become dated or irrelevant. One of the seven is called, “The Law of Sowing and Reaping.” In the providence of God this “Law” is no less true concerning giving.
At WBC we believe in what is called “Grace Giving.” This means we believe God is big enough to supply the needs for the advancement of His ministry in us and through us. We are equally convinced that God will use His people to meet the financial needs of the local church ministry. Thus at WBC you will not hear perpetual pleas for financial assistance nor will guilt be used to motivate the people of God to give. If somehow the corporate fellowship does not believe the ministries of WBC are worthy of continuation through financial giving, then they will come to an end. God’s will, in some ways, can be determined by the availability or lack therein of financial backing.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on April 19, 2009
“Jesus said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” John 20:17
Often in reading the Scripture, we skim past great oceans of truth and thus fail to appreciate the height, depth, width, and breadth of what we just read. I believe John 20:17 is one of those untapped “oceans.”
In the words of our Lord, something powerful happened because of the cross. The alienated become brethren, the orphaned become adopted and the wayward become worshippers. Jesus uses an Old Testament formula to speak of the relationship His people have to their God, “My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (Ex. 6:7; Lev. 26:12 ['I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people']; Jer. 7:23; 30:22; Ezek. 36:28). “His words are reminiscent of Ruth’s words to Naomi: ‘your people shall be my people and your God my God’ (Ruth 1:16)” (F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, p.391). The language is that of the covenant made with Israel and promised to Israel. Let us not miss the slight alteration in our Lord’s expansion of this idea. Jesus identifies Himself with His people. Jesus includes us in His family. Let us for a moment recall the statement of our Lord in John 15:14-15.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on April 15, 2009
Read Mark 3:13-19
I find this statement intriguing. Why twelve, and why these twelve and not some other group or number? Although the purpose of God is knowable, it is not exhaustible. The intricacies of God’s purpose will forever be shrouded behind the veil of infinity. Even though we cannot exhaust the subject as to why God appointed these twelve to be with Him, it still permits us to note several salient features.
First, what is of interest is that Jesus chose individuals to be a part of a larger community, a fellowship if you will. Christianity is not lived in isolation. The idea of being a hermit for Jesus is untenable.
“The Christian is something which from the beginning had to be discovered and lived out in a fellowship. The whole essence of Christianity was that it bound men to their fellows, and presented them with the task of living with each other and for each other.” (William Barclay, Mark, 73, 74).
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Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on April 3, 2009
The essence of the Christian life is the relationship His people have with Him. There is nothing else comparable to or capable of replacing this. No amount of form, asceticism, indulgence, discipline, method, structure, program, or religion can replace the centerpiece of the Christian faith which is a relationship between God and His people.
This relationship is secured by God in the offering up of His Son for the sins of His people. The relationship begins in God and is sustained by God. Unfortunately, all we seem to do is clutter the relationship with nonessentials. Everything created and all biblical revelation points us to Him. Somehow in the journey we deviate and find detours that lead us from God by stopping us short of enjoying Him, and we end up existing in the shadow-lands of God’s person and work.
I cannot speak for everyone, so I will not attempt to. What I will do is speak what I know and experience. I have a propensity to replace the best with the good and the good will always be the enemy of the best. Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, singing, reading, and fellowship (to name just a few) are all good things, but none of them were ever meant to be ends in themselves. Such things, if noted incorrectly, will becomes ends, and in so doing, take us away from God and will not draw us to God. Is it not simply amazing how something that is good can become the enemy of the best? When any of our disciplines become duties, then its time to take a break and evaluate why we do what we do. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 19, 2009
Read Mark 1:12-13
“Calvin: Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?
Hobbes: I’m not sure that man needs the help”
With tongue in cheek, Bill Watterson captures the dilemma faced by all. Temptation is an undeniable experience of anyone living. In the narrative of Mark, four thoughts come to the forefront concerning temptation, with two more offered by Matthew and Luke. I would like us to consider this for our personal edification.
First, there is a purpose behind every temptation (“the Spirit sent Him out”). Regardless as to how we might understand this thought, it was the Holy Spirit who drove Jesus into the wilderness in order to be tempted of the devil. The temptation of Jesus and His willingness to resist the devil and obey His Father was directly tied to the death He was to die. If He would have failed in His temptation, then the sacrifice He offered would be blemished and would not have the power to forgive sin. Whenever we are tempted, we must understand that the temptation is neither random nor arbitrary. There is a purpose behind it even if we cannot see it or understand it.
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Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 11, 2009
Read Mark 1:9-11
There is no greater statement in all of Scripture than the approval by the Father of the Son. The Father identifies Him as His beloved Son in whom He is pleased. All three gospels note this statement. The grammatical structure is equally telling as to the nature of this event. One grammarian gives us the following statement:
“The verb ‘I am well pleased’ may be taken as a timeless aorist or perhaps as representing the Hebrew stative perfect. The meaning then would be that God is always pleased with the Son.” (Walter W. Wessell, “Mark,” EBC, [Zondervan, 1984], 8:622).
Another concurs,
“It is a delight that never had a beginning, and will never have an end.” (Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies, [Eerdmans, 1973], 1:25).
Who He was and what He was about to do received the Father’s full approval. The overarching idea reaches beyond the person and into the work He will accomplish. The Father will accept the sacrifice His Son offers in behalf of sin.
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Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 4, 2009
The historical intent of Lent is to place the modern reader into the storyline of the Bible. If we consider the biblical storyline and three corresponding “holy-days,” it is perhaps easier to understand why Lent is notable. First, the season of Advent celebrates the foretold and pre-figured Hero’s arrival. In Advent, God’s Hero arrives. Second, the season of Lent celebrates the foretold and pre-figured Hero’s work. It is not simply the Hero’s arrival that fulfills the promise; it is His work. Lent notes the Hero’s work by marking Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Finally, the season of Pentecost celebrates the expansive and continuing legacy that His church is left with as a consequence of the Hero’s work. Pentecost marks the certainty of God’s promise and story in the carrying out of His mission in and through the church.
Yet part of the initial question is, “What is Lent?” I would like to begin by noting what Lent is not. First, Lent is not a means of meriting divine favor. Whatever Lent is, it is not this. Those who have distorted Lent and mutated it into a means of meriting favor from God have grossly erred. Second, Lent is not a time for fleshly introspection. No one need look far if their desire is to find hidden sins. We cannot afford to forget that within the “flesh” there dwells no good thing. Third, Lent is not to determine whether one is or is not worthy of the Lord. Those whose identity is in Adam will never be worthy in and of themselves. And those whose identity is in Christ will never be anything less than worthy in and of Christ. There is no action on the introspective that can cause them to be more or less worthy than they already are in Christ.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 15, 2008
Ten times in Genesis 1 the biblical text records for the reader the statement, “And God said” (1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, and 29).
God said, “Let there be light” and there was light (Gen. 1:3). There was no hesitancy or delay in the response to “Let there be light.” Immediately, light “popped” into existence. In the absence of nothingness came matter.
God said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear” and it was so (1:9, 11, 24). There was no flicker of doubt as to what would be once God spoke. He said . . . and it was so.
God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion [and] be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it (1:26, 28).” Mankind’s continued triumph inside of the created order argues for the ongoing fulfillment of this divine directive.
God said and it was so. There is no moment of delay between what God wills to do and what is done. We make promises we cannot keep. We have desires that go unfulfilled and hopes that lie dashed on the shores of failed expectations. None of this exists in God. What He wills to do He does.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 14, 2008
Do we really understand what we have in Christ? I know we are Christians, but do we really know what that means? To be sure we are not Buddhists or Muslims or Hindus, but do we know what it means to be Christian?
Unfortunately, Christianity is more noted for what we do or not do than for who He is, what He has done, and who His people now are because of it. Do we openly and regularly celebrate the nature of His cross-work and confirming resurrection?
Christians are different than non-Christians for the simple reason that we are forgiven of all our transgressions (Col. 2:13). As Christians we no longer carry the burden of guilt that daily and habitually grind the non-Christian into fine dust fragments of what it means to be made in His image. We no longer live with fear of the unknown or of God. We have a peace that passes all human understanding (Phil. 4:7). Christians are different because we live contented lives and die with hope (1 Thess. 4:13).
Christians do not live with the burden of trying to please their God and somehow in ways unknown they try to stumble into His favor and blessing (Eph. 1:3, 1 Thess. 5:23, 24). Christians do not carry grudges or judge people ruthlessly or live intolerant lives toward those who are different in culture, worship, or belief (Rom. 14). Christians love their enemies and do good to those who despitefully use them (Luke 6:27). Christians forgive even as they have been forgiven (Eph. 4:32).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 11, 2008
“A man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 2:16
If Galatians is the first of Paul’s letters (which is the assumption we are making), then he is using the word “justified” for the first time in Galatians 2:16. What does it mean when the Scripture speaks of one being justified? “Justification is a legal term meaning to remove the guilt (liability to punishment) of the sinner. It does not involve making one inwardly holy, but merely declares that the demands of justice have been satisfied. Hence, there is no ground for condemnation (Rom. 8:1).” ”Justification is a judicial act of God by which He declares the sinner righteous and treats him as such.” Justification includes the forgiveness of sin as well as the imputation of righteousness. Justification is one of those theological words that many are familiar with but few actually understand and fewer still enjoy.
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