Love That Cast Out Fear

Whenever we are ignorant of what is good, we do things with a feeling that that was the best approach but looking at these so called practical approaches, one rarely observes the fallen nature of man as the reason for what teaches him what he learns. The thing is: the world is only soaking in the lies of its iniquity. This is seen so commonly in man who chooses the path of wickedness in even making a living because he has been made blind (Is 6:10) to the fact that God is a higher priority than himself.

There are essentially three things that drive man to learn, think and act the way he does. These three things (1John 2:16) are: Power, Pleasure and Pride; they may either work together or individually to make a man the way he turns out. These so called 3Ps are driven by one thing and that is ‘fear’ or you may call it ‘insecurity’. This ‘fear’ a man has should not be confused with ‘cowardice’ because cowardice does not directly stem from the lack of faith/trust. The reason man has this fear/insecurity is because he subconsciously knows that he incurs the wrath of God in his fallen state.

1John 2:16
16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

When things start going wrong in a person’s life, the person can either take the easy underhanded solution which is as broad as the road of damnation to tackle the situation or he can stick to what the Bible teaches, valuing God more than his life’s sustenance. It is fear that makes man take the faithless solution, a fear which he covers by doing things that feed his pride, give into his pleasure and craving for power.

This fear that I am referring to is not the same as the ‘fear of the Lord’, for the ‘fear of the Lord’ is good as it brings repentance that leads one to Salvation but the fear of fallen man is the sorrow of his rebellion, which he tries to cover up with the 3Ps as he is blind to repentance as the only way out.

2 Cor 7:10
10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

The Bible teaches that God is love (1John 4:8) and the Bible also teaches love cast out all fear. Consider this, a person can only be considered as truly resilient, if he does not crumble or turn corrupt in character when he is faced with a bitter situation. However if he can look into the face of his persecution with a joy that has no ulterior motives, then the only thing that drives this truly resilient person is love i.e. God. Such is taught only in the Bible: in turning the other cheek (Mat 5:39), in giving one’s cloak when his shirt is already taken (Luke 6:29), in praying for those who persecute you (Mat 5:44) etc.

1 John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

In Luke 18:2-6, it was perfect love that made the widow patient, always trusting and always persevering against the unjust judge. You may have understood by now that the perfect love that is taught in the Bible is not the mushy love we see in the movies. This perfect love teaches us not to be self-seeking and with this I come back to my earlier statement, where a man going through his regeneration learns his priorities and puts God before himself.

Deut 8:3
3 He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you [a]understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.

Love is the key ingredient to true strength because it teaches you to overcome your biggest enemy i.e. you. If there was no such thing as love then how would we forgive? How could we ever be at peace with ourselves? How could we ever pray unto our Father: forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us (Luke 11:4)?

However a person will never understand ‘love’ until he comes to terms with the Person Jesus Christ. For as per the Biblical definition of love in 1Cor 13:4-7, the only way we can know that God loves man is when realization strikes us that it was LOVE that made the Father give unto a gruesome death/sacrifice His most precious Son (1John 4:9), that man may believe and be saved. In other words if you don’t know Christ’ sacrifice on the cross, you don’t know the love of God but if you know the love of God then you will also know His Salvation.

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It must be understood that perseverance comes more from love than from determination because love preservers selflessly while determination can also persevere for self gain. Love can take a hit, fall and get back up again because it has better priorities but determination though it may be hard, it is brittle like glass and when it is hit, its goal is hit and so it shatters easily but this is not the case with love.

Phil 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

It is therefore seen concerning those who preserve for Christ, that they do so with fear and trembling; who are afflicted but never crushed, perplexed but never despairing in the working of their sanctification through the love God has given them in Christ (1John 4:19).

2Cor 4:7-12
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

To conclude, religion exuberates three characteristics as a mark of being genuine i.e. faith, hope and love. Faith without love profits one nothing for such has failed to imitate the Zenith i.e. Christ. Hope can never be considered apart from love because hope itself comes from God’s love given by grace (2Thes 2:16) and so we see the primary element in true religion is love which cast out all fear.

Depravity and Trial!

There are many Christians who feel that having great faith is to be supercharged and praise God, something like where they increase before God. However of whom the Bible speaks of great faith, such are rarely noticed by people like these.

Matthew 8
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,
6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”
7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.
9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

Matthew 15
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”
23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

John 3
26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”
27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’
29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

You can see from the above, the more a person recognizes his total depravity, the more he realizes his Salvation coming from Christ. There are essentially three steps in a Christian’s life, the first is Atonement- which was worked out by Christ on the Cross over 2000 years ago, the second is Justification- which is the point when Christ begins to take root in a person’s heart and the third is Regeneration/Sanctification- where the Christian is continually transformed into Christ’ likeness through trial.

Take the instance of the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Mat 22:1-14, it is seen in verse 11 and that in whom the Spirit does not work the Regeneration (Phil 2:12-13), that person has not been chosen for eternal life in union with Christ.

Now think about this, trial by fire (1Pet 1:7)– if God were to truly reprove you unto repentance (Rev 3:19), how much scope would there be for you to go through that trial with your head held high in pride? If you are able to go through the reproach of God with your head held high (Psalms 50:16-17) then the question is: was His reproach not that of a Father unto a son (2Sam 7:14)? It is therefore seen for certain that Regeneration takes place through trial, for trials call for greater obedience, which one can only adhere to by the power of His Spirit (Psalms 94:12).

Psalms 94:12
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,

The thing is, in the life of a Christian, his trials will make him small and make his God big. Throughout his life, he will know of his depravity, which in actual is him prostrating truly before his Almighty, Everlasting and Sovereign God.

There are many teachers out there, who in claiming to teach from the Bible, teach a doctrine of material blessing in obedience to God. Such teachers are well described in Mat 23:24, who teach strict obedience to certain values but have themselves given way to disobedience in submitting to their flesh when justice, mercy and faithfulness is required of them.

Mat 23:24
24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

Such is the faith taught by teachers like these. However James 2 teaches that faith goes beyond lip service, which is a call that makes the believer feel the pinch of Regeneration, where he thinks nothing of himself in serving Christ through his brother (Mat 25:40).

James 2
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

There is a good book I recommend to you, called Stonewall Jackson’s Verse, which is a true story of an old Confederate Army General, whose life even during trial had Romans 8:28 as its center.

Romans 8
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

So to close this, all I would like to say is, if you feel small before God especially during your trial then consider that as a blessing of good faith (Job 5:17). For faith can be imputed only through repentance and all a person feels in repentance is small.

Evolutionist vs Creationist

It’s been some time now since we have had evolution taught in schools as though it were some real science. When you hear an evolutionist speak, the theory certainly does not seem convincing but seems like the only route a person can take that is absent of creationism. The evolutionist may claim that their argument is based on facts from fossil records but the truth of the matter is that there is substantial amount of fossil evidence that shows modern day man existing at a time which according to the evolutionist should have presumably had men moving around by dragging their knuckles on the ground. Well the fossil records are plenty with most of them rendered useless for evolutionist to support their theory, while the rest are somehow made find their way in the plausible conclusions of the evolutionist.

The challenge most evolutionists have with creationism is that they find it hard to picture creation coming into being almost instantly and existing as though it was there for quite some time. Take the creation of Adam and Eve; they came into being as adults, adults who looked like they had been around for a good 20-30 years. What about the water Jesus turned into wine (John 2:9-10), which when tasted was very good implying that it had been aged for a good few years. So it is seen Biblically that God has created things to come into being almost instantly and yet seem as though they were around for quite some time because time is not a standard by which God functions but rather time is also a creation (Acts 17:26) by which man may record works of God (Dan 2:21).

The reason an evolutionist does not attribute the universe as creation is probably because he personally wants to move away from Theonomy to autonomy, which he will do even to the extent of being deliberately blind to the insurmountable evidence that comes against his autonomy. However such autonomy should be considered nothing more than stubbornness, even if it makes a person act as stupid as the ostrich that buries only its head in the ground to hide from the enemy.

Note: Theonomy is that all creations is governed by God who is in full control of it while autonomy is self governance i.e. one whose actions/will are independent.

Theonomy has no escape and the evolutionists who appears to reject Theonomy do so only because God has no intention to save them and give them eternal life.

Isaiah 6:10
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

It seems so in your face of how the world rebels against the Law of God. The Bible says that it is the fool who says there is no God (Psalms 14:1) and so in their decreed rebellious behavior, these evolutionists want to show they are extremely learned in their concept of denying God and His governance. However the very facts that they claim support their stand point, are manipulated to gel with almost anything that points from creationism. Very few evolutionists agree fully with each other, it seems more like dispersal from Theonomy, where people are likely to run in any and every direction as long as that direction does not point towards creationism.

Creationism is the very first step in Theonomy and that is exactly how the Bible starts because for a person to finally come into belief under the Lordship of Christ Jesus (Theonomy), that person ought to believe that his Redeemer is also his Creator.

Col 1:16, 20
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
…
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

1Peter 2:6-8
For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

As 1Peter 2:6-8 puts it, that the truth: Jesus Christ – is that Rock of offense that crushes/condemns (Luke 20:18) the evolutionist unbeliever because God never chose to know him.

Predestination!

The topic of predestination is one, which is heatedly debated on, in Christian circles. Predestination holds to the belief that God “CHOSE” a people before the beginning of time whom He would save unto eternal life only through Christ (1Peter 1:2). The people who normally oppose such a view have this excuse as their reason, which is that if it is God who is choosing people unto Salvation then it is unfair to those whom he has not chosen to be saved. Such a view not only makes God seem accountable to man but is actually an excuse for man to glorify his own being through what he thinks is his ability in autonomous decision making. As John Calvin perfectly puts it, the people who oppose predestination are no more than mortal enemies of God’s praise. The funny thing is, under the pretext that God is fair to all, predestination is opposed but when these same people are asked if they themselves are due praise due to their autonomous decision to believe, they remain silent but they probably and secretly seek praise because for most of them their best witness for the Gospel is their own testimony of how they came to believe, which portrays them in the spotlight and God in the background.

The thing is if God wants to send people to hell, he will send them (Heb 4:3). He Himself is goodness; He is certainly not obligated to act within the boundary of what man defines as good. He is glorified equally in all his attributes, weather that be: wrath or mercy. It must be understood, He does not save people because of themselves (Eph 2:8-9) but He saves people for His own Namesake (Psalms 79:9). God humbles himself before no man, where Jesus is concerned stating that He humbled himself to the point of death that humility was unto His Father (Gal 1:4), which He did so in obedience (Php 2:8).

There is certainly no pride man can take in His Salvation, the Bible refers to the saved, not as vessels of worthiness/merit but as vessels of His mercy (Romans 9:23). As Christians we too could have been vessels of His wrath like the rest of the unbelieving but the statement of fact is that, it is not because of we who accepted His mercy but because it was He who Sovereignly chose to show us mercy (Rom 9:15). You must understand that when you stand before an executioner and he declares mercy upon you, in such a scenario no sane man even in the remotest reaches of his imagination will feel the need to render a statement of acknowledgment/acceptance for that mercy he has received, when he is standing there on the brink of eternal death (Isaiah 48:9). That man will only be eternally thankful and will praise Him because of whom He received that mercy (2John1:3).

When the Bible says that Salvation is free (Romans 5:14-19), it is not meaning to say: as in ‘free for all’ but meaning to say that the person who has received it has contributed nothing even towards his own salvation. Predestination seen from a Biblical view is not mere “eternal security”, rightly worded predestination is actually: the perseverance of the Saints (Php 2:12-13). The reason clarity needs to be brought into this is because, “eternal security” is pitched in such a way that anyone who claims to accept the Gospel is saved regardless of how he leads his life in the future. However when you refer to the perseverance of the Saints: it speaks of eternal security: yes but along with that also the trails which God will take you through struggling all the way (Heb 12:6), for which He shall impute in you the Spirit of Perseverance (Psalms 51:12).

To conclude: Predestination, seen in its right light, does not mean that he who believes in it is surely saved but that if one believes in Christ and strives to lead that blameless life (Eph 1:4) in which the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13) shall guide him in for His Namesake, God had that person’s Salvation in mind right before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). The Bible states God foreknows the believing (Romans 8:29), where foreknows literally speaking is that God foreordained that person before all creation to become an object of His affection (1Co 8:3), which He would deliver because He does not destroy who He loves. And the only way a person may know he is loved by God is if that person loves Jesus Christ and strives to obey Him beyond all things (John 14:23).

The TULIP of Calvinism

If a person refers to himself as a Calvinist, the first thing that comes to a lay person’s mind is that this so called Calvinist is follower of Calvin. This is a common misconception, the 5 points of Calvinism is elementary Christianity, this was not John Calvin’s concoction, a similar theological viewpoint was shared by Thomas Aquinas from the 12th century and the similar was shared by Augustine from the 4th century. It wasn’t as though Calvin was sitting idle that he chanced on this 5 point thought; the purpose of such theological viewpoints was to combat heretic doctrines prevalent at that time. Just as Augustine had to deal the Pelagianism, a heretic movement of his time following after Pelagius; similarly John Calvin was up against the Arminian movement around the 16th century, a heresy founded by Jacobus Arminius that was similar to Pelagianism. It seems heresies have trouble reinventing themselves; after all they cannot come up with anything original as they themselves as far less from the original.

The thing you will observe among most heresies is that they attempt to take what matters out of the hands of God and place them in the hands of man through working merit. Under the pretext of not giving God but man, the requisite glory they conveniently take the position of bringing religious institutions under their own authority, using the idea that the Bible teaches only what is most opportune to them. Such champions like John Wesley and Charles Wesley have used this carrot and stick system, which works under the idea that ‘glory’ is held like carrot strung from a stick before the so called believer, whose fruitless move towards this carrot-glory, only works to further the interest of the heresy that rides on his back holding the stick.

The five points of Calvinism can be remembered by the simple acronym: TULIP, which is as follows:

• Total Depravity
• Unconditional Election
• Limited Atonement
• Irresistible Grace
• Perseverance of the Saints

Total Depravity:
This is the very first point and is fundamental to anyone who refers to himself as Christian. Total depravity says that without God working in any or every person, that person does not have the capacity to do any good, let alone believe in God. To be more colloquial Total Depravity says that we are trash, yes add to that unrecyclable. All mankind for the exception of He who came as Man, are wretched and wicked. The importance of agreeing with total depravity is that this is the ultimate tool of repentance, a repentance that only God can give you and will lead you to worship Him in a way that pleases Him, where you exalt Him over yourself.

Matthew 5:3
“Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!

2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

James 4:9-10
Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Unconditional Election:
Among the five points of Remonstrant/Arminian, their belief system that goes against the Unconditional Election, attempts cleverly to pull some wool over the eyes of the believer. They say God looked into the future, saw who would believe in His Son and accordingly chose His people within this condition. The five points of the Remonstrant are truly hilarious; they seem to have no divine revelation of God but are just a product of theological schooling to those whom God has revealed nothing. The language in the five points of the Remonstrant attempts only to confuse the reader as to what clearly is their theological argument. The probable reason for this could be that it is better for them to be labeled as stupid by the wise few, rather than by the majority, to whom they may seem knowledgeable because of the high flying language they used.

If God chose His people based on Him looking into the future and seeing who believes in His Son then we are saying that God chooses people whom He sees choosing Him. Do we need to apply: what came first the chicken or the egg, here too? In such an area the Bible clearly states that nothing and no one can be His counselor. If there was ever such a thing as what the Arminian thinks is true then we are implicitly stating God can look into a future and take advice from the lives of those whom He asks not to lean on their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), while He secretly must lean on their understanding to know who are His people.

The truth is God needs no counsel in the decisions He takes (Romans 11:34), people believe in Jesus because He chose them before the beginning of time and it is certainly not the other way around.

John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

John 6:43-44
Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Ephesians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Against the convenient Arminian argument of Romans 8:29, which says whom He foreknew He predestined, the “knew” there is actually implying intimacy rather than foreknowledge. The same ‘knew’ which in Genesis 4:1 says: And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived,.. The same knew which is also in Jeremiah 1:5, referring to God’s intimacy with His people.

Limited Atonement:
The idea of limited atonement is not to say that the scope of atonement is limited but that the atonement is not a free for all going out to the whole world. How much value would you put to something that is labeled as a free for all? I’d say this is as good as a doormat, trampled on without any care. Oh! In most cases the person who preaches this to you will care less about his god being used as a doormat as long as you don’t step on that preachers toes.

The atonement of Christ’ sacrifice is limited in the sense that it only applies to the Church. Yes the Arminians have scripture to argue their viewpoint. They will quote John 3:16 and pretend to ignore that the “whosoever believes” mentioned in John 3:16 is none other than the Church. Then they will also quote

1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

But it is important to note from Galatians 2:9 that John was an apostle who served a largely Jewish audience and since there was great debate among the Jewish believers in regards to Jesus being a Savior only to the Jews, John used 1John 2:2 to make clear while writing to these Jews that just as God had chosen those from among the Jews a people who would believe in His Son, He also chose from the Gentiles from every tribe and nation (Rev 7:9) of the world a peculiar people to be His Church.

There are scriptures like 1 John4:14 and John 4:42 where Jesus is referred to as the Savior of the world but these scriptures ought to be seen in their own natural light not something recreated. 1 Timothy 4:10 makes clear in such a case that He is the Savior of the world concerning ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO BELIEVE.

Given below are a few scriptures that highlight the atonement of Jesus Christ specific to His Church.

John 10:11,14,16,25,26
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

Titus 2:13-14
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Irresistible Grace:
According to Arminian doctrine God’s calling can be resisted because they appear to have cited scripture in which people have resisted the Spirit’s calling unto Christ. They are probably citing Acts 7:51

Acts 7:51
“How stubborn you are!” Stephen went on to say. “How heathen your hearts, how deaf you are to God’s message! You are just like your ancestors: you too have always resisted the Holy Spirit!

It is pretty understandable of a people who think Christ died for the whole world, to feel the grace of God can be resisted because to such a mind they see people whom God has dammed as a people who have resisted God’s grace. This is pretty understandable because you can’t expect a colour blind person to tell the colour red from the colour green.

In fact if you go to a chapter ahead, this is what you will find. Note Acts 6:10.

Acts 6:9-11
Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

As per Philippians 1:29, it was counted to Stephen to suffer and die for the sake of Christ. Yes this is the commitment God asks of His people and so God made the murderers of Stephen stubborn as He did with Pharaoh (Exodus 9:12). It is plain and simple to see that God calling is to His Church and not to the world, once you get this it is easy to understand that His grace is irresistibly efficacious.

Acts 28:24
And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

Because

Acts 13:48
..as many as were ordained to eternal life believed

Perseverance of the Saints:
Many so called Christians are of the notion that their Salvation is something they require to work out and the scripture they hold in their favor is Philippians 2:12 and sometimes to oppose the doctrine of once saved always saved they cite the case of Judas Iscariot who was among the chosen.

Philippians 2:12
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

John 17:12
While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

In the case of Philippians 2:12, it is important to read that scripture in its context. So here is need to quote

Philippians 2:13
because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.

Philippians 2:13 shows you that it is in God and not the believer, in whom the believers Salvation is secure i.e. even in showing saving faith through works (James 2:17).

As for John 17:12, it speaks more towards Calvinism than it does for Arminism because just like saying: the jug is half full or half empty is the same thing, in the same manner: speaking of predestined Salvation for some is the same as speaking of predestined damnation for the rest and that is what John 17:12 highlights.

Below are a few scripture that will show that Salvation is guaranteed to the Church i.e. the body Jesus’ believers, a promise that is secure not in the hands of man but in the hands of God Himself.

Eph 4:30
And do not make God’s Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God’s mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free.

Jeremiah 32:40
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

1Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

As for all the heresies that have stemmed out and turned apostate from the believing Church 1John 2:19 has this to say in regards to them:

1John 2:19
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

So these are these are the 5 points of elementary Christianity colloquially known as the TULIP concept of Calvinism. As you may have noticed, though this is purely elementary, it has great depth, which those who are blessed to delight in the Lord (Ps 37:4), may enjoy exploring God’s sovereignty in Salvation even further…

Suffering!

The standard that this world has set in being religious is such that, God’s pleasure is measured as per man’s feel good factor. The god of this world and its religions is nothing more that the appetites of men, where the stronger the appetite, the more powerful is the god.

What I would like to touch up on today is: suffering. Suffering is something every person goes through but it is the reason for which we suffer and how we take it in stride that actually reflects our relationship with God. Suffering is something God puts into our lives for good reason. We can suffer either as being punished for wrong or we can suffer for standing up for the right thing but the world has reached such a state that it is rare to see the reprobate suffering even as their punishment.

1 Peter 3:14, 17
But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Suffering has a variety of uses in the will of God, it can be used to bring repentance (Rev 2:22) or it can be used to teach endurance (Rom 5:3). Suffering has been known to make people humble (2Ch 33:12). Either way suffering comes from God, like does everything else, which all meets His purpose.

2 Corinthians 12:7 (Apostle Paul)
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me–to keep me from exalting myself!

If worshiping God, was measured by only how good we felt then one may come to wonder, how much of God is involved in that worship. Suffering on the other hand is a sacrifice seen in a servant who exalts a greater cause which is His Master over himself; a Master who well deserves this glory. This suffering is a form of worship but must not be mistaken for suffering that is self inflicted for such suffering does not bring the humility that God desires.

Rom 12:1
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

We know that even Christ suffered but He did so to fulfill scripture, to the glory of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:48), for as the Son of God, He glorified His Father (Romans 6:4) and from His Father received glory (John 8:54) of being the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29), by being the first to be raised from the dead (Col 1:18). Though He was without sin, His perfection was through suffering and death, to the will of His Father.

Hebrews 2:10
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Heb 2:10 beautifully shows the Oneness in the Triune God because it displays the extent of seamless harmony in the will of these Three Person of the Godhead (Father Eph 1:11; Son Mat 11:27; Holy Spirit 1Cor 12:11).

There are many people to whom God is nothing more than a state of bliss, to most of them God’s Sovereignty does not extend over sin and evil; and to tell people like these that God is Sovereign concerning all suffering too, is something that does not go down well with them. However observe these same people in a state of trial and notice how they temporarily come to grip the reality of God’s Sovereign hand behind all their woes. Apparently when the affliction passes, many a times, so does their realization, because this seed is soon picked off from the soil by the birds or trampled underfoot.

1Peter 4:19
19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Philippians 1:29
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

From the scripture of Proverbs 17:3, the word for “test” is ‘baw-khan’ meaning: to make trial. So you see this forthcoming of Silver and Gold can only come from those in whom the Holy Spirit brings a circumcision of the heart.

Proverbs 17:3
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.

Romans 2:29
and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

So if you are suffering today, what you need to ask yourself is this:
Is this your call to repentance unto Christ?
-OR-
Is this for righteousness sake to the call of His glory?
-OR-
Is this Him imputing faith in your trial coming out as Gold?

Between God and man; a poem!

There are times man ponders on himself,
That had he not existed,
Would anything matter to himself?

So as he sees himself as the center in all he knows,
He thinks he himself is god,
And that’s the way the world goes,
Cause had he not existed, would anything matter to him so?

But how can that which comes to being be self existent?
Or how that which grows be Omnipotent?
Can that which is learning say it knows all things?
When as life goes on, it the unknown brings.

Satan was probably first who sought to be God,
Until he was smitten by Jesse’s Rod,
God is a Jealous God and tolerates no rivals,
And even the spirit of the anti-Christ serves His purpose in denial,
As all things are created to meet a certain purpose of His,
Which even Satan fulfills, in as much betrayal as in Judas’ kiss.

Man can never become God though God became man,
For as long as man is learning or growing, become God, he never can.
But when man is convinced he knows all,
What awaits this god is only downfall.

In Christ, the fullness of His eternal Father dwelled,
But as a man His meekness meant His head never swelled.
He dealt harshly with hypocritical power,
And to the bruised reed He was their Strong tower.

So fellow man, if it’s you and not Christ around whom you center,
Then the fire you shall inherit shall strike faster that magenta.

The Five Solas

“Sola” is Latin meaning “alone” or “only”. The Five Solas are the Latin slogans that emerged from the Reformation with the intention to summarize basic theological principles to distinguish the teaching of the Believing Church from the Humanist teachings that weighed down the Church of that day.

The 5 Solas with their scripture references are as follows:

1. Sola Fide, by faith alone.

Romans 3:28-31
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

James 2:17
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

What is faith? It is the very essence of belief, when a person says he has faith in something, it refers to his trust in that same thing. Faith in God is trusting in Him and when you truly believe in something, it shows in the way you go about your life and so says James 2:17. Faith is God given (Romans 12:3) and not all have it because God is Sovereign to the extent that if He does not give something in particular to the person, that person will not even have the desire for that particular thing. Salvation through faith simply means that you know what God has done for you, which He may not have done for many others and so He lets you know and it is because He lets know that you are given the power to believe. So it is through your faith alone that He tells you that you are saved.

2. Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone.

Gal 3:8
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

Gal 3:22
But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Heb 4:12
The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.

2Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

From the scripture of Gal 3, you will notice scripture being spoken of like a person. John 1 and Mat 1:18-20, shows the work of the Spirit, in Christ taking Human form. From Numbers 11:25 we see also that Moses too had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit implying that it was the Holy Spirit in Moses who worked as mediator between God and the Israelites in Exodus 32. Heb 4:12 says that the word of God is alive that is, His Spirit is alive and is God. When the Bible says that faith comes from hearing, it refers to listening to His Spirit. This Spirit Sovereignly works in the whole world but speaks intimately only to the Church, the people called to believe from different tribes and nations.

Many of you will not agree with I am going to say now but I am convinced this is true. The word of God in the Bible is the Holy Spirit given to the Church. The early Church in the first two centuries did not have the Bible as we know it today and so the Spirit edified the Church through the gift of tongues and prophesies with interpretations (1Cor 14:26) but that was a time when the Word of God was not as yet compiled into the Bible. From the time the Church complied all it had received into the Bible, the revelations in tongues or prophesies have ceased for nothing can be added (Rev 22:18-19) nor taken away (Ecc 3:14) from the revelation of the Word, God has given His people in the Bible. Sola Scriptura!

3. Sola Gratia, by grace alone.

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

2Timothy 1:9
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

Romans 3:23-24
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

According to “The Economist”, the whole world is in debt, with the third world countries in lesser debt, such as Kenya with a public debt of nearly $ 15 billion (as of June 2012); while developed countries like the US have a public debt of nearly $ 9 trillion (as of June 2012). So the question is, where is all the money in the world going, if everyone is in debt?

Why don’t you give grace a thought, or does the world expect to pay off God in circumstances, where they not only don’t have money but are well over their heads in debt. Why???? Because the world is living off His grace and doesn’t even know it. The reason man can never pay the price of his Salvation is because all that he is and calls his own is not really his but belongs to God, everything a man has, is borrowed, given by the grace of God. Man is held accountable even if he takes his own life because even his own life does not belong to him but belongs to God and this is spoken of beautifully in Psalms 49.

You can therefore come to the conclusion that ‘borrowing man’ can never merit Salvation, be it by prayer, fasting, holy places, charity or whatever. Man goes to heaven seeing only the goodness of God’s grace and not admiring his own delusional merit.

4. Solus Christus, through Christ alone.

Have you heard of the term “Christophany”, these were the manifestation of Christ in the Old Testament. Since the revelation of the invisible God has only been made known through Christ (John 1:18), in the Old Testament the manifestations of Christ were referred to sometimes as the Angel of God and varied in some other in places. I’ll give you two or three that even bears reference to His Deity.

Christ’ Manifestation in the flaming bush; Exodus 3: 2, 4, 6. It is written, the Angel of the Lord that appeared as a flame of fire in the bush, spoke from the bush as the Lord.

The Manifestation of Christ as three people, Abraham bows to them (Gen 18:2-3) and refers to them as Lord. While one remains with Abraham and two of them go to Sodom and Gomorrah, yet the one says that He (Lord) will go down to Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Manifestation of Christ, as the man who wrestles Jacob in Gen 32:24-30 and the words of Jacob in verse 30 are “”For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

Through Christ alone, says that Salvation was worked out by the Only Being who is worthy before God and that is God Himself viz. Jesus Christ. Worthy ONLY is the Lamb (Rev 5:11-14).

1Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Col 1:13-20
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

1Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

5. Soli Deo Gloria, glory to God alone.

Psalms 115:1
To you alone, O LORD, to you alone, and not to us, must glory be given because of your constant love and faithfulness.

Isaiah 42:8
“I alone am the LORD your God. No other god may share my glory; I will not let idols share my praise.

Isaiah 48:11
What I do is done for my own sake— I will not let my name be dishonored or let anyone else share the glory that should be mine and mine alone.”

Romans 16:27
To the only God, who alone is all-wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever! Amen.

Finally God (Father, Son and Spirit) shares His glory with no other. There is no being as perfect as God and if God were to allow any other being: be it the angles, seraphim or the prophets, who are all imperfect in His sight, to even share His glory, then God would not be truthful and faithful but God loves His own perfection as He delights in Himself (Jeremiah 9:24).

The Purpose of His Salvation!

There are many who feel that Salvation is just about God loving them and nothing more. Well, God loves His people, I agree but when people think of their “Christ given Salvation” purely as a reason to love and pamper themselves all the more, it makes me feel like I smell a rat. I have heard people pitch the Gospel saying to just about anyone that “God values them so much that He offered His Son to die in place of them and some go to the extent of adding that God loves you more than Jesus”. Well I don’t question the Salvation of such people because that is between them and God but I do question their knowledge of scripture.

Do you know what was foreordained that the people of God would carry with them? They carry His Name!

Numbers 6:27 (Old Testament)
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

John 17:12 (New Testament)
While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Now these are only a few scripture among many to show you that the people of God carry with them the name of God. You must understand now that any harm that comes against the people of God or anything that soils God’s own people, this comes against God Himself and God therefore acts against that primarily because it tarnishes His Name, which His people bear.

Ezek 36:22
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.

If the above scripture makes you feel less important than God, then I have hit the nail on the head. God wants us to love Him more than we individually love ourselves and it is in this light that we need to look at the scripture below.

Matthew 19:29
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 24:9-10
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.
And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

Mark 13:13
And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mat 19:29, shows us what kind of love God is asking from us, for those who like to loll and lavish in God’s love I wonder how they will do if they are exposed to the test of Mat 24:9-10. Human nature is such that it likes flattery and we like to get mushy with people who we feel are honestly appreciating us, the funny thing is, we want that even from God and His Gospel too. God has no reason to flatter man and the Gospel seen in the right light is God centered, not man centered. I am a little cautious when I come across people who say they are lavishing in their blessing, because though I don’t question their salvation, I don’t exactly agree with their picture of God. I feel people like these will only see God as He is, when they get over themselves.

From the scripture I have shown you, are you able to tell that God loves Himself more than He loves man? Do you think I am blaspheming? Well if I was blaspheming, I would be blaspheming you not God because I am showing God in His exalted state and you and me in our pitiful state.

Isaiah 33:10
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD, “now I will lift myself up; now I will be exalted.

Ezek 38:23
So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

From the above two scriptures, would you see God tolerating such statements if it came from men? A few of the many examples showing God punishing man’s pride and any form of man’s self exaltation are mentioned below. Yet we see God making these same statements Himself

Isaiah 10:12
12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.”

Jeremiah 48:29
29 “We have heard of the pride of Moab–he is very proud– Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance and his self-exaltation.

If you say that God has every right to exalt himself then I too will agree, so considering the facts that God exalts Himself and expects His people to love Him more than they love themselves, then can we not safely conclude that God loves Himself beyond everything, especially when you consider the extent He goes to for His own namesake?

Frankly, I am not being Galileo in 1611 telling you that the world is round. The idea of a Sovereign, Almighty and All-Sufficient God, my dear friend is what the believing Church has held on to right from the beginning.

We therefore need to remember that unlike the world religions where it is the people themselves who are highlighted by their religious works more than their god/gods, we Christians are called to know that we are a God centered people, where we don’t even matter and our Salvation and Perseverance is assured only because He chose us as a people before the foundation of the world to glorify His name.

1Chronicles 16:35
Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.

1Samuel 12:22
For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself.

John 1:12-13
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

So remember the next time you worship, it is not about you or me, it all about God: Father, Son and Spirit.

John 4:23
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

Total Depravity! (poem)

When I approach His throne of grace,
The stench of my being fills my face.
I feel so strongly to glorify His Name,
What contrast! His glory is to my shame!

By myself I pay trespass for trespass,
But it’s out of His goodness that I continue to last.
My sin is like my bed which upon I rest,
And this I cover by pride, way over my head and chest.

Things sometimes feel like they can’t get any worse,
& then I do something to give into my desire’s thirst.
His Spirit councils to quiet my rebelling,
But am a victim of feelings consuming but never fulfilling.

Of myself I have little control.
After the relations I have ravaged,
By His goodness I am still on parole.

God in His goodness is always Sovereign!
And He converts to life, hearts solid and frozen.
So when I look in worship into His marvelous face,
I am reminded of my depraved and sinful distaste.

I have sinfully sought many a other pleasure,
When Christ ought to be my first and only treasure.
As assuredly as I have life I know of His providence,
And when He decrees then I shall take every thought captive to Him in obedience.

This piece of my life is the painful part of His threshing,
Where what is born of His Spirit is the wheat in me beginning.
And my mutinies are like the dead chaff painfully dwindling.

So I pray to my loving Father,
That I may trust Christ and no other,
& may His Spirit sanctify me through the blood of my Firstborn Brother.