"Eat this scroll and go speak. . ."

I started listening to Ezekiel during my drive time this morning and was greatly encouraged by Eze 3:1-4:

Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”

So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll.

He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you ” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

There are times when trying to just put out there verbally and/or at blogs, etc., solid, scripture based material, one can get discouraged and get a ‘why bother’ attitude. It seems most folks are just interested in “Band-Aids” for life’s boo-boos, or personal opinions, all of which are equally valid (never mind if they are out of their scriptural context or even non-scriptural).

The personal lesson for this old soldier:

I need to just “eat the scroll”, fill my whole being with it and then “speak to the house of Israel” (fellow believers in this struggle called life). If I have not “eaten the scroll” I should keep my mouth shut until I have dined appropriately. When I speak, I can leave my opinions at home unless specifically asked for them. If I initiate what is only opinion, I need to caveat what I speak. If and when I speak, it should be with gentleness, respect and love, meaning I need to be always praying over my words that “flesh” doesn’t get in the way.

So I was encouraged and admonished at the same time.

The Five Solas of the Reformation

Below is an excellent summary of the five “Solas” of the Protestant Reformation. They were originally wirtten for the 1993 Reformation Celebration at Audubon Drive Bible Church in Laurel, MS, as part of a worship service.

Sola Scriptura: The Scripture Alone is the Standard

The doctrine that the Bible alone is the ultimate authority was the “Formal Principle” of the Reformation. In 1521 at the historic interrogation of Luther at the Diet of Worms, he declared his conscience to be captive to the Word of God saying, “Unless I am overcome with testimonies from Scripture or with evident reasons — for I believe neither the Pope nor the Councils, since they have often erred and contradicted one another — I am overcome by the Scripture texts which I have adduced, and my conscience is bound by God’s Word.” Similarly, the Belgic Confession stated, “We believe that [the] holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein…Neither may we consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with those divine Scriptures nor ought we to consider custom or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God… Therefore, we reject with all our hearts whatsoever does not agree with this infallible rule” (VII).

As the Scripture says,
Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Thy law….I will bow down toward Thy holy temple, And give thanks to Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth; For Thou hast magnified Thy word according to all Thy name….You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (Psalm 119:18; Psalm 138:2; II Tim. 3:14-17)

Soli Deo Gloria! For the Glory of God Alone

The Reformation reclaimed the Scriptural teaching of the sovereignty of God over every aspect of the believer’s life. All of life is to be lived to the glory of God. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” This great and all consuming purpose was emphasized by those in the 16th and 17th Centuries who sought to reform the church according to the Word of God. In contrast to the monastic division of life into sacred versus secular perpetuated by Roman Church, the reformers saw all of life to be lived under the Lordship of Christ. Every activity of the Christian is to be sanctified unto the glory of God.

As the Scripture says,
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God; Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (1CO 10:31; 1PE 4:11; REV 1:6; 2PE 3:1; EPH 3:21; REV 7:12; ROM 11:36)

Solo Christo! By Christ’s Work Alone are We Saved

The Reformation called the church back to faith in Christ as the sole mediator between God and man. While the Roman church held that “there is a purgatory and that the souls there detained are helped by the intercessions of the faithful” and that “Saints are to be venerated and invoked;” “that their relics are to be venerated” — the reformers taught that salvation was by Christ’s work alone. As John Calvin said in the Institutes of the Christian Religion, “Christ stepped in, took the punishment upon himself and bore the judgment due to sinners. With his own blood he expiated the sins which made them enemies of God and thereby satisfied him…we look to Christ alone for divine favour and fatherly love!” Likewise the Heidelberg Catechism, Question 30 asks, “Do such then believe in Jesus the only Saviour who seek their salvation and happiness in saints, in themselves, or anywhere else? They do not; for though they boast of him in words yet in deeds they deny Jesus the only deliverer and Saviour: for one of these two things must be true that either Jesus is not a complete Saviour or that they who by a true faith receive this Saviour must find all things in him necessary to their salvation.”

As the Scripture says,
There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time...For He 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. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. (1TI 2:5-6; COL 1:13-18)

Sola Gratia: Salvation by Grace Alone

A central cry of the Reformation was salvation by grace. Though the Roman church taught that Mass is a “sacrifice [which] is truly propitiatory” and that by the Mass “God…grant[s] us grace and the gift of penitence, remits our faults and even our enormous sins” — the reformers returned to the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. Our righteous standing before God is imputed to us by grace because of the work of Christ Jesus our Lord. In contrast to the doctrines of self-merit taught by Rome, sola gratia and the accompanying doctrines of grace — total depravity, unconditional election, particular redemption, and perseverance of the saints — were preached by all the reformers throughout the Protestant movement. As the Baptist Confession of 1689 says, “Christ, by his obedience and death, did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified; and did, by the sacrifice of himself in the blood of his cross, undergoing in their stead the penalty due unto them, make a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God’s justice in their behalf;…their justification is only of free grace, that both the exact justice and rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners.”

As the Scripture says,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. (Ephesians 1:3-8)

Sola Fide: Justification by Faith Alone

The “Material Principle” of the Reformation was justification by faith alone. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says, “Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love.” The Genevan Confession likewise pointed out the necessity of those justified living by faith saying, “We confess that the entrance which we have to the great treasures and riches of the goodness of God that is vouchsafed us is by faith; inasmuch as, in certain confidence and assurance of heart, we believe in the promises of the gospel, and receive Jesus Christ as he is offered to us by the Father and described to us by the Word of God (Genevan 11).

As the Scripture says,
Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:6-11)

"A Spoonful of sugar. . .

. . .helps the medicine go down”

Sugar with medicine is intended to prevent the recipient of the medicine from spitting out that which he/she needs.

Too much sugar might counteract some of the healing benefits contained in the medicine.

All sugar and no medicine is nothing more than a placebo without the ability to assist in healing the body.

Think about that axiom again in the context of speaking truth with love . Compare ’sugar’ with love and ‘medicine’ with the truth of scripture.

I know, pretty sophomoric comparison, but maybe it makes a point.  I can’t get it out of my head. Maybe it’s the Reader’s Digest version of the Al Mohler article I read recently.

Scripture on Passing Judgment

“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24)

He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15). 

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).

The Supremacy of Christ – Voddie Baucham

more about "The Supremacy of Christ – Voddie Bauc…", posted with vodpod

No Truth Without Love, No Love Without Truth

This is a short excerpt from an Al Mohler commentary found here.

“Courage is far too rare in many Christian circles. This explains the surrender of so many denominations, seminaries, and churches to the homosexual agenda. But no surrender on this issue would have been possible, if the authority of Scripture had not already been undermined.

Liberal churches have redefined compassion to mean that the church changes its message to meet modern demands. They argue that to tell a homosexual he is a sinner is uncompassionate and intolerant. This is like arguing that a physician is intolerant because he tells a patient she has cancer. But, in the culture of political correctness, this argument holds a powerful attraction.

Biblical Christians know that compassion requires telling the truth, and refusing to call sin something sinless. To hide or deny the sinfulness of sin is to lie, and there is no compassion in such a deadly deception. True compassion demands speaking the truth in love–and there is the problem. Far too often, our courage is more evident than our compassion.”

Again, the the complete article is here. 

Christians and pastors of Christian churches have been accused of spending too much time talking about homosexuality, and not giving ‘equal time’ to other issues they (Christians and Christian pastors) consider sinful. There is probably a measure of truth in that, but what that measure is – who knows? One could also argue that to the degree that homosexual agenda is thrust upon us (crammed down the throats of all Americans) such an imbalance is completely and logically warranted.

As believers we would do well to adopt, as a principle for discussion, the mantra “No Truth Without Love, No Love Without Truth”.

"Appointed" to eternal life?

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48 ESV)

At least 25 Bible versions, produced over a period of almost 400 years, either use the word appointed, ordained, destined, pre-destined, marked out by God, or chosen. Bible versions examined translations from the Greek, formal equivalence, dynamic equivalence, expanded, and paraphrase type of versions, and were produced by Protestants, Catholics, conservatives, and liberals. Every possible type of English translation/version of the Bible is represented.

Since “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. . .” (2 Tim 2:4), and since this short verse is part of ALL scripture, it would be good to examine it a bit further. Rather than include the results of a lot of study here, I would like ask two questions:

1) What does this verse tell us about the sovereignty of God in salvation?

2) How does a person’s decision to trust Christ as Lord and Savior relate to God’s sovereignty?

This is not a personal ‘position statement’ other than to assert that God is sovereign and man is responsible. Assuming those two assertions as fact, how do they mesh, and preserve the integrity of scripture?

Courage and Compassion on Homosexuality

“The church’s engagement with the culture involves a host of issues, controversies, and decisions–but no issue defines our current cultural crisis as clearly as homosexuality. Some churches and denominations have capitulated to the demands of the homosexual rights movement, and now accept homosexuality as a fully valid lifestyle. Other denominations are tottering on the brink, and without a massive conservative resistance, they are almost certain to abandon biblical truth and bless what the Bible condemns.” Al Mohler

Read more. . .

Believers – saved and ‘being’ saved. . .

There are three aspects of the salvation of those who have believed in and trusted Christ as Lord and Savior.

• Salvation from the penalty of sin; an eternity of torment in Hell; the just penalty of a righteous God whose wrath is poured out against all unrighteousness.
• Salvation from the power of sin; here and now while we yet live and breathe.
• Salvation from the presence of sin when Christ returns to establish His Kingdom.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Rom 1:16-17)

The gospel is the power of God for salvation because (‘For in it. . .’) in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed.

I don’t know about anyone who reads this blog, but it is impossible for this old soldier to honestly consider the righteousness of God without being faced with my own unrighteousness. By that I don’t mean the difference between God’s standard of righteousness and man’s, but my total and utter lack of any righteousness in the face of God’s perfect, holy, and just righteousness.

In order for us to be accepted and welcomed by God into His presence we must possess perfect righteousness. Because of our sin(s) we cannot and will not ever. on our own merit, possess the righteousness that God demands to enter His presence. Therefore, because of His great love and mercy, God gives to those who believe in Christ the very righteousness the He himself demands.

What does that have to with ‘being’ saved?

Well, it occurred to me this morning that the moment I believed in Christ I was saved from the just penalty of sin; experiencing the wrath of God that sin deserves. It also occurred to me that in my humanness I sin every day, and therefore every day deserve the wrath of God against that sin, no matter what it is. The sin I commit ‘today’ deserves God’s wrath ‘today’.

Having said that, is it appropriate to suggest that while I was saved when I first believed, I am also ‘being’ saved on a daily basis, by the same ‘power of the gospel’ and because of the imputed righteousness of Christ?

Can we say that the ‘power of the gospel’ is the bedrock of the assurance of our salvation as believers?

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you. Through faith you are shielded by God’s power until the coming of salvation…” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

I invite your comments.

Satan’s ‘Evangelical’ Pastime

“Adventures in Missing the Point?”

Some time ago there was a Battle Cry post called Satan’s Gambit that suggested that the Enemy’s chief tactic for wreaking havoc and causing dissension in the church is to attack the inspiration and authority of Scripture. To anyone who observes trends in Christianity, as an insider or outsider, it seems that it’s a highly successful strategy. There are however, those who just won’t fall for the gambit and maintain that Scripture is what it says it is – the inspired written word of God, and the final authority for all matters of faith and practice of the Christian faith. For those sorts of folks, the enemy has another tactic.

Where believers simply refuse to put down theirBibles to follow the latest Christian fads engineered by wolfishly clever ‘evangelical’ snake oil salesmen, the enemy has another tactic that works quite well. He merely leads us into what can be called ‘adventures in missing the point”. We get to keep our Bibles and even continue with our ’sola scriptura’ affirmations. As long as we spend our time discussing anything and everything that misses the main point of explicit themes and  teaching, and would rather spend our time with secondary, tertiary, and issues foreign to the text of scripture, the enemy is satisfied.

Think about it. . .