Thursday, October 25, 2012

A Little Study of Divine Forgiveness from our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ

Sam Storms says,
The Bible teaches that all sin, past, present, and future, is forgiven through faith in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Eternal destiny is sealed and set at the moment of justifying faith. Our depth of intimacy, fellowship and joy is certainly affected adversely when we fail to confess and repent of daily sin. But our eternal destiny has already and forever been determined. We must recognize the distinction between the eternal forgiveness of the guilt of sin that is ours the moment we embrace Jesus in faith, and that temporal forgiveness of sin we receive on a daily basis that enables us to experience the happiness of intimacy with the Father.  (Suicide, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com. Used by Permission).
John MacArthur wrote,
In my mind, the worst sin that any human being could ever, would ever, or has ever committed is very clear. The worst possible sin would be to kill the Son of God. I can’t imagine anything worse than that; it not only embodies murder, but the most hateful, venomous, vicious rejection of God. Yet it is precisely that sin which Jesus demonstrates is forgivable. In Luke 23:34, as He hangs on the cross, He looks down at those who have taken His life, then He looks to the Father and says, “Father, forgive them.” Even killing the Son of God is forgivable. It isn’t the volume of sin that is unforgivable any more than it is the kind of sin.  (Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, Part 1, Matthew 12:22-30. The article originally appeared (www.gty.org/Resources/Sermond/2292) at www.gty.org. © 1969-2008. Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission).

CH Spurgeon wrote,
See how red your guilt is. Mark the scarlet stain. If you were to wash your soul in the Atlantic Ocean, you might incarnadine every wave that washes all its shores, and yet the crimson spots of your transgression would still remain. But plunge into the “fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins,” and in an instant you are whiter than snow. Every speck, spot, and stain of sin is gone, and gone forever.

R.A. Torrey wrote,
 When Jesus died, He died as my representative, and I died in Him; when He arose, He rose as my representative, and I arose in Him; when He ascended up on high and took His place at the right hand of the Father in the glory, He ascended as my representative and I ascended in Him, and today I am seated in Christ with God in the heavenlies.  I look at the cross of Christ, and I know that atonement has been made for my sins; I look at the open sepulcher and the risen and ascended Lord, and I know the atonement has been accepted.  There no longer remains a single sin on me, no matter how many or how great my sins may have been.  (The Bible and Its Christ, Revell, n.d., p. 107-108).

Roy Lessin wrote,
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Is Reincarnation True?



Introduction

Cultic and occultic organizations are spreading their religious views about reincarnation.  Americans are susceptible to reincarnation.  The Christian response and answer to the alleged evidences of reincarnation is credible, true and believable.  The definition of reincarnation is apparently important for our understanding of it.  There is a difference between reincarnation and the Hindu doctrine of transmigration.  Transmigration is known as the doctrine of cyclic rebirth in different forms.  The Eastern belief of transmigration appeals to the Eastern mind.  Transmigration occurs with what is known as the law of karma.  Yet reincarnation is coming back on earth in a different human body.  The Western mind finds the Eastern thought of transmigration more difficult to apprehend, and believe.  Reincarnation from the Western mind is a redefinition of transmigration.  Transmigration is tainted with Eastern concepts, and portrayed as new.  The doctrine of reincarnation is an ancient doctrine described in a way that makes it attractive. Essentially, reincarnation and transmigration are to be understood as the same thing, but it manifests itself in “the Eastern mind and the Western mind.”[i]
The question arises is reincarnation true? if resurrection is a reality.  If reincarnation is true, then resurrection is false.  If resurrection is true, then reincarnation is false.  Resurrection and reincarnation cannot both be truth.  Either one is true or none is true.  The Christian Bible explicitly teaches the atonement, resurrection of Christ and eternal torment[ii] not reincarnation.  The atonement and resurrection of Christ has already been established from the divine Word.

Did Christianity teach it?

 Advocates of reincarnation like to say that Christianity has taught it in the past.  There is no evidence for this position.  Advocates of reincarnation also like to say that it solves the problem of evil.  Within the first life of the person, there is evil.  There is no life before the first life.  Since there is evil within the first life, there was no previous life to explain the evil in it.  Reincarnation does not solve the problem of evil.  Some say that evil is eternal.  But this complicates the problem of evil.  It does not solve it.

Elijah:  A Case of Reincarnation?

Advocates of reincarnation will use Elijah as proof of reincarnation.  The Bible teaches that Elijah was taken up into heaven, “As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven” (2 Kings 2:11 NASB).  The New Testament declares, By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God” (Heb. 11:5 NASB).

Does Born Again Mean Reincarnation?


                Advocates of reincarnation will refer to the New Testament language of being born again.  They will say it refers to reincarnation.  When the New Testament refers to being born again, it is not referring to reincarnation.  Rather, it is refers to regeneration.  When a person is regenerated it does not mean they are reincarnated.  Christ was the first person to declare the absolute necessity of being regenerate.  Regeneration comes before faith.  In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, a person must be born again.  Regeneration enables and changes the heart to actually believe.  This simply means that a person who is born from above will have spiritual life in this existence.  Regeneration is spiritual resurrection.  John 11:1-46 refers to the death and physical resurrection of Lazarus.  Non-born again people are like Lazarus.  Unregenerate people are spiritually dead.  But it is Christ who calls the dead to life, “Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43 NASB).  The resurrection of Lazarus supports the Reformed understanding of spiritual resurrection and physical resurrection.  The work of the Holy Spirit is accomplished upon the spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-10).  Non-born again people are regenerated from the will of the Living Father through His Living Son by His Living Spirit.  The Spirit of holiness recreates the heart.  He quickens the human being from spiritual death to spiritual life.  With regeneration there is an inclination for God in the heart of the believer.  God planets a true desire in the human heart for Himself.  This desire would be wholly absent if God did not plant it there.  Regeneration is God’s divine act in the salvation of the soul.  Thus Ezekiel 36:26 says, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (NASB).  Also 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity…”  (NASB).

Exposing Recall

In reincarnation there is recall.  First, there is hypnotic recall.  There are presumptions and manifestations from hypnotic recall that are utterly unbiblical.  Second, there is intuitive recall.  The person has unclear impressions and recollections.  But impressions and recollections can be wrong.  People can be deceived from their own minds.  Third, there is spontaneous recall.  There was a case of Bridey Murphy.  This case seemed like a sure support for reincarnation.  But this person never existed at all.  This person read books and actually learned Gaelic from her grandmother at a young age.  When hypnosis took place, she recalled these things.  This case was thought to be proof for reincarnation but in actuality it was not.  Fourth, there is psychic recall.  This information is clairvoyant in nature.  Psychics tell a person they have lived before.  The spirits tell the person what life they lived.  Then the person begins to believe the information about living a past life.  But the spirits are wicked and must not be believed.  In short, recall is not logical or trustworthy.  It does not explain, indirectly or directly, reincarnation.  Rather, recall only demonstrates it is not a sound argument.[iii]

Who purges from sin?

                Advocates of reincarnation claim it purges us from sin.  The Christian Bible teaches that Christ Himself, and He alone, purges or cleanses His people from their sin.  2 Peter 1:9 proclaims that believers are actually purged from their sins:  “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins” (KJV).  Also the author of Hebrews 1:1-3 declares,

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.  When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…  (NASB).

The divine Lord Jesus Christ purged His people from their sins.  It was not reincarnation.  Reincarnation could never actually accomplish this.  Rather, it was and is the Incarnate King.  He alone has the power to cleanse from sin.  Anything apart from Christ Himself who claims to cleanse people from sin is a counterfeit.  The divine Lamb of God cleanses His people from their sin.  He has the divine ability to accomplish purging from sin.[iv]

God Alone Forgives and Cleanses From Sin

                Moreover, the divine Word provides His own with assurance of the forgiveness and the cleansing (Ps. 51:2) from sin when His people repent, “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin….If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7, 9 NASB).  Christ’s blood cleanses His people from dead works, “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14 NASB).

The All-Sufficient Redeemer Paid It All

                There is no need to enter the process of reincarnation.  Rather, Christ Himself paid the debt that His people could not pay, and gained everlasting redemption.  The author of Hebrews 9:11-12 declares,

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (NASB).

Scripture declares, “but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD… For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb. 10:12, 14 NASB).  Only by the actual blood of Christ are sins remitted.  There would be no remission of sin unless His blood was shed.  It was the Just for the unjust, the Righteous for the unrighteous, the Holy for the unholy, the Good for the bad and the Sinless for the sinner. Isaiah 53:4-5 NASB declared,

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

The atonement of Christ is vicarious.  He paid the debt for His elect only.  He is the actual Savior and Redeemer.  The gospel of the all-sufficient atonement of Christ is denied by reincarnation.  His ultimate sacrifice was offered once and for all.  Therefore, reincarnation is not necessary and must be rejected.[v]

Suffering In Vain

                Reincarnationists suffer for the sins of their previous life but people do not know the sins that are suffering for.  This denies that Christ alone provided atonement for sin of His people.  The suffering of sinners for their sin will not avail before God the Father.  Only the sinless God-man could bear the sins of His people and make sufficient atonement for them.  Full disclosure is not provided for the reincarnationist of their past lives.  Their suffering is in vain.  First, a sinner cannot atone for his own sins.  Second, the suffering is in vain since the past sins of the past lives are not manifested in the present life.  How can the law of karma perfect me if I repeat the same sin and are being punished for the same sin?[vi]  John 9:1-3 demonstrates that Christ Jesus did not hold to the law of karma, “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (NASB).  Note well:  this man did not sin or his parents.  Rather “…it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” 
                The Christian Bible addresses this matter to Christians, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58 NASB).  Moreover, “holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain” (Phil. 2:16 NASB). 

At Home with the Lord

                The destination of a Christian is heaven not cyclic rebirth.   Consider these verses from the Christian Bible:  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain…But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake” (Phi. 1:21, 23-24 NASB).  we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8 NASB).  They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" (Acts 7:59 NASB).  And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43 NASB).

Reject Reincarnation

                Reincarnation does not answer the problem of evil.  It does not deal with sin correctly.  Christianity has no favoritism towards reincarnation because it is simply untrue.  It is contrary to the divine Scriptures of the Old and New Testament.  It is not just nor does it accomplish justice.  It does not purge us from our sin.  Rather, it is foreign to the justice of God and it is alien to the Christian gospel of the bodily Risen Redeemer.  It is militantly opposed to the heart of the Christian gospel.  Therefore, it must be rightly rejected.

Fearing Death?

                Jesus Christ vanquished death; He conquered it.  Death is unnatural to life.  Do you fear death, or perhaps what may come after death?  Christ has victory over the grave.  All before Him were thieves and robbers.  Christ has shown Himself to be the Living One.  And, in terms of after death, where He is we shall be also!  May the Christian sing, “Jesus lives, and so shall I.  Death! Thy sting is gone forever!  He who deigned for me to die, lives, the bands of death to sever.  He shall raise me from the dust:  Jesus is my Hope and Trust.”[vii]

Turning to the Risen Christ

                Now we shall turn to the certainty of the bodily Risen Christ.  “Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power” (1 Cor. 6:14 NASB).


[i] Walter Martin. The Riddle Of Reincarnation (Vision House Publishers: Santa Ana, California, 1977), 5-7.  This endnote includes the entire paragraph.
[ii] The Bible teaches the doctrine of eternal hell.  This scriptural doctrine is unpopular today.  But it is still true.  Hell is taught in Matt. 8:12, 25:41, 46 and Rev. 19:20.  Those who reject the gospel are sent to hell.  The reality of the doctrine of eternal hell, which was taught by Christ Himself, shows that reincarnation is not true.  Therefore, reincarnation must be rejected, and the scriptural doctrines must be believed.
[iii] Martin, 18-20.
[iv] Martin, 24-25.
[v] Martin, 24-26.
[vi] Martin, 26.  Dr. Martin states, “Yet this so-called karma law of justice seems to be turning me over forever on some kind of reincarnational cosmic spit, until at length I arrive at the place where I have some kind of absorption into something.  This philosophy is classic monism, in which there is only one reality and in which evil is negated.  But Scripture tells us that evil is real and is the opposite of the eternal God.  Evil exists by His permission, but it is real….One of the questions the reincarnationists have difficulty answering is, “Why can’t I remember my past so that I can profit from it in the present, and won’t have to suffer for it in the future?”  This very reasonable question never seems to get a satisfactory.” (p. 27).
[vii] Trinity Hymnal Baptist Edition, (Georgia:  Great Commission Publication, 2000), 596.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

The Confession of Sin in Repentance



Here is a unique, suggested prayer (if it is said, it must be said from the heart in sincerity like any prayer only to the one true God),

Dear God, whom I hate with all my being precisely because you hate and threaten me with hell, I hate this punishment perhaps even more than I hate you. Or, maybe I should say that I love my comfort even more than I hate you. For that reason I am asking a favor of you. I want you to make me love you, whom I hate even when I ask this and even more because I have to ask this. I am being frank with you because I know it is no use to be otherwise. You know even better than I how much I hate you and that I love only myself. It is no use for me to pretend to be sincere. I most certainly do not love you and do not want to love you. I hate the thought of loving you but that is what I'm asking because I love myself. If you can answer this 'prayer' I guess the gift of gratitude will come with it and then I will be able to do what I would not think of doing now—thank you for making me love you whom I hate. Amen.[1]

                We come now to the subject of confession of sin in repentance.  This chapter is meant to help you with confession of sin.  People may struggle with confession of sin, but God has blessed me to understand what sins I need to repent thereof.  I hope to help you as you confess your sin to God.  It is completely consistent with the teaching of the Bible to practice repentance.  The gift of repentance should be viewed as a divine treasure of God for helpless, poor, fallen sinners.  Every human being has the responsibility to repent of their sins.   No human being can make it to heaven without repenting of their sins.  Anyone who rejects the divine teaching of repentance excludes their soul from the eternal paradise of God in heaven.  This matter of repentance is neither a trifling matter nor a personal preference.  Rather, it is an imperative by God that all sinners must do. 
                First, I think it would be helpful to understand what we ought to say to God.  I do not mean that this prayer example is the only of its kind.  All prayers must be said in the spirit of sincerity, truth, righteousness.  If you want a biblical example of a prayer of repentance to God, read Psalm 51.  I do not mean by showing this prayer example below that these are somehow magical words.  No, but we must remain true to the divine truth of divine Scripture.  Nevertheless, here is a simple, basic, elementary prayer to God.  Within sanctification we need to repent over and over again of different sins, but if we wanted, we could use the same prayer to repent of different sins.  Moreover, we must confess our sins to God.  We could confess our sins to all Three Persons in the Trinity.  But we ought not to confess our sins to dead saints or angels.  Or we could confess our sins to a distinct Member of the Trinity.  Nonetheless, here is a basic example.  Imagine you have committed a sin, and now you need to confess it:  I acknowledge it, and forgive me Heavenly Father through Christ crucified.  Amen. [2] After this bear fruits of repentance in godly living.  We could also pray,

HOLY LORD,

I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, or failure to find thy mind in thy Word, of neglect to seek thee in my daily life.  My transgression and short-comings present me with a list of accusations, but I bless thee that they will not stand against me, for all have been laid on Christ; Go on to subdue my corruptions, and grant me grace to live above them.  Let not the passions of the flesh nor lustings of the mind bring my spirit into subjection, but do thou rule over me in liberty and power.  I thank thee that many of my prayers have been refused—I have asked amiss and do not have, I have prayed from lusts and been rejected, I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness.  Go on with thy patient work, answering ‘no’ to my wrongful prayers, and fitting me to accept it.  Purge me from every false desire, every base aspiration, everything contrary to thy rule.  I thank thee for thy wisdom and thy love, for all the acts of discipline to which I am subject, for sometimes putting me into the furnace to refine my gold and remove my dross.  No trail is so hard to bear as a sense of sin.  If thou shouldst give me choice to live in pleasure and keep my sins, or to have them burnt away with trail, give me sanctified affliction.  Deliver me from every evil habit, every accretion of former sins, everything that dims the brightness of thy grace in me, everything that prevents me taking delight in thee.  Then I shall bless thee, God of Jeshurun, for helping me to be upright.[3]

                Second, what are the assumptions of biblical repentance in the short prayer example that provided?  I have assumed that you know you have done wrong; that you have recognized your sin.  Sometimes this might be the hardest thing to see.  I have also assumed that you know you have offended God.  Contrite repentance is a realization of offending God not because of fear of punishment.  Moreover, you must repent through Christ crucified.  Why?  We must repent through Christ crucified because it is on the Cross of Calvary where our Lord atoned for sin to His Heavenly Father.  God appointed that His divine Son would freely die to expiate and propitiate the sin of His beloved people.  The Cross completely takes away our sin through Jesus Christ the Redeemer.  Without the Cross it would be impossible to receive forgiveness and cleansing.  We desperately need the all-sufficient Cross because we are fallen sinners. 
                Third, how we lived our life will be judged by the God-man on Judgment Day.  Christ will know whether we repented or not when we were alive.  He will see if you obeyed Him in His Word.  It is my intention to give you some homework to do to prepare for the Last Day.  Remember Christ Jesus is the Master of searching the minds and hearts of men and women.  This homework is mandatory for those who are serious about the state of their lives, and for those who seek to please God according to the Holy Ghost.  It has been shown that unconverted people live a life of sin.  It is my goal to locate the general sins we have committed and repent of them. 
It is my experience in repentance that an actual calendar of the days, weeks, months helps greatly in aiding me in detailed repentance.  It is my experience and recommendation that you obtain a calendar of your life.  Additionally, do not feel burdened, but be eager to repent of your sins, and your burden of sin will decrease.  But here is an example:  I was born on October 31, 1978, and the year I am in is 2007.  Since we were all conceived in sin, you might want to find out when you were conceived (e.g., repent of total depravity).  You might say “You are too extreme!”  I would rather repent then leave sin to chance.[4] God loves those who seek to do that which is right, and then practice that which is right.  You also might want to pray to the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what were your times of sin, and hours of darkness.  For me then I would get a calendar from 1978 to 2007, and therefore, you will be able to locate days, weeks, months.[5]  You might want to keep a record of what you have repented of.  Keep it in a safe place where no eyes can see because it is your personal repentance.  Next, you will have to consider what sins you have generally committed.  In my own experience I have located sins I believe all people are guilty of by nature, and it is wise to repent of the consequences and guilt of your sin.  Here is a listing of them to help you get started:

·         Total Depravity
·         Being full of sin
·         Not wanting to be saved by nature
·         Spiritual Insanity
·         Hatred of God
·         Being a child of misery
·         Partaker of original sin (simply being a sinner)
·         Careless words, thoughts, deeds
·         Not wanting accountability before God
·         Thoughts, Words, Deeds Against God
·         Wasted Time
·         Graceless
·         Being a rebel by nature
·         Ignorant of the things of God
·         All manner of selfishness
·         Self-destructiveness
·         Ingratitude
·         Stubborn in sin
·         Having a cold-heart
·         Unloving/Imperfect Love
·         Subconscious sins, transgressions, iniquities
·         If you broke one commandment you have broken them all
·         Prayerlessness/Sinful prayer
·         Having no repentance and faith
·         Having no fear of God
·         Spiritually Mute/Without Spiritual Understanding
·         Sexual sin in thought, word, deed

You might think “Well, I did not commit sexual sins everyday of my life.”  That might be true, but my suggestion is to always end up on the side of the gospel.[6]  It is better to repent of sexual sin all the days of your life then to miss days and offer no repentance to God about it.  If you miss repentance of sin, it is dishonoring to God.  But if you repent of your sins, at least you know it is covered.[7]  And let me say that I believe God will surely work with you as you seek out sin in your life if you are indeed in Christ Jesus.  You must belong to Christ in order to truly repent.  Do not be so presumptuous that you believe you do not need to particularly repent of the above sins.  I have gone over these sins in my life, and I have repented of each day regarding them.  It may take hours a day, but such is necessary: “…repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  I couldn’t bare another second to go by without repenting of all known sin.  I believe the life of a sinner is full of sin.  Blessed is the man who sees he is full of sin and repents of his sin.  The Bible teaches that your sins are as the stars of heaven or the sand on the seashore.  It is vital to repent of every sin.  Do you not want to please the Lord God Almighty?  And you must realize that repentance to a false God is worthless.  Therefore you must repent to the one true God of divine Scripture (the God of the Reformation).  If you do want to please your Lord, I suggest you put away the trifling things in your life and begin serious repentance.   Moreover, I have prayed for you that God would guide you through it.  You will be amazed at the burden that is lifted when you faithfully repent.  Remember that sin wants you to ignore its seriousness and consequences.  It will bring you to hell in self-deception.[8]
But there is no doubt that it takes a lot of persistence.  Be assured that you are forgiven if you have genuinely repented of your sins.  Moreover, do not repent of the same sin, unless there is a different element of sin that you have no repented of.  When people repent of the same sin, you are actually committing the sin of arrogance.  Know this: that when you repent of sin E, you are forgiven of sin E, and move on to the next sin.  Continue in faithfulness, obedience, submission to the Lord.  And if you can’t figure out what your sins are after these things: surrender yourself under God, and ask Him to reveal it to you (but remember after you complete the above assignment; repentance does not end there, it continues until death).  One day I wanted to know what sins I specifically committed, and I surrendered myself under the Holy Spirit and He revealed to me a lot of personal sin I was not aware of.  Moreover, read His blessed Word, for it searches the hearts of men and women, and hear the Word of God faithfully preached because this is where conviction takes place.  You must also faithfully repent throughout the day of specific sins that you commit.  Remain diligent, persistent, obedient. 
Psalm 51 reveals the biblical confession of sin from St. David.  Here we find a prayer model for when we confess sin to God through Christ:

1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.  4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.  5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.  6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.   7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  9Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.  10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  11Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.  13Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.  14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.  15O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.  16For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.  17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.  18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.  19Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.  (KJV).

We come now to the issue of confessing faults to brothers and sisters in Christ.  The Bible teaches that we ought to do this, but it denies absolution in the Romanist sense.  It is completely biblical to confess one’s faults to a reliable brother or sister in Christ.  When we do this we do not receive absolution, but healing.  The purpose of confessing one’s faults is to receive prayer-guidance and healing.  I remember when I was confessing sin to the Lord, I communicated to a friend what they were, and I was healed shortly after, but sometimes it takes time.  Confessing faults to a friend in Christ aids in the pursuit of healing.  For true believers in Christ we know that our faults do not break the divine truth of there being no condemnation in Christ.  But it is unbiblical to sin with license because we have no condemnation in Christ.[9]  It is also unbiblical to excuse repentance to God for sin when we think of there being no condemnation in Christ.  But being assured of our salvation helps with the repentance of sin because we are assured of our state in Christ Jesus.  If we are assured of it, we ought to wash our spiritual robes in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We now come to the don’ts of repentance.  We have already seen that you should not repent according to attrition.  You must understand that antinomianism is heresy and is forbidden by the Bible.  When we break God’s law, we must repent.  We ought not sin with premeditation but live in the presence of God in Christ.  We also must not think that we earn our salvation by repenting of our sins.  Do you know who saved you?  It was Christ who saved you, and therefore, repentance does not save you because Christ has accomplished the work of redemption in your place, if indeed you have placed your trust in Christ Jesus.  But do not put aside repentance: we are commanded to repent because it is right in the eyes of God, and according to a life of godliness and righteousness.  When you live your Christian life in Christ, do not try to get mischievously around God’s righteous law.  For example, some people believe if they do not engage in sexual intercourse, it is not sex, but this is foreign to God’s holy law.  Do not be your own god, or make God in your own image.  Do not disregard what the Bible says.  In truth, you ought to flee from all kinds of sexual immorality.  If you look at pornography you are engaging in fornication.  If you lust after a woman you are committing adultery.  If you know something is sin, like for example, to do wrongdoing to get ahead, and you do it nonetheless, and think God will forgive you, you have crucified the Son of God afresh and you have seriously dishonored God.  Such behavior and thinking is an eternal offense against God.  Why do you offend the One who died for His people?  Why do you grieve the Holy Spirit by your intentional sin?  You must realize that sin is extremely serious, and God could seriously chasten you, or cast you away like Saul.[10]  You must live a life worthy of the gospel, and not bring shame on the name of Christ.  You ought to seek the opposite of shame: to glorify, honor, praise God who brought you out of spiritual bondage and set your feet on the Incarnate Rock. 


[1] John H. Gerstner. The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards, Volume III, (Virginia: Berea Publications, 1993), p. 81.  I said something like this prayer around the time I gained assurance of salvation.  It is shocking to those who do not know the true depraved nature of man.  It is most assuredly a biblically-based prayer in support in having a right heart before God.  By nature we hate God with all of our being.  We are not lovers of God by nature, but God-haters.  Speak truth to God this day. 

[2] Do you wish to pray prayers to God that deeply please Him?  I would suggest to you that you obtain the prayer book, The Valley of Vision.  I think it is a most valuable prayer book that you could ever have. 
[3] Arthur Bennett, Ed.  The Valley of Vision.  (PA:  The Banner of Truth Trust, 2003), pp. 138-139.
[4] What do I mean?  Turn to Revelation chapter 2, and you will see Christ calling churches to repentance (Rev. 2:1-7, for example).  Do you see what happened when they did not repent?  We us, we need to be immersed in the Word of God, because it searches the hearts and minds of men.  It will convict us of our sin by the power of the Holy Ghost.  Once we are convicted we ought to repent and live godly.
[5] You might want to print out the years of your life by using www.timeanddate.com or some other way of keeping track of your repentance.  It is a helpful web site for calendars, and it has a print friendly option to use when you print out the calendars.  You could keep these calendars in a three-ring binder or folder.  This is an extremely helpful way of keeping track of your past sins, and present repentance. 
[6] Do you have a clear conscience before God and before men?  You will not have a clear conscience before God if you believe that you get grace by sinning.  Rather, God gives grace to the humble not the proud.  I ask you:  Does unrepentant sin trouble your mind?  Do you have a desire to reverse your sins?  Have you turned away from sin and turned to the Lord in repentance?  You ought to seek a clear conscience before God and before men.  This is well-pleasing in the sight of God. 
[7] After you are finished with what has been presented in terms of repenting of these specific sins, you might want to seriously consider locating the commands of the New Testament.  This is not meant to overwhelm you, but perhaps it will teach you how great a sinner you are in comparison to a perfect and holy and just God.  This should not drive you into despair but lead you to the loving and open arms of Christ at the Cross because it is at the Cross and nowhere else that Christ sufficiently atoned for sin in behalf of His people alone.  If you locate the commands of the New Testament, you will be able to find out where you have failed and where you do fail.  This will give you a chance to repent of all known sin in your life.  Under the title “New Testament Commands” at the link www.puritan-books.com/books/pdf/new_testament_commands.pdf, you will see a list of commands.  Moreover, you also might want to review the Westminster Larger Catechism on the Ten Commandments.  This aided me to seeking out sin in my life.  Therefore, take some time today to go through them and see where you have failed.  God will be deeply pleased with you when you locate sin and repent of it by His Almighty grace to the one true God of the Bible found in Reformed theology.  Remember, righteousness exalts a nation.  Repentance is a righteous act by God’s lovingkindness.
[8] If you think you have not sinned, you are deceived.  There is much sin in your life, and you need to repent of it.  Be miserable and mourn over your sin, and then you can have true joy of the peace of forgiveness. 
[9] I remember hearing this from one of my Professors at the undergraduate level.  We ought not to use our freedom from sin with intentional purpose to sin.  This is a vital note and should mark this so we will please the Lord, being in Christ.  But I remember one of my Professors at a private school thought that Calvinism meant we can do whatever we want.  But I assured him that such an understanding was foreign to the biblical understanding of Reformed theology.  Calvinists have never taught we should sin, but rather, we have taught a life of holiness, because let us never forget that election is unto holiness not unto sin.  I think people might want to believe with intentional malice that Calvinism teaches a lawless gospel so they can excuse their sin.  But again the biblical teaching of Calvinism is the freedom we have in Christ because of God alone, and because God in sanctification is working through His people.  God will finish the work He started without any doubt.  Calvinism teaches to live a life of true holiness by turning from sin, and trusting Christ.
[10] No true believer who has been drawn by God the Father will be cast off by God, but this does not mean we have a license to sin, but freedom from sin.  In the case of Saul, I believe he was clearly a nonbeliever.  You might say he was the unregenerate brother of Esau and Judas.  That is, he was ordained to destruction, and he never had saving faith.  All those who truly repent demonstrate that God has provided the evidence of their regeneration.  God the Son will never cast away anyone who truly comes to Him. 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

May We Cherish Jesus' Imputed Righteousness: It Is the Essence of Divine Grace

We ought to study Jesus' sufficient merit.  It is how we are right with God.  Nothing can take it away from us.  We stand complete in Jesus' divine righteousness imputed to us by faith alone.  A theologian once said,
In Christ we have a love that can never be fathomed; a life that can never die; a righteousness that can never be tarnished; a peace that can never be understood; a rest that can never be disturbed; a joy that can never be diminished; a hope that can never be disappointed; a glory that can never be clouded; a light that can never be darkened; a happiness that can never be interrupted; a strength that can never be enfeebled; a purity that can never be defiled; a beauty that can never be marred; a wisdom that can never be baffled; and resources that can never be exhausted
 Again John MacArthur wrote,
As Christians, we find complete sufficiency in Christ and His provisions for our needs. There’s no such thing as an incomplete or deficient Christian. Our Savior’s divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Human wisdom offers nothing to augment that. Every Christian receives all he and she needs at the moment of salvation. Each one must grow and mature, but no necessary resource is missing. There’s no need to search for something more.
Alexander MacLaren wrote,

In Christ, as a great storehouse, lie all the riches of spiritual wisdom, the massive ingots of solid gold which when coined into creeds and doctrines are the wealth of the Church. All which we can know concerning God and man, concerning sin and righteousness and duty, concerning another life, is in Him Who is the home and deep mine where truth is stored... The central fact of the universe and the perfect encyclopedia of all moral and spiritual truth is in Christ, the Incarnate Word, the Lamb slain, the ascended King.
Thomas Brooks author of The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures wrote,

O sirs! There is in a crucified Jesus – something proportionate to all the straits, needs, necessities, and desires of His poor people. He is bread to nourish them, a garment to cover and adorn them, a physician to heal them, a counselor to advise them, a captain to defend them, a prince to rule them, a prophet to teach them, a priest to make atonement for them; a husband to protect them, a father to provide for them, a brother to relieve them, a foundation to support them, a head to guide them, a treasure to enrich them, a sun to enlighten them, and a fountain to cleanse them! What more can any Christian desire – to satisfy him and save him; and to make him holy and happy – in time and eternity?
C.H. Spurgeon wrote,
Do not tell me that there is no rest for us till we get to heaven.  We who have believed in Jesus enter into rest even now.  Why should we not do so?  Our salvation is complete.  The robe of righteousness in which we are clad is finished.  The atonement for our sins is fully made.  We are reconciled to God, beloved of the Father, preserved by His grace, and supplied by His providence with all that we need.  We carry all our burdens to Him and leave them at His feet.  We spend our lives in His service, and we find His ways to be ways of pleasantness, and His paths to be paths of peace.  Oh, yes, we have found rest unto our souls!  I recollect the first day that I ever rested in Christ, and I did rest that day.  And so will all of you who trust in Jesus as I trusted in him.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Regarding Total Depravity and Roman Catholicism

What does the Bible teach about the nature of man?  Does it teach that man is injured or something else?  Does the Bible teach that man is totally depraved?  Let us look at what Roman Catholicism teaches on the nature of man.  I would suggest to you that Rome has her problems in criminal rape because she does not understand the nature of man.  I wouldn't say that those who do understand total depravity never harmed anyone but I would suggest to you I have heard it less often than in Roman Catholicism.  I suggest to you that we must understand the nature of man not to glorify man but to take the proper steps in believing the unified and pure righteousness of Christ alone by faith alone.
1714 Man, having been wounded in his nature by original sin, is subject to error and inclined to evil in exercising his freedom.
Here we see that Rome teaches that man is wounded in his nature because of original sin.  I suggest to you that the word "wounded" does not correspond with the Bible's view of the nature of man.  Here is what Rome teaches in her  Observations on ARCIC II’s Salvation and the Church that states,
With good reason the document seeks to address the question of good works beginning with a reflection on freedom, but the approach adopted remains insufficient from many points of view. The pre-eminent gift of that freedom which resulted from the redemption is properly underlined: “In restoring us to his likeness, God confers freedom on fallen humanity.'' But the explanation which follows provokes puzzlement: “This is not the natural freedom to choose between alternatives, but the freedom to do his will” (No. 19). Such an opposition between two kinds of freedom could in fact refer to a conception of human freedom which does not take full account of its created nature. According to Catholic doctrine, the deprivation of original righteousness which followed upon the sin of Adam 5 makes human persons incapable of tending, with the powers that remain to them, toward the supernatural end for which they were created. Nevertheless, as the Council of Trent adds in this perspective, sin does not totally corrupt human nature; it injures human nature without taking away its original capacity of pleasing God (cf. DS 1555, 1557, etc.).
Lets look at what the Bible teaches.  We shall see that it is a vastly different picture than what Rome teaches about the nature of man.  I suggest to you that we need to listen carefully at what is being said.

Romans 3 KJV
What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Genesis 6:11 KJV
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

Genesis 6:12 KJV
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

Exodus 32:7 KJV
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

Leviticus 22:25 KJV
Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.

Nehemiah 1:7 KJV
We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

Psalm 14:1 KJV
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Isaiah 1:4 KJV
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

2 Peter 2:19 KJV
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

Jude 1:10 KJV
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

Revelation 19:2 KJV
For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

Romans 1:23 KJV
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Romans 7:18 KJV
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.


I would suggest to you that the Bible teaches that man is no good and that he is radically corrupt.  How can we deal with the man's sin problem if we do not deal correctly with his fallen nature?  Maybe if we do not deal with man's fallen nature we will be taken off guard by gross or great sin.  May Rome repent of her false doctrine and come to the knowledge of the divine truth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  Amen.