Design 1:24 (Again)

Looks like my brother Jonathan is back up blogging. Set your bookmarks and RSS feeds accordingly.

http://design124.blogspot.com

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

The ABC's of the Bible- Vanity

Vanity is...

Life...

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

...if the gospel isn't true.

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Cor. 15:19)

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Limited Atonement Remix Part 8

VII. Limited Atonement and Evangelism

There are two objections of my view of the atonement that I have heard regularly which relate to evangelism.

1. How can you present a definite atonement to the lost?
I remember taking an exam about two years ago for my Systematic Theology II class and reading the question "Which view of the atonement allows for the most honest presentation of the gospel?" I was disappointed with the framing of the question but not in the least uncertain about the answer my teacher was looking for. So, knowing that my school, professor, and textbook all advocated 4-point Calvinism, I checked the box for unlimited atonement.

The problem I had with the question I was being asked was that it was a subjective question loaded with assumptions (none of my tests in that class strived for objectivity). The biggest assumption is that a person has to present the atonement to an unbeliever as something that was done on their behalf. If that were the case, why don't we find the apostles in Acts telling unbelievers "Jesus died for you." Instead we see more emphasis on what we should do in light of the fact that God is going to judge every person and Christ has died on the cross and risen from the grave.

Some of you might ask "how would you present the atonement to an unbeliever?" In short, I think it is appropriate to say "Jesus died so that if you repent of your sins and trust in him for your salvation your sins will be forgiven." I have written more extensively on evangelism here and here.

2. If Christ's death was only for some, what motivation is there to evangelize all?

The most obvious reason is that we don't know who is elect and who isn't. The bible doesn't tell Christians to only evangelize that elect. It gives assurance that those who are elect will be saved. In fact, Paul was encouraged in his efforts because of the definite nature of election and the atonement (Acts 18:10).

Evangelism is a form of worship and obedience. We should not treat it as if Jesus isn't able to save people without us regardless of our view of the atonement. Instead we joyfully obey Christ in propagating the gospel throughout the world.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Limited Atonement Remix Part 7

VI. For Whom Did Christ Die? (Sufficiency vs. Intention)

In light of the previous posts defining the nature of the atonement and some benefits of the death of Christ for non-believers (4/21/09 and 4/22/09) the question comes to mind, “for whom did Christ die?” That’s where we started right? The answer to that is that Christ’s death is sufficient for all men. That means that (hypothetically) if God had elected one more person than He has it would not have added an hour or 5 minutes or 2 more lashings to Christ’s suffering. The infinite value of the death of Christ is enough to save all of humanity. However, the death of Christ was intended for the salvation of a specific group, namely, those who would have faith in Him. Every person for whom the atonement was intended will come to faith in Christ at which time the benefits of the death of Christ will be applied to them.

So we can agree with Paul when he says, “[God is the] savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine. -John Newton

Bible Study: Romans 7:1-6 "released from the law"

Or do you not know, brothers —for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:1-6 ESV)

Though it was a result of Old Testament salvation by grace, obedience to the law was never a means of salvation (Rom. 3:20). The law has power only to condemn men to death for their sin (6:23), but no power to redeem them from it. Paul has already pointed out that God’s grace extended by faith in Jesus Christ brings death to and freedom from sin (Rom. 6:3–7). He now declares that faith in Him also brings death to the Law and consequently freedom from the law’s penalty. -John MacArthur (MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series: Romans)

The ABC's of the Bible- Unknown god

Acts 17:22-31:

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and a the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.

Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Limited Atonement Remix Part 6

V. In What Way Did Christ Die for Everyone? (Part 2)

One of the problems that I see in people in both camps of this debate is a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between God choosing to save all men to salvation and having an “attitude” of loving-kindness toward humanity as a whole. John 3:16 is one of many examples where it is best to see God’s love for the world as one for the whole of humanity because of the remnant which He has chosen to save for His glory. I have said before that the emphasis of John 3:16 is not to say that God really loves every single person in the world. But instead the emphasis is on the great love of God; which is demonstrated in that He gave His infinitely valuable Son to an infinitely undeserving group. God’s Son and “the world” are as much contrast as light and dark in John’s theology.

Another example is 2 Corinthians 5:19 where God is said to have “reconciled the world to himself…” the context, though it sounds more Arminian than the majority of the Bible, doesn’t contradict what we have already discussed in regard to Christ’s death. God has reconciled the world to Himself but He has also “entrusted us with the message of reconciliation.” What is that message? “…be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). So again we see that the text can’t be saying that everyone in the world is reconciled to God and we know from the rest of the Bible that not everyone will be reconciled to God.

In what way then has He done this? He has reconciled the world to Himself in that He has a people in the world (and from every part of the world) who will be reconciled through the truth of the message of reconciliation. Not only so but He also has these people in the world proclaiming to the world the truth that if they would repent and come to Christ with the empty hand of faith they would be reconciled as well.

The very fact that the verb “reconciled” is in the active voice when speaking of God and the passive voice when speaking to us should make it clear to us that Paul is not trying to say that every person has been reconciled already. If God has reconciled every single person to Himself you don’t then proclaim to a person “be reconciled!” because it would have already been done.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Limited Atonement Remix Part 5

V. In What Way Did Christ Die for Everyone? (Part 1)

In light of the nature of the atonement I have presented there are only two options for the object of the atonement for Christ. Either he died as a propitiation only for a definite group or he atoned for every person in the way presented by universalism (everyone will be saved through Christ no matter what they believed). Universalism is, of course, 100% unbiblical because we know that not every man who has ever lived will be saved.

But there is still one problem that must be addressed under the banner of limited atonement, namely, that all men do experience some things that were purchased by the death of Christ. There are two primary things that I want to address on this topic, namely, the innumerable blessings which God has bestowed on those who will never believe in Christ (known as common grace) and God’s salvific stance toward humanity.

“Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 657).

This topic is mostly fleshed out by theologians in two ways:

#1 Every single person has been created in the image of God and is therefore born with a special, undeserved privilege.

#2 Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies on the basis of the good things that God does for those who reject Him (Matthew 5:45).

The myriad of good which God has bestowed on men and women who will never turn to Him in faith and repentance could be considered unjust apart from the death of Christ. So it could be said that God was vindicated for the undeserved good which He pored out on those who would never be His people in the death of Christ.

This is a disputed doctrine that some theologians say is lacking in biblical evidence. It is possible that God is vindicated in the good that He bestows on the unbelieving in His wrath being pored out on them for eternity in hell. So I do not hang my belief that there are things that were purchased for every person on the cross completely on common grace. The next post will address the gospel message itself and how it relates to the few passages with a “unlimited atonement” flavor.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Song of the Redeemed

We sing it in the darkest place
Cause love is in Your powerful name
Shine the light of beauty and grace
We’re living in the name that can save

We sing to You the song of the redeemed
You’ve beautified our hearts and made us clean
You’ve rescued us from death and set us free
We sing to You the song of the redeemed

We adore You and before You,
forgiven and redeemed
All races from all places,
Around the cross we sing (Charlie Hall)

Bible Study: Romans 6:15-23 "Be for sin the double cure..."

Romans 6:15-23

[The] gospel of the grace of God promotes real holiness in men by remembering that THE SALVATION WHICH IT BRINGS IS SALVATION FROM THE POWER OF SIN. When we preach salvation to the vilest of men, some suppose we mean by that a mere deliverance from hell and an entrance into heaven. It includes all that, and results in that, but that is not what we mean. What we mean by salvation is this—deliverance from the love of sin, rescue from the habit of sin, setting free from the desire to sin. Now listen. If it be so, that that boon of deliverance from sin is the gift of divine grace, in what way will that gift, or the free distribution of it, produce sin? I fail to see any such danger. On the contrary, I say to the man who proclaims a gracious promise of victory over sin, "Make all speed: go up and down throughout the world, and tell the vilest of mankind that God is willing by his grace to set them free from the love of sin and to make new creatures of them." Suppose the salvation we preach be this:—you that have lived ungodly and wicked lives may enjoy your sins, and yet escape the penalty—that would be mischievous indeed; but if it be this,—you that live the most ungodly and wicked lives may yet by believing in the Lord Jesus be enabled to change those lives, so that you shall live unto God instead of serving sin and Satan,—what harm can come to the most prudish morals? Why, I say spread such a gospel, and let it circulate through every part of our vast empire, and let all men hear it, whether they rule in the House of Lords or suffer in the house of bondage. Tell them everywhere that God freely and of infinite grace is willing to renew men, and make them new creatures in Christ Jesus. Can any evil consequences come of the freest proclamation of this news? The worse men are, the more gladly would we see them embracing this truth, for these are they who most need it. I say to every one of you, whoever you may be, whatever your past condition, God can renew you according to the power of his grace; so that you who are to him like dead, dry bones, can be made to live by his Spirit. That renewal will be seen in holy thoughts, and pure words, and righteous acts to the glory of God. In great love he is prepared to work all these things in all who believe. Why should any men be angry at such a statement? What possible harm can come of it? I defy the most cunning adversary to object, upon the ground of morals, to God's giving men new hearts and right spirits even as he pleases. (Charles Spurgeon)

The ABC's of the Bible- Theophilus

THEOPHILUS [thih AHF uh luhs] (lover of God) —

a Christian to whom Luke dedicated the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). The fact that Luke spoke of Theophilus as “most excellent” indicates that he was a prominent man of high rank and possibly a Roman. He may have chosen the name when he was converted to Christianity. According to tradition, both Luke and Theophilus were natives of Antioch in Syria. Much speculation surrounds Theophilus, but little is known for certain about him. (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

Imagine having two books written with you in mind that survive for over 2,000 years. Clearly God used this man as motivation for Luke's writing of the most thorough account of the life and ministry of Jesus. To borrow the inspired words in Romans, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:33)

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

The Strange Grace in Apostasy

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. 1 John 2:19

In studying 1 John I discovered something…John made a mistake. That’s right. The Bible can’t be inerrant, which means it must be…errant. You see, as I was reading I saw here in 2:19 where it says “…that it might become plain that they all are not of us…” and I yelled (in my head) “John! Stop talking like God intended this to happen!” But alas, John cannot hear my screaming thoughts, not from Jerusalem, nor from Patmos, nor from Heaven. So I am left with this strange verse.

I am kidding of course. The Bible doesn’t make mistakes; I make mistakes (according to my professors, spell check, and my girlfriend). So instead of yelling at John or claiming that God-breathed Scripture is errant I have to figure out what John meant and what the implications of that meaning are for my life.

So what does the Holy Spirit speaking through John mean when speaking about apostasy in 1 John 2? I think the meaning of this is that those who currently deny Christ as Lord, whether by word or actions (James 2:14), have never been saved by Christ; and therefore have never truly been a member of the flock of Christ. But the surprising thing about this is that John claims that the “going out” of these antichrists was by design.

But who is the designer? I doubt John is saying that the designer is the apostate because it doesn’t seem like they would do something so bad in order to be nice to the true flock. The clear implication is that God is working this terrible act of rebellion for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

But why? What grace could there possibly be in God causing those who were “not of us” to “go out from us”? I came up with 4 reasons:

To preserve the truth of the gospel. 1 John 2:22 connects a theme of 1 John, namely, being a liar, with these apostates who claim that Jesus is not the Christ. That is not to say that every unregenerate person goes that far in their explicit teaching but any person who’s life has not been changed by the gospel cannot grasp the fullness of the gospel (1 John 2:20) and will distort it in some way.

To protect the flock from deceivers. 1 John 2:26 makes this point clear. I don’t know any good pastor who says, “I sure do hope there are some wolves in my flock.” That is not to say that non-Christians shouldn’t be allowed to come to church services and activities. It is to say that they shouldn’t be a part of the flock.

To present the church without spot or wrinkle. Let’s face it, there are 80 year-old ladies who have taken a seat in a pew every week for the last 75 years who will die lost because they did not truly embrace Christ as their Savior. But Scripture still reveals that anytime a goat leaves the flock it’s a win for the church. Remember Paul’s reason in Ephesians 5 for Christ’s death, “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (5:26-27).

To promote evangelism of the apostate. This lesson is definitely found in the Bible (Matthew 18:15-20, remember to treat someone like a heathen or a tax collector includes evangelism). I didn’t fully see this truth until it crashed into my life. Last year I learned that two people with whom I had attended church abandoned the faith. I got the chance to plea with them to obey the gospel and put their faith in Christ. But had those two not gone out I would not have had the opportunity to ask them to genuinely come in. Neither of them have repented (to my knowledge) but at least all the cards are on the table.

Long post, I know. But I hope it was helpful.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Limited Atonement Remix Part 4

IV. What is central to the atonement?

When entering debate on any subject one must be willing to understand his opponent’s position. I have read and listened to enough Arminian and non-Calvinist teaching on the subject of the atonement to feel pretty good about my understanding of their position. To them this is not a debate about the atonement alone; it is a debate about the love of God. Taking several key texts into consideration there is no way I can object to that (for example, Romans 5:8 and 1 John 4:10).

For the Calvinist, however, this is looking at the atonement itself and how it fits into the whole of God’s redemptive plan. Though I do not base my understanding of the atonement on my understanding of Unconditional Election (in fact I have often said that I would still hold to this view of the atonement even if I believed in Conditional Election) I do see the importance of bearing in mind how God has put His purpose of salvation into motion.

So what is the central aspect of the atonement? I think Romans 3:25-26 gives the answer:

God put [Jesus Christ] forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

At first glance this verse may not appear to lend credibility to one side of the debate or the other. But look deeper into Paul’s argument and see what he is saying.

Context: Every single person is guilty of sin before God and liable to judgment (Romans 3:23). Not only so but they are in a continual state of rebellion and enmity with God (Romans 3:10-20).

Christ’s death is described as: Propitiation. This is a wrath bearing sacrifice. By definition, Christ did not propitiate us, rather, he propitiated God. God’s wrath was (quenched, satisfied, absorbed) on behalf of every person for whom the propitiation substituted. This means that if Christ propitiated God on your behalf God’s wrath that would otherwise be poured out on you in hell has been emptied out on Christ.

How propitiation is applied: By faith. Arminians use this to justify the belief that propitiation was made on behalf of every single person who has ever lived. At first this seems to be Paul’s point when he says, “…to be received by faith” as if there is this big “pool” of propitiation and all one must do to receive it is have faith in the provider. That might sound good but the word “propitiation” does not allow for that kind of understanding, lest God pour out His wrath on previously canceled sins. Paul further explains the place of faith in propitiation when he says

“This was to show God’s righteousness, because he had passed over former sins…[and] at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

So God has passed over past sins (see 2 Samuel 12:13) and He can be just in justifying the one who has faith in Christ. So even apart from Unconditional Election we see that if God knew who would have faith in Christ His purpose would be fulfilled in providing propitiation for their sins. It would be counter to Paul’s argument that God was seeking to be “just” if he was arguing that God was pouring out His wrath for people He knew would not have faith and then unjustly pouring it out again on those people in hell.

So we can understand the first reference to faith “…to be received by faith” to mean that this propitiation applied to the person when he has faith in Christ rather than assuming the large propitiation “pool.”

Later I will demonstrate that there are ways in which Christ’s death had positive effects for those who would never put their faith in him. But that is not where this debate rests. The central aspect of the atonement was made on behalf of those who would put their faith in Christ. That is true regardless of your position on Election.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Low in the Grave He Lay

1. Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
  waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

2.Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
 vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

3. Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
  he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain:
Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose! (Robert Lowry)

Good Friday

For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors. -Isaiah 53

The ABC's of the Bible- Satan: The Insanity of Lucifer

Satan is not someone with whom Christians should have anything to do (Jude 9). There are many things which I could emphasize when talking about Satan from the Bible. However, because this is holy week I will emphasize the triumph of Christ over him.

I have referenced John Piper's book Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ several times but I think the book makes a good point as we approach the celebration of the resurrection and and the topic of Satan at the same time.

The question Piper wants to answer is "why Satan would lead Judas to betray Jesus. Didn’t he know that the death and resurrection of Jesus would result in his final defeat (Col. 2:13–15; Rev. 12:11)?" (page 100).

Piper's answer:

Satan saw that his efforts to divert Jesus from the cross had failed. Time after time Jesus kept the course. His face was set like flint to die (Luke 9:51, 53), and Satan concluded that there was
no stopping him. Therefore, he resolved that if he couldn’t stop it, he would at least make it as ugly and painful and as heartbreaking as possible. Not just death, but death by betrayal. Death by abandonment. Death by denial (Luke 22:31–34). Death by torture. If he could not stop it, he would drag others into it and do as much damage as he could. (page 101)

The subtitle of this post is taken from the title of Chapter 5 of R.C. Sproul's wonderful book The Holiness of God, "The Insanity of Luther" and so I cannot end this post without quoting from Luther's hymn on the topic at hand.

The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him. (A Mighty Fortress is Our God)

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Limited Atonement Remix Part 3

III. What Did Christ’s Death Accomplish?

As I said in parts 1 and 2 of this series I do not believe that the most important part of this discussion is Christ’s death being for either the whole world or just the elect. Rather, I believe that this is a debate about the nature of the atonement (that is, what did Christ actually accomplish). So many people think of Christ’s death as an opportunity for salvation.That is not biblical. It is my contention that Christ’s death purchased more than just the opportunity for salvation; it purchased salvation itself for a definite group.

The following is a list of things that the death of Christ accomplished for those who believe. I think it should be clear by looking at this that Christ’s death was as a substitute for a people whom God intended to save.

Absorption of the wrath of God (Romans 3:25)
Cancellation of the record of debt (Colossians 2:13)
Complete obedience that became our righteousness (Philippians 2:8, Romans 5:9)
Purchase of the new covenant (Mark 14:24, Jeremiah 32:40)
In order that we might be blameless (Colossians 1:22, 1 Corinthians 5:7)
To obtain for us all things that are good for us (Romans 8:32)
To deliver us from the present evil age (Galatians 1:4)
Reconciliation with God (Romans 5:10)
Access to the holiest place (Hebrews 10:19)
He became a sympathetic high priest (Hebrews 4:15-16)
Freedom from the slavery of sin that we might live to righteousness (Rev. 1:5-6, 1 Peter 2:24)
To enable us to live by faith in him (Galatians 2:20)

If all of these things were accomplished for the whole world than the whole world would be saved. This should be even more clear in the next part of the series as we examine propitiation.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Limited Atonement Remix Part 2

See Introduction.

II. Who Limits the Atonement?

The reason Calvinist’s are stuck with the term “Limited Atonement” is because of where the spotlight is almost always placed in the discussion. Calvinists willingly limit the “scope” of Christ’s atoning death (that is, the group for whom Christ died) in order to avoid limiting the nature of the atonement (what Christ died to accomplish). So we can conclude that both sides of the debate believe in some aspect of the atonement being “limited.”

For this reason many Calvinists (including myself) prefer the terms Definite Atonement or Particular Redemption over Limited Atonement. This puts the emphasis on the fact that Christ died to purchase redemption for a specific people. It sets forth a positive definition of the atonement rather than an “anti-Arminian” definition.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o'er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o'er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
'Tis an ocean vast of blessing, 'tis a haven sweet of rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 'tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

-Samuel Trevor Francis

Bible Study: Romans 6:1-14 "from death to life"

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

"Mortification, putting off the old man; several ways this is expressed...The corruption that dwelleth in us is the body of sin, consisting of many parts and members, as a body. This is the root to which the axe must be laid. We must not only cease from the acts of sin (this may be done through the influence of outward restraints, or other inducements), but we must get the vicious habits and inclinations weakened and destroyed; not only cast away the idols of iniquity out of the heart." -Matthew Henry

The ABC's of the Bible- Resurrection

Here Erwin Lutzer gives a good survey of the importance of Christ's resurrection and how we can look forward to our own.


"And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:17)

Happy Atheism Day!

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." (Psalm 53:1)

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:22-23)

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Corinthians 1:20)

Just remember...

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

Grace and Peace,
Stephen