Paper on Justification - Part 5

Paul spends a great deal of time on justification by faith. Justification does not change the person but it changes the person’s status. (1) Justification is an action that God takes on the elect person, relevant to that person. It is a judicial announcement of that person’s relationship to God. “It is Christ’s Obedience, both active and passive, that is imputed to the believer. To make any action (including the action of faith) the basis of justification is to take away from the righteousness of Christ, which is the true basis of Christian justification.” (1) Justification is a once for all action on God’s part. Someone that was justified cannot become unjustified because Christ’s work on the cross had forgiven all the sins of the person that was justified. Unlike justification, sanctification is the constant process or progressive work of the justified individual.

Throughout Romans, Paul makes clear the fact that every part of salvation belongs to God. God is the one who initiates and completes it. Here, we see, in what is called the golden chain of redemption, that each part of salvation is owned by God; “And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.” Romans 8:30 The freedom of God’s grace is the greatest joy that can be known. To know in both mind and hear that God predestine, called justified, and glorify all of His people from the darkness and drawing them to Him is an awesome thing. If that does not humble anyone than I don’t know what would. Nothing that man does can earn grace, merit it, purchase it, or force it. It is free or it wouldn’t be grace. (2) 

We see that without God’s intervention, no man would want to come to God Man would be happy living in his sinful desires. Paul places a focus on justification as an act of God that man has no part in. It is a one-time act, there is no need for it to happen again.. Once a Judge clears someone of a crime they are no longer tied to those crimes. The same is with God, once man is justified he is cleared of those crimes against God.

 

References

(1)        White, J.R. (2001) The God who justifies. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House.

(2)        White, J.R. (2009) The Potter’s Freedom 2^nd Edition. USA: Calvary Press Publishing.

 

 

Chris White

Paper on Justification - Part 4

Paul spent three chapters of Romans explaining the depravity and universal sinfulness of man. Before Paul gets into the Gospel he pins, "Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God." Romans 3:19 (ESV) This verse is a perfect segue into the gospel because it tells us that every man has need for a savior “The only person who longs to hear the good news of a way of forgiveness is the person who knows he is justly condemned and helpless.” (1)

Once a man realizes he is a lost and sinful man that is separated from God, he can listen to and understand the Good News in order to be saved. There is a difference between justification and sanctification.  But the difference is often muddied, even to the point that the two concepts are sometimes incorrectly combined into one action.  This misconception leads to a twisted gospel. “The many errors about the work of God in salvation could be avoided if everyone would recognize one fact: Justification, while intimately connected to sanctification, is a separate divine act, with differing time frame of operation. That is, while it is completely true that everyone who is justified will also be sanctified, it is likewise just as true that justification must be distinguished from sanctification. If it is not, tremendous errors result, for inevitably this wrong view results in a confusion of the experience of sanctification with the grounds upon which all of the work of God rests, the perfect sacrificial work of Christ on Calvary.” (2)

Chris White

WOW, just WOW!

Components of Worldview Thinking

Varying numbers of Americans embrace the different aspects of biblical worldview thinking. The survey found that:

§  One-third of all adults (34%) believe that moral truth is absolute and unaffected by the circumstances. Slightly less than half of the born again adults (46%) believe in absolute moral truth.

§  Half of all adults firmly believe that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches. That proportion includes the four-fifths of born again adults (79%) who concur.

§  Just one-quarter of adults (27%) are convinced that Satan is a real force. Even a minority of born again adults (40%) adopt that perspective.

§  Similarly, only one-quarter of adults (28%) believe that it is impossible for someone to earn their way into Heaven through good behavior. Not quite half of all born again Christians (47%) strongly reject the notion of earning salvation through their deeds.

§  A minority of American adults (40%) are persuaded that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life while He was on earth. Slightly less than two-thirds of the born again segment (62%) strongly believes that He was sinless.

§  Seven out of ten adults (70%) say that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who still rules it today. That includes the 93% of born again adults who hold that conviction.

 

Paper on Justification - Part 3

Being a self-righteous person is a grievous sin in God’s eyes. The actions of the Pharisees revealed self-righteous attitudes, which brought Jesus to denounce them on many occasions. There is no greater parable describing this than the following: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:10-14 (ESV)

Chris White

Paper on Justification - Part 2

Paul took very serious the gospel that he gave out and Romans is one of the best epistles that he wrote concerning the depth and process of the salvation of one of God’s people. Paul wastes no time making sure that the people that read this letter know their place. Everyone is sinful and totally depraved. "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." Romans 3:10b-12 (ESV) There can be no justification without the knowledge of the individual’s sin. Unless someone confesses their sin and that God is just in punishing the sin of man or, more importantly, the sin of the individual, they cannot be justified.

 

Chris White

 

Paper on Justification - Part 1

Salvation has been written about by many great theologians in more books than one can imagine. The depth that Paul was able to achieve in so few words is an act of the Holy Spirit and a proof of God’s hand in the writing of His word. I will attempt to briefly review justification, what it is and what part man and God each play in it. Paul relates the act of salvation through justification to a judicial system, where God is the perfect and just judge and man is the heathen criminal.

 

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Recent exchange

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Gal 1:8-9 (ESV)

 

What you told me was the following you received from God:

“The message was that we come from the dirt and we will return to the dirt and everything that we have (materials) is of no value to HIM the only real thing HE cares about is our love - love for HIM and for each other.  With our love for God all else falls into place.”

 

So what this has told me is that love is all we have to do, so love is the Gospel? This is completely contrary to what is taught in the Bible. What is Love? Love is the fulfillment of the Law:

 

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:9-10 (ESV)

 

So if we love you say? Can you? Do you love God? Truly? Let me ask you this, do you sin? Do you lie? Have you ever lied, stolen, thought about someone in impure ways, dishonored you father or mother, or used the Lords name in vain? All sins and each one separates you from God, each one on their own states that you do not love God. If you loved God you would not continue to sin, but you do. So what saves us? What is it that God truly wants? What is Gods will?

 

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:37-40 (ESV)

 

Go God’s will is that all the Father gives the Son, they by then believing, that Jesus will lose none and raise them up on that last day. It is not simply “believe in Jesus”, because there are many people, cults and even demons that believe in Jesus.  The gospel is actually a cluster of doctrines that support each other and cannot be taken singly.  The following are the basic doctrines that make up a simple form of the Gospel.  All should be central to your theology.

 

Affirm that God is Holy.

Affirm that Jesus is God in the Flesh

Affirm Substitutionary Atonement

Affirm we are Sinners by Nature and by Choice

Affirm that Assurance of Salvation Comes from Resting in the Sufficiency of Christ’s work on Our Behalf.

 

“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.” Mark 13:22-23 (ESV)

 

"For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things." 2 Corinthians 11:4-6 (ESV)

 

I am not standard or the basis of religion, I do not save myself and nothing I do can, but God. And if anyone teaches anything that is different than what we are taught in the Bible than it is wrong, no matter how small one may think it is. Stray from the path just slightly and your end goal will be changed drastically.

 

God Bless,

Chris White

Are we still under the Law? a brief look

We are under Law of old and more… In the Sermon on the Mount Christ makes it even harder, we are called to be perfect not just in deed but in thought.

 

This is the lack of sound teaching in the congregations today in America. We’ve removed the teachings of the Law and what is stated in the Bible as right and wrong (The Law). Instead we have completely made the Law look like the Gospel and in the end we have neither. All around in books and sermons, ect we see the misrepresentation of the Law and Gospel, often preachers are confusing the two. Or worse preaching one and not the other or preaching one over the other.

 

We are called to handle the Word of God properly. So let us define both Law and Gospel:

Law = everything that God commands.

Gospel = everything that God gives.

 

What He gives in the Gospel is everything He commands in the Law. When you need to know what you need to do, you go to the Law. But when you hear the law threaten you, you need to set the Law aside and plea to Christ.

Law is in Old Testament and New Testament as well as gospel in Old Testament and New Testament.

 

 Chris White

The kingdom of God is like...

The Kingdom of God can be compared to a Computer Network. While some will attempt to access it by force using programs and schemas to get through perceived loop holes or perceived breeches in security, others will attempt to impersonate a person with the appropriate privileges. Some will social engineer their way into the business to gain access, but only those that are granted permission by the Administrator will be granted true access.

Chris White

Wise words from John Owen

The principal cause of our divisions and schisms is no other than the ignorance or misapprehension that is among Christians of the true nature of that evangelical unity which they ought to follow after, with the ways and means whereby it may be attained and preserved. Hence it is come to pass, that, in the greatest pleas for unity and endeavors after it, most men have pursued a shadow, and fought uncertainly, as those that beat the air; for having lost every notion of gospel unity, and not loving the thing itself, under what terms so ever proposed unto them, they consigned the name of it unto, and clothed with its ornaments and privileges, a vain figment of their own, which the Lord Christ never required, nor ever blessed any in their endeavors to attain. And when they had changed the end, it was needful for them also to change the means of attaining it, and to substitute those in their room which were suited to the new mark and aim they had erected. Farther to evidence these things, we shall give some account of the nature of evangelical unity, the means of attaining it, with the false notion of it that some have embraced, and the corrupt means which they have used for the compassing of the same.

 

-John Owen. ‘A Discourse concerning Evangelical Love, Church Peace, and Unity’