Rev J R Vassar

If God is holy, sovereign, wise, good, powerful, and abounding in steadfast-love, let us resolve to no longer ascribe greater authority to our fears than we do to God.

09/11 a wake-up call

Ten years ago, I repeatedly hear the question raised, "where was God in all of this? where was God on 9/11 when the planes crashed into the twin towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania? My answer then was the same as it is now: God was in the precise place on 9/11 that He was on the day before and the day after. He was on His throne then and continues to be on His throne now because He is the Lord God omnipotent who reigns. He reigns day in and day out in consistent manifestation of His immutable sovereignty. God is immutably, unchanging, even though people and cultures continually change.

We are like Habakkuk, who, in his consternation over the fact that God used a foreign power to chasten His own people, stationed himself in a watchtower, demanding an answer from God as to how He could allow such wickedness to prevail. Unlike Habakkuk's reaction when God answered that question in His Holy Word, our lips do not quiver, our legs doe not shake, our bellies do not tremble, nor does rottenness enter our bones (Hab. 3:16). Rather than repent in dust and ashes before a holy God, we continue to shake our fists in His face, demanding a more benevolent providence from His hand.

Any nation that seeks to supplant God's sovereignty with its own is doomed. Is is doomed to failure, destruction, and insignificance. 

Many things have changed in the last ten years, but some have not. Saddam Hussein is gone, but terrorism is still here. Osama bi Laden is dead, but there still is no peace in the Middle East. Islam has grown exponentially in the West, but it has demonstrated again and again that it is, in fact, not a religion of peace. Its symbol today is the symbol it has had from its beginning - the scimitar or sword. This symbol stands in vivid contrast to the Christian faith. Islam has a theology that glorifies conquest; Christianity has a theology of the Cross. In Islam, it is still a virtue to slay the infidel, and this virtue is sought by suicide bombers around the world. But in God's sight, it is still a virtue to love our enemies and to pray for those who deceitfully use us.

My fear is that we haven't learned very much from 9/11. On 9/11, then years ago, more babies (American Citizens) were destroyed (murdered/in terror) in the wombs of their mothers than people were killed in the terrorist attack in New York. That destruction continues to this day. The greatest attacks on the sanctity of life come not from al-Qaeda but from those who destroy their young. God will not continue to tolerate any nation that practices that culture of (monstrous) death and barbarism.

What is most tragic is that when we were given a wake-up call ten years ago (to repent and trust in Christ) on 9/11, we pushed the snooze button and went back to sleep. 


Dr R C Sproul  - invest in Tabletalk Magazine it may be more valuable to your soul that all your Holiday presents this year.

9-11 aftermath

Since the fall, such sins have been common to all men everywhere, and the works of sinful flesh are evident: terrorists attacks at the hands of committed and conservative Muslims; the murderous crusades led by cross-draped and body-armored Biblically confused Catholics in the name of Christ; indiscriminate mass murders by fame-seeking, face-masked American high school students; discriminatory holocausts fueled by the psychotic minds of nationally appointed madmen; and government-supported, socially accepted infanticide in the once-safe wombs of inconvenienced women and their self-centered, irresponsible "men".

Although the horrific events of Sept 11th, 2001, sent shock waves throughout the world, our sovereign God was neither shocked nor surprised, and though the world has changed and will continue to change, the one and only God of the Bible has not changed but is forever changing His world by building His kingdom through the advance of the Gospel by His sovereign hand and for His own glory.

Burk Parsons of Tabletalk Magazine

Preach the gospel—use actions when necessary; use words always.

"Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words."

This is a favorite lie of the Liberal/Emergent Church – using false quotes to back up their false religion.

I've heard the quote once too often. It's time to set the record straight—about the quote, and about the gospel. Francis of Assisi is said to have said, "Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words."

This saying is carted out whenever someone wants to suggest that Christians talk about the gospel too much, and live the gospel too little. Fair enough—that can be a problem (but it usually isn’t). Much of the rhetorical power of the quotation comes from the assumption that Francis not only said it but lived it.

The problem is that he did not say it. Nor did he live it. And those two contra-facts tell us something about the spirit of our age.

* * *

Let's commit a little history (let me un-humbly draw on some chapters from my biography of St. Francis).

First, no biography written within the first 200 years of his death contains the saying. It's not likely that a pithy quote like this would have been missed by his earliest disciples.

Second, in his day, Francis was known as much for his preaching as for his lifestyle.

He began preaching early in his ministry, first in the Assisi church of Saint George, in which he had gone to school as a child, and later in the cathedral of Saint Rufinus. He usually preached on Sundays, spending Saturday evenings devoted to prayer and meditation reflecting on what he would say to the people the next day.

He soon took up itinerant ministry, sometimes preaching in up to five villages a day, often outdoors. In the country, Francis often spoke from a bale of straw or a granary doorway. In town, he would climb on a box or up steps in a public building. He preached to serfs and their families as well as to the landholders, to merchants, women, clerks, and priests—any who gathered to hear the strange but fiery little preacher from Assisi.

He apparently was a bit of a showman. He imitated the troubadours, employing poetry and word pictures to drive the message home. When he described the Nativity, listeners felt as if Mary was giving birth before their eyes; in rehearsing the crucifixion, the crowd (as did Francis) would shed tears.

Contrary to his current meek and mild image, Francis's preaching was known for both his kindness and severity. One moment, he was friendly and cheerful—prancing about as if he were playing a fiddle on a stick, or breaking out in song in praise to God and his creation. Another moment, he would turn fierce: "He denounced evil whenever he found it," wrote one early biographer, "and made no effort to palliate it; from him a life of sin met with outspoken rebuke, not support. He spoke with equal candor to great and small."

Another early biography talked about how his preaching was received: "His words were neither hollow nor ridiculous, but filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, penetrating the marrow of the heart, so that listeners were turned to great amazement."

As a result, he quickly gained followers, and it wasn't long before he told his most devoted adherents to preach as well. In the fall of 1208, he sent the brothers out two by two to distant reaches. What did he tell them to say? In an early guide written during this period, Francis instructed his brothers to tell their listeners to "do penance, performing worthy fruits of penance, because we shall soon die … . Blessed are those who die in penance for they shall be in the kingdom of heaven. Woe to those who do not die in penance, for they shall be children of the devil whose works they do and they shall go into everlasting fire."

This last quote raises questions about the content of Francis' preaching. He was clearly a product of his age and his church. It's hard to tell sometimes if "penance" for Francis meant something more akin to biblical repentance, or to the medieval version of "works righteousness" that the Reformers eventually and rightly condemned.

The point is this: Francis was a preacher. And the type of preacher who would alarm us today. "Hell, fire, brimstone" would not be an inaccurate description of his style.

* * *

Why is it, then, that we "remember" Francis as a wimp of a man who petted bunnies and never said a cross word, let alone much about the Cross?

I suspect we sentimentalize Francis—like we do many saints of ages past—because we live in a sentimental age. We want it to be true that we can be nice and sweet and all will be well. We hope against hope that we won't have take the trouble to figure out how exactly to talk about the gospel—our unbelieving friends will "catch" the gospel once our lifestyle is infected with it.

"Preach the gospel; use words if necessary" goes hand in hand with a postmodern assumption that words are finally empty of meaning. It subtly denigrates the high value that the prophets and Jesus and Paul put on preaching. Of course we want our actions to match our words as much as possible. But the gospel is a message, news about an event and a person upon which the history of the planet turns. As blogger Justin Taylor recently put it, the Good News can no more be communicated by deeds than can the nightly news.

Many have noted how Francis modeled his life on Jesus. But it wasn't just about the life of poverty, but also the life of preaching. We have no instance of Jesus performing a miracle and not speaking a word of comfort or challenge afterwards.

Paul articulated succinctly what Francis and Jesus felt in their souls: "How are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" (Rom. 10:14).

To be sure, words used cheaply, thoughtlessly are worse than no words at all. As Westmont College professor Marilyn McEntyre says in an essay in the upcoming August issue of Christianity Today, "In an environment permeated with large-scale, well-funded deceptions, the business of telling the truth, and caring for the words we need for that purpose, is more challenging than ever before."

That being said, a better saying (which you can attribute to anyone you like) is this: Preach the gospel—use actions when necessary; use words always.

Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today. He is author of A Great and Terrible Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Attributes of God (Baker).

Mark Galli | posted 5/21/2009 11:41AM

Christianity Today

Colossians 1:19-23 my class notes

Colossians Class chapter 1 verses 19-23

Last time I taught, we spoke about the relationship between the books of Philemon and Colossians; today we’ll focus on the parallels from Ephesians and Colossians.

But before we begin is anyone having any problems with the rotating leaders, I know we all have different teaching styles, I just want to be sure everyone’s doing okay? Any concerns?

First read Col 1:19-23

Vs 19

It would appear from the following chapters that the false teachers at Colossae were teaching submission to spirits or angelic authorities as a way of overcoming their fear of not being found acceptable before God. Read Col. 2:8-15,18.

Questions #1 - So our question then is how are we found acceptable before God?

I like Romans 3:20-4:8 which says not by our good works done in righteousness, but by faith.

Vs 20

Christianity maintains that we are acceptable before God on account of Christ’s perfect obedience for us and his atonement for our sins, received by faith.

Question #2 – Does that mean we are we saved by works?

Yes, but we’re saved by Christ’s works not our own. Eph 1:3-14

Vs 21-22

The Colossians, like us, were once enemies of God and alienated from Him. But now we have been made 1 with Him, having been adopted and given peace with God through Christ’s passive obedience (his going to the Cross) and his active obedience (his 30+ years of moral perfection). I mention both because both were required for our salvation. If Christ was perfect but didn’t die for our sins then he would be holy and we would still be dead in our sins. If he was crucified, claiming to die for our sins, but wasn’t perfect himself then he could only die for his sins and not as the substitute for ours.

Question #3 - What was our relationship to God prior to conversion? Eph 2:1-10

Vs 23a

Genuine saving faith is enduring, its not hoping maybe we’ll be saved but being assured that all the work needed to accomplish salvation was done in Christ, it is a sure foundation. (For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. – 1 Corinthians 3:11 ESV.)

Question #4 – Will genuine believers continue in the faith or fall away?

Genuine believers, who have been reconciled with God, will persevere in faith and obedience because aside from being declared righteous (the theological term is Justification/Justified) they are also new creations with a new disposition that now loves God, hates sin and desires obedience. (Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

1John 2:19 those that fall away are to show that they were never really with us, or John 6:39-40 if you are in Christ he keeps you with him, and again John 10:29

Vs 23b

“In all creation” – again Paul uses hyperbole here (a literary exaggeration); he is now in Rome writing this letter (the Capital of the only World Superpower in his day) and his ministry has been to many of the major Roman urban centers because of that he understood himself as having already reached the entire civilized world.

And this also parallels Christ’s call to go out and peach the Gospel to the entire World. (And Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Mark 16:15 ESV & Luke 24:45-47 Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.)

Wrap up question:

Because of this, instead of regularly hearing sermons like 5 more steps for you to become more self-righteous (think Joel Osteen, the Pope, Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Rick Warren) should you be hearing sermons that regularly stress repentance and the forgiveness of sins won in Christ for you? And then should your voice in the community be ‘oh no, America’s becoming increasingly immoral’, or should it be ‘of-course America is full of sinners (you & me included) who need to repent and trust in Christ’s work accomplished for them for the forgiveness of their sins’?

Pope Benedict has written (in his book Jesus of Nazareth) and announced publicly that the Catholic Church will no longer actively attempt to convert Jews (who reject Jesus) to Christianity – (due to Romans 11) he says any converted Gentile will be in heaven (that’s the Church’s focus) and God will convert all Jews himself later - so don’t worry about it.

Rick Warren has actually asked Allah “the All-Merciful One” for forgiveness you can find this at the end of his introduction to a letter entitled “a Christians response to A Common Word between Us (Muslims) and You (Infidels/Christians)”.

Joel Osteen in a Washington Times article Osteen: Americans’ faith at all-time high Osteen says he does think Mormons are Christians - I believe that [Mormons] are Christians, I don’t know if it’s the purest form of Christianity, like I grew up with. But you know what, I know Mormons. I hear Mitt Romney — and I’ve never met him — but I hear him say, ‘I believe Jesus is the son of God,’ ‘I believe he’s my savior,’ and that’s one of the core issues.

Just an FYI - Mormon’s also believe Satan is the son of God and spirit bother to Jesus Christ and that 6 foot Quakers live on the Moon – that’s not a joke. The following quotation of the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, As recorded in the Mormon's "Journal of Oliver Huntington" Vol.2, pg166 at Utah State Historical Society. "The inhabitants of the moon are of a more uniform size than the inhabitants of the earth Being about 6 feet in height, they dress very much like the Quaker style and are quite general in style, or the fashion of dress. They live to be very old though coming generally near 1000 years."

 

Rob Bell says there is no real Hell only the Hell of your own making in this world or in your mind.

Yet no one in all the Scriptures had more to say about Hell than Jesus. No stern messenger of doom from the era of the Judges, no fiery Old Testament prophet, no writer of imprecatory psalms, and no impassioned apostle not even all of them combined—mentioned Hell more frequently or described it in more terrifying terms than Jesus Himself. Rob Bell is clearly unhappy with Jesus’ teaching about hell. He finds the very idea of Hell morally repugnant and believes it is one of the main reasons “why lots of people want nothing to do with the Christian faith.” He scoffs at the idea that divine justice requires endless punishment for unrepentant sinners. In direct opposition to what Jesus Himself taught in Matthew 25:46, Bell insinuates that it would be a gross, cosmic atrocity if the doom of the reprobate is everlasting in the same sense that heaven’s blessings for the redeemed are everlasting.

 

Brian McLaren’s Gospel from page 139 from his book a New Kind of Christianity - Jesus’ gospel says the Kingdom of God is at hand [which means] God’s new benevolent society is already among us...the phrase which shimmers and glows in relation to the dominant social reality of Jesus time: the kingdom-oriented term “Christ” means “liberating king,” the one who will free God’s people from oppression, confronts and humbles their oppressors, and then lead both of them into a better day.

This sounds nice, but says nothing about sinners receiving repentance and faith for the forgiveness of their sins won by Christ, which is the Gospel and everything we just read Biblically today.

Theology Paper - Christ focused/Scripture laden

Is Jesus the only way to heaven?

This question itself shows a complete misunderstanding of who Jesus is. So, first I will answer the question of who Jesus is, show why he is one of a kind in the vast malaise of spiritual gurus today, and then list the Scriptures to what we must do since this is the case.

So who is Jesus? Is he a just a poor Jewish teacher – a homeless rabbi?

Is he a pacifist political dissident – a bearded Gandhi?

Let us remember Exodus 3 when Moses is at the burning bush meeting God himself, Moses asks what if the people of Israel ask your name and God replies –I am who I am. Well later in John 8:23-24, Jesus said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am who I am - you will die in your sins.” It is a myth that Christ never claimed deity, he often invoked the divine name I am who I am for himself, he claimed to come down from heaven, claimed to pre-exist before the Old Testament Jewish fathers, that he and the Father are 1, and his own designated title the Son of Man from Daniel 7 is a claim to be the 1 and only given – by God the Father – an Eternal kingdom and dominion over all peoples, of all languages and in all nations.  

Or how about even earlier, Genesis 1:1 says Yahweh Elohim created the heavens and the Earth, but wait both Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1 say Jesus created the heavens and Earth. So which is it God or Jesus? Well John 1 helps us out with that. John also says that Jesus created all things and made the world but he goes further in telling us also that Jesus is both with God and is God. Let me say that again the Bible makes clear not just that the Earth was created but that our God, Savior and Christ Jesus created it. We should also meditate on John 20:26-31 which tells of an appearance of Christ to the disciples after the crucifixion –Eight days later, and his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (That’s repentance and faith.) Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Even from the lips of doubting Thomas, Jesus is not just another good, moral religious teacher but Lord and God in flesh proved by his self-resurrection from the dead.

Jude, a former unbeliever, will go even further in 1:5-7 when he says of his own half-brother, that it was Jesus who, thousands of years earlier, led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt to go to the wilderness where they would receive God’s Law, and it was Christ who destroyed the unbelievers wandering there in the wilderness, and it is Jesus who has reserved the fallen, reprobate angels for their final judgment to come, and it was Christ who destroyed the sexually immoral from Sodom and Gomorrah who pursued both heterosexual and homosexual lusts instead a right standing before him.

But even these are not the limit to how Jesus is one of a kind. Lets look at just a few Old Testament messianic prophecies. Since the Fall in Genesis 3, Yahweh has declared that there shall come a special child who is described not born of both a father and mother but would be specifically the offspring of a woman alone, a boy, who though wounded by Satan will ultimately triumph over him. This one, known to the Jewish people as their Messiah would be a prophet like Moses, descended from Adam, descended from Seth, descended from Noah, descended from Shem, descended from Abraham, descended from Isaac, descended from Jacob, descended from Judah, descended from Jesse, descended from David, He would be born in Bethlehem, he would be from Nazareth of Galilee, born of a virgin, his birth would cause an infant massacre much like Moses’ day, he would be a priest like Melchisedek, he will come - while the Temple of Jerusalem still stands, he will come out of Egypt, he will do miracles, he will speak in parables, he will both draw Gentiles to himself while his own people (the Jews) reject him, a man of the wilderness will prepare the way for him (this is John the Baptist), according to the prophet Daniel who said it would be sometime near the 30’s AD (the time of Jesus’ ministry) and the Messiah would be revealed and cut off, but not for himself (this was an image of his substitutionary atonement), he would enter Jerusalem riding a donkey, he would be hated for no reason, rejected by rulers, rejected by his own brothers, he would be betrayed by someone close to him – a friend,  he would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, the betrayal money would be cast on the floor of the Temple, that money would be used to by a potter’s field, he would not open his mouth to defend himself, he would be spit on, he would be numbered with the transgressors, he would be pierced in both his hands and feet, something like a crucifixion is foretold, the Passover and his sacrificial death where to coincide so that he might become our ultimate Passover Lamb, his bones were not to be broken, people would cast lots and divide his clothes, he would be given vinegar and gall to drink, he would say My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?, his disciples would scatter, he would be buried with the rich, yet his body would not decay, he would be resurrected from the dead, he would ascend into heaven, he would sit at God’s right hand, and he would be the Son of God. He would be God and he would be Man. Its funny really, this all sounds so familiar, like someone I know, it sounds like the life of Jesus.

So now that we have seen that Jesus is God, the God of the Old Testament, that Jesus created the heavens and the earth, that Jesus lead the Jews out of their bondage in Egypt, that Jesus judges Eternally the immoral and ungodly unbelievers and that Jesus has already fulfilled so much of the Messianic prophecies, now what does this Jesus say to us sinners today. Luke 24:44-47 says not only the New Testament but all of the Old Testament is about Him and that repentance and the forgiveness of sins won for us in Christ must be proclaimed to all nations. I like the simplicity of Jesus in Mark 1:15 which says Repent and believe in the Gospel or again in Mark 5:36 do not fear, only believe.

Acts 19:4 Dr Luke quoting Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”

Also the Jews once asked Jesus what must we do, to be doing the works of God?

And Christ said in John 6:29 this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom God has sent.

John 10:25-30 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

           

Acts 16:30-34 Luke again, Then the jailer brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And Paul and Silas said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and all your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him (the Gospel) and to all who were in his house. And he took them that same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. (Believing in Jesus is Believing in God – there is no distinction.)

Even back in the Old Testament, Jonah 3:1-5 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. (And the people of Nineveh repented).

Romans 10:8-13 Paul again, but what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim – the Gospel); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Titus 3:5-8 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of good works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.

Acts 15:7-9 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the same Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Romans 4:4-8 Paul says, now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. But to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Acts 10:38-43 Peter said, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Romans 1:16-18 Paul says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it (the Gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

John 11:25-27 Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Isaiah 45:18-25 for thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!),

Who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty,

He formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the LORD, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right. “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to gods that cannot save. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were once incensed against him.

John 14:1-7 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, why would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” But Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him (Christ can say this “you have seen God”, since He and the Father are in fact 1 in being).

           

Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The obvious answer here is that this consideration about Jesus is not something optional like choosing a favorite Saint from Church history – Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Whitefield, Spurgeon. But to reject Jesus is not to reject a religious authority but the Authority, it is nothing less that an outright rejection of God himself. The only way to be saved - is in trusting Him and without Him you are without Hope. I’ll close with the classic- John 3:13-18 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. You are an idolater! I know because we all are, you love you, you love your sin, you love your idols. Sinner please, I implore you, turn from your sinful idolatry (this is repentance), and trust no longer in yourself, in your good works, in your obedience but trust instead on Him (this is faith or belief in him), is he not God, is he not able to save, was he not sinless in your place, did he not die for your sins, did he not rise, He is the God-Man Jesus Christ. Repent and Believe the Gospel.

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Bibliography:

1- http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/messiah.htm - Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus

2 - http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/messianicprophecies.html - Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Christ

All scriptural texts provided by ESVbible.org – the Elect Standard Version.

Read John Gill!

Perhaps fewer men have been more neglected than John Gill (1697-1771). In fact, few Reformed Baptist read Gill, often associating him with Hyper-Calvinism and Antinomianism. Yet, it has been my experience that few people have read Gill for themselves, often merely taking for granted what they’ve heard. What Spurgeon said of Gill’s Song of Solomon could be said of his works as a whole: “Those who despise it, have never read it, or are incapable of elevated spiritual feelings.” Now, on the front end, I confess Gill was not without faults. He was a good man, not perfect.[1] Yet, as I shall attempt to show, John Gill deserves a far greater respect and esteem than he often receives.[2]
1. He was Reformed. Gill tirelessly defended that system commonly called Calvinism. “Perhaps, no man, since the days of St. Augustine, has written so largely, in defence of the system of Grace; and, certainly, no man has treated that momentous subject, in all its branches, more closely, judiciously, and successfully” (Toplady). Thus if you love to read those doctrines that best extol God and His free grace—read Gill.
2. He was Baptistic. He wrote several major works on baptism: The Ancient Mode of Baptism by Immersion (1726), and Antipedobaptism, or, Infant Sprinkling an Innovation (1753). His Reformed and Baptist convictions are fully seen in his Body of Divinity, the first systematic theology written from a baptistic perspective. “John Gill can be claimed to be the first and greatest Baptist who stood in the traditions of the Reformers and Puritans to work out a definite systematic theology for his own church and the Baptist movement as a whole” (Ella). Thus if you love to read works from our Baptist forefathers—read Gill.
3. He was theological. No man defended the truth more in the eighteenth Century, than did John Gill. He wrote against Deism, Liberalism, Catholicism, Pedobaptism, Anglicanism, Arminianism, and Antinomianism. “The Doctor considered not any subject superficially, or by halves. As deeply as human sagacity, enlightened by grace, could penetrate, he went to the bottom of every thing he engaged in” (Toplady). Gill’s theological works are characterized by precision and profound Scriptural and logical arguments. Thus if you love to read works that defend the old paths—read Gill.
4. He was pastoral. “Gill was a prolific author and it is commonly assumed that he spent most of his time writing with a view to publication, thus spending far less time on sermon preparation and pastoral work. The fact is that most of the over 10,000 pages of his works started life as sermon notes or grew out of conversations with his church members and fellow ministers” (Ella). He pastored the same church for 51 years, receiving the deepest love and adoration from his people. His sermons are characterized by pastoral care and sensitivity. Thus if you love to read sermons that emphasize warm-hearted experimental religion—read Gill.
5. He was Christocentric. This is perhaps the greatest reason to read Gill. His commentaries, sermons, tracks, and Body of Divinity are full of Christ. This becomes evident by merely considering his sermon titles: The Fullness of the Mediator; Christ the Savior from the Tempest; The Necessity of Christ’s Making Satisfaction for Sin, Proved and Confirmed; The Appearance of Christ in Human Nature, and His Discoveries of Himself to His People, Comparable to the Light of the Morning; The Manifestation of Christ as a Savior to his People a Cause of Great Joy. Furthermore, Gill excelled at preaching Christ from the OT Scriptures: The Meat-Offering Typical both of Christ and of His People; The Table and Show-Bread, Typical of Christ and His Church; The Wave-Sheaf Typical of Christ; Solomon’s Temple a Figure of the Church: and the Two Pillars, Jachin and Boas, Typical of Christ; David a Type of Christ. Thus if you love to read Christ-exalting and glorifying material—read Gill.
In short, while Gill was not without his faults, it is my opinion, his writings deserve a larger reading than they presently have. In the words of Augustus Toplady: “While true religion, and sound learning, have a single friend in the British empire, the works and name of Gill will be precious and revered.”

Mike Waters

Heritage Reformed Baptist Church

North Canton, Ohio