Author Archives: Pilgrim

Divine Election or Mortal Selection?


Sam Storms has an excellent article on the controversial subject of divine election over at Monergism. Here is an excerpt:

In the final analysis, Calvin believes we should study divine election primarily for its ability to tell uslottery.jpg why one person who hears the gospel comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ and why another does not. To whom or what, ultimately, do we attribute the distinction? When all is said and done, how do you explain why one person believes unto eternal life and another does not? Who makes one person to differ from another: the person or God? That question can only be answered by looking more closely at the “how” and “why” of God’s sovereign choice. I’ll take that up in the next lesson.

Look with me at John 17:1b-2. Here Jesus prays to the Father and says, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” (ESV).

There is so much in this passage that I run the risk of getting de-railed from my primary purpose. But I can’t leave it without making a couple of comments. We must take note that not everyone is given eternal life. Only those whom the Father has “given” to Jesus are granted eternal life. The idea of people being “given” by the Father to the Son is standard Johannine language for divine election (see especially John 6:37-65).

Note also that God has not utterly cast off the world of mankind, although it would have been entirely fitting and just had he done so. He has given ultimate authority over all flesh, over every man, woman, and child to Jesus Christ. Jesus has unassailed, unchallenged, comprehensive authority over all human beings: over red and yellow, black and white; over male and female, young and old; over the powerful and the weak; over the rich and poor; over the educated and the ignorant; over those down under in Australia and those up over at the North Pole; over those who live in caves and those who walk in marble corridors.

As Edwards himself pointed out in a sermon on 1 Peter 2:9, whether they are elected or not, they belong to God. He didn’t lose his rights to humanity because of the fall nor did he forfeit his power and authority to dispose of them as he sees fit. They are still in his hands. Neither did he lose his ultimate end or goal in having created them in the first place (see Prov. 16:4).

Out from among those over whom he has sovereign rights as Creator and Lord, the Father has given some to the Son in order that the Son might give to them eternal life.

Click HERE to view the entire article. It is a great read!

 

The Fall of Man, the Rise of Evil and the Seed of the Woman


This past weekend our Sunday school class discussed what I believe to be one of the most fundamentally important passages in all the bible. We looked at Genesis chapter 3 where Adam and Eve committed sin and forever altered the course of human history. It is the single most devastating event the world has ever known. It is more cataclysmic than the fall of the Roman Empire, more disastrous than the black plague, more destructive than both World Wars combined, more sorrowful than the Nazi concentration camps. The decision Adam made in allowing the serpent to tempt his wife, the lack of fortitude he exuded when the devil contradicted God’s own word, the complacency he exhibited when Eve took hold of the forbidden fruit and finally the yielding of his will to the desire to taste of it himself trumps every global catastrophe that succeeded it. Why? All the suffering, sorrow and madness the world has experienced over the past 6,000 years finds its root cause in the Garden of Eden. Continue reading →

An Essay on the Gospel of Jesus Christ


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My friend and brother in the Lord over at the Spice Mines of Kessel has recently written a compilation of essays entitled Retrospect, Faith and Grace. They beautifully detail the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and how it has impacted him. The essays are both a teaching and a testimony. He has really poured out his heart into this body of work and I am pleased and honored to recommend it for your edification. The multiple essays have been combined to form one document, which is available in PDF format. Click on the image above to read his introduction. At the bottom of the post you will find the link to download the PDF. Read and be blessed!

The Diminishing Doctrine of Sola Scriptura


The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century recovered many pivotal Christian doctrines that had become buried beneath an avalanche of time-honored traditions and blatantly anti-biblical teachings. The doctrine of Sola Scriptura helped to restore orthodoxy back to the visible church. Sola Scriptura (or Scripture Alone) is the conviction that the bible alone is God’s authoritative and infallible message to his people, sufficient for all faith, life and godliness. This doctrine has come under intense fire over the past century. it has suffered immeasurably at the hands of liberal theologians who question the authenticity of the bible as God’s word and also false prophets, who utter extra-biblical revelations, claiming that God is doing a ‘new thing’. Well, despite the attempts of many a heretic, Sola Scriptura has stood firm her ground, even if multitudes fall away from belief in it. Check out this post at Herescope concerning the latest volley of fiery arrows falling upon this fortified bunker of divine truth. The shocking part is that we may be a victim of friendly fire! Here is an excerpt: Continue reading →

Sunday School Escapades


I’ve decided to break new ground and journal my adventures in Sunday School class. There are several reasons for this. I don’t really have a prime motivation but many small ones. Mainly, I simply wish to chronicle the more interesting and challenging discussions we have over the bible texts we study. I must admit it is a challenge to perhaps be the lone Calvinist in a class full of ‘free-will’ adherents. I anticipate much lively dialog in the coming months if God so emboldens me to speak out.

I have only been at this church for a short time and the Baptist culture is new to me. Over one year ago I left my old Pentecostal church because it had been consumed with the Church Growth/Purpose-Driven way of doing ministry. In other words, they made the gospel appealing to the flesh and doctrine shallow and essentially unnecessary. The Lord directed my steps and I ended up at my community’s largest Baptist congregation. I started attending Sunday school about 5 months ago. The classes are divided into age groups. I first attended a 30’s group, (a natural selection given that I am in my 30’s). I enjoyed the fellowship with the members, many of whom I had actually gone to high school with. I thought the teacher did a fine job of teaching. However, I didn’t much care for the curriculum. My church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, so we use Lifeway materials for Sunday school lessons. Lifeway publishes a wide variety of material, custom designed for people in different stages of life; children, youth, young adults, old adults and really old adults. The curriculum used in my class (Life Truths) did not impress me much. I felt it was written basically for a fifth-grade audience. I also sensed that the authors wrote the lessons by looking at the bible through the lens of life rather than life through the lens of the bible – a subtle yet important difference. Continue reading →

The Bible is NOT a Collection of Fortune Cookie Quotes!!!


A recent post on a Little Leaven displays a company that sells fortune cookies filled with bible verses. They claim, ‘These are a great way for children and adults to learn the Bible!’ and ‘Perfect for Bible study groups, camps and retreats.’

While I realize this is just another secular business looking to make a buck, I am convinced there are people out there who will actually think this is a good idea. Now I have no problem with memorizing bible verses, but I think this kind of product marketing stems from the actual way many Christians study the bible. Many pastors and teachers also approach the bible like it was all written in the style of the Book of Proverbs – you know, that book primarily written by king Solomon filled with bite-sized pearls of wisdom. The problem is, the bible consists of 66 books written by over forty different authors. Proverbs is the only book of its kind. We cannot hope to interpret the overwhelming majority of the biblical texts in a ‘Proverbial’ manner – so to speak.

I know of people who wake up in the morning, crack open their bibles, thumb through the pages randomly and then point their finger (while looking the other way) at a verse, and then make that verse their focus for the entire day – without so much as a passing glance at the surrounding text. Continue reading →

Free Tools For Serious Bible Study


I have a software recommendation for all Christian believers who take seriously the Apostle Paul’s admonition to ‘Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.’ (2Ti 2:15) I imagine for most Berean types, their adventures in Cyberspace have probably already landed them on the piece of virtual real estate known as E-sword.net. For those who may not be in the know, I cannot recommend this website enough. It is an incredible resource for serious Christian study. E-Sword is a bible software program that is remarkably diverse. You can download a multitude of various components; everything from commentaries and devotions to bible translations and dictionaries. The best part of it all… it’s ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! Well, most of it is free. Some components will cost you a handful of change, but there are so many free resources available, you just won’t have time to enjoy it all anyway. The program was created by a gentleman named Rick Meyers. He has done a magnificent work in helping to further the kingdom of God. It is apparent his driving motivation is not monetary profit but spiritual profit for the Body of Christ.

Permit me to insert a discernment warning, however. Many resources are available for your study but perhaps not all of them are beneficial. Before downloading components from teachers you aren’t familiar with, do a Google search and investigate the orthodoxy of their teachings. Although I realize on the internet every single teacher and preacher of God’s word is labeled a heretic or an apostate by some, please make the effort to plow through the rhetoric to verify the reliability of your sources. Keep your discernment radar active at all times! Continue reading →

My Thanksgiving Prayer


In a couple of hours we will be serving Thanksgiving dinner at our home. I have quickly written this little prayer that I will pray over our food.

Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today so very thankful for all the blessings you have poured out on us. We give thanks to you for this holiday season, for bringing family and friends together to enjoy this wonderful dinner. We are thankful for every good thing we have and for all the good times we have experienced. But we are also thankful for our trials and tribulations that we learn not to lean on our own strength or our own understanding but to trust in you and your holy word for everything. Most of all, we are thankful to you, Heavenly Father for giving us your Son, Jesus Christ, who died our death so that we may live.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

A Happy a blessed Thanksgiving to all!

Spurious Conversions


altar-call2.jpg“In the church where I ministered in South Wales I used to stand at the main door of the church at the close of the service on Sunday night, and shake hands with people as they went out. The incident to which I am referring concerns a man who used to come to our service every Sunday night. He was a tradesman but also a heavy drinker. He got drunk regularly every Saturday night, but he was also regularly seated in the gallery of our church every Sunday night. On the particular night to which I am referring I happened to notice while preaching that this man was obviously being affected. I could see that he was weeping copiously, and I was anxious to know what was happening to him. At the end of the service I went and stood at the door. After a while I saw this man coming, and immediately I was in a real mental conflict. Should I, in view of what I had seen, say a word to him and ask him to make his decision that night, or should I not? Would I be interfering with the work of the Spirit if I did so? Hurriedly I decided that I would not ask him to stay behind, so I just greeted him as usual and he went out. His face revealed that he had been crying copiously, and he could scarcely look at me. The following evening I was walking to the prayer-meeting in the church, and, going over a railway bridge, I saw this same man coming to meet me. He came across the road to me and said, ‘You know, doctor, if you had asked me to stay behind last night I would have done so.’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I am asking you now, come with me now.’ ‘Oh no,’ he replied, ‘but if you had asked me last night I would have done so.’ ‘My dear friend,’ I said, ‘if what happened to you last night does not last for twenty-four hours I am not interested in it. If you are not as ready to come with me now as you were last night you have not got the right, the true thing. Whatever affected you last night was only temporary and passing, you still do not see your real need of Christ.’ That is the kind of thing that may happen even when an appeal is not made. But when an appeal is made it is greatly exaggerated and so you get spurious conversions”. – Martyn Lloyd Jones

A Brief Discourse on the Heart of the Gospel


lighthouse.jpgBut God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Rom 5:8-10)

I have two student workers who help me out a couple of days during the week, doing various technology related tasks. They are generally enthusiastic and energetic workers. They are also neither one Christians. One is a sort of agnostic who is considering Judaism. (I don’t get it either.) The other is a practicing Hindu. I have spent the last year witnessing to these young gentlemen. I have sat down with them and taken them systematically through the full scope of the gospel message, from law to grace, from hell to heaven, from death to life, from the depravity of man to the glory of God. As of yet, neither has put their faith in Christ. One has hardened himself against the message and generally mocks God and his word. The other is more respectful and appears to have a general interest in what I have to say.

So I keep teaching. One tool I frequently utilize is the white board I have in my office. Every week I put up a few scripture verses. When they come in to work, I often take a moment to quickly expound the text for their edification. The student who actually pays attention to me has come to eagerly await a new nugget of wisdom from God’s word every week. He is quick to rebuke me whenever I fail to post a new scripture. I can sense that he is digesting the milk I am feeding him. Encouraged by his hunger for knowledge, I keep at it, praying that God will cause the seed I have planted to take root. My hope is that someday it shall sprout into a tree of life.

Last week as I searched for a scripture to display I came across the text from Romans posted above. As I read through it I realized the Apostle Paul here succinctly summarizes the core of the gospel message in these three short verses. I will attempt to expound these verses just as plainly as I explained them to my student workers a few days ago. Continue reading →