Perhaps it is just me but it seems that quite a few people appear to have a disregard for the Law of God. Any positive mention of God's righteous Law, provokes a tangent of wild allegations concerning "binding the conscious of saints" or "placing a yoke on believers" and some go so far a to charge "heresy." In the midst of the discussion 2 Corinthians 3:7 often comes up. Now, I'm perplexed to how it is used by individuals that deny (at least that seems to be the case) the third use (the Law acts as a rule and guide for the believer) of the Law. They tend to emphasize that the Law is a "ministry of death" but are they asserting that the Law is bad or that it is no longer to be used, in this case as the guide for the believer, for the Christian? Perhaps, for them, it is both? In either case an affirmative answer is wrong.
Before we actually get to the text in 2 Corinthians it is wise to state the difference between Law and Gospel since there seems to be some confusion that to teach or believe in the third use of Law is to teach a works based Gospel. Since my position is not a novel one, permit me to quote from John Colquhoun's book A Treatise On The Law And The Gospel: "By 'the law' here is meant the moral law as a covenant of works, and by 'the gospel' is meant in its strict and proper sense. To know the difference so as to be able to distinguish aright between the law and gospel is of the utmost importance to the faith, holiness, and comfort of every true Christian. It will be impossible otherwise for a man so to believe as to be 'filled with joy and peace in believing.' If he does not know the the difference between law and the gospel he will be apt, especially in the affair of justification, to confound the one with the other. The consequence will be that in his painful experience, bondage will be mixed with liberty of spirit, fear with hope, sorrow with joy, and death with life. If he cannot distinguish the gospel from the law as to expect all his salvation from grace of the gospel, and nothing of it from the works of the law; he will easily be induced to connect his own works with the righteousness of Christ in the affair of his justification...To mingle, then, the law with the gospel, or to teach men to join the works of the law as the ground of the sinner's title to justification in the sight of God, is, according to our apostle, to preach another gospel" (p. 141-142). To this we say a very loud- Amen! Especially, since, in our day many are trying to collapse the Law and Gospel distinction or remove it altogether, while others swing in the opposite direction and believe in absolute discontinuity of God' holy Law. One borders on legalism, while the other on antinomian-ism.
Now to the text at hand: "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory" (2 Co 3:4–11). The obvious thing to point out is Paul is emphasizing the superiority of the New Covenant, of which he was a minister, with the Old Covenant. He is comparing the two and highlighting that one was passing and the other permanent. But notice what Paul says in 3:7. He calls the Old Covenant the "ministry of death" but states that it came with glory. If Paul were trying to paint the Old Covenant (which includes the Law) as something "wrong" or "bad" he could hardly say that it came with glory! Something he points out two other times (v. 9,11). Why then does he call it a "ministry of death?" For the same reason he said that it came with glory. The Decalogue is pure, it is God's holy Law and reflects His holiness. It is perfect and good- so good that when people failed to keep it it brought death. It incurs the wrath of God when broken. It reveals and condemns people for what we are- sinners (3:9). In fact if you go back and read the account in Exodus 32 of the giving of the first set of tablets. You find the people already breaking the Law, while Moses conversing with God, worshiping the golden calf and for breaking the Law 3000 thousand died. Again, the Law is holy, break it and die. Ask the Israelites.
Next Paul speaks of the glory of the New Covenant surpassing that of the Old. The Old Covenant brought death while the New brings life (please to do not come charging at me with accusations that I'm asserting the Gospel was not present in the Old Covenant. The Gospel has been around since Genesis). The apostle's main point is the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old. Pleas note that he does not, here, speak ill of the Law but it's inferiority in giving life. The problem is not with the Law, for it serves its purpose, but with man. Look at how he points this out in v. 14: "But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away." Notice the problem comes from the hardening of the human mind. The fault lies not with the Law but man. However, Paul's main thrust is pointing out the permanence of the glorious New Covenant. Because of Christ Jesus it gives life. He alone fulfills the Law in perfection and gives life to all that are in union with Him.
We also find mention of the Spirit (v. 17-18). Does this sound familiar in connection with the New Covenant? It should: "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Eze 36:26–27). When Paul speaks of freedom in relation to the New Covenant and the Holy Spirit, he is not talking about freedom from obeying the Law. He is talking about freedom from the bondage to the Law (Christ has kept perfectly it for us), freedom for it's curse, freedom from bondage to sin and freedom to obey the Law because it has gone from external to internal something he mentions in v.3 and is a clear allusion to Jeremiah 31:33: "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
No sir, Paul was no antinomian. Granted his main point in 2 Corinthians was not bout the third use of the Law but it can definitely be found in his other writings as well in other place in the New Testament. For a better explanation of the perpetuity of the moral Law, see this article, written by one of my fellow bloggers, found here.
It is possible to speak of freedom from the Law as Louis Berkhof writes: "It is possible to say that in some respects the Christian is free from the law of God. The Bible does not always speak of the law in the same sense. Sometimes it contemplates this as the immutable expression of the nature and will of God, which applies at all times and under all conditions. But it also refers to it as it functions in the covenant of works, in which the gift of eternal life was conditioned on its fulfilment. Man failed to meet the condition, thereby also losing the ability to meet it, and is now by nature under a sentence of condemnation. When Paul draws a contrast between the law and the gospel, he is thinking of this aspect of the law, the broken law of the covenant of works, which can no more justify, but can only condemn the sinner. From the law in this particular sense, both as a means for obtaining eternal life and as a condemning power, believers are set free in Christ, since He became a curse for them and also met the demands of the covenant of works in their behalf. The law in that particular sense and the gospel of free grace are mutually exclusive" (Systematic theology p.613–614).
It is also possible to speak of the Christian being "bound" to the Law. Now, I personally do not like the term "bound," since it conveys too much of the Old Covenant administration. However, I recognize what my fellow Christians are communicating when they use the terms "bound' and "binding." Again, I defer to Berkhof to better communicate this concept: "There is another sense, however, in which the Christian is not free from the law. The situation is quite different when we think of the law as the expression of man’s natural obligations to his God, the law as it is applied to man even apart from the covenant of works. It is impossible to imagine any condition in which man might be able to claim freedom from the law in that sense. It is pure Antinomianism to maintain that Christ kept the law as a rule of life for His people, so that they need not worry about this any more. The law lays claim, and justly so, on the entire life of man in all its aspects, including his relation to the gospel of Jesus Christ. When God offers man the gospel, the law demands that the latter shall accept this. Some would speak of this as the law in the gospel, but this is hardly correct. The gospel itself consists of promises and is no law; yet there is a demand of the law in connection with the gospel. The law not only demands that we accept the gospel and believe in Jesus Christ, but also that we lead a life of gratitude in harmony with its requirements" (Systematic Theology p.614).
We are neither legalists, nor, Marcion antinomians. The "minstry of death" leads to the ministry of life and does, indeed, include the use of the Law as the rule of life for the Christian. We heartily affirm all three uses of the Law. Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Do Study
Why use extra biblical resources? Because we need to and it can be quite arrogant to think that any position you have on a biblical subject or text is right because you read only the Bible while others may have learned from someone else. We all bring presuppositions to the Bible and anyone that does not admit or recognize that is typically the one with the goofiest interpretations. Then there are others that just won't admit their position has been taught to them. Instead they assert things like "I just believe the Bible" (as if everyone else doesn't) or "I take the Bible for what it says." Yet some of these individuals use commentaries (typically the ones that agree with them) or may have Bible college or Seminary degrees where they were taught their position. Sadly, these are the loudest folks at decrying extra biblical resources (unless of course the resources agree with their particular position)! But, again, we all have already set ideas about things that we read back into the Bible and we need others to help point those out when they contradict Scripture.
I remember while I was a new convert and reading certain passages about election I would automatically assume that it was election based on my foreseen faith or some similar argument. "Surely a loving God would not violate anyone's 'free-will,'" I thought. And think that, I did, for many years no matter how plain the Scriptures were that state God elects of His own grace, love and will (Eph. 3:1-10, John 6:37,44, Rom. 9 e.t.c.) and is not dependent on anything foreseen in man. But because I was raised here in America with such an emphasis on personal freedom and human autonomy, that is precisely what I read back into Scripture and completely missed the "plain meaning" for so long. And if I would have trusted my own reading of Scripture, in the case of election, I would still be exalting man over God. Yet, because of a book by Dr. James White, I was pointed to the error(s) of my position and after painful struggle abandoned it.
To discourage someone from reading sound theological writers is error. Yes, Scripture is our final authority. The problem is not there but with our own judgments. Ask the average pew sitter about hermeneutics and what role it plays in their understanding of Scripture. You may often find a blank or confused look because many a believer relies on some "inner urging", which is often mistaken for the Holy Spirit, for their assurance that there understanding is correct. Others simply read their own culture and language back into the sacred text. We should never simply rely on our own judgments. We should test them with the godly men of history that have left written records of what they have learned from the Holy Writ.
Some of the strangest views come from people that have trusted their own judgment and failed to see how their position was somehow missed throughout the history of the Church. Concerning one of these views Charles Spurgeon writes: "...we have even heard it asserted that those who lived before the coming of Christ do not belong to the church of God! We never know what we shall hear next, and perhaps it is a mercy that these absurdities are revealed one at a time, in order that we may be able to endure their stupidity without dying of amazement." While I would not use such harsh language, I do agree with the Prince of Preachers. If one's view seems to have been missed throughout the history of the Church, one should not invest too much stock in it and check with others to see what they have to say.
Now it is best to encourage people to study their Bibles and become well acquainted with it. I also advocate reading catechisms, creeds and confessions as well as sound theological books. No matter how much we study the Bible we are still left with perplexing questions on certain issues. Others are aware and have kindly used their gifts to help answer some of these questions. Remember the Ethiopian eunuch? If Philip did not explain to him Isaiah 53, the eunuch would have been in limbo concerning the Messiah, "And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go over and join this chariot.' So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: 'Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.' And the eunuch said to Philip, 'About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus"(Ac 8:27–35).
Even the Lord Jesus, while he was young, gave Himself to studying and asking questions, "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers" (Lk 2:41–47). Dare we think that we cannot sit at the feet of others, other than our pastors, to learn? Do we really assume that every time we open up the Bible, our understanding of what we are reading, is automatically correct? Or can we learn from others more learned than us and adopt their positions because they indeed come from Scripture, while ours don't., without some allegation of "you only learned that because someone else taught you and you only need Scripture?"
I will conclude with the words of Spurgeon, "The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read." Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
I remember while I was a new convert and reading certain passages about election I would automatically assume that it was election based on my foreseen faith or some similar argument. "Surely a loving God would not violate anyone's 'free-will,'" I thought. And think that, I did, for many years no matter how plain the Scriptures were that state God elects of His own grace, love and will (Eph. 3:1-10, John 6:37,44, Rom. 9 e.t.c.) and is not dependent on anything foreseen in man. But because I was raised here in America with such an emphasis on personal freedom and human autonomy, that is precisely what I read back into Scripture and completely missed the "plain meaning" for so long. And if I would have trusted my own reading of Scripture, in the case of election, I would still be exalting man over God. Yet, because of a book by Dr. James White, I was pointed to the error(s) of my position and after painful struggle abandoned it.
To discourage someone from reading sound theological writers is error. Yes, Scripture is our final authority. The problem is not there but with our own judgments. Ask the average pew sitter about hermeneutics and what role it plays in their understanding of Scripture. You may often find a blank or confused look because many a believer relies on some "inner urging", which is often mistaken for the Holy Spirit, for their assurance that there understanding is correct. Others simply read their own culture and language back into the sacred text. We should never simply rely on our own judgments. We should test them with the godly men of history that have left written records of what they have learned from the Holy Writ.
Some of the strangest views come from people that have trusted their own judgment and failed to see how their position was somehow missed throughout the history of the Church. Concerning one of these views Charles Spurgeon writes: "...we have even heard it asserted that those who lived before the coming of Christ do not belong to the church of God! We never know what we shall hear next, and perhaps it is a mercy that these absurdities are revealed one at a time, in order that we may be able to endure their stupidity without dying of amazement." While I would not use such harsh language, I do agree with the Prince of Preachers. If one's view seems to have been missed throughout the history of the Church, one should not invest too much stock in it and check with others to see what they have to say.
Now it is best to encourage people to study their Bibles and become well acquainted with it. I also advocate reading catechisms, creeds and confessions as well as sound theological books. No matter how much we study the Bible we are still left with perplexing questions on certain issues. Others are aware and have kindly used their gifts to help answer some of these questions. Remember the Ethiopian eunuch? If Philip did not explain to him Isaiah 53, the eunuch would have been in limbo concerning the Messiah, "And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go over and join this chariot.' So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: 'Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.' And the eunuch said to Philip, 'About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus"(Ac 8:27–35).
Even the Lord Jesus, while he was young, gave Himself to studying and asking questions, "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers" (Lk 2:41–47). Dare we think that we cannot sit at the feet of others, other than our pastors, to learn? Do we really assume that every time we open up the Bible, our understanding of what we are reading, is automatically correct? Or can we learn from others more learned than us and adopt their positions because they indeed come from Scripture, while ours don't., without some allegation of "you only learned that because someone else taught you and you only need Scripture?"
I will conclude with the words of Spurgeon, "The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read." Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
Monday, April 25, 2011
Why I Love My Paedobaptist Brethren Pt. 2
I love them because they get it and they proclaim it. They understand the framework of the Bible as a whole. They have a systematic theology that is derived from a biblical theology built on a sound hermeneutic and exegesis. They understand and recognize the usefulness of creeds, confessions and church history, while at the same time maintaining Sola Scriptura and not departing from it. What they do not do is deny the usefulness of traditions and creeds, then turn around and erect some while not identifying them as such. My fellow infant baptizing brothers reject the individualistic idea of Solo Scriptura (not to be confused with Sola Scriptura) which has the idea of only learning from Scripture and nothing else. Instead, my Paedobaptist forefathers and contemporaries have produced multitudes of Christ glorifying, saint equipping works. They have done so because they understand that they have been gifted by God to glorify His name by explaining the Word of God, not just to their own contemporaries, but to believers across all ages. The Lord has used them to help me love, worship and proclaim Christ and His covenant faithfulness more and more. For that I am thankful, to the Lord, for them. I love them and genuinely thank them.
Now what I have already mentioned can be said about my fellow Reformed or Covenantal (for those that are uncomfortable having Reformed and Baptist side by side. A position I certainly understand and respect) Baptists. The point I am trying to make is that we Reformed Baptists are indebted to our Paedobaptist brothers, of the Reformation tradition, since all of the magisterial Reformers were indeed infant baptizers. I cannot bite the hand that feeds me. I'm well aware that it is ultimately the Holy Spirit but my point is that He has used them to help me understand Scripture!
Thus when the bible tells me: "Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge..."(Pr 22:17). I take this to include my Paedobaptist brothers and I will most definitely pick up a book from Luther, Calvin, Ursinus, Witsius, Turretin, Owen, Ryle, Warfield, Vos, Machen, Kline, Hodge, Berkhof, Boettner, O. Palmer Robertson, Sproul, Horton, R. Scott Clark, Ferguson, Boice, Lig Duncan, Fesko, Waters (these are some theological heavyweights, folks) e.t.c. I will most gladly sit, as a student, at their feet. They have and will continue to teach me, as I am their pupil.
Do they have their errors? They most certainly do. Ironically enough, the problem I have with mainstream Baptists comes from former Anglican and Presbyterians! Dispensationalism came from an Anglican by the name of John Nelson Darby and it was popularized by C.I. Schofield whom was mentored by James Brookes a Presbyterian minister and Dispensational proponent. Lewis Sperry Chafer the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary was also a Presbyterian minister and a staunch advocate of Dispensationalism. Hence, they are not without their faults. And to relieve the fears of my fellow Credobaptists, I do believe my Paedobaptist brothers to be in the wrong concerning infant baptism. This is just a reminder of the fallibility of man and to stand on Sola Scriptura.
Having stated that- I will sit at the feet of my baby sprinkling brothers and listen in order to learn. The reason why is simple-some of the greatest under-shepherds and theologians that God has raised up have been Paedobaptists! The body of Christ, as a whole, should be thankful for them. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,but a wise man listens to advice" (Pr 12:15). Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
Thursday, April 21, 2011
"I Will Not Be A Velvet- Mouthed Preacher!"
"I will not be a velvet-mouthed preacher!" These words were uttered by the great preacher George Whitefield. Anyone that has read about the life of Mr. Whitefield, certainly knows this. He was passionate about heralding the Word God. It moved his entire being- thoughts, emotions, words and actions. In fact, he was so passionate in his proclaiming the Gospel of Christ that Jonathan Edward wife said this about him: "It is wonderful to see what a spell he casts over an audience by proclaiming the simplest truths of the Bible. I have seen upwards of a thousand people hang on his words with breathless silence, broken only by an occasional half-suppressed sob. He impresses the ignorant, and not less the educated and refined...Many, very many persons in Northhampton date the beginning of new thoughts, new desires, new purposes, and new life, from the day they heard him preach Christ..."
To be a "velvet-mouthed" preacher is not, necessarily, to water down important biblical truths, but to preach those truths without passion. It is to get up in the pulpit and handle the Word of God as if you are not fully convinced of what it says. Or to stand before the flock of God and preach the Word in such a way as if it is suggestive and not authoritative. We are called to preach, herald, proclaim "thus saith the Lord!" We must have been moved, ourselves, by the very Gospel of Christ Jesus. When we take the Word of God for what it is- the Word of God- you cannot preach in such a way as to not preach with passion. Therefore, we have not been commissioned, by God, to suggest but to proclaim.
When Paul is about to pass on the mantle to young Timothy, he reminds his son in the faith that Scripture is divinely inspired. He writes, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Ti 3:16–17). Why does the Paul see fit to do this? Because Timothy was timid. He was a young, shy fellow (2 Tim. 1:3-14) and needed to be reminded of the authority he had, for such a large task as to shepherd the flock of God. Timothy, indeed, had divine authority from the Scriptures, to refute the false teaching that was around but was also going to escalate: "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Ti 4:1–5). This was not an option for young Timothy, nor is it for all preachers of the Word, he needed divine authority to carry out this commission. Nothing could be more fruitless than to attempt to rebuke false teaching with simple opinions or personal suggestions. No, only the very words of God, delivered through one of His overseers, will suffice!
No one listens to a coward. If we are not convinced and moved by the Word of God ourselves, we are not going to preach with authority and if we are not authoritative in our preaching, we will not be passionate about what we do preach. Cowardly preachers produce cowardly congregations. Passionless preachers produce nominal Christians. There are far too many "velvet -mouthed" preachers around. We don't need any more. Pastors, if you don't preach the Word of God seriously, your congregation won't take the Word of God seriously, either.
Finally, I leave you with some words from one of the greatest preachers ever- George Whitefield: "The Lord enabled me to to open my mouth boldly against unconverted ministers; for, I am persuaded, the generality of preachers talk of an unknown and unfelt Christ. The reason why congregations have been so dead is because they have dead men preaching to them. O that the Lord may quicken and revive them! How can dead men beget living children?" And " It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher." Amen. Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
To be a "velvet-mouthed" preacher is not, necessarily, to water down important biblical truths, but to preach those truths without passion. It is to get up in the pulpit and handle the Word of God as if you are not fully convinced of what it says. Or to stand before the flock of God and preach the Word in such a way as if it is suggestive and not authoritative. We are called to preach, herald, proclaim "thus saith the Lord!" We must have been moved, ourselves, by the very Gospel of Christ Jesus. When we take the Word of God for what it is- the Word of God- you cannot preach in such a way as to not preach with passion. Therefore, we have not been commissioned, by God, to suggest but to proclaim.
When Paul is about to pass on the mantle to young Timothy, he reminds his son in the faith that Scripture is divinely inspired. He writes, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Ti 3:16–17). Why does the Paul see fit to do this? Because Timothy was timid. He was a young, shy fellow (2 Tim. 1:3-14) and needed to be reminded of the authority he had, for such a large task as to shepherd the flock of God. Timothy, indeed, had divine authority from the Scriptures, to refute the false teaching that was around but was also going to escalate: "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Ti 4:1–5). This was not an option for young Timothy, nor is it for all preachers of the Word, he needed divine authority to carry out this commission. Nothing could be more fruitless than to attempt to rebuke false teaching with simple opinions or personal suggestions. No, only the very words of God, delivered through one of His overseers, will suffice!
No one listens to a coward. If we are not convinced and moved by the Word of God ourselves, we are not going to preach with authority and if we are not authoritative in our preaching, we will not be passionate about what we do preach. Cowardly preachers produce cowardly congregations. Passionless preachers produce nominal Christians. There are far too many "velvet -mouthed" preachers around. We don't need any more. Pastors, if you don't preach the Word of God seriously, your congregation won't take the Word of God seriously, either.
Finally, I leave you with some words from one of the greatest preachers ever- George Whitefield: "The Lord enabled me to to open my mouth boldly against unconverted ministers; for, I am persuaded, the generality of preachers talk of an unknown and unfelt Christ. The reason why congregations have been so dead is because they have dead men preaching to them. O that the Lord may quicken and revive them! How can dead men beget living children?" And " It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher." Amen. Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Cuál Es El Evangelio?
El Evangelio es el mensaje central de la biblia. Es lo que vino a predicar Jesus (Marcos 1:14). Pablo enseña que es el poder de dios a la salvación (Rom 1:16). Pero en realidad, cuál es él Evangelio? Hay mucha confusión en nuestro día en cuanto a lo que significa. También, hay pastores que son más preocupados por la introducción de la psicología y los libros de autoayuda que "el poder de Dios a la salvacion." Los pastores de hoy, se preocupan más sobre como usted se siente cuando se examina en un espejo, en cambio de como usted se siente cuando usted se examina en el espejo de la palabra de Dios! La palabra "evangelio" se significa "buenas noticias". En breve el evangelio es que Jesús se hizo hombre, vivió una vida libre de pecado conforme a la ley, murio para hombres pecaminosos, y se elevó otra vez para reconciliar a hombres a un santo Dios. Pero antes de que esto pueda ser buenas noticias para usted, usted debe entender por qué esto tuvo que ser hecho. Adán, el primer hombre, pecó contra El que le había dado la vida. Adán era nuestro representante. Cuando Adán pecó, nos caímos con él (Romanos 5:12). Por consiguiente, todos los hombres son nacidos con una naturaleza pecaminosa. Somos nacidos espiritualmente muertos. Pastor/teólogo RC Sproul observa correctamente diciendo: No es que somos pecadores porque pecamos, sino pecamos porque somos pecadores". Debido a esto tenemos enemistad con un Dios Santo (Romanos 8:7). Porque hemos pecado contra El. Nuestras vidas son manifestaciones de rebelión total contra su ley. Justicia declara que Dios debe castigar a los pecadores. Porque esto es lo que está bien -ya que la paga del pecado es la muerte.
Este es un gran problema para los hombres. Pero Dios ha provisto una solucion: Jesuscristo se hizo hombre, vivio una vida perfecta bajo la ley, murio por los pecadores al ser aplastado por la ira de Dios (Isaias 53:10), y se levanto de la tumba. Cuando usted pone su fe en Jesus, Dios ya no te mira como el pecador miserable. No, cuando tu pones tu fe en Jesus, su justicia se ha añadido a tu cuenta! El evangelio es acerca de lo que Jesuscristo ha hecho, no sobre lo que podemos hacer por Dios. Es su trabajo, y nuestra fe en la persona y a la obra de Jesus que nos ace justos ante el Padre, no nuestra modificacion de comportamiento. Aunque, sin duda, cuando somos salvos, y Dios quita nuestro corazon de piedra y nos da uno de carne, el comportamiento va a cambier, porque vamos a ser nuevas criaturas. Sin embargo, nuestra buena conducta nunca nos va a salvar. Es a traves de la fe en Cristo, “No por obras para que nadie se glorie’ (Efesios 2:9).
Éste es el evangelio. Nada más nada menos. Pero usted dice, esto es una ofensa a los hombres? Si lo es (1 Corintios 1:18). Pero debemos ser fieles a las escrituras, no a los hombres carnales.Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Same Old Argument... Dismantled
When discussing the the relationship between Israel and the Church, it isn't long before Galatians 6:16 comes up. I have briefly covered this text on this blog. However, I did not deal with the same old argument of how many times Israel is used in the Bible. Rather than dealing with this matter myself, I will allow two heavyweights speak on this issue. Dr. John MacArthur from the "leaky" Dispensational side and Dr. Sam Waldron from the Amillennial side.
Dr. MacArthur threw down the gauntlet and the first blow when he said, during the 2007 Shepherds Conference, in his message titled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Should Be A Premillennialist:" The Bible calls God, 'The God of Israel' over 200 times- the God of Israel. There are over 2000 times references to Israel in Scripture. Not one of them means anything but Israel. Not one of them, including Romans 9:6 and Galatians 6:16, which are the only two passages that Amillennialists go to, to try to convince us that these passages cancel out the other 2000. There is no difficulty in interpreting those as simply meaning Jews who were believers, 'the Israel of God.' Israel always means Israel; it never means anything but Israel. Seventy-three New Testament uses of Israel always mean Israel."
To this Dr. Waldron carefully dismantles, in my opinion, that old assertion. In his book "MacArthurs Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response" he writes: "This is one of those outrageous statements which could be used to make MacArthur look and sound silly. I really want to avoid doing that. I want to give MacArthur credit for knowing that we actually go to about a 'zillion' passages to prove the Church is the Israel of God-not just two. I don't want to take seriously the Arminian-sounding illogic MacArthur seems to use here. 'All always means all and never means anything but all.' To which the proper answer is, of course, 'but what does all mean?' MacArthur does sound like that doesn't he? 'Israel always means Israel and never means anything but Israel.' To which the proper answer is, 'But what does Israel mean?'...First, MacArthur appears to adopt a kind of majority- rule hermeneutic in his understanding of the term 'Israel.' In other words, he implies if the vast majority of biblical usages of a word carry a certain meaning, then we must assume that they all must carry this meaning. Now, in all charity, let me say that I assume MacArthur knows better than this and normally does better than this in his exegesis of Scripture. Nevertheless, his listeners are supposed to find the idea that two of the seventy-three New Testament occurrences of 'Israel' might have a different meaning from the other seventy-one exceedingly doubtful or even impossible. But let us test this implication. Take the biblical word for heaven. It usually refers to the physical heavens where the birds fly and where the stars reside. But, in a minority of occurrences, heaven clearly refers to the heaven of God. Similarly, take the word sheol as another example. It usually refers to the grave or what is physically below. But, in a minority of occurrences it clearly refers to what we call hell...Finally, take the Hebrew word Elohim, which occurs well over 2200 times in the Old Testament. Elohim almost always refers to either the true God or to false gods. Yet, there are a few famous cases in which it does not and cannot mean god. Rather, in those instances, it must mean a human ruler (Psalm 82:6) or mighty angel (Psalm 8:5). In light of this reality, there should be nothing particularly surprising (given the way the Bible uses words) if we were to discover that two of the 73 uses of Israel in the New Testament might actually refer to the Church."
Dr. MacArthur may have struck the first blow, but to use Paul's illustration, he was "boxing as one beating the air" (1Cor. 9:26). In other words, Dr. MacArthur was, metaphorically speaking, swinging at his opponents (everyone that is not a Dispensationalist) and missing. I am thankful to Dr. Waldron and many others that responded to the wild allegations launched at everyone that does not take MacArthur's eschatological view. Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
Dr. MacArthur threw down the gauntlet and the first blow when he said, during the 2007 Shepherds Conference, in his message titled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Should Be A Premillennialist:" The Bible calls God, 'The God of Israel' over 200 times- the God of Israel. There are over 2000 times references to Israel in Scripture. Not one of them means anything but Israel. Not one of them, including Romans 9:6 and Galatians 6:16, which are the only two passages that Amillennialists go to, to try to convince us that these passages cancel out the other 2000. There is no difficulty in interpreting those as simply meaning Jews who were believers, 'the Israel of God.' Israel always means Israel; it never means anything but Israel. Seventy-three New Testament uses of Israel always mean Israel."
To this Dr. Waldron carefully dismantles, in my opinion, that old assertion. In his book "MacArthurs Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response" he writes: "This is one of those outrageous statements which could be used to make MacArthur look and sound silly. I really want to avoid doing that. I want to give MacArthur credit for knowing that we actually go to about a 'zillion' passages to prove the Church is the Israel of God-not just two. I don't want to take seriously the Arminian-sounding illogic MacArthur seems to use here. 'All always means all and never means anything but all.' To which the proper answer is, of course, 'but what does all mean?' MacArthur does sound like that doesn't he? 'Israel always means Israel and never means anything but Israel.' To which the proper answer is, 'But what does Israel mean?'...First, MacArthur appears to adopt a kind of majority- rule hermeneutic in his understanding of the term 'Israel.' In other words, he implies if the vast majority of biblical usages of a word carry a certain meaning, then we must assume that they all must carry this meaning. Now, in all charity, let me say that I assume MacArthur knows better than this and normally does better than this in his exegesis of Scripture. Nevertheless, his listeners are supposed to find the idea that two of the seventy-three New Testament occurrences of 'Israel' might have a different meaning from the other seventy-one exceedingly doubtful or even impossible. But let us test this implication. Take the biblical word for heaven. It usually refers to the physical heavens where the birds fly and where the stars reside. But, in a minority of occurrences, heaven clearly refers to the heaven of God. Similarly, take the word sheol as another example. It usually refers to the grave or what is physically below. But, in a minority of occurrences it clearly refers to what we call hell...Finally, take the Hebrew word Elohim, which occurs well over 2200 times in the Old Testament. Elohim almost always refers to either the true God or to false gods. Yet, there are a few famous cases in which it does not and cannot mean god. Rather, in those instances, it must mean a human ruler (Psalm 82:6) or mighty angel (Psalm 8:5). In light of this reality, there should be nothing particularly surprising (given the way the Bible uses words) if we were to discover that two of the 73 uses of Israel in the New Testament might actually refer to the Church."
Dr. MacArthur may have struck the first blow, but to use Paul's illustration, he was "boxing as one beating the air" (1Cor. 9:26). In other words, Dr. MacArthur was, metaphorically speaking, swinging at his opponents (everyone that is not a Dispensationalist) and missing. I am thankful to Dr. Waldron and many others that responded to the wild allegations launched at everyone that does not take MacArthur's eschatological view. Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tipping Over Sacred Cows Pt. 2: Once Saved Always Saved?
Perhaps it is wise, at this point, to affirm that I do believe that Christ will lose none that He came to save and have been effectively called unto Him. I think the concept of eternal security should be better phrased, as been historically termed, "perseverance of the saints." That is God preserves, those that are His, by equipping them with His Spirit to persevere in faith and godliness.
"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Je 31:32–33).
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Eze 36:26–27).
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pe 1:3–11).
"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" (Jn 6:37–40).
I think the Scriptures are very compelling on this point, God keeps His children. It is not just a matter of remembering when you prayed a prayer or walked down an aisle. That assures you of nothing. It is a matter of looking to Christ and resting your trust completely in his life, death and resurrection for your deliverance from God and reconciliation to God. When you look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2) it moves you to obedience in walking uprightly.This is why the Gospel is essential for both the believer and unbeliever. If there is no fruit, there is no root. It is dangerous to convince people there is a root when there is no fruit as much as it is to convince people to manufacture fruit when they have no root! The best way to deal with those that are doubting or that claim to be Christians but are showing no fruit is to evangelize them. Remind them of the Gospel as Paul did with the Corinthians,"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Co 15:1–4)
Now, some may think that I am quibbling over semantics and I admit that I am because of the confusion that is caused by "once saved always saved." Technically that slogan is true. Yet, the problem is clarifying what it means to be saved. And in Baptist(ic) circles being saved simply means having made a profession of faith apart from repentance. It comes from "easy-believism" where repentance is optional and may never happen in a "Christians" life. Submitting to the Lordship of Christ is for the second level mature Christians.Of course all this is completely foreign to Scripture and it is best to do away with "once saved always saved." Down with that sacred cow! Replace it with the perseverance of the saints.
For His Glory,
Fernando
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Jehovah's Witnesses and The Triune God's Glory.
Jehovah Witnesses often appeal to "reason" as to why they cannot accept the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. They conclude that the doctrine of the Trinity is unreasonable, therefore it is false. I do not accept that it is unreasonable. My reasoning actually leads me to believe that Jesus HAS to be God inorder for God to get ALL the glory in salvation (I'll deal with this shortly). But of course, we are not left to the subjectivity of fallen man's reasoning to determine whether or not Jesus was fully God. We are to go to scripture and be faithful to its witness.
Isaiah 48:11: "For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another."
Isaiah 42:8: "I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols."
God clearly says that He will not share His glory with another. God reserves all glory for Himself. Yet, Jesus says:
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.- John 17:5
Notice that this is NOT a glory given to the son. This is a glory that Jesus had with the Father, before the world existed, before He came into the world as a man. This was not new to Him. No angel, no mere created being, no matter how excellent in its creation, can ever utter these words: "with the glory I had with you before the world existed".
In addition, Jonah 2:9 teaches us that "Salvation is of the Lord". What Jehovah's Witnesses are saying is that Jehovah God created a being (Jesus) and decreed that this being die for men- becoming their object of faith- that leads towards salvation. This is of course unreasonable and most importantly- unscriptural. It does not give all the glory to God, but to a "created being". It is not consistent with scripture, and was deemed heresy in 325 AD.
John Gill comments: "that all kind of salvation is of the Lord, temporal, spiritual, and eternal; not only this salvation from the devouring waves of the sea, and from the grave of the fish's belly, was of the Lord; but his deliverance from the terrors of the Lord, and the sense he had of his wrath, and the peace and pardon he now partook of, were from the Lord, as well as eternal salvation in the world to come, and the hope of it. All temporal salvations and deliverances are from the Lord, and to him the glory of them belongs; and his name should be praised on account of them; which Jonah resolved to do for himself: and so is spiritual and eternal salvation; it is of Jehovah the Father, as to the original spring and motive of it, which is his grace, and not men's works, and is owing to his wisdom, and not men's, for the plan and form of it; it is of Jehovah the Son, as to the impetration of it, who only has wrought it out; and it is of Jehovah the Spirit, as to the application of it to particular persons; and therefore the glory of it belongs to all the three Persons, and should be given them. This is the epiphonema or conclusion of the prayer or thanksgiving; which shows that it was, as before observed, put into this form or order, after the salvation was wrought; though that is related afterwards, as it is proper it should, and as the order of the narration required."
Note: We are not saying that Jesus is a second god (which Jehovah witnesses teach-given their translation of John 1:1). Rather, we are teaching what historical and biblical Christianity has always taught: That in the one being of God, there exist three co-equal and co-eternal persons, namely, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
In Christ, Awretchsaved
Isaiah 48:11: "For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another."
Isaiah 42:8: "I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols."
God clearly says that He will not share His glory with another. God reserves all glory for Himself. Yet, Jesus says:
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.- John 17:5
Notice that this is NOT a glory given to the son. This is a glory that Jesus had with the Father, before the world existed, before He came into the world as a man. This was not new to Him. No angel, no mere created being, no matter how excellent in its creation, can ever utter these words: "with the glory I had with you before the world existed".
In addition, Jonah 2:9 teaches us that "Salvation is of the Lord". What Jehovah's Witnesses are saying is that Jehovah God created a being (Jesus) and decreed that this being die for men- becoming their object of faith- that leads towards salvation. This is of course unreasonable and most importantly- unscriptural. It does not give all the glory to God, but to a "created being". It is not consistent with scripture, and was deemed heresy in 325 AD.
John Gill comments: "that all kind of salvation is of the Lord, temporal, spiritual, and eternal; not only this salvation from the devouring waves of the sea, and from the grave of the fish's belly, was of the Lord; but his deliverance from the terrors of the Lord, and the sense he had of his wrath, and the peace and pardon he now partook of, were from the Lord, as well as eternal salvation in the world to come, and the hope of it. All temporal salvations and deliverances are from the Lord, and to him the glory of them belongs; and his name should be praised on account of them; which Jonah resolved to do for himself: and so is spiritual and eternal salvation; it is of Jehovah the Father, as to the original spring and motive of it, which is his grace, and not men's works, and is owing to his wisdom, and not men's, for the plan and form of it; it is of Jehovah the Son, as to the impetration of it, who only has wrought it out; and it is of Jehovah the Spirit, as to the application of it to particular persons; and therefore the glory of it belongs to all the three Persons, and should be given them. This is the epiphonema or conclusion of the prayer or thanksgiving; which shows that it was, as before observed, put into this form or order, after the salvation was wrought; though that is related afterwards, as it is proper it should, and as the order of the narration required."
Note: We are not saying that Jesus is a second god (which Jehovah witnesses teach-given their translation of John 1:1). Rather, we are teaching what historical and biblical Christianity has always taught: That in the one being of God, there exist three co-equal and co-eternal persons, namely, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
In Christ, Awretchsaved
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Fool
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. (Psa 14:1)
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. (Pro 12:15)
In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (Pro 13:16)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Pro 1:7)
Let me go ahead and lay it out; I am a fool, and so are you. We need to be blunt, because mincing words create ambiguity. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes..." Just last week I was at church, of all places, getting irritated thinking that nothing was going right. The music was off, I was frustrated because I messed up the lyric on my acoustic solo, and whatever else I might have thought of. Then it hit me... I am a fool. I do want to make clear that I do not make practice of despising Gods will, but those verses above were applicable to me in that moment, and are normally more often than not. I was convinced, that what I wanted in my mind was exactly how it should have happened. Then I remembered that God was sovereign... Seriously, I had an epiphany in the middle of church. Right between my pastors words that God's love is deeper than we could ever imagine, and a then these next words that hit me like a ton of bricks: "God is always on time." I think I actually grunted in pain when I heard them. Wow! Four years of studying Reformed theology, and I had to be slapped in the face with the sovereignty of God once more... Leave it to pride for the relapse in self willed determination! I will say that my pride was officially put in check. All of a sudden I had an overwhelming peace about everything that was happening, even with my 14 year old brother-in-law twitching in boredom three people down. I assume all Christians have these moments, so I just wanted to share my little episode.
This is a poem I wrote about a year ago, Its about a fool so i threw it in...
We see the mirror dimming,
Crouched and timid I pace forward slowly,
In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (Pro 13:16)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Pro 1:7)
Let me go ahead and lay it out; I am a fool, and so are you. We need to be blunt, because mincing words create ambiguity. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes..." Just last week I was at church, of all places, getting irritated thinking that nothing was going right. The music was off, I was frustrated because I messed up the lyric on my acoustic solo, and whatever else I might have thought of. Then it hit me... I am a fool. I do want to make clear that I do not make practice of despising Gods will, but those verses above were applicable to me in that moment, and are normally more often than not. I was convinced, that what I wanted in my mind was exactly how it should have happened. Then I remembered that God was sovereign... Seriously, I had an epiphany in the middle of church. Right between my pastors words that God's love is deeper than we could ever imagine, and a then these next words that hit me like a ton of bricks: "God is always on time." I think I actually grunted in pain when I heard them. Wow! Four years of studying Reformed theology, and I had to be slapped in the face with the sovereignty of God once more... Leave it to pride for the relapse in self willed determination! I will say that my pride was officially put in check. All of a sudden I had an overwhelming peace about everything that was happening, even with my 14 year old brother-in-law twitching in boredom three people down. I assume all Christians have these moments, so I just wanted to share my little episode.
This is a poem I wrote about a year ago, Its about a fool so i threw it in...
We see the mirror dimming,
so we squint to a sharpened gaze;
As night falls, the crow calls
we know the darkened day...
Crouched and timid I pace forward slowly,
and I see the mirror change;
a desolate call, the crow is all,
a reflection turned sideways...
Crooked mirrors don't deceive the mind,
only the fool that crawls in them;
to hide himself beyond the crest
of the illusion that has gripped him...
Though through a bent reflection,
I know what I pass to you:
crooked mirrors in the dark don't lie,
it's the fool we call true...
In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (Pro 13:16)
Yours in Christ, Chris Fincher
In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (Pro 13:16)
Yours in Christ, Chris Fincher
He Saved Me!
At the age of thirteen I ditched school and got high of marijuana with a few friends. We decided we needed more money for drugs so we devised a plan to rob someone. That we did. I robbed a car dealership with a sawed off shotgun as my friend acted as the lookout. We received $101 (it's okay to laugh) and bought more drugs. I was apprehended and sentenced to ten years in prison of which I spent the majority of it save nine months of freedom here and there.
While in prison I became involved in prison gangs and organized (or semi-organized crime depending on who you asked) and devoted my life to it. In fact violence channeled through gangs was my sole purpose in life. I desired to "make a name" for myself. Assaults, prison riots, drugs and so called "family" (fellow gang members) became a part of every day life. It was all about me. Pride was out motto. Everyone was to fear me (us) and respect me. And this came at all costs.
"Friends" that I did many crimes with and "put in work" with became victims of such selfishness and hatred because they became "soft" or became "no good" (turn against the gang). Enemies were, at times, attacked on sight. It was attack or be attacked and the claim to great fame was the former.
That was one kind of "enemy." The other was any type of law enforcement. In our minds they were oppressors. They were seeking to persecute our cause (it's amazing what the depraved mind can convince others of). Whenever they tired to "intervene" by arresting us we were to defend the cause at all costs. This sinful mentality earned me two battery on peace officers to my record which amounted to two "stripes" on my sleeve in gang culture.
We sought to model the military structure. Discipline and training became our way of life. Get up at 6:00 a.m., roll up the mattress, perform 45 minutes of rigorous exercise for prepartion for "war" (riots) so that one could be "fit" for battle and maintain endurance in order to be the "last man standing." "Education" was not an option. We were to be studios (praise the Lord for His sovereignty since this displine of diligently studying carried over into my Christianity) reading books like Sun Tzu's the Art of War. In the "hole" (segregation or administrative segregation) I was next door to a rival gang member (it was acceptable to talk to one another in such circumstances because times were rough and things got really boring) who not only new all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets but could recite them from memory!
On the surface everyone who new thought I was a "hardcore," "down" homeboy that feared no one and did did not care about anyone but was "loyal to the cause." But inwardly things were different. I started to become convicted of my sin. I started to fear the judgment of God-the lake of fire. Of course this was all the working of the Holy Spirit but I didn't know that then. Over the years I wanted out f gangs but it was my whole life. It was all I knew- it was my identity! I feared them and the loneliness that awaited such "cowardice."
The Lord in His infinite wisdom and sovereignty moved things along. I was releases on parole in 2001. I was drinking at my cousins house when a fellow gang member showed up in excitement and nervous. He had just participated in a gang related homicide. He was one of the shooters. Three people were shot and one died. He dropped the murder weapon off at my cousin's. Gang protocol demanded that I help out a fellow "brother" and do what I can to cover up. I did. I disposed of two handguns.
Fast forward a month or two later I was in prison again on a parole violation. I was questioned by the police. Here is where I can only but emphasize the sovereignty of God. I knew that when the cops questioned me they were going to bluff. They were going to insist they found the weapons and had my fingerprints on me. We were trained for this kind of stuff. We read their police investigation manuals and books as well as from experience. Hence I knew that if they really had something on me they would have arrested me. But at that moment I did what I never vowed to do- "snitch." I had never done such a thing before. In fact I had such people and made had a reputation for assaulting the "no goods." But I was tired. tired of the guilt, being stuck in that sinful lifestyle. So I handed them the case. They had two innocent people in jail and we were going to let them "take one for the team." After all they were "young bucks" that needed to earn their "stripes."
I made a deal and was put in the state Witness Protection Program. I lasted for only one month and ran. Went to my cousins and smoked meth, marijuana and drank alcohol for three days with only eating one meal (a hamburger). My mind snapped and I thought my family was trying to kill me. I ran around midnight hearing voices in my head, talking, no, shouting at shadows thinking they were people plotting to kill me. A saw a bus coming at one point and was walking in front of it waiting to throw myself into it at the last second. Then as the driver swerved to avoid me I jumped out of the way at the last second thinking I didn't want to get hit only to survive and be paralyzed.
Eventually the police were called and approached me but I ran. They caught up to me pulled their guns on me and I thought suicide by cop would be good. so i pulled at my meth pipe acted like it was a gun and refused to get on the ground. We were at a standstill for a minute or so but then (obviously by the mercy and grace of God) I thought about hell and didn't want to go there so I threw the pipe down and broke it. I was arrested again.
I figured if I slept for a day or so all the pain, guilt and misery would go away. So I did. I woke up it was all still there. I was desperate and alone. Those I lived for now despised and wanted me gone. I wanted to take my own life and end it all. I feared hell but foolishly and stupidly figured I'd deal with that pain when I got got there. I just wanted to end this misery now and deal with whatever later. I was all alone or so I thought.
I say all this only for background information. The important part is what follows, it centers on Christ Jesus of whom the Apostle Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Ga 2:19–20).
Nine years ago I was on the verge of hanging myself and thrusting my eternity into the just wrath of God in hell, but He intervened and rescued me! Let me rephrase that- He saved me! From what? He saved me from His righteous wrath, His justice due to sinners like me. To put it more plainly God saved me from Himself. Not only that, he reconciled me to Himself. I was born His enemy and lived as His enemy breaking His just laws and commands. I deserved the wrath of the one and only holy God. Yet, because God is loving and merciful, that day on Feb 27th or 28th of 2002 (don't remember exactly because I was on a three day drug binge and lost track of time) the Lord reached down in love and gave me life. He took my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh so that I could repent of my sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ whom suffered the wrath of God in my place (on the cross) and charges His perfect law keeping life to my account. That is why I can sing Amazing Grace. One moment I was a God hater and the next God lovingly and mercifully saves me; grants me blessings in Christ too numerous to cover here. Ephesians 2:1-6 says it this way: "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" and Romans 5:10-11 puts it this way: "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
This salvation, reconciliation and adoption is only made possible through one person and person alone (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) and He is the Lord Jesus Christ- fully God and fully man (John 1:1). God Himself stepped off His heavenly throne to rescue sinners. He came to glorify the Father's name and rescue His people (John 17:1-26, Matt. 1:21, John 10:1-16). Because He loves His rebellious, sinful creation, He came to give His life for them. We broke the law of God, we sinned against Him and deserve the fury of His anger and yet our Savior came take the wrath of God in our place. The perfect, sinless Lamb of God was crucified on the cross at Calvary. This was foretold in Isaiah 53 which reads: "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...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" (Isaiah 53:5-6,10-11).
This is the primary reason the Creator entered His creation. He says, "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27–28). The Lord Jesus glorified the Father's name in many ways. But in this context it was His sacrificial death (which includes His resurrection) to secure the salvation, reconciliation and adoption of those He came for. He alone fulfilled the perfect keeping of the Law; through His sinlessness He met the righteous requirements that God demands (Gal. 3:10, 2 Cor. 5:21). Not only did He die a death sinners deserve but His perfect obedience is credited to the account of the repentant person that is trusting in Christ alone for their acceptance with God (2 Cor. 5:21) and this means that the believer in Jesus is viewed by God as if He kept God's law perfectly himself. Now that is the epitome of love, mercy and grace!
Christ saved me! When I was in the act of hanging myself, He acted upon me. I wasn't looking for Him at that moment. I was more concerned with ending my pain and misery of sin, guilt, bondage and loneliness. But because God is merciful and loving, He called (not audibly) me. He acted upon me by removing my heart of stone and giving me a heart of flesh and bringing to mind the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which I had heard throughout my years of gangs, prisons and drugs, from former gang members. That very moment I repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. I remember vividly getting on my hands and knees and crying out to God. Confessing my sinfulness and need of Christ as well as thanking Him for dying and raising victoriously from the grave and because He saved me, not only, from the wrath of God so that I no longer had to fear death and hell but Christ also freed me from my bondage to sin ( John 8:34-36) so much so that what Peter says became a reality: "Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead" (1 Pe 4:1–5).
I only have victory in Jesus. Not only did He live a perfect life for sinners and die a wrathful death due sinners but He defeated both sin and death. Death no longer has dominion over me (1 Cor. 15:50-58). I don't have to fear it. Because death is a result of sin and the power of sin is the law; Christ is the conqueror of all and since I am His, then death for me only means that I am in the presence of my glorious and holy God. This was accomplished through the resurrection of Christ ( 1 Cor. 15,). His resurrection also secured my legal right standing before the living God. My faith and confidence that I am justified before God is only because of Chris Jesus, in both His death and resurrection: "That is why his faith was 'counted to him as righteousness.' 23 But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification" (Ro 4:22–25). After all there is no hope nor confidence in a dead savior.
It has been nine years since He saved me. And since then, because He first loved me, my love for Him has grown and will continue to grow. I now have beautiful wife and son and have been called to the ministry where I pastor a small church in McCall, Idaho. Not only has the Lord saved me but He hasn't stopped blessing me. Oh, what grace! I will say along with the Apostle Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Ga 2:20). Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
While in prison I became involved in prison gangs and organized (or semi-organized crime depending on who you asked) and devoted my life to it. In fact violence channeled through gangs was my sole purpose in life. I desired to "make a name" for myself. Assaults, prison riots, drugs and so called "family" (fellow gang members) became a part of every day life. It was all about me. Pride was out motto. Everyone was to fear me (us) and respect me. And this came at all costs.
"Friends" that I did many crimes with and "put in work" with became victims of such selfishness and hatred because they became "soft" or became "no good" (turn against the gang). Enemies were, at times, attacked on sight. It was attack or be attacked and the claim to great fame was the former.
That was one kind of "enemy." The other was any type of law enforcement. In our minds they were oppressors. They were seeking to persecute our cause (it's amazing what the depraved mind can convince others of). Whenever they tired to "intervene" by arresting us we were to defend the cause at all costs. This sinful mentality earned me two battery on peace officers to my record which amounted to two "stripes" on my sleeve in gang culture.
We sought to model the military structure. Discipline and training became our way of life. Get up at 6:00 a.m., roll up the mattress, perform 45 minutes of rigorous exercise for prepartion for "war" (riots) so that one could be "fit" for battle and maintain endurance in order to be the "last man standing." "Education" was not an option. We were to be studios (praise the Lord for His sovereignty since this displine of diligently studying carried over into my Christianity) reading books like Sun Tzu's the Art of War. In the "hole" (segregation or administrative segregation) I was next door to a rival gang member (it was acceptable to talk to one another in such circumstances because times were rough and things got really boring) who not only new all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets but could recite them from memory!
On the surface everyone who new thought I was a "hardcore," "down" homeboy that feared no one and did did not care about anyone but was "loyal to the cause." But inwardly things were different. I started to become convicted of my sin. I started to fear the judgment of God-the lake of fire. Of course this was all the working of the Holy Spirit but I didn't know that then. Over the years I wanted out f gangs but it was my whole life. It was all I knew- it was my identity! I feared them and the loneliness that awaited such "cowardice."
The Lord in His infinite wisdom and sovereignty moved things along. I was releases on parole in 2001. I was drinking at my cousins house when a fellow gang member showed up in excitement and nervous. He had just participated in a gang related homicide. He was one of the shooters. Three people were shot and one died. He dropped the murder weapon off at my cousin's. Gang protocol demanded that I help out a fellow "brother" and do what I can to cover up. I did. I disposed of two handguns.
Fast forward a month or two later I was in prison again on a parole violation. I was questioned by the police. Here is where I can only but emphasize the sovereignty of God. I knew that when the cops questioned me they were going to bluff. They were going to insist they found the weapons and had my fingerprints on me. We were trained for this kind of stuff. We read their police investigation manuals and books as well as from experience. Hence I knew that if they really had something on me they would have arrested me. But at that moment I did what I never vowed to do- "snitch." I had never done such a thing before. In fact I had such people and made had a reputation for assaulting the "no goods." But I was tired. tired of the guilt, being stuck in that sinful lifestyle. So I handed them the case. They had two innocent people in jail and we were going to let them "take one for the team." After all they were "young bucks" that needed to earn their "stripes."
I made a deal and was put in the state Witness Protection Program. I lasted for only one month and ran. Went to my cousins and smoked meth, marijuana and drank alcohol for three days with only eating one meal (a hamburger). My mind snapped and I thought my family was trying to kill me. I ran around midnight hearing voices in my head, talking, no, shouting at shadows thinking they were people plotting to kill me. A saw a bus coming at one point and was walking in front of it waiting to throw myself into it at the last second. Then as the driver swerved to avoid me I jumped out of the way at the last second thinking I didn't want to get hit only to survive and be paralyzed.
Eventually the police were called and approached me but I ran. They caught up to me pulled their guns on me and I thought suicide by cop would be good. so i pulled at my meth pipe acted like it was a gun and refused to get on the ground. We were at a standstill for a minute or so but then (obviously by the mercy and grace of God) I thought about hell and didn't want to go there so I threw the pipe down and broke it. I was arrested again.
I figured if I slept for a day or so all the pain, guilt and misery would go away. So I did. I woke up it was all still there. I was desperate and alone. Those I lived for now despised and wanted me gone. I wanted to take my own life and end it all. I feared hell but foolishly and stupidly figured I'd deal with that pain when I got got there. I just wanted to end this misery now and deal with whatever later. I was all alone or so I thought.
I say all this only for background information. The important part is what follows, it centers on Christ Jesus of whom the Apostle Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Ga 2:19–20).
Nine years ago I was on the verge of hanging myself and thrusting my eternity into the just wrath of God in hell, but He intervened and rescued me! Let me rephrase that- He saved me! From what? He saved me from His righteous wrath, His justice due to sinners like me. To put it more plainly God saved me from Himself. Not only that, he reconciled me to Himself. I was born His enemy and lived as His enemy breaking His just laws and commands. I deserved the wrath of the one and only holy God. Yet, because God is loving and merciful, that day on Feb 27th or 28th of 2002 (don't remember exactly because I was on a three day drug binge and lost track of time) the Lord reached down in love and gave me life. He took my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh so that I could repent of my sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ whom suffered the wrath of God in my place (on the cross) and charges His perfect law keeping life to my account. That is why I can sing Amazing Grace. One moment I was a God hater and the next God lovingly and mercifully saves me; grants me blessings in Christ too numerous to cover here. Ephesians 2:1-6 says it this way: "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" and Romans 5:10-11 puts it this way: "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
This salvation, reconciliation and adoption is only made possible through one person and person alone (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) and He is the Lord Jesus Christ- fully God and fully man (John 1:1). God Himself stepped off His heavenly throne to rescue sinners. He came to glorify the Father's name and rescue His people (John 17:1-26, Matt. 1:21, John 10:1-16). Because He loves His rebellious, sinful creation, He came to give His life for them. We broke the law of God, we sinned against Him and deserve the fury of His anger and yet our Savior came take the wrath of God in our place. The perfect, sinless Lamb of God was crucified on the cross at Calvary. This was foretold in Isaiah 53 which reads: "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...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" (Isaiah 53:5-6,10-11).
This is the primary reason the Creator entered His creation. He says, "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27–28). The Lord Jesus glorified the Father's name in many ways. But in this context it was His sacrificial death (which includes His resurrection) to secure the salvation, reconciliation and adoption of those He came for. He alone fulfilled the perfect keeping of the Law; through His sinlessness He met the righteous requirements that God demands (Gal. 3:10, 2 Cor. 5:21). Not only did He die a death sinners deserve but His perfect obedience is credited to the account of the repentant person that is trusting in Christ alone for their acceptance with God (2 Cor. 5:21) and this means that the believer in Jesus is viewed by God as if He kept God's law perfectly himself. Now that is the epitome of love, mercy and grace!
Christ saved me! When I was in the act of hanging myself, He acted upon me. I wasn't looking for Him at that moment. I was more concerned with ending my pain and misery of sin, guilt, bondage and loneliness. But because God is merciful and loving, He called (not audibly) me. He acted upon me by removing my heart of stone and giving me a heart of flesh and bringing to mind the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which I had heard throughout my years of gangs, prisons and drugs, from former gang members. That very moment I repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. I remember vividly getting on my hands and knees and crying out to God. Confessing my sinfulness and need of Christ as well as thanking Him for dying and raising victoriously from the grave and because He saved me, not only, from the wrath of God so that I no longer had to fear death and hell but Christ also freed me from my bondage to sin ( John 8:34-36) so much so that what Peter says became a reality: "Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead" (1 Pe 4:1–5).
I only have victory in Jesus. Not only did He live a perfect life for sinners and die a wrathful death due sinners but He defeated both sin and death. Death no longer has dominion over me (1 Cor. 15:50-58). I don't have to fear it. Because death is a result of sin and the power of sin is the law; Christ is the conqueror of all and since I am His, then death for me only means that I am in the presence of my glorious and holy God. This was accomplished through the resurrection of Christ ( 1 Cor. 15,). His resurrection also secured my legal right standing before the living God. My faith and confidence that I am justified before God is only because of Chris Jesus, in both His death and resurrection: "That is why his faith was 'counted to him as righteousness.' 23 But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification" (Ro 4:22–25). After all there is no hope nor confidence in a dead savior.
It has been nine years since He saved me. And since then, because He first loved me, my love for Him has grown and will continue to grow. I now have beautiful wife and son and have been called to the ministry where I pastor a small church in McCall, Idaho. Not only has the Lord saved me but He hasn't stopped blessing me. Oh, what grace! I will say along with the Apostle Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Ga 2:20). Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
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