The Office of Elder/Pastor Is More Important Than The Office Of The President...Appreciate Them

A Portrait of Paul is a book to be read by congregants and elders alike. Here is a piece from the forward:

Finding faithful pastors is one of the most difficult tasks facing Christ’s church. Any local church that conscientiously seeks to be biblical should understand the need to bring in and train up men that meet the biblical standard for ministers of the gospel. When the pastoral search begins, the applicant pool may appear to teem with possibilities. Annually, fresh crops of seminary graduates seek respectable assignments, and many of these young men abound with big plans, optimism, and energy. Occasionally, more experienced ministers become available, men who range from battle proven to battle broken. Who will be chosen? Which man is best for your church? Sorting through all the options and finally calling the right person takes considerable effort, sanctified discernment, and earnest prayer.

Is there an ideal pastor? There is one: His name is Jesus Christ. He sets the standard for all who would follow in His footsteps. But do not forget the interwoven and full-orbed perfections of the Lord Jesus: no one was gentler than He or consumed with such holy zeal. No one spoke with such tenderness to those in genuine need or with more bite to those who bitterly opposed the will of God. He was a true friend of sinners and a fierce enemy of hypocrites. He could call a child to Himself and embrace him; He could make a whip of cords and drive thugs from the temple of God. He was loved with profound attachment by His friends; He was hated with deep loathing by His enemies. At times thousands hung upon His words; He died a deserted and forsaken man.

Those who follow in the footsteps of a crucified Christ partake of His character, though always imperfectly. Would you want such a man to shepherd you? Suppose someone were to suggest a man with a reputation for stirring up trouble, although he has seen many people converted. Wherever he goes, he seems to divide opinion. He is often run out of town before he seems to make much progress, sometimes causing riots and disturbances. Sometimes he is so quick to stir up antagonism that he cannot avoid a beating, and his body bears witness to the bruising he has borne. He would be ugly even without those scars and is a powerful, though not an overly polished, speaker. He is a regular troubler of the civil and religious authorities and has the jail record to prove it. He struggles with several chronic health conditions, sometimes being completely, albeit temporarily, debilitated by them. He is not always easy to work with, and some of his companions have gone their separate ways; in fact, some of those with whom he has worked are not even walking with Jesus any longer. He is in many respects a driven man, full of energy and with no appetite for the status quo, always unsettling things and people. When there is tension in his relationship with a church, he will write letters dealing with their faults and defending his own calling and reputation. Despite the fruits of his ministry, he has left no megachurches behind him, but rather small groups of faithful men and women. If you instinctively back away from the idea of considering such a man as a pastor and preacher, consider this: you would be in danger of the great folly of rejecting the apostle Paul. You could hardly make a worse decision.*

Now go out and get the book here.


*Ventura, Rob; Walker, Jeremy (2011-12-27). A Portrait of Paul (Kindle Locations 223-247). Reformation Heritage Books. Kindle Edition.

Some Things to Notice About Paul's Epistles

Some things to notice about Paul’s letters: (as well as those other epistles of the apostles and writers of the New Testament corpus:

First, a simple observation, but one that, nowadays, is often lost on those among the various churches that style themselves to be of the one catholic body of Christ: Paul was writing to Christians.

This should be obvious, but at times, it is not for many who are professing Christ, for as they come to the warning passages in these epistles, they often forget that Paul begins and ends his letters to the churches with this assumption (if the inspired writing of Scripture may be said to contain assumptions by those who were moved along by the Holy Spirit to pen God’s divine words to His church; I contend strongly that such assumption, or presuppositions, are inherent and purposed of God for our edification)

The second thing to notice in Paul’s letters is that he is writing to churches.

The frequent use of plural pronouns in the letters cannot be ignored, nor the particular use of direct address to the churches that begin many of his letters, and permeate them throughout, nor the direct allegories concerning the structure and membership of the church, especially in its local form.

The third thing to notice, in a general overview which is addressing only specifics such as this one, is that those assumptions, or presuppositions, which I strongly asserted above are definitely intended by God to be present within the body of the letters, is this: Paul did not assume that all those he addressed, either individually or corporately, were making the true confession of faith in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior, though he always weighted this assumption with that love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. This gives us the reasons for many of the warning sections, which, in a synopsis statement by Paul, may be understood as if indeed you continue in the faith (that is, the body of Christian doctrine which comprises all things for our rule of knowledge and practice in living out the grace of God which is in Christ Jesus), as in Colossians 1:23. He indeed does give even stronger warnings, but as said, this statement can be taken as a synopsis of those warnings. The assumption is that those who do not continue in the faith are not of the faith; the certainty, in any harmonious considerations of God’s teaching through Paul’s writings, is that those who are called to be saints will indeed continue in the faith, since it is God who both wills and works within them to do of His good pleasure.

Therefore, the last thing to focus on in such a short article as this, regarding Paul’s letters, is that He strongly affirms that doctrine of the saints indeed persevering, not because of any valor or value in their character or actions, but by the sovereign keeping in the love of Christ and all Christian graces of the God who cannot fail to keep His own covenant for His people which He made within Himself. Paul powerfully asserts that powerful working of God to keep His people because of His being their God – God cannot lie, and Paul shows that the character of the God who saved those who are His saints, or called ones, is the sole basis for not only the burgeoning of faith in their regenerate natures, but also for the completion of their salvation. He asserts that all things, however we may regard them according to the flesh, are working together for those who love God, and nothing created can separate them from the love that God has given to them and holds them within.

Peter states of Paul’s letters: ^“And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:15-18).

It is just here, as with all the Scriptures, the apostle Peter states, that those who have a form of knowledge which is no knowledge at all twist the truth of God so out of context that it is distorted beyond recognition.

First to be sacrificed in such false knowledge is their own salvation, for there is no salvation apart from the true knowledge of God in the Scriptures, all of which speak of His Son, our Lord.

I say, above, first to be sacrificed, but it may well be that the error of the first part is rather that they serve the creature rather than the Creator; that is, they deny God’s sovereignty in all things, and especially in the matter of salvation and ongoing sanctification, while affirming man’s responsibility in such things to that point where God is made a helpless bystander waiting to see if they will keep themselves in His love and faith, citing numerous passages that state we must make our calling and election sure (which indeed is true, but not as they perceive it), and other imperatives which are not to be seen as man dictating to God that which He surely does, but obeying God out of a sincere faith from a good conscience from a heart made pure to love God and brethren with that love that has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (1 Timothy 1:5: Romans 5:5; cf. Ephesians 2:10). Such do not rightly divide the word of truth – they do not count the precious promises of God to either rule over their own efforts which proceed from that faith given by God’s grace, or to keep them zealous for good works despite their flawed attempts: It is not too strong a thing to say that such false believers have no understanding of God’s grace whatsoever. Subverting the commandments of our Lord to a place above even Him (as if God would contradict Himself), as said before, they place the created creature in the primacy over God, and that this is very much done in Paul’s epistles by these people shows that not only do they not know the grace of God, but that they truly have no knowledge of God as sovereign.

I listed various elements of Paul’s letters to show that disharmony of those who twist his (and other Scripture) words out of context, for when all these things (and this is very basic) are considered together, by God’s Spirit enlightening the understanding of those He has infallibly called to be saints in the formation of local bodies of His church universal, such errors cannot stand. Harmony in reading and study and meditation of our Lord’s Scriptures – the analogy of the faith – leads to those sure conclusions by which He both states His glory and holiness, and gives us to be able to show some of that inestimable radiance of His perfection through our yet-flawed lives, as we progress in this pilgrim’s progress, together.

Grace and peace in the love of God in Christ Jesus,

SDG - Bill

Solitary Christian Syndrome: It's Causes and Cure

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16  from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

One of the saddest things in the modern version of the church (which I do not say is how the church should be) is the solitary Christian syndrome.

Although, as in the Scripture passage above, it is seen that the illustration the apostle Paul uses of the human anatomy is to show connection of each born again spirit, one to another, each of which finds their full supply from the Head, our Lord Jesus Christ, very often, in today’s version of the Christian church, we are left with members which are cut off from that flow by the heartbreaking reality of the other members indeed saying, implicitly or explicitly, or both, “you are not a hand, foot, mouth, etc… I have no need of you,” which in turn will very often lead to the member of Christ’s body thinking they are not a part of that body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

To say this syndrome is pandemic in most of today’s churches is a gross misrepresentation of the fact of it; an understatement of the strongest kind.

We can blame the seeker-sensitive movement, Pelagianism, semi-Pelagianism, the health-wealth gospel, the social gospel, or whatever, but the truth of the matter is that, though all of these have their respective hands in the pie of this sorrowful condition among the body of Christ, it goes deeper than that.

This fact is born out by individual believers feeling isolated from fellowship in even the several Reformed churches (and to say “these things ought not to be” is again a gross understatement).

Why is this so rampant among even those churches which hold to true Christian doctrine?

It is because of all the things mentioned above, coupled with a good dose of Scriptural ignorance, plus the appetites of the flesh (not in gross form, but in thoughts and attitudes and demeanor towards fellow believers).

Sorrowfully, many things are looked at according to that which was normative before conversion, among the body of Christ, even in churches that are orthodox in doctrine (although obviously not in orthopraxy). Things learned in the world, personal traits acquired by one’s experience in interaction with non-Christian society, are used as illustrations of how one is to exercise their spiritual gifts and discharge their ordained offices, with the result that Scripture is not the norm or the supply for that faith which is to be based only in Scripture, and common sense has taken the place of the Spirit of God implementing the vital truths of Scripture in renewing the mind that the fruits of the Spirit may reproduce in us the new man created in God’s image after true righteousness and holiness.

Where pragmatism takes the place of God’s doctrine, at that point, even in the most doctrinally sound assemblies, there will be resultant schisms and consequential fleshly fruits, all of which, in turn, break the realized reality of our having fellowship with one another by walking in the light as He is in the light. Members will thus be isolated and ignored, to the detriment of the body as a whole, and the testimony of Christ among both the body and in the world; in fact, the world simply sees itself in these things, glossed over with religious language and behaviors.

While realizing that God providentially provided us with that which we, while yet unconverted, utilized to function in the world and non-Christian society, be it at the work place, at home, or at play, it is a terrible mistake to take such unredeemed qualities of fleshly personality development and make them normative in dealing with and interacting with one another, for to do so simply yields that upon which the judgment of God is upon and coming, being of the flesh, not of faith (John 3:18-20; Colossians 3:5-9; James 4:1-3).

On the other hand, realizing that these things were providentially given, and that we must “put to death our members which are upon the earth,” we can redeem these traits as good stewards of that grace which has been given to us; the danger, and disaster, lies in looking to and using these fleshly traits as we did before having been born again.

Let each of us examine ourselves, looking to the formation of that new personality which is of the new man which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator; that is, being conformed to the image of Christ our Lord, and put off the old man, that is, those character traits we esteem as a part of our natural growth as if they were on a par with those traits which are of Christ our Lord, by His Spirit (Colossians 3:12-15; Galatians 5:22-26).

There is always healing in the body of Christ, if we do not attempt to make that which is of the natural man and the world our guidelines, but bring such captive to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ by His Spirit of holiness applying His Scriptural truths to our lives, that we may indeed be supplied by the Head so that each part works properly with that which it is supplied unto the edification of the body, in maturity, building itself up in love.

We are Christ’s body on earth, now; let us live according to those truths of His communicable attributes, in love, to the glory of God.

Christlikeness in Humility - A Good Sermon On These Things

SDG - Bill

Suffering as the Kind Intention of His Will

Let us consider, now, the kind intention of His will – that which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord before the ages began (Ephesians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 1:9).

This is the testimony that Paul shares with us, of which he tells us not to be ashamed (2 Timothy 1:8).

Now, is telling us this, Paul is not speaking of himself in circumstances which would be construed as benevolent – at least, not by the standards of the world.

When a person is suffering, we attribute such, most often, to the fact that there is something wrong, and that would not be an improper assessment here, for Paul suffered by reason of that which is wrong with the world; however, the world would not see that assessment as proper, for it sees nothing wrong with itself, and so it is a matter of perspective for we who have been bought out of that world by the life-blood of our Savior and Lord. Nor would the world note that this is according to the kind intention, or good pleasure, of the will of God, for the world cannot see that will of God which is a mystery revealed only to those the Spirit of God has regenerated and indwelt.

For the world, suffering is always a grievous thing, and most often associated with not the kind intention of the will of the Triune God, but because a thing is wrong with the person suffering. It could be their circumstances, or it could be the manner in which they take care of their health (or fail to take care of their health), but in any case, from the perspective of the world, it is, at the least, a very sad thing; at most, the well-deserved consequences of choices and actions that the one suffering has participated in to their own detriment.

Yet, it was through the suffering and death of our Lord of Glory that God purposed this kind intention towards us, and this purpose was before the world began; is it any wonder that the continuation of such suffering and death, though not vicarious, as in the death of our Lord, yet shows forth that glory of God’s grace in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:24)?

We must not imagine that there was anything actually lacking in the sufferings of our Lord for the propitiation of God’s wrath, that He would then visit upon us the undeserved merits of our Lord’s goodness, righteousness, and holiness, as if it were our own, nor is this what Paul means when he speaks in this manner; what he does mean is that it is set to show that completely sufficient sacrifice, as pointing to our Lord’s particular and eternally effective atonement, that Paul suffers and, indeed, which all Christians are to not only be willing to suffer to show forth, but to even rejoice in such sufferings ordained of God, for this is what produces that character which is of the new man created after God in truth, righteousness and holiness, being renewed in His great knowledge (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10); this is that which is emanated and mirrored from our renewed nature by the Holy Spirit of God who is in us (Romans 5:1-5).

You see, then, what we are pointing to: God, in the kind intention of His will, not only granted us the faith to believe through Jesus Christ our Lord, but deliberately, as He did with His preeminent Son, purposed, before the ages or world began, that a very primary manner in which He is to be continuously revealed to the world is through the suffering of His saints (Philippians 1:29).

Our Lord scorned what was set before Him for the glory of God that the suffering and cross He bore revealed, and it was according to the Father’s pleasure to crush Him; so our glorious and holy Lord of Life counted as of no esteem or worth that shame He endured, and He looks on the fruits – the results, the people He redeemed for Himself – with satisfaction (Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 12:2).

How small a word can be in our estimation, and yet used by God, show forth infinite satisfaction – our Lord is satisfied – filled to the full with satisfaction – at what He had definitely accomplished, which was to glorify God, and subsequently give the benefits of His glorifying God, through His suffering, to us, His children of spiritual seed.

And He did it by suffering, after preaching the gospel for a few years – it was the primary reason He came (to glorify God, and give us, His beneficiaries, the results of that glorification – the gracious free gift of eternal life by His work alone).

Again: He did it by suffering. It was suffering for the infinite, eternal God the Son to even enter into the world of His creation after subjecting it to futility by the curse He put upon it; it was suffering for Him to continue to live among fallen man to bring to humankind the gospel of the kingdom; it was suffering for Him to be persecuted for righteousness and the gospel’s sake; it was suffering by which He made the reconciliation of His people with His Father and ours. This is the glory of suffering which God the Son undertook willingly; this is that which our faith will apprehend in both small and large degree, as the history of men made holy by the Most Holy God shows throughout church history, from the apostles to the Protestant Reformation and up to this present day. God has willed to use suffering to reveal His kind intention and patience to all the world, both those who will come to Him, and those who will not; it is foolishness most obvious to those who are perishing, yet it reveals the saving truth of God to those who are being saved.

The servant is not above his Master; it is enough that he be like his Master (Mark 10:24-25). It pleased God to crush His Son; how, then, is it that we expect an exception to this, particularly when, as we have looked at in some small detail, we not only see that we were promised such suffering, but also that it is the primary manner in which God shows forth His glory in this present age?

Since it pleased God to crush His Son, it certainly is not any trouble to look at the promises given us regarding suffering and seeing that it is indeed according to the good pleasure of His will that we go through such – it may not be popular in today’s facades of what is passed off as the true church of Christ, but it is indisputable, God glorifying truth, and we are to be joyful regarding these things.

As spoken by God to us through His apostle: Think (meditate) upon these things.

SDG - Bill

Of Impartiality, Entitlement and God's Sovereignty

I recently posted this to facebook.

It was, as usual, during one of the times when God was pleased to have me understand somewhat of His Scripture and man's misuse of it, during a time of meditation.

That God even gives such moments of clarity to any of us is of His graciously giving us all blessings in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), by which is meant not simply that heaven transcendent where God resides, but that calling of God whereby we are not only united to our Lord and Savior in His certain sovereign reign from His seat at the Right Hand of Majesty, but now, and here, in these places we are at, for all places are to be understood which may be called heavenly places - we are now united with Him as certainly as we shall be with Him in ultimate glory, which is to say, His glory, when He has perfected us (Philippians 1:6). Our Lord made certain that His apostles, and so we, understand these things (John 14:15-17, John 14:23; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Colossians 1:23; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 John 1:1-3, 1 John 1:7).

Consequently, when we share that which is of the meditations of His Scriptures, in union (fellowship) with Him through the application of His great and precious promises by the Holy Spirit of truth, we must see that which is of His glory, not that which is of any entitlement we supposedly own, for God's impartiality is of His character, infinitely good and holy, and it is by that, as shown to us by Him in the Scriptures, of which we both write and, we trust, are made manifest to both ourselves and others, regarding these things of God.

                   _________________________________________________________________________________________

In many countries - primarily in what we call "Western" or "free," though the second is indeed a misnomer - among those communities of peoples who call themselves by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the word "impartiality," as it appears primarily in the New Testament, has been used to indicate a neutral moral state of our God's character, regarding what these communities see as "entitlement."

That it does not indicate such is plain from the context of Scripture overall, as well as in the immediate contexts in which it appears.

God is not "morally neutral," nor does He see anything as "entitlement" to either the individual believer, or the various local covenant communities (where those communities even recognize the concept of "covenant").

He is angry with and hates the evil of sinners (Psalms 5:5; 11:5), and it is only in the appeasement of His wrath in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that the sinner finds that anger assuaged and himself reconciled to the most holy God (Romans 5:1, 6-11).

God's impartiality is based in His holiness, and so underscores the fact of His finding no redeeming merit in any of the efforts and actions of men, in thought, affection, choice or deed, with which to pardon them.

Those who ignore this and think that they are actually doing that which makes them acceptable to God, aside from - and in some circles, outside of - the propitiatory sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ place themselves, therefore, in the most precarious of positions, and need to, with the tax-collector of Luke 18:13, seek the justification that only comes through the Son (Psalm 2:12), lest they find what it truly means for God to impartially reward them with the wages of their earned reward (Romans 6:23a).

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).

SDG - Bill

A Can of Candy

It’s that time of year. And since the charismatics, fundamental Baptists, and the rest of the animals in between will be waging their holy war on Halloween, I thought I would join in on the fun. Last year I wrote on why I partake on Halloween here. And since the same decrepit arguments are used by the former groups named before, I thought I would keep pressing my rebuttal until better arguments are brought forth.

I have a nephew who is ten years old. Last year he dressed up as a cop. His sister, my niece, was the golden haired girl from the movie Tangled. They weren't dressing up to be little Samahin devil worshipers  holding a pitch-fork, uttering incantations in some foreign tongue. Though, I guess there could be some kids who do that (darn Gaels), but it is highly unlikely. My niece, and nephew, simply wanted to be driven around neighborhoods collecting all the chocolate their little tummies could take for the next few months. That’s all. Now, if they were dressed in costumes that glorify evil, or actually believed in the folklore of Samahien, or were in reality little devil worshipers, we would have a problem. But such is not the case, and it isn't the case with a lot of kids.

The problem of inconsistency was raised in the post last year, and I’ll raise it here briefly. Why is it that we choose and pick which historically pagan rooted tradition we’ll bash and accept? If the argument is that we as Christians have an obligation to do away with all rooted in paganism, then let’s be consistent. "Throw away that wedding ring, granny. Don’t ya know pagans did the same thing?” "Hey, I ain't going to school on Tuesday, don't ya know the word Tuesday originated from a pagan god?" See where this gets us? I believe, it is more biblical to say, “X was linked to some weird pagan stuff, but we don’t use those things in the same way, and we can still use those things to glorify our God”. 

Last thing: If wearing a mask, or allowing your kids to wear a mask, violates your conscience, feel free to stay home and do whatever it is you were going to do. Paul says that whatever is not of faith is sin; and I would never want you to violate your conscience. At the same time, permit us the same freedom.

Happy Halloween

-awretchsaved

"Sufficient For All But Efficient Only For The Elect"?

William Cunningham clarifies the confusion of that often stems from such a statement:

We would now make two to three observations, suggested by this account of the state of the question. First, the advocates of a limited or definite atonement do not deny, but maintain, the infinite intrinsic sufficiency of Christ’s satisfaction and merits. They regard His sufferings and death as possessed of value, or worth, sufficient to have purchased pardon and reconciliation for the whole race of fallen man. The value or worth of His sacrifice of Himself depends upon, and is measured by, the dignity of His person, and is therefore infinite. Though many fewer of the human race had been to be pardoned and saved, an atonement of infinite value would have been necessary, in order to procure for them these blessings; and though many more, yea, all men, had been to be pardoned and saved, the death of Christ, being an atonement of infinite value, would have been amply sufficient, as the ground or basis of their forgiveness or salvation. We know nothing of the amount or extent of Christ’s sufferings in themselves. Scripture tells us only of their relation to the law, in compliance with the provision of which they were inflicted and endured. This implies their infinity, in respect of intrinsic legal worth or value; and this, again, implies their full intrinsic sufficiency for the redemption of all men, if God had intended to redeem and save them. There have been some Calvinists who have contended that Christ’s sufferings were just as much, in amount or extent, as were sufficient for redeeming, or paying the ransom price of, the elect,—of those who are actually saved: so that, if more men had been to be pardoned and saved, Christ must have suffered more than He did, and if fewer, less. But those who have held this view have been very few in number, and of no great weight or influence. The opinion, however, is one which the advocates of universal atonement are fond of adducing and refuting, because it is easy to refute it; and because this is fitted to convey the impression that the advocates of a limited atonement in general hold this, or something like it, and thus to insinuate an unfavourable idea of the doctrine. There is no doubt that all the most eminent Calvinistic divines hold the infinite worth or value of Christ’s atonement,—its full sufficiency for expiating all the sins of all men.

A distinction was generally employed by the schoolmen, which has been often adverted to in this discussion, and which it may be proper to explain. They were accustomed to say, that Christ died sufficiently for all men, and efficaciously for the elect,—sufficienter pro omnibus, efficaciter pro electis. Some orthodox divines, who wrote before the extent of the atonement had been made the subject of full, formal, and elaborate discussion,—and Calvin himself among the rest,—admitted the truth of this scholastic position. But after controversy had thrown its full light upon the subject, orthodox divines generally refused to adopt this mode of stating the point, because it seemed to ascribe to Christ a purpose or intention of dying in the room of all, and of benefiting all by the proper effects of His death, as an atonement or propitiation; not that they doubted or denied the intrinsic sufficiency of His death for the redemption of all men, but because the statement—whether originally so intended or not—was so expressed as to suggest the idea, that Christ, in dying, desired and intended that all men should partake in the proper and peculiar effects of the shedding of His blood. Calvinists do not object to say that the death of Christ—viewed objectively, apart from His purpose or design—was sufficient for all, and efficacious for the elect, because this statement in the first clause merely asserts its infinite intrinsic sufficiency, which they admit; whereas the original scholastic form of the statement,—namely, that He died sufficiently for all,—seems to indicate that, when He died, He intended that all should derive some saving and permanent benefit from His death. The attempt made by some defenders of universal atonement to prove, that a denial of the universality of the atonement necessarily implies a denial of its universal intrinsic sufficiency, has nothing to do with the settlement of the state of the question, but only with the arguments by which the opposite side may be defended; and, therefore, I need not advert to it.

Secondly, It is not denied by the advocates of particular redemption, or of a limited atonement, that mankind in general, even those who ultimately perish, do derive some advantages or benefits from Christ’s death; and no position they hold requires them to deny this. They believe that important benefits have accrued to the whole human race from the death of Christ, and that in these benefits those who are finally impenitent and unbelieving partake. What they deny is, that Christ intended to procure, or did procure, for all men those blessings which are the proper and peculiar fruits of His death, in its specific character as an atonement,—that He procured or purchased redemption—that is, pardon and reconciliation—for all men. Many blessings flow to mankind at large from the death of Christ, collaterally and incidentally, in consequence of the relation in which men, viewed collectively, stand to each other. All these benefits were, of course, foreseen by God, when He resolved to send His son into the world; they were contemplated or designed by Him, as what men should receive and enjoy. They are to be regarded and received as bestowed by Him, and as thus unfolding His glory, indicating His character, and actually accomplishing His purposes; and they are to be viewed as coming to men through the channel of Christ’s mediation,—of His sufferings and death.

The truth of this position has been considered as affording some warrant for saying, in a vague and indefinite sense, that Christ died for all men; and in this sense, and on this account, some Calvinists have scrupled about meeting the position that Christ died for all men with a direct negative, as if they might thus be understood as denying that there was any sense in which all men derived benefit, from Christ’s death. But this position does not at all correspond with the proper import of what Scripture means when it tells us that Christ died for men. This, as we prove against the Socinians, implies that He substituted Himself in their room and stead, that He put Himself in their legal position, that He made satisfaction to God’s justice for their sins, or that He purchased redemption for them; and this, we contend, does not hold true of any but those who are actually at length pardoned and saved. The advocates of universal atonement, then, have no right to charge us with teaching that none derive any benefit from Christ’s death except those who are pardoned and saved; we do not teach this, and we are not bound in consistency to teach it. We teach the opposite of this; and we are not deterred from doing so by the fear lest we should thereby afford to those who are opposed to us a medium for proving that, in the proper scriptural sense, He died for all men, or that the leading and peculiar benefits which His death procured for men,—the benefits of salvation,—were designed or intended for all mankind.*

*Cunningham, W. (1864). Historical theology: A review of the principal doctrinal discussions in the Christian church since the apostolic age, Volume 2. (331–334). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

FLEE FROM IDOLATRY

Genesis 1:27:  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 9:6:  "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

Exodus 20:4:  "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

Isaiah 46:5:  "To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?”

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

It may fairly be said that, before the fall, man – that is, Adam – was an ideal finite representation of God, for God pronounced man “very good” in that state (Genesis 1:31 – it is to be noted, however, that it was the entirety of His creation which received this commendation from God, not just man).

After the fall, we are told of the state of man, both pre-flood, and post-flood (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21). Despite various men being pronounced good, righteous, perfect in all their ways, etc., throughout the rest of the divine Writ, we are assured that this goodness in no manner derives from or depends upon their own merit, for our Lord stated such in no uncertain terms (Romans 3:9-18 as a synthesis of Romans 1-3, notwithstanding those who receive grace to eternal life by the free gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord).

By notwithstanding, we do not mean that there is any goodness in those saved sinners, called saints, that does not derive from our Lord Jesus Christ, and we trust, such is shown plainly and completely in the apostolic statement in Romans 3:9-18, for when the apostle says in v.9, by the Spirit of God,  “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,” it is to show that vs. 10-18 apply to all mankind, as the division of the first three chapters is considered to be inclusive of first, the Gentiles, secondly, the Jews, and so representative of all of mankind, for that was the common manner in which the apostle, moved by God’s Spirit, recorded the words in His epistles, though he would elaborate on this point in other contexts (regarding the redeemed and the unredeemed). The point is, the Imago Dei, though not to be thought ill of or trifled with, as stated of man after the fall in Genesis 9:6, is no longer a proper representation of God, marred as it was by the fall, and so, in no fashion whatsoever are we to think of it as the perfect finite representation of God which is was pre-fall.

Nevertheless, we have those who, today, in their theology, seek to use various anthropomorphisms of the human heart and mind as analogous to the divine heart, and, we submit, this is none other than comparing God to man; worse, it takes the form of imaginations – thoughts which are not founded in substance – not even the substance of faith (or, rather, especially not in the substance of faith) – but in the ether of comparing God to man, a formless void of idolatry which only exists in the hearts (speaking of the thoughts, affections and will) of men. This is, as the apostle speaks to quite plainly, becoming futile in their thinking, for it is an empty thing to compare God to the marred creature, even if that marred creature happens to have been gifted with the righteousness and goodness of God in Jesus Christ in finite form by the new birth. The flesh is still marred terribly, until such a time as God perfects that which He alone began in us (Philippians 1:6), for we know that such goodness and righteousness derives only from the only One who is good (Mark 10:18; Philippians 3:9).

To go beyond the Second Commandment – that is, to form idols which purport to accurately represent the infinitely holy God – is to go too far, and this has taken the place of expounding upon that which God has revealed to us by the use of not only anthropomorphisms, but also by the use of finite philosophical terminologies posing as theology.

This is not to say that there is not a valid use of either anthropomorphisms or philosophy in discussions of man, God, and reality, for indeed there is; however, we must be careful not to go beyond that knowledge that God has allotted to us when doing so (Deuteronomy 29:29; Romans 11:33-36).

It is a sad but truthful statement that there are those teachers, among the churches which comprise the universal church of our Lord Jesus Christ, who actually do seek to state more than what is given us in Scripture. They use analogies that go beyond the analogy of the faith, and as a consequence, idols are carved into the vain imaginings of some of God’s people, we dare say.

Our God declares “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” and these men, well-intentioned as they may be reply, “Well, by way of analogy, I will compare You to Your creatures.”

This simply will not do – citing uses of the anthropomorphisms in Scripture is no excuse for erecting such idols of analogy, for our God uses such limited linguistic comparisons to Himself simply because of the weakness of our flesh (Romans 6:19). Such analogies go beyond Scripture, regardless of how they try to use the language of man’s philosophies and logical constructs, for the fact is that they are using an analogy of themselves, or man, as that upon which to base the inmost workings of God; to enter into the secret things that are the Lord’s, those inscrutable things which do not belong to us, and this is the very essence of idolatry. Whether one builds up a false image from clay, wood, metal, or in the mind, idolatry remains the same.

The overarching theme of God’s attributes, as related to us in Scripture, consistently runs with the theme I AM your God; I AM holy; even thrice Holy (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). While we are said to be partakers of the divine nature and to have the mind of Christ (2 Peter 1:4; 1 Corinthians 2:16), this in no way is stating that we are to infer what God is like from the remaining likeness of the Imago Dei in even those He has redeemed, despite themselves; quite the opposite is true. We gain whatever intrinsic value we now have, which will show extrinsically, from our standing in our Lord, and from that alone (Colossians 3:3-17; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 2:20). Our behaviors, while still in this house of sinful flesh, are to mirror those behaviors that reflect and emanate the perfection and holiness that God infinitely is, thus, we are directed to look to those things above where our infinitely perfect Savior and Lord sits enthroned; yet in being told to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect and to be holy, for I am holy (Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:16), it is always realized that we are the created creatures who, at this time, still must deal with the sin that remains in our flesh (1 John 1:8-10), and thus, acknowledge the great bridge that exists between the effectual witness of God’s infinite perfections from and through us (which is only possible by His Spirit indwelling us – Romans 8:13-17), and the actuality of He who is that infinite perfection.

Now, the point of mentioning God’s holiness is to state His transcendence; his otherness, His absolute and infinite perfection in all of His attributes. If we are to isolate any of His attributes alone, and say there is God, we are at an utter failure; if, however, we are to comprehend any and all of His attributes rightly, it must be within that infinite, as-far-as-the-east-is-from-the-west, as-far-as-the-heavens-are-above-the-earth, rainbow of His holiness. If we take any one – any one at all – of His other attributes and seek to elevate them beyond the comprehension of them within the context of His holiness, right there, at that very point, we fail to comprehend both that attribute of God, as well as all the other attributes of God – we make Him less than transcendent – we commit an idolatry of the imagination, for we strip His holiness down by just that much.

Though this has gone on through the church throughout the ages of its history, we hope we are not those who continue to promulgate such idols of the imagination, while at the same time, we must ask forgiveness, knowing that we have failed in this sense, for such is the nature of grace: it reminds us of who we are, and presents God in His immeasurable, glorious otherness, that holiness we must seek (and we trust we are seeking it) to know that He will present us spotless before Himself without blame, keeping us from the final stumbling of those who have not found their own resources devoid of anything regarding salvation or holy living, and so throwing our trust entirely upon the only good God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Hebrews 12:14; Matthew 5:3; Jude 1:24-25).

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:25-27).

To God ALONE be the glory. – Bill

Weekly Dose Of Lloyd-Jones (Man's Sinful Condition)

There is a tendency to regard man’s essential trouble as being a sickness. I do not mean physical sickness only. That comes in; but I mean a kind of mental and moral and spiritual sickness. It is not that; that is not man’s real need, not his real trouble! I would say the same about his misery and his unhappiness, and also about his being a victim of circumstances.

These are the things that are given prominence today. There are so many people trying to diagnose the human situation; and they come to the conclusion that man is sick, man is unhappy, man is the victim of circumstances. They believe therefore that his primary need is to have these things dealt with, that he must be delivered from them. But I suggest that that is too superficial a diagnosis of the condition of man, and that man’s real trouble is that he is a rebel against God and consequently under the wrath of God.

Now this is the biblical statement concerning him, this is the biblical view of man as he is by nature. He is ‘dead in trespasses and sins’, that means, spiritually dead. He is dead to the life of God, to the spiritual realm and to all the beneficent influences of that realm upon him. We are also told that he is ‘blind’. ‘If our gospel be hid,’ says Paul in 2 Corinthians 4: 3– 4, ‘it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not’. Or as Paul puts it again in Ephesians 4: 17ff., man’s trouble is that ‘his understanding is darkened, because he is alienated from the life of God through the sin that is in him.’ Another very common biblical term to describe this condition of man is the term ‘darkness’. You have it in John 3: 19: ‘This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.’ And in the First Epistle of John you find the same idea worked out. Writing to Christians he says that ‘the darkness is past and the true light now shineth.’ The Apostle Paul uses the same idea exactly in Ephesians 5. He says, ‘Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.’ These are the terms that express the biblical diagnosis of man’s essential trouble. In other words we can sum it up in one word by saying that it is ignorance. All the terms such as ‘blindness’ and ‘darkness’ are indicative of ignorance. And according to this biblical view of man all these other things, such as unhappiness and misery, even physical illness, and all the other things which torment and trouble us so much are the results and the consequences of original sin and the Fall of Adam. They are not the main problem, they are consequences, or symptoms if you like, and manifestations of this primary, this ultimate disease.*

*Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn (2012-01-17). Preaching and Preachers (Kindle Locations 496-517). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Calvin's Complaint Of Luther (To Melanchthon)

CXXXVI.—TO MELANCHTHON

He complains of Luther’s tyranny, and affectionately exhorts Melanchthon to manifest greater decision and firmness.

28th June 1545.

Would that the fellow-feeling which enables me to condole with you, and to sympathize in your heaviness, might also impart the power in some degree, at least, to lighten your sorrow. If the matter stands as the Zurichers say it does, then they have just occasion for their writing. Your Pericles allows himself to be carried beyond all due bounds with his love of thunder, especially seeing that his own case is by no means the better of the two. We all of us do acknowledge that we are much indebted to him. Neither shall I submit myself unwillingly, but be quite content, that be may bear the chief sway, provided that he can manage to conduct himself with moderation. Howbeit, in the Church we must always be upon our guard, lest we pay too great a deference to men. For it is all over with her, when a single individual, be he whosoever you please, has more authority than all the rest, especially where this very person does not scruple to try how far he may go. Where there exists so much division and separation as we now see, it is indeed no easy matter to still the troubled waters and bring about composure. But were we all of that mind we ought to be, some remedy might, perhaps, be discovered; most certainly we convey a mean example to posterity, while we rather prefer, of our own accord, entirely to throw away our liberty, than to irritate a single individual by the slightest offence. But, you will say, his disposition is vehement, and his impetuosity is ungovernable;—as if that very vehemence did not break forth with all the greater violence when all shew themselves alike indulgent to him, and allow him to have his way, unquestioned. If this specimen of overbearing tyranny has sprung forth already as the early blossom in the springtide of a reviving Church, what must we expect in a short time, when affairs have fallen into a far worse condition? Let us therefore bewail the calamity of the Church, and not devour our grief in silence, but venture boldly to groan for freedom. Consider, besides, whether the Lord may not have permitted you to be reduced to these straits in order that you may be brought to a yet fuller confession upon this very article. It is indeed most true, as I acknowledge it to be, that which you teach, and also that hitherto, by a kindly method of instruction, you have studiously endeavoured to recall the minds of men from strife and contention. I applaud your prudence and moderation. While, however, you dread, as you would some hidden rock, to meddle with this question from the fear of giving offence, you are leaving in perplexity and suspense very many persons who require from you somewhat of a more certain sound, on which they can repose; and besides, as I remember I have sometimes said to you, it is not over-creditable to us, that we refuse to sign, even with ink, that very doctrine which many saints have not hesitated to leave witnessed with their blood. Perhaps, therefore, it is now the will of God thus to open up the way for a full and satisfactory declaration of your own mind, that those who look up to your authority may not be brought to a stand, and kept in a state of perpetual doubt and hesitation. These, as you are aware, amount to a very great number of persons. Nor do I mention this so much for the purpose of arousing you to freedom of action, as for the sake of comforting you; for indeed, unless I could entertain the hope, that out of this vexatious collision some benefit shall have arisen, I would be utterly worn out by far deeper distress. Howbeit, let us wait patiently for a peaceable conclusion, such as it shall please the Lord to vouchsafe. In the meanwhile, let us run the race set before us with deliberate courage. I return you very many thanks for your reply, and at the same time, for the extraordinary kindness which Claude assures me had been shewn to him by you. I can form a conjecture what you would have been to myself, from your having given so kind and courteous a reception to my friend. I do not cease, however, to offer my chief thanks to God, who hath vouchsafed us that agreement in opinion upon the whole of that question about which we had both been examined; for although there is a slight difference in certain particulars, we are, notwithstanding, very well agreed upon the general question itself.

[Calvin’s Lat. Corresp.—Opera, tom. ix. p. 33.]*

*Bonnet, J. (2009). Vol. 1: Letters of John Calvin, Vol. I-IV (466–468). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.