Guys & Gals,
I think I let my emotions get the best of me tonight... what's new right? In my remarks concerning the two men who were talking about video games they enjoyed I may have made the impression that these kinds of indulgences are inherently wrong or sinful. It's my firm belief unless I can be convinced otherwise that they are not... the issue is not the video games or any other thing like that we may enjoy. The real issue (I think) is are these things taking the place that God should rightly have in our personal devotion. Please forgive me.
Sincerely,
Your brother "IN" Christ! ...tim
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Atonement
Recently God has blessed my life through the ministry of Derek Thomas of Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson MS. I was able to download a (25) part series of lectures given at RTS in Jackson from www.monergism.com. I would like to share a little excerpt from one of those lectures on the atonement that was especially enlightening to me.
“Does the death of Jesus make salvation possible or does it actually guarantee our salvation… What did it set out to achieve? Did it set out to achieve the accomplishment of our salvation, or did it set out to achieve something hypothetical? Did the death of Christ make something possible if something is added to it, namely “human faith”? Or did the death of Christ guarantee that salvation would be actual, because those for whom Christ died would be given faith according to the plan and purpose of God? That is the issue and the scripture that we heard in John 10 (John 10:14-15, & 27-28) would seem to point in the direction of the second rather than the first namely, that the death of Christ sets out to actually achieve salvation not simply to make salvation possible… but if the death of Jesus was only something hypothetical, that He only died to make salvation possible, then the fact that He died gives us no cause for assurance, if at the end of the day it is wholly dependant on something we do, or wholly dependant on the effectiveness of our response. Then assurance becomes impossible.”
The Arminian who believes that Christ actually died for everyone makes God out to be entirely unjust, in fact more so than they lead others to believe that we, the Calvinists do. If God punished Christ for the sins of everyone, and then punishes again those who with their supposed “free will” do not chose Him by sending them to an eternity in Hell, He is a monster. He has judged and punished the sins of mankind twice, once in Christ, and once again in the reprobate, …unthinkable.
Do we receive this gift by faith? Yes, by the faith that God gives us, a faith that is the first breath of the new born child of God. Do we choose Him with this faith? Yes, because we are made willing, we are made able. Our eyes are opened by Him to see the horror of our condition and the only way of escape in the glorious beauty of His Son and the price He paid for our sins; first to appease the wrath of God, then to purchase our salvation. He didn’t die for people in general, He died for you in particular, He had you specifically in mind. How glorious is this! How wonderful! How marvelous! How much glory does God get when these things are taught rightly! It’s these truths that set men’s hearts on fire, that sends them to the outer edges of this planet to minister the gospel, enduring unbelievable suffering, and giving up all that our “precious” America has to offer.
The Arminian in his attempt to open wide the gate of salvation actually gravely diminishes the work of Christ, and cast water on the fire of the Christian’s heart, stripping them of their assurance and removing any guarantee of success in ministry.
“Does the death of Jesus make salvation possible or does it actually guarantee our salvation… What did it set out to achieve? Did it set out to achieve the accomplishment of our salvation, or did it set out to achieve something hypothetical? Did the death of Christ make something possible if something is added to it, namely “human faith”? Or did the death of Christ guarantee that salvation would be actual, because those for whom Christ died would be given faith according to the plan and purpose of God? That is the issue and the scripture that we heard in John 10 (John 10:14-15, & 27-28) would seem to point in the direction of the second rather than the first namely, that the death of Christ sets out to actually achieve salvation not simply to make salvation possible… but if the death of Jesus was only something hypothetical, that He only died to make salvation possible, then the fact that He died gives us no cause for assurance, if at the end of the day it is wholly dependant on something we do, or wholly dependant on the effectiveness of our response. Then assurance becomes impossible.”
The Arminian who believes that Christ actually died for everyone makes God out to be entirely unjust, in fact more so than they lead others to believe that we, the Calvinists do. If God punished Christ for the sins of everyone, and then punishes again those who with their supposed “free will” do not chose Him by sending them to an eternity in Hell, He is a monster. He has judged and punished the sins of mankind twice, once in Christ, and once again in the reprobate, …unthinkable.
Do we receive this gift by faith? Yes, by the faith that God gives us, a faith that is the first breath of the new born child of God. Do we choose Him with this faith? Yes, because we are made willing, we are made able. Our eyes are opened by Him to see the horror of our condition and the only way of escape in the glorious beauty of His Son and the price He paid for our sins; first to appease the wrath of God, then to purchase our salvation. He didn’t die for people in general, He died for you in particular, He had you specifically in mind. How glorious is this! How wonderful! How marvelous! How much glory does God get when these things are taught rightly! It’s these truths that set men’s hearts on fire, that sends them to the outer edges of this planet to minister the gospel, enduring unbelievable suffering, and giving up all that our “precious” America has to offer.
The Arminian in his attempt to open wide the gate of salvation actually gravely diminishes the work of Christ, and cast water on the fire of the Christian’s heart, stripping them of their assurance and removing any guarantee of success in ministry.
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