Steps to Revival

1. Confess and forsake all known sin (1 John 1:5-9).

2. Yield self completely to His control (Romans 12:1).

3. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16).

4. You must be emptied of self (Gal. 2:20).

Five Damning Teachings of the Catholic Church

1. The teaching that Mary had a immaculate conception and was born free of original sin.

 

2. The teaching that Mary was a perpetual virgin.

 

3. The teaching that Mary is deity in heaven acting as co-mediator.

 

4. The teaching that observing the sacraments infuses grace for salvation and keeping salvation.

 

5. The teaching of works that pervert the doctrine of justification by grace alone through

    faith alone in Christ alone.

Esau and Jacob

Question- Why did God choose Jacob over Esau?

1. Some believe that by foresight God looked into history and saw how these two boys would turn out and therefore chose Jacob [Romans 9:11-13].
 

We are all condemned and dead and bring nothing to the table for God to choose us.

The choice was made by God by his electing purposes before either boy could do bad or good. His choice was not be their works or actions but by God’s actions.

2. God foreordained his choice not by human merit or works or foreseen works, but by his choice and by the electing grace of him who calls.

 

Every action of God arises out of his eternal purpose (Romans 8:29-30).

Salvation is always on the basis of divine grace which rises out of the eternal purpose of the sovereign God.

3. God chose Jacob because he wanted to choose Jacob. It has nothing to do with favoritism but his free will and unconditional choice!

God did not predestinate Esau and his descendant to hell. Not all Jews are saved and some Edomites can be saved!

 

Question- What does Romans 9:13 mean?

v. 13: “Jacob have I loved put Esau have I hated” This is probably one of the most misinterpreted and twisted verses in the Bible.

We are talking about nations and yet Individuals as well. God loved Israel and hated Esau’s idolatrous descendants.

“Hated” does not mean to love less, but God set his love on Jacob and his descendants in a love relationship and rejected Esau’s line for the promise. Jacob (chosen) and Esau (rejected). 

Turn to Malachi 1:1-4

Election and Evangelism

                        To put it another way- Divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

Election and Evangelism

Acts 13:48-49

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. (49) And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.                                                              

Election
 

Election is the divine side or God’s sovereignty in salvation [Matt. 16:18; John 6:37-40, 44, 65; Acts 13:48-49; Romans 8:28-30; 9:9-13; 10:13-15; Phil. 1:29; Ephesians 1:4, 11; 2:1, 8-9; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:9; 2:10; Titus 1:2; 3:4-7; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 2:9; 2 Peter 1:10].

 

“Appointed” means to enroll, inscribe, to assign. Believer’s names are written in the Lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world [Luke 10:20; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 13:8; 17:8].

 

The emphasis is not on condemning the condemned [Acts 13:46], but saving those who deserve hell.

Evangelism

Evangelism is the human side of salvation or human choice [Matt. 4:17; John 3:18-19, 36; 5:40; Romans 9:22-23; 10:13; 2 Thess. 2:10-12; James 4:8; Rev. 22:17].

 

We are to call people to repentance and faith because election does not negate evangelism.

We balance God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, and we can’t deny or explain away either doctrine. Both co-exist in the scriptures.

 

We can’t understand and reconcile the two doctrines, just teach both and share Jesus.

The Face of Evil

My heart sank when I heard the news of the school shooting in Newtown, Ct., this past week. Innocent lives snuffed out by a coward full of evil. Several thoughts have run through my mind since this senseless act.

1. The left [liberals] immediately used the killings to push for their ultimate agenda of taking guns out of the hands of the American people. Make no mistake, it will not end with a ban on assault rifles. We already have the greatest gun law in the Bible, "Thou shalt not kill."

2. The uniformed and Biblically ignorant are quick to blame guns, video games, and the mental health community. How about just recognizing that evil exists. This is a sin problem!

3. Satan is a murderer and the father of lies. He advances his agenda through demons and human agents [Lanza]. The spirit of the Antichrist and the spirit of lawlessness is at work in this world.

4. We live in a sin cursed fallen world. The effects of sin abound affecting the lost and the saved.

5. God has given man a free will to operate in the boundaries of his deadness.

6. We are not yet in the millennial kingdom where Christ puts down lawlessness and rules with a rod of iron. We are not yet in the eternal state [Rev. 21-22] where sin will not be present.

7. Children go to heaven if they die before the age of understanding good and evil [Deut. 1:39]. See my series, "What Happens to Babies who Die," on our church website under sermons- mytrinitybaptist.org

8. There is a great hypocrisy here by those who favor abortion. We certainly mourn for these 26 victims, but what about the close to 60 million innocent lives killed since Roe vs Wade.

Come Lord Jesus!

Black Friday

I recently saw a cartoon that a member of the church I pastor sent me. It showed a man and his wife watching television. The man said, "This Middle East violence is really getting frightening." The wife responded, "Thats Black Friday!"

We hear of the "casualities" and the "war stories" every year the day after. You know what you saw and heard and there is no need to go over the horrid stories again.

Black Friday is a product of the greed and materialism of America. What else would motivate someone to stand in line or push and run over people for their "prized" item? What else would cause a woman to bite the hand that is trying to steal the prize catch out of her grasp? They take it home to little Johnny or Susie to play with a few moments and then discard it in the graveyard of toys they have accumulated over the years.

Black Friday warriors need to understand three things. First, if they would wait they could get their prized treasure on sale later. Second, realize what they are buying is second or third tier items. Third, what would Jesus think of their action? What if they studied their Bible like they trained and strategized for Black Friday?

I am disgusted with the whole thing. This is why I like Operation Christmas Child Christmas Shoeboxes. Here you have children from all over the world who have nothing, waiting in line to receive their shoebox of toys with much appreciation.

The Sealing of the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13–14, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,  (14)  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Dr. John MacArthur had this article of the sealing of the Holy Spirit...

The sealing of the Holy Spirit is a promise to those who have received Jesus Christ, God has sealed [them] in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. Every believer is given the very Holy Spirit of God the moment he trusts in Christ. “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwell-s in you,” Paul declares (Rom. 8:9a). Conversely, he goes on to say, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (v. 9b). The body of every true Christian is actually “a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in [him]” (1 Cor. 6:19).

When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in his life. Life in Jesus Christ is different because the Spirit of God is now within. He is there to empower us, equip us for ministry, and function through the gifts He has given us. The Holy Spirit is our Helper and Advocate. He protects and encourages us. He also guarantees our inheritance in Jesus Christ. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16–17). The Spirit of God is our securing force, our guarantee.

 

The sealing of which Paul speaks here refers to an official mark of identification that was placed on a letter, contract, or other important document. The seal usually was made from hot wax, which was placed on the document and then impressed with a signet ring. The document was thereby officially identified with and under the authority of the person to whom the signet belonged.

That is the idea behind our being sealed in Him [Christ] with the Holy Spirit of promise. The seal of God’s Spirit in the believer signifies four primary things: security, authenticity, ownership, and authority.

Security. In ancient times the seal of a king, prince, or noble represented security and inviolability. When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, King Darius, along with his nobles, placed their seals on the stone placed over the entrance to the den, “so that nothing might be changed in regard to Daniel” (Dan. 6:17). Any person but the king who broke or disturbed that seal would likely have forfeited his life. In a similar way the tomb where Jesus was buried was sealed. Fearing that Jesus’ disciples might steal His body and falsely claim His resurrection, the Jewish leaders obtained Pilate’s permission to place a seal on the stone and to guard it with soldiers (Matt. 27:62–66).

In an infinitely greater way, the Holy Spirit secures each believer, marking him with His own inviolable seal.

Authenticity. When King Ahab tried unsuccessfully to get Naboth to sell or trade his vineyard, Queen Jezebel volunteered to get the vineyard her way. “So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal” and sent the letters to various nobles who lived in Naboth’s city, demanding that they arrange false accusations of blasphemy and treason against him. The nobles did as they were instructed, and Naboth was stoned to death because of the false charges. The king then simply confiscated the vineyard he had so strongly coveted (1 Kings 21:6–16). Despite the deceptions contained in the letters Jezebel sent, the letters themselves were authentically from the king, because they were sent with his approval and marked with his seal. The seal was his signature.

When God gives us His Holy Spirit, it is as if He stamps us with a seal that reads, “This person belongs to Me and is an authentic citizen of My divine kingdom and member of My divine family.”

Ownership. While Jerusalem was under siege by Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah was under arrest by King Zedekiah for prophesying against the king and the nation, the Lord gave special instructions to His prophet. Jeremiah was told to buy some land in Anathoth for which he had redemption rights. The contract was agreed on, and the stipulated payment was made in the court of the palace guard before the required number of witnesses. In the presence of the witnesses the deed was signed and sealed, establishing Jeremiah as the new legal owner of the property (Jer. 32:10).

When the Holy Spirit seals believers, He marks them as God’s divine possessions, who from that moment on entirely and eternally belong to Him, The Spirit’s seal declares the transaction of salvation as divinely official and final.

Authority. Even after Haman had been hanged for his wicked plot to defame and execute Mordecai, Queen Esther was distressed about the decree that Haman had persuaded King Ahasuerus to make that permitted anyone in his kingdom to attack and destroy the Jews. Because the king could not even himself revoke the decree that was marked with his own seal, he issued and sealed another decree that permitted and even encouraged the Jews to arm and defend themselves (Esther 8:8–12). In both cases the absolute authority of the decrees was represented in the king’s seal.

Those who possessed the sealed decree of the king had the king’s delegated authority set forth in the decree.

When Christians are sealed with the Holy Spirit they are delegated to proclaim, teach, minister, and defend God’s Word and His gospel with the Lord’s own authority.