This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.

In preparing His people for deliverance, both from bondage in Egypt and from the Angel of Death, He tells them that this coming event is significant enough that it should be used as a milestone to mark the beginning of each new year. This passing over of the houses marked with the blood from the lamb that had been sacrificed was so precious an event that it was used to mark time and is proclaimed by God to be given as an “everlasting ordinance” to His people. We now remember and participate in this ordinance each time that we observe the Lord’s Supper, or Communion.

In Exodus we see that Israel was in bondage to Egypt just as we are all born slaves of sin (Rom 3:23; 6:16). Israel was crying out for deliverance (Exodus 3:7) and God was the One Who set in motion the plan to rescue them (Exodus 3:8), just as He set into motion the plan to redeem us from our sin (John 3:16; Eph 1:3-6). And just as He took His people through the wilderness to the Promised Land, so too, we look for heaven, to the return of our King, and to life in His presence forever (Heb 11:9-10).

For our beginning of months in this new year of 2012, let us think about the things that were necessary for the deliverance of God’s people. This gives us cause to remember and to rejoice in the salvation of our God.

Bondage

First we see that there had to be bondage. The people needed to be delivered. Without bondage, without being enslaved, and without being incapable of rescuing themselves the people had no need of a Savior. How often do we forget that we need to be saved and that we need to be delivered from sin and death and that there is nothing that we can do about it on our own? Since the fall, the race of Adam has been bound in sin and in need of salvation.

Death

Secondly we see that there had to be death. There was the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians that motivated Pharaoh to finally let the people go and there was the death of the Passover Lamb, sacrificed so that the blood could be spread on the doorposts of the homes where the Angel of Death would pass over.

Death is a fact of life in this fallen world. As we close out one year and ring in the new we remember those who died during the last 12 months, but even then we often try to hide from it, ignore it, or pretend that we will never die. We really do try not to think about death, but each of us will die physically unless Jesus returns first. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) and we are all sinners. We live in a fallen world, afflicted with sickness, sorrow, and suffering. And sin is the only explanation that can be offered when we are asked why bad things happen.

Is this a reason to give up hope or to despair? Of course not. For those who have been delivered they have been passed over – physical death though inevitable will not hurt them. It is merely a step from this life into the presence of the One Who gave Himself to save us.

For those who have not been delivered from the power of sin through repentance and faith in Christ, death is a sudden step into eternity to face their Judge, and with all the talk these days about contextualizing the gospel and being relevant, perhaps we would be better off if we just realized that people are dying without Jesus and they need to hear the gospel. We need not contextualize it or make it relevant. All people are sinners. All people die. Only Jesus can deliver them from sin and death. You can’t get more relevant than that!

We must notice from the passage in Exodus that it was not only the firstborn of the Egyptians who died that night. The lamb died too. The lamb was sacrificed, and that gives us cause to rejoice because Jesus is our Passover Lamb. He died in our place, substituting Himself for us so that we need not fear death.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing! And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “ Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Obedience

The third thing that we see that had to be necessary for the Passover was an obedient people. Moses and Aaron had to tell the people what God expected and the people had to hear and do what they were told. It was only through carefully following the things that Moses said that the people were spared death and freed from their bondage. There was only one way to get out of Egypt. There was only one route to freedom, and the instructions were specific.

Today we need to be reminded that there is only One Way to be delivered and that Way is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). His gospel is specific, it is a command, and we must hear and obey it if we are to be freed from this slavery to unrighteousness.

Beyond hearing the gospel for the first time we also need to continue to hear His voice as He leads us through His Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. We hear Him through reading, through listening to faithful preachers and teachers, through fellowship, though the songs of praise we sing, and through other means as we are exposed to the Word of God. As we hear the Word and obey the Word we prove that we love God (1 John 5:3), we are sanctified (John 17:17), we are transformed (Rom 12:1-2), and we are equipped to fight the good fight and overcome sin and temptation (Psalm 119:11).

There are plenty of false teachers out there. There are more than enough who try to entertain people and preach that it is all about us, all about being happy, having our best life, being healthy, wealthy, and wise. But this man-centered gospel never saved anyone – it only condemned those who hear it because it is not the truth. The truth is that it is not about us – it is about a Holy God. It is about hearing Him and obeying Him, not for what we can get from Him but because He alone deserves our worship, adoration, and obedience.

In this, our beginning of months, let us remember the things that God tells us are important, things important enough to rewrite the calendar. Let us be determined not to mark the time of our lives by the simple worldly things that pass us by, but by the worship of our God who has passed us over in regards to His wrath solely on the basis of His Son, freeing us from sin and death so that we might proclaim His holiness, His love, and His goodness.

In this New Year, it is not about us, it is about Him! That is the only place to begin.

“In the beginning, God…….”

When we think about having assurance of our salvation we usually are quick to affirm the truth that we have read in 1 John. We have been told “Now by this we know that we know Him” (1 John 2:3), and “These things I have written to you…that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). We know that we can know that we know Jesus. Or at least we hope so.

Some Christians will tell us that they have never doubted their salvation, as if a lack of assurance is evidence of weakness or immaturity. All I can say to that is that if someone really has not ever had any doubt at all then perhaps this reveals a false assurance, an assurance that is too good to be true. Not that I want anyone to doubt. I want us to be sure. Anyone who struggles with sin and desires sanctification surely has seen enough of themselves to wonder how God could save “a wretch like me”. Faith that falters is still faith.

We often miss the fact that when we doubt we are compelled to be reassured. Doubts about our salvation rarely destroy our faith and often lead to strengthening it as we shore up what is lacking. So while we should not fear doubts, we also should not let them linger. Let us sing “My heart has no desire to stay, where doubts arise and fears dismay.”

A doubt is a lack of faith, and too often we doubt the truth when we really should doubt the doubt. It is the doubt that is founded on fear and uncertainty. Why trust the doubt and let it affect how we think, feel, and act?

Doubts usually arise because of sin, sorrow, or struggles. We fall to temptation and are disgusted with ourselves, wondering how a person who is redeemed could do what we have just done. We become overwhelmed with grief or sadness and hope and joy give way to fear. Or we grow weary in the struggle against sin and sorrow, losing sight of Christ in the midst of trials and tribulation. We sink in the wind and waves and wonder how a disciple of Christ could fail so miserably.

In attempting to pull ourselves back together and regain some semblance of assurance we are often encouraged to look at our good works. We are told to examine our lives and see the things that are different now than before we came to know Christ. These outer changes, and even changes in attitude and appetite, are described as fruit, and we know you can tell a tree by its fruit. But too often when we do look at fruit and our good works we are still just looking at ourselves. True lasting assurance cannot originate with self because we know how prone to failure we are. Even the largest ego and the most assured self-esteem with falter when we come face to face with our depravity.

Where do we find assurance then? How can we really know that we know Jesus, and that He knows us?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure

We read in 2 Peter 1:10:

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

To be diligent is to “make every effort”, to work hard at accomplishing a task. Here we are told to be even more diligent to make our calling and election sure. In other words, we need to diligently make sure that we are called and elect.

In order to understand how to do this, and in order to find the key to true and lasting assurance, we must recognize that our calling and election is a matter decided by God, not by us. We are not being told here to examine anything that originates from us. It is not that we responded to the call, or that we ourselves have made a decision, or elected, to follow Christ. These words refer to specific acts of God directed toward us for His own purposes and glory. So assurance does not come from what we have done with what God gives us, our assurance is based on the fact that our salvation, start to finish, is a work God has done through Christ.

Calling

Calling refers to an invitation or command. We are called to salvation. This is referred to as the effectual calling and is mentioned by Paul in several of his epistles. This is God’s initiation of our relationship with Him. The truth is that as a carnal (lost) person, we on our own are dead and bound in sin and have no desire within ourselves to abandon our sin or come to Christ (1 Cor 2:14). As the great old hymn Oh, How I Love Jesus proclaims “Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.” This is absolutely true, if He did not love us first, we would never love Him. Hence Jesus tells us in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” This is the calling. And when God calls us, He means it (Rom 11:29).

We see then that God calls us to repent and believe (Matt 9:13), to come and follow Christ (Matt 11:28), and to produce good works (1 Peter 2:21; Eph 4:1). While we may see the fruit of regeneration in our lives as we repent of our sin and trust Christ, following Him and producing good fruit – these things are not the basis for our assurance. The basis of our assurance is found in the fact that God has called us!

Election

Election is thought to be a controversial and confusing topic doctrinally, but it really isn’t either. The word “election” refers to making a choice. When it comes to salvation the choice that really matters is not our choice, it is God’s choice! Biblically we see that election refers to God’s choice in saving sinners, and no matter what we believe about the doctrine of election, this we can all agree on – if God did not choose to save, no one would be saved!

We know that He does not call us based on what He sees in us, for any good we have done, or evil that we have shunned (Rom 9:11). And it certainly is not based on anything good in us. When God went looking for good among men He proclaimed in His Word, “There is none good, no not one” (Psalm 14:1-3; Psalm 53:3; Romans 3:12).

What we see in 1 Peter 1:1-2 is that the doctrine of election speaks to more than just God’s choice to save us. It is deeper than that. We have been chosen by God to salvation, but we have also been chosen for obedience.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Obedience is a mark of salvation to be sure, but it is not a reason for assurance. Our hope of assurance is found in the truth that when it comes to salvation God has chosen us. If we look to good works for assurance of salvation then we are really just looking at self. Self cannot save us or give us assurance. If on the other hand we look to Christ and the promises He has given us through His Word, then we can truly be sure, because Jesus never changes, the Spirit never leaves, and God cannot lie.

We have been called and chosen by God for salvation, justification, sanctification, and glorification (Rom 8:30), so that we might produce good works for His glory now and forever as we enjoy the everlasting life we have been given because of the life and death and resurrection of Christ, our Lord and Savior. In order to make our calling and election sure we must look to the promises of God. His Word is sure, steadfast, trustworthy, and pure.

God’s Sure Word

One promise from God’s Word can effectively and efficiently disperse our doubts. And while there are many promises to choose from and to meditate upon, let us look at one promise that Christ Himself gives us that will help us find assurance of our salvation.

When it comes to calling and election, Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). He also said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).

There is our calling and election. He calls, we come. If we come, He will not cast us out or turn us away. If our assurance is faltering and failing, if we are sinking fast into sin, sorrow, and struggles – look to Jesus, call to Jesus, come to Jesus! Based on the authority of His Word and the surety of His promise, if we come He will receive us. He is our assurance.

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Listen to the Bible Study Lesson behind this article here:
Make Your Calling and Election Sure - 2 Peter 1:10-11
Filed under: Articles Tagged: Recovering a Right Perspective ]]> http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/are-you-sure/feed/ 0 Phillip M Way http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/the-sin-unto-death/ http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/the-sin-unto-death/#comments Sat, 28 May 2011 17:01:20 +0000 phillipmway http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/?p=1595 ]]> In his first epistle the Apostle John assures believers of the confidence we have knowing that when we pray God hears us. In 1 John 5:14-17 we read:

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

As we pray for one another within the Body of Christ, there are times that we intercede on behalf of those who have sinned. All through the Scripture we understand that sin is a serious matter. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). It is because we are sinners that Christ had to die in our place as our substitute, bearing upon Himself the wrath of God for our sin (2 Cor. 5:21). We understand then that sin is deadly.

Due to the grace and mercy of God given to us through Christ, we who have repented of our sin and believed on Jesus have our sins forgiven. But while the eternal consequence of sin has been removed by the death of Christ, we see that we will still die if Jesus does not return in our lifetime. We are forgiven, but we are still living in this fallen flesh, and we still sin while in this earthly body. And the wages of sin are still death. The way in which we obey or disobey God and His Word will have consequences here and now.

King David is an example we can examine. When he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he was grieved and guilty, and even after he had been confronted by the prophet Nathan and repented, there were still consequences. David was still a child of God, but the baby conceived by the act of adultery died, and David suffered division and rebellion in the lives of several of his other children. His sin tore the family apart and affected him and them for generations.

What we sow, the Scriptures assure us, we will reap (Gal. 6:7). And lest we be ignorant of the matter, there are differing degrees of sin in the eyes of our all holy God. Each and every sin is deserving of death and will bring consequences in our life and the lives of those around us. But there are some sins that are worse than others.

All sin is an affront to God, but He tells us that there are seven sins that He especially hates. Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us:

16 These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.

Looking at the list it is interesting that deceit is listed twice out of seven things God hates. “A lying tongue” and “a false witness who speaks lies” both earn a special hatred from the Lord. This makes sense when we understand that Jesus tells us that He is the truth (John 14:6). We also understand that the testimony of the Lord given in His Word assures us that every Word of the Lord is pure (Prov. 30:5), His Word is truth (John 17:17), and He will not lie because He cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

Also making the list are pride, murder, wicked intentions, a propensity to run swiftly into sin, and one who sows discord among brethren. This list is frightening when understood in light of the Sermon on the Mount, where Christ shows us that these outward acts are just as evil as the inward intentions behind them.

We also see in the Scriptures a number of examples of people in the church who sinned these types of sins and bore the consequences immediately. In giving instructions for observing the Lord’s Supper, Paul warns the church at Corinth that partaking in an unworthy manner has led some believers to be sick and others to die (1 Cor. 11:29-30). To celebrate the death of Christ for the forgiveness of sins all the while refusing to repent of sin, embracing and loving it despite the grace of God, is to sin a sin unto death, as the participant then literally eats the judgment of God.

The most powerful example is found in Acts 5 where we see Ananias and Sapphira lying to the Holy Spirit and to the Church, motivated by pride, devising wickedness in their hearts (Acts 5:1-3). It proved to be a deadly combination of sins that God hates! When confronted, Ananias fell dead at Peter’s feet.

Three hours later when Sapphira came into the church, not knowing what had happened, she was asked directly if she had been honest and she too lied right to Peter’s face. And she died immediately. The result was that fear came upon the congregation. God’s Word and His character were upheld and sin was exposed. This became a powerful example to the church about the dangers of sin.

Looking back at 1 John 5:14-17 then we see that John tells the church that there are sins that lead to death, and sins that do not lead to death. If the wages of sin is still death, and all sin deserves the penalty of death, then what does he mean by making this differentiation?

As he gives instruction and encouragement about prayer, we see that we can take confidence in the fact that when we pray according to God’s will, He hears and answers. So when we see a brother or sister in the Lord sinning, we are to pray for them. If they are not sinning a sin that is going to lead rather quickly to death, then God will hear, answer, and preserve the life of that believer. This would include granting them repentance and forgiveness as they confess this sin. So there are sins we commit, knowingly or in ignorance, that will not lead specifically to death as a consequence.

But there is a category of sins here that lead to death. When a believer sins these types of sins there will be no repentance granted and the consequence of death will follow rapidly. John tells the church that if they see a believer sinning the sin unto death that there is no need to pray for them! Why? Because if they have sinned the sin unto death, to pray for God to grant them repentance and to give them life is not praying according to His will. His will in this situation is the death of the believer. And no matter what we pray, His will is going to be done.

So there are sins that do not lead immediately to death, though all sin carries the death penalty. And there are sins that are considered worthy of death without delay. Apparently the church John was writing to could recognize the difference between the sins that lead to death and those that do not. He gives no further explanation. This has caused much discussion in the history of the church and those discussions often lead to confusion.

But God is not the Author of confusion. His Word is clear when it comes to telling us about sin and the consequences of disobedience. A pastor who mentored me once gave this explanation. God uses His Word to sanctify believers. That is to say He uses His Word preached, taught, and obeyed to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. If a believer persists in sin, especially an egregious sin without repentance and remorse, there will come a time when this sin prevents further transformation into the image of Christ and in fact brings shame upon Christ and His Church. At some point, when the sin unto death has been sinned, the Lord will cause the death of that person, basically taking them on to heaven where there will be no further hindrance to the transformation.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 tells the church that in the case of an immoral and unrepentant believer, the church in disciplining this member should deliver (turn over) such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh for the salvation of his soul. In other words, turn him over to his sin so that his sin might destroy him, leading to his death, and thereby freeing him from sin ultimately because of the salvation of his soul.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Church discipline always has as its goal restoration. However, when restoration is rejected and prevented, the Word of God gives us steps to follow in order to maintain the purity of the church and to uphold the Word of God as our standard for holiness. Here as in 1 Corinthians 5, this would be an instance where the church recognizes that this fellow believer has sinned the sin unto death and so turns them over to the consequence of their sin through the process of church discipline for the ultimate good of the believer and to maintain holiness in the church.

When a believer sins continually without repentance, in pride asserting that they are right, justifying their actions and even trying to prove that their wickedness is not in fact wicked, when their hearts devise wickedness, their feet are swift to run to those things that God hates, they are angry at fellow believers without a cause being guilty of the motive of murder, lying to themselves, the church, and to the Lord, spreading false testimony, causing division in churches and even bringing division in families – when we see a professing believer living like this, persistently refusing to repent of known sin, then they must be warned that they may be sinning the sin unto death.

As the church, when we gather to pray, we need to understand that we must pray for each other, for preservation from sin, especially the sin unto death. For once we have taken a step down that path, the Scripture is clear, praying for such a one is useless. In fact, the prophet Jeremiah tells us that there are times we are not to pray for people because God will not hear. His Word is clear that to pray against His will is futile.

There are times when believers are sick and die and these things have nothing to do with a sin that leads to death. But we need to be diligent in seeking holiness, and we need to see that there are times that God will turn His people over to their sin for the destruction of their flesh, to remove that which hinders their being conformed into the image of Christ.

There is sin that does not lead to death. Praise God for His mercy. There is also sin that does lead to death. Praise God for His sovereign care for our souls, for saving us from sin, for saving us from eternal torments in the second death, and for saving us from ourselves.

Often in this kind of study we hear about The Proverbs 31 Woman. After all, it is Proverbs 31:10-31 that gives us a good look at the qualities and character of a godly wife. This picture of ideal womanhood is used to inspire and motivate the women in our churches.

But what about the men? What is the ideal for them? Where do we find that in the Scriptures?

Well, we usually spend so much time looking at verses 10-31 of Proverbs 31 that we neglect verses 1-9, and there we find that in context this whole chapter has been written, not to instruct women, but to instruct men! Here we see that this chapter is really about The Proverbs 31 Man – telling us what the Bible expects for men when it comes to behavior, to faith, and to family.

With this in mind, as I preached a series of messages on God’s Design for the Family a few years back, I spent time in Proverbs 31 examining what it has to say about women and about men. As I preached through the series I first dealt with The Portrait of a Godly Wife and then I preached on The Portrait of a Godly Husband.

So click on the title of these messages and listen to these sermons from Proverbs 31. And then do what you hear! Let us strive to be godly men and women, fulfilling the roles God has designed for us within the family. As we do, He is glorified and the gospel is proclaimed through our obedience.

What is a Proverbs 31 Man? Listen and learn!

What is the key to living the Christian life? “The just shall live by faith.” There it is. Hebrews 11 summarized in one phrase. The Christian life simplified. Those who are just will live by faith, and since we have already spent time these past few weeks defining faith we need to know what it means to speak about “the just.” Who or what are the just who shall live by faith?

To be just is to be justified. It is to be right with God. Justification is the act whereby God in His grace gives us faith and when we believe in Christ, He declares us righteous, or right with Him. Through the sinless life and death of Christ the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us and our sin was imputed to Christ. This is the meaning behind the term propitiation – Jesus bearing the wrath of God toward us and our sin and giving us His law keeping at the same time.

By faith then we are declared to be right with God. In fact, the gospel hinges on this truth. Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone. The Scriptures make this clear and even though false teachers try and try to bury this truth and convince men to work for their salvation, God has used great moments throughout history to keep this doctrine at the forefront of the battle for truth. The Reformation was one such occurence. Martin Luther, through the Book of Romans, saw that we are justified by faith alone. As we have learned, faith that saves is faith that works. We are not saved by works, and our faith is not a work meriting grace. But by grace we are given faith and that faith works!

We see then that the just live by faith. Through faith they are justified, and through faith they grow in the Christian life. Several commentators have noted that true saving faith is not a one time act but it is a way of life – continuing to trust Christ and live by faith. There is no other way to please God, no other way to be saved, no other way to live the Christian life. It is by faith in Christ, taking God at His Word.

Are you having troubles? Struggles? Temptation? Sin? Doubts and difficulties? Is the darkness pressing in? There is only one solution. Get in the Word and believe it! Trust Christ. Believe what God has said. Walk by faith. For that is the only way that the just can live – by faith.

When Jesus was talking to Mary and Martha, just before He was going to call Lazarus out of the grave, He asked them a question. I will close this message with that same question.

We read what Jesus asks in John 11:25-26:

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

For all we have learned about faith and the faithful, the most important lesson to learn is how to trust Jesus. He tells us that He is the resurrection and the life and that if we believe in Him even if we die, we will live.

Do you believe?
Filed under: Daily Devotional Tagged: Triumphant Faith ]]> http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/do-you-believe/feed/ 0 Phillip M Way