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Sure, I suppose a person could read into this passage the false teaching of total depravity, but he would be required to add words to the perfect, preserved, inspired and infallible written word of God in order to make it fit. Yes, we are indeed sinners in need of a Savior, no doubt about that. That is why we are invited to believe: “…how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Quote:
Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. It seems to me that the free will of the Israelite is at work here. They, of their own free will, chose to forsake God the fountain of living waters and they, of their own free will, chose to hew out cisterns, broken, that could hold no water. God did not do it. I may be wrong here, but it seems the scripture is clear. Their free will to follow, love, obey, and serve the God of Israel was at work and they chose the wrong way. Jeremiah 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts. And it seems clear to me that God gave Israel the opportunity to turn to Him and do the right thing with their God given free will. Jeremiah 3:12-15 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Quote:
But I confess, to my shame sometimes I’m still foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, and sometimes outright hateful. I praise Jesus Christ that after I, with my God given free will, heard the gospel and believed “…how that Christ died for our [my] sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). And now, praise God, after I believed: Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Quote:
John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Quote:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 1 Timothy 2:4-6 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Quote:
John 6:34-40 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. Coming to Jesus is always contingent on belief. All who, with their God given free will, choose to believe on Jesus Christ, “…how that Christ died for our [my] sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), are given to the Son by God the Father. That is His plan and purpose from the foundation of the world. Quote:
That ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. Let me first make application to bringing forth fruit through abiding. It is important for us to understand there are actually two distinct aspects of abiding in Jesus Christ. These two aspects of abiding differentiate between our absolute spiritual position in Christ and our daily or practical operation in Christ. They are connected. First, we should know that to abide in Christ is a positional relationship. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). It should be obvious to all of us. We have no spiritual life or fruit apart from Him. To abide in the Lord Jesus occurs initially with the event of receiving Him by faith. The way to abide in Christ is to believe in and receive Him. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Our spiritual birth results in a lasting personal relationship with Christ and guarantees everlasting life. “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, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession…” (Ephesians 1:13–14). The word sealed in this context means sealed for security from Satan. As believers our position is now in Christ and nothing can ever dissolve or destroy this eternal relationship—we are marked forever! And we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Once we are born again we can never be unborn. This is a reality because eternal salvation is entirely dependant on the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ—not us. This is a permanent exchange from spiritual death to spiritual life. Secondly, once the initial event of receiving Christ occurs, abiding in Him should continue in an operational or experiential process. “…He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Every true believer abides in a positional relationship with Christ, but all believers are not experiencing Jesus Christ as their very life on a daily basis. Just as a branch grows in the vine, scripture admonishes us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Here’s the concern with many of us. After we received Christ He became secondary or perhaps even subordinate to our desire for spiritual growth. But in reality our deepest desire should always be to know, love, and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a process of growing and maturing in Him. I am certainly not referring to just acquiring more “intellectual” knowledge of the Lord Jesus as we mature in the Christian life. Instead, I am exhorting you to cultivate a deeper spiritual knowledge and keen perception of Christ which in turn will alter the way you think and live. Both the position (the event of receiving Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour) and the operation (the process of growing in Christ), is simply Christ. That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. Next, I want to address prayer and make application to asking in His name. Here’s my take on prayer. God hears and answers prayer. He hears our sincere request regardless of how “trivial” or “insignificant” it may seem. But as we grow in Christ the content of our requests will change. The things we once viewed as important will get an occasional glance and the teachings of Christ will begin to claim our attention. As a result, our prayer life will become more Christ-centered and Christ-directed. We will begin offering prayers of supplication according to His will, not our own. This growth process will occur in each of our lives as we grow in Christ. Let’s take a look at John 15:7. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” When we apply the words “ask what ye will” apart from “abide in me, and my words abide in you,” our prayers become self-directed instead of Christ-directed. If His words do not abide in us, we will fail to pray effectively, it’s that simple. It is very important for us to understand that our will conforms to His will when His words abide in us. Our will is altered and transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit operating through the word of God. The reason many of us “ask amiss, that [we] may consume it upon [our] lusts” is because His word is not abiding in us. (See James 4:3.) I suppose one of the major obstacles we each face is that we are so often ensnared by the things we covet that our prayers end up drowning in the sea of self. As a result we do not pray effectively for ourselves or for one another because we are asking for the things we want instead of what God wants. If we knew what God said about certain issues in life our requests would conform to His will. Even our prayers for governmental authorities would change because we would be focused on the heart of God instead of our personal political views. Search the scriptures truthfully and you’ll find out what God says regarding important life issues. As you discover God’s heart then pray for our nation and leaders according to His will. The phrase “ask what ye will” is not a divine permission slip to ask for whatever you want. We must be honest and thorough with the word of God. Our prayer life will change as we abide in Him and His words abide in us. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom….” (Colossians 3:16). Please understand this is how I apply John 15:16 to believers today. It is my application. Quote:
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After Job gave a personal summation of his own life (Job 29–31), the Lord spoke directly to him. Beginning in chapter 38 through chapter 41, the Lord revealed His power in creation and His sovereign will in all things. The Lord revealed His omniscience (the fact He is all-knowing), His omnipresence (the fact He is everywhere), and His omnipotence (the fact He is all-powerful). With timely words of perfect wisdom, the Lord stripped Job of himself. The Lord emptied Job of any self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. Broken and at the end of himself, Job finally acknowledged, “…I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not” (Job 42:3). In other words, Job admitted he really did not know what he was talking about. Like we do many times, he opened his mouth and uttered words without true knowledge. After the Lord’s revelation of Himself, Job willingly confessed, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee” (Job 42:5). Job really saw the Lord with eyes of spiritual understanding. Previously Job did all of the right things. He knew all of the right doctrines. He had the right disciplines. He lived an obedient life. But like most of us he heard with his ears but failed to see with eyes of deep understanding. In the midst of all his spiritual activity Job had never really seen the Lord with an understanding heart. He did not really understand the all-ness of God! When Job finally saw the Lord in all of His majesty and unlimited power his perspective changed. It is the Lord’s perfect will that we all bask in His glory, His power, and His majesty. It is God’s will that we rest in the sufficiency of Christ because all the fullness of God is in the person of Jesus Christ. “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). What a difference seeing the Lord with an understanding heart can make. It was only after seeing the Lord that Job saw himself as he really was—a sinner needing mercy from God. “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). When we see the Lord with an understanding heart there is only one possible response: we detest ourselves and repent. Our mind changes about who we are and who God is. We decrease and He increases. Quote:
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Bro. Forrest,
Thanks for your post (and your clarification regarding the eleven which my post was unclear about). I wanted to add that the question of being drawn is also answered here: Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,This is of course denied by the "I" in "TULIP" which says that God's Grace is irresistible. If God's grace is irresistible then everyone would be saved. This ties right in with your comments about John 12:32. |
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Absolute awesome post Forrest...Amen!
If that don't take the scales off the Calvinists eyes I don't know what will. Not to mention that Verse that Dilligent posted...spot on. "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." ~ {1 Timothy 4:10} Hmm, interesting. |
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The word.
Thank You Forrest for your post!
God calls us to him by his word. I have seen that pin prick many times while sharing the gospel of salvation by belief in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Spread the word cause time is short. Oh yeah, I also think that is why this issue is such a big deal in the body of Christ today. Satan is keeping the believers busy arguing with one another, rather than sharing the Gospel of Grace. I am praying to escape it, but I am surrounded on all sides with calvinist/Augustine ideology. My 2 cents. |
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In a recent post Brother George referred to a young Pastor in the late sixties that he knew who had several commentaries laid out when preparing a sermon instead of simply studying the word of truth. I immediately thought of this young preacher boy who does the exact same thing. He has books and commentaries of known "Calvinists" opened up when preparing a sermon. I counseled him to put the books down and to simply pour his life into the word of God and hear from God. |
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There is a powerful message to be delivered when a man of God submits to the word of God and lets the Spirit speak and not the "commentator". By the way it is great to see you posting more lately, I will send you an email soon, I have been lacking there Brother recently and I pray the Lord is working wonders through your life. God Bless |
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By the way, it's good to see you back more frequently too! Love you, brother. |
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Brother! Love you too.
there is NO GREATER teacher than He that suffered on the Cross on Calvarys Hill. John 14:16-18 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. What a promise that is Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ said "I will not leave you comfortless" "I will come to you", (If we will only but ask) he longs for us to come to him, not the commentators, he desires that we seek him and his word, for no other may lead us into the greatest truth's the deepest truth's than God Himself. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. I have decided that in regards to those under the error of John Calvins / Augustines teachings (And I say that by Gods spirit, with no high-mindedness, simply testifying the truth by Gods Spirit) That we, as mere wretched men can only do so much, say so much, write so much and it will fall short of what a man is willing to accept, yet the Lord in Heaven above shall do his work if we only pray for those who are caught up in their own error and the error of men before them, I have seen plenty of Gods Holy scriptures presented by well versed and blessed Brothers such as George and your Good self, Brandon, Luke, Bro Bones etc etc (I wont do a roll call here ) But the real work that needs done on the heart can only be done by Christ Himself, by his Spirit. 1 Timothy 2:1-5 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. ALL MEN! Amen! |
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