It is shocking news! Many Christians inclined to disbelieve the report! Are there really Christians and Bible believers who think it a great evil to preach to sinners, and to exhort them to believe and repent? Yes, there are really such Christians! Those who call themselves "Primitive Baptists" exclude people for the practice of exhorting sinners.
Elder C. H. Cayce is a household name among Hardshells. He was their leading debater, and the editor of one of their leading papers throughout the 20th century. In his "Editorials" for October 10, 1905, under the title "OUR WORK ENDORSED," Cayce wrote:
"The Forked Deer Association met with the church at Flowers Chapel, near Rutherford, Gibson county, Tenn., on Friday before the second Sunday in September, 1905. Elder John Grist, of Friendship, Tenn., was moderator, and L. J. Law, Trenton, Tenn., was clerk. The following appears in their minutes as the third and fourth items of their business on Saturday:
By motion and second, agreed that we adopt as the sense of this association the action of five of our churches as expressed in their letters, that we declare non-fellowship for the idea of a federal form of government, that the commission was given to the church and not to the apostles or ministry, that it is the duty of the ministry to admonish the alien sinner to repent and believe the gospel, and against affiliation in and with secret institutions."
Notice that! The Hardshells "declare non-fellowship" against those who believe that it is "the duty of the ministry to admonish the alien sinner to repent and believe the gospel."
This makes them a cult.
It also shows how evil is their stance against gospel preaching to the lost. Their declaration would also exclude every prophet, every apostle, every evangelist in the new testament, as well as Christ himself! Did Paul not say that all are commanded to believe and to repent?
The first Hardshells (or "Primitive" or "Old School" Baptists) did not believe it was an evil to preach to lost sinners. So, not only is the Hardshell declaration an exclusion of the prophets, apostles, evangelists, and of Christ himself, but of their own founding fathers! How is that for hypocrisy?
Monday, December 31, 2018
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Spilsbury, Knollys, Keach on Ordo Salutis
Hanserd Knollys (1599-1691) wrote:
"Thus being by the Spirit and Faith united with Christ, we are made a new creature, or creation, have a new heart, and walk in newnesse of life."
Clearly Knollys did not put faith after regeneration. Union with Christ, by faith, preceded all other blessings of salvation.
He also wrote:
"Our union by Faith, the Pardon of sin, our Reconciliation with God, the sanctification of our hearts and lives, our peace of conscience, and the Salvation of our Souls, are the Benefits of our Redemption by Christ, I Cor. 1: 30. These are as a Cluster of Camphire, full of divine virture, and spiritual sweetness unto believers, when they can apply these benefits unto themselves by Faith." (Song of Solomon) (SEE HERE)
John Spilsbury (1593-1668) was also, like Knollys, a major leader of the English Particular Baptists and signer of the first London Baptist Confession of Faith. He wrote:
"I believe that God of his grace, in his own time, effectually calls such as shall be saved to the knowledge of the truth, who is said, of his own will to beget us by the word of truth: in which work of grace, nature is as passive, as a child in the parents begetting of it; and so God by His Spirit works faith in the hearts of all such to believe in Christ, and his righteousness, only for justification. And thus they are made righteous before God in Christ, and so conformable to the will of God the Father through the Son; and also made holy through the work of regeneration, and the holy Spirit of grace dwelling in them; yet all such have still, as long as they live here in the flesh, remaining in them, an old man, that original corruption, the flesh that wars against the spirit, which hinders them in their obedience both to God and to man, and many times draws them to that which is evil, and contrary to their intentions; yet all of them shall through Christ overcome, and safely be brought to glory at last." (emphasis mine) (SEE HERE)
Wrote Benjamin Keach (1640-1704):
"1. Gospel grace is glorious, because, when received in truth, it delivers the soul from bondage, it breaks the bonds. For the soul is not set at liberty by the mere shedding of Christ's blood, without the application of it by the Spirit or infusion of grace into the heart.
2. The Gospel through the grace of it when received in truth, opens blind eyes, it makes them see, that never saw, in a spiritual sense, before; it opens their eyes that were born blind; how blind was Saul till the Gospel grace shone upon him, or rather in him?
3. The Gospel through the grace of it, when received in truth, raises the dead soul to life. It is hereby we come to be quickened, the flesh profiteth nothing, it is the Spirit that quickeneth; that is, the human nature without the divine cannot accomplish salvation for us; nor shall any soul receive any saving benefit by the flesh, or death of Christ, unless he be quickened by the Spirit.
4. The Gospel in the grace of it, when received in truth, casts out that cursed enmity that is in the heart against God, and thereby reconciles the sinner to the blessed Majesty of heaven.
5. The grace of the Gospel works regeneration, makes the sinner another man, a new man. It forms the new creature in the soul.
The Gospel is glorious in respect of the tenders and offers made therein to the sons of men." (SEE HERE)
Thus, Garrett's ordo salutis is the same as these great old Baptists.
(Note: the above is a posting I made in the Baptist Gadfly blog a few years ago - see here)
"Thus being by the Spirit and Faith united with Christ, we are made a new creature, or creation, have a new heart, and walk in newnesse of life."
Clearly Knollys did not put faith after regeneration. Union with Christ, by faith, preceded all other blessings of salvation.
He also wrote:
"Our union by Faith, the Pardon of sin, our Reconciliation with God, the sanctification of our hearts and lives, our peace of conscience, and the Salvation of our Souls, are the Benefits of our Redemption by Christ, I Cor. 1: 30. These are as a Cluster of Camphire, full of divine virture, and spiritual sweetness unto believers, when they can apply these benefits unto themselves by Faith." (Song of Solomon) (SEE HERE)
John Spilsbury (1593-1668) was also, like Knollys, a major leader of the English Particular Baptists and signer of the first London Baptist Confession of Faith. He wrote:
"I believe that God of his grace, in his own time, effectually calls such as shall be saved to the knowledge of the truth, who is said, of his own will to beget us by the word of truth: in which work of grace, nature is as passive, as a child in the parents begetting of it; and so God by His Spirit works faith in the hearts of all such to believe in Christ, and his righteousness, only for justification. And thus they are made righteous before God in Christ, and so conformable to the will of God the Father through the Son; and also made holy through the work of regeneration, and the holy Spirit of grace dwelling in them; yet all such have still, as long as they live here in the flesh, remaining in them, an old man, that original corruption, the flesh that wars against the spirit, which hinders them in their obedience both to God and to man, and many times draws them to that which is evil, and contrary to their intentions; yet all of them shall through Christ overcome, and safely be brought to glory at last." (emphasis mine) (SEE HERE)
Wrote Benjamin Keach (1640-1704):
"1. Gospel grace is glorious, because, when received in truth, it delivers the soul from bondage, it breaks the bonds. For the soul is not set at liberty by the mere shedding of Christ's blood, without the application of it by the Spirit or infusion of grace into the heart.
2. The Gospel through the grace of it when received in truth, opens blind eyes, it makes them see, that never saw, in a spiritual sense, before; it opens their eyes that were born blind; how blind was Saul till the Gospel grace shone upon him, or rather in him?
3. The Gospel through the grace of it, when received in truth, raises the dead soul to life. It is hereby we come to be quickened, the flesh profiteth nothing, it is the Spirit that quickeneth; that is, the human nature without the divine cannot accomplish salvation for us; nor shall any soul receive any saving benefit by the flesh, or death of Christ, unless he be quickened by the Spirit.
4. The Gospel in the grace of it, when received in truth, casts out that cursed enmity that is in the heart against God, and thereby reconciles the sinner to the blessed Majesty of heaven.
5. The grace of the Gospel works regeneration, makes the sinner another man, a new man. It forms the new creature in the soul.
The Gospel is glorious in respect of the tenders and offers made therein to the sons of men." (SEE HERE)
Thus, Garrett's ordo salutis is the same as these great old Baptists.
(Note: the above is a posting I made in the Baptist Gadfly blog a few years ago - see here)
Saturday, December 22, 2018
Redemption (xiv)
The Philippian Jailer
"And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." (Acts 16: 19-34)
The irony in this story is seen in the fact that the real or superlative prison was not the one in which Paul and Silas were then confined, within the city of Philippi, but is rather the spiritual prison into which all men are held, including the "jailor" or "keeper of the prison." Though the bodies of Paul and Silas were bound, their souls were not. On the other hand, the jailor (or jailer) was (ironically) the one who was in prison in his soul or spirit. It was this realization that brought the jailer to seek deliverance from his own spiritual bondage.
The earthquake was divinely caused and for the purpose (at least) of bringing the imprisoned soul of the jailer to freedom and making him into a slave or prisoner of Christ. The purpose behind the earthquake was not to liberate Paul and Silas and the other prisoners from their bodily confinement, which did not happen, but was rather to liberate the jailer by freeing his heart and soul from bondage to moral depravity. The shaking of the earth was in order that the jailer, or prison keeper, might have his depraved heart shaken, that his spirit might be set free from the powers of darkness. It is at this time that the jailer, a slave to sin, was "called to faith in the Lord." Wrote Paul:
"Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave." (I Cor. 7: 21-22)
Before the earthquake, the jailer was a "free person," not a prisoner in prison; And, not only was he not himself a prisoner, but he was the one who made sure the prisoners remained imprisoned! But, looking at the state of the soul of the jailer, prior to his earth shaking experience, he was not free, but was in a state of bondage to his depravity. He fit the description of "one who was free when called," being no slave or prisoner; Yet, when brought to faith in Christ he became "Christ's slave." It is when men are "called to faith in the Lord" that they become the slaves of Christ.
Wrote John Gill on this verse:
"is the Lord's freeman; he is free from sin, not from the being, but from the servitude, guilt, and damning power of it: he is free from Satan, not from his temptations and insults, but from his dominion and captivity; he is ransomed from him, by the redemption of Christ, and is turned from his power in conversion..." (Commentary)
This is what has been stressed in the several chapters on conversion. Conversion is actual redemption, the time when slaves and prisoners experience release and liberation from their confinement.
Wrote another commentator:
"Christ’s service is perfect freedom, and the Christian’s freedom is the service of Christ. But here the Apostle takes, in each case, one member of this double antithesis from the outer world, one from the spiritual. The (actual) slave is (spiritually) free: the (actually) free is a (spiritual) slave. So that the two are so mingled, in the Lord, that the slave need not trouble himself about his slavery, nor seek for this world’s freedom, seeing he has a more glorious freedom in Christ, and seeing also that his brethren who seem to be free in this world are in fact Christ’s servants, as he is a servant." (Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary)
Wrote Dr. Charles Hodge:
"The connection is with the first, not with the last clause of 1 Corinthians 7:21. ‘Care not for your bondage, for,' etc. He that is called in the Lord; or, as the words stand, ‘The slave called in the Lord.' That is, the converted slave. Is the Lord's freeman, i.e. is one whom the Lord has redeemed. The possession of that liberty with which Christ makes his people free, is so great a blessing, that all other things, even the condition of slavery, are comparatively of no account. Paul, in Romans 8:18-23 says that the afflictions of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glorious liberty of the sons of God, towards which the whole creation, now subject to vanity, looks with longing expectation. A man need care little about his external condition in this world, who is freed from the bondage of Satan, the curse of the law, the dominion of sin, and who is made a child and heir of God; that is, who is conformed to the image of his Son, and made a partaker of his exaltation and kingdom. Likewise also he that is called, being free, is the Lord's servant (i.e. slave, הןץ ͂ כןע). The distinction between master and slave is obliterated. To be the Lord's freeman, and to be the Lord's slave, are the same thing. The Lord's freeman is one whom the Lord has redeemed from Satan, and made his own; and the Lord's slave is also one whom Christ has purchased for himself. So that master and slave stand on the same level before Christ." (Comp. Ephesians 6:9)
Prior to being saved, the jailer was shackled and chained, metaphorically speaking. His heart and mind were chained by his depravity, and the chief yoke was that of unbelief.
The Chain Of Unbelief
In the previous chapter we cited from Spurgeon and his reference to the shackles and chains that bind the souls of men in their lost depraved state. The chiefest of these chains, these "icy chains," is that of "unbelief." Notice these scriptures on the sin of unbelief.
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12 NKJV)
“So we see that they could not enter in (rest) because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19 NKJV)
“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness of himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.” (1 John 5:10 NKJV)
The reason why sinners will be condemned in the day of judgment is because "when I called you refused." Wrote Solomon about the call of Wisdom:
"Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you." (Proverbs 1: 23-27 kjv)
The Lord said that the Holy Spirit would "reprove the world of sin." This he does in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and thereby says to men "turn you (repent) at my reproof." The promise to the one who obeys and "turns" to the Lord in repentance in faith, as a result of being "called," is that they will have God's own "spirit" to be poured out upon them and will be made to know the words of the Lord. On the other hand, those who "refuse" the call, who do not "turn" at the reproof, who "set at naught" the gospel message, will suffer a mocking calamity, an everlasting destruction.
In the Apocalypse we are told that "all unbelievers" will "have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone." (Rev. 21: 8) Jesus said "he that does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16: 16)
In "The Great World Prison and the Liberator," C.H. Spurgeon said (emphasis mine):
"When I was preaching in Dover, England, the mayor of the town let us rent the old town hall for our service. As I was walking by the building, I noticed a large number of windows on the lower level with metal bars on them. These windows belonged to the prison cells where the prisoners were confined. It struck me as an unusual combination, that we would be preaching the gospel of liberty on one level of the building while there were prisoners of the law beneath us. Perhaps the prisoners heard us when we sang praises to God, but the words of freedom above did not give them liberty, nor did the words of the song free them from their bonds. What an accurate picture this is of many people. We preach liberty to captives and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, but how many remain year after year in the bondage of Satan, slaves to sin?
This little circumstance fixed itself in my mind and impressed itself upon me in my private meditations. I daydreamed that some angelic warden was leading me along the corridors of this great world prison. He asked me to look into the various cells where the prisoners were confined, and he kept reminding me, as I looked sorrowful, that it is God who sets the prisoners free. He who does justice unto the oppressed; who gives bread to the hungry. The LORD looses the prisoners (Psalm 146:7)."
Spurgeon also said:
"The first cell is called the common prison – the ward of sin. All people have been prisoners here. Those who today live in perfect liberty once wore the heavy chains and were confined within the dark walls....nothing but that iron door of unbelief that the prisoners persisted in shutting securely made it a prison at all....It was unbelief that shut the prisoners in..."
Unbelief is the damning sin.
Spurgeon said:
"I passed that cell and stopped at another. This one also had an iron gate of unbelief, as heavy and as huge as the one before.
For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heavens the LORD beheld the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death (Psalm 102:19-20).
I saw some of them trying to file their chains with rusty nails. Others endeavored to melt away the iron by dropping tears of remorse on it, but these poor men made little progress at their work. The warden told me that this was the chain of habit, and the ball that dragged behind was the old propensity to lust and sin. I asked him why they had not been able to get their chains knocked off. He said they had been trying a long time to get rid of them, but they could never do it the way they were trying, since the proper way to get rid of the chain of habit was, first of all, to get out of prison. The door of unbelief must be opened, and they must trust in the one great Deliverer, the Lord Jesus, whose pierced hands could open all prison doors. After that, their bonds could be broken off upon the anvil of grace, with the hammer of love."
Beautiful thought! - "bonds could be broken off upon the anvil of grace, with the hammer of love"! This hammering first occurs in conversion but it continues throughout the life of the newborn soul. God's word is a "hammer that breaks the rocks into pieces." (Jer. 23: 29) It breaks the hard heart and beats away the imperfections in the believer continuously in sanctification.
Spurgeon said:
"I mourned that there were so many who still loved this house of bondage and would not escape..."
Do we who have experienced liberation in Christ not weep for our lost loved ones who are still imprisoned in their sins?
Who would ever choose to be entangled with a “yoke of bondage” again? In the next chapter we will address that question. We will also begin to focus on how the believer is daily being redeemed in his sanctification and growth in Christ.
"And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." (Acts 16: 19-34)
The irony in this story is seen in the fact that the real or superlative prison was not the one in which Paul and Silas were then confined, within the city of Philippi, but is rather the spiritual prison into which all men are held, including the "jailor" or "keeper of the prison." Though the bodies of Paul and Silas were bound, their souls were not. On the other hand, the jailor (or jailer) was (ironically) the one who was in prison in his soul or spirit. It was this realization that brought the jailer to seek deliverance from his own spiritual bondage.
The earthquake was divinely caused and for the purpose (at least) of bringing the imprisoned soul of the jailer to freedom and making him into a slave or prisoner of Christ. The purpose behind the earthquake was not to liberate Paul and Silas and the other prisoners from their bodily confinement, which did not happen, but was rather to liberate the jailer by freeing his heart and soul from bondage to moral depravity. The shaking of the earth was in order that the jailer, or prison keeper, might have his depraved heart shaken, that his spirit might be set free from the powers of darkness. It is at this time that the jailer, a slave to sin, was "called to faith in the Lord." Wrote Paul:
"Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave." (I Cor. 7: 21-22)
Before the earthquake, the jailer was a "free person," not a prisoner in prison; And, not only was he not himself a prisoner, but he was the one who made sure the prisoners remained imprisoned! But, looking at the state of the soul of the jailer, prior to his earth shaking experience, he was not free, but was in a state of bondage to his depravity. He fit the description of "one who was free when called," being no slave or prisoner; Yet, when brought to faith in Christ he became "Christ's slave." It is when men are "called to faith in the Lord" that they become the slaves of Christ.
Wrote John Gill on this verse:
"is the Lord's freeman; he is free from sin, not from the being, but from the servitude, guilt, and damning power of it: he is free from Satan, not from his temptations and insults, but from his dominion and captivity; he is ransomed from him, by the redemption of Christ, and is turned from his power in conversion..." (Commentary)
This is what has been stressed in the several chapters on conversion. Conversion is actual redemption, the time when slaves and prisoners experience release and liberation from their confinement.
Wrote another commentator:
"Christ’s service is perfect freedom, and the Christian’s freedom is the service of Christ. But here the Apostle takes, in each case, one member of this double antithesis from the outer world, one from the spiritual. The (actual) slave is (spiritually) free: the (actually) free is a (spiritual) slave. So that the two are so mingled, in the Lord, that the slave need not trouble himself about his slavery, nor seek for this world’s freedom, seeing he has a more glorious freedom in Christ, and seeing also that his brethren who seem to be free in this world are in fact Christ’s servants, as he is a servant." (Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary)
Wrote Dr. Charles Hodge:
"The connection is with the first, not with the last clause of 1 Corinthians 7:21. ‘Care not for your bondage, for,' etc. He that is called in the Lord; or, as the words stand, ‘The slave called in the Lord.' That is, the converted slave. Is the Lord's freeman, i.e. is one whom the Lord has redeemed. The possession of that liberty with which Christ makes his people free, is so great a blessing, that all other things, even the condition of slavery, are comparatively of no account. Paul, in Romans 8:18-23 says that the afflictions of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glorious liberty of the sons of God, towards which the whole creation, now subject to vanity, looks with longing expectation. A man need care little about his external condition in this world, who is freed from the bondage of Satan, the curse of the law, the dominion of sin, and who is made a child and heir of God; that is, who is conformed to the image of his Son, and made a partaker of his exaltation and kingdom. Likewise also he that is called, being free, is the Lord's servant (i.e. slave, הןץ ͂ כןע). The distinction between master and slave is obliterated. To be the Lord's freeman, and to be the Lord's slave, are the same thing. The Lord's freeman is one whom the Lord has redeemed from Satan, and made his own; and the Lord's slave is also one whom Christ has purchased for himself. So that master and slave stand on the same level before Christ." (Comp. Ephesians 6:9)
Prior to being saved, the jailer was shackled and chained, metaphorically speaking. His heart and mind were chained by his depravity, and the chief yoke was that of unbelief.
The Chain Of Unbelief
In the previous chapter we cited from Spurgeon and his reference to the shackles and chains that bind the souls of men in their lost depraved state. The chiefest of these chains, these "icy chains," is that of "unbelief." Notice these scriptures on the sin of unbelief.
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12 NKJV)
“So we see that they could not enter in (rest) because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19 NKJV)
“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness of himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.” (1 John 5:10 NKJV)
The reason why sinners will be condemned in the day of judgment is because "when I called you refused." Wrote Solomon about the call of Wisdom:
"Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you." (Proverbs 1: 23-27 kjv)
The Lord said that the Holy Spirit would "reprove the world of sin." This he does in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and thereby says to men "turn you (repent) at my reproof." The promise to the one who obeys and "turns" to the Lord in repentance in faith, as a result of being "called," is that they will have God's own "spirit" to be poured out upon them and will be made to know the words of the Lord. On the other hand, those who "refuse" the call, who do not "turn" at the reproof, who "set at naught" the gospel message, will suffer a mocking calamity, an everlasting destruction.
In the Apocalypse we are told that "all unbelievers" will "have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone." (Rev. 21: 8) Jesus said "he that does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16: 16)
In "The Great World Prison and the Liberator," C.H. Spurgeon said (emphasis mine):
"When I was preaching in Dover, England, the mayor of the town let us rent the old town hall for our service. As I was walking by the building, I noticed a large number of windows on the lower level with metal bars on them. These windows belonged to the prison cells where the prisoners were confined. It struck me as an unusual combination, that we would be preaching the gospel of liberty on one level of the building while there were prisoners of the law beneath us. Perhaps the prisoners heard us when we sang praises to God, but the words of freedom above did not give them liberty, nor did the words of the song free them from their bonds. What an accurate picture this is of many people. We preach liberty to captives and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, but how many remain year after year in the bondage of Satan, slaves to sin?
This little circumstance fixed itself in my mind and impressed itself upon me in my private meditations. I daydreamed that some angelic warden was leading me along the corridors of this great world prison. He asked me to look into the various cells where the prisoners were confined, and he kept reminding me, as I looked sorrowful, that it is God who sets the prisoners free. He who does justice unto the oppressed; who gives bread to the hungry. The LORD looses the prisoners (Psalm 146:7)."
Spurgeon also said:
"The first cell is called the common prison – the ward of sin. All people have been prisoners here. Those who today live in perfect liberty once wore the heavy chains and were confined within the dark walls....nothing but that iron door of unbelief that the prisoners persisted in shutting securely made it a prison at all....It was unbelief that shut the prisoners in..."
Unbelief is the damning sin.
Spurgeon said:
"I passed that cell and stopped at another. This one also had an iron gate of unbelief, as heavy and as huge as the one before.
For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heavens the LORD beheld the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death (Psalm 102:19-20).
I saw some of them trying to file their chains with rusty nails. Others endeavored to melt away the iron by dropping tears of remorse on it, but these poor men made little progress at their work. The warden told me that this was the chain of habit, and the ball that dragged behind was the old propensity to lust and sin. I asked him why they had not been able to get their chains knocked off. He said they had been trying a long time to get rid of them, but they could never do it the way they were trying, since the proper way to get rid of the chain of habit was, first of all, to get out of prison. The door of unbelief must be opened, and they must trust in the one great Deliverer, the Lord Jesus, whose pierced hands could open all prison doors. After that, their bonds could be broken off upon the anvil of grace, with the hammer of love."
Beautiful thought! - "bonds could be broken off upon the anvil of grace, with the hammer of love"! This hammering first occurs in conversion but it continues throughout the life of the newborn soul. God's word is a "hammer that breaks the rocks into pieces." (Jer. 23: 29) It breaks the hard heart and beats away the imperfections in the believer continuously in sanctification.
Spurgeon said:
"I mourned that there were so many who still loved this house of bondage and would not escape..."
Do we who have experienced liberation in Christ not weep for our lost loved ones who are still imprisoned in their sins?
Who would ever choose to be entangled with a “yoke of bondage” again? In the next chapter we will address that question. We will also begin to focus on how the believer is daily being redeemed in his sanctification and growth in Christ.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Redemption (xiii)
In the immediate preceding chapters we have been presenting the biblical description of the state of bondage that sinners know. They are slaves of their own depraved natures, serving "various lusts and pleasures" (Titus 3:3), "fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (Eph. 2:3), "whose god is their belly" (Phil. 3:19), etc. They are also prisoners in shackles, as Paul said - "But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin's power" (Romans 11:32). As previously cited, Meyer's commentary said, sin has "brought all into ward under sin...sin has them, as it were, under lock and key." Sinful man is shackled and possessed by a wicked spirit, just like the Gadarene demoniac that was referred to earlier.
Wrote the great John Gill in his "Of Redemption by Christ" (Body of Doctrinal Divinity):
"...redemption stands in the first place and is a principal and most important blessing and doctrine of grace..." (see here)
I trust that those who have followed me in this series can give a hearty amen to this affirmation of the great doctor of theology.
Emancipation Of Sin's Prisoners
"I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." (Isa. 42: 6-7)
"Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places." (Isa. 49: 8-9)
Remember that this deliverance from prison is a case of redemption. This fact in seen in the popular movie "Shawshank Redemption," involving several elements of "redemption" as it involves prisoners.
First, there was deliverance, or an "escaping" (it hardly can be called a "release"); Although in this case the one redeemed effected his own deliverance or redemption by his own wit, will, and perseverance (unlike redemption by Christ). Second, there was "vindication" of the prisoner, a setting things right as regards justice, against a tyrannical warden. Third, there was "restoration" of lost fortunes via his deliverance and redemption. Thus, in these ways, Andy Dufresne, the escaped prisoner in the movie, experienced "redemption."
This deliverance from the bondage of sin or "bondage of corruption/depravity" to freedom in Christ occurs first in conversion, when a soul is "set free" from both the penalty of the law (justification) and from the tyrannical governing power of sin (transformation begun). Through the preaching of the gospel the Spirit brings sinners to faith and repentance and thus "breaks the power of canceled sin." In the gospel sinners imprisoned by their moral depravity are called to "go forth." Some who are called to this freedom reject the call, however, to their own loss.
As we have shown in previous postings, originally, "redemption" often denoted the payment of a price to secure the release of a prisoner of war. The word also came to be used of the release of a slave and sometimes of a person under sentence of death (Exod. 21:28-30). Redemption always means the payment of a price to secure release as well as the actual release of the prisoner or slave.
Commenting upon Isaiah 42:7, one of the passages cited at the head of this chapter, Dr. Gill wrote the following in his commentary:
To open the blind eyes - Of the idolatrous Gentiles, who were spiritually blind, and knew not the wretchedness of their case; the exceeding sinfulness of sin; their need of a Saviour, and who he was; as they did, when their eyes were opened by means of the Gospel sent among them, through the energy of the divine Spirit; for this is a work of almighty power and efficacious grace: to bring out the prisoners from the prison;
who were concluded in sin, shut up in unbelief, and under the law, the captives of Satan, and held fast prisoners by him and their own lusts, under the dominion of which they were: and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house: of sin, Satan, and the law; being under which, they were in a state of darkness and ignorance as to things divine and spiritual. The allusion is to prisons, which are commonly dark places.
Commenting upon Isaiah 49: 9 he wrote:
That thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth - God's covenant people, while unconverted, are prisoners; they are in the prison of sin, under the power and dominion of it, and under the guilt of it, and obligation to punishment for it; and they are in the prison of the law, they are transgressors of it, and are accused and convicted by it, and are condemned, and put in prison, and held there; and they are also Satan's prisoners, and are held and led captive by him at his will; and by virtue of the covenant, and the blood of it, these prisoners are set free; and Christ in the Gospel speaks unto them, and proclaims liberty to them; and by the knowledge of the truth they are made free, and are brought into the liberty of the children of God; and are bid to go forth, and they are brought forth from their prison houses; and bid to go to the house of God, and walk at liberty, enjoying all the privileges and ordinances of the Gospel: to them that are in darkness...in a state of nature and unregeneracy, which is a state of infidelity and ignorance; when men are in the dark, and know not themselves, nor their lost state and condition; nor the exceeding sinfulness of sin; nor Christ, and the way of salvation by him; nor the Spirit, and the operations of his grace; nor the Scriptures, and the doctrines of them..."
The experience of redemption occurs first in conversion and is continuously experienced in greater length as the believer is progressively transformed into the image of Christ in sanctification.
Debtor's Prisons
Wrote Gill:
"The buying again of an Israelite, waxen poor, and sold to another, by any near akin to him; is a lively representation of the purchase and redemption of the Lord's poor people, #Le 25:47-49 who, in a state of nature, are poor, and wretched, and miserable; even so as to be like beggars on the dunghill; when such was the grace of Christ, who, though rich, for their sakes became poor, that they, through his poverty might be made rich; and to such a degree, as to be raised from the dunghill and sit among princes, and inherit the throne of glory. Though some may not sell themselves to work wickedness, as Ahab did, yet all are sold under sin; for if this was the case of the apostle Paul, though regenerate, much more must it be the case of an unregenerate man; who, through sin, is brought into subjection to it, a servant of it, and a slave to it; as the poor Israelite, sold to a stranger, was a bondman to him: and such an one cannot redeem himself, being without strength, unable to fulfil the law, and to make atonement for sin; nor can any of his friends, though ever so rich, redeem him, or give to God a ransom for him; such may redeem a poor relation, or friend from a prison, by paying his pecuniary debts for him; but cannot redeem his soul from hell and destruction; may give a ransom price to man for one in slavery and bondage; but cannot give to God a ransom to deliver from wrath to come: only Christ, the near Kinsman of his people, can do this, and has done it; he that is their "Gaol", their near "Kinsman", partaker of the same flesh and blood with them, is their Redeemer, who has given himself a ransom for them."
Debtor's prisons were outlawed in this country in 1833 and for good reason. (Note: sadly, they are making a comeback in this country! But, that is another story) But, throughout the history of the world there has been many a person who spent much, if not all, of their lives in prison for not being able to pay a debt. This certainly was true in Jesus' day. (See for instance Matt. 18: 23-33)
When a sinner turns to the Lord in repentance and faith, his sins are immediately discharged or forgiven. This is what the apostles preached everywhere to every man. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3: 19 KJV).
Gill continued:
"The delivery of a debtor from prison, by paying his debts for him, is an emblem of deliverance and redemption by Christ: a man that is in debt, is liable to be arrested, and cast into prison, as is often the case; where he must lie till the debt his discharged, by himself or another: sins are debts; and a sinner owes more than ten thousand talents, and has nothing to pay; he cannot answer to the justice of God for one debt of a thousand; nor can he, by paying a debt of obedience he owes to God, pay off one debt of sin, or obligation to punishment; and so is liable to a prison, and is in one; is concluded under sin, under the guilt of it, which exposes him to punishment; and he is held with the cords and fetters of it; which he cannot loose himself from; and he is shut up under the law, in which he is held, until delivered and released by Christ; who, as he has engaged to pay the debts of his people, has paid them, cleared the whole score, and blotted out the hand writing that was against them; in consequence of which is proclaimed, in the gospel, liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; and in the effectual calling Christ says "to the prisoners", "Go forth", opening the prison doors for them; and to them that sit in darkness, in the gloomy cells of the prison, "show yourselves"; all which is done in virtue of the redemption price paid by Christ for his people."
Deliverance from debtor prison is a case of redemption.
Gill continued:
"...redemption by Christ is nothing more nor less than buying his people out of the hands of justice, in which they are held for sin; and that is with the price of his blood and in virtue of this they are delivered from the dominion of sin; for though this is done in the effectual calling, by the power of divine grace, it is in virtue of redemption by Christ, by whom sin is crucified, and the body of it destroyed; so that it shall not reign in them, or have dominion over them: one branch of redemption lies in being delivered from a vain conversation; and, ere long, the redeemed shall be delivered from the very being of sin; when their redemption, as to the application of it, will be complete; as it will be in the resurrection; when the soul will not only be among the spirits of just men made perfect; but the body will be clear of sin, mortality, and death; which is called redemption that draws near, the redemption of the body waited for, and the day of redemption, #Lu 21:28 Ro 8:23 Eph 1:14 4:30."
Notice that Gill says that deliverance from a vain conversation is "one branch of redemption." This is the very point I have been stressing in the past few chapters in this series.
Prisoners Of Hope
"As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man." (Zech. 9:11-13)
In preaching upon these verses the venerable C.H. Spurgeon said:
"Do all of you, dear friends, know anything about the pit wherein is no water? Were you ever conscious of being in it? Regarding it as a state of spiritual distress, do you understand what it means to be in such a comfortless condition? It was a common custom, in the past, to put prisoners into deep pits which had been dug in the earth. The sides were usually steep and perpendicular—and the prisoner who was dropped down into such a pit must remain there without any hope of escape. According to our text, there was no water there, and, apparently, no food of any kind. The objective of the captors was to leave the prisoner there to be forgotten as a dead man out of mind. Have you ever, in your experience, realized anything like that? There was a time, with some of us, when we suddenly woke up to find that all our fancied goodness had vanished, that all our hopes had perished, and that we, ourselves, were in the comfortless condition of men in a pit without even a single drop of water to mitigate our burning thirst!...If I sought after water in my comfortless condition, I only found myself to be more intensely eaten up with thirst! Do you know what all this means? You need to know it, for this is the condition into which God usually brings His children before He reveals Himself to them!"
Spurgeon continued:
"The condition of being shut up in a pit wherein is no water is not only comfortless, but it is also hopeless. How can such a prisoner escape? He looks up out of the pit, and sees, far above him, a little circle of light, but he knows that it is impossible for him to climb up there. Perhaps he attempts it, but, if so, he falls back and injures himself—and there must he lie, out of sight, and out of hearing, at the bottom of that deep pit—with none to help him, and quite unable to help himself. Such is the condition into which an awakened conscience brings a man. He sees himself to be lost through his sin, and he discovers that the law of God is so intensely severe—though not unduly so—and the justice of God is so stern, though not too stern—that he cannot possibly hope for any help from them in his efforts to escape out of the pit in which he lies fallen as a helpless, hopeless prisoner!"
Spurgeon, like his predecessor, believed that it is in being converted that a sinner experiences his coming out of the prison of sin. Spurgeon also said - "But concerning those who have believed in Jesus, our text is true, and God can say, “I have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.”
Spurgeon said further:
"There is this further comfort that if He has set us free, we are free indeed. It is only God who can deliver a conscience in bondage—and when it is delivered by Him, it need not be afraid of being dragged back to prison anymore. If a criminal breaks out of his cell, and is found at any time by the officers of the law, he may be arrested, and taken back to prison. But if the sovereign of the realm has set him free, he is not afraid of all the policemen in the world! He walks about the streets as a man who has a right to his liberty because of the authority which has granted it to him. Now, believer, God has brought you up out of all your trouble because of your sin. He has delivered you from all sense of guilt concerning it, and as He has done it, you are not afraid that it has been done unjustly, and you are, therefore, not afraid that you will be re-committed to prison..."
In our next entry we will continue looking at present redemption via conversion and sanctification.
Wrote the great John Gill in his "Of Redemption by Christ" (Body of Doctrinal Divinity):
"...redemption stands in the first place and is a principal and most important blessing and doctrine of grace..." (see here)
I trust that those who have followed me in this series can give a hearty amen to this affirmation of the great doctor of theology.
Emancipation Of Sin's Prisoners
"I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." (Isa. 42: 6-7)
"Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places." (Isa. 49: 8-9)
Remember that this deliverance from prison is a case of redemption. This fact in seen in the popular movie "Shawshank Redemption," involving several elements of "redemption" as it involves prisoners.
First, there was deliverance, or an "escaping" (it hardly can be called a "release"); Although in this case the one redeemed effected his own deliverance or redemption by his own wit, will, and perseverance (unlike redemption by Christ). Second, there was "vindication" of the prisoner, a setting things right as regards justice, against a tyrannical warden. Third, there was "restoration" of lost fortunes via his deliverance and redemption. Thus, in these ways, Andy Dufresne, the escaped prisoner in the movie, experienced "redemption."
This deliverance from the bondage of sin or "bondage of corruption/depravity" to freedom in Christ occurs first in conversion, when a soul is "set free" from both the penalty of the law (justification) and from the tyrannical governing power of sin (transformation begun). Through the preaching of the gospel the Spirit brings sinners to faith and repentance and thus "breaks the power of canceled sin." In the gospel sinners imprisoned by their moral depravity are called to "go forth." Some who are called to this freedom reject the call, however, to their own loss.
As we have shown in previous postings, originally, "redemption" often denoted the payment of a price to secure the release of a prisoner of war. The word also came to be used of the release of a slave and sometimes of a person under sentence of death (Exod. 21:28-30). Redemption always means the payment of a price to secure release as well as the actual release of the prisoner or slave.
Commenting upon Isaiah 42:7, one of the passages cited at the head of this chapter, Dr. Gill wrote the following in his commentary:
To open the blind eyes - Of the idolatrous Gentiles, who were spiritually blind, and knew not the wretchedness of their case; the exceeding sinfulness of sin; their need of a Saviour, and who he was; as they did, when their eyes were opened by means of the Gospel sent among them, through the energy of the divine Spirit; for this is a work of almighty power and efficacious grace: to bring out the prisoners from the prison;
who were concluded in sin, shut up in unbelief, and under the law, the captives of Satan, and held fast prisoners by him and their own lusts, under the dominion of which they were: and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house: of sin, Satan, and the law; being under which, they were in a state of darkness and ignorance as to things divine and spiritual. The allusion is to prisons, which are commonly dark places.
Commenting upon Isaiah 49: 9 he wrote:
That thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth - God's covenant people, while unconverted, are prisoners; they are in the prison of sin, under the power and dominion of it, and under the guilt of it, and obligation to punishment for it; and they are in the prison of the law, they are transgressors of it, and are accused and convicted by it, and are condemned, and put in prison, and held there; and they are also Satan's prisoners, and are held and led captive by him at his will; and by virtue of the covenant, and the blood of it, these prisoners are set free; and Christ in the Gospel speaks unto them, and proclaims liberty to them; and by the knowledge of the truth they are made free, and are brought into the liberty of the children of God; and are bid to go forth, and they are brought forth from their prison houses; and bid to go to the house of God, and walk at liberty, enjoying all the privileges and ordinances of the Gospel: to them that are in darkness...in a state of nature and unregeneracy, which is a state of infidelity and ignorance; when men are in the dark, and know not themselves, nor their lost state and condition; nor the exceeding sinfulness of sin; nor Christ, and the way of salvation by him; nor the Spirit, and the operations of his grace; nor the Scriptures, and the doctrines of them..."
The experience of redemption occurs first in conversion and is continuously experienced in greater length as the believer is progressively transformed into the image of Christ in sanctification.
Debtor's Prisons
Wrote Gill:
"The buying again of an Israelite, waxen poor, and sold to another, by any near akin to him; is a lively representation of the purchase and redemption of the Lord's poor people, #Le 25:47-49 who, in a state of nature, are poor, and wretched, and miserable; even so as to be like beggars on the dunghill; when such was the grace of Christ, who, though rich, for their sakes became poor, that they, through his poverty might be made rich; and to such a degree, as to be raised from the dunghill and sit among princes, and inherit the throne of glory. Though some may not sell themselves to work wickedness, as Ahab did, yet all are sold under sin; for if this was the case of the apostle Paul, though regenerate, much more must it be the case of an unregenerate man; who, through sin, is brought into subjection to it, a servant of it, and a slave to it; as the poor Israelite, sold to a stranger, was a bondman to him: and such an one cannot redeem himself, being without strength, unable to fulfil the law, and to make atonement for sin; nor can any of his friends, though ever so rich, redeem him, or give to God a ransom for him; such may redeem a poor relation, or friend from a prison, by paying his pecuniary debts for him; but cannot redeem his soul from hell and destruction; may give a ransom price to man for one in slavery and bondage; but cannot give to God a ransom to deliver from wrath to come: only Christ, the near Kinsman of his people, can do this, and has done it; he that is their "Gaol", their near "Kinsman", partaker of the same flesh and blood with them, is their Redeemer, who has given himself a ransom for them."
Debtor's prisons were outlawed in this country in 1833 and for good reason. (Note: sadly, they are making a comeback in this country! But, that is another story) But, throughout the history of the world there has been many a person who spent much, if not all, of their lives in prison for not being able to pay a debt. This certainly was true in Jesus' day. (See for instance Matt. 18: 23-33)
When a sinner turns to the Lord in repentance and faith, his sins are immediately discharged or forgiven. This is what the apostles preached everywhere to every man. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3: 19 KJV).
Gill continued:
"The delivery of a debtor from prison, by paying his debts for him, is an emblem of deliverance and redemption by Christ: a man that is in debt, is liable to be arrested, and cast into prison, as is often the case; where he must lie till the debt his discharged, by himself or another: sins are debts; and a sinner owes more than ten thousand talents, and has nothing to pay; he cannot answer to the justice of God for one debt of a thousand; nor can he, by paying a debt of obedience he owes to God, pay off one debt of sin, or obligation to punishment; and so is liable to a prison, and is in one; is concluded under sin, under the guilt of it, which exposes him to punishment; and he is held with the cords and fetters of it; which he cannot loose himself from; and he is shut up under the law, in which he is held, until delivered and released by Christ; who, as he has engaged to pay the debts of his people, has paid them, cleared the whole score, and blotted out the hand writing that was against them; in consequence of which is proclaimed, in the gospel, liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; and in the effectual calling Christ says "to the prisoners", "Go forth", opening the prison doors for them; and to them that sit in darkness, in the gloomy cells of the prison, "show yourselves"; all which is done in virtue of the redemption price paid by Christ for his people."
Deliverance from debtor prison is a case of redemption.
Gill continued:
"...redemption by Christ is nothing more nor less than buying his people out of the hands of justice, in which they are held for sin; and that is with the price of his blood and in virtue of this they are delivered from the dominion of sin; for though this is done in the effectual calling, by the power of divine grace, it is in virtue of redemption by Christ, by whom sin is crucified, and the body of it destroyed; so that it shall not reign in them, or have dominion over them: one branch of redemption lies in being delivered from a vain conversation; and, ere long, the redeemed shall be delivered from the very being of sin; when their redemption, as to the application of it, will be complete; as it will be in the resurrection; when the soul will not only be among the spirits of just men made perfect; but the body will be clear of sin, mortality, and death; which is called redemption that draws near, the redemption of the body waited for, and the day of redemption, #Lu 21:28 Ro 8:23 Eph 1:14 4:30."
Notice that Gill says that deliverance from a vain conversation is "one branch of redemption." This is the very point I have been stressing in the past few chapters in this series.
Prisoners Of Hope
"As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man." (Zech. 9:11-13)
In preaching upon these verses the venerable C.H. Spurgeon said:
"Do all of you, dear friends, know anything about the pit wherein is no water? Were you ever conscious of being in it? Regarding it as a state of spiritual distress, do you understand what it means to be in such a comfortless condition? It was a common custom, in the past, to put prisoners into deep pits which had been dug in the earth. The sides were usually steep and perpendicular—and the prisoner who was dropped down into such a pit must remain there without any hope of escape. According to our text, there was no water there, and, apparently, no food of any kind. The objective of the captors was to leave the prisoner there to be forgotten as a dead man out of mind. Have you ever, in your experience, realized anything like that? There was a time, with some of us, when we suddenly woke up to find that all our fancied goodness had vanished, that all our hopes had perished, and that we, ourselves, were in the comfortless condition of men in a pit without even a single drop of water to mitigate our burning thirst!...If I sought after water in my comfortless condition, I only found myself to be more intensely eaten up with thirst! Do you know what all this means? You need to know it, for this is the condition into which God usually brings His children before He reveals Himself to them!"
Spurgeon continued:
"The condition of being shut up in a pit wherein is no water is not only comfortless, but it is also hopeless. How can such a prisoner escape? He looks up out of the pit, and sees, far above him, a little circle of light, but he knows that it is impossible for him to climb up there. Perhaps he attempts it, but, if so, he falls back and injures himself—and there must he lie, out of sight, and out of hearing, at the bottom of that deep pit—with none to help him, and quite unable to help himself. Such is the condition into which an awakened conscience brings a man. He sees himself to be lost through his sin, and he discovers that the law of God is so intensely severe—though not unduly so—and the justice of God is so stern, though not too stern—that he cannot possibly hope for any help from them in his efforts to escape out of the pit in which he lies fallen as a helpless, hopeless prisoner!"
Spurgeon, like his predecessor, believed that it is in being converted that a sinner experiences his coming out of the prison of sin. Spurgeon also said - "But concerning those who have believed in Jesus, our text is true, and God can say, “I have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.”
Spurgeon said further:
"There is this further comfort that if He has set us free, we are free indeed. It is only God who can deliver a conscience in bondage—and when it is delivered by Him, it need not be afraid of being dragged back to prison anymore. If a criminal breaks out of his cell, and is found at any time by the officers of the law, he may be arrested, and taken back to prison. But if the sovereign of the realm has set him free, he is not afraid of all the policemen in the world! He walks about the streets as a man who has a right to his liberty because of the authority which has granted it to him. Now, believer, God has brought you up out of all your trouble because of your sin. He has delivered you from all sense of guilt concerning it, and as He has done it, you are not afraid that it has been done unjustly, and you are, therefore, not afraid that you will be re-committed to prison..."
In our next entry we will continue looking at present redemption via conversion and sanctification.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Elder Grigg Thompson & Neo Hardshellism
All Hardshells consider Elder Wilson Thompson to be one of the founding fathers of their denomination. This has always been surprising to me seeing he held some very strange views. He would not be accepted into their fellowship were he to appear today. However, Wilson's eldest son, Grigg, was also a first generation leader of the "Primitive" or "Old School" Baptists, preaching extensively among them in the important decades of the 1830s through the 1850s. He was the one generally called upon to defend the new Hardshell denomination in public debate on the issues involved in the separation. His published sermons and other writings are generally looked highly favorably upon by Hardshells since his day. I have cited from his writings many times over the years and have used them to show how far removed today's Pbs are from their original moorings.
In talking about "regeneration" Grigg Thompson wrote (emphasis mine):
"It is not a mere change of conduct, but a change of state and condition, they that were once darkness are now light in the Lord; Eph., v, 8; they that were dead in sin are now quickened with Christ; Eph., ii, 5. The soul that was filled with despair and felt that he was under the wrath of God, and that his sins must forever separate him from his God, sees the thick cloud removed, the Sun of righteousness shines upon his soul, and God comforts him; Isa., xil, 1. You that have felt this change, will never forget "that day," that happy day, "when Jesus took your guilt away," and filled your soul with hope and love. It was the day of your espousal when the mutual pledges of love were given, and without a doubt or fear you could say, "My beloved is mine, and I am his;" Songs, ii, 16."
Can you not see, my Hardshell brothers, how this description of "regeneration" is far removed from how it is described by you all today? Isn't Thompson's description of regeneration more like conversion? It certainly is contrary to the view of Elder Sarrels and his "systematic theology" of Hardshell doctrine. To Sarrels, a person who is "regenerated" has learned nothing. It is all "below the level of consciousness." The truth is, the first generation of Hardshells did not believe a man was "born again," or made a new creature in Christ, until he was converted and made a conscious believer in Jesus.
Does regeneration make one sad or happy? It seems clear that Grigg believed that it made one happy. I have written on this previously. See Does Regeneration Make Sinners Happy? (here)
Thompson continued:
"Whatever have been the trials, afflictions, doubts, and fears, you have passed through since "that day," you still look back to and date your spiritual existence from that time. Paul never forgot the day when he traveled towards Damascus, and the light shone around him, and by the power of God's grace and Spirit, he was changed from a persecutor to a servant and friend of Jesus. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;" in regeneration the affections of his soul are changed so that he loves the things he once hated. His conscience was dead, seared as, with a hot iron, hard and without feeling, full of guilt and condemnation, but is now made alive, is purged, is tender, watchful, and full of peace; Heb.. ix, 14. His will was rebellious, inflexible, and opposed to God, but is now obedient to the will of the Lord; Ps., ex, 3. His desires were once carnal, sensual, and pursued the vanities of the world, but now delight in God; Isa., xxvi, 8. His love was fixed upon earthly objects, was carnal and fleshly, now it is swallowed up in the infinite excellencies of God and of Christ; Ps., cxix, 97. The joys and delights of the soul were once in the trifles and vanities of this world, now its rejoicing is in Christ Jesus; Phil., iii, 3. His cares and his fears were once about worldly things, now he loves, fears, and reverences God; Acts, ix, 31. Once sin was his delight, now it is the object of his dread; II-Cor., 7, 11. Once his expectations raised no higher than this world, and were of the world, but now from above; Heb. vi, 19. And look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are not seen; II Cor., iv, 18. Once they yielded their members servants to uncleanness and iniquity, but now to righteousness and holiness; Rom. vi, 19. The change is a great one and those who have experienced it may well be called new creatures, created in Christ Jesus unto good works; Eph., ii, 10." (From "The Primitive Preacher," and section titled "A New Creature," by Elder Grigg Thompson)
Is that not clear?
In talking about "regeneration" Grigg Thompson wrote (emphasis mine):
"It is not a mere change of conduct, but a change of state and condition, they that were once darkness are now light in the Lord; Eph., v, 8; they that were dead in sin are now quickened with Christ; Eph., ii, 5. The soul that was filled with despair and felt that he was under the wrath of God, and that his sins must forever separate him from his God, sees the thick cloud removed, the Sun of righteousness shines upon his soul, and God comforts him; Isa., xil, 1. You that have felt this change, will never forget "that day," that happy day, "when Jesus took your guilt away," and filled your soul with hope and love. It was the day of your espousal when the mutual pledges of love were given, and without a doubt or fear you could say, "My beloved is mine, and I am his;" Songs, ii, 16."
Can you not see, my Hardshell brothers, how this description of "regeneration" is far removed from how it is described by you all today? Isn't Thompson's description of regeneration more like conversion? It certainly is contrary to the view of Elder Sarrels and his "systematic theology" of Hardshell doctrine. To Sarrels, a person who is "regenerated" has learned nothing. It is all "below the level of consciousness." The truth is, the first generation of Hardshells did not believe a man was "born again," or made a new creature in Christ, until he was converted and made a conscious believer in Jesus.
Does regeneration make one sad or happy? It seems clear that Grigg believed that it made one happy. I have written on this previously. See Does Regeneration Make Sinners Happy? (here)
Thompson continued:
"Whatever have been the trials, afflictions, doubts, and fears, you have passed through since "that day," you still look back to and date your spiritual existence from that time. Paul never forgot the day when he traveled towards Damascus, and the light shone around him, and by the power of God's grace and Spirit, he was changed from a persecutor to a servant and friend of Jesus. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;" in regeneration the affections of his soul are changed so that he loves the things he once hated. His conscience was dead, seared as, with a hot iron, hard and without feeling, full of guilt and condemnation, but is now made alive, is purged, is tender, watchful, and full of peace; Heb.. ix, 14. His will was rebellious, inflexible, and opposed to God, but is now obedient to the will of the Lord; Ps., ex, 3. His desires were once carnal, sensual, and pursued the vanities of the world, but now delight in God; Isa., xxvi, 8. His love was fixed upon earthly objects, was carnal and fleshly, now it is swallowed up in the infinite excellencies of God and of Christ; Ps., cxix, 97. The joys and delights of the soul were once in the trifles and vanities of this world, now its rejoicing is in Christ Jesus; Phil., iii, 3. His cares and his fears were once about worldly things, now he loves, fears, and reverences God; Acts, ix, 31. Once sin was his delight, now it is the object of his dread; II-Cor., 7, 11. Once his expectations raised no higher than this world, and were of the world, but now from above; Heb. vi, 19. And look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are not seen; II Cor., iv, 18. Once they yielded their members servants to uncleanness and iniquity, but now to righteousness and holiness; Rom. vi, 19. The change is a great one and those who have experienced it may well be called new creatures, created in Christ Jesus unto good works; Eph., ii, 10." (From "The Primitive Preacher," and section titled "A New Creature," by Elder Grigg Thompson)
Is that not clear?
Hardshell Mysticism & Esoteric Christianity
In previous postings I have contended that "The Primitive Baptist Church" of today has become a cult, a secret society, a kind of "mystery religion." In some of those postings I cited these words from Hardshell leaders of the past and present.
Elder Lasserre Bradley, Jr. wrote:
"Mysticism has had its influence among our people."
Elder Lemuel Potter (Hardshell leader at the end of the 19th century) wrote:
"About half a century ago metaphysics was introduced among the Old School Baptists..."
(See my posting here for these citations)
See Also These Postings
Hardshell Cults "Key"
Hardshellism & Masonry & The Irony
In an Internet article we find this heading:
Question: "What is Esoteric Christianity?" (here)
Here is the reply:
Answer: Esoteric means “requiring special knowledge to understand; designed for only a select few.” Esoteric Christianity, then, would be a version of “Christianity” that can only be understood or practiced by those who have been properly initiated in secret knowledge. Esoteric Christianity teaches that Christianity is a mystery religion and that only a small minority of people ever achieve the enlightenment necessary to crack the arcane teachings of the Bible and truly know God.
Esoteric Christianity views “salvation” as a stepping stone to greater truths. The Christian should not be satisfied with just being “saved” but with being “enlightened” and reaching “spiritual liberation.” Esoteric Christianity promotes introspection with the goal of attaining the knowledge of Self. Repentance, to an Esoteric Christian, is the “turning in” of one’s thoughts toward oneself and away from the world.
For those of us who have been in this cult, we know how true this description is of "The Primitive Baptist Church" as we generally find it today.
Next, from his fine work Christianity Through The Centuries (CTTC) noted Church historian Dr. Earle Cairns tells us that:
"The Quakers appeared on the English religious scene during the chaotic period of the Civil War and the Commonwealth. They set aside the doctrines of an organized church and the Bible as the sole and final revelation of God’s will in favor of the doctrine of the Inner Light, by which they meant that the Holy Spirit can give immediate and direct knowledge of God apart from the Bible." (381)
Is this not what Hardshells also teach?
Elder Lasserre Bradley, Jr. wrote:
"Mysticism has had its influence among our people."
Elder Lemuel Potter (Hardshell leader at the end of the 19th century) wrote:
"About half a century ago metaphysics was introduced among the Old School Baptists..."
(See my posting here for these citations)
See Also These Postings
Hardshell Cults "Key"
Hardshellism & Masonry & The Irony
In an Internet article we find this heading:
Question: "What is Esoteric Christianity?" (here)
Here is the reply:
Answer: Esoteric means “requiring special knowledge to understand; designed for only a select few.” Esoteric Christianity, then, would be a version of “Christianity” that can only be understood or practiced by those who have been properly initiated in secret knowledge. Esoteric Christianity teaches that Christianity is a mystery religion and that only a small minority of people ever achieve the enlightenment necessary to crack the arcane teachings of the Bible and truly know God.
Esoteric Christianity views “salvation” as a stepping stone to greater truths. The Christian should not be satisfied with just being “saved” but with being “enlightened” and reaching “spiritual liberation.” Esoteric Christianity promotes introspection with the goal of attaining the knowledge of Self. Repentance, to an Esoteric Christian, is the “turning in” of one’s thoughts toward oneself and away from the world.
For those of us who have been in this cult, we know how true this description is of "The Primitive Baptist Church" as we generally find it today.
Next, from his fine work Christianity Through The Centuries (CTTC) noted Church historian Dr. Earle Cairns tells us that:
"The Quakers appeared on the English religious scene during the chaotic period of the Civil War and the Commonwealth. They set aside the doctrines of an organized church and the Bible as the sole and final revelation of God’s will in favor of the doctrine of the Inner Light, by which they meant that the Holy Spirit can give immediate and direct knowledge of God apart from the Bible." (381)
Is this not what Hardshells also teach?
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
"They That Are Christ's" (ii)
In this short follow up, I want to share some of my notes on this passage that were not included in the previous posting.
John MacArthur wrote:
"In each of those three passages, “crucified” is simply a vivid and dramatic way to say “killed,” or “executed.” In the first two passages Paul is teaching that at salvation his old, sinful, unregenerate self was executed and he was born a new man in Christ Jesus. In the third passage he is saying that the world has been executed and is now dead to him, so that it is no longer his master, holding him in bondage. He is therefore now free to serve the Lord."
MacArthur also wrote:
"Obviously, in none of those passages does Paul mean to imply that the crucifixion analogy carries the idea of total death, in which all influence ceases. Sin was still a reality in his life, and so was the temptation of the world. But there was a sense in which the power of the old self and of the world was broken. Those influences no longer dominated him."
I agree. But, more on this shortly. However, instead of saying "total death," I would have rather said that in conversion the sinner by faith nails his "old man," or "the flesh," including "the self" (or "ego"), "the world," etc., to the cross and this act begins the death process. Death by crucifixion was not instantaneous but slow. So it is with the death of the flesh with its affections and lusts.
MacArthur wrote:
"In the text of Galatians 5:24, Paul is saying that the flesh has been executed. But how could that be in light of what he has just said in this chapter about believers having a constant war with the ever-present flesh? In what sense is the flesh killed at conversion?
UBS Handbook writes that have crucified "is, of course, a figurative expression, suggesting a connection between this action of the believer and the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The verb is in the aorist tense, suggesting either that the action took place in the past (at conversion...) or that the action resulted in a complete and decisive change...this action is presently reflected in the experience of every believer... (The United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series)
Beet "Notice three crucifixions in this Epistle; of Paul, of the flesh and its desires, and of the world. Each of these implies the others. In each case crucified denotes death in virtue of Christ’s death on the cross and by union with the Crucified.
Constable - The Christian has crucified the flesh in the sense that when he or she trusted Christ God broke the domination of his or her sinful nature. While we still have a sinful human nature, it does not control us as it did before we trusted in Christ (cf. Ro 6:6–7). Paul said we, not God, have crucified it. We did this when we trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior (cf. Gal 2:20). Therefore it is inconsistent for us to return to the flesh. “Passions” (Gr. pathemata, cf. Ro 7:5) are the outward expression of inner “desires” (Gr. epithumiai, cf. Gal 5:16). In another sense we need to continually crucify the flesh by choosing to yield to the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 18, 25; Ro 8:13; Col. 3:5). (Galatians)
Yes, what was first done in conversion and regeneration is done continuously. Did we repent when we were born again? Have we stopped repenting? Did we believe when we came to Christ? Have we stopped believing? Did we turn our backs upon our egos, upon the world, and upon trusting in our own works for salvation, when the Lord taught us by his word and Spirit? Did we stop or did we continue to turn our backs?
Spurgeon in the Christian Illustrator wrote the following on Crucifixion of the flesh.
Crucifixion of the flesh: — Men who believe in Jesus become purer, holier, better. They are saved from living as they used to live — saved from licentiousness, dishonesty, drunkenness, selfishness, and any other sin they may have lived in. They are different men. There is a change in their heart and soul, conduct and conversation.
I. THE RECEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST BY FAITH IS, IN ITSELF, AN AVOWAL THAT WE HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH, WITH THE AFFECTIONS AND LUSTS.
Christ died in our room and stead. By faith we regard ourselves as dead with Him.
II. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE RECEPTION OF CHRIST IS ATTENDED WITH THE CRUCIFIXION OF SIN.
Every truly converted man is a proof of this.
III. THE RECEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST INTO THE HEART BY SIMPLE FAITH IS CALCULATED TO CRUCIFY THE FLESH.
1. The believer has seen the evil of sin. It is a deicide — a killing of God.
2. He has seen in the death of Christ an amazing instance of the great grace of God.
3. He has had a view of the justice of God.
4. He has seen the amazing love of Jesus. How, then, can he go on grieving and offending Him?
IV. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS WITH THE GOSPEL, AND WHERE HE IS HOLINESS MUST BE PROMOTED.
Wherever Jesus Christ is preached, there is present One sublime in rank and high in degree — the ever-blessed Spirit of God. He takes of the things of Christ, and shows them unto men. His power changes the current of men’s desires, making them crucify the flesh and its affections, and love things holy, just, and true."
John Stott, the well known theologian and bible commentator, wrote (emphasis mine):
"We must crucify the flesh...This verse is frequently misunderstood. Please notice that the ‘crucifixion’ of the flesh described here is something that is done not to us but by us. It is we ourselves who are said to ‘have crucified the flesh’."
This is what was emphasized in my previous posting on this subject. Though the crucifixion is done by the sinner in his conversion, it is nevertheless certain that all those who belong to Christ are by the grace and power of God made to do so.
Stott continued:
"Perhaps I can best expose the popular misconception by saying that Galatians 5:24 does not teach the same truth as Galatians 2:20 or Romans 6:6. In those verses we are told that by faith-union with Christ we have been crucified with Him. But here it is we who have taken action. We ‘have crucified’ our old nature. It is not now a ‘dying’ which we have experienced through union with Christ; it is rather a deliberate ‘putting to death’.
What does it mean? Paul borrows the image of crucifixion, of course, from Christ Himself who said:
If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me (Mk. 8:34)
To ‘take up the cross’ was our Lord’s vivid figure of speech for self-denial. Every follower of Christ is to behave like a condemned criminal and carry his cross to the place of execution. Now Paul takes the metaphor to its logical conclusion. We must not only take up our cross and walk with it, but actually see that the execution takes place. We are actually to take the flesh, our willful and wayward self, and (metaphorically speaking) nail it to the cross. This is Paul’s graphic description of repentance, of turning our back on the old life of selfishness and sin, repudiating it finally and utterly..."
Stott continued:
"The Greek verb is in the aorist tense, indicating that this is something we did decisively at the moment of conversion. When we came to Jesus Christ, we repented. We ‘crucified’ everything we knew to be wrong. We took our old self-centered nature, with all its sinful passions and desires, and nailed it to the cross. And this repentance of ours was decisive, as decisive as a crucifixion. So, Paul says, if we crucified the flesh, we must leave it there to die. We must renew every day this attitude towards sin of ruthless and uncompromising rejection. In the language of Jesus, as Luke records it, every Christian must take up his cross daily (Luke 9:23)." (Stott, J. R. W. The Message of Galatians: Only one way. Leicester, England; Downer's Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press)
That is clearly "spot on."
Stott continued:
"J. Brown describes the continual putting to death of the flesh with all its sinful passions and desires in this way:
“Crucifixion…produced death not suddenly but gradually...True Christians do not succeed in completely destroying it (that is the flesh) while here below; but they have fixed it to the cross and they are determined to keep it there till it expires.”
That is well stated! The action of conversion, of repentance, is the action of nailing the flesh, the world, etc., to the cross! And, we are determined to keep it there and watch it die!
James Montgomery Boice explains that in Galatians 5:24 Paul...
"reminds his readers that when they came to Christ, they repented fully of the works of the flesh and indeed turned their backs on them forever. This act they must sustain. In speaking of this radical repentance, Paul uses the vivid image of crucifixion. This is an image he has used in other places; it was a favorite with him. But here he uses it in a slightly different way from the way he used it in Romans 6:6 or Galatians 2:20, for example. In these other instances, the verb is in the passive voice ("was crucified," "have been crucified"), and the reference is to what has been done for the believer as a result of Christ's death. But in this passage the verb is in the active voice ("have crucified") and points rather to what the believer has himself done and must continue to regard as being done. The proper term to describe this act is repentance. Thus the believer in Christ has already repented of his former way of life to the degree of actually having executed the old nature. This does not mean that the battle is thereby over forever. As in an actual crucifixion, life lingers even though the criminal has been nailed to the cross. Nevertheless, the believer is to regard the decisive act as having been done. He is not to seek to remove from the cross what has once been nailed there." (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing)
Again, well said!
Wrote John Gill in his commentary:
"And in consequence of this crucifixion of the body of sin, with Christ upon the cross, when he finished and made an end of it, sin, with its passions and lusts, is crucified by the Spirit of God in regeneration and sanctification; so that it loses its governing power, and has not the dominion it had before: not but that the flesh, or corrupt nature, with its evil affections, and carnal lusts, are still in being, and are alive; as a person fastened to a cross may be alive, though he cannot act and move as before, being under restraints, so the old man, though crucified, and under the restraints of mighty grace, and cannot reign and govern as before, yet is alive, and acts, and operates, and oftentimes has great sway and influence; but whereas he is deprived of his reigning power, he is said to be crucified: and though this act is ascribed to them that are Christ's, yet not as done by them in their own strength, who are not able to grapple with one corruption, but as under the influence of the grace of Christ, and through the power of his Spirit; see (Romans 8:13)."
Again, all these great men have truly explained how the experience of crucifixion is initially experienced in evangelical repentance and such a crucifixion guarantees that the thing crucified will in fact die. It is inevitable. Only fake believers would think of taking self and the flesh from off the cross and sparing their final death.
Have you crucified the flesh, sin, and the world? Are you determined to see them destroyed?
John MacArthur wrote:
"In each of those three passages, “crucified” is simply a vivid and dramatic way to say “killed,” or “executed.” In the first two passages Paul is teaching that at salvation his old, sinful, unregenerate self was executed and he was born a new man in Christ Jesus. In the third passage he is saying that the world has been executed and is now dead to him, so that it is no longer his master, holding him in bondage. He is therefore now free to serve the Lord."
MacArthur also wrote:
"Obviously, in none of those passages does Paul mean to imply that the crucifixion analogy carries the idea of total death, in which all influence ceases. Sin was still a reality in his life, and so was the temptation of the world. But there was a sense in which the power of the old self and of the world was broken. Those influences no longer dominated him."
I agree. But, more on this shortly. However, instead of saying "total death," I would have rather said that in conversion the sinner by faith nails his "old man," or "the flesh," including "the self" (or "ego"), "the world," etc., to the cross and this act begins the death process. Death by crucifixion was not instantaneous but slow. So it is with the death of the flesh with its affections and lusts.
MacArthur wrote:
"In the text of Galatians 5:24, Paul is saying that the flesh has been executed. But how could that be in light of what he has just said in this chapter about believers having a constant war with the ever-present flesh? In what sense is the flesh killed at conversion?
UBS Handbook writes that have crucified "is, of course, a figurative expression, suggesting a connection between this action of the believer and the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The verb is in the aorist tense, suggesting either that the action took place in the past (at conversion...) or that the action resulted in a complete and decisive change...this action is presently reflected in the experience of every believer... (The United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series)
Beet "Notice three crucifixions in this Epistle; of Paul, of the flesh and its desires, and of the world. Each of these implies the others. In each case crucified denotes death in virtue of Christ’s death on the cross and by union with the Crucified.
Constable - The Christian has crucified the flesh in the sense that when he or she trusted Christ God broke the domination of his or her sinful nature. While we still have a sinful human nature, it does not control us as it did before we trusted in Christ (cf. Ro 6:6–7). Paul said we, not God, have crucified it. We did this when we trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior (cf. Gal 2:20). Therefore it is inconsistent for us to return to the flesh. “Passions” (Gr. pathemata, cf. Ro 7:5) are the outward expression of inner “desires” (Gr. epithumiai, cf. Gal 5:16). In another sense we need to continually crucify the flesh by choosing to yield to the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 18, 25; Ro 8:13; Col. 3:5). (Galatians)
Yes, what was first done in conversion and regeneration is done continuously. Did we repent when we were born again? Have we stopped repenting? Did we believe when we came to Christ? Have we stopped believing? Did we turn our backs upon our egos, upon the world, and upon trusting in our own works for salvation, when the Lord taught us by his word and Spirit? Did we stop or did we continue to turn our backs?
Spurgeon in the Christian Illustrator wrote the following on Crucifixion of the flesh.
Crucifixion of the flesh: — Men who believe in Jesus become purer, holier, better. They are saved from living as they used to live — saved from licentiousness, dishonesty, drunkenness, selfishness, and any other sin they may have lived in. They are different men. There is a change in their heart and soul, conduct and conversation.
I. THE RECEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST BY FAITH IS, IN ITSELF, AN AVOWAL THAT WE HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH, WITH THE AFFECTIONS AND LUSTS.
Christ died in our room and stead. By faith we regard ourselves as dead with Him.
II. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE RECEPTION OF CHRIST IS ATTENDED WITH THE CRUCIFIXION OF SIN.
Every truly converted man is a proof of this.
III. THE RECEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST INTO THE HEART BY SIMPLE FAITH IS CALCULATED TO CRUCIFY THE FLESH.
1. The believer has seen the evil of sin. It is a deicide — a killing of God.
2. He has seen in the death of Christ an amazing instance of the great grace of God.
3. He has had a view of the justice of God.
4. He has seen the amazing love of Jesus. How, then, can he go on grieving and offending Him?
IV. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS WITH THE GOSPEL, AND WHERE HE IS HOLINESS MUST BE PROMOTED.
Wherever Jesus Christ is preached, there is present One sublime in rank and high in degree — the ever-blessed Spirit of God. He takes of the things of Christ, and shows them unto men. His power changes the current of men’s desires, making them crucify the flesh and its affections, and love things holy, just, and true."
John Stott, the well known theologian and bible commentator, wrote (emphasis mine):
"We must crucify the flesh...This verse is frequently misunderstood. Please notice that the ‘crucifixion’ of the flesh described here is something that is done not to us but by us. It is we ourselves who are said to ‘have crucified the flesh’."
This is what was emphasized in my previous posting on this subject. Though the crucifixion is done by the sinner in his conversion, it is nevertheless certain that all those who belong to Christ are by the grace and power of God made to do so.
Stott continued:
"Perhaps I can best expose the popular misconception by saying that Galatians 5:24 does not teach the same truth as Galatians 2:20 or Romans 6:6. In those verses we are told that by faith-union with Christ we have been crucified with Him. But here it is we who have taken action. We ‘have crucified’ our old nature. It is not now a ‘dying’ which we have experienced through union with Christ; it is rather a deliberate ‘putting to death’.
What does it mean? Paul borrows the image of crucifixion, of course, from Christ Himself who said:
If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me (Mk. 8:34)
To ‘take up the cross’ was our Lord’s vivid figure of speech for self-denial. Every follower of Christ is to behave like a condemned criminal and carry his cross to the place of execution. Now Paul takes the metaphor to its logical conclusion. We must not only take up our cross and walk with it, but actually see that the execution takes place. We are actually to take the flesh, our willful and wayward self, and (metaphorically speaking) nail it to the cross. This is Paul’s graphic description of repentance, of turning our back on the old life of selfishness and sin, repudiating it finally and utterly..."
Stott continued:
"The Greek verb is in the aorist tense, indicating that this is something we did decisively at the moment of conversion. When we came to Jesus Christ, we repented. We ‘crucified’ everything we knew to be wrong. We took our old self-centered nature, with all its sinful passions and desires, and nailed it to the cross. And this repentance of ours was decisive, as decisive as a crucifixion. So, Paul says, if we crucified the flesh, we must leave it there to die. We must renew every day this attitude towards sin of ruthless and uncompromising rejection. In the language of Jesus, as Luke records it, every Christian must take up his cross daily (Luke 9:23)." (Stott, J. R. W. The Message of Galatians: Only one way. Leicester, England; Downer's Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press)
That is clearly "spot on."
Stott continued:
"J. Brown describes the continual putting to death of the flesh with all its sinful passions and desires in this way:
“Crucifixion…produced death not suddenly but gradually...True Christians do not succeed in completely destroying it (that is the flesh) while here below; but they have fixed it to the cross and they are determined to keep it there till it expires.”
That is well stated! The action of conversion, of repentance, is the action of nailing the flesh, the world, etc., to the cross! And, we are determined to keep it there and watch it die!
James Montgomery Boice explains that in Galatians 5:24 Paul...
"reminds his readers that when they came to Christ, they repented fully of the works of the flesh and indeed turned their backs on them forever. This act they must sustain. In speaking of this radical repentance, Paul uses the vivid image of crucifixion. This is an image he has used in other places; it was a favorite with him. But here he uses it in a slightly different way from the way he used it in Romans 6:6 or Galatians 2:20, for example. In these other instances, the verb is in the passive voice ("was crucified," "have been crucified"), and the reference is to what has been done for the believer as a result of Christ's death. But in this passage the verb is in the active voice ("have crucified") and points rather to what the believer has himself done and must continue to regard as being done. The proper term to describe this act is repentance. Thus the believer in Christ has already repented of his former way of life to the degree of actually having executed the old nature. This does not mean that the battle is thereby over forever. As in an actual crucifixion, life lingers even though the criminal has been nailed to the cross. Nevertheless, the believer is to regard the decisive act as having been done. He is not to seek to remove from the cross what has once been nailed there." (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing)
Again, well said!
Wrote John Gill in his commentary:
"And in consequence of this crucifixion of the body of sin, with Christ upon the cross, when he finished and made an end of it, sin, with its passions and lusts, is crucified by the Spirit of God in regeneration and sanctification; so that it loses its governing power, and has not the dominion it had before: not but that the flesh, or corrupt nature, with its evil affections, and carnal lusts, are still in being, and are alive; as a person fastened to a cross may be alive, though he cannot act and move as before, being under restraints, so the old man, though crucified, and under the restraints of mighty grace, and cannot reign and govern as before, yet is alive, and acts, and operates, and oftentimes has great sway and influence; but whereas he is deprived of his reigning power, he is said to be crucified: and though this act is ascribed to them that are Christ's, yet not as done by them in their own strength, who are not able to grapple with one corruption, but as under the influence of the grace of Christ, and through the power of his Spirit; see (Romans 8:13)."
Again, all these great men have truly explained how the experience of crucifixion is initially experienced in evangelical repentance and such a crucifixion guarantees that the thing crucified will in fact die. It is inevitable. Only fake believers would think of taking self and the flesh from off the cross and sparing their final death.
Have you crucified the flesh, sin, and the world? Are you determined to see them destroyed?
Hall Answers Hyper Calvinism's Pelagian Reasoning
In a follow up to my previous postings citing the old Baptist minister, Robert Hall, I want to post these words from that eminent servant on issues involving the errors of the Hardshells and other Hyper Calvinists together with some comments.
Wrote Hall (emphasis mine)
"The Spirit of God in the word, in describing the character of real saints, beareth witness with our spirits, which are conscious of a real change, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. Rom. viii. 16, 17. Therefore, he that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself. That is, he is conscious of the acts of his own soul, that they are in nature and kind, however they are deficient in degree, what the people of God in the Scriptures are described by. Every Christian, therefore, habitually believes that such persons as answer to the description of saints, whether themselves or others, shall have everlasting life, (and that no other but such shall be saved). He that believeth not God, hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son; and this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son; 1 John, v. 10, 11."
This is not the description of a "saint" or "child of God" that one will get from the Hardshells. Hardshells see regeneration or the new birth as a totally subconscious experience, unaccompanied by any cognition. Every "believer" is "conscious of the acts of his own soul," of his act of faith in Christ. Further, he is no temporary believer, but is one who "habitually believes."
Wrote Hall:
"Divine requirements being superior to the ability of men in their present fallen condition, have been exceedingly perplexing to many (amen to that! SG); especially such as feel themselves without strength, which the Scriptures declare them to be for whom Christ died, (Rom. v. 6.) and to whom he says, Without me ye can do nothing, John, xv.5, whose experience of their utter inability and absolute dependence on the Lord coincides with what the apostle expresses concerning himself and his brethren, who were even able ministers of the New Testament. Their language is, Who is sufficient for these things? 2 Cor. ii. 16. We are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. 2 Cor. iii. 5, 6. From a consciousness of personal inability, joined with a conviction of their absolute and necessary obligation to obedience, arise various difficulties relating to the equity of God in requiring that of his creatures which he knows and declares is not in their power to perform. To assert and maintain that men have an inherent power to turn to God and embrace the gospel, and glorify him in a course of holy obedience to his law, without the infusion of supernatural principles, is to oppose the positive declarations of God's word respecting the necessity of regeneration, and the impossibility of those who are in the flesh doing any thing pleasing and acceptable to God. See Rom. viii. 5, 8. But those who oppose the doctrine of free grace are constrained to plead for the power of man to love and obey God, representing men's inability as absolutely inconsistent with scriptural commands and exhortations to obedience and faith; these, on the one hand, declaim with an air of triumph on the absurdity of supposing God to require impossibilities; in which those heartily concur who hold the truth in unrighteousness, and represent men as quite blameless, though disobedient, because they have no power of themselves to obey. Various methods have been taken to apologize for man's imperfections, and extenuate his guilt." (pgs. 205-09)
This is a Hardshell and Pelagian error that Hall describes. These represent man's "inability" to be "inconsistent with scriptural commands and exhortations to obedience and faith." Hardshells constantly affirm that the gospel is not addressed to "dead" sinners because they are unable to hear and believe it. They affirm that it is no sin for the unregenerate to reject Christ and the gospel for they are not under any obligation to accept Christ and believe. It is for this reason that Hardshells have been styled as "Antinomian." (See the series "Hardshell Antinomianism")
Wrote Hall:
"Another method of accounting for God’s requiring perfect obedience of imperfect men, is the consideration of our being represented by Adam in the covenant which was made with him. The reasoning of many eminent men has been thus:—“We had in Adam full and adequate ability every way proportionable to the nature and extent of duty; and though men have lost their power to obey, God has neither lost nor given up his authority to command: therefore it is our duty to exert not only the strength we are now possessed of, but likewise the strength we should have had, supposing our first parent had continued in that state of purity and power.”
That is indeed one answer to the charge that depraved impotent sinners are not obligated to obey any divine requirement.
Wrote Hall:
"...it seems contrary to the common or known rules of justice and equity, to punish on the account of not performing what is naturally impossible to be performed. Hence, some who have endeavored to hold up the doctrines of grace as objects of ridicule and contempt, have boldly asserted, that according to these doctrines, future judgment would be a mere farce. For that God might as justly punish slow moving animals for deficiency in swiftness, and those for not flying who have no wings to fly with, nor in any respect formed for such a motion, as to punish men for not doing what they cannot possibly accomplish, but is as much above their power as to create a world. Such kind of checks the adherents to truth have frequently met with. And such reasoning, or rather declamation, has been very stumbling to weak Christians. Some have been severely tried by the above misrepresentation of gospel truths, and tempted to think what they dare not utter."
And it certainly has been "very stumbling" to our Hardshell brethren!
Wrote Hall:
"For the relief of such, I would propose to their calm and candid consideration a distinction between natural and moral inability which seems necessary to be well understood in order to obtain consistent views of Divine revelation, relating to the requirements of God's righteous law and the nature of his precious gospel. By Natural inability, is intended a want of a natural capacity or opportunity to know and do what is commanded, or an absolute defect in the natural powers of a man's mind or body, by which he is rendered incapable of acting although his will were bent upon the performance of his duty. Whatever totally prevents, or is in absolute obstruction in the way of a person's knowing or doing any thing, which renders the acquirement impossible, though he be ever so desirous of accomplishing it, is what I wish to have considered as included in natural inability. Moral inability consists in a disinclination to what is good, or a dislike of, and aversion to, what God has made a person's duty."(ibid)
We discussed this at length in our series "Hardshell Pelagianism" and cited from numerous great theologians on this point. I have heard Hardshells and some other Calvinists speak of lost man's inability as being physical or natural, affirming that man's inability is like the inability of a worm to fly. Such an erroneous view of what it means to be "degenerate" has led our Hardshell brothers to have erroneous views of what it means to be "regenerate." To them, regeneration gives a man additional physical or natural abilities.
Wrote Hall:
"Men are dead in sin, but that death does not consist in a deprivation of natural faculties...Duty is ever measured by natural ability."
Exactly!
Wrote Hall:
"In regeneration the Holy Spirit does not create new faculties, or bestow a new set of natural powers; he does not produce “a new head, but a new heart,” by infusing new principles and holy dispositions. But if a deficiency in natural powers was the fountain of fault, or the source of blame, from whence criminal actions proceed, there would be a necessity for the production of new faculties, or otherwise a removal of their natural deficiencies. And if so, the surest evidences of a gracious change would be a strong memory, a fertile imagination, a fund of wit, and a profound, deep understanding, or clear ideas, and strong reasoning. In short, an assemblage of fine brilliant parts would, in that case, be the best proof of true holiness."
This is what the great Jonathan Edwards wrote at length about and from whom I cited in the above series. We cited from several others on this point. The great Andrew Fuller also wrote much on this.
Wrote Hall:
"He requires nothing naturally impossible to be performed. He has not made any thing the duty of his creatures which exceeds their natural ability, nor does he punish them for not acquiring or doing what is naturally beyond their power to perform."
My views exactly!
Wrote Hall (emphasis mine)
"The Spirit of God in the word, in describing the character of real saints, beareth witness with our spirits, which are conscious of a real change, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. Rom. viii. 16, 17. Therefore, he that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself. That is, he is conscious of the acts of his own soul, that they are in nature and kind, however they are deficient in degree, what the people of God in the Scriptures are described by. Every Christian, therefore, habitually believes that such persons as answer to the description of saints, whether themselves or others, shall have everlasting life, (and that no other but such shall be saved). He that believeth not God, hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son; and this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son; 1 John, v. 10, 11."
This is not the description of a "saint" or "child of God" that one will get from the Hardshells. Hardshells see regeneration or the new birth as a totally subconscious experience, unaccompanied by any cognition. Every "believer" is "conscious of the acts of his own soul," of his act of faith in Christ. Further, he is no temporary believer, but is one who "habitually believes."
Wrote Hall:
"Divine requirements being superior to the ability of men in their present fallen condition, have been exceedingly perplexing to many (amen to that! SG); especially such as feel themselves without strength, which the Scriptures declare them to be for whom Christ died, (Rom. v. 6.) and to whom he says, Without me ye can do nothing, John, xv.5, whose experience of their utter inability and absolute dependence on the Lord coincides with what the apostle expresses concerning himself and his brethren, who were even able ministers of the New Testament. Their language is, Who is sufficient for these things? 2 Cor. ii. 16. We are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. 2 Cor. iii. 5, 6. From a consciousness of personal inability, joined with a conviction of their absolute and necessary obligation to obedience, arise various difficulties relating to the equity of God in requiring that of his creatures which he knows and declares is not in their power to perform. To assert and maintain that men have an inherent power to turn to God and embrace the gospel, and glorify him in a course of holy obedience to his law, without the infusion of supernatural principles, is to oppose the positive declarations of God's word respecting the necessity of regeneration, and the impossibility of those who are in the flesh doing any thing pleasing and acceptable to God. See Rom. viii. 5, 8. But those who oppose the doctrine of free grace are constrained to plead for the power of man to love and obey God, representing men's inability as absolutely inconsistent with scriptural commands and exhortations to obedience and faith; these, on the one hand, declaim with an air of triumph on the absurdity of supposing God to require impossibilities; in which those heartily concur who hold the truth in unrighteousness, and represent men as quite blameless, though disobedient, because they have no power of themselves to obey. Various methods have been taken to apologize for man's imperfections, and extenuate his guilt." (pgs. 205-09)
This is a Hardshell and Pelagian error that Hall describes. These represent man's "inability" to be "inconsistent with scriptural commands and exhortations to obedience and faith." Hardshells constantly affirm that the gospel is not addressed to "dead" sinners because they are unable to hear and believe it. They affirm that it is no sin for the unregenerate to reject Christ and the gospel for they are not under any obligation to accept Christ and believe. It is for this reason that Hardshells have been styled as "Antinomian." (See the series "Hardshell Antinomianism")
Wrote Hall:
"Another method of accounting for God’s requiring perfect obedience of imperfect men, is the consideration of our being represented by Adam in the covenant which was made with him. The reasoning of many eminent men has been thus:—“We had in Adam full and adequate ability every way proportionable to the nature and extent of duty; and though men have lost their power to obey, God has neither lost nor given up his authority to command: therefore it is our duty to exert not only the strength we are now possessed of, but likewise the strength we should have had, supposing our first parent had continued in that state of purity and power.”
That is indeed one answer to the charge that depraved impotent sinners are not obligated to obey any divine requirement.
Wrote Hall:
"...it seems contrary to the common or known rules of justice and equity, to punish on the account of not performing what is naturally impossible to be performed. Hence, some who have endeavored to hold up the doctrines of grace as objects of ridicule and contempt, have boldly asserted, that according to these doctrines, future judgment would be a mere farce. For that God might as justly punish slow moving animals for deficiency in swiftness, and those for not flying who have no wings to fly with, nor in any respect formed for such a motion, as to punish men for not doing what they cannot possibly accomplish, but is as much above their power as to create a world. Such kind of checks the adherents to truth have frequently met with. And such reasoning, or rather declamation, has been very stumbling to weak Christians. Some have been severely tried by the above misrepresentation of gospel truths, and tempted to think what they dare not utter."
And it certainly has been "very stumbling" to our Hardshell brethren!
Wrote Hall:
"For the relief of such, I would propose to their calm and candid consideration a distinction between natural and moral inability which seems necessary to be well understood in order to obtain consistent views of Divine revelation, relating to the requirements of God's righteous law and the nature of his precious gospel. By Natural inability, is intended a want of a natural capacity or opportunity to know and do what is commanded, or an absolute defect in the natural powers of a man's mind or body, by which he is rendered incapable of acting although his will were bent upon the performance of his duty. Whatever totally prevents, or is in absolute obstruction in the way of a person's knowing or doing any thing, which renders the acquirement impossible, though he be ever so desirous of accomplishing it, is what I wish to have considered as included in natural inability. Moral inability consists in a disinclination to what is good, or a dislike of, and aversion to, what God has made a person's duty."(ibid)
We discussed this at length in our series "Hardshell Pelagianism" and cited from numerous great theologians on this point. I have heard Hardshells and some other Calvinists speak of lost man's inability as being physical or natural, affirming that man's inability is like the inability of a worm to fly. Such an erroneous view of what it means to be "degenerate" has led our Hardshell brothers to have erroneous views of what it means to be "regenerate." To them, regeneration gives a man additional physical or natural abilities.
Wrote Hall:
"Men are dead in sin, but that death does not consist in a deprivation of natural faculties...Duty is ever measured by natural ability."
Exactly!
Wrote Hall:
"In regeneration the Holy Spirit does not create new faculties, or bestow a new set of natural powers; he does not produce “a new head, but a new heart,” by infusing new principles and holy dispositions. But if a deficiency in natural powers was the fountain of fault, or the source of blame, from whence criminal actions proceed, there would be a necessity for the production of new faculties, or otherwise a removal of their natural deficiencies. And if so, the surest evidences of a gracious change would be a strong memory, a fertile imagination, a fund of wit, and a profound, deep understanding, or clear ideas, and strong reasoning. In short, an assemblage of fine brilliant parts would, in that case, be the best proof of true holiness."
This is what the great Jonathan Edwards wrote at length about and from whom I cited in the above series. We cited from several others on this point. The great Andrew Fuller also wrote much on this.
Wrote Hall:
"He requires nothing naturally impossible to be performed. He has not made any thing the duty of his creatures which exceeds their natural ability, nor does he punish them for not acquiring or doing what is naturally beyond their power to perform."
My views exactly!
Monday, December 17, 2018
Watch This & Be Blessed!
Kevin Pendergrass of the "Church of Christ" along with two other ministers have made a video entitled "CONFESSIONS OF FORMER LEGALISTS" and I was so blessed to watch it. I recommend that you watch it and be blessed.
I have been reading some of the writings of brother Pendergrass for awhile now and cited from him on the adultery question in my recent series on that subject.
To watch the video see here
See also these two videos
Being Legalistic
and
A Different Kind Of Poison
I have been reading some of the writings of brother Pendergrass for awhile now and cited from him on the adultery question in my recent series on that subject.
To watch the video see here
See also these two videos
Being Legalistic
and
A Different Kind Of Poison
Sunday, December 16, 2018
"They That Are Christ's"
"they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Gal. v. 24)
Here is another passage to add to the list of scripture texts that prove to be insurmountable to overcome for promoters and defenders of the leading tenets of Hardshellism. Let us see why. Let us analyze the words of the apostle by using the rhetorical or Socratic method.
Let us ask the text, and ourselves, some questions.
First, do not the words "they who belong to Christ" equate with "they who are saved"?
Answer: yes. It could mean "all the elect who belong to Christ via the everlasting covenant" or "all elect who have been regenerated or born again via conversion." The latter, however, is the obvious choice here, because this act of crucifying the flesh is something that "they who are Christ's" personally do, and therefore not something done for them in eternity past.
Second, is the predicate "have crucified the flesh..." a universal or limited categorical proposition?
Answer: It is clearly a universal proposition. All s is p. In other words, all "they" have "crucified the flesh." Paul does not say "some who belong to Christ have crucified..."
Third, to what point in time does the apostle point, in the experience of "they who belong to Christ," when they crucify the flesh? Is it conversion? Regeneration?
Will our Hardshell brethren gives us their answer to these questions on this text?
Possessed By Christ
Means that Christ has taken possession of the person, that he comes into the very heart and soul of a person, and "takes over." When men speak of "demon possession" they interpret that as meaning that a demon spirit has entered into the psyche and takes control. So, when we speak of "Christ possession," we mean that Christ enters into the psyche and takes control. That is what Paul is talking about when he speaks of "they who are Christ's."
To whom do you belong?
Have you experienced Christ's crucifixion? You cannot experience his resurrection without experiencing his death. If you have not crucified the flesh, then you cannot be among those who belong to Christ. That is against Hardshellism.
In other passages Paul refers to the believer's crucifixion.
"knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." (Rom. 6: 6)
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." (Gal 2: 20)
Does this not refer to conversion and make conversion necessary for being one who belongs to Christ?
Here is another passage to add to the list of scripture texts that prove to be insurmountable to overcome for promoters and defenders of the leading tenets of Hardshellism. Let us see why. Let us analyze the words of the apostle by using the rhetorical or Socratic method.
Let us ask the text, and ourselves, some questions.
First, do not the words "they who belong to Christ" equate with "they who are saved"?
Answer: yes. It could mean "all the elect who belong to Christ via the everlasting covenant" or "all elect who have been regenerated or born again via conversion." The latter, however, is the obvious choice here, because this act of crucifying the flesh is something that "they who are Christ's" personally do, and therefore not something done for them in eternity past.
Second, is the predicate "have crucified the flesh..." a universal or limited categorical proposition?
Answer: It is clearly a universal proposition. All s is p. In other words, all "they" have "crucified the flesh." Paul does not say "some who belong to Christ have crucified..."
Third, to what point in time does the apostle point, in the experience of "they who belong to Christ," when they crucify the flesh? Is it conversion? Regeneration?
Will our Hardshell brethren gives us their answer to these questions on this text?
Possessed By Christ
Means that Christ has taken possession of the person, that he comes into the very heart and soul of a person, and "takes over." When men speak of "demon possession" they interpret that as meaning that a demon spirit has entered into the psyche and takes control. So, when we speak of "Christ possession," we mean that Christ enters into the psyche and takes control. That is what Paul is talking about when he speaks of "they who are Christ's."
To whom do you belong?
Have you experienced Christ's crucifixion? You cannot experience his resurrection without experiencing his death. If you have not crucified the flesh, then you cannot be among those who belong to Christ. That is against Hardshellism.
In other passages Paul refers to the believer's crucifixion.
"knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." (Rom. 6: 6)
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." (Gal 2: 20)
Does this not refer to conversion and make conversion necessary for being one who belongs to Christ?
Friday, December 14, 2018
Sophist Preachers
Introduction
It is my intention to write a new series with the above title and this first posting will be an introduction. It is my intention to finish my series on "Redemption," this being a priority, and to also continue my commentary on the "Apocalypse." In this series we will look at the history of the Sophists in Greek and Roman society in the time of the Apostles and how the apostle Paul in particular, in his Corinthian epistles, spoke against the beliefs, values, and tactics of the Sophists prevalent in Corinth. We will see that the beliefs and practices of the ancient Sophists are still prevalent in the world today.
The worldview of the Sophists, with their values and recipes for living life, are accepted, taught, and practiced by nearly the whole world today. Christians, however, cannot accept the basic beliefs and practices of the Sophists. To the degree that professing Christians accept and practice the teachings of the Sophists, to that degree they are yet "carnal" and "think (or reason) as natural men," as Paul stated in his opening words of his first epistle to the Corinthian Christians. For them to become more "spiritual," and less "carnal," they would have to rid themselves of the philosophy of the Sophists and of all worldly thinking.
In this Introduction I wish to cite from Dr. Henry B. Waiters and his article "What preachers have become" (see here). Wrote Waiters (emphasis mine):
"During the Classical period of Ancient Greece, the Sophists (a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy and the art of successful living) perfected the art of speech writing and public speaking. Central to their study was rhetoric which is defined as the skill of using language and speech effectively and persuasively.
Sophists were experts, professors, teachers and authorities on presenting arguments, earning a reputation of “extravagant displays of language for astonishing audiences with their brilliant styles, colorful appearances and flamboyant personalities.” Frequently a Sophist, as a professional orator, would offer his services for pay, generally for legal purposes or entertainment in the public square. They razzled and dazzled the audience with their mastery of persuasive discourse.
The Sophists became controversial for several reasons, particularly for their view of truth. For them, truth was not found in transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality, but in the persuasive power of words projected, rather than objective truth. In other words, skilled Sophists became the source of — as opposed to the tools or bearers — of truth. In this sense truth is not transcendent, but subjective intervention.
There is a sense that the majority of current preachers have become modern-day Sophists, concerned with the use of flattering words in the pulpit, as opposed to gospel truth, with the intent to entertain an audience that would rather have amusing discourse than preaching that “Convicts, Converts and Subverts.”
With the “platform grandstanding and showmanship” adorned in polished rhetoric, they preach to itching ears rather than wounded hearts. At the end of the day preaching becomes an act of entertainment in the interest of delighting the audience. Truth is dressed up with lavish garments of eloquence and style, turning it into something else.
Preaching is not to amuse but to amend the hearers. It is not manipulating the crowd using techniques that excite and stir and move people’s emotions to achieve results, but being the messenger of God with God’s Word and God’s Wisdom in God’s Power preaching the Scriptures."
Well, amen to all that!
Where do we see the Sophists today? Are they still not seen in colleges and universities? Are these professors not generally liberal in their thinking as the Sophists of old? Do they not think that absolute truth, like Christians believe is found in the Bible, is a myth? Do they not think that truth is relative? Like those judges who deny divine or natural law, in favor of the Realist view (in legal philosophy) that right (or law) is "whatever the judge says it is," Sophists believe that "truth" is whatever they say it is, or at least is what they can convince the majority is "truth." They convince people that they, because of their education and speaking skills, are the experts and know best, and that people should simply believe them for that reason. Sound familiar today?
Not only do we find Sophists in teaching positions, where they are paid for their sophistic teaching, but we find them in the legal profession still today. An eloquent and artful attorney has often been able to sway a jury and subvert truth and justice. Not only do we find Sophists plenty in teaching positions in schools and colleges, and in the legal profession, but in politics. How many politicians are Sophists?
We could multiply the list of occupations where Sophists are prevalent. But, it is not my intention to focus on Sophists in the secular world, but on how Sophist thinking is prevalent even among Christians, and certainly among those who make it a living to preach. We will contrast Sophist ideas with those of the Scriptures, as did Paul in his first Corinthian epistle.
I graduated college with a double major, in Sociology and Communication. I studied rhetoric, persuasion, debate, and other such subjects that are part of the core curriculum of a Communication's major. But, all students, whatever their major, had to take classes in speech and communication. The idea is that you cannot succeed if you do not learn to speak well.
I am not condemning speaking well. I am condemning the abuse of the thing, not the thing itself. I am not condoning a preacher butchering the king's English either. Preachers have a need to be "skilled in the word of righteousness" (Hebrews 5:13) and to have "the tongue of the learned" (Isa. 50:4). Some of this is "art," the result of being gifted by God, while some is "science," being a skill that is learned.
I also do not want to focus on merely how preachers today have become Sophists in their teaching and practice, but also on how ordinary Christians remain carnal and do not become more spiritual because of their acceptance of Sophistic thought.
It is my intention to write a new series with the above title and this first posting will be an introduction. It is my intention to finish my series on "Redemption," this being a priority, and to also continue my commentary on the "Apocalypse." In this series we will look at the history of the Sophists in Greek and Roman society in the time of the Apostles and how the apostle Paul in particular, in his Corinthian epistles, spoke against the beliefs, values, and tactics of the Sophists prevalent in Corinth. We will see that the beliefs and practices of the ancient Sophists are still prevalent in the world today.
The worldview of the Sophists, with their values and recipes for living life, are accepted, taught, and practiced by nearly the whole world today. Christians, however, cannot accept the basic beliefs and practices of the Sophists. To the degree that professing Christians accept and practice the teachings of the Sophists, to that degree they are yet "carnal" and "think (or reason) as natural men," as Paul stated in his opening words of his first epistle to the Corinthian Christians. For them to become more "spiritual," and less "carnal," they would have to rid themselves of the philosophy of the Sophists and of all worldly thinking.
In this Introduction I wish to cite from Dr. Henry B. Waiters and his article "What preachers have become" (see here). Wrote Waiters (emphasis mine):
"During the Classical period of Ancient Greece, the Sophists (a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy and the art of successful living) perfected the art of speech writing and public speaking. Central to their study was rhetoric which is defined as the skill of using language and speech effectively and persuasively.
Sophists were experts, professors, teachers and authorities on presenting arguments, earning a reputation of “extravagant displays of language for astonishing audiences with their brilliant styles, colorful appearances and flamboyant personalities.” Frequently a Sophist, as a professional orator, would offer his services for pay, generally for legal purposes or entertainment in the public square. They razzled and dazzled the audience with their mastery of persuasive discourse.
The Sophists became controversial for several reasons, particularly for their view of truth. For them, truth was not found in transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality, but in the persuasive power of words projected, rather than objective truth. In other words, skilled Sophists became the source of — as opposed to the tools or bearers — of truth. In this sense truth is not transcendent, but subjective intervention.
There is a sense that the majority of current preachers have become modern-day Sophists, concerned with the use of flattering words in the pulpit, as opposed to gospel truth, with the intent to entertain an audience that would rather have amusing discourse than preaching that “Convicts, Converts and Subverts.”
With the “platform grandstanding and showmanship” adorned in polished rhetoric, they preach to itching ears rather than wounded hearts. At the end of the day preaching becomes an act of entertainment in the interest of delighting the audience. Truth is dressed up with lavish garments of eloquence and style, turning it into something else.
Preaching is not to amuse but to amend the hearers. It is not manipulating the crowd using techniques that excite and stir and move people’s emotions to achieve results, but being the messenger of God with God’s Word and God’s Wisdom in God’s Power preaching the Scriptures."
Well, amen to all that!
Where do we see the Sophists today? Are they still not seen in colleges and universities? Are these professors not generally liberal in their thinking as the Sophists of old? Do they not think that absolute truth, like Christians believe is found in the Bible, is a myth? Do they not think that truth is relative? Like those judges who deny divine or natural law, in favor of the Realist view (in legal philosophy) that right (or law) is "whatever the judge says it is," Sophists believe that "truth" is whatever they say it is, or at least is what they can convince the majority is "truth." They convince people that they, because of their education and speaking skills, are the experts and know best, and that people should simply believe them for that reason. Sound familiar today?
Not only do we find Sophists in teaching positions, where they are paid for their sophistic teaching, but we find them in the legal profession still today. An eloquent and artful attorney has often been able to sway a jury and subvert truth and justice. Not only do we find Sophists plenty in teaching positions in schools and colleges, and in the legal profession, but in politics. How many politicians are Sophists?
We could multiply the list of occupations where Sophists are prevalent. But, it is not my intention to focus on Sophists in the secular world, but on how Sophist thinking is prevalent even among Christians, and certainly among those who make it a living to preach. We will contrast Sophist ideas with those of the Scriptures, as did Paul in his first Corinthian epistle.
I graduated college with a double major, in Sociology and Communication. I studied rhetoric, persuasion, debate, and other such subjects that are part of the core curriculum of a Communication's major. But, all students, whatever their major, had to take classes in speech and communication. The idea is that you cannot succeed if you do not learn to speak well.
I am not condemning speaking well. I am condemning the abuse of the thing, not the thing itself. I am not condoning a preacher butchering the king's English either. Preachers have a need to be "skilled in the word of righteousness" (Hebrews 5:13) and to have "the tongue of the learned" (Isa. 50:4). Some of this is "art," the result of being gifted by God, while some is "science," being a skill that is learned.
I also do not want to focus on merely how preachers today have become Sophists in their teaching and practice, but also on how ordinary Christians remain carnal and do not become more spiritual because of their acceptance of Sophistic thought.
Robert Hall On Means, Perseverance
The following citations from the writings of Robert Hall show what the Old Baptists believed at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century about salvation. His circular letters were to the Northamptonshire Association.
On Perseverance
Wrote Robert Hall on the work of the Holy Spirit (circular letter - see here).
"It belongs to him to seal us to the day of redemption; to put that mark and character upon us, which distinguishes the children of God, as well as to afford a foretaste and an earnest of the future inheritance. And hereby, saith an apostle, we know that we are of God, by the Spirit which he hath given us. It is his office to subdue the corruption of our nature, not by leaving us inactive spectators of the combat, but by engaging us to a determined resistance to every sinful propensity, by teaching our hands to war, and our fingers to fight, so that the victory shall be ours, and the praise his. To help the infirmities of saints, who know not what to pray for as they ought, by making intercession for them with groanings which cannot be uttered, is an important branch of his office." (pg. 438)
Salvation is by grace, but salvation involves winning the battle with personal sin. Today's Hardshells in denying perseverance and the necessity of progressive growth and sanctification for final salvation have departed from the Old Baptist faith and are not entitled to be called "primitive."
Conviction Is Not Evidence Of Regeneration
Wrote Hall:
"Wherever the Spirit of God is in reality, he will convince of sin; but conviction is produced in thousands who still remain destitute of saving grace.—That influence of the Spirit by which a change of heart is effected, is essentially different from the distress and alarm which may be resolved into the exercise of mere natural conscience. For a man to be convinced that he is a sinner, and to tremble at the apprehension of wrath to come, is certainly something very distinct from becoming a new creature. Real Christians have not only perceived their danger, but have fled for refuge; have not only been less or more troubled with a sense of guilt, but, in consequence of coming to Christ, have found rest for their souls. On a review of your past life, you perceive innumerable transgressions, it may be, and are perfectly convinced that you have been “walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” So far it is well : your apprehensions are just, and well founded; and your situation more replete with danger than you have ever conceived it to be. Do not however rest here. Let the views you entertain excite you the more earnestly to press into the kingdom of God. Let them engage you to a more diligent use of the means of grace, and, above all, let them lead you to fix your hope and trust on the Redeemer, whose blood alone can cleanse you from all sin, and whose intercession is able to save “to the uttermost all that come unto God by him.” Heb. vii. 25. Apply to him with humble faith and ardent prayer, and though you may be tempted to cherish doubts of the extent of his power and grace, say with him of old, “Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief.” (pg. 455-56)
That is real "Old Baptist" doctrine! Today's Hardshells are not what they claim to be, but ironically, are the real "new schoolers" or as R.B.C. Howell styled them, "new test men."
Unbelievers Lost
Wrote Hall to the brethren:
"If you ask how you may know whether you are partakers of the special grace of God we reply, This will be best ascertained by its fruits. When you feel a fixed hatred of sin, an intense thirst after holiness and perfection, and a delight in the word and ways of God, when you are habitually disposed to dwell on the thoughts of Christ and heaven, when the Saviour appears unspeakably precious, as the pearl of great price, and you are habitually ready to part with every thing for his sake, you may be certain that you are born of God. These are the fruits of the Spirit, which sufficiently demonstrate the influence and presence of that blessed Agent. Till you have experienced effects of this kind, you are in a wretched state, though surrounded with all the brightest earthly prospects, because you are estranged from God, and exposed to his eternal wrath and displeasure." (456)
Notice that Hall affirms that sinners, though under some conviction of sin, and somewhat "awakened" to their lost state, are still in a wretched unregenerate state until they have experienced a genuine union with Christ by faith.
Gospel The Means Of Regeneration
In the circular "ON HEARING THE WORD," addressed to the Northamptonshire Association (1813), Hall wrote:
"Though the Spirit bloweth where it listeth, where the gospel is not preached the effects of his operation are rarely to be discerned, and we witness few or no indications of a renewed character out of the bounds of Christendom. From the history of religion, in all ages, it appears that the Spirit is accustomed to follow in the footsteps of his revealed Word; and that, wherever his work lies, he prepares his way by first communicating the Oracles of God. When he proposed to take out a people for his name from among the Gentiles, the first step he took was to commission the apostles to preach the gospel to every creature. To this St. Paul most solemnly directs our attention, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, as the grand instrument of human salvation:- When, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased him, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. So intimate by divine appointment, is the connexion betwixt the salvation of man and the ministry of the Word, that the method of salvation, under the gospel, derives from the latter its distinguishing appellation, being denominated the hearing of faith. St. James, in like manner, asserts it to be the instrumental cause of our regeneration. Of his own will begat he us, by the Word of Truth. And to the same purpose St. Peter reminds the Christians, whom he was addressing, that they were born not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God; which word, he adds, is by the gospel preached unto you. The written Word, we are told, indeed, from the highest authority, is able to make us wise unto salvation, and many pleasing instances of its saving efficacy might be produced to confirm this position; but, as the gospel was preached before it was penned, it is certain that most of the passages which speak on this subject are to be referred to its public ministry, and that, in subsequent ages, God has put a distinguishing honour upon it, by employing it as the principal means of accomplishing his saving purposes. There is every reason to suppose that the far greater part of those who have been truly sanctified and enlightened, will ascribe the change they have experienced principally to the hearing of faith." (461-64)
Is that clear? Where are the writings of the Hardshells from that period of time that taught contrary to this? We have called upon today's Hardshells to give us the writings of men in the 18th century who taught the no means view of regeneration and they have remained silent as the grave. We all know the reason. There is no such writings because Hardshell no means view is a new and novel view among Baptists, not being propounded till the rise of the Hardshells in the mid 19th century.
In addition to the above words of Hall, he also wrote these words:
"When we see men attentive under the ministry of the Word, and evidently anxious to comprehend its truths, we cannot but entertain hopes of their salvation; for “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (465)
"Establish in your minds the highest reverence and esteem of the glorious gospel...Recollect that on its acceptance or rejection, on the effects which it produces on the heart and life, depends our state for eternity..." (467)
"It is not merely the incorruptible seed of regeneration; it is also the mould in which our souls must be cast, agreeable to the apostle's beautiful metaphor: "You have obeyed from the heart that form (or mould) of doctrine into which ye were delivered." (468)
"To tremble at God's Word is also mentioned as one of the most essential features in the character of him to whom God will look with approbation." (468)
There used to be a TV show called "To Tell The Truth" and the famous line was "will the real (name inserted) please stand up." In a similar way we ask the question "will the real Old Baptists please stand up." Today's Hardshells who do not believe what Hall wrote are not the real Old Baptists but are imposters.
On Perseverance
Wrote Robert Hall on the work of the Holy Spirit (circular letter - see here).
"It belongs to him to seal us to the day of redemption; to put that mark and character upon us, which distinguishes the children of God, as well as to afford a foretaste and an earnest of the future inheritance. And hereby, saith an apostle, we know that we are of God, by the Spirit which he hath given us. It is his office to subdue the corruption of our nature, not by leaving us inactive spectators of the combat, but by engaging us to a determined resistance to every sinful propensity, by teaching our hands to war, and our fingers to fight, so that the victory shall be ours, and the praise his. To help the infirmities of saints, who know not what to pray for as they ought, by making intercession for them with groanings which cannot be uttered, is an important branch of his office." (pg. 438)
Salvation is by grace, but salvation involves winning the battle with personal sin. Today's Hardshells in denying perseverance and the necessity of progressive growth and sanctification for final salvation have departed from the Old Baptist faith and are not entitled to be called "primitive."
Conviction Is Not Evidence Of Regeneration
Wrote Hall:
"Wherever the Spirit of God is in reality, he will convince of sin; but conviction is produced in thousands who still remain destitute of saving grace.—That influence of the Spirit by which a change of heart is effected, is essentially different from the distress and alarm which may be resolved into the exercise of mere natural conscience. For a man to be convinced that he is a sinner, and to tremble at the apprehension of wrath to come, is certainly something very distinct from becoming a new creature. Real Christians have not only perceived their danger, but have fled for refuge; have not only been less or more troubled with a sense of guilt, but, in consequence of coming to Christ, have found rest for their souls. On a review of your past life, you perceive innumerable transgressions, it may be, and are perfectly convinced that you have been “walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” So far it is well : your apprehensions are just, and well founded; and your situation more replete with danger than you have ever conceived it to be. Do not however rest here. Let the views you entertain excite you the more earnestly to press into the kingdom of God. Let them engage you to a more diligent use of the means of grace, and, above all, let them lead you to fix your hope and trust on the Redeemer, whose blood alone can cleanse you from all sin, and whose intercession is able to save “to the uttermost all that come unto God by him.” Heb. vii. 25. Apply to him with humble faith and ardent prayer, and though you may be tempted to cherish doubts of the extent of his power and grace, say with him of old, “Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief.” (pg. 455-56)
That is real "Old Baptist" doctrine! Today's Hardshells are not what they claim to be, but ironically, are the real "new schoolers" or as R.B.C. Howell styled them, "new test men."
Unbelievers Lost
Wrote Hall to the brethren:
"If you ask how you may know whether you are partakers of the special grace of God we reply, This will be best ascertained by its fruits. When you feel a fixed hatred of sin, an intense thirst after holiness and perfection, and a delight in the word and ways of God, when you are habitually disposed to dwell on the thoughts of Christ and heaven, when the Saviour appears unspeakably precious, as the pearl of great price, and you are habitually ready to part with every thing for his sake, you may be certain that you are born of God. These are the fruits of the Spirit, which sufficiently demonstrate the influence and presence of that blessed Agent. Till you have experienced effects of this kind, you are in a wretched state, though surrounded with all the brightest earthly prospects, because you are estranged from God, and exposed to his eternal wrath and displeasure." (456)
Notice that Hall affirms that sinners, though under some conviction of sin, and somewhat "awakened" to their lost state, are still in a wretched unregenerate state until they have experienced a genuine union with Christ by faith.
Gospel The Means Of Regeneration
In the circular "ON HEARING THE WORD," addressed to the Northamptonshire Association (1813), Hall wrote:
"Though the Spirit bloweth where it listeth, where the gospel is not preached the effects of his operation are rarely to be discerned, and we witness few or no indications of a renewed character out of the bounds of Christendom. From the history of religion, in all ages, it appears that the Spirit is accustomed to follow in the footsteps of his revealed Word; and that, wherever his work lies, he prepares his way by first communicating the Oracles of God. When he proposed to take out a people for his name from among the Gentiles, the first step he took was to commission the apostles to preach the gospel to every creature. To this St. Paul most solemnly directs our attention, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, as the grand instrument of human salvation:- When, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased him, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. So intimate by divine appointment, is the connexion betwixt the salvation of man and the ministry of the Word, that the method of salvation, under the gospel, derives from the latter its distinguishing appellation, being denominated the hearing of faith. St. James, in like manner, asserts it to be the instrumental cause of our regeneration. Of his own will begat he us, by the Word of Truth. And to the same purpose St. Peter reminds the Christians, whom he was addressing, that they were born not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God; which word, he adds, is by the gospel preached unto you. The written Word, we are told, indeed, from the highest authority, is able to make us wise unto salvation, and many pleasing instances of its saving efficacy might be produced to confirm this position; but, as the gospel was preached before it was penned, it is certain that most of the passages which speak on this subject are to be referred to its public ministry, and that, in subsequent ages, God has put a distinguishing honour upon it, by employing it as the principal means of accomplishing his saving purposes. There is every reason to suppose that the far greater part of those who have been truly sanctified and enlightened, will ascribe the change they have experienced principally to the hearing of faith." (461-64)
Is that clear? Where are the writings of the Hardshells from that period of time that taught contrary to this? We have called upon today's Hardshells to give us the writings of men in the 18th century who taught the no means view of regeneration and they have remained silent as the grave. We all know the reason. There is no such writings because Hardshell no means view is a new and novel view among Baptists, not being propounded till the rise of the Hardshells in the mid 19th century.
In addition to the above words of Hall, he also wrote these words:
"When we see men attentive under the ministry of the Word, and evidently anxious to comprehend its truths, we cannot but entertain hopes of their salvation; for “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (465)
"Establish in your minds the highest reverence and esteem of the glorious gospel...Recollect that on its acceptance or rejection, on the effects which it produces on the heart and life, depends our state for eternity..." (467)
"It is not merely the incorruptible seed of regeneration; it is also the mould in which our souls must be cast, agreeable to the apostle's beautiful metaphor: "You have obeyed from the heart that form (or mould) of doctrine into which ye were delivered." (468)
"To tremble at God's Word is also mentioned as one of the most essential features in the character of him to whom God will look with approbation." (468)
There used to be a TV show called "To Tell The Truth" and the famous line was "will the real (name inserted) please stand up." In a similar way we ask the question "will the real Old Baptists please stand up." Today's Hardshells who do not believe what Hall wrote are not the real Old Baptists but are imposters.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
More On "Lead Us Not Into Temptation"
In "Pope Francis, The Lord’s Prayer, and Bible Translation," by Daniel B. Wallace (Dec. 12, 2017) we read the following regarding the translation of "lead us not into temptation." (emphasis mine - see here)
"It is important to recognize, however, that all translation is interpretation. The reason is that the syntax and lexical mapping in one language never match exactly that of another language. The context determines the meaning. A so-called “word-for-word” translation is quite impossible for anything more than a short phrase or sentence."
This is what I have stressed many times over the years when in discussion about "KJV Onlyism" and on issues of bible translations. Twisting of scripture happens not only when interpreting the words of a given translation of a text, but also in translation itself.
Wrote Wallace:
"Not only is the Greek in both Matt 6.13 and Luke 11.4 textually certain (variants for “do not lead us into temptation” are trivial amounting to minor spelling differences), but the syntax is clear. The verb in the petition “lead” is an aorist active subjunctive (εἰσενέγκῃς); with the negative particle, “do not lead” is the idea. The pope wants it to mean “allow” which speaks instead of God not permitting something rather than him actively leading us. And the pontiff seems to have assumed that the Greek “lead into temptation” means “permit to fall into temptation.” Several lexical, syntactical, and interpretive shifts are seen here.
The broader context of Matthew’s Gospel may give us a clue as to why the Lord said, “Do not lead us into temptation.” Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, we are told that he “was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4.1). The Greek text indicates that the purpose of the Spirit’s leading Jesus into the wilderness was so that he would be tempted by the devil (“to be tempted” [πειρασθῆναι] is an infinitive of purpose, giving the purpose of the Spirit’s leading). Mark words this even more starkly: “Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness” (Mark 1.13)."
Exactly! We have an example of what it means to be led into temptation by the Lord in the temptation of Christ! To say that God does not do what he clearly does do is no mean sin.
Continued Wallace:
"Evidently, there is a sense in which Jesus was delivered into the hands of the evil one, by the Holy Spirit himself, to be tempted. But the Greek here makes an interesting point about who is responsible for what. Two passive verbs are used in Matt 4.1— ἀνήχθη (“he was led”) and πειρασθῆναι (“to be tempted”). The agents are listed with identical prepositions: ὑπό. This is the preposition used especially for ultimate agent. It is rare to see ὑπό followed by πνεύματος (“Spirit”) in the NT (only five passages). Doing so here, Matthew shows that the Spirit is not subordinate to the devil but is the agent ultimately responsible for leading Jesus into the wilderness, while the devil is the ultimate agent of the temptation. The Spirit is not responsible for that. The Spirit did not tempt Jesus, but he did lead him to be tempted. The balance is intentional: leading into temptation is not the same as tempting. God the Holy Spirit led Jesus into temptation, but he did not tempt him. Wrestling with the implications of this requires more than a little reflection.
Although Satan’s purpose was to destroy Jesus before he ever went to the cross, God’s purpose in using Satan was painted on a broader canvas. God tests; Satan tempts. The Son of God went through similar testing as the children of Israel in the wilderness. They were there for forty years; he was there for forty days. Where they failed he succeeded.
Further, the temptation that the Lord faced was the ultimate temptation—the offer of the entire world on a platter. Jesus can ask the disciples to pray that the Father would not lead them into temptation and that God would deliver them from the evil one precisely because Jesus himself faced the ultimate temptation by the evil one. Whereas the Spirit led Jesus to be tempted, Jesus asks the Father not to lead his disciples into temptation; whereas Jesus was delivered over to Satan for tempting (testing from the Father’s perspective), Jesus prays that his followers will be delivered from the evil one. It is precisely because of Jesus’ substitutionary death and life that this prayer can be recited today by Christians with the full assurance that God will answer us.
Pope Francis’s translation, however, subverts all this: “do not let us fall into temptation.” The original text speaks clearly of God leading, not permitting. To tamper with the wording misses the connection with the Lord’s temptation."
Well, amen to that!
"It is important to recognize, however, that all translation is interpretation. The reason is that the syntax and lexical mapping in one language never match exactly that of another language. The context determines the meaning. A so-called “word-for-word” translation is quite impossible for anything more than a short phrase or sentence."
This is what I have stressed many times over the years when in discussion about "KJV Onlyism" and on issues of bible translations. Twisting of scripture happens not only when interpreting the words of a given translation of a text, but also in translation itself.
Wrote Wallace:
"Not only is the Greek in both Matt 6.13 and Luke 11.4 textually certain (variants for “do not lead us into temptation” are trivial amounting to minor spelling differences), but the syntax is clear. The verb in the petition “lead” is an aorist active subjunctive (εἰσενέγκῃς); with the negative particle, “do not lead” is the idea. The pope wants it to mean “allow” which speaks instead of God not permitting something rather than him actively leading us. And the pontiff seems to have assumed that the Greek “lead into temptation” means “permit to fall into temptation.” Several lexical, syntactical, and interpretive shifts are seen here.
The broader context of Matthew’s Gospel may give us a clue as to why the Lord said, “Do not lead us into temptation.” Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, we are told that he “was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4.1). The Greek text indicates that the purpose of the Spirit’s leading Jesus into the wilderness was so that he would be tempted by the devil (“to be tempted” [πειρασθῆναι] is an infinitive of purpose, giving the purpose of the Spirit’s leading). Mark words this even more starkly: “Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness” (Mark 1.13)."
Exactly! We have an example of what it means to be led into temptation by the Lord in the temptation of Christ! To say that God does not do what he clearly does do is no mean sin.
Continued Wallace:
"Evidently, there is a sense in which Jesus was delivered into the hands of the evil one, by the Holy Spirit himself, to be tempted. But the Greek here makes an interesting point about who is responsible for what. Two passive verbs are used in Matt 4.1— ἀνήχθη (“he was led”) and πειρασθῆναι (“to be tempted”). The agents are listed with identical prepositions: ὑπό. This is the preposition used especially for ultimate agent. It is rare to see ὑπό followed by πνεύματος (“Spirit”) in the NT (only five passages). Doing so here, Matthew shows that the Spirit is not subordinate to the devil but is the agent ultimately responsible for leading Jesus into the wilderness, while the devil is the ultimate agent of the temptation. The Spirit is not responsible for that. The Spirit did not tempt Jesus, but he did lead him to be tempted. The balance is intentional: leading into temptation is not the same as tempting. God the Holy Spirit led Jesus into temptation, but he did not tempt him. Wrestling with the implications of this requires more than a little reflection.
Although Satan’s purpose was to destroy Jesus before he ever went to the cross, God’s purpose in using Satan was painted on a broader canvas. God tests; Satan tempts. The Son of God went through similar testing as the children of Israel in the wilderness. They were there for forty years; he was there for forty days. Where they failed he succeeded.
Further, the temptation that the Lord faced was the ultimate temptation—the offer of the entire world on a platter. Jesus can ask the disciples to pray that the Father would not lead them into temptation and that God would deliver them from the evil one precisely because Jesus himself faced the ultimate temptation by the evil one. Whereas the Spirit led Jesus to be tempted, Jesus asks the Father not to lead his disciples into temptation; whereas Jesus was delivered over to Satan for tempting (testing from the Father’s perspective), Jesus prays that his followers will be delivered from the evil one. It is precisely because of Jesus’ substitutionary death and life that this prayer can be recited today by Christians with the full assurance that God will answer us.
Pope Francis’s translation, however, subverts all this: “do not let us fall into temptation.” The original text speaks clearly of God leading, not permitting. To tamper with the wording misses the connection with the Lord’s temptation."
Well, amen to that!
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
"Lead Us Not Into Temptation" An Error?
Pope Francis has affirmed that "lead us not into temptation" is a mistranslation and conveys false doctrine and thinks the text should rather be translated as "abandon us not into temptation."
No, it is not a false translation and neither does it convey a false idea about God and his providence. God does lead into temptation, but he does not tempt. The great C.H. Spurgeon in "Lead Us Not Into Temptation" (May 17, 1863, Scripture: Matthew 6:13- see here) seems to have anticipated this controversy, or which shows that it is not new. Said Spurgeon:
"A great many persons have been troubled by that passage in James, where it is expressly said, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” It has been found very difficult to reconcile that express declaration of the apostle with this prayer of our Saviour; and some good, but very ignorant men, have gone the length of altering our Lord's words. I have heard of one who was won’t always to say, “Leave us not in temptation” — a most unwarrantable and unjustifiable alteration of Holy Scripture. Because sometimes a learned minister ventures, in all honesty and discretion, to give a more correct translation of the original, can this justify a foolish unlettered man in altering the original itself, and perverting the sense of a passage? There is an end to Scripture altogether, if license be given to alter its teachings according to our will. To teach perfect wisdom how to speak is too great a task to be ventured upon by any but the presumptuous and foolish. When our version is incorrect, then it is a duty to present the proper rendering, if one be able to find it out; but to give translations out of our whimsied heads, without having been taught in the original tongue, is impertinence indeed. There can be no better translation of the Greek than that which we have before us. The Greek does not say “ Leave us not in temptation,” nor anything like it ; it says, as nearly as English language can convey the meaning of the original, “ Lead us not into temptation," and no sort of pinching, twisting, or wresting, can make this prayer convey any other sense than that which our version conveys in so many words. Let us always be afraid of attempting improvements on God's perfect Word, and when our theories will not stand with divinely revealed truth let us alter our theories, but let us never attempt for one single moment to put one word of God out of its place.
Neither can we get out of the difficulty by supposing that the word “temptation” does not mean “temptation,” but must be restricted to the sense of “trial.” Now, we grant at once that the use of the word temptation in our translation of Scripture is somewhat liable to mislead. The word temptation has two meanings, to try, and to entice. When we read that God did tempt Abraham, we are by no means to understand that he enticed Abraham to anything that was evil; the meaning of the word in that place, doubtless, is simply and only that God tried him; but permit me to say, that this interpretation will not stand with this particular text now before us. The word here used for “temptation,” is not the word constantly written when trial is meant. It is just the very word which one would employ if temptation to sin were intended, and I cannot believe that any other translation can meet the case. Doddridge's paraphrase is a happy one: “Do not bring us into circumstances of pressing temptation lest our virtue should be vanquished and our souls endangered by them; but if we must be thus tried, do thou graciously rescue us from the power of the evil one.” I grant you that the word includes trial, as all temptation does, for all temptation, even if it be temptation from Satan, is in fact trial from God. Still there is more than trial in the text, and you must look at it just as it stands. As Alford, says, “The leading into temptation must be understood in its plain literal sense.” Take the text just as you find it. It means literally and truly, without any diminution, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
“Well,” says one, “if God does not tempt men, how can it be proper to pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation.’” Dear brethren, do but notice the text does not say, “ Tempt us n o t i f it did, then there would be a difficulty ; it does not say, “ Lord, tempt us not,” but it says, “ Lead us not into temptation ; ” and I think I shall very rapidly be able to show you that there is a vast difference between leading into temptation and actually tempting. God tempts no man. For God to tempt in the sense of enticing to sin were inconsistent with his nature, and altogether contrary to his known character; but for God to lead us into those conflicts with evil which we call temptations, is not only possible, but usual. Full often the Great Captain of Salvation leads us by his Providence to battle fields where we must face the fell array of evil, and conquer through the blood of the Lamb; and this leading into temptation is by divine grace overruled for our good, since by being tempted we grow strong in grace and patience. Our God and Father may, for wise ends, which shall ultimately subserve his own glory and our profit, lead us into positions where Satan, the. world, and the flesh may tempt us, and the prayer is to be understood in that sense of a humble self-distrust which shrinks from the conflict. There is courage here, for the suppliant calmly looks the temptation in the face, and dreads only the evil which it may work in him. but there is also a holy fear, a sacred self-suspicion, a dread of contact with sin in any degree. The sentiment is not inconsistent with “all joy” when the divers temptations do come, it is akin to the Saviour's “ If it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” which did not for a moment prevent his drinking the cup even to its dregs.
Let me observe that God in no sense so leads men into temptation as to have any share in the blame of their sin if they fall into it. God cannot possibly by any act of his, become co-partner with man in his crime. As good old Trapp well observes, “God tempts men for PROBATION, but never for PERDITION. The devil tempts men that he may ruin them; God tries men, and puts them where Satan may try them, but he leads them into temptation for probation, that the chaff may be sifted from the wheat, that the dross may be separated from the fine gold. By these trials hypocrites fall, being discovered in the hour of temptation; just as the rough March wind sweeps through, the forest, and finding out the rotten boughs snaps them from the tree, the fault being not in the wind but in the decayed branch. James alludes to the actual solicitation to evil in which the most holy God can have no part, but our text deals with the providential bringing about of the temptation which I think you can clearly see may be the Lord’s work without his holiness in any degree being stained thereby. When the Lord leadeth us into temptation, it is always with a design for our good. He leads us to battle, not that we may be wounded and worsted, but that we may win glorious victories which shall crown the head of our gracious Leader with many crowns, and prepare us for future deeds of valour. Temptations overcome are inestimable blessings, because they make us lie the more humbly at his feet, bind us more firmly to our Lord, and train us to help others. Tempted men can lift up the hands that hang down, and confirm the feeble knees; they have been tempted in the same manner, and can therefore succour their brethren. Yet, while the benefit which God bringeth out of our being led into temptation is very great, still, temptation in itself is a thing so dangerous, trial and distress in themselves are so perilous, that it is right for the Christian to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” Though, as Martin Luther says, “ Temptation is the best school into which the Christian can enter ; yet, in itself, apart from the grace of God, it is so doubly hazardous, that this prayer should be offered every day, ‘Lead us not into temptation; ' or if we must enter into it, ‘Lord, deliver us from evil.’”
I do not know whether I have met the objection. Perhaps, in the exposition that is to follow I may be able to make it a little more clear. I wish to say, that although God does not tempt men—that is affirmed in Scripture, and reason, and God's own character, all prove it to be the fact—yet he may, and certainly does, lead us into positions in his providence, where it is absolutely certain that we shall be tempted ; and therefore, our consciousness of weakness should constrain to plead for escape from the terrible contest, and deliverance out of it if come it must."
Well, amen to that! Please read the remainder of Spurgeon's commentary on this passage via the link provided.
No, it is not a false translation and neither does it convey a false idea about God and his providence. God does lead into temptation, but he does not tempt. The great C.H. Spurgeon in "Lead Us Not Into Temptation" (May 17, 1863, Scripture: Matthew 6:13- see here) seems to have anticipated this controversy, or which shows that it is not new. Said Spurgeon:
"A great many persons have been troubled by that passage in James, where it is expressly said, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” It has been found very difficult to reconcile that express declaration of the apostle with this prayer of our Saviour; and some good, but very ignorant men, have gone the length of altering our Lord's words. I have heard of one who was won’t always to say, “Leave us not in temptation” — a most unwarrantable and unjustifiable alteration of Holy Scripture. Because sometimes a learned minister ventures, in all honesty and discretion, to give a more correct translation of the original, can this justify a foolish unlettered man in altering the original itself, and perverting the sense of a passage? There is an end to Scripture altogether, if license be given to alter its teachings according to our will. To teach perfect wisdom how to speak is too great a task to be ventured upon by any but the presumptuous and foolish. When our version is incorrect, then it is a duty to present the proper rendering, if one be able to find it out; but to give translations out of our whimsied heads, without having been taught in the original tongue, is impertinence indeed. There can be no better translation of the Greek than that which we have before us. The Greek does not say “ Leave us not in temptation,” nor anything like it ; it says, as nearly as English language can convey the meaning of the original, “ Lead us not into temptation," and no sort of pinching, twisting, or wresting, can make this prayer convey any other sense than that which our version conveys in so many words. Let us always be afraid of attempting improvements on God's perfect Word, and when our theories will not stand with divinely revealed truth let us alter our theories, but let us never attempt for one single moment to put one word of God out of its place.
Neither can we get out of the difficulty by supposing that the word “temptation” does not mean “temptation,” but must be restricted to the sense of “trial.” Now, we grant at once that the use of the word temptation in our translation of Scripture is somewhat liable to mislead. The word temptation has two meanings, to try, and to entice. When we read that God did tempt Abraham, we are by no means to understand that he enticed Abraham to anything that was evil; the meaning of the word in that place, doubtless, is simply and only that God tried him; but permit me to say, that this interpretation will not stand with this particular text now before us. The word here used for “temptation,” is not the word constantly written when trial is meant. It is just the very word which one would employ if temptation to sin were intended, and I cannot believe that any other translation can meet the case. Doddridge's paraphrase is a happy one: “Do not bring us into circumstances of pressing temptation lest our virtue should be vanquished and our souls endangered by them; but if we must be thus tried, do thou graciously rescue us from the power of the evil one.” I grant you that the word includes trial, as all temptation does, for all temptation, even if it be temptation from Satan, is in fact trial from God. Still there is more than trial in the text, and you must look at it just as it stands. As Alford, says, “The leading into temptation must be understood in its plain literal sense.” Take the text just as you find it. It means literally and truly, without any diminution, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
“Well,” says one, “if God does not tempt men, how can it be proper to pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation.’” Dear brethren, do but notice the text does not say, “ Tempt us n o t i f it did, then there would be a difficulty ; it does not say, “ Lord, tempt us not,” but it says, “ Lead us not into temptation ; ” and I think I shall very rapidly be able to show you that there is a vast difference between leading into temptation and actually tempting. God tempts no man. For God to tempt in the sense of enticing to sin were inconsistent with his nature, and altogether contrary to his known character; but for God to lead us into those conflicts with evil which we call temptations, is not only possible, but usual. Full often the Great Captain of Salvation leads us by his Providence to battle fields where we must face the fell array of evil, and conquer through the blood of the Lamb; and this leading into temptation is by divine grace overruled for our good, since by being tempted we grow strong in grace and patience. Our God and Father may, for wise ends, which shall ultimately subserve his own glory and our profit, lead us into positions where Satan, the. world, and the flesh may tempt us, and the prayer is to be understood in that sense of a humble self-distrust which shrinks from the conflict. There is courage here, for the suppliant calmly looks the temptation in the face, and dreads only the evil which it may work in him. but there is also a holy fear, a sacred self-suspicion, a dread of contact with sin in any degree. The sentiment is not inconsistent with “all joy” when the divers temptations do come, it is akin to the Saviour's “ If it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” which did not for a moment prevent his drinking the cup even to its dregs.
Let me observe that God in no sense so leads men into temptation as to have any share in the blame of their sin if they fall into it. God cannot possibly by any act of his, become co-partner with man in his crime. As good old Trapp well observes, “God tempts men for PROBATION, but never for PERDITION. The devil tempts men that he may ruin them; God tries men, and puts them where Satan may try them, but he leads them into temptation for probation, that the chaff may be sifted from the wheat, that the dross may be separated from the fine gold. By these trials hypocrites fall, being discovered in the hour of temptation; just as the rough March wind sweeps through, the forest, and finding out the rotten boughs snaps them from the tree, the fault being not in the wind but in the decayed branch. James alludes to the actual solicitation to evil in which the most holy God can have no part, but our text deals with the providential bringing about of the temptation which I think you can clearly see may be the Lord’s work without his holiness in any degree being stained thereby. When the Lord leadeth us into temptation, it is always with a design for our good. He leads us to battle, not that we may be wounded and worsted, but that we may win glorious victories which shall crown the head of our gracious Leader with many crowns, and prepare us for future deeds of valour. Temptations overcome are inestimable blessings, because they make us lie the more humbly at his feet, bind us more firmly to our Lord, and train us to help others. Tempted men can lift up the hands that hang down, and confirm the feeble knees; they have been tempted in the same manner, and can therefore succour their brethren. Yet, while the benefit which God bringeth out of our being led into temptation is very great, still, temptation in itself is a thing so dangerous, trial and distress in themselves are so perilous, that it is right for the Christian to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” Though, as Martin Luther says, “ Temptation is the best school into which the Christian can enter ; yet, in itself, apart from the grace of God, it is so doubly hazardous, that this prayer should be offered every day, ‘Lead us not into temptation; ' or if we must enter into it, ‘Lord, deliver us from evil.’”
I do not know whether I have met the objection. Perhaps, in the exposition that is to follow I may be able to make it a little more clear. I wish to say, that although God does not tempt men—that is affirmed in Scripture, and reason, and God's own character, all prove it to be the fact—yet he may, and certainly does, lead us into positions in his providence, where it is absolutely certain that we shall be tempted ; and therefore, our consciousness of weakness should constrain to plead for escape from the terrible contest, and deliverance out of it if come it must."
Well, amen to that! Please read the remainder of Spurgeon's commentary on this passage via the link provided.
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