sovereignty

Theological Commitments of the Biblical Gospel: Election

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment
Must be a low information voter.

God cast a vote for you, Satan casts a vote against you, and you get to cast the deciding vote? Really?

Election: Who Chose Whom?

The Arminian/semi-Pelagian understanding absolutely rejects any type of election based solely upon the free choice of God. Their understanding of this can be seen in the response of the Synod of Dort (1619):

“The true doctrine concerning election and reprobation having been explained, the Synod rejects the errors of those:[3]…Who teach: That the incomplete and non-decisive election of particular persons to salvation occurred because of a foreseen faith, conversion, holiness, godliness, which either began or continued for some time; but that the complete and decisive election occurred because of foreseen perseverance unto the end in faith, conversion, holiness, and godliness; and that this is the gracious and evangelical worthiness, for the sake of which he who is chosen is more worthy than he who is not chosen; and that therefore faith, the obedience of faith, holiness, godliness, and perseverance are not fruits of the unchangeable election unto glory, but are conditions which, being required beforehand, were foreseen as being met by those who will be fully elected, and are causes without which the unchangeable election to glory does not occur.

This is repugnant to the entire Scripture, which constantly inculcates this and similar declarations: Election is not of works, but of him that calleth (Rom. 9:11). And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed (Acts 13:48). He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (Eph. 1:4). Ye did not choose me, but I chose you (John 15:16). But if it is by grace, it is no more of works (Rom. 11:6). Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son (1 John 4:10).[4]”

God is sovereign in his divine choice of those who are saved contra the Arminian system. As for those who would say that this means that God actively predestines sinners to condemnation (a view sometimes called double predestination) Scripture does not teach that God actively predestines sinners to the Lake of Fire, but that those whom God does not elect unto salvation are passed over, left in their sins to face the fruit of their sin. This form of reprobation sees God as passive in his condemnation because man is merely receiving the just desserts for his rebellion and law-breaking.

If a person holds to an understanding of personal depravity that is less than total, or is inconsistent with this understanding, he or she will more than likely see election as being based upon the free choice of the sinner.

[3] Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Lexham Press, 1997).

[4] Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Lexham Press, 1997), I.2.5 Emphasis mine.

Singing Praises in the Fires of Affliction

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

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“At the close of a dark and gloomy day, I lay resting on my couch as the deeper night drew on; and though all was bright within my cosy room, some of the external darkness seemed to have entered my soul and obscured its spiritual vision. In sorrow of heart I asked, “Why does my Lord deal thus with his child? Why does he permit lingering weakness to hinder the sweet service I long to render to his poor servants?” For a while silence reigned in the little room, broken only by the crackling of the oak log burning in the fireplace. Suddenly I heard a sweet soft sound, a little clear musical note like the tender trill of a robin beneath my window. “What can it be? Surely no bird is singing out there at this time of the year and night.”
‘My friend exclaimed, “It comes from the log on the fire!”
‘The fire was letting loose the imprisoned music from the old oak’s inmost heart! Perchance he had garnered up this song in the days when all was well with him, when birds twittered merrily on his branches, and the soft sunlight flecked his tender leaves with gold. Ah, thought I, when the fire of affliction draws songs of praise from us then indeed we are purified and our God is glorified. As I mused, the fire burned and my soul found sweet comfort in the parable so strangely set forth before me. Singing in the fire! Yes, God helping us, if that is the only way to get harmony out of these hard apathetic hearts, let the furnace be heated seven times hotter than before.”

—C.H. Spurgeon

How to Live a Life of Gladness and Joy–Psalm 90

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Studd quote

In my office I have an old grandfather clock that was given to me by my grandparents. On the face of the clock it says, Tempus Fugit, Latin for “time flies.” It’s so true, isn’t it? So, how can we make sure that we don’t waste our lives, but instead live for the Lord with joy and gladness? Moses instructs us in this psalm.

1Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You return man to dust

and say, “Return, O children of man!”

4 For a thousand years in your sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

or as a watch in the night.

5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed in the morning:

6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;

by your wrath we are dismayed.

8 You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;

we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

10 The years of our life are seventy,

or even by reason of strength eighty;

yet their span is but toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of your anger,

and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord! How long?

Have pity on your servants!

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 Let your work be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands![1]]

Before we get to the “practical” portion of living life with gladness and joy, we need to see that the basis of this type of living comes from a correct understanding of (1) The Timelessness of God (in verses 1-2); (2) The Temporariness of Man  (in verses 3-6); (3) A Short Life Shortened by Sin (in verses 7-11);  and finally, (4) How to Live Life with Gladness and Joy (verses 12-17).

1. The Timeliness of God (vv. 1-2)

The has proven to his children over and over that he is stable and faithful to men throughout all generations. He has shown this truth in special ways to Israel and Christ’s Church. Even before man, or even the earth and her majestic mountains were created, when there was no one to testify to his faithfulness, the Lord was the same. As Revelation 22:13 reminds us, he has no ending and beginning—he IS the alpha and omega. Psalm 102:25-27 says:

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

but you are the same, and your years have no end.[2]

Our God is never-changing and unbound by time.

2. The Temporariness of Men (vv. 3-6)

Do you realize that man is just animated dust (v. 3)? We were made of the dust of the ground and we shall return to that dust when our life is removed from this body we inhabit. And if that isn’t bad enough, verses 4-6 reminds us that our time before God is only momentary and fleeting away. We are like the vapor of steam that rises in the morning when the sun hits the dew on the grass.

Do you see the comparison that is made in these first two sections of this psalm? God is eternal and timeless, and man is temporal and bound in time. It is like comparing a diamond to a styrofoam cup. One is eternally valuable and the other is only momentarily useful, but common, abundant and short-lived. This can be jarring and unsettling in our narcissistic world, but if we are to see things biblically, we need to set these matters in order correctly.

3. A Short Life Shortened by Sin (vv. 7-11)

Verses 7-8 are clear, this eternal god who has created everything sees all of our sins.No man escapes from his sovereign examination. And verses 9-11 teach us that God does not just watch with an indifferent eye, but he sees in order to judge our sins.

For Moses, the author of this psalm, he would have seen this truth firsthand in the life of Pharaoh. Having repeatedly ignored the command of God to let the Hebrew nation go in clear defiance to the judgments he and his nation experienced (Ex 10:28), Pharaoh personally faced the temporal wrath of the Lord in the angel of death visiting his own home and killing his own son. Some people, like Pharaoh, will face the horrible reality of the judgment of God in this life. They will reap what they have sown. And if they will not bow the knee in repentance to God, they will face him again in eternal judgment.

Some people have scoffed at the idea of God judging sin because they think that those who are not judged in this life must get away without facing the consequences for their sins against God. That is the way that the psalmist felt in Psalm 73. As he looked around, he became envious of the way the wicked not only seem to get away for their sin, but they seem to die happier than the righteous. Apparently, crime does pay! But then he came to his conclusion, “For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.[3]” It may take some time, but the Lord always gets his man and no one escapes the final judgment of God.

Life is short enough. But our sin drags us down and shortens the length of many lives. Seeking joy and gladness in sin is temporary solution that will never compensate for the misery that it brings.

4. How to Live Life with Gladness and Joy (vv. 12-17)

In this last section, we see some of the more practical aspects of this psalm. Below I have listed five applications of what Moses wrote in his psalm that can point our hearts to live life in a God-honoring way:

1. Remember that God is eternal and your life is short, so make it count! (v. 12)

Everyone has a finite number of days on this planet. If you think that you have forever to get busy for the Lord, you might be tempted to squander your short life. But if you focus and get busy in the work the Lord has for you, you will find the purpose the Lord has made you for.

2. Live with Heaven in mind (v. 13)

Do you really believe that Jesus is coming again? We can often see what we believe in the way that we live our daily lives. In Revelation 22:20, we not only see the Lord’s promise of his return, but we also get a glimpse of the Apostle John’s longing heart to see Jesus. That should make us more aware that when he comes, the Lord is going to hold us accountable for the few short years we lived for him (Matt 25:14-30). Somebody said that Christians are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good. But I think that we can be so earthly minded that we do no heavenly good.And when we are busy at our work in the fields of the Lord, we will find our joy, especially as we look forward to our great reward.

3. Find joy in your relationship with the Lord. (v. 14)

Have you ever eaten a fruit salad where a sweet piece of fruit makes another sweet piece of fruit seem like it’s not sweet at all? The world can be like that. We chase after cheap, temporary thrills and when the One true joy—Christ, is presented to us, we find that he isn’t so sweet to our souls. But we sometimes have been overly satisfied with the trinkets and baubles of the world instead of the treasure that is Christ. That is why some Christians can find no joy or gladness in the Lord. Entertainment has overshadowed the substance of Christ. But if we will pull back and focus on the Scriptures as they point us to the Lord, we will find that he is the sweetest joy of all (Jer 2:11-13).

4. Look at the blessings and not just the hardships of life (vv. 15-16)

Life is hard sometimes. An honest biblical view of the world would never deny that. But we are not called to Christ so that we can complain and grow bitter over this fact. Moses asked the Lord to help him and the people to see the blessings as well as the hardships, to literally “make them glad” (v. 15) and for the Lord’s goodness to be shown to his people. We need to pray that way as well when we feel that we are growing cold and unthankful.

5. Stay busy with God’s work (v. 17).

Finally, the psalmist ends asking for the Lord to establish the work of the people’s hands with divine favor. God has given us work to do, and we not only want the Lord to bless our work, but we also want the Lord to establish it as well. Can you imagine truing to rake leaves in a wind storm? Who wants to do that? We want our life and work to count for the glory of God so that when this short life ends, we will be satisfied and glad that God used our feeble work to further his great and glorious plan just a little bit. And that is a life that will end with joy!

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 90:1–17.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 102:25–27.

[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 73:27.

Three Reasons to Preach Christ Crucified

/ Richard Bargas / 2 Comments

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“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1Corinthians 1:18)

1. Because It is Not Popular (v. 18)

Not only is it not popular, it is moronic (moria in Greek). Consider the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ demands that we say to sinners that a poor and humble Jewish man was God, and that he was nailed to a cross to die a criminals death despite his perfect innocence. We proclaim that this Man was not only a man, but that he is God in the flesh. That he is perfect and sinless and that he was born of a virgin. Furthermore, we proclaim that all of humanity is lost and that each individual man, woman and child is a wretched sinner. We proclaim that Christ is the only hope for humanity and that all other claims are lies from the pit of hell and all who seek salvation in any other name are doomed to eternal damnation. We proclaim that Jesus Christ has done all that is necessary for our salvation, and that he rejects all attempts to earn salvation on our own. He, being the King demands our allegiance and one day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord.

Brothers, when we proclaim this, the world will overwhelmingly reject us as fools of the worst kind. We will be called bigots, intolerant, and uneducated religious zealots. And that is why so many bow to the pressures and soften their message. Paul was keenly aware of the propensity of men to soften the blow of the gospel by using soothing words that made the hearer feel at ease. He said in 1Cor 2:1-5 that he purposely made it his aim to proclaim the unvarnished gospel of Jesus Christ crucified. Today, preachers everywhere are trying to make Jesus look cool. They are trying to make Christianity attractive. They are doing just what Paul avoided.

The cross was not cool. It was brutal and bloody.

The call of Christ is not popular. True Christianity will never court the world. But pastors will continue to attempt to make our precious faith more palatable in order to gain the popularity of the world. This is nothing but pride. Nobody should enter the ministry or the pulpit in order to make his own name great. Isaac Watts wrote, “When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died; My riches gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” PREACH CHRIST BECAUSE IT IS NOT POPULAR!

2. Because They Are Perishing (v. 18)

When we preach the message of the cross, the world sees it as folly because they do not see the danger to their souls. Sometimes they fail to see the danger because they do not see it in our eyes and do not hear it in our voices as we proclaim cold truth from our pulpits. Brothers, do you feel the truth of Hell? Do you remember the days when you were among the brood of vipers?  Do you recall that you were once a vessel prepared for destruction? Have you forgotten that you were on the precipice of the bottomless pit and you were ready in due time to slip into eternal fire separate from God to be tormented for all eternity? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?

When we remember our own dying state we will be quick to point people to the only remedy for their souls—the cross of Christ. When we remember that they are perishing, we will not care about their mocking and their cries for ear-tickling sermons—we will give them what we know they need. Wrote Thomas Brooks, “The damned shall live as long in hell as God himself shall live in heaven.” That fact alone should drive us to preach Christ crucified.

Check your hearts, brothers. Do you feel the terror of hell and do you cry out with Paul on Sunday mornings: (2Cor. 2:15-16) “For we (!) are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?” PREACH CHRIST BECAUSE THEY ARE PERISHING!

3. Because It is the Power of God (v. 18)

Power in the pulpit. Power evangelism. Power encounters. Pastors want power. But the power of God is not found in the usual places. It is not found in business models or worldly philosophy (v. 22). It is not found in charismatic dramatics or signs and wonders (v. 22).  It isn’t found in confrontation with demons and the occult. The power of God was displayed on the cross, where God sent His Son to be crushed for our iniquities. Jesus became sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God! That is power!!!

Concerning the justification of God, John Calvin said, “Wherever the knowledge of it is taken away, the glory of Christ is extinguished, religion abolished, the Church destroyed, and the hope of salvation utterly overthrown.” This is the power of the cross. Why is the Church so weak and utterly incapable of making an impact in our nation? It has left this message behind and taken up the banners of politics, pop psychology, health and wealth, and so many other empty promises.

The Roman Catholic system, the Emerging movement, the Seeker Sensitive movement and the Liberal mainline denominations have all shown us what becomes of those who lay aside the cross of Christ. But it hasn’t stopped many men from flirting with those compromising  philosophies. Richard Baxter, “If a hardened heart is to be broken, it is not stroking but striking that must do it.” The only thing that can cut another stone is a diamond, the hardest gem on earth. In order to cut the hardest heart, we must use the sharpest tool. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ!

In Heb. 4:12 we are reminded, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Brothers, in our churches the temptation can be overwhelming to give up expository preaching in favor of sugar coated sermons that aim to please the itching ears of people. We reason in our hearts that once we have them in our churches we can preach the gospel to them, we just need to ease them into it. Don’t fall for this pragmatic lie! You are merely a tool in God’s hand. He uses you as His minister to wield His weapon of choice. You cannot change the soul of a man in any way. It is the Word of God preached—the Gospel alone that brings a sinner to his knees.

PREACH CHRIST BECAUSE THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS IS YOUR ONLY POWER!

5 Reasons God Wants You to Stop Being Anxious (Matt. 6:25-34)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

Anxiety

On the website for the Anxiety Disorder Association of America (ADAA), the following statistics are reported:

  • Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18.1% of U.S. population).
  • Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country’s $148 billion total mental health bill.
  • More than $22.84 billion of those costs are associated with the repeated use of health care services; people with anxiety disorders seek relief for symptoms that mimic physical illnesses.
  • People with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who do not suffer from anxiety disorders.[http://www.adaa.org/AboutADAA/PressRoom/Stats&Facts.asp; accessed 3/20/09]

Anxiety is not merely a problem from Bible times that we don’t understand. Anxiety lives in our town, our street, and probably even in our own homes. Anxiety comes in all shapes and sizes, and for all sorts of reason. Some elderly folks worry about having living too long so that their money runs out or about who will take care of them when they are no longer able to. But the young are not immune to anxiety either. I currently know of at least five young men and women who are worried that they will never get married and that maybe God has chosen them for a life of celibacy (we should get them all together!).

So, money and food, and clothes aren’t the only things that we are anxious about. Jobs, kids, bills, cars, relationships, health, all of these things and more give us plenty of reason to worry. But God says something different.

Five Reasons God Wants You To Stop Being Anxious

1. Anxiety Clouds Your Real Mission on Earth (vv. 25, 33)

Jesus asks a serious question that we forget when we are in a state of anxiety. It is found at the end of verse 25, “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” God wants our lives to be more about getting stuff and keeping it. If all we do is chase after the latest and greatest, then we prove ourselves to be serving the false god mammon, and not the Lord Jesus Christ. The correct focus that every true child of God ought to have is found in verse 33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” You see, we can spend all of our time worrying about temporal things, and we shall find that when we get to heaven, we missed the boat completely. Our eyes were on the wrong prize. Our true mission is to see the kingdom of God grow and for the individual members of the church to grow in the likeness of Christ in holiness. That is our mission—priority one. The church has become weak and diluted because it has lost its mission and has begun chasing after lesser things.

2. Anxiety Causes You to Doubt God’s Love for You (vv. 26, 28-30)

Jesus goes on to give us two illustrations of God’s loving care and concern over his creation: birds and lilies of the field. First, Jesus shows that although birds work very hard daily to care for their needs by feathering their nests, hunting down worms and other insects, they don’t worry about storing up food for the winter. They let God be God and trust him to supply their needs tomorrow.

Second, Jesus directed his disciples’ attention to the wildflowers growing around them on the mount they were gathered on. These flowers were adorned beautifully by God himself, all without worrying.
Jesus’ main point is this, and don’t miss it—God cares more for you than he does for any animal, even these little birds. He loves you more than the temporary grasses and flowers that last only a few days and then wither up and die. If he cares enough to attend to their needs, how much more does he care about you?

Rom. 8:32 reminds us, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Did Christ die for sparrows? Did he give his life for flowers? Did God send his only begotten Son to save your soul, only to leave you to die naked and starving? It is when we are anxious that we imply these things. We imply by our anxiety that God doesn’t love us enough to take care of us and supply us with every need, whether physical, spiritual or emotional.

3. Anxiety is a Waste of Energy (v. 27)

This reason is probably the most pragmatic of the five reason. It asks, what does worrying change? How has anything ever been accomplished by anxiety? Stress and panic, sleepless nights and tearful fretting all accomplish nothing. They cannot bring a solution to the table, and in the end, they usually make us feel worse.

4. Anxiety is a Mark of Small Faith (vv. 30a-32)

Jesus doesn’t say that if you are anxious that you have no faith, but he does say that you have little faith. I don’t think I know of a Christian who wants small faith. You may have small faith, but you want to grow in your trust of the Savior. Jesus is setting before us an opportunity to do just that. But how?

Peter tells us in 1Pet. 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

We need to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand. We can’t be anxious and at the same time say we have placed our full trust in God. Matthew 6:32 tells us that the Gentiles, or pagan unbelieving world, chases after its own needs, feeling that if they don’t take care of #1, then nobody will. Should a follower of Jesus Christ have the same attitude? We need to be humble and put our full weight upon the Lord, and he will not fail us. Why? Because he cares for you!

5. Anxiety Tries to Get Ahead of God (v. 34)

Today has enough problems doesn’t it? God has wisely and sovereignly distributed the amount of blessings and troubles that we can handle. Like the manna in the wilderness, He has given us enough grace for today. But we can’t hoard it up for tomorrow. There is only enough for today and the worries of today. We need to trust the Lord in this. We can’t begin worrying about tomorrow. What a precious Savior, that he cares so much for us!

So, what can we hope to do when anxiety attacks our hearts? Here are some wise closing words of biblical instruction from A.W. Pink: “Be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6). Worrying is as definitely forbidden as theft. This needs to be carefully pondered and definitely realized by us, so that we do not excuse it as an innocent “infirmity.”

The more we are convicted of the sinfulness of anxiety, the sooner are we likely to perceive that it is most dishonoring to God, and “strive against” it (Heb. 12:4). But how are we to “strive against” it? First, by begging the Holy Spirit to grant us a deeper conviction of its enormity. Second, by making it a subject of special and earnest prayer, that we may be delivered from this evil. Third, by watching its beginning, and as soon as we are conscious of harassment of mind, as soon as we detect the unbelieving thought, lift up our heart to God and ask Him for deliverance from it.