Freedom in Christ

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

As I have continued to read some materials by Martin Luther, I was impressed as I read this excerpt from his work The Freedom of a Christian reminding me that I am not saved by good works but rather that good works are the fruit, the result of having been made righteous by the work of God. It is God who calls me to righteousness [command] and it is God who works in me to fulfill the call [promise]. As it is written in Philippians 2:13 -

…for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Consider what Luther wrote –

A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all…The entire Scripture of God is divided into two parts: commandments and promises. The promises of God give what the commandments of God demand and fulfill what the law prescribes so that all things may be God’s alone, both the commandments and the fulfilling of the commandments. He alone commands, He alone fulfills…Surely we are named after Christ, not because He is absent from us, but because He dwells in us – that is, because we believe in Him and are Christ’s one to another and do to our neighbors as Christ does to us. But in our day we are taught by the doctrines of men to seek nothing but merits, rewards and the things that are ours. Of Christ we have made only a taskmaster far harsher than Moses.

We are free in Christ to give our lives to Christ so that He would live His life in us to the glory of the Father.

Galatians 2:20
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 gave Himself up for me.

The call of Christ demands our all – it takes our lives and yet it is the most delightful and restful work that can be engaged.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

May we all find our rest, our delight, our freedom, and our devoted service in Christ.

SDG,

Pastor Ed

Believers as Priests

I have always had a hard time with the term "Reverend" in reference to a pastor or minister. The term was rarely used in the circles I became a pastor in out in Southern California. I can remember how a friend of mine and I would raze each other when we received that occasional mail addressed to "Reverend Brian" or "Reverend Ed." It is my belief that there is only One to be revered and woe to the man who might leave it open to suggestion that he might be such a person. Only God is to be revered.

Martin Luther was greatly concerned in his day about inappropriate distinctions between the so-called "clergy" class (made up of popes, bishops, priest, monks) regarding them as "the church" and as the religious - and the secular class made up of all who were not clergy. The Bible knows no such distinctions in the church.

1 Peter 2:9
9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light...

According to Scripture, all believers are "religious" and have a common status in Christ. Luther held to the priesthood of all believers. For he wrote:

"To call popes, bishops, priests, monks and nuns the religious class, but princes, lords, artisans and farm workers the secular class is but a specious device invented by certain time-servers. But no one ought to be frightened by it, and for good reason. For all Christians whatsoever really and truly belong to the religious class and there is not difrerence among them except insofar as they do different work...For baptism, gospel and faith alone make men religious and create a Christian people...The fact is that our baptism consecrates us all without exception adn makes us all preists (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 5:9-10)."

[From Luther's "Appeal ot the German Ruling Class"]

So, there is but one class of believers, all priests unto God and the Lord God alone is to be revered (feared), not some pastor or minister. As Solomon noted in Proverbs 1:7 -

"The fear [reverence] of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Soli Deo Gloria!

Why?

Why was I made to hear Your voice
And enter while there's room,
When thousands make a wretched choice
And rather starve than come?
It was the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly forced me in.
Else I had still refused to taste,
And perished in my sin

--Isaac Watts

Basic Bible Study Principles

There are a few important principles that guide my understanding and application of the Word of God. I believe that these principles are the only safeguard to a consistently objective understanding of God’s Word. In other words, these principles, when properly applied, keep the interpreter of God’s Word from imposing a subjective meaning to the text, or more simply, from reading something into the text that is not there.

Before you think that this is not important, consider it this way: have you ever said or written something to someone only to have them “read” into what you were saying to such an extent that they claim you meant something you never intended? For example, I could tell someone that I don’t believe that the church should monetarily support the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital because the philosophy and theology of the Shriners, which is Freemasonry, is anti-Christian. Now someone may misinterpret that - thinking I mean I don’t believe that the Shriners are doing a “good” and “humanitarian” thing. They may even go so far as to say that I must think that children should not be helped medically. But, do you see that this is not what I said? The church’s mission is not primarily humanitarian, although it certainly includes this, but rather the church’s mission is primarily evangelist. The ultimate goal of any ministry of the church and any of the ministries supported by the church is to evangelize and disciple by means of the Word of God. Any effort that does not share this priority is not to be supported by the church. Individual Christians may choose to support it, but it is not the mission of the church (Matthew 28:19-20). Does this mean we are not to help or that we do not care about the medical needs of children? Of course not, but it does mean that the church is to look to a more Christian approach to meeting such needs.

So I want to share theses principles that govern my understanding and application of the Word of God.

The first principle is this – a consistently applied literal, grammatical, historical interpretation of the Scriptures. A very simplistic definition of this is as follows: when the plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense. If we apply this to Scripture, we are to take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning, unless the facts of the context or other Scriptures clearly indicate otherwise.

A second principle that governs my biblical interpretation is this – that God has a plan and a future for Israel in which they, not the Church, will literally fulfill the covenant promises He made to Israel in the Old Testament. The Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian, Davidic, and New covenants all literally speak to and have eschatological reference to Israel. In other words, there is a distinction between Israel and the Church. The Church is not Israel and Israel is not the Church. The Church does participate (not fulfill) in the soteriological (salvation) side of the Abrahamic and New Covenants, but she does not replace or fulfill the literal promises made to Israel. The Abrahamic Covenant clearly speaks of Abraham and his descendents blessing all the nations of the earth, which we learn from the Scriptures refers to the coming of Jesus Christ as the Savior not only for people of Israel, but also for people of every tribe, tongue and nation. But the covenant was made with Abraham and his physical descendents, that is Israel.

The third principle that governs my biblical interpretation is the overall theme or purpose of God as revealed in the Scripture – and that is His glory. While the redemption of sinful man and the exalted person of Jesus Christ are certainly major themes of the Bible, the overriding theme is the glory of God – that is how God glorifies Himself through all His actions and dealings with humanity. The apostle Paul best summarizes this idea in Ephesians 1 where we see both the redemption of sinful man along with the exalted position of Christ – but to what end? Consider –

Ephesians 1:4-6
4 In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:11-12
11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

To restate these principles that govern my understanding of Scripture:

1. The consistent application of a literal or plain interpretation (as opposed to allegorical interpretation) of the Bible.

2. An understanding (that flows from this literal interpretation) of a distinction between God’s eschatological (future) plans for Israel and the Church. Note: all are saved by faith in Jesus Christ – there is one soteriological (salvation) plan for the elect of all ages.

3. God’s ultimate purpose in Scripture is to glorify Himself, freely and fully expressing His attributes and character.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let us be truly thankful to so great a God who has granted us so great a salvation. Lord, may we never grow weary in uttering Your praise!

Psalm 95:1-7
1 O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 3 For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods, 4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. 5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ed

Things are Changing

I am back! At least I hope so. Things have been busy and changing. One such change may be found at our new and improving website for the church. There are still a few bugs to work out, but check out the new church website at www.hopecbc.org.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ed

What was "Reformed" in the Reformation?

In 1997 I was reintroduced to the doctrines of grace by means of reading a most profound book, "The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination" by Lorraine Boettner. While this book systematically reveals the logic (divine) of what are commonly referred to as the five points of Calvinism, I truly believe that the so-called "five points" (for they are simply accurate Biblical theology) are really just one point - the Sovereignty of God. Either God is Sovereign or He is not. Either God is reigning and ruling according to the counsel of His own will (Ephesians 1:11) or someone else (man) is in control.

As I came to grips with these truths, I came to embrace the cry of the Reformation as summed up in the five "Solas". Forgive me for not stating these in my own words but the following does a fine job so I will not reinvent the wheel but post these great reminders of so great a salvation and the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3):

What was "Reformed" in the Reformation?

by Daryl Wingerd

If one wants to know what the Protestant Reformation was all about without reading huge volumes of historical literature, it is perhaps most clarifying to look at the theological results. One should specifically note the rediscovery of five critical biblical doctrines that had been obscured from public view by the medieval version of what we now know as the Roman Catholic Church. And just so you know, Rome still either openly opposes or seriously distorts these doctrines. Using the Latin names given to each, they are:

Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone):

The Reformers were united in their belief that the Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for salvation and Christian living (cf. 2 Peter 1:1-4). They held the Word of God to be the only standard by which men's consciences may be bound. Rome, on the other hand, then and now, denies sola Scriptura by elevating Papal decrees and church tradition to what they say are equal (but are in reality greater) positions of authority than that of the Bible. Where the meaning of the Bible differs from the opinion of the Pope or official doctrine (as is very often the case) the Word of God plays a mute second fiddle.

Sola Gratia (by Grace alone):

The reformers understood that salvation is not a cooperative event carried out by God and man working in partnership. In salvation, sinners are rescued from God's wrath by His grace alone (cf. Titus 3:3-7). God's grace is His spontaneous and unmerited favor, granted to the spiritually dead and helpless sinner through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. God mercifully releases those whom He is saving from their own willful bondage to sin and thus enables them to repent and believe (cf. John 3:3; 6:44; Rom. 8:6-8; 9:16). Interestingly, this point of doctrine is disputed today, not only by Rome, but also by many evangelicals.

Sola Fide (through Faith alone):

"Justified" is the biblical term that describes a person as forgiven, not guilty, and perfectly righteous in God's sight. According to Scripture, justification is bestowed on the sinner by grace alone through faith alone, "not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9; cf. Gal 2:16). According to official Roman Catholic dogma, however, using the word "alone" after the word "faith" will earn you a pronouncement of anathema (formal damnation). Rome actually forbids you to believe or repeat what the Bible plainly states! They insist that while justification begins with faith, it can only be completed through the sinner's personal effort. In Roman Catholic theology, one may not say, "Therefore, having been justified by faith," or "having now been justified by His blood" (the exact words of Paul in Romans 5:1 and 5:9, emphasis added). According to Rome, one may only believe that he is being justified—by faith plus works.

Solus Christus (because of Christ alone):

The reformers understood that the salvation of God's people was the work of Jesus Christ alone. His death was a sufficient and effective sacrifice for sin (cf. Heb. 9:12, 26, 28; 10:12, 14). He is the only mediator between God and men (cf. 1 Timothy 2:5). Only Christ's righteousness (not the sinner's personal righteousness) merits the believing sinner's justification (2 Cor. 5:21). Rome, on the other hand, commands the performance of seven essential works of merit (sacraments) for justification. Rome also insists that Mary (not Jesus) is the dispenser of grace. While Rome denies that Christ's righteousness may be imputed to the believing sinner, Mary is said to have vast amounts of excess rightousness which can be imputed to sinners. This form of blasphemy against the Son of God is bad enough, but it culminates in blasphemy against God the Father—the idolatry of Mary worship. Mary is praised as the "co-redemptress" and "co-mediatrix" with Christ. Rome even refers to her in some places as the savior of mankind, the one who commands God to save whom she will.

Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone):

It is obvious that in Roman Catholic theology Mary receives equal (if not greater) credit than God for the salvation of sinners. Rome openly glorifies her. Also, God is robbed of His glory by making the sinner the one who ultimately performs (via the sacraments) or suffers (via Purgatory) his own way into heaven. But the Bible insists, and the reformers recognized, that God saves sinners by Himself. Therefore He alone should receive all praise and glory. And the God of the Bible is a jealous God (cf. Ex. 20:5). He will not share His glory with another (cf. Isaiah 42:8; 48:11).

So what was reformed (or recovered) during the Protestant Reformation? In the final analysis, it was the gospel of God's grace. And the "church" that stole the gospel the first time will gladly do so again if Christians everywhere do not take seriously the command to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints" (Jude 3).

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ed

Sorry

I am sorry that it has been so long since I have posted. Either I have too much to say or not enough. Anyway, here goes!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ed