1/1/15

From Jim McGuiggan... The Nature of New Testament Faith (1)


The Nature of New Testament Faith (1)

Heartless obedience may be grovelling, it may be legalism, it may be self-serving, it may even be an expression of arrogant self-sufficiency--it may be a lot of things but it isn't what God wants.

The full-bodied teaching about obedience in the scriptures is a complex of truths and to treat it as if it had only one face is a serious misunderstanding of the matter. Obedience shouldn't be reduced to "complying with God's commandments" because it's much more than that.

Some of us that stress salvation by grace feel we must sever any link between obedience and salvation. We think if we say, "You must obey to be saved" that grace is denied and that God is robbed of the glory he so richly deserves. These same people insist that we must have faith if we're to be saved but they don't think that that robs God of his glory. They're right of course. The apostle who stressed the grace of God most in his writings is the one who stressed the need for faith if we're to be saved (see Ephesians 2:8; Romans 5:1 and elsewhere). Paul didn't think that requiring faith undermined grace because faith confesses and relies on grace.

Those of us that say faith is required for salvation and deny that obedience is required for salvation miss the faith-nature of New Testament obedience. Paul calls New Testament obedience "the obedience of faith" (Romans 1:5 and 16:26) and it's that obedience that he says is "unto life" (Romans 6:16). It's that obedience and not another kind of obedience that is "unto righteousness".

Those of us that stress the gracious nature of salvation are wearied when we hear people stress "the human part" in salvation. This is probably a bad phrase since it easily degenerates into the notion that there are two Saviours--God and man. There is only one Saviour--the God who has shown himself to us in and as Jesus Christ.

It's right that we who stress grace should correct a perverse understanding of the nature of obedience but the New Testament's view of obedience is not perverse. We are to hear and teach the word of God on the matter of obedience without fear that rich teaching on obedience will deprive God of glory. Correcting a perverse view of obedience is one thing; denying the New Testament teaching about obedience is something else.

It's right to be concerned that God get all the glory for saving us but it might be that an unwise stress on grace that sidelines obedience is depriving God of the glory he so richly deserves. Holy obedience brings God glory just as surely as the confession that trust makes. There was a time when Saul relied on sacrifice and God rebuked him for not giving obedience (see 1 Samuel 15:22). In this he denied God glory. A stress on salvation by grace that empties our relationship with God of its ethical nature may create the kind of people that "wish God well" in his endeavours and go on their own way rejoicing. This would not only be a perverse view of God's grace it would be a perverse view of obedience.

Hearing God in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=912

Hearing God in the Twenty-First Century

by  Eric Lyons, M.Min.

In the Garden of Eden, God spoke directly to Adam, commanding him to refrain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). Centuries later, “the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision” while he dwelt in the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:1). The patriarch Jacob received a message from Jehovah via the “Angel of God,” Who spoke to him in a dream (Genesis 31:11). The Lord spoke directly to Moses at the burning bush on Mount Horeb (Exodus 3-4). The angel Gabriel brought messages from God to Zacharias, who was dwelling in Jerusalem (Luke 1:11-21), and to Mary, the mother of Jesus, who lived in Nazareth (Luke 1:26-33). Even Saul, who was on his way to Damascus to imprison any Jewish Christians he might find, received a “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19; cf. Acts 9). A list of God’s appearances and messages to men seems almost endless. No Bible believer can dispute the fact that God has revealed messages to men countless times, either directly or through avenues other than written revelation.
The question often asked today is, “How do we hear God now?” Does He still communicate to people through dreams and visions like He did in biblical times? Should we expect Him to call upon us directly at any moment to do some great work, like Saul was called to do? Will God send an angel to me to disclose more revelation than what is given in the Bible? Or, similar to how Eli instructed Samuel, should I “go lie down” and wait on Jehovah to reveal some message to me (1 Samuel 3:9-10). In view of the fact that for millennia God communicated to people either directly or through avenues other than written revelation, why do some today claim that God communicates to man only via the Bible? Just how is it that we “hear God” today?
According to Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2, emp. added). In another contrast between the prophets of old (namely, Moses and Elijah) and Jesus, God instructed Peter, James, and John, saying, “This [Jesus] is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5, emp. added). Jesus informed His listeners on one occasion of the reason we must “listen” to Him: “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48, emp. added). For one to be pleasing to God, he must learn and obey the words of Jesus.
But how do we “hear” Jesus? According to the New Testament, people come to know Jesus and His words by way of the of the apostles’ teachings. Consider the following line of reasoning from the Scriptures.
  • The night of Jesus’ betrayal, He prayed to the Father, saying, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21, emp. added). The “their” of verse 20 refers to those for whom Jesus was praying in the preceding verses (17:6-19)—the apostles. Jesus prayed for the unity of future believers, which He stated would be based upon the apostles’ “word.”
  • On that same night, Jesus told the apostles: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (John 13:20, emp. added). After Jesus’ resurrection, and before His ascension into heaven, Jesus told these same disciples: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). To receive the apostles’ teachings, then, was to receive Jesus.
But how do we receive the apostles’ doctrine today? Since all of the apostles are dead, via what method do the apostles speak to us in the twenty-first century? Paul answered this question in Ephesians 3:1-5.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets (emp. added).
Today, a person can understand “the mystery of Christ” through the written revelation of men like the apostle Paul, who received the Truth “through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12).
Still, some ask: “Haven’t other men who have lived through the centuries, even into the twenty-first century, been inspired by God to reveal His message?” Actually, the Bible indicates that all Truth necessary for salvation was revealed during the lifetime of the apostles. The night before Jesus’ crucifixion, He promised His apostles that after His departure from them, the Spirit would come and guide them “into all truth” (John 16:13), teaching them “all things,” and bringing to their remembrance “all things” that Jesus taught them (John 14:26). After His crucifixion and resurrection (but before He ascended into heaven), Jesus then commanded these same disciples to “make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20, emp. added). The “faith…was once for all delivered to the saints” in the first century (Jude 3), so that since that time Christians have had “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).
Hearing God’s will in the twenty-first century is as easy as picking up the providentially preserved Bible and reading what Jesus’ “apostles and prophets” recorded for our benefit. God’s revelation thoroughly equips us for every good work (cf. 2 Timothy 3:17), so that no modern-day messages, dreams, or visions are needed. Nearly two thousand years ago, God revealed “all truth” to the apostles and prophets, who recorded it “by inspiration.” This “truth” is the standard by which all people are to live. And anyone teaching a contrary message will suffer eternally (cf. Galatians 1:8-9).

From Mark Copeland... The Cup And The Baptism (Mark 10:35-40)

                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                   The Cup And The Baptism (10:35-40)

INTRODUCTION

1. On the way to Jerusalem shortly before His arrest, Jesus received an
   unusual request...
   a. From James and John, together with their mother - Mk 10:35; Mt 20:20
   b. For Jesus to do whatever they ask! - Mk 10:35
   c. In particular, the honor of sitting by Him in His glory (kingdom)
      - Mk 10:36-37; Mt 20:21

2. Jesus' response was two-fold...
   a. First, about drinking His cup and being baptized with His baptism
      - Mk 10:38-39
   b. Second, their request was not His to grant, but His Father's - Mk 10:40; Mt 20:23

[In this study we shall focus on the cup and the baptism to which Jesus
referred, which is generally understood to be the cup or baptism...]

I. OF SUFFERING

   A. EXPLAINED...
      1. To drink a cup
         a. Metaphorically, to get one's fill
         b. Either of good (Ps 23:5) or of ill (Ps 75:7-8)
         c. Jesus' cup was one of suffering - cf. Mk 14:36; Jn 18:11
      2. To be baptized
         a. Figuratively, to be overwhelmed
         b. In this case, with calamity - cf. Ps 69:2,15
         c. Jesus' baptism was one of  suffering - cf. Lk 12:50
      3. Compare the NLT:  "...Are you able to drink from the bitter cup
         of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized
         with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?"
      -- The cup and the baptism refers to suffering Jesus and His
         disciples would experience

   B. EXPERIENCED...
      1. By the apostles
         a. Foretold by Jesus - Mk 10:39; Jn 15:20-21
         b. Experienced by James (martyrdom) - Ac 12:2
         c. Experienced by John (exile) - Re 1:9
         d. Experienced by the apostles in general - 1Co 4:9-13
         e. Experienced by the apostle Paul in particular - 2Co 11:23-28
      2. By disciples today
         a. Many believers in Christ continue to suffer much
            1) In Muslim and Hindu nations
            2) In communist nations like China and North Korea
         b. In the USA and other western countries there are forms of
            suffering
            1) Christians and their faith are often ridiculed
            2) Many are rejected by co-workers, neighbors, friends, even
               family
      -- We ourselves may one day have to receive the cup and the
         baptism of suffering

[Having considered how cup and baptism are used in our text to refer to
suffering, perhaps it would be appropriate to consider how they are also
used in a different context.  There is the cup and baptism...]

II. OF BLESSING

   A. THE CUP OF BLESSING...
      1. There is a cup which we bless - 1Co 10:16
      2. The fruit of the vine in the Lord's Supper - 1Co 11:23-29
      3. Which represents Jesus' blood of the new covenant - 1Co 11:25;
         Mt 26:27-28
      4. Which we drink in memory of Him, proclaiming His death - 1Co 11:25-26
      5. Thus participating in the blood of Christ - 1Co 10:16
      -- The cup we bless, is a blessing for those who partake!

   B. THE BAPTISM OF BLESSING...
      1. There is a baptism commanded for all by Christ - Mt 28:19; Mk 16:15-16
      2. For the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit - Ac 2:38-39
      3. Where penitent believers are commanded to be immersed in water
         - Ac 8:35-38; 10:47-48
      4. Where sins are washed away as we appeal to the Lord - Ac 22:16;
         1Pe 3:21
      5. Where we are buried into Christ's death, raised to newness of
         life - Ro 6:3-7
      6. Where we put on Christ, becoming children of God through faith
         - Ga 3:26-27
      7. Where we undergo the working of God and the Holy Spirit - Col2:12-13; Tit 3:4-7
      -- This baptism is a blessing for all who submit in faith and
         repentance!

CONCLUSION

1. Jesus foretold that James and John would...
   a. Drink the cup of suffering
   b. Be baptized with the baptism of suffering

2. But suffering did not happen before they...
   a. Experienced the baptism of blessing in being saved
   b. Partook weekly of the cup of blessing in remaining saved

To prepare ourselves for whatever cup or baptism of suffering we might
experience for Christ...

   * Let us be sure that we have submitted to the baptism of blessing
     in faith and repentance!

   * Let us be sure that we drink the cup of blessing weekly as
     faithfully as we can!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Gary.. Mrs. Gorbacheiv- bring down that wall!!!



It is not fun when couples fight; but to carry it over to the next day...

Ephesians, Chapter 4
26 “Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,  27 neither give place to the devil.

The consequences of multi-day confrontations can only please Satan. Don't let it happen. Make peace!!! You know, you can learn a lot from an animal.