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Deception 1

November 2, 2016

There are many people in both evangelical and reformed churches today who are self-deceived. This self-deception is at the deepest level and in the most important area of life—their eternal soul. The people I am talking about are not the open hypocrites, but those who seem to be very religious. They may be church members, some of the most regular attendees, elders, and even pastors. These are people who, by outward appearance, seem to be godly, but they are not genuinely converted. They have never been deeply convicted of their sins or humbled in any way; their pride has not been broken, nor have they submitted to the true demands of the gospel. Quite simply, they are religious people who are on their way to hell and they do not realize it (Self-Deception by Jacob Helffenstein, from the Intro by William C. Nichols)

1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,

1 John 2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

Ephesians 4:22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,

The concept of being deceived is somewhat self-evident, which is to say that a person is led astray under false pretenses. For example, a person does something because s/he is told what it will do for them and yet what they do does not do what they were told. Another example is when a person is told certain actions will lead not lead to certain consequences and in fact they do lead to those consequences. However, the author (William C. Nichols) writes that there are “many people in both evangelical and reformed churches today who are self-deceived.” In other words, these people are not so much deceived by other people, but in fact they are deceived by themselves.

In the words of Helffenstein, “Nothing is more common, and certainly nothing more fatal than self-deception.” This is not pleasant to think about and certainly not something we commonly think about, but if Helffenstein and Nichols are correct, then people should be awakened and alarmed as they think of their own souls. It may be that myriads of people who do not claim to be saved are self-deceived in a sense, but that is not what Helffenstein and Nichols are getting at. They are saying that it is common for religious people to be self-deceived. Well, we may think, that would be those of the other denominations or the other religions. Once again, however, we must go deeper and dive into our own hearts. Their discussions are not about other religions and liberal denominations, they are talking about conservative evangelical and reformed churches and people as well.

When a person hears about the dangers and reality of self-deception it is easy to think of others, but we must each take this to heart. We may be deceived and even self-deceived ourselves. If there are many who are deceived, then perhaps I am one of the many. A person that is self-deceived and does not understand what it means to be self-deceived is certainly at risk of it. If person A completely trusts person B and believes all that person B says, person A does not believe that s/he is deceived about anything regarding that person. But if person B is truly a liar but is good at hiding it, then person A is deceived and simply has no idea that s/he is being deceived. Far worse, however, is when we deceive ourselves and have no idea that we are deceived. People live in self-deception trusting themselves and yet their deceptive hearts deceive them about the most vital of things most of the time. That person is deceived and is in the prison of self-deception. This describes many, many people.

An aspect of our being born in sin is that we are dead in sins and trespasses. A spiritually dead person lives in the lusts of the flesh and indulges in the desires of the flesh and the mind. The spiritually dead person loves self and lives for self at all times. The spiritually dead person is a proud person, though indeed can be quite proud and hide it underneath a false humility. The spiritually dead person is deceived by desires, by good feelings, by the warm desires and thoughts s/he may have when s/he hears something biblical. The spiritually dead person, however, out of pride will refuse to die to self, refuse to humble self, and will refuse to believe that s/he is so dead that s/he does not have the ability to please God or to save self. That person lives in self-deception and will find reasons and justifications to excuse self for any and even all things. The self-deceived person will and can use religion to deceive self. In that case religion is used to keep the conscience quiet. What a deception that is when religion is used as a means of self-deception. Only God can open our eyes to see how we lie to and deceive ourselves.

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Inward Things 2

November 1, 2016

As salvation is in its whole nature the inward birth and life of Christ in the believer, so nothing but this “new creature in Christ” can bear true witness to the realities of redemption. Therefore a man, however expert in all Scripture doctrines and learning, can only talk about the gospel as of any talk he has been told, until the life of Christ has been brought forth, verified, fulfilled, and enjoyed through the power of the Holy Spirit in his soul. No one can know the truth of salvation by a mere rational consent to that which is historically said of Christ. Only by an inward experience of His cross, death, and resurrection can the saving power of the gospel be known. For the reality of Christ’s redemption is not in fleshly, finite, outward things—much less in verbal descriptions of them—but is a birth, a life, a spiritual operation, which as truly belongs to God alone as does His creative power. (William Law)

The quote above sets out quite nicely the failure of the outward man, regardless of education or sincerity, the issue of the Gospel and true salvation. It would appear that so many in our day are deceived, but one way people are deceived is that they are externally religious without the true and inward conversion and power. When Law says above that “no one can know the truth of salvation by a mere rational consent to that which is historically said of Christ,” without knowing it he severely denounces a vast amount of evangelism and so-called conversions in our day. He also severely denounces preaching in our day.

It sure seems that the vast amount of evangelism and preaching strive to convince a person that s/he needs to believe something and if that something is believed the person will be saved. That is categorically false. It is true that a person must believe certain things, but a person must also be made a new creature in Christ Jesus in order to truly believe or to (shall we say) spiritually believe. In the words of Jesus as given us in John 3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God and then “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (v. 3 & 6).

It is easy for the natural man to read the Bible in a natural way and come up with a natural interpretation which means that the person ends up with a natural view of Christianity. This is one reason why so many people don’t see a lot of difference between Christianity and some of the pagan religions. If you just interpret the Bible in accordance with the natural man, then you miss the spiritual truth and the truth of Christ and His Spirit. This is precisely what happens so much in our day. The work of the scholar may be important and even necessary, but let us at least come to the strong realization that the work of the Holy Spirit is vastly more important and vastly more necessary. The rational consent to the truths of the Bible is entirely possible apart from salvation, which is clearly seen in that the devil knows the truths of the Bible and knows that that they are true. Knowing the truth of the Bible, even at a deep and scholarly level, is nothing more than the devil can know.

The life of God in the soul of man is the real issue in the conversion of a soul and not just agreeing or accepting that certain things are true. This life of God in the soul is the life of God in the soul by Christ which is also the life of Christ in the soul by His Spirit. We must never fall away from the great truth that true Christianity is about being one with Christ and then that life of Christ being lived in and through His people. Christianity is not about external moralism, intellectual teachings, or even doctrine. Christianity is about Christ and the life of Christ being lived in and through His people. It is only when Christ is the life of the soul by His Spirit is there true morality (of the heart), true thinking of the mind, and true doctrine that reaches the soul.

The Gospel is not just information and not just some truth that is founded in history, though indeed it is rooted in history. However, the truth of the Gospel is not just some truth to be known about; it is truth that Christ must work in the soul. Evangelism is not just about telling people the truth of the historical Christ, it is also the truth of the living and resurrected Christ who must really and actually (in time) save sinners from the wrath of God, the bondage of the devil, the bondage of sin, and the death of self. It is one thing to speak about regeneration, but it is the work of God alone to actually carry out this work of regeneration in the soul. It is one thing to speak of sin, but it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict people of sin. It is not just some external conviction that the Spirit carries out in the soul, but it is teaching people in the depths of the soul that they are sinners in the presence of a thrice holy God. Jesus said He came to save sinners. We can believe that is true and yet be a sinner not saved. We must really be saved and only Jesus can really and actually accomplish that in us.

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Inward Things 1

October 31, 2016

As salvation is in its whole nature the inward birth and life of Christ in the believer, so nothing but this “new creature in Christ” can bear true witness to the realities of redemption. Therefore a man, however expert in all Scripture doctrines and learning, can only talk about the gospel as of any talk he has been told, until the life of Christ has been brought forth, verified, fulfilled, and enjoyed through the power of the Holy Spirit in his soul. No one can know the truth of salvation by a mere rational consent to that which is historically said of Christ. Only by an inward experience of His cross, death, and resurrection can the saving power of the gospel be known. For the reality of Christ’s redemption is not in fleshly, finite, outward things—much less in verbal descriptions of them—but is a birth, a life, a spiritual operation, which as truly belongs to God alone as does His creative power. (William Law)

The methods of Bible study, of doctrine, of preaching, and of all things related to Christianity are touched on in this statement above. The core issue has to do with the nature of truth and of the Gospel as to whether they are outward or inward. This is a vital, vital point in true Christianity versus the external Christianity. It also touches on whether the focus should be on the invisible Church or the visible church, at least to the degree of the focus. It is so vital to how we view the Gospel and the nature of salvation. It has a lot to do with how we view the work of the Spirit and of evangelism.

While most of the religious world (outward Christendom, professing Church) thinks that if we believe the facts of the Gospel we will be saved, this is not the biblical position. An intellectual belief that some basic facts are true is nothing more than the devil and his demons have. They have the facts and they know that those facts are true. This is one of the hardest things to get across to religious people who are moral, orthodox (to some degree), and perhaps very strict in their religious beliefs. The facts of the Gospel are not the Gospel itself. The facts about Christ are not the same thing as Christ Himself. Believing the facts of the Gospel is not the same thing as believing the Gospel when the Spirit of the living God has brought life into the soul. Living a moral life (even one guided by Christian standards, whatever that may mean to each person) is not the same thing as living the Christ life. Imitating Christ is not the same thing as having the life of Christ in the soul.

The religious person, even if that person is an erudite scholar of the Bible, apart from the new birth cannot taste or really know the things of God. The erudite scholar can give us a lot of information about the Bible and information of the things of the Bible, but only those who have been born from above can speak to the spiritual realities of the changing power of the Gospel. If the Gospel is indeed the Gospel of Christ, then a person must have been turned from self and pride (crucified to self) and have Christ as his or her life. While this perhaps simple believer may not have all the learning of the unconverted scholar, this person has knowledge of the Gospel that the unconverted scholar can never have apart from conversion.

The preacher of the “Gospel” can preach with much motion and some feeling, but that can come from nothing but the flesh. The preacher who has much knowledge can give facts about the Gospel, but what is needed is a preacher who has tasted and knows that the Lord is good. The preacher can then not only give the historical facts, but can relate how the Lord tastes (as such) and preach the experience of these things. The preacher who has been taught of God can give more than words, but now he can preach with power of spiritual realities. As long as preachers stick with the doctrines and words alone, they will have no true power and no spiritual fruit. They will only describe things to the physical man and preaching to the inward man will be neglected or even forgotten.

We have plenty of external “preaching” and external moral lectures. We have plenty of professing churches that would fit with the Pharisees (in a way) or with the libertines. But what we are missing is preaching with power to the inward man. This can only happen when a man has tasted free-grace and will be satisfied with nothing less in preaching this to others. As a man cannot speak about the taste of honey unless he has tasted it, so a man cannot preach about free-grace unless he has tasted free-grace. A man cannot preach on what a broken heart is unless he has had a broken heart. A man cannot preach about the conviction of the Spirit unless the Spirit has convicted him. True Christianity has gone begging because men will not taste of truth before they try to preach it which fits with the things of God being limited to external things. Christianity is life and not just external things.

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Gospel Preaching 41

October 30, 2016

I Corinthians 2:2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

He should also open his mouth vigorously and confidently, to preach the truth that has been entrusted to him. He should not be silent or mumble but should testify without being frightened or bashful. He should speak out candidly without regarding or sparing anyone, let it strike whomever and whatever it will. It is a great hindrance to a preacher if he looks around and worries about what people like or do not like to hear, or what might make him unpopular or bring harm or danger upon him. (Martin Luther)

“Preach Christ, let your end be to glorify him, to render him amiable and precious in the eyes of his people; to lead them to him as a sanctuary to protect, a propitiation to reconcile, a treasure to enrich, a physician to heal, an advocate to present, as righteousness to justify, as sanctification to renew, as redemption to save, as an inexhausted fountain of pardon, grace, comfort, victory, and glory.” (Edward Reynolds)

I was blessed to be in a service with a truly good sermon this morning. The goal of the sermon appeared to be to drive people to Christ and then set Him forth before them. They were then urged to Christ. It is truly a blessing to be in a service where sermons like this are preached. As I thought and reflected on this sermon this afternoon and evening, both to think through it and also to think about what was so good about it, several things stood out.

1. The preaching was plain and it was crystal clear.
2. The preacher did not try to be thought of as wise or profound, but set forth Christ and the need for Christ.
3. The preacher did not try to set out an extensive background, but just enough to illustrate his points.
4. The preacher spoke of sin, but tried to show people that they were sinners too.
5. The preacher pressed home the fact that God hates sin, even theirs.
6. The preacher pressed home that sin is of the heart and not just the actions.
7. The preacher pressed home the fact that there is a wrathful God.
8. The preacher pressed home the fact that God is sovereign in salvation.
9. The preacher stressed that if Christ did knock on the door of the unregenerate, the person inside was dead and could not open the door.
10. The preacher pointed out that the person inside the door must be given ears to hear to even hear the knock.
11. The preacher stressed that life can only come when God grants it and gives it.
12. The preacher pointed out that all men are sinners and there is only one way of salvation.
13. The preacher stressed that the blood of Christ is the only way of salvation for anyone.
14. The preacher did not appear concerned with what people thought of him, but instead spoke of the sins of the people and their need for Christ.
15. This sermon put men down in their place and held up God in His place.

This sermon was not fancy and had no intent to tickle the ears of the moralist, the intellectual, or those who like dry doctrine apart from life. This sermon, however, as a result of the things in the previous sentence, was used of God to penetrate my heart and set forth Christ. It was not just about a doctrine of Christ or a doctrine of the Gospel, it was preaching Christ Himself as if He could really save. It was not just about some doctrine of the Gospel; it was about the Gospel itself. It was also far more than a mere lecture; it came from the heart and was aimed at the hearts of those in the building. It was an example of true preaching and that is not common in our day.

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True Blessedness 2

October 29, 2016

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

The world thinks of blessedness as having things, of being honored, of being self-sufficient. It thinks of blessedness as extracting revenge on those you want and of being at a high state of happiness all the time. It thinks that being merciful is weakness and seeking wine, women, and song is much better than a pure heart. In other words, what the world thinks of as making it happy is precisely opposite of what Jesus said is being in a state of blessedness. This, of course, is not surprising. The world is usually opposite of the truth of God.

While it is true that the world is opposite of the truth of God, it is also true that the professing Church is also opposite of the truth of God. The difference, though, is that the professing Church uses biblical words. However we have to be careful as it will twist those words and end up saying the same thing as the world does or at least have the same basic concept that the world does. The Bible in intent is God-centered, so whether a person pursues self with outward sin or self with religion it is still the pursuit of self. The professing Church will use the word “humility” or “meekness” and yet will have self as the goal of it. The world also has a concept of humility and it also has self as the goal.

The words of Jesus in Matthew 5 (Beatitudes) give us a clear teaching on the state of blessedness and also the nature of blessedness. This is to say that human beings must be in a state of blessedness to be truly blessed but there is also something that must be true in them and about them for the blessings to flow. No, we are not talking about works for blessedness as all blessings come by free-grace. What we have to learn is that free-grace puts us in a state of blessedness and then free-grace changes our hearts that out hearts become practically blessed and receive the true blessings of God.

When the Scriptures (Matthew 5 above) starts off with “blessed are”, it is giving us nine descriptions of blessed people. It tells us that there are a people who are blessed, then it gives us what we should seek to receive blessings while in a state of blessing, and then it tells us why people are blessed. As an example, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We can see that those who are poor in spirit are in a state of blessedness. We see what grace must accomplish in the heart for people to receive blessing. We see why those who are poor in spirit blessed. We can see that being poor in spirit is being in a state of blessedness but it is also what we should seek even more of to receive more of the nature of blessedness.

While this may sound somewhat confusing, it is simply saying that while the poor in spirit (and so on) are blessed, they should seek to be poor in spirit day after day and more and more of that in order that the blessedness may continue. It is not that they will lose out of being in a state of blessedness, but they will lose out on the flowing of blessedness or lose out on the degree of blessedness. We should seek the Lord to grant us more and more of being poor in spirit in order that we may have more and more the kingdom of heaven in us. It is not as if we become poor in spirit and receive all the kingdom that we are ever going to have, but instead this is something we are to grow in. Blessedness is something to be sought from the hand of free-grace and we should desire more of this blessedness in order that the glory of God would shine in and through us.

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True Blessedness 1

October 28, 2016

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

The present political situation in our nation sure seems to mirror what is going on in the denominations (some) across Christendom. Corruption seems to be a way of life and political sides seem to be more important than the good of the nation or church. Climbing the ladder in the political system, whether church or in the nation, appears to be a way of life. If you are on the right side, then you can have a comfortable way of life. The leaders say that they are there to lead the people and help the people, but it sure appears that they are there to gain fame and fortune. There just does not seem to be much difference between the world and the professing church.

Local churches and denominations alike seem to think along the lines of a business model, as opposed to a kingdom model as set out in Scripture. Both seem to determine success by nickels and noses, or perhaps the numbers of people coming in and the amount of money given. The thought seems to be that if we can build a nice enough building we will attract more people who will give more money. The so-called sermons tickle the ear and people are not told about the desperate wickedness of their hearts and of the sovereignty of God in salvation. They are told that God blesses people according to how much money they give to the church.

In contrast to that, however, what we must come to grips with is the nature of true blessedness. That is in direct conflict with what the leaders within Christendom are telling the people. True blessedness is completely opposite of the worldly message whether it is found in Hollywood or in the pulpit. The message of the world can be found in a lot of places, but it appears that the world can be found in the pulpit in modern America as much as anywhere else. When the world is found in the pulpit, it is also found in the pews and is with those who have itching ears to hear of the god of their own lusts and imaginations. The selfish heart (worldly heart) loves to hear of a god that loves them as they are and will give them many pleasures and worldly things if they give money to the church. In reality this is like the positive thinking people who sell their messages in seminars and differing media presentations.

True blessedness, however, is far different from the worldly message and the religious message. True blessedness, if you really want to know the truth, is quite the opposite of what the world thinks it is and it is obtained in a manner quite apart from what the world thinks or even wants to know. The reality must be pressed upon our minds and our souls that true blessedness cannot be obtained apart from the way God gives it and it cannot come in any way but that of free-grace. True blessedness is to dwell in the shadow of the Almighty and true blessedness is to drink the rivers of living water. True blessedness is to delight in the true God for who He is as the life of blessedness (Christ) lives in people and grants them to taste of the delights of God.

When people (world or church) think of blessedness, they usually think of it in terms of the world and the flesh. However, the Beatitudes tell us about true blessedness. The Beatitudes tell us the nature or condition of those who are truly blessed and then it tells us why those things bless people. The world (in and out of the church) is full of unhappy and depressed people, but at least part of that is because people simply don’t know what true blessedness is and how to obtain it. True blessedness is found only when Christ changes the heart to be like He wants and it is that heart where He dwells and works His joy and happiness in it.

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Sobering Thoughts 18

October 26, 2016

Mat 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Isaiah 58:1 “Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 “Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?

How far can people go in the ways of morality and still be strangers to Christ? It would appear from the verses above and many passages in the New Testament that people can go very far in the ways of morality and still be far from Christ. How much theology can people know and still be strangers to Christ? It appears that they can be profound theologians and scholars and still be strangers to Christ. How far can people go in their religion and still be strangers to Christ? It appears that they can go very, very far in the things of religion and still be utterly void of the true knowledge of Christ. How far can preachers go in their preaching of orthodox religion and still be quite apart from the truth and Christ? It would appear that they can be popular preachers, orthodox preachers (in terms of the standards of a denomination), and even skilled at speaking.

The Lord Jesus spoke very clearly on this and so did His apostles, but people do not want to hear those truths. It is far easier to preach morality and religion than it is to preach the heart-searching truths of the depravity of man and the deceptive nature of the heart. It is far easier to preach morality and religion than it is to preach a Gospel of free-grace where God is gracious to whom He will be gracious. These things are the things that men hate and will not stand for unless God changes their hearts. It is also easier to listen to hard doctrine when a person agrees with it than it is to have the heart searched for the life of Christ and true grace.

The focus of preaching (so-called) has moved from the glory of God in Christ and the Gospel to teaching on a text in its historical context. Now this is not to say that having a text of Scripture is not important and it is not to say that placing a text in its historical context is not important. It is, however, to say that doing those things has a greater purpose. The purpose of preaching is primarily to glorify God, but in order to do that we must show men the narrow door and the narrow path. So many people have entered through the wide gate and are on the broad road and they are rushing to destruction while they are being comforted and told that they are true believers.

Jesus the Christ told us about how there would be these false prophets who were in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they were (in reality and spiritually) ravenous wolves. In our day we cannot imagine such nice people who have been to seminary being wolves. We cannot imagine these caring people who seem to have such concern for others and “me” being ravenous wolves. We cannot imagine a person preaching such thoughtful and intellectual sermons as being a wolf. Even more, we cannot imagine those who are orthodox in their theology as being wolves.

We must be awakened and know that there are ravenous wolves among us and they are in the pulpit. People are going to hell and are never awakened to their lost condition. People enter through very wide gates and are never told that the true gate is a very narrow one. People are on the broad road and are never told that it leads to destruction. People are very moral and are not told that their morality can damn them and not save them. People are very religious and are not told that their religion can damn them and not save them. People are very orthodox and are not told that their orthodoxy can damn them and not save them. The wolves are among us and at times it appears that the wolves outnumber the sheep. Jesus told us to beware of false prophets. He did not say that they were obvious, but that they wore sheep’s clothing. We need to listen to Christ.

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Musings 126

October 25, 2016

Romans 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

Nothing in man doth precede or prevent the grace of God. The light and beams of grace do dispel the clouds of our sins. Not for our sakes, but for his Name’s sake he covereth our sins. It is God’s prerogative to free us from sin by grace, and to remove them far from us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” {Ps.103:12} He only can remove sin against whom it is committed. He only can cast sin into the depths of the sea, who hath an ocean of grace in himself, in which he swalloweth them up. John Simpson {Perfection of Justification, 1648} Obtained from Supralapsarian.com

It is so hard for me to fathom how preaching has reached such a shallow place in our day and when the Gospel seems to be rarely preached. The Gospel is spoken of, it is said to be the only way of salvation, and people may be urged to pray a prayer or something like that. But the Gospel is not preached (I can only assume) because the Gospel is not known. Christ is not preached because Christ is not known. If Christ is the only food for saved sinners and the only drink for saved sinners, then He must be preached. If Christ is the only righteousness for any sinner, then Christ and His glorious Gospel must be preached.

What goes under the name of “gospel” in our day is full of works for man to do. There are no works for man to do in terms of merit and of making himself more worthy. While I argue that man should seek the Lord to humble him and to break his heart of pride, those are not works that man can do. Men should seek the Lord to convict them of sin, after all, that is the work that the Holy Spirit has been sent to do. A proud heart is a heart that is still fighting God and will not bow to even a false grace much less free-grace. The heart must be humbled and broken from working for salvation and from trying to merit it. The free-grace of the Gospel will not be received by a proud heart, though indeed a proud heart will want to be saved from hell.

Preaching must be strong against pride if free-grace is going to be preached. Preaching must show people that their sin is not just in the actions, but it is primarily of a proud and selfish heart. Hearts must be broken from efforts to obtain salvation by works or by efforts because like Abraham we must have given up all hope in self. The justified sinner has stopped working for merit and rewards. The true Gospel of free-grace is based upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how sinners are saved for the sake of His name and His name alone.

Preaching must show sinners the glorious Person of Jesus Christ and how it is that He can save sinners for His name’s sake and by free-grace. This is not just something that should be stressed once every so often, this is at the heart of the Gospel and proud hearts are greatly deceived into thinking that they know this Gospel because they believe words about it. Preaching must not just be about the Gospel and the doctrines of the Gospel, but preachers should preach the Gospel and the glory of the Gospel. All sinners need to hear the pure Gospel of Christ alone by free-grace alone. But again, this is not something to just speak of in theological words, it must be preached from the heart of a man who has been taught of Christ in the heart of this Gospel.

The preacher is not just there to preach some things that are true, the preacher is a witness of the things that Christ has done because he has learned them from the Bible and the work of Christ in the soul. Preaching the Gospel is preaching what the risen Christ does in the souls of His people in our day as well as in the past. Preaching the Gospel certainly includes the resurrection but it seems as if people in our day preach as if He had not ascended and was not presently at the right hand of the Father. Christ has indeed risen and He works in the hearts of men and He saves sinners by His free-grace. Preaching this cannot be limited to a statement of the facts, it has to be the witnessing words of a preacher taught by Christ in the inward man who tells people of that work as well.

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Musings 125

October 24, 2016

Romans 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

Nothing in man doth precede or prevent the grace of God. The light and beams of grace do dispel the clouds of our sins. Not for our sakes, but for his Name’s sake he covereth our sins. It is God’s prerogative to free us from sin by grace, and to remove them far from us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” {Ps.103:12} He only can remove sin against whom it is committed. He only can cast sin into the depths of the sea, who hath an ocean of grace in himself, in which he swalloweth them up. John Simpson {Perfection of Justification, 1648} Obtained from Supralapsarian.com

Preaching is such a sad subject, though such a wonderful thing that God has given for Him to call sinners from the dead and give them life. Preaching is also a way that He can use as He pleases to feed His people with Himself as Christ is the food and the drink of true believers. However, preaching is in a sad state of practice in our day. One would think that with such a glorious Gospel that preaching would be setting out the various aspects and beauties of that Gospel and how they reflected the beauty and glory of God. However, this is simply not being done.

For some reason modern “Reformed” preaching, though there is not a single way of doing that, seems set on preaching a text without seeming regard to Christ and His Gospel. It seems to have escaped the notice of preachers that Paul wanted to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified in his preaching. This is not to say that there is only one title or one focus of any sermon, but that Christ and His cross have so many beauties and glories that all the other truths of the Bible reflect back on them and Christ and His cross reflect those.

It can also be said that it is a far different thing to speak things that are true about prayer than it is to pray. Thus, it is one thing to point out what needs to be done to have true preaching and yet it is quite another to truly preach. It is one thing to preach on a text (most likely lecture about a text), but it is quite another to preach Christ and the free-grace of His gospel from that text. There is simply no excuse for preachers to be caught up with so many things and yet not dive into the depths of Christ and His cross in their studies and in preaching. If Christ is not going to be preached then the preachers in name should simply step down from the pulpits until they learn how this is to be done. No, most likely another class at seminary is going to do this. This can only be learned when Christ teaches this to the heart.

True preaching cannot be learned from reading a book (though that can be helpful) or from hearing lectures on the subject (again, that can be helpful). It is only when Christ Himself teaches the heart the truths of Himself in the Scriptures that men will preach from the heart that Christ dwells in and teaches. It is not enough to say the words that Christ saves, it must be explained in a reverent and worshipful manner from a heart that Christ has saved and has taught. It is not enough for men to preach from the brain as that is not true preaching, but they must preach from the whole soul that has been taught by Christ.

We can see this as self-evident when we think of surgeons and their training. The surgeon does not just learn techniques from a book, but instead must learn by others how to do this and then be taught how to actually do it. It is in the practice that the surgeon learns more and more about surgery. This is so true about preaching. The text can only explain things in a certain way, but if the preacher is going to learn how to preach from the whole soul Christ must show Himself and He must teach the truths of Himself to the preacher. The preacher must experience Christ in order to preach Christ. It seems that most preaching today could be done by unbelievers as all that is done is to state things that the Bible says (at best). Of course that assumes that stories and jokes are not the heart of true sermons.

It is a terrible thing that men and women can attend churches and Reformed churches and not hear the glorious teachings of the Gospel beyond a factual approach. John Warwick Montgomery wrote of men being damned because of the professing church. Could this be true in our day? Could it be true that men are so focused on being good preachers, following the proper methods, and treating the text properly that they are missing the main point? They must be taught by Christ in the inward man or they will not preach the true Christ. What will happen if they do not preach Christ and His Gospel even if they use orthodox words? Men and women will be damned while sitting in the pews and they will not hear the true Gospel. The true Gospel can be hidden by orthodox words.

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Sobering Thoughts 17

October 22, 2016

Mat 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Isaiah 58:1 “Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 “Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?

These people had the appearances of true religion and the appearance of seeking God, but they fell far short. We should learn from them and search our own hearts to see if we are doing the same thing. It will do not good if we are very, very religious and yet our hearts are serving self rather than the living God. It will not matter on that day how hard we worked and the degree we used religion as a means of appearing to seek God when in fact we served ourselves and loved ourselves.

Notice something of their hearts in the language uses. They fasted and yet wondered why God did not see what they had done. They humbled themselves and yet wondered why God had not noticed. As the Pharisees in Matthew 6 prayed, gave alms, and fasted for the sake of religious pride and to be noticed, so these people served self as well. They did not do what they did to seek God in truth and love, but instead their hearts always wanted something from God for what they did. They did not use the things of God to seek God for Himself, but instead they used the things of God to seek God (in appearance) to get the things they wanted for self.

This should drive us to search our own hearts. Why do we pray and why do we fast? Why do we go to church and sing the songs and listen to preaching? Why are we moral? Why do we do the things of religion rather than not? We may have heard about the Pharisees and know they did them from wrong motives, but that does not mean that our motives are right. It is possible to be as hypocritical as the Pharisees and yet part of our hypocrisy and deception is to just try not to be like the Pharisees. Our hearts are deceptive and they will find ways to hide from the light, but we must seek the Lord to shine the light in our hearts and ask Him to expose the real truth of them.

The Israelites of that day fasted and they humbled themselves (they thought), but a true fast is far more than just not eating food. We must have grace to abstain from eating and have the Lord work in us that we may truly seek Him for Himself. Oh how easy it is to think that if we refrain from eating and pray for certain things that we are truly fasting and truly humbling ourselves. Our proud hearts will take the opportunity to deceive us if we are not careful and will bring up all the religious things we have been doing and compare self to others who do not do those things. But the Israelites fasted and yet they sought their own desires and did not treat their workers in a just manner. How could they seek God for just decisions when they did not treat others justly?

Humility is not something that can be obtained by the work of the flesh, yet that appears to be how they approached it. As long as the proud self is trying to humble itself it is nothing but proud self trying to earn something from God. That proud self that tries to humble itself will indeed obtain something it thinks of as humility and it will be so proud of its humility, yet surely it is clear that being proud of our humility is nothing but a great deception of our own proud hearts.

Beware how far we can go in the things of religion and yet have unchanged hearts. Beware of how far we can go in the things of religion and yet be just like the Pharisees though we are too proud to notice the resemblance. Beware of how far we can go in the things of religion and yet still be in the bondage of self and pride. Oh how awful it will be on that day to be found full of the religion of self rather than Christ Himself.