A Theology of Threatenings - Part 4

To summarize the position that I think best represents the Scriptures: the redeemed of God are graciously so loved by our Savior that He confronts us with dire and fearsome warnings that we might be corrected in our waywardness; and that we might be motivated in our holiness.  These dark threatenings are thereby means of grace in our sanctification.  They are directed toward the saved, for they indeed are the only ones in which He is working “… both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13, ESV).

Could it be, though, that even men and women who have believed the Gospel, might reach a point where by they cast it aside and reject its claims, thus ending up in eternal destruction?  There appears to be a people whom Peter writes, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2 Peter 2:20–21, ESV)

My answer to the question is "No"!   But before I explain I want to add two caveats: One, that does not mean there are difficult texts to understand (as 2 Peter 2, suggests); and Two, that does not suggest that even the elect of God can commit heinous sins and seemingly defect for a season.  What it does mean is that those who are called of God, born of His Spirit, will not (indeed cannot) ultimately and finally lose their salvation. 

The most common misconception within the camp of those who would disagree with me has to do with the order and the nature of the New Birth.  This is not an exhaustive study of regeneration, but the clarity of Scripture is without debate.  Please note:

1. The antecedent to faith is the New Birth.  "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God . . .."^[1]  The verb γεγέννηται is "has been begotten" in the perfect passive indicative tense.  Anyone presently believing has been born of God.  Likewise we read even more plainly: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12–13, ESV). [Emphasis mine].  Jesus told Nicodemus that apart from the New Birth you could not even see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3f).

This means that God has said to the unbeliever, "Let light shine" (2 Corinthians 4:6) and the eyes of the heart were opened to the grandeur of the Gospel; and in a moment of time this person became a New Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

2. The nature of the New Birth contradicts the notion of apostasy.  When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus He made it crystal clear that this idea of regeneration was something this Pharisee should know.  In Jeremiah 31:33-34 God promised a New Covenant with the restored people of God.  In Jeremiah 32 we read this aspect of the New Covenant promise:

“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” (Jeremiah 32:38–40, ESV) [Emphasis mine]

The condition of the new heart given by the Spirit in the New Birth is one that is inherently inclined to loyalty and faithfulness to God.  The fallacy of thinking borders on absurd to even think that such a heart, born from above, created by the Spirit would defect from its origin.

So God in his graciousness grants to His people such dire and terrifying threatenings that they should be guided by them, heeding them as their new heart is inclined to do.  Rather than threaten eternal loss, these warnings guarantee eternal security.  The warnings of Scripture to the elect of God assure their safe arrival home rather than make it ambiguous.

Previous Posts

1.  A Theology of Threatenings - Part 1

2.  A Theology of Threatenings - Part 2

3.  A Theology of Threatenings - Part 3

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^[1] The New International Version. (2011). (1 Jn 5:1). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

A Theology of Threatenings - Part 3

Are the threatenings in Scripture hypothetical?  When God warns the believer with consequences of eternal damnation, is that simply a ploy?  Is it an empty caveat? For example we read, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6, ESV). Or, “if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us” (2 Timothy 2:12, ESV).  Are these threatenings real?

My answer is ‘yes’!   God doesn’t make idle threats.  So then we ask, “What do we make of the security of the believer?”   Or a better question is, “What is the effect of these warnings on a believer?”  The answer is found within the body of truth that is communicated by the doctrine of total inability and the doctrine of regeneration.  Let’s review the doctrine of total inability.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)

”¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

This key passage describes the lifeless condition of those outside of Christ.  They are dead. They are inert.  Their response to the things of God is “no response.” “No one understands; no one seeks for God.” (Romans 3:11, ESV).

But what of regeneration?  

Paul goes on to write, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” (Ephesians 2:4–5, ESV). 

Simply stated, the condition of the unbeliever is deafness and unresponsiveness to God.  The condition of the believer is one of quickening, alertness and life.  This reminds us that only the believer can hear the warnings of God.  Now let me provide an imperfect but important illustration:

Let us presume that two children are playing a game near a busy highway.  As I observe their sport, to my chagrin, I see them running at breakneck speed toward the road with traffic hurling down the highway.  I scream at the top of my lungs, “Stop or you will get killed.” 

Now, is that a hypothetical warning?  Not in your life!  Let me advance the illustration further.  Let us assume that one of these children is mine.  They have my genes.  My DNA is in their body.  They are “begotten” from my “loins”.  They have known my voice from birth.  They have known my love, my instruction, my concerns.  Now I ask you this question, “In a perfect world, which child will hear my voice and respond?”  

My youngest daughter was born by Cesarean Section.  The nurse asked me if I wanted to bathe her and hold her.  Of course I said yes.  My wife was recovering in the operating room.  The nurse directed me to another room in the hospital.  As I approached the two big doors I heard the screaming of a baby.  Opening the doors another nurse said, “Is this your baby?”  I said, “Yes!”  Instantly, on cue, my youngest went completely silent.  The nurse said, “She sure is!”  My baby girl had heard my voice for 9 months.  It was a voice she was familiar with.  For some reason it was a voice she wanted respond to.

Jesus spoke of Himself in John 10:3–4 (ESV).  He said, “³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” [Emphasis mine].  God’s redeemed people hear the promises of God relative to the gracious goodness of our Lord.  We live on those promises.  God’s people also hear His promises of warnings.  He calls them by name.  His sheep hear His voice and listen.  

Thus when Christ calls out, “Stop or you will get killed,” He means it.  It is not imaginary. Those who are yet dead in their trespass and sins do not hear that warning.  Those who are simply professing faith in Christ but do not possess His life, do not hear that warning.  But those who are born from above, hear and respond in faith.

So we are left with wondering: “Can a child of God hear the warnings of Christ and willfully reject them – to their own damnation?”  

Previous Posts

1.  A Theology of Threatenings - Part 1

2.  A Theology of Threatenings - Part 2

Why Prayer Meetings? Why Prayer Chains?

From Prayer Changes People's Wills - by John Piper [1]

"Some of you have wondered, Why do we have prayer meetings? Why gather in St. Paul tonight in a larger group? Why have prayer chains and prayer groups? If God is God, and it is his power that makes a difference in answering prayer, why does it matter how many people ask him? If I pick up Noël from the library because our son asks me to, she is just as picked up as if four sons asked me to.

One answer is that the more people that are praying for a thing, the more thanks and honor God will get when he acts. We see this in 2 Corinthians 1:10b–11: "And [God] will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many."

The assumption behind the answer to both of these questions is that the divine purpose of prayer is to magnify the greatness of God. Prayer exists for the glory of God. Jesus said in John 14:13, "And whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." The aim of prayer is that the Father be glorified through Jesus.

So the more people there are praying for something, and thus depending on God for mercy and power, the more people will give him thanks and glorify him when the answer comes."  [Emphasis mine.]

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1. http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/prayer-changes-peoples-wills

An Easter Message

Why would thoughts of Easter bring to mind events 700 years before Christ?    In Isaiah 6:1 (NIV) we read these words:

 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

"The year that King Uzziah died was about 740 bc. His notably long and prosperous reign (2 Ki. 15:1–7; 2 Ch. 26) had entered troubled waters internationally when the accession in 745 bc of the vigorous imperialist Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria threatened the sovereignty of the Israelite states."^[1]  So it would be an understatement to suggest that Israel was facing perilous times.  Isaiah sees two views: one is of terrifying days but the other is an enthroned King.

"This undoubtedly represents the throne of heaven (see Revelation 4:2). His train refers to His royal robes. Thus, Isaiah sees God sitting upon the throne of the universe, dressed in His royal robes. What Isaiah needed to realize afresh was that God Himself was still upon the throne! While human rulers may come and go, the believer needs to be reminded again and again that God is still in control of the affairs of this world. He is in fact ruling from heaven, and He often overrules the sinful actions of men to bring glory to Himself." ^[2]

Fast forward to the Book of Hebrews where the inspired author reminds us in Chapter 8 that the entire earthly aspects have been and will be placed under the rule of redeemed mankind.  We certainly don't see that, do we?  “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9, NIV)

Today Christ is on the throne.  We can paraphrase Isaiah by saying "In this year we saw _____________; but we also saw 'the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.'"     

"Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives."[3]

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^[1] Motyer, J. A. (1996). The prophecy of Isaiah: an introduction & commentary (Is 6:1). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

^[2] Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1308). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[3] Gloria Gaither & William J. Gaither, Because He Lives, © 1971 William J. Gaither, Inc. (Admin. by Gaither Copyright Management)  CCLI License # 421107

A Theology of Threatenings - Part 2

I am convinced the Bible supports the declaration of Calvin when he writes, "The elect are also beyond the danger of finally falling away; for the Father who gave them to be preserved by Christ his Son is greater than all, and Christ promises to watch over them all so that none may perish."[1]  This hope that ought to bring much joy is often countered by well-intentioned believers with the plethora of warnings and threatenings given to even the elect of God.   We read such things as:

“For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (Hebrews 3:14, ESV) [Emphasis is mine]

Or

“he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” (Colossians 1:22–23, ESV)

Or even this …

“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”” (2 Peter 2:20–22, ESV)

The answer that I believe best explains this dilemma (i.e., God uses warnings as a means of grace to aid the Christian toward holiness.) is often countered by several objections, e.g.:

1.  We all have a free will and therefore we can, at some time, choose to reject Christ.

2.  I'm accused of making God's threatenings hypothetical and therefore no warning at all.

I hope to address this in these blog posts. A third area I intend to address relates to the question, "How does this work?"  How do severe warning actually produce perseverance?   The importance of this is obvious.  If indeed God uses very real warnings to direct His elect toward their final disposition in glory, then this not only addresses the antinomy[2] between the promises and threats; but more importantly it enables us to see the right and godly use of these warnings.

The distinguished theologian, Rev. Charles Simeon, offers this timely insight:  “It is certain that the Scriptures speak much respecting the determination of God never to forsake his people^[3] ----- we believe that God will fulfill his promises, and that not one of them shall ever fail. But there are passages equally strong on the other side^[4]; and they in their place need equally to be enforced. The former are necessary to encourage hope: the latter, to excite our fear. The truth is, we apprehend, that no person is warranted in believing himself a child of God, any farther than he has an evidence of it in the conformity of his soul to the will of his heavenly Father."[5] [emphasis mine]

To that truth, both parties on either side of this debate will agree.  A false and despiteful characterization of so-called Calvinism suggests the opposite.  This portraiture is entirely false and must be refuted with all vigor. 

Previous Posts

1.  A Theology of Threatenings - Part 1

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[1] http://biblehub.com/library/calvin/commentary_on_hebrews/hebrews_6_3-6.htm

[2] a contradiction between two apparently equally valid principles

^[3]1Sa 12:22

^[4]2Chron 15:2

[5] http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/shh/ezekiel-11.html

A Theology of Threatenings - Part 1

In the Church that I serve, the accepted belief regarding the security of those who are saved reads this way: ". . . those whom God has effectually called shall be divinely preserved and finally perfected in the image of the Lord."  There is no doubt about the insinuation. Those called of God, born of the Spirit will in fact arrive in glorious wonder in Christ's forever presence. This phrase is a summation of what the Church has referred to as the Doctrine of Perseverance.

The Doctrine of Perseverance

This Doctrine is understood as affirming that "those who are truly saved will persevere to the end and cannot lose their salvation."[1]  It is a truth that is deeply rooted in the Scriptures and comes to us propelled by a long and historic Christian tradition.  As Randy Seiver writes, "The doctrine of the saint's perseverance has also been the ground of intense and acrimonious controversy."[2]  One cannot presume that to be "truly saved" is simply a matter of a decision or a profession.  John Calvin is right when he writes, “We hence conclude, that not only the reprobate ought to be reproved severely and with sharp earnestness, but also the elect themselves, even those whom we deem to be the children of God.”[3] 

Blessed Threatenings

Along with the multitude of promises regarding the security of those "truly saved" there are a multitude of warnings.  Ironically they are directed not to the "reprobate" but to the "elect".  One of the missing ingredients in the Church is a robust theology of threatenings.  What this study will show is that the Christian is not orphaned, nor is he or she left to walk this "lonesome valley by themselves".  God has ordained "means of grace"[4] to aid those "truly saved" toward Christ-likeness and eternal glory.

Oh how we need them! 

Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let thy grace Lord like a fetter
Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart Lord take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above.[5]  

The position that I think best represents the Scripture is this: God has given to the Believer a number of glorious grace-filled means to prevent abandonment and apostasy.  One of those means of grace is the stern, very real warnings in the Bible.  Or as Seiver states so well: "God uses exhortation and warning to effect the obedience that He has purposed for them."[6]

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[1] http://www.theopedia.com/perseverance-of-the-saints

[2] Seiver, Randy, In These Last Days, New Covenant Media, Frederick, MD, 1998, Page 67

[3] http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/comment3/comm_vol44/htm/xii.iii.htm

[4] "The 'means of grace' that the Bible talks about are His Word ('the word of His grace,' Acts 20:32), His Spirit ('the Spirit of grace,' Hebrews 10:29), prayer made to the 'throne of grace' (Hebrews 4:16), and the grace that is given to the saints which enables them to build up another (Ephesians 4:7; 1 Peter 4:10)." - Bob Deffinbaugh (https://bible.org/seriespage/10-grace-god-part-iii-romans-121-21)

[5] John Wyeth and Robert Robinson, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, © Words: Public Domain Music: Public Domain, Stanza 4 

[6] Seiver, Randy, In These Last Days, New Covenant Media, Frederick, MD, 1998, Page 67

In what way can the Church view Jesus as “our Apostle”?

In what way can the Church view Jesus as “our Apostle”?   The New International Version translates Hebrews 3:1 this way: “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” (Hebrews 3:1, NIV)

Faced with this question, I find it personally easier to write.  Writing helps me think; and I believe it helps me communicate.  So I want to wrestle with this question.  How is it that I can confess Jesus as our Apostle?  The English Standard Version puts a different twist on the assertion: “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,” (Hebrews 3:1, ESV). 

My father used to quip: “The Book of Hebrews, was written by a Hebrew, telling the Hebrews, not to be Hebrews.” Essential one doesn’t find a clearer, more concise introduction to the Book.  Persecution had caused some Jewish Christians to consider caving in to the assaults of the Judaizers and return to the terms and practices of the Old Covenant.  The author’s intent is to warn them not to do that.  He partners his exhortation with a pronouncement of the exalted status of Jesus Christ.  In Chapter 3 he shows the reader that Jesus was better than Moses.

This is the only place in the New Testament where the word ‘apostle’ is applied to Jesus.  The idea is frequently woven into the fabric of the Bible; but that word is only used here.  “Apostolos (ἀπόστολος) is, literally, ‘one sent forth’ (apo, ‘from,’ stello, ‘to send’).” ^[1]   The concept that is clear in the Bible is that Jesus is the sent one from God (for example: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3, ESV). In John 3:17 (ESV) we read:

“¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

So how is Christ “our Apostle”?   The text suggests that He is ours by confession, not ours by commission.  “In Christ the functions of Moses and Aaron are combined, each in an infinitely loftier form. The compound description (ὁ ἀπόστ. καὶ ἀρχ.) gathers up what has been already established as to Christ as the last revealer of God’s will and the fulfiller of man’s destiny.”^[2]   Christ as Apostle and High Priest belong to our confession (ὁμολογία [homologiaI]) not our possession (as if we sent Him).  The New Living Bible is helpful here: “And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest.” (Hebrews 3:1, NLT)

Matthew Henry writes, “As the apostle of our profession, the prime-minister of the gospel church, a messenger and a principal messenger sent of God to men, upon the most important errand, the great revealer of that faith which we profess to hold and of that hope which we profess to have.”^[3]

So He is ours in the sense that we affirm no other messenger from God.  He alone has brought us the Gospel personified in Himself.  But better than any other delegate from the Father He is both the Apostle and the High Priest, in one.  He brings the message of the Gospel and also fulfills it in us who believe.  He is our Apostle and High Priest.  Hear these stirring words from Robert Murray McCheyne:

“Oh! brethren, could I lift you away to the eternity that is past, — could I bring you into the council of the Eternal Three; and as it was once said, "Let us make man," could I let you hear the word, "Let us save man," — could I show you how God from all eternity designed his Son to undertake for poor sinners; how it was the very plan and the bottommost desire of the heart of the Father that Jesus should come into the world, and do and die in the stead of sinners.”[4]

Consider Jesus Christ, the Apostle and High Priest whom we confess.

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^[1] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 2, p. 30). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.

^[2] Westcott, B. F. (Ed.). (1903). The Epistle to the Hebrews the Greek text with notes and essays (3d ed., p. 75). London: Macmillan.

^[3] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 2384). Peabody: Hendrickson.

[4] http://www.covenantofgrace.com/mccheyne_christ_the_apostle_and_high_priest.htm