“Man’s Part” in Salvation

“I know that salvation is all of God, but man has to do his part.” I have heard that statement many times over the years, and it sounds less credible each time I hear it.

When we consider that man is “dead in trespasses and sins,” and that he is totally helpless to do anything about his lost condition until the Lord makes him alive (Ephesians 2:1), then the “man has to do his part” idea makes about as much sense as saying, “I know it was Christ alone who raised Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus had to do his part.”

What? So Jesus went out to the graves and gave an invitation, pleading with the dead and saying something like, “Whoever wants to, please raise your hand and come forward, and I will bring you to life.” Such would have resulted in Lazarus remaining in the grave, because he was dead, totally incapable of responding in any way.

On the other hand, if by some unique set of circumstances the dead could respond, how would Christ have made sure Lazarus, and only Lazarus, would come out of the grave? Perhaps Lazarus would have decided he didn’t want to come back and a number of others would have responded instead. That would have taken the Lord out of the position of control and authority and placed humans in charge of the situation.

It is clear that the Lord fully intended to raise Lazarus, and only Lazarus, on that day, and that He did so by His power according to His will. Lazarus had nothing to say about it. It was not necessary for Lazarus to believe that Jesus could raise him from the dead before He would do so. He could not do that – he was dead. Instead, Lazarus had no idea that Jesus could raise him until after He had done so. Only after he was alive did he have any ability to believe.

Many have adopted a backwards view of the Gospel and salvation, making the work of God contingent on the work of man. This is simply not so. Salvation is all of grace. Dead men cannot think, reason, respond, or make decisions. Only after He has made us alive do we have any ability to believe. Belief is evidence that we have been born again and have new life.

Salvation always has been and always will be all of God. “Man’s part” in salvation is a cruel falsehood and is foreign to the teaching of Scripture. Thank the Lord I had no part in my own salvation, because if I were in any way responsible for saving myself, I would most certainly be lost.


Note:  A follow-up to this article is found here.

King Rehoboam

King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you counsel me to answer this people?"

Then they spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their petition, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."

But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him. So he said to them, "What counsel do you give that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?"

The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!' But you shall speak to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's loins! Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'"

…The king answered the people harshly, for he forsook the advice of the elders which they had given him, and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

So the king did not listen to the people…Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam made haste to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day…

Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins which they committed…He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

(From 1 Kings 12, 1 Kings 14, and 2 Chronicles 12, NASB)


Wise leaders listen to biblical principles as well as the voice of experience.

Thoughts on Samson

By My Anonymous Friend

I am planning to do some character studies on various biblical women and men. Let me share with you today a bit about what I have been thinking regarding Samson.

If you grew up in the church you will remember that Samson was a man of great strength who killed a lion, tied the tails of hundreds of foxes together and attached torches to them to burn down enemy crops, and who lost his life by tearing down pillars of a pagan building taking with him to their death several thousand Philistine revelers. You may also have learned that Samson fared poorly in the romance department but that part is often not discussed as much.

Samson was a study in contradictions! Amazingly, more information and detail is given about his life in the Scriptures than is given any other of the judges who ruled Israel.  It should make any Bible student curious. As with so many Bible characters, there is something to admire about Samson's life and there is also much to abhor. God set him apart to begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.  It is curious why the word "begin" is used in this context.  I will let that tantalizing thought slide by and allow you to pursue it for yourself if you wish.

So on the one hand, Samson was set apart by God for an important purpose. At numerous times in his life, the Spirit of God began to stir in him and God came upon him in power. Yet also during his life, Samson was impetuous, hot tempered, stubborn and rebellious. He violated his Nazarite vow on more than one occasion. He was obsessed with pagan women.  When he saw one, he was determined to get her for a wife. Although his parents earnestly pleaded with him to find a nice Jewish girl, Samson refused to listen.

In today's language we could say that Samson did not handle women well.  He also seemed not to learn from his mistakes and repeated his bad choices. He teased and sported with his wives but in the end always succumbed to their persistent "nagging." I find it somewhat amusing that Scripture says Samson felt Delilah's nagging was so severe that he was tired to death of it (Judges 16:16). One translation renders it "annoyed to death."

A few of the contradictions that struck me as interesting about Samson are:

1.  He accused the Philistines of "plowing with his heifer" to obtain the answer to the riddle he posed to them. For one thing this is a strange and not so flattering way to describe his bride.  For another could it not be said that Samson was the one who really made the mistake to plow with someone's heifer in that he refused to stay with his own people and chose instead a girl from the pagan Philistines to marry?

2.  The greatest contradiction or irony is that at the end of Samson's life when he was blinded, he finally was able to see things clearly and fulfill the purpose of his life to "begin the deliverance of Israel from Philistine domination.”

While there are many speculations and applications we might make about the entirety of Samson's life, to me his story is a story of the grace, mercy and sovereignty of God. I do not know exactly how to reconcile all the contradictions in Samson's life. To be truthful I am not always able to reconcile the contradictions in my own life either. Somehow woven through the trials and failures of the human race, God works out His sovereign plans. I cannot understand it always. But it is how God works.  In the end Samson is listed among the other faith heroes in Hebrews 11. Amazing grace indeed!!!!

Fuel for Mockers

Here we are – a day past the predicted Rapture, Second Coming, end of the world, Judgment Day, depending on who you talk to. The one thing about all this nonsense that I knew for sure was that none of this would happen on May 21 at 6:00 P.M.  I had great confidence in that fact, because the Scriptures make it quite clear that no one knows the day or the hour. Without starting a debate on the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming, and there is a distinct difference between those two events, I believe it will be helpful to examine a few Scriptures to see just what they say about the return of the Lord.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (NASB). Jesus continues in verse 44, “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will” (NASB). Too many people over the years have attempted to reduce the Scriptures to some kind of mathematical formula, and mixing that with some kind of “hocus pocus,” they have come up with a certain date and time for the return of the Lord. Such can only be done in ignorance of or in outright denial of the Scriptures.

The worst thing about these people who think they can predict what God has not chosen to allow man to know is that they provide fuel for the skeptics and mockers. No amount of nonsense any human can say can change the truth. Jesus is coming back. He made that very clear. “I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3, NASB).

The Rapture of the Church is imminent, just as it has been since they days of the apostles. Nothing has to be fulfilled before the Rapture. There are no signs of the Rapture, but there are certainly signs of the Second Coming of Christ, an event which will occur seven years later, and many of those signs are becoming more and more visible today. It is safe to say that there are many reasons to believe the Lord will return soon, but it is never safe to get into date-setting.

Of course, the media and others are using this non-event as a reason to scoff at the idea of the Lord coming back as a hoax or a fairy tale for gullible people. There are those who will take any opportunity to deny the fundamental truths of Christianity and to group all Christians in with the types of people who make things up to grab headlines or in some cases to enrich themselves. The reality is that this is all just another of Satan’s tools to get people’s eyes off the truth.

Peter addressed this situation. “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’ For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:3-7, NASB).

There have always been and there will continue to be those who mock at the truth. They ask, “Where is the promise of His coming?” Many are certainly asking that today. The fact that God has already judged the world with a flood “escapes their notice.” They are “willingly ignorant” or as one speaker said, they are “dumb on purpose.” Regardless of all the evidence of a global flood, they deny it, because they don’t want to admit that God already has and will again judge the world because of sin. They desperately hope that denying the obvious will make it go away, but God is not going to go back on His promise to bring “the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

It is imperative that we not do or say things to add “fuel to the fire” for mockers. They desperately need the Gospel of Christ, and they need to know that judgment is coming, no matter what people may say about it.

The Resurrection and the Growth of Christianity

 

By My Anonymous Friend

Why are dogs named Caesar or Nero?   And why do we name our children Peter, Thomas, James, John, and Mary?

Today is Resurrection Sunday. I have tried to give special thought to the significance of this entire week, sometimes known as Holy Week or Passion Week. Last Sunday we reminded ourselves of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem Jesus experienced. Throughout the week I thought of what happened to Jesus after that great and ironic entry. There was a trial and the humiliation of it. There was the agony in Gethsemane where what was about to come to Jesus was so overwhelming to Him. On Friday we attended a very meaningful service here which really brought home to me the horror of crucifixion, the darkness and the despair that characterized that day. All this served to prepare my spirit for today. What an incredible contrast to Friday!!  Scripture says when the disciples first heard that the tomb was empty they considered it nonsense. Who can blame them?  Peter however, the ever impetuous man that he was, ran to the tomb to see for himself. And yes, indeed it was empty!  I would love to know what that day was like for eyewitnesses.

Let’s get back to the dogs we name Caesar and Nero now. Historians estimate that by roughly AD 40 there might have been around 5,000 followers of Jesus in the Roman Empire. However, by AD 350 it is estimated there were about 33,000,000. What accounts for such fantastic growth?  I would suggest the resurrection had everything to do with the growth of Christianity. The Roman Empire declined over the years while Christianity flourished. That is why I suppose we name our dogs Caesar or Nero! (This idea is not unique with me. I heard it in a sermon this morning). The explosive growth of Christianity is one reason why Scripture speaks of the power of the resurrection. It transforms. It is the basis and foundation of our faith. It provides hope!  It is the basis for preaching. I have long believed that if a pastor cannot preach at Easter time, he cannot preach at all. The resurrection is the single most significant event in the entire history of the world.

So I wish you a very meaningful celebration of Resurrection Sunday. May you experience a renewed sense of hope and life itself today.

The Most Significant Event

In the single most significant event in all of history, the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead three days after He was crucified. This made the salvation of all believers totally and permanently secure. Nothing and no one can ever change that. Satan, sin, and death are defeated foes that are only temporarily present. They cannot ultimately do us any harm.

The skeptics often claim the Resurrection is a hoax, but it is, in fact, a historical fact of absolute status. It is more provable and demonstrable, even outside of the realm of faith, than a very large percentage of other historical facts. This single fact vindicates the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It proves who He is, and it proves what He did. It proves the Bible to be true from cover to cover, from the literal creation of the universe and all it contains, to the ultimate judgment of all of all humans and the culmination of all temporal things into eternity future.
 

This fact of the Resurrection totally validates the sinfulness of man, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the need in the heart of all people for the salvation that only He can provide. It makes foolish all the arguments of ungodly men and challenges them with the haunting question of the Roman Governor, Pilate, who asked the crowd, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22, NKJV). Every human being must personally answer this question. There will be no exceptions.

The Arrogance of Man

“…When many unite as one, we can achieve anything. Together, we’re powerful.” These are some of the words from a recently-run radio spot encouraging us to unite to stop “global warming” and as some have said, to “save the planet.” This sounds amazingly like the historical account recorded in Genesis 11.

“Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.’ And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth’” (Genesis 11:1-4, NASB).

This action by humans was not a noble idea of self-preservation. Rather, it was an action of direct defiance of the command of God, found in Genesis 9:7 and other places. “As for you, be fruitful and multiply. Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it” (NASB). Rather than obey God’s command to go out and fill the earth, men decided instead to stay together in one place and make themselves “a name.”

When men attempt to defy God, the ultimate result is always judgment, and in the end, His will is done regardless of the efforts of man. When men, in their rebellion, choose to disobey God, He most certainly has the power and the right to overwhelm their disobedience.

“The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The LORD said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech.’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 9:5-9, NASB).

Evidence of the arrogance of man abounds. We could all think of many examples, and I offer just a few in no particular order.

Many people operate as if the street is their trash can. How many times have we witnessed someone roll down their window and throw out a bag full of fast food wrappers? I once witnessed a father say to his little son, “Just throw it down. You don’t have to put it in the trash. They have people to do that.” Such inconsiderate behavior always makes me think about the fact that many people believe they are too good to pick up their own trash. “Let the janitor do it.” This is nothing but arrogance.

Once when I was on our school campus after hours, there were three young teenagers, not students at our school, out on the parking lot riding their skateboards. I went out and politely pointed out the posted sign that reflected our policy of no skateboards on campus. One of them decided to be the little smart mouth he had obviously, by a lack of discipline, been trained to be. “I’ve been on this earth for fourteen years, and I know my rights. I have a right to be here, and I have a right to ride my board anywhere I want to.” I resisted the impulse to say what I was thinking. Instead I pointed out that they were on private property and were in violation of our rules for those who came on campus. Only after they threatened to bash me with their skateboards and I mentioned calling the sheriff did they reluctantly leave, shouting insults and making obscene gestures as they went.

These three young “men” demonstrated an arrogance that is all too common among many young people today. This well could be a factor of a statistic I recently heard. While the United States is near the bottom in education compared to the rest of the world, we rank number one in “self esteem” and self confidence. We are training many of our young people to know nothing but to feel very good about it and to stand up for their rights when they should be learning to stand up for what is right.

Environmental extremists have been pushing “global warming” for a variety of reasons, many of which are suspect. When someone points out that back in the 70’s, scientists were warning us about “global cooling” based on the same rationale being used today to promote global warming, they are ridiculed because, after all, that premise was wrong, and we have no right to bring it up. Never mind that it was the same groups of people who promoted the one who are now promoting the other. When someone makes a remark about extremely cold weather, assuming it to be evidence against “global warming,” the global warming extremists will even say that cold weather is caused by global warming.

As a last resort, such extremists have begun referring to “global cooling” and/or “global warming” as “climate change.” This would imply that somehow humans, or at least the elite among us, know what is the best and most appropriate temperature for the earth to be. This is arrogant enough, but then we come to the idea that humans can actually make a difference in the climate. We humans are weaklings when compared to the power of God and the power of what is so often called “nature.” Someday, some scientist with no agenda will figure out that the earth gets its heat from the sun, and the cycles of the sun have more to do with the cycles of warmer and cooler here on earth than any other factor.

Ever since 1859 Charles Darwin published his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, the idea of human evolution has been pushed as a foundational principle to all of science and necessary to a well-rounded education. Darwin did not think of the idea of evolution. He only popularized it.

Actually, the first evolutionist was Satan himself, when he was known as Lucifer. He believed he, as a created being, could “evolve” into God and take over the universe. He has been telling that lie to others ever since he first told it to himself. He told Eve in the Garden of Eden that she could be like God. Biological evolution is no less preposterous than Satan’s lie, and if the scientific community were truly unbiased and honest, evolution would be exposed as the greatest hoax ever perpetrated. Refusing to accept what God has said about the origins of the universe, all of life, and the human race is further evidence of the arrogance of man.

I could go on and on, but I am not trying to write a book. My purpose is to simply illustrate that men continue to operate in defiance of God. Puny, weak little men shake their fists in the face of God, but it never pays off. “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!’ He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury…” (Psalm 2:1-5, NASB).