Tag: Providence Reformed Church

Stop Assuming What God Cannot Do

pastortravislv

We live in a hard world. We know people who seem as though their hearts are far too hardened against the Lord ever to be saved. And we assume that the situation we face will always remain the same. In that assumption, we declare, perhaps silently, that God cannot change a certain set of circumstances.

In truth, we do not have a guarantee of what God will or will not change. WE do not know who will turn from hating God toward salvation. We do not know what changes may come to bring about the repentance of a family, a city, a state, or a nation. But we should not let ourselves fall into the folly of believing that there are any of these that the Lord cannot change.

As an example, consider the completely impossible circumstances that faced Gideon in the book of Judges. Gideon started with an army of 32,000 men, and the Lord whittled that number down to 300. That 300 faced an established army of 135,000. This is an impossible task. No way can anything be done to change this circumstance, right?

Judges 7:9-14 – 9 That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

The night the battle was to begin, God sent Gideon down into the camp of his enemies. Gideon was still afraid and could not imagine how the Lord could give victory to his tiny little band of men facing such an army. But what Gideon found out was that the Midianites were having bad dreams, dangerously bad dreams. The people in the camp were having dreams that were telling them that the Lord was going to give victory to Gideon and the Israelites. The Midianites were terrified.

Thus, we get the story of Gideon and the army winning a victory that would not have happened had they faced the enemy on an open battle field. Gideon and his men are placed around the perimeter of the enemy camp. At one signal, they blow trumpets, shatter pottery, and reveal torches. The Midianites wake up from nightmares to hear loud sounds and see bright lights from every side. The sleepy and frightened men grab swords and start swinging at anything that moves. And just like that, the Lord gives victory to Israel, as the Midianites cut one another down in the battle.

The point that I think we should grasp today is that, when we assume that we know what God can or cannot do, will or will not do, as it regards things we think are impossible, we need to stop and think again. The Lord can do things we cannot imagine. The Lord can impact human hearts in ways that we might not see until the change is made.

Get practical here. You know somebody you want to hear the gospel. But you assume they are so harsh against the faith that they will never hear or never respond well. But what do you not know? You do not know what God may be doing in their hearts. You do not know what God may be doing behind the scenes to prepare them for the gospel. Perhaps they are hurting in their soul in a way that you cannot see. Maybe they have been having frightening thoughts of falling under the judgment of God, even if they have not told anybody about their secret fears. Maybe they have had bad dreams of being crushed by a barley loaf. I do not know what may be going on, but we must not assume that God is not at work in ways we cannot see.

So, the point is that we need to trust the Lord and know that he can make changes in lives that we cannot see. So we need to pray, be faithful, and share the gospel. WE need to recognize that God changes hearts, not us. We just need to be faithful, trust God, and stop assuming what he cannot do.

Pessimism as Practical Atheism

pastortravislv

Many people live as practical atheists. Though they say that they believe in God, or a god of some sort, they live as though the existence or lack of existence of a deity is irrelevant to their lives. They expect that no difference will be made in the world in which they live by the divine being they claim to worship.

But this should not be a true thought for Christians. We, of all people, should believe that the Lord acts. We should know that the Lord moves to change things. The Lord moves nations. The Lord moves kings and kingdoms. The Lord gives victories. And the Lord brings judgment.

Consider the call of Gideon in judges 6. At the time of Gideon’s call, he was hiding in a winepress threshing grain. That, by the way, is exactly the wrong way to thresh grain. When you thresh, you are supposed to do it on top of a hillside in the breeze. But Gideon was hiding in a hole in the ground so as not to be seen by the oppressive Midianites.

When God sends his angel to speak to Gideon, the Lord promises that he will deliver Israel through the leadership of Gideon. But look at how Gideon responds.

Judges 6:14-16 – 14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

Gideon cannot believe that his life and his actions can effect change. Gideon says that he is the weakest man in his weak little clan in a weak half-tribe in Israel. Gideon knows he cannot be used of God to make a difference. Gideon is too small. Social and political issues in Israel have gone too far to be changed.

But God’s words to Gideon in two places ought to get our attention. These words are the ones that ought to ring in our ears. The Lord says, “Do not I send you,” and “But I will be with you.” Those are the words that prove that the work of Gideon, this weak little man from a weak little clan, will make a difference in the world around him. Gideon’s life will matter. This is not because Gideon is special. Rather, it is because the God of the universe has sent him and will be with him.

We, as Christians, find ourselves in a world that looks unchangeable. It is so easy to become so pessimistic about our culture. It looks like the culture wars have long since been lost. It looks like the slide of political power could well lead to oppression and even persecution of Christians.

But remember, if the Lord so chooses, he can turn our culture. God moved a nation and threw off oppression by using a wimpy man who he met hiding in a hole in the ground. This was not because Gideon was strong. It was not because the Midianites were weak. It was because God said he was going to take action, he was sending Gideon, and he was going with Gideon. The presence of the Lord changed the world, a world that looked impossible to change.

I have no idea what the Lord will do in our culture. We deserve the wrath of God for our repeated attacks on the Lord and his ways. But maybe the Lord will act. Maybe the Lord will change things. And if he so decides, he will succeed. No nation can stand against the Lord. God defeats nations at his whim. God changes the hearts of nations when he chooses. And we must live with the knowledge that, whatever comes, the Lord is acting and the Lord is able to accomplish all he wills.

At the end of the Great Commission, Jesus reminded us of the same thing that the Lord said to Gideon. Jesus said to us that he will be with us always, to the very end of the age. God is with us. God sends us out on mission. God sends us out to see the world changed as we serve him and make disciples. May we not live as those who are only pretending to believe this. Instead, may we know that the Lord is with us and he will not leave us or forsake us. As the Lord wills to use us, he will do all he desires. Nothing in this world is too hard for God to change.

A Warning from Judges

pastortravislv

When my annual Bible reading plan takes me through Judges, I cannot say I am excited. This book is dark and painful to read. WE watch as the nation of Israel turns their back on God time and time again. No matter how great are his warnings, the people keep fighting against him.

What hit me, as I began this reading for this year, is the fact that this dark feeling, this pressing warning, is just as much for us today as it was for the people who originally read it. No, I do not expect that we should think a lot about the land promises discussed in the book. But we are to live as the people of God and be careful not to turn from him.

Judges 2:10-13 – 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.

It was only 1 generation after Joshua when the people abandoned God and began to worship idols. IT took only one generation for those who should have followed the Lord to turn their backs. One generation, and the people provoked the Lord.

Before we take this and try to make some sort of political statement about our nation, how about we take this and see in it the need for intense warnings in our own families. Our children will worship someone or something. That is simply true. And it is wise for us as parents to help them to see that the only acceptable way to worship is to worship the Lord. The only way to worship the Lord is to come to him in faith and repentance, believing in Jesus and turning our backs on our sin in this life. We must trust Jesus and yield ourselves to him.

And we should warn our families that, to turn away from Jesus and ignore him is really the very same thing we see in Judges. To turn against Jesus is to bow to one idol or another. This is to provoke the Lord and to dishonor his name.

I don’t know if I’m getting across the depth of emotion that needs to come here. We either worship the Lord, or we bow to Baal, figuratively speaking. We either surrender to Jesus, or we do war against the Lord our God. This is an extremely significant truth, and I wonder if, in our desire to be kind and gentle and to appear open-minded, we might be softening the blow of this hard truth. May we not do so. May we find the grace of Jesus, a sweet Savior and gentle Master. May we not instead turn against him and find him the holy Judge.

Cults and Math

pastortravislv

With the recent Secret Church 18 presentation on cults and counterfeit gospels, I remembered this clever little trick for identifying a cult. I heard it in a sermon presented by Danny Akin, who is an author and who serves as president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I know I will not have his illustration word-for-word, but the main point will still come through.

You can always tell a cult, because a cult always does math. They will always either add, subtract, multiply, or divide.

Cults will add an extra-biblical source of authority. This source might be a book, prophet, or something else, but they will have something that is authoritative along with the scriptures.

Cults will subtract from the person and the works of Jesus Christ. Generally, this will be to deny the deity of Jesus, but could also include denying the sufficiency of the atonement or other Christological issues.

Cults will multiply the requirements for salvation. No cult keeps the message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  They will all add something else (works based) that is required to get into heaven.

Cults will divide your loyalty. They will tend to present a human leader to whom they call you to be loyal along with Jesus.  This new leader is often presented as a new mediator or prophet between God and the group.

I do not know why, but ever since I heard this little pithy explanation, it has stuck with me. If you find a group adding an extra-biblical source of authority or subtracting from a biblical understanding of Christ, watch out. If you come across a group that multiplies for you a set of good works to do to get into heaven or divides your loyalty from Christ and his word to share that loyalty with a modern prophet or leader, get away. This is how knowing that cults do math can help you evaluate a religion’s claim to be either true or false.

Who We Must Not Be

pastortravislv

In the life of the church, there are a lot of things we want to get right. We want to be doctrinally sound. We must be biblical. We want to honor the Lord in our worship and with our lives. We certainly want to stand against error and sin.

But there is a failing that we can run into if we sharpen ourselves to oppose the wrong without also being made gentle by the grace of God. I think that error is something Jesus condemns the religious leadership of his day for in Matthew 23.

Matthew 23:4 – They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 

This is who we do not want to be. There are Christians who are great at burdening other people. Many of us are wonderful at telling you what you must not believe or what you must not do. Many of us are great at piling on other people guilt and man-made standards of righteousness. And when we do it, we often do so because we think we are helping the ministry by smacking others with the truth.

But the Savior does not seem to love the idea of loading people down with burdens if you are not also getting under that burden with them to help them move along. That kind of religion is not Christianity. True, biblical, Christ-honoring faith is a faith that will most certainly call people to faith and repentance and obedience to the word of God. But true Christianity is also a faith in which we love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and where we all know that we are in this life together on purpose.

Christianity should include a relationship of fellowship, mutual edification, and progressive sanctification. You most certainly should help me know when I’m messing up or missing the point. I most certainly should call you away from error and toward truth. But in our lives, we should also be walking together, side-by-side, helping each other toward that faithfulness. I do not help you if all I do is smack you with the truth and walk away from you without helping you. You do not help me if you tell me all that I should be that I am not, but then you do not actually come help me become what God wants me to be. This is why Christianity is lived out in the local church and not solely on the Internet. We need each other. We need to be in each other’s lives. May we learn to press forward with truth, but never to press without grace too.

Unconditional Forgiveness is not Biblical Forgiveness

pastortravislv

Is forgiveness unconditional? No, not if you are keeping with the actual teaching of Scripture. The Bible neither presents to us a picture of forgiveness as unconditional nor does it call us to such a thing. And, yes, I realize that what I have just written goes completely against what is often taught.

 

First, let’s talk about what unconditional forgiveness means. The concept of an unconditional forgiveness is not found in Scripture, but is, rather, a product of modern psychology. The call is for you, if you have been hurt by another, not to allow that hurt to dominate you. So, you, by an internal act of your will, choose to forgive rather than to be eaten up with a desire for revenge. This choice on your part is not at all necessary for you to communicate to another. It is simply what you do, unilaterally, internally, in order to live in a state of mental health.

 

Often, in this discussion, proponents of an unconditional, unilateral forgiveness will cite Scripture verses that threaten the judgment of God on those who will not forgive. One such example is the parable of the unforgiving servant at the end of Matthew 18. There we see that a man unwilling to forgive another is in danger of hell itself.

 

Matthew 18:35 – “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

 

On the surface, this looks to uphold the idea of internal, unilateral, unconditional forgiveness. But, let’s go deeper into Scripture to think this through. Another commonly repeated phrase in Scripture is that we are called to forgive others as the Lord forgave us .  

 

Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

 

Colossians 3:13 – bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

 

How are we forgiven by God? Is our forgiveness something God just does, unconditionally, unilaterally, with no requirement on the part of the one forgiven? No, it is not. Christ commands that we repent and believe to be saved; that is how we are forgiven. No person is going to be saved without a willingness to confess their sin, turn from their sin, and seek the grace of God through the finished work of Christ. The only sins that God forgives are those covered by the blood of Christ. The way that we have that blood applied to our lives is by God’s grace, yes, but through saving faith. Faith and repentance come before the process of our forgiveness is completed.

 

But even if this picture does not work for you, consider the Matthew passage in its context. Yes, at the end of the chapter, Jesus commanded that we forgive our brother from our heart if we do not want God to judge us. But in the very same context, just a couple paragraphs earlier, Jesus made it clear that forgiveness is not automatic and unilateral.

 

Matthew 18:15-17 – 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

 

Note that, in this passage, Jesus did not command immediate, internal, unilateral, unconditional forgiveness. Instead, he commanded a process of confrontation seeking repentance that could then lead to restoration. Jesus did not say, “If your brother sins against you, just forgive.” Instead, Jesus said to go, confront him, and seek reconciliation. If he will not repent, Jesus does not say to just forgive in your heart anyway. Instead, Jesus says to bring witnesses to help resolve the issue. Jesus even points to formal church discipline and the removal of an unrepentant sinner from the fellowship. This is not unconditional forgiveness by any measure.

 

When we think of forgiveness, I believe that there is a wisdom in us thinking of forgiveness from two dimensions—I’ll call them vertical and horizontal. The vertical dimension is how I think of another person between myself and the Lord. As I stand before God, I know that I too am a sinner. I know that I have done things to offend an infinitely holy God. Thus, I am more guilty before God of sin than any other person is guilty before me. And thus, before the Lord, I can declare a willingness to extend forgiveness to one who has hurt me. Before the Lord, I can declare that I am not better than the one who has hurt me. And before the Lord, I can make a decision to not allow myself to be eaten up with a desire for personal retribution or revenge. I can know that the just and sovereign God will handle all rightly by the time eternity arrives.

 

But, on the horizontal dimension, between myself and the one who has wronged me, I do not, in a situation of a significant wrong, simply declare them forgiven. That is not God’s command. Instead, I show them where I have been hurt. I tell them that I am willing to forgive. But that forgiveness, the transaction that puts the situation to rest and restores our relationship, is based on their willingness to repent—owning responsibility for their wrong and desiring to turn from it. No, we dare not require perfect repentance on another person’s behalf. After all, how perfect is your own repentance before the Lord? But we do not magnify the gospel at all if we grant forgiveness to one who refuses to admit a wrong, who refuses to turn from a wrong, and who would willingly continue to do that wrong.

 

In truth, forgiveness is a complicated issue. I happily recommend to people that they read Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns in order to dig in here. But for our purposes today, I simply want to remind us that biblical forgiveness is far greater than unconditional. Biblical forgiveness is you extending an offer of grace to me because you have been forgiven by Christ. Biblical forgiveness is not you automatically ignoring my sin. Instead, biblical forgiveness is you helping me to become more like Christ as I repent of my wrong and turn from it. Biblical forgiveness is you restoring our relationship because you have, upon my repentance, chosen to put away your right to seek revenge. Biblical forgiveness looks like the gospel.

The Most Dangerous Thought Ever

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What is the worst thing you can allow yourself to think? What is the kind of thinking that is destined to lead you to destruction? What is the worst possible thought to chase in your mind?

 

OK, there are actually a lot of really dangerous thoughts out there. And so I’ll not try to make them battle this morning. But, there is a thought, a kind of thinking, that always leads us to extremely deadly, extremely dangerous spiritual ground. And, as I watch our world, I am becoming convinced that this very well may be the most dangerous thought ever.

 

Watch this little confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees to see an example of the thought.

 

Matthew 15:1-9 – 1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

9 in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

 

The story is easy to understand. The religious leaders want to confront Jesus for not following their traditions on how to ceremonially wash before eating. Jesus points out that these men are willing to condemn him for ignoring their preferences when they are willing to ignore the word of God.

 

And it is in that ignoring of the word of God we find the dangerous thought. It is dangerous, deadly, and destructive to allow yourself to think that you, in your wisdom, have the ability to come up with truth that is equal in weight or superior in value to the word of God. Whenever we allow ourselves to think that we can evaluate Scripture by our own standards or evaluate the actions of god by our own preferences, we are thinking in the most dangerous way possible.

 

How do we know God is good? He tells us in his word. How do we know that God’s judgment of the lost is right? He tells us in his word. How do we know that Jesus is the only way to God? He tells us in his word. How do we know what marriage is supposed to be? God tells us in his word. How do we know what a church is supposed to do? God tells us in his word.

 

If God has indeed revealed himself to us in his word, how dangerous must it be for us to have that revelation, and then hold it up to some other standard to see if we approve of it? What are you saying when you do such a thing? If you take the word of God and measure it by your own standard to determine whether or not you approve of it or will obey it, you are declaring yourself and your standard to be above the word of God. To declare yourself and your standard to be above the word of God is for you to declare yourself to be above God. For you to declare yourself to be above God is for you to actually declare yourself to be deity.

 

All through the Bible, God makes it clear that he will not stomach idolatry. God will not allow anyone or anything to get away with pretending to be God. That includes you and me. So we should be careful not to ever elevate ourselves to the level of deity. And thus, we cannot measure God’s commands and God’s ways by our own standards as if we have the right to approve or disapprove of anything God has said or done. To assume that you can judge the commands of God, the ways of God, or the actions of God is for you to think one of the most dangerous thoughts people can possibly think.

The Unfair Dishonesty of Unbelief

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In Matthew 11, Jesus was confronted by the unbelief of many. John the Baptist had questions, doubts, and fears. And while Jesus could send comforting words to John, not all around him were willing to hear him or believe his words or his miracles.

 

Matthew 11:16-19 – 16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

 

Jesus compares the people around him to children. They try to play a happy game, but people complain that the game is too happy. They try to play a sad game, but people complain that the game is not happy enough. And in that illustration, Jesus shows the dishonesty of unbelief.

 

You see, many who do not want to follow God will tell us that they do not want to submit to someone who would ever judge evil. That is, of course, until something they do not like happens. Then they say that they do not wish to follow God because he did not judge or prevent the evil thing that bothers them. Which is it? Do you want God to actually judge sin, or not? Do you want a God who will only judge the sins that offend you? That, dear friends, is not you wanting God to be different. Instead, that is you wanting to sit on the throne of God.

 

The Bible reveals to us the true God who created the universe. The Scriptures show us Jesus, God the Son, the only way that any of us can be right with our Creator. We should recognize that, in truth, it does not matter if we understand or even approve of all of God’s ways. He is greater than us anyway. But we should instead be willing to submit to the perfections and the holiness of the God who made us, whose ways are not ours, and who has all right to judge.

Is the Mission Accomplished?

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What did Jesus come to do? What was his intent in his ministry and in his atoning sacrifice? Did Jesus in fact accomplish what he intended? What would it mean if he did not?

I was reading recently about the doctrine of the atonement, and I saw a fascinating little way of speaking of what Jesus came to do. In many ways, it helps us to grasp the extent of the atonement. The point ran something like this: Jesus died either for all the sins of all people, for some of the sins of all people, or for all of the sins of some people. Which is it?

If Jesus died for all of the sins of all people, then all people must be saved. If Jesus died for all of the sins of all people, yet all people are not saved, then the death of Jesus for those people somehow failed to accomplish the purpose for which he died. We reject this, and thus we must reject the notion that Jesus died for all of the sins of all people.

Did Jesus then die for some of the sins of all people? That would mean that Jesus died for all of the sins of some with exception, that there are some sins for which he did not die. Is there any biblical evidence that Jesus died for, let’s say, 99 out of 100 sins. But you and I have to make up for that last sin in order to be saved? This is clearly not the teaching of the Scripture. And, of course, if this were the teaching of the Scripture, then we would know that Jesus only died to provide the possibility of saving a people, but his death would have actually secured no salvations, not one.

Universalists believe the first possibility, that Christ died for all of the sins of all people and thus all will be saved. Those coming from an Arminian position logically must hold to something like the second position. Christ died for all of our sins except for the sin of unbelief in him. We must make up for that sin on our own by believing in order to have all of our sins covered. Because, if Christ died to pay for your unbelief, that sin would be covered and your salvation would necessarily be guaranteed.

But the third position, Christ died for all of the sins of some people, is another view entirely. There we present the idea that Jesus, in his death, perfectly and successfully accomplished all he intended. Jesus came to rescue a particular people for the Lord. His death paid the penalty for all of their sins, including the sin of unbelief before their repentance. There would thus be no way that those would not be saved, for they have all of their sins perfectly atoned for in Christ.

I thought of this little argument when reading through my daily reading plan in Matthew. Look at a simple verse that I think almost every Christian knows.

Matthew 1:21 – She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Note two things that the angel says to Joseph about Jesus. He will, emphasize that will, save his people, emphasize that his, from their sins. Will means it is a sure thing. There is no saving effort of Jesus that fails. He will save. Whom will he save? He will save his people. He will not save all people. He will save people who are his.

I believe that this verse that we only read around Christmas time is a pointer to the fact that Christ sovereignly, effectively, totally accomplished the work he came to accomplish. He came to save his people. There is nothing in this text that would indicate that he tries to save others, but they will against him and thwart his work. There is nothing in this text that indicates that all are his people and he is trying to save them. Instead, the text, in its most natural reading shows us that he will—a certainty which cannot fail—save his people—a people who are a definite and determined group—from their sins—which he accomplishes by perfectly paying the penalty for every last one of those sins. And there is nothing to indicate, in this text, that the group known as his people is merely a potential group that is as yet undetermined. Thus, the verse appears to indicate that Christ dies for all of the sins of some people, not some of the sins of all people or all of the sins of all people.

Oh, I know, many reject this notion. And, I most certainly will not have us argue these points in a comment thread. However, I read this, and I see something beautiful and worthy of praise. He will save his people. He will accomplish his mission perfectly. He will not fail, not even once, in any way. His people will be saved. And this is a glorious testimony to the power of God, the perfection of God, the perfection of the work of Christ, and the extreme glory of grace.

I could not be saved on my own. I could not contribute to my salvation. I would, had God left me to myself, have opposed him in the depths of my heart. But God is gracious. God changed my heart. God brought me salvation. God did this through the perfectly complete work of Christ. And because that work is perfect, I know that the grace of God on my life is totally secure. There is no sin of mine for which Christ did not die. Thus, there is no sin of mine, past, present, or future, which could ever separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. And all this gives me joy and hope.

And there is no true argument of injustice against this position. Do you want the death of Christ to have applied to you and covered your sins? Come to Jesus in faith and repentance. If you do, then you can know that he died for you. If you refuse him, you can know that he did not die to cover your sins. But this is not him treating anyone unfairly. In fact, it is him being gracious, giving forgiveness to those who do not deserve it. And it is him leaving to themselves those who, by their refusal, show that they want nothing to do with him or his grace.

The mission of Jesus is accomplished. He will not have failed in any regard to do what he intended to do. All for whom Christ died will be saved, they must be.

Not One

pastortravislv

The past faithfulness of God is a glorious hint to us of the future grace he will bestow. When we look back in our own lives, or even better, when we look back in Scripture, we can see times when the Lord has proven himself to be faithful. God is able to do what we would never expect. God is able to give us kindnesses that we could never deserve.

Consider the story of Israel from Genesis through Joshua. In Genesis 12, God selects a man, Abram, to be the father of a nation. God promises Abram, later Abraham, offspring and a land in which his offspring will live. God made a promise that God said he would not break, no matter what.

Think of all God overcame to fulfill his promise. God gave Abraham and Sarah a son, Isaac. God gave Isaac a pair of sons and preserved the life of Jacob, later Israel. God gave Jacob 12 sons, and showed special favor to Judah and Joseph. God preserved the life of Joseph and made a way for Jacob’s family to live in Egypt, but to live there in a way that would not have their family absorbed into Egyptian culture.

Four hundred years later, God brought Moses to the forefront and brought Israel up out of Egypt. They had come to Egypt as a family of 70; they left Egypt as a nation of two or three million. And God protected and preserved Israel in the face of enemies, in spite of their own rebellion, and in the harshness of the wilderness.

Then, when Joshua becomes leader of the nation, God sent Israel into the land of Canaan. There the nation would face violent enemies. There the nation would again struggle with her own rebellious disobedience to the word of God that could have brought upon them the judgment of God. There the nation would face as impossible a challenge as any of us have ever faced. What did God do then?

Joshua 21:43-45

43 Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

God kept all his promises. God’s word did not fail. God’s power was sufficient. God’s grace was magnified. God showed that he makes promises and keeps them as part of his character.

And now we sit here three-and-a-half millennia later, and we should learn from this. If God has been faithful to carry out his word in the past, he will carry out his word in the future. We serve the same sovereign and faithful God as did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,  Moses, and Joshua. God will complete his work that he began in the hearts and lives of his people. No human failing and no evil attack against God’s people will cause his plan to fail. His graces are assured. His promises will be carried out. And when all is said and done, When we look back on eternity, we will all praise God with the truth that everything he swore to do, everything he promised—every single thing—came to pass just as he said it would. God has been faithful. God will be faithful. Not one thing God promises will fail.