How Does Salvation Happen? (Jonah 2:9)

“Salvation comes from the LORD.” (Jonah 2:9, NIV ‘84, '11) “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (ESV) “Salvation is of the LORD.” (KJV)

Which is it? Did you first accept/believe Jesus and then God saved you? OR did God save you first and then you accepted/believed Jesus?

(Related post: Jonah: an Introduction. The Gospel According to Jonah.)

Not a new question. Throughout church history, Christians have explained salvation in 2 predominant ways. Those who emphasized God’s sovereign grace or divine election have been called Calvinists (after John Calvin), or Augustinians (after St. Augustine), while those who objected to this emphasis and contented for a rational doctrine of free will have been called Arminians (after James Arminias) or Wesleyans (after John Wesley). It is important to note that both perspectives are compatible with traditional orthodox Christianity. Thus, Calvinists and Arminians are friends in Christ, not angry argumentative combatants, just as George Whitfield a Calvinist was friends of John Wesley an Arminian. A “3^rd category,” which is non-Christian, is Pelagianism (after the heretical monk Pegagius who was excommunicated from the church), because they reject that man is a sinner and deny the need of grace for man’s salvation. Finneyism (after Charles Finney of the 2^nd Great Awakening) has also been regarded by some to be non-Christian because of his vagueness about salvation through justification, and his narrow and primary focus on man’s free will in determining his salvation.

Babel: Let's Do Away With God (Gen 11:1-9)

"Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves" (Gen 11:4).

The onslaught of atheism against God is not a modern invention, nor a recent 20th century occurrence. It already happened ions ago when man built the tower of Babel to do away with God, and to regard God as irrelevant, redundant or non-existent. Yet there is still a need to affirmatively declare their own independent autonomy and self-rule. They indeed lay claim to a heaven without God, while the world continues to pine away amidst the constant din of ongoing and escalating unrest.

A Woman's Beauty (1 Peter 3:1-6)

"Your beauty ... should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit..." (1 Peter 3:3-4).

"What a beautiful woman she is! She is the kind of woman any man would want to marry!" This was my immediate thought when I heard the story on the radio years ago of how James Dobson (of Focus on the Family) came to marry his wife Shirley.

(Related posts: Marriage as Unjust Suffering, The Search for One True Love, Abraham Lincoln's Very Unhappy Marriage.)

Before marriage, Dobson and Shirley, both Christians, were dating in college with the understanding that they would marry in the future. But when Dobson had to serve in the National Guard he proposed to Shirley that they keep their options open when he was away on duty, and that they could each date other Christians if they wanted to. Because Shirley was in love with him, this shocked her. But she did not express it or react to his "hurtful" proposal. On their last date before he left, he wanted to kiss her good night as he usually does at the door of her house. But she politely refused. Rather abruptly, she went home and closed the door. This surprised Dobson. What he did not know was that after she closed the door she cried all night. But she did not reveal any of this to Dobson. Then when Dobson was away on duty, he did not date others. Instead, he kept writing her over and over, while she was quite lukewarm in her response to him. As a result, Dobson kept pursuing her until they married. Isn't Shirley the kind of woman with the poise, mystery and beauty that any man would want to marry?

Jesus' Resume (Heb 1:1-3)

Karl Barth (Swiss Reformed theologian, 1886-1968) was asked if God had revealed himself in many religions besides Christianity. His answer: "No. God has not revealed himself in any religion, including Christianity. He has spoken in his Son, Jesus Christ." The beginning of Hebrews tells us Jesus' short resume.

Hebrews is about persevering in the faith (Heb 13:22). It was written to (Jewish) Christians (in Rome) who were struggling in the faith (Heb 10:38-39). It was for drift prevention--for they were tempted to wonder away. Since Rome detested all things Christian, they endured suffering, ridicule, imprisonment, the confiscation of their possessions, and, under Nero, the possibility of being fed to the lions in the Coliseum (Heb 2:14-18). Should they give up being Christians? To the author of Hebrews, rather than forsake Jesus, they should be willing to surrender everything to have him. Why? It is because of who Jesus is. He is:

The "Joy" of Death (Gen 25:1-11)

"...he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life" (Gen 25:8, NLT).

Previous passage: The Lord Will Provide (Gen 22:1-14).
Contrasting passage: Lot's End is God's Judgment (Gen 19:1-38)

Death is gut wrenching and crippling to countless billions, to put it mildly. One of my most vivid memories is that of a successful Chicago lawyer in his mid to late 30s. He was a brilliant confident self-made man. He built up his law firm from the ground up, has dozens of lawyers working for him, lives in a 5 million dollar house (25 years ago), has countless luxury cars, and a stunning wife. I met him as a trainee oncologist. He came to see my mentor oncologist with complaints of mild difficulty in swallowing for 3 weeks. He just had a biopsy taken from his throat and came to the oncology office to discuss the findings. He was jovial as he entered the office with his gorgeous wife. He said jokingly, "Doc, am I gonna live?" But the mood soon changed. After some elaborate explanation by the oncologist, it gradually dawned on him what his biopsy report meant when his diagnosis read "small cell carcinoma of the esophagus." The moment arrived when he suddenly realized that he had inoperable terminal cancer and had about 4 months to live.

Why Do We Need Elders (1 Tim 3:1-7)

"Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task" (1 Tim 3:1).

Related post: What Kind of Elders Do We Need? (1 Tim 3:1-7)

In 1 Timothy, Paul is laying down for Timothy--a young evangelist, minister, church planter--a permanent pattern for ministry in the church. 1 Tim 3:1-16 focuses on officers in the church. Why do we need elders (1 Tim 3:1-7)? 3 answers:

Moses Himself Needs a Humble Savior (Numbers 12:1-16)

Our Daily Bread passage on Mon, Sep 19, 2011 was "Moses' Humbleness" (Num 12:1-16). Later that day, someone asked me, "Teach us about Moses' humbleness." These are my reflections.

My Initial Thoughts: The humility of Christ is absolutely crucial to friendship and unity in Christian ministry. Without the gospel of grace, at best we Christians will act humanly humble, usually by being soft spoken or silent. Though Moses was "humble," 8 chapters later he was proud, impatient and filled with anger, when he struck a rock twice in defiance of God's instructions to him (Num 20:8-11). This caused him to forfeit his life dream of entering the promised land (Num 20:12). Moses the humble man, needed a humbler Man. Moses, the mediator of Israel, needed a Mediator himself. Moses who delivered his people needed a Deliverer himself. Moses who saved his people needed a Savior himself. Only the gospel of Christ being mercilessly butchered for me produces true sweet humility in me. This captivating narrative is ultimately not about Moses' humility, since Jesus said that Moses wrote about Jesus (John 5:39, 46).

My Questions. I asked myself a few questions: What is the main biblical teaching of Num 12:1-16? Is it to be humble like Moses, who allowed God to deal with his dissenters? Is it to never complain against God's appointed leader, or else face very harsh and severe consequences? Absolutely and surely without question, as God fearing and God honoring Christians, we should always seriously heed the obvious answer to both questions with fear and trembling in our own frail and proud hearts. But do such teachings help us to see Jesus and to understand the gospel? My above thoughts suggests, "No." Outside of the gospel, no one can be truly humble. Also, outside of the gospel no one can overcome his or her own pride and jealousy. These are my burning thoughts as I looked into Num 12:1-16.

Laziness is Incompatible with Being a Christian (Phil 2:12-13)

"I'm not lazy. I'm just tired." This was a catchphrase I used when I preached a sermon on Cain about the secrecy of sin, that sin always starts very, very, very small, since sin in its beginnings is "crouching" (Gen 4:7) almost out of even our own view or awareness.

Misunderstanding Grace: There is a prevalent idea today that if grace is taught and proclaimed in the church, Christians will think that since they are saved by grace (that has nothing to do with them), then they do not have to do anything. But there is no such suggestion or teaching through out the NT (Heb 13:20-21; 1 Pet 4:11). Paul in particular never had such an idea that "grace" = "I don't have to do anything" in his thought or in any of his writings. In fact, Paul communicates the very opposite thought--that grace ALWAYS results in work (Eph 2:8-10; Rom 6:17; 2 Thess 1:11-12; Gal 5:22-23). Also, because of grace, Paul himself was constantly compelled and motivated to work even harder (1 Cor 15:10), with far greater joy, hope and intensity.

Marriage as Unjust Suffering (1 Peter 3:1-7)

Related posts: The Search for One True Love

Abraham Lincoln's Very Unhappy Marriage

What kind of title is that? I suspect that many would not like this title. They might even be a little upset by the title. I was personally surprised to see such a title. So I was quite curious to see how John Frame (born 1939, renowned American philosopher, presuppositionalist, Calvinist theologian) would "justify" or explain such a title, since he is a godly married Christian man. (He married rather late in 1984 at age 45, which perhaps might explain why he came up with such a title in the days when he was still a bachelor!).

Christian marriage portrayed as too rosy? Before I read his sermon, I did think about several things regarding the way we older Christians portray Christian marriages which might actually be a disservice to our young Christian couples when they marry:

The 2 Preaching Key Verses of John Piper (1 Pet 4:11; 2 Cor 3:18)

Related post: Don't You Just Love the Way John Piper Writes!

Over the last few years, I began to read books and sermons and attend conferences where John Piper preached and taught. Over time I heard and read Piper share 2 Bible verses he regards as guides to his preaching and Bible teaching over the last 30+ years. They are 1 Peter 4:11 and 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Freedom (John 8:31-32)

This morning, Lyndon, a member of Philippines UBF, asked me to address the topic of "freedom." I quoted what I considered the most famous verse in the Bible about freedom--John 8:31-32--which says, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” (This appealing popular verse has often been quoted out of context.) I also mentioned Gal 5:1 and 2 Cor 3:17. Then for an hour, these are the points regarding freedom that I shared in no particular order:

A Song of Danger (Psalm 91:1-16)

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty" (Ps 91:1).


Previous passage: A Song for the Afflicted (Psalm 90:1-17)

Theme: How to trust God in impossible and dangerous circumstances.

God intends for every Christian to experience a measure of safety and security in an unsafe and insecure world. If we do not know the security that comes from God and His gospel, it leads to all kinds of problems in the Christian life--relationship distance, an inability to forgive, an inability to repent, or the fear of man (Pro 29:25). Then we look to change our circumstances, which is never the ultimate cause of any of our problems. Not knowing where our safety comes from cripples our Christian life.

A Song for the Afflicted (Psalm 90:1-17)

The 4th Book of the Psalms is from Psalm 90-106 (chart of Psalms). In brief, the Psalms teach us about what the true believer ought to experience in his or her life with God in a fallen world, what it should feel like to be a Christian.
 
Psalm 90:1-17 addresses the afflicted and answers the question: How do we put perspective when afflicted or distressed (Ps 90:13,15)? When the days of our life (Ps 90:4,9,12,14,15) feels overwhelming, hectic and filled with stress and distraction? How do we wrestle with our own sin, and when others sin against us? This psalm of Moses points us to God (1-6), sin (7-12), and grace (13-17), and he bids us to meditate on it, believe it, and sing it.

I. God Himself is Our Home (Ps 90:1-6)

Security. God Himself is "our dwelling place" (Ps 90:1), our refuge, our place of belonging, our place of safety, which cannot be found in this transient world. Only God is "from everlasting to everlasting" (Ps 90:2b). Only God is eternal. "Before the mountains were brought forth," before there was the world (Ps 90:2a), He was already God. Only this will center us in our crazy world.

What Kind of Elders Do We Need? (1 Tim 3:1-7)

What kind of elders do we need? Paul tells us 6 things:

1. Elders who want the work, not just the status of being an elder.
2. Elders who are godly men, for holiness is God's qualification for an elder.
3. Elders who are able to teach--to be able to convey God's truth to disciples.
4. Elders with godly homes and families.
5. Elders who are spiritually mature.
6. Elders whose moral reputation is good with local non-Christians.

Am I Really That Bad? (Genesis 6:5)

"The LORD saw ... that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time" (Gen 6:5; NIV 2011).

Why so extreme? Gen 6:5 seems excessively extreme. It infuriates many a man. But Gen 6:5 always keeps me in check because it applies to me 100% of the time. It is not that I do evil or even think evil all the time, however you define evil. I would say that most of the time I do not do or think evil, at least not consciously, perhaps like most people, Christian or non-Christian. So how would Gen 6:5 apply to me 100% of the time? I previously addressed it here: Sin, Faith, Salvation (Gen 6:1-14).

What does Gen 6:5 mean? The Hebrew "yeser" from Gen 6:5 is translated as "inclination" (NIV), "intention" (ESV), or "imagination" (KJV). "Yeser" is derived from the potter's verb "to form" (cf. Gen 2:7), and it implies design or purpose. It is alluding to the direction of our heart, regardless of what we are thinking or doing. God's "severe" indictment and/or assessment is that our heart is going astray, even when we are doing good or doing our best.

How To Preach Christ (the Gospel) from Genesis

Related posts:

•  What is the Point of Genesis?
•  What Jesus Said the Old Testament Scriptures Are About
•  Counterfeit Gods
•  Rethinking Genesis: Man Equals Mission 
•  The Difference Between Religion (Imperatives) and the Gospel (Indicatives)
•  Imperatives - Indicatives = Impossibilities
  

D. A. Carson (NT scholar) quotes his pastor dad who says, “A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text.” Go figure out the meaning of this delightful sentence! OK, it means to teach the Bible out of context, thus distorting the intended meaning of the Bible passage.

Cataclysmic and Gradual Judgment (Gen 19:1-38)

"So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out..." (Gen 19:29).

Previous passages: Friendship and Intimacy (Gen 18:1-16); The Wonder of Laughter (Gen 18:9-15; 21:1-7); Why God Choose Abraham (Gen 18:19); The Prayer of a True Friend (Gen 18:17-33).
Next passage: Abraham Offers Isaac (Gen 22:1-14).
Contrasting passage: A Full and Satisfying Life (Gen 25:1-11)

God's judgment on Sodom is the 3rd major judgment in Genesis after God's judgment on Adam and Eve (Gen 3:1-24) and the flood (Gen 6:1ff). God's judgment infuriates man and rubs them in reverse. Though they are convinced that God's judgment does not exist, yet their resentment, hostility and anger toward God's judgment often seems out of proportion to its "non-existence." Is Santa Claus sending people to hell upsetting? We laugh. But replace Santa with God and the response is intensified.

Don't you just love the way John Piper writes!

In his book "Spectacular Sins" (2008), Piper warns that personal catastrophes, global cataclysms, and horrific times are coming for Christians (Acts 14:22; John 15:20; Lk 21:16,18; Mt 24:9,12; 1 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 3:1,12; Rom 8:17,23; 1 Pet 4:12; Rev 1:9,2:10,6:10-11,12:11,13:7,15,17:6). Read this short review or watch Piper's short interview or download the book. (I just finished reading it and it is well worth the time.) He encourages Christians to rejoice in the glory of Christ through the most spectacular (God ordained) sin ever, which is the murder of Christ.

He is sorry that Christians in the West are pampered and coddled with little suffering in the name of Christ, and are mainly seeking to improve their own lives. He repeatedly says that wimpy worldviews and wimpy theology produces wimpy Christianity. Perhaps to spur us on, he writes this in the introduction to the book:

I know that God is tender, and that personal fellowship with him is sweet, and that touching the heart happens through the brokenness of the still, small voice. I know this, and I love it. Jesus Christ is a precious friend to me.

But I also know something else. If, while I am having a tender conversation with my wife, a man breaks in and kills her and all my children and leaves me wounded on the living room floor, I will need a way of seeing the world that involves more than the tenderness of God. If pestilence takes out tens of thousands of my fellows citizens and half my church, my mental and spiritual survival will depend on more than the precious gifts of God's intimacy.

The Prayer of a True Friend (Gen 18:17-33)

Previous text: Friendship and Intimacy (Gen 18:1-16); Why God Choose Abraham (Gen 18:19).

Abraham is known in the Bible as God's friend (2 Chron 20:7; Isa 41:8; James 2:23). What is a friend? Tim Keller says, "A true friend always lets you in, but never lets you down." True friends share their hearts with you, hiding nothing, as God did with Abraham (Gen 18:17,20-21), and as Jesus did with his disciples (Jn 15:15). True friends are also faithfully committed to their friends, regardless. Prov 18:24 says, "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (ESV).

We often think that Christians should be totally submissive to God. Of course this is true. But in this breathtaking passage (Gen 18:17-33), Abraham comes before God in prayer not as a "Yes man." Rather, as God's friend, he "bargains" and "pushes" God boldly, almost unashamedly, and yet with the utmost of humility, respect and awe (Gen 18:27,31).

What 7 things can we learn from Gen 18:17-33 about the prayer of a friend of God (often known as intercessory prayer)?