WHI-1140 | The Bread of Life
Feb.10, 2013 by
in
2013 Show Archive, The Gospel of John, White Horse Inn
In John chapter six, Jesus has miraculously fed five thousand men. But this sign was intended to point to a greater reality, namely, that Christ himself was the eternal bread of life. Yet the crowds continued to crave more and more temporal miracles; in particular, they wanted another free lunch. But because Jesus was interested in creating disciples rather than consumers, he began delivering some hard sayings that left even the disciples scratching their heads. What are the implications of this text on reaching out to the masses by “dumbing things down”?
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February 10th, 2013 at 8:03 am
I need to ask a question to one of the brothers here without it being posted to the general public. Is this possible? You can respond to my email address. God Bless
February 10th, 2013 at 9:24 am
Jesus is the Giver and the Gift
Jesus feeds the five thousand, calms the storm and declares the Gospel of God
“For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
“I am the bread of life”. Three times in verses 53, 54, 56 Jesus says “eat my flesh and drink my blood” and you will have eternal life and you will abide in me. Three times to emphasize Truth?
Thank God for this Truth as God has drawn me so close to himself through the Sacrament of His Body and Blood and by His Holy Spirit. Lord, I believe, help me with my unbelief.
February 10th, 2013 at 10:17 am
What do u think of this?
Johnson, talking of the fear of death, said, “Some people are not afraid, because they look upon salvation as the effect of an absolute decree, and think they feel in themselves the marks of sanctification. Others, and those the most rational in my opinion, look upon salvation as conditional; and as they never can be sure they have complied with the conditions, they are afraid.”
I myself am afraid…i think i have trusted jesus and am seeking to walk with him but not sure about the fruits
February 11th, 2013 at 9:43 pm
Teresa, this is a helpful article on assurance:
http://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-greatest-all-protestant-heresies/
The references from Hebrews especially are helpful.
February 11th, 2013 at 10:19 pm
Ligonier is also airing a series on repentance (think they just finished it). R. C. Comments in “A Contrite Repentance”
that being proud or “puffed up” is the exact opposite of what happens when people encounter the holiness of God. You are concerned about the nature of your works because you realize how holy God is. This a sign of your conversion. Moreover, Christ declares full pardon to all those who look to him. Just look to the cross and resurrection of Jesus! Trust in this Christ, renounce all your works, and boast only in the cross!
“Their experience seems to lead them to talk of themselves, of the change that is wrought in them, and the much that depends upon their own watchfulness and striving. We likewise would be thankful if we could perceive a change wrought in us by the power of grace; we desire to be found watching. But whenever our hopes are most alive, it is less from a view of imperfect beginnings of grace in our hearts than from an apprehension of him who is our all in all. His person, his love, his sufferings, his intercession, compassion, fullness and faithfulness — these are our delightful themes, which leave us little leisure, when in our best frames, to speak of ourselves.” – John Newton
February 12th, 2013 at 8:30 am
This White Horse Inn program was a great help in understanding sanctification and assurance.
http://www.whitehorseinn.org/blog/2011/11/27/whi-1077-repentance-personal-transformation/
February 12th, 2013 at 8:56 am
“When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now.”
- Mother Teresa
Even in my doubts of myself, I don’t doubt what God did for me. I know it when I look at the crucifix and receive His Body and Blood as He said to do in John 6. Jesus said “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.” This is assurance.
I need Jesus every day, every moment. He provides for this need daily. He gave us His Body and we are the Body of Christ. He nourishes us with His grace in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood and through His Body the Church. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all.
Shalom
February 12th, 2013 at 9:26 am
Teresa, the answer to your question is simple. Salvation is not conditional on anything you do, you can not add or subtract to Christ’s work on the cross. This is where your salvation lies. There are no conditions you have to meet to be saved, Christ has met them. With regard to the two options you present, both are false, you never look at a decree for salvation, neither do you look at conditions you have to meet. And third you never look at your life or sanctification! Your works don’t contribute anything to salvation. I’m going to quote John Bunyan below from his autobiography Grace Abounding http://www.mountzion.org/johnbunyan/text/bun-abounding.pdf See how his salvation occurred when he stopped trusting in himself altogether, Romans 3:20 by the law there is knowledge of sin and the works of no man are accepted by God, This is why Christ had to fulfill the law, because no human being can Romans 8:3 , if you could meet God’s demands there would be no need for Christ. OK, here’s John Bunyan’s account of his salvation experience, read below, because it summarizes the whole gospel.
John Bunyan from Grace Abounding (link provided earlier):
229. But one day, as I was passing in the
field, and that too with some dashes on my
conscience, fearing lest yet all was not right,
suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul, Thy
righteousness is in heaven; and methought
withal, I saw, with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ at God’s right hand; there, I say, as my
righteousness; so that wherever I was, or
whatever I was adoing, God could not say of
me, He wants my righteousness, for that was
just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it
was not my good frame of heart that made my
righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that
made my righteousness worse; for my
righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, the
same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever (Heb
13:8).
230. Now did my chains fall off my legs
indeed, I was loosed from my affliction and
irons, my temptations also fled away; so that,
from that time, those dreadful scriptures of God
left off to trouble me; now went I also home
rejoicing, for the grace and love of God. S
February 12th, 2013 at 9:36 am
To summarize Teresa,
You never look at conditions you have to satisfy (Christ met them all, you can’t please God with your works) and you never look at a decree (even if a decree existed which the bible doesn’t even talk about, it would be inscrutable and hidden from you), you only look at the revealed Christ and his righteousness imputed to you as your whole and only salvation. He is your justification and your sanctification, you don’t look inside yourself, you won’t find anything but pollution ad sin, in Christ alone are all the wisdom and riches and fullness of salvation.
February 13th, 2013 at 6:44 am
Ash Wednesday
Yesterday, I experienced a bit of John 6 Feeding the 5 thousand…
I took 5 pizzas to the high school robotics team. 30 boys and girls came rushing over for a slice, saying “I love you!, Thank you, you are so great!”
As I pray about this experience, I understand God caring about us so much that he desires to take care of our physical needs and our spiritual needs. Feeding the five thousand results in the people ready to make Jesus their king.
Jesus redirects the apostles to look beyond the miracle of the fish and loaves feeding the five thousand and see the real miracle of Jesus physically feeding the multitudes with his own body and blood. Jesus says, “I AM the Bread of Life, my body is real food and my blood real drink”
Today, go into the desert with Jesus for forty days to pray and fast.
Shalom
February 13th, 2013 at 4:21 pm
@ Eric
That’s the episode of WHI that got me hooked.
February 13th, 2013 at 10:48 pm
Rayn, that episode has to be one of the best! It gave me a peace I had never known before.
February 14th, 2013 at 11:40 am
Eric, I agree. My email is raynwilson21@gmail.com. I’d like to carry on this conversation and ask you some questions.
February 15th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
I have read John bunyan. He is exactly like me! both of us struggle with unforgivable sin phobia and worry about if God will bestow his grace on us or not. There is a condition of salvation: repent and believe. but how can i judge if i repented correctly. by looking at the subsequent fruits. if i am not fruitful i have no right to think i’m saved in the first place.
Which is worse:
looking to fruits in order to get saved?
or looking to fruits to judge if you are saved?
they’re the same. therefore luther’s sola fide really changed nothing.
February 15th, 2013 at 12:57 pm
What is someone thinks Christianity is true and that Calvinism is also true, but he does not believe he is one of the elect because no matter how hard he has tried, he has not been able to live a life consistent with repentance?
that is really what i meant to say in the previous comment
February 16th, 2013 at 9:34 am
Teresa, dear sister in the Lord,
“When I look at the crucifix, I see how much Jesus loved me then, when I look at the sacred host I see how much Jesus loves me now.” Mother Teresa…Her testimony is powerful as she had faith in the saving work of Jesus and lived a life of love for others. Her life was difficult but she counted it all joy because God loves her.
Baptism breaks the bondage of Original Sin and sets us free to live in the Kingdom of God. We will always struggle with our sinful nature as Romans 7 teaches but thanks be to God the Holy Spirit, living in us, will help us each day to confess our sins (deny self), pick up His cross and follow Jesus. Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart. Today is a new day, say yes!
Remember, Teresa, He loves you always! John 6
Shalom
February 17th, 2013 at 1:38 pm
Teresa,
Repentance is not a condition of salvation. It is an “evangelical grace” that God bestows on those He saves, along with faith. I would direct you to this page at Monergism:
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/MarrowControversy.html
“Repentance is not a condition of the gospel offer nor a condition of salvation, strictly speaking. Repentance is never a cause of grace or a condition of grace but always a consequence of grace.”
I would also recommend this set of lectures by Sinclair Ferguson on the Marrow Controversy (not sure if the link will work properly, if not, just copy & paste the whole thing):
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakerWithinSource=&subsetCat=&subsetItem=&mediatype=&includekeywords=&keyword=Dr.%5ESinclair%5EB.%5EFerguson&keyworddesc=Dr.+Sinclair+B.+Ferguson&currsection=sermonsspeaker&AudioOnly=false&SpeakerOnly=true&keywordwithin=marrow+controversy&x=0&y=0
If you don’t want to listen to the audio, the second set of three has transcripts that you can download and read. I think both sets are similar lectures at different times, but I’m not certain.
Sola fide only works in conjunction with Solus Cristus. Christ is the ground of our salvation. Our faith is the way in which we apprehend His Person and Work. By faith we trust that He fulfilled the law in our place, yet bled and died – and suffered the pains of hell – as the righteous taking the place of the unrighteous.
Let me close for now with a beautiful quote from J. Gresham Machen:
“If you want health for your souls, and if you want to be the instruments of bringing health to others, do not turn your gaze forever within, as though you could find Christ there. Nay, turn your gaze away from your own miserable experiences, away from your own sin, to the Lord Jesus Christ as He is offered to us in the gospel. ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.’ Only when we turn away from ourselves to that uplifted Savior shall we have healing for our deadly hurt.
It is the same old story, my friends– the same old story of the natural man. Men are trying today, as they have always been trying, to save themselves– to save themselves by their own act of surrender, by the excellence of their own faith, by mystic experiences of their own lives. But it is all in vain. Not that way is peace with God to be obtained. It is to be obtained only in the old, old way – by attention to something that was done once for all long ago, and by acceptance of the living Savior who there, once for all, brought redemption for our sin. Oh, that men would turn for salvation from their own experience to the Cross of Christ; oh, that they would turn from the phenomena of religion to the living God!
That that may be done, there is but one way. It is not found in a study of the psychology of religion; it is not found in ‘religious education’; it is not found in an analysis of one’s own spiritual status. Oh, no. It is found only in the blessed written Word. There are the words of life. There God speaks. Let us attend to His voice. Let us above all things know the Word. Let us study it with all our minds, let us cherish it with all our hearts. Then let us try, very humbly, to bring it to the unsaved. Let us pray that God may honor not the messengers but the message, that despite our unworthiness He may make His Word upon our unworthy lips to be a message of life.”
February 17th, 2013 at 10:59 pm
Here is Paul’s struggle with the sin in his life:
Romans 7:15-25. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
According to Paul, the life of a Christian is marked by a desire to please God, not by overcoming our life of sin. We will make progress over our lifetime, but it may be difficult at times for us to see it in ourselves.
Here is how the last paragraph of Article 24 of the Belgic Confession states our life of Sanctification:
“Moreover, although we do good works we do not base our salvation on them; for we cannot do any work that is not defiled by our flesh and also worthy of punishment. And even if we could point to one, memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work. So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior.”
Teresa, you had an interesting comment:
“Which is worse:
looking to fruits in order to get saved?
or looking to fruits to judge if you are saved?
they’re the same. therefore luther’s sola fide really changed nothing.”
They are the same and therefore we cannot look for, or base our assurance in our fruits. If we did we “would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior.” as stated above.
God has promised to redeem all those who put their trust in in Christ’s works as their salvation. When we stand before God as Judge someday, we can be confident that we can humbly point to Christ as our own righteousness, because that is what He promised to those who trust in that promise.
February 17th, 2013 at 11:09 pm
Rayn, I would love to continue this converstion, also. Computer kind of froze up as I sent an email to you; not sure if it went through. My email is ericnordquist@centurytel.net
February 19th, 2013 at 6:42 pm
Dear Teresa,
We are saved through Baptism into Christ’s Death, raised to new life as the bondage of Original Sin is broken by the blood of Jesus. No longer slaves to sin, set free to live in Christ. Yet…
We contend with our sinful nature as we work out our salvation in fear and trembling.
For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Thanks be to God, He send us the Holy Spirit to help us; therefore, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, love…
From mortal sin to venial sin to imperfections. If we love Jesus, obey His commandments.
Choose the virtue love in place of anger; the virtue of kindness in place of selfishness; the virtue of humility in place of pride; capture each thought and sing praises to God, our Father.
Teresa, You are fearfully and wonderfully made to be the praise of God’s glory. Psalm 139 and Ephesians 1. He loves you so much.
Shalom,
Jane
February 19th, 2013 at 7:50 pm
Sorry, Teresa I missed your posts from a few days. Awesome that you like Bunyan. In the book I provided the link he describes his salvation experience.
You are saved by faith alone, and you are right that you have to repent and believe. You can’t look at the fruits in yourself, because you repent when you have despaired of your condition to the point that you know that no matter how hard you try you always fall short from God’s Law. This is legal repentance, through the law there is knowledge of sin. The good news is that Christ has fulfilled all of God’s demands. When you receive this good news by faith, that Christ has done all that you were supposed to do and that he also took the punishment of death on your behalf you were supposed to take, then you are saved. Repent and believe, as you can see once you’ve repented, you’ve accepted that all your deeds are evil compared to God’s standard and receive Christ’s perfect obedience imputed to you then you are saved. So you will never look whether you have enough fruit, because the fact of the matter is the best fruit of the Saints profits nothing in the eyes of God. This is why Luther called the condition of the christian, simultaneously just and sinner. God sees you as a Saint in Christ, he sees Christ’s perfect obedience to the law, he doesn’t impute your sin to you. So you will never look at your fruit to get acceptance with God, because God does not accept you based on your spiritual fruit. You are justified by grace alone, through faith alone. It is finished, you enter the Sabbath Rest, when you trust in Christ alone. You will stop looking at any fruit in your life as the basis of acceptance before God. And you will also stop at looking whether you have been accepted by looking at how much fruit you have.
You ask the question:
Which is worse:
“looking to fruits in order to get saved?
or looking to fruits to judge if you are saved?”
Both are bad you don’t look at your fruit, God doesn’t want you to, otherwise you’ll either despair or take pride in your own works (which are like filthy rags). So you can’t do any of these two. You only look at Christ to confirm you are saved, you can not look inside yourself. Although, evidence of salvation can be seem by ourselves and others, this evidence does not have sufficient righteousness or holiness to form a ground of assurance or a clear conscience. This is why you can never look at your fruit to confirm you are saved. This is my answer to your first post. Now to the second one.
February 19th, 2013 at 8:02 pm
Teresa, your question is:
“What is someone thinks Christianity is true and that Calvinism is also true, but he does not believe he is one of the elect because no matter how hard he has tried, he has not been able to live a life consistent with repentance?”
I was in the situation you describe for many years, and so was Bunyan before his salvation experience which I quoted from his book. I have to be honest with you, if you feel that way it means that you are very close to salvation but not there yet. Why am I saying you are not saved yet? Because you still have not trusted in Christ! You are still trusting in yourself, trying harder and harder, it won’t work. You have to stop thinking you can ever please God. The elect can not please God either. They feel exactly like you do, with one difference, they have stopped trying to please God and have trusted in Jesus. They have accepted that that no matter how hard they try they will fall short of God’s expectations, but unlike you, the elect don’t care about it, because they know that God doesn’t care either. All God cares is about his Son and that his Son has obeyed perfectly, God doesn’t care about your disobedience, and you should be thankful for that, otherwise you’d go to hell, and so would I. But because God only cares about his Son’s obedience, your salvation is assured. This doesn’t mean that you can no say that because God doesn’t care about your sin, you can go and sin purposefully, God’s grace is not a license for sin, quite the contrary those that know that God doesn’t impute them sin are thankful for that and can truly love God. They will always try to obey him, like you are right now, except that they will do it with a clear conscience knowing that the Heavenly father does not impute their disobedience and sin to them.
February 19th, 2013 at 8:13 pm
You still don’t have a clear conscience towards God. Only the blood of Christ can clear you of all your guilt. Once you trust that the blood of Christ has atoned for all your past, present, and future sins you will have a clear conscience. It is not that God just forgives you, he justifies you in Christ Jesus. God is both just and merciful. His Son died on the cross for you, he took your place, if God were to condemn you for your sin he would be unjust because his justice has already been satisfied with Christ’s death. He did not spare his Son, so that he can justly spare you. This way God is both just (his Son was punished) and merciful (you are forgiven). You need to trust in the atoning work of Christ and you will never again second guess yourself whether you have lived a life consistent with repentance. Because I can tell you right off the bat that none of the elect have lived a life consistent with repentance, only Christ is without sin, the rest of us are all sinners until we die. God does not impute sin to the elect. Christ came to take away the curse of the law, the penalty for sin, but he did not come to take away sin altogether. This will only happen with the resurrection, so you will continue to sin until you die, the question is do you trust that Christ has paid with his life for your past present, and future sins? His righteouness and holiness God imputes to you? Do you believe that? If you answer yes, then you are saved and you will stop questioning whether you have enough good works that are evidence of repentance.
February 19th, 2013 at 8:25 pm
Teresa, and one last thing, once you’ve trusted that Christ fulfilled all the requirements of the law for you, and you are not under the law any more (your obedience or disobedience doesn’t count with God) you will actually have huge burden removed from you knowing for certain that you have been redeemed by Christ. At that same time you will find that you will be actually notice what Bunyan noticed, tha sin will lose its power, you’ll be able to obey Christ noticeably better than you are right now. Nevertheless your best works even after you’ve trusted in Christ will be polluted by sin, so you will still need to trust in the blood of christ alone for the rest of your life. You will not be able to look at your works as confirmation of salvation, because the best works of the Saints are like filthy rags as Jeremiah wrote.
Now go read the book of Romans chapters 3 to 5 after you’ve read my posts and see if it doesn’t teach exactly what I’m teaching.
February 20th, 2013 at 9:48 am
you guys just don’t get it. i am by no means trying to “work hard” for salvation. I know Sola Fide is true. The point is, how can I be sure I have saving faith? the bible and the confessions both say that a loving heart is proof we are saved. if i say i’m trusting christ, but over the years i check my spiritual pulse and find a dead, loveless heart then i am surely unsaved and God has not chosen to give me saving faith. in the end if works are not present, neither is salvation.(romish and protestant formulas do not differ much, because if you not overflowing with LOVE then faith and salvation are not present either.) in short, i look to christ alone but it’s not working for me!!! I’ve concluded that I don’t have saving faith. I’ve tried to believe in Jesus for ten years but I can’t. I fear I’m beyond saving.
February 20th, 2013 at 11:38 am
Dear Teresa,
I hear your frustration. Come home to Rome. Jesus feeds you with the Bread of Life. The Gospel is simple. Listen to Jesus, rest in Jesus, in silence God will speak to you. He loves you.
I am praying with you,
Shalom,
Jane
February 20th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Teresa, you are so close to being saved that you wouldn’t believe it. Anybody that is as humble as you are is pretty much saved, you just don’t know it, because you are looking at your works. You are confusing law and gospel. Christians are 100% sinner and 100% saint simultaneously. This is what Luther taught, so different from Rome. Simultaneously saint and sinner. You are 100% a Saint and 100% a Sinner at the same time. Lutheran pastor Tom Baker has a daily program called Law and Gospel. Listen to last Wednesday’s program where he explains in an outstanding way the distinction between law and gospel. You are still thinking law, when in fact God doesn’t care about your works, listen to Tom Baker from KFUO Radio, the radio of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
http://www.kfuoam.org/2013/02/13/law-and-gospel-244/ You don’t understand that christians are 100% sinners, pardoned solely on account of Christ’s work on the cross. The fact that you are still looking at your works and obedience to see if you have been accepted by God, is proof that you still haven’t turned to Christ alone and his works for your acceptance with God.
Don’t let the law drive you to despair and think you are not one of the elect. Election can only be understood after you have assurance of salvation. Election comes after faith and not before faith. Anybody that hasn’t trusted in Christ and knows he is saved can not look at election. So the doctrine of election is useless until you have full assurance of your salvation by trusting in Christ’s promises (not trusting on your own obedience as you are doing now). It drives people to despair like it’s doing it to you now. Luther taught that any talk or thought on predestination drives you away from Christ. The doctrine of election has a place in lutheranism, it is there to comfort the believer that God will keep him in the faith and give him in perseverance, he who starts a good work will finish it in you. Election is based on the promise of the gospel, there is no election without Christ, so you have to trust Christ first for your salvation, and for his promise to keep you in the faith. Lutheranism correctly teaches that election comes after faith, this is the same order Paul follows in Romans, as Romans 9 where salvation is explained in chapters 1 to 8 and the doctrine of election comes only after the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Calvin also taught in his Institutes election after faith, it’s at the end of his Book 3 on redemption. Trust in the promises of Christ is what causes you to know you are one of the elect, it is your trust in the promise of Christ that he has forgiven your sins that causes your election, or actually it causes you to know you are elect. The gospel promises precede election, you can only know you are one of the elect because God promises it, so the promise of the gospel, Jesus Christ precedes election. This is the biblical teaching. So nobody that trusted Christ can say he is not one of the elect.
February 20th, 2013 at 12:43 pm
“…if you not overflowing with LOVE then faith and salvation are not present either.) in short, i look to christ alone but it’s not working for me!!! I’ve concluded that I don’t have saving faith.”
You are not looking to Christ alone if you are looking at yourself for evidence.
February 20th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Basically you never look at your works or your performance to determine if you are one of the elect. And I mean never, you can not. To determine you are one of the elect you look at the gospel, at Christ and the you will know with certainty you are one of the elect. If you look at your obedience to determine if you are elect, you are looking at law and not gospel, and what will happen is what actually happened to you the last 10 years as you admit you will conclude you are not of the elect. Look at the gospel, you will know you are elect, look to the law (your obedience) you will know you are not one of the elect. For the law accuses always and condemns always, that’s its purpose. To drive you to Christ and his promises as the only hope of salvation. Listen to Tom Baker’s link I provided in my post above, it will help you to distinguish between law and gospel. I recommend you listen to him daily. It’s one of the best programs out there, 25 minutes every day. All programs are archived, you can go back many years.
And here it is Rod Rosenbladt of the White Horse Inn just explaining in 3 minutes that whatever you do, God does not care, he only cares about Christ has done. Rod lists all the disobedient that will be in heaven, all the christian failures like you and I. Christian failures will enter heaven just like that as Rod Rosenbladt teaches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhCfYCRnv2E
February 20th, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Teresa,
Eric just summarized it perfectly for you. It took me so many words to say what Eric said in just one sentence.
February 22nd, 2013 at 11:18 am
Theresa,
Are you a sinner? Yes?
Who did Christ come to save? Sinners! Then you’re in that group. You’re not “beyond saving.”
As I mentioned briefly above, sola fide as an idea must be connected to solus Christus. I know personally of this struggle, but don’t spend all your time looking at the strength of your faith. Look to the one that you actually trust IN, namely Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Let’s say that you’re correct and you don’t have faith. Are you going to get it through more self-examination? “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So the answer is no. It comes from God’s Word. Does faith come by the law? Well, we know that the law is meant to push us to another: Jesus. God’s Word in general, through the working of the Spirit, produces faith. But it is the gospel in particular, without which we would have no Redeemer to savingly trust in.
Think of the preaching in the book of Acts: Christ. Think of Paul’s reminder of what he preached: Christ and Him crucified. Think of the book of Hebrews: basically a lengthy sermon on Christ as being better than anything else, and being the only true Savior. The Holy Spirit works faith through the gospel message.
“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:21-24).
Look to Jesus. Look upon His perfect life without which we would have no true righteousness declared to be ours (Romans 3:19-26). Despite His true perfection, He was hated and scorned. Look to Him in His suffering, knowing that far greater than the physical agony was the cup of the just wrath of God that He willingly drank in our place (Isaiah 53). See His death, through which the new covenant, of which He is the mediator, has taken effect (Hebrews 9:11-17). Look to our resurrected Lord (1 Corinthians 15).
Yes, Paul ends that chapter, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Notice the therefore? The reason we are called to do these things is because of the resurrection. As summed up in the two verses prior: “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Here is an amazing hymn for you to consider:
Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
’Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, ’tis He, ’tis He!
’Tis the long expected prophet,
David’s Son, yet David’s Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it:
’Tis the true and faithful Word.
Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting his distress:
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.
Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great,
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed!
See Who bears the awful load!
’Tis the Word, the Lord’s Anointed,
Son of Man, and Son of God.
Here we have a firm foundation,
Here the refuge of the lost.
Christ the Rock of our salvation,
Christ the Name of which we boast.
Lamb of God for sinners wounded!
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.
Is self-examination something to be done? Of course. But self-examination over and over again with no proper end of looking to Christ is not biblical. That essentially turns the object of faith into the person’s own faith, fruit of faith, striving, repentance, etc. Jesus must be looked to, because our trust is to be in Him, not in the effects that He works in His people.
Also, those changes in believers will never be complete in this life. So, at what level would you find comfort in their improvement? Or, when God increases your faith, and you see that you are becoming more conformed to the image of Christ, would you raise the bar upon seeing that you are still not meeting God’s actual standard of holiness?
As Robert M’Chenye said, “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.” If your major focus is on your failure, lack of growth, doubt, etc., it will become a vicious cycle. Each notice of one of these concerns will drive you into deeper doubt. However, if that doubt drives you to the Savior you can cleanse you from every sin, then that is a happy end.
One more hymn to leave you with right now, Theresa.
Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity joined with pow’r:
He is able,
He is able,
He is able,
He is willing; doubt no more.
Come, ye needy, come and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Ev’ry grace that brings you nigh,
Without money,
Without money,
Without money,
Come to Jesus Christ and buy.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Bruised and broken by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all:
Not the righteous,
Not the righteous,
Not the righteous,
Sinners Jesus came to call.
Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness he requireth
Is to feel your need of him;
This he gives you,
This he gives you,
This he gives you;
‘Tis the Spirit’s rising beam.
Lo! th’incarnate God, ascended,
Pleads the merit of his blood;
Venture on him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude:
None but Jesus,
None but Jesus,
None but Jesus
Can do helpless sinners good.
February 22nd, 2013 at 11:20 am
Sorry, I misspelled your name.