Happy Anniversary

Welcome back to Sheep Dog's Place! It has been nearly a year since I began this blog, so I would like to take a moment to reflect on the Lord's blessing during that time. In the course of a year we have explored lessons spanning from Yahovah to Abraham even though we have covered only about half of the first book of the holy scriptures -- Genesis. Along the way, it has been my prayer that you have become at least a bit more acquainted with my very good Friend. For He is not merely the Reason for the season, He is the Reason for everything. As Colossians 1:16 succinctly puts it, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him."

It is my hope that you will come to realize that you are included. The Lord Jesus Christ created you for Him. But He did not stop there. He became one of us more than two millenia ago at the very first "Christmas". About 33 years later, though sinless and holy, He sacrificed His life's blood to pay in full the sin-debt of those who had, did, and would believe on Him. Then He victoriously rose again from the dead, spent many days with His disciples, and ascended back to Heaven promising to return one day not as the Lamb but as the Lion. My friend, are you ready to face Him who gave His all to save your soul from sin, death, and Hell? He created you to live and fellowship with Him, who loves you more than words can convey. He bridged the gap between our fallen state and Heavenly bliss with the unspeakable gift of His own substitutionary death on the cross.

Of course, "...the gift of God [being] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23b) is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, God's greatest gift to believers. However, one does not have to wait until the afterlife to begin fellowshipping with Christ and enjoy His blessings. As Romans 8:32 states, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" The Lord's blessings in this life are manifold although sometimes different than what one would expect.

For instance, as I reflect on this year I thank the Lord for the birth of one of my children, a promotion in my career, and a "new" car. However, I also thank the Lord for directing me by not allowing me to purchase additional real estate or send another of my children to private school. How are these latter items blessings? The first may have kept my family and I out of a messy dispute with our neighbors, whom I am glad to say are still our good friends. The second has facilitated my family and I being more involved in our child's education than we would otherwise have been and helped us to avoid a financial burden that may have overly strained our family. I could cite many other examples, but I am sure that you get the point.

I am not saying that I or my life are perfect. What I am saying is that there is a certain assurance in knowing the One who guides it, relying on Him, and developing a deeper relationship with Him. Even "little" things in life take on new meaning when you know the Savior. For example, when my newborn focused on me and cooed to me for the first time I understood a little better why God delights in our praying to Him. When my child asked about Santa Claus, I was challenged by God's honesty and realized how important the truth is. Christ put it best in John 8:31b-32, "...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Yahovah yireh

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. -- Genesis 22:1-14

Sometime after Isaac was born and Hagar & Ismael were expelled from Abraham's family, God "tempted" (tested) Abraham by commanding him to take Isaac to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him there. Interestingly, Mount Moriah would eventually be where Solomon would build the temple in Jerusalem. II Chronicles 3:1 records, "Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite."

It is difficult, to say the least, to even begin to fathom the anguish Abraham must have endured at this time. He had waited many years for Isaac, his promised son, and now was being commanded to offer him as a sacrifice. Not to mention, the natural love Abraham had as a father for his son would have screamed against such a course of action. But one should also take into consideration the now obvious parallel with a point made in John 3:16a, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son..."

Amazingly (and, I am inclined to believe, only by God's grace), Abraham obeyed God's command. He, Isaac, and two servants collected the necessary supplies and journeyed to Mount Moriah. There is some debate as to Isaac's age at this time. All the scriptures make clear is that he was at least old enough to talk but not more than 37 years old (based on when his mother, Sarah, died in the next chapter). However, Abraham referred to Isaac as a "lad", which in Hebrew is na`ar. It can mean boy or youth but could also refer to a young man.

At any rate, Isaac was old enough to notice the one thing they were missing: "And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham's reply was prophetic in more than one way: "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering..."

The absolutely salient question is does this scripture mean that God will provide a sacrifice for Himself or God will provide Himself as a sacrifice? Surprisingly, the answer is yes on both accounts. Obviously, the immediate record reveals that God provided a substitute -- "a ram caught in a thicket" -- for Isaac. However, this prophecy would ultimately be fulfilled nearly 2,000 years later when the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, sacrificed Himself as humanity's substitution-payment for sin.

The parallels of the two sacrifices are truly extraordinary such as both being supplied by God in an unexpected way and both dying on a mountain near Jerusalem. However, the differences are what really matters. The blood of sacrificial animals had no saving power, but the blood of the sinless Christ is full atonement for all who trust in Him. The ram was caught in a thicket, but Christ willingly suffered and died for humanity. The ram stayed quite dead, but the Lamb of God arose again and lives forever more. Amen.

Milestone Week

On a personal note, this has been a week of milestones. First, on Monday our elder children had their first bonafide dental appointments of their very own. We thank God that the children were composed during their examinations and cleanings and that their teeth were found to be healthy.

Second, on Tuesday my eldest child began attending school for the first time. It has been a matter of prayer for a while now, but God has graciously guided us into the world of formal education. My wife and I thank the Lord that our child is adjusting well to this major change in our lives. In fact, it appears to be quite a bit more difficult emotionally for the parents than for the child when starting school.

Third, on Wednesday my wonderful wife celebrated her birthday. The very fact that God has blessed me with her is much more than enough to prove beyond all doubt that He loves me. I wish I could have given her a worthy gift because she is more precious than a mountain of rubies. But, alas, my modest budget permitted only a card and dinner, which she seemed to enjoy nonetheless.

Fourth, yesterday my wife and I attended our first charity event. It consisted of a couple of short plays about domestic violence, and it was benefiting some of the local women's shelters. The plays were excellent; and although not entertaining, they educated the audience about the dynamics of domestic violence in a way only the arts can do. It was kind of "a picture is worth a thousand words" sort of thing. Without being graphic, they were very thought-provoking.

Fifth, today at work I closed the very first case I received on the job. Without boring you with the details, let me just say that my career entails being a case-worker. I am assigned cases (people), I manage those cases for a period of time rendering services and such, and then I close those cases once services are concluded. Although it wasn't cause to hold a press conference, it was notably satisfying to close the file on the first person I helped in my line of work.

Such were the milestones that the Lord blessed me with this week. Although I am thankful that every week is not so filled with new adjustments, I do thank God that He shakes us up a bit now and again. It brings us afresh to our knees in prayer and opens our eyes and hearts to blessings that we would have otherwise missed.

Yitschaq

And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. -- Genesis 21:1-10

Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. -- Galatians 4:21-31

God is faithful. This simple truth was brought home to Abraham again and again. Imagine the joy and wonder Abraham and Sarah experienced at the birth of their long-promised son despite their advanced age. It is no wonder that this son was named Isaac, which is derived from the Hebrew "yitschaq", and means he laughs. No matter how you look at it, the fulfillment of this promise, though long in coming, was nothing short of miraculous.

As amazing as this account is, it was not included in the scriptures merely as a historical record. In the fourth chapter of Galatians the Apostle Paul refers to the account as an allegory. An allegory is the symbolic meaning of a story. Although an allegory is not the literal meaning of a story, this does not discount the story's literal meaning in any way. In fact, allegories are frequently drawn from both factual accounts such as the one above and fictional stories such as The Three Little Pigs. The allegorical meaning may be true regardless of the authenticity of the original story.

In this case the apostle Paul alludes to two covenants, which he identifies as "mount Sinai" and "Jerusalem which is above". Of course, the reference to Sinai is meant to recall to our minds chapters 19 & 20 of Exodus where God met with the Israelites and declared His law to them. The essence of this covenant was obey the law and be blessed or break it and be cursed. Although it included the famous ten commandments, there was much more to the law disclosed in the Old Testament. Some have counted more than 600 commandments in the law from the Lord!

The second covenant is identified as "Jerusalem which is above". Instead of bondage, it offers freedom through promise. The contrasting natures and relationship between these two covenants are described further in the eighth chapter of Hebrews:

Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.... But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Even as Isaac was to Abraham and Sarah, so Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise to humanity. Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant and became the author of the New Covenant, which brings freedom to those who put their faith in Him. Sadly, many still choose to cling to the Old Covenant in one form or another. Perhaps they are trusting in keeping the ten commandments, or good works, or church attendance, or baptism, or any other law that their hearts can devise. Others try to combine a professed faith in Christ with religious deeds in the vain hope that they are covering all their bases.

Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. -- Galatians 4:30-31

A full "Defense of Calvinism"

A Defense of Calvinism

by C. H. Spurgeon

It is a great thing to begin the Christian life by believing good solid doctrine. Some people have received twenty different "gospels" in as many years; how many more they will accept before they get to their journey's end, it would be difficult to predict. I thank God that He early taught me the gospel, and I have been so perfectly satisfied with it, that I do not want to know any other. Constant change of creed is sure loss. If a tree has to be taken up two or three times a year, you will not need to build a very large loft in which to store the apples. When people are always shifting their doctrinal principles, they are not likely to bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. It is good for young believers to begin with a firm hold upon those great fundamental doctrines which the Lord has taught in His Word. Why, if I believed what some preach about the temporary, trumpery salvation which only lasts for a time, I would scarcely be at all grateful for it; but when I know that those whom God saves He saves with an everlasting salvation, when I know that He gives to them an everlasting righteousness, when I know that He settles them on an everlasting foundation of everlasting love, and that He will bring them to His everlasting kingdom, oh, then I do wonder, and I am astonished that such a blessing as this should ever have been given to me!

"Pause, my soul! adore, and wonder!
Ask, 'Oh, why such love to me?'
Grace hath put me in the number
Of the Saviour's family:
Hallelujah!
Thanks, eternal thanks, to Thee!"

I suppose there are some persons whose minds naturally incline towards the doctrine of free-will. I can only say that mine inclines as naturally towards the doctrines of sovereign grace. Sometimes, when I see some of the worst characters in the street, I feel as if my heart must burst forth in tears of gratitude that God has never let me act as they have done! I have thought, if God had left me alone, and had not touched me by His grace, what a great sinner I should have been! I should have run to the utmost lengths of sin, dived into the very depths of evil, nor should I have stopped at any vice or folly, if God had not restrained me. I feel that I should have been a very king of sinners, if God had let me alone. I cannot understand the reason why I am saved, except upon the ground that God would have it so. I cannot, if I look ever so earnestly, discover any kind of reason in myself why I should be a partaker of Divine grace. If I am not at this moment without Christ, it is only because Christ Jesus would have His will with me, and that will was that I should be with Him where He is, and should share His glory. I can put the crown nowhere but upon the head of Him whose mighty grace has saved me from going down into the pit. Looking back on my past life, I can see that the dawning of it all was of God; of God effectively. I took no torch with which to light the sun, but the sun enlightened me. I did not commence my spiritual life—no, I rather kicked, and struggled against the things of the Spirit: when He drew me, for a time I did not run after Him: there was a natural hatred in my soul of everything holy and good. Wooings were lost upon me—warnings were cast to the wind—thunders were despised; and as for the whispers of His love, they were rejected as being less than nothing and vanity. But, sure I am, I can say now, speaking on behalf of myself, "He only is my salvation." It was He who turned my heart, and brought me down on my knees before Him. I can in very deed, say with Doddridge and Toplady—

"Grace taught my soul to pray,
And made my eyes o'erflow;"

and coming to this moment, I can add—

"'Tis grace has kept me to this day,
And will not let me go."

Well can I remember the manner in which I learned the doctrines of grace in a single instant. Born, as all of us are by nature, an Arminian, I still believed the old things I had heard continually from the pulpit, and did not see the grace of God. When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soul—when they were, as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron, and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown on a sudden from a babe into a man—that I had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, the clue to the truth of God. One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher's sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a moment—I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, "I ascribe my change wholly to God."

I once attended a service where the text happened to be, "He shall choose our inheritance for us;" and the good man who occupied the pulpit was more than a little of an Arminian. Therefore, when he commenced, he said, "This passage refers entirely to our temporal inheritance, it has nothing whatever to do with our everlasting destiny, for," said he, "we do not want Christ to choose for us in the matter of Heaven or hell. It is so plain and easy, that every man who has a grain of common sense will choose Heaven, and any person would know better than to choose hell. We have no need of any superior intelligence, or any greater Being, to choose Heaven or hell for us. It is left to our own free-will, and we have enough wisdom given us, sufficiently correct means to judge for ourselves," and therefore, as he very logically inferred, there was no necessity for Jesus Christ, or anyone, to make a choice for us. We could choose the inheritance for ourselves without any assistance. "Ah!" I thought, "but, my good brother, it may be very true that we could, but I think we should want something more than common sense before we should choose aright."

First, let me ask, must we not all of us admit an over-ruling Providence, and the appointment of Jehovah's hand, as to the means whereby we came into this world? Those men who think that, afterwards, we are left to our own free-will to choose this one or the other to direct our steps, must admit that our entrance into the world was not of our own will, but that God had then to choose for us. What circumstances were those in our power which led us to elect certain persons to be our parents? Had we anything to do with it? Did not God Himself appoint our parents, native place, and friends? Could He not have caused me to be born with the skin of the Hottentot, brought forth by a filthy mother who would nurse me in her "kraal," and teach me to bow down to Pagan gods, quite as easily as to have given me a pious mother, who would each morning and night bend her knee in prayer on my behalf? Or, might He not, if He had pleased, have given me some profligate to have been my parent, from whose lips I might have early heard fearful, filthy, and obscene language? Might He not have placed me where I should have had a drunken father, who would have immured me in a very dungeon of ignorance, and brought me up in the chains of crime? Was it not God's Providence that I had so happy a lot, that both my parents were His children, and endeavoured to train me up in the fear of the Lord?

John Newton used to tell a whimsical story, and laugh at it, too, of a good woman who said, in order to prove the doctrine of election, "Ah! sir, the Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else He would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards." I am sure it is true in my case; I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that great Biblical doctrine. I recollect an Arminian brother telling me that he had read the Scriptures through a score or more times, and could never find the doctrine of election in them. He added that he was sure he would have done so if it had been there, for he read the Word on his knees. I said to him, "I think you read the Bible in a very uncomfortable posture, and if you had read it in your easy chair, you would have been more likely to understand it. Pray, by all means, and the more, the better, but it is a piece of superstition to think there is anything in the posture in which a man puts himself for reading: and as to reading through the Bible twenty times without having found anything about the doctrine of election, the wonder is that you found anything at all: you must have galloped through it at such a rate that you were not likely to have any intelligible idea of the meaning of the Scriptures."

If it would be marvelous to see one river leap up from the earth full-grown, what would it be to gaze upon a vast spring from which all the rivers of the earth should at once come bubbling up, a million of them born at a birth? What a vision would it be! Who can conceive it. And yet the love of God is that fountain, from which all the rivers of mercy, which have ever gladdened our race—all the rivers of grace in time, and of glory hereafter—take their rise. My soul, stand thou at that sacred fountain-head, and adore and magnify, for ever and ever, God, even our Father, who hath loved us! In the very beginning, when this great universe lay in the mind of God, like unborn forests in the acorn cup; long ere the echoes awoke the solitudes; before the mountains were brought forth; and long ere the light flashed through the sky, God loved His chosen creatures. Before there was any created being—when the ether was not fanned by an angel's wing, when space itself had not an existence, when there was nothing save God alone—even then, in that loneliness of Deity, and in that deep quiet and profundity, His bowels moved with love for His chosen. Their names were written on His heart, and then were they dear to His soul. Jesus loved His people before the foundation of the world—even from eternity! and when He called me by His grace, He said to me, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Then, in the fulness of time, He purchased me with His blood; He let His heart run out in one deep gaping wound for me long ere I loved Him. Yea, when He first came to me, did I not spurn Him? When He knocked at the door, and asked for entrance, did I not drive Him away, and do despite to His grace? Ah, I can remember that I full often did so until, at last, by the power of His effectual grace, He said, "I must, I will come in;" and then He turned my heart, and made me love Him. But even till now I should have resisted Him, had it not been for His grace. Well, then since He purchased me when I was dead in sins, does it not follow, as a consequence necessary and logical, that He must have loved me first? Did my Saviour die for me because I believed on Him? No; I was not then in existence; I had then no being. Could the Saviour, therefore, have died because I had faith, when I myself was not yet born? Could that have been possible? Could that have been the origin of the Saviour's love towards me? Oh! no; my Saviour died for me long before I believed. "But," says someone, "He foresaw that you would have faith; and, therefore, He loved you." What did He foresee about my faith? Did He foresee that I should get that faith myself, and that I should believe on Him of myself? No; Christ could not foresee that, because no Christian man will ever say that faith came of itself without the gift and without the working of the Holy Spirit. I have met with a great many believers, and talked with them about this matter; but I never knew one who could put his hand on his heart, and say, "I believed in Jesus without the assistance of the Holy Spirit."

I am bound to the doctrine of the depravity of the human heart, because I find myself depraved in heart, and have daily proofs that in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing. If God enters into covenant with unfallen man, man is so insignificant a creature that it must be an act of gracious condescension on the Lord's part; but if God enters into covenant with sinful man, he is then so offensive a creature that it must be, on God's part, an act of pure, free, rich, sovereign grace. When the Lord entered into covenant with me, I am sure that it was all of grace, nothing else but grace. When I remember what a den of unclean beasts and birds my heart was, and how strong was my unrenewed will, how obstinate and rebellious against the sovereignty of the Divine rule, I always feel inclined to take the very lowest room in my Father's house, and when I enter Heaven, it will be to go among the less than the least of all saints, and with the chief of sinners.

The late lamented Mr. Denham has put, at the foot of his portrait, a most admirable text, "Salvation is of the Lord." That is just an epitome of Calvinism; it is the sum and substance of it. If anyone should ask me what I mean by a Calvinist, I should reply, "He is one who says, Salvation is of the Lord." I cannot find in Scripture any other doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. "He only is my rock and my salvation." Tell me anything contrary to this truth, and it will be a heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has departed from this great, this fundamental, this rock-truth, "God is my rock and my salvation." What is the heresy of Rome, but the addition of something to the perfect merits of Jesus Christ—the bringing in of the works of the flesh, to assist in our justification? And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the Redeemer? Every heresy, if brought to the touchstone, will discover itself here. I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.

"If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas!
Would fall a thousand times a day."

If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be; and then there is no gospel promise true, but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then He will love me for ever. God has a master-mind; He arranged everything in His gigantic intellect long before He did it; and once having settled it, He never alters it, "This shall be done," saith He, and the iron hand of destiny marks it down, and it is brought to pass. "This is My purpose," and it stands, nor can earth or hell alter it. "This is My decree," saith He, "promulgate it, ye holy angels; rend it down from the gate of Heaven, ye devils, if ye can; but ye cannot alter the decree, it shall stand for ever." God altereth not His plans; why should He? He is Almighty, and therefore can perform His pleasure. Why should He? He is the All-wise, and therefore cannot have planned wrongly. Why should He? He is the everlasting God, and therefore cannot die before His plan is accomplished. Why should He change? Ye worthless atoms of earth, ephemera of a day, ye creeping insects upon this bay-leaf of existence, ye may change your plans, but He shall never, never change His. Has He told me that His plan is to save me? If so, I am for ever safe.

"My name from the palms of His hands
Eternity will not erase;
Impress'd on His heart it remains,
In marks of indelible grace."

I do not know how some people, who believe that a Christian can fall from grace, manage to be happy. It must be a very commendable thing in them to be able to get through a day without despair. If I did not believe the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, I think I should be of all men the most miserable, because I should lack any ground of comfort. I could not say, whatever state of heart I came into, that I should be like a well-spring of water, whose stream fails not; I should rather have to take the comparison of an intermittent spring, that might stop on a sudden, or a reservoir, which I had no reason to expect would always be full. I believe that the happiest of Christians and the truest of Christians are those who never dare to doubt God, but who take His Word simply as it stands, and believe it, and ask no questions, just feeling assured that if God has said it, it will be so. I bear my willing testimony that I have no reason, nor even the shadow of a reason, to doubt my Lord, and I challenge Heaven, and earth, and hell, to bring any proof that God is untrue. From the depths of hell I call the fiends, and from this earth I call the tried and afflicted believers, and to Heaven I appeal, and challenge the long experience of the blood-washed host, and there is not to be found in the three realms a single person who can bear witness to one fact which can disprove the faithfulness of God, or weaken His claim to be trusted by His servants. There are many things that may or may not happen, but this I know shall happen—

"He shall present my soul,
Unblemish'd and complete,
Before the glory of His face,
With joys divinely great."

All the purposes of man have been defeated, but not the purposes of God. The promises of man may be broken—many of them are made to be broken—but the promises of God shall all be fulfilled. He is a promise-maker, but He never was a promise-breaker; He is a promise-keeping God, and every one of His people shall prove it to be so. This is my grateful, personal confidence, "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me"—unworthy me, lost and ruined me. He will yet save me; and—

"I, among the blood-wash'd throng,
Shall wave the palm, and wear the crown,
And shout loud victory."

I go to a land which the plough of earth hath never upturned, where it is greener than earth's best pastures, and richer than her most abundant harvests ever saw. I go to a building of more gorgeous architecture than man hath ever builded; it is not of mortal design; it is "a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens." All I shall know and enjoy in Heaven, will be given to me by the Lord, and I shall say, when at last I appear before Him—

"Grace all the work shall crown
Through everlasting days;
It lays in Heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise."

I know there are some who think it necessary to their system of theology to limit the merit of the blood of Jesus: if my theological system needed such a limitation, I would cast it to the winds. I cannot, I dare not allow the thought to find a lodging in my mind, it seems so near akin to blasphemy. In Christ's finished work I see an ocean of merit; my plummet finds no bottom, my eye discovers no shore. There must be sufficient efficacy in the blood of Christ, if God had so willed it, to have saved not only all in this world, but all in ten thousand worlds, had they transgressed their Maker's law. Once admit infinity into the matter, and limit is out of the question. Having a Divine Person for an offering, it is not consistent to conceive of limited value; bound and measure are terms inapplicable to the Divine sacrifice. The intent of the Divine purpose fixes the application of the infinite offering, but does not change it into a finite work. Think of the numbers upon whom God has bestowed His grace already. Think of the countless hosts in Heaven: if thou wert introduced there to-day, thou wouldst find it as easy to tell the stars, or the sands of the sea, as to count the multitudes that are before the throne even now. They have come from the East, and from the West, from the North, and from the South, and they are sitting down with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob in the Kingdom of God; and beside those in Heaven, think of the saved ones on earth. Blessed be God, His elect on earth are to be counted by millions, I believe, and the days are coming, brighter days than these, when there shall be multitudes upon multitudes brought to know the Saviour, and to rejoice in Him. The Father's love is not for a few only, but for an exceeding great company. "A great multitude, which no man could number," will be found in Heaven. A man can reckon up to very high figures; set to work your Newtons, your mightiest calculators, and they can count great numbers, but God and God alone can tell the multitude of His redeemed. I believe there will be more in Heaven than in hell. If anyone asks me why I think so, I answer, because Christ, in everything, is to "have the pre-eminence," and I cannot conceive how He could have the pre-eminence if there are to be more in the dominions of Satan than in Paradise. Moreover, I have never read that there is to be in hell a great multitude, which no man could number. I rejoice to know that the souls of all infants, as soon as they die, speed their way to Paradise. Think what a multitude there is of them! Then there are already in Heaven unnumbered myriads of the spirits of just men made perfect—the redeemed of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues up till now; and there are better times coming, when the religion of Christ shall be universal; when—

"He shall reign from pole to pole,
With illimitable sway;"

when whole kingdoms shall bow down before Him, and nations shall be born in a day, and in the thousand years of the great millennial state there will be enough saved to make up all the deficiencies of the thousands of years that have gone before. Christ shall be Master everywhere, and His praise shall be sounded in every land. Christ shall have the pre-eminence at last; His train shall be far larger than that which shall attend the chariot of the grim monarch of hell.

Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement because they say, "It is so beautiful. It is a lovely idea that Christ should have died for all men; it commends itself," they say, "to the instincts of humanity; there is something in it full of joy and beauty." I admit there is, but beauty may be often associated with falsehood. There is much which I might admire in the theory of universal redemption, but I will just show what the supposition necessarily involves. If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins. Once again, if it was Christ's intention to save all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed, for we have His own testimony that there is a lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, and into that pit of woe have been cast some of the very persons who, according to the theory of universal redemption, were bought with His blood. That seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption. To think that my Saviour died for men who were or are in hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to entertain. To imagine for a moment that He was the Substitute for all the sons of men, and that God, having first punished the Substitute, afterwards punished the sinners themselves, seems to conflict with all my ideas of Divine justice. That Christ should offer an atonement and satisfaction for the sins of all men, and that afterwards some of those very men should be punished for the sins for which Christ had already atoned, appears to me to be the most monstrous iniquity that could ever have been imputed to Saturn, to Janus, to the goddess of the Thugs, or to the most diabolical heathen deities. God forbid that we should ever think thus of Jehovah, the just and wise and good!

There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer—I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it. But far be it from me even to imagine that Zion contains none but Calvinistic Christians within her walls, or that there are none saved who do not hold our views. Most atrocious things have been spoken about the character and spiritual condition of John Wesley, the modern prince of Arminians. I can only say concerning him that, while I detest many of the doctrines which he preached, yet for the man himself I have a reverence second to no Wesleyan; and if there were wanted two apostles to be added to the number of the twelve, I do not believe that there could be found two men more fit to be so added than George Whitefield and John Wesley. The character of John Wesley stands beyond all imputation for self-sacrifice, zeal, holiness, and communion with God; he lived far above the ordinary level of common Christians, and was one "of whom the world was not worthy." I believe there are multitudes of men who cannot see these truths, or, at least, cannot see them in the way in which we put them, who nevertheless have received Christ as their Saviour, and are as dear to the heart of the God of grace as the soundest Calvinist in or out of Heaven.

I do not think I differ from any of my Hyper-Calvinistic brethren in what I do believe, but I differ from them in what they do not believe. I do not hold any less than they do, but I hold a little more, and, I think, a little more of the truth revealed in the Scriptures. Not only are there a few cardinal doctrines, by which we can steer our ship North, South, East, or West, but as we study the Word, we shall begin to learn something about the North-west and North-east, and all else that lies between the four cardinal points. The system of truth revealed in the Scriptures is not simply one straight line, but two; and no man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. For instance, I read in one Book of the Bible, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Yet I am taught, in another part of the same inspired Word, that "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." I see, in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free-will. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so over-rules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism. That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.

It is often said that the doctrines we believe have a tendency to lead us to sin. I have heard it asserted most positively, that those high doctrines which we love, and which we find in the Scriptures, are licentious ones. I do not know who will have the hardihood to make that assertion, when they consider that the holiest of men have been believers in them. I ask the man who dares to say that Calvinism is a licentious religion, what he thinks of the character of Augustine, or Calvin, or Whitefield, who in successive ages were the great exponents of the system of grace; or what will he say of the Puritans, whose works are full of them? Had a man been an Arminian in those days, he would have been accounted the vilest heretic breathing, but now we are looked upon as the heretics, and they as the orthodox. We have gone back to the old school; we can trace our descent from the apostles. It is that vein of free-grace, running through the sermonizing of Baptists, which has saved us as a denomination. Were it not for that, we should not stand where we are today. We can run a golden line up to Jesus Christ Himself, through a holy succession of mighty fathers, who all held these glorious truths; and we can ask concerning them, "Where will you find holier and better men in the world?" No doctrine is so calculated to preserve a man from sin as the doctrine of the grace of God. Those who have called it "a licentious doctrine" did not know anything at all about it. Poor ignorant things, they little knew that their own vile stuff was the most licentious doctrine under Heaven. If they knew the grace of God in truth, they would soon see that there was no preservative from lying like a knowledge that we are elect of God from the foundation of the world. There is nothing like a belief in my eternal perseverance, and the immutability of my Father's affection, which can keep me near to Him from a motive of simple gratitude. Nothing makes a man so virtuous as belief of the truth. A lying doctrine will soon beget a lying practice. A man cannot have an erroneous belief without by-and-by having an erroneous life. I believe the one thing naturally begets the other. Of all men, those have the most disinterested piety, the sublimest reverence, the most ardent devotion, who believe that they are saved by grace, without works, through faith, and that not of themselves, it is the gift of God. Christians should take heed, and see that it always is so, lest by any means Christ should be crucified afresh, and put to an open shame.

A Defense of Calvinism

"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." -- Ecclesiastes 1:9


A Defense of Calvinism

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

It is a great thing to begin the Christian life by believing good solid doctrine. Some people have received twenty different "gospels" in as many years; how many more they will accept before they get to their journey's end, it would be difficult to predict. I thank God that He early taught me the gospel, and I have been so perfectly satisfied with it, that I do not want to know any other. Why, if I believed what some preach about the temporary, trumpery salvation which only lasts for a time, I would scarcely be at all grateful for it; but when I know that those whom God saves He saves with an everlasting salvation, when I know that He gives to them an everlasting righteousness, when I know that He settles them on an everlasting foundation of everlasting love, and that He will bring them to His everlasting kingdom, oh, then I do wonder, and I am astonished that such a blessing as this should ever have been given to me!

I suppose there are some persons whose minds naturally incline towards the doctrine of free-will. I can only say that mine inclines as naturally towards the doctrines of sovereign grace. Sometimes, when I see some of the worst characters in the street, I feel as if my heart must burst forth in tears of gratitude that if God had left me alone and had not touched me by His grace, what a great sinner I should have been! I should have run to the utmost lengths of sin, dived into the very depths of evil, nor should I have stopped at any vice or folly, if God had not restrained me. I feel that I should have been a very king of sinners, if God had let me alone. I cannot understand the reason why I am saved, except upon the ground that God would have it so. I cannot, if I look ever so earnestly, discover any kind of reason in myself why I should be a partaker of Diving grace. If I am not at this moment without Christ, it is only because Christ Jesus would have His will with me, and that will was that I should be with Him where He is, and should share His glory. I can put the crown nowhere but upon the head of Him whose mighty grace has saved me from going down into the pit. It was He who turned my heart, and brought me down on my knees before Him.

Well can I remember the manner in which I learned the doctrines of grace in a single instant. Born, as all of us are by nature, an Arminian, I still believed the old things I had heard continually from the pulpit, and did not see the grace of God. When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soul when they were, as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron, and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown on a sudden from a babe into a man that had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, the clue to the truth of God. One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher's sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, "How did you come to be a Christian?" I sought the Lord. "But how did you come to seek the Lord?" The truth flashed across my mind in a moment I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, "I ascribe my change wholly to God."

I once attended a service where the text happened to be, "He shall choose our inheritance for us;" and the good man who occupied the pulpit was more than a little of an Arminian. Therefore, when he commenced, he said, "This passage refers entirely to our temporal inheritance, it has nothing whatever to do with our everlasting destiny, for," said he, "we do not want Christ to choose for us in the matter of Heaven or hell. It is so plain and easy, that every man who has a grain of common sense will choose Heaven, and any person would know better than to choose hell. We have no need of any superior intelligence, or any greater Being, to choose Heaven or hell for us. It is left to our own free-will, and we have enough wisdom given us, sufficiently correct means to judge for ourselves," and therefore, as he very logically inferred, there was no necessity for Jesus Christ, or anyone, to make a choice for us. We could choose the inheritance for ourselves without any assistance. "Ah!" I thought, "but, my good brother, it may be very true that we could, but I think we should want something more than common sense before we should choose aright."

First, let me ask, must we not all of us admit an over-ruling Providence, and the appointment of Jehovah's hand, as to the means whereby we came into this world? Those men who think that, afterwards, we are left to our own free-will to choose this one or the other to direct our steps, must admit that our entrance into the world was not of our own will, but that God had then to choose for us. What circumstances were those in our power which led us to elect certain persons to be our parents? Had we anything to do with it? Did not God Himself appoint our parents, native place, and friends?

John Newton used to tell a whimsical story of a good woman who said, in order to prove the doctrine of election, "Ah! sir, the Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else He would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards." I am sure it is true in my case; I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love.

If it would be marvelous to see one river leap up from the earth full-grown, what would it be to gaze upon a vast spring from which all the rivers of the earth should at once come bubbling up, a million of them born at a birth? What a vision would it be! Who can conceive it. And yet the love of God is that fountain, from which all the rivers of mercy, which have ever gladdened our race all the rivers of grace in time, and of glory hereafter take their rise. My soul, stand thou at that sacred fountainhead, and adore and magnify for ever and ever God, even our Father, who hath loved us! In the very beginning, when this great universe lay in the mind of God, like unborn forests in the acorn cup; long ere the echoes awoke the solitudes; before the mountains ere brought forth; and long ere the light flashed through the sky, God loved His chosen creatures. Before there was any created being when the ether was not fanned by an angel's wing, when space itself had not an existence, when there was nothing save God alone even then, in that loneliness of Deity, and in that deep quiet and profundity, His heart moved with love for His chosen. Their names were written on His heart, and then were they dear to His soul. Jesus loved His people before the foundation of the world even from eternity! and when He called me by His grace, He said to me, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee."

If anyone should ask me what I mean by a Calvinist, I should reply, "He is one who says, Salvation of the Lord." I cannot find in Scripture any other doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. "He only is my rock and my salvation." Tell me anything contrary to this truth, and it will be a heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has departed from this great, this fundamental, this rock-truth, "God is my rock and my salvation." What is the heresy of Rome, but the addition of something to the perfect merits of Jesus Christ the bringing in of the works of the flesh, to assist in our justification? And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the Redeemer? Every heresy, if brought to the touch-stone, will discover itself here. I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.

There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it. But far be it from me even to imagine that Zion contains none but Calvinistic Christians within her walls, or that there are none saved who do not hold our views. I believe there are multitudes of men who cannot see these truths, or, at least, cannot see them in the way in which we put them, who nevertheless have received Christ as their Saviour, and are as dear to the heart of the God of grace as the soundest Calvinist in or out of Heaven.

It is often said that the doctrines we believe have a tendency to lead us to sin. I have heard it asserted most positively, that those high doctrines which we love, and which we find in the Scriptures, are licentious ones. I do not know who will have the hardihood to make that assertion, when they consider that the holiest of men have been believers in them. I ask the man who dares to say that Calvinism is a licentious religion, what he thinks of the character of Augustine, or Calvin, or Whitefield, who in successive ages were the great exponents of the system of grace; or what will he say of the Puritans, whose works are full of them? Had a man been an Arminian in those days, he would have been accounted the vilest heretic breathing, but now we are looked upon as the heretics, and they as the orthodox. We have gone back to the old school; we can trace our descent from the apostles. It is that vein of free-grace, running through the sermonizing of Baptists, which has saved us as a denomination. Were it not for that, we should not stand where we are today. We can run a golden line up to Jesus Christ Himself, through a holy succession of mighty fathers, who all held these glorious truths; and we can ask concerning them, "Where will you find holier and better men in the world?" No doctrine is so calculated to preserve a man from sin as the doctrine of the grace of God. Those who have called it "a licentious doctrine" did not know anything at all about it. Poor ignorant things, they little knew that their own vile stuff was the most licentious doctrine under Heaven. If they knew the grace of God in truth, they would soon see that there was no preservative from lying like a knowledge that we are elect of God from the foundation of the world. There is nothing like a belief in my eternal perseverance, and the immutability of my Father's affection, which can keep me near to Him from a motive of simple gratitude. Nothing makes a man so virtuous as belief of the truth. A lying doctrine will soon beget a lying practice. A man cannot have an erroneous belief without by-and-by having an erroneous life. I believe the one thing naturally begets the other. Of all men, those have the most disinterested piety, the sublimest reverence, the most ardent devotion, who believe that they are saved by grace, without works, through faith, and that not of themselves, it is the gift of God. Christians should take heed, and see that it always is so, lest by any means Christ should be crucified afresh, and put to an open shame.

The above appears to be an abridged version from http://www.ntslibrary.com/christian-doctrine-history-PDF-books.htm.

Sodom and Gomorrah

And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? -- Genesis 18:20-23

Since we last left Abraham, he has had several major changes in his life. The first was his son Ishmael, who was born to Abraham and Sarah's handmaid, Hagar. The second was God's changing Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. The third was the advent of circumcision. And the fourth was God's promise to Abraham at 100 years old and Sarah at 90 years old that they would have a son and call him Isaac.

Against this background of change and revelation, the Lord made the above comment to Abraham. Abraham's response revealed his understanding of both Whom he was addressing and the character of those residing in those cities. How many of us would have tried to defend Sodom and Gomorrah? (Come on, Lord, they're not all that bad.) Or perhaps would we have challenged how the Lord would respond? (But, Lord, you can't kill them!)

Perhaps it is inherent in our nature, but we have a tendency to not appreciate how horrible our sin is in God's sight. It is perhaps for this very reason that the Lord reminds us of this fact from time to time. He did it with the flood in Noah's day, and He was about to do it again at Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham's time. Of course, there would be many similar instances in the years following Abraham as well. We would do well not to confuse God's mercy, paid for with His own blood, with a supposed lapse of judgment. Sin has and will always offend the Holy One.

Abraham, by God's grace, appears to have understood this fact. His only request to the Lord was that He spare the righteous. This, of course, is the point of the record. The account of the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah is not so much about God's judgment as it is a revelation of His mercy. Just as in the days of Noah, God sent word to Lot of the impending doom. Lot tries to persuade others, but they simply do not believe. In the end only he and his immediate family believe and escape annihilation.

And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city....Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. -- Genesis 19:14,15,24,25

Although there have been many sermons preached out of the above passage condemning homosexuality, that does not seem to be the emphasis in the scriptures. Certainly, the scriptures do define homosexuality as sin, but the bible no where indicates that God views it differently than any other sin. Genesis 18 & 19 does not even specify that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexuality. In Genesis 18:20 the Lord said, "...their sin is very grievous." Most likely homosexuality was one of many sins. Even a quick review of Genesis 19 reveals several other sins such as pride, oppression, lust, anger, and stubbornness. Of course, it has always been easier to condemn another's sin than face one's own.

But I digress. In the end we can be certain that although God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sin, those there condemned themselves by not believing the word of God preached by Lot. Also, we can be sure that God is quite capable of delivering those who do believe Him. Certainly there are many questions regarding Lot's character, but this much can be said for him: when the angels came to him with God's word, he believed them; and the Lord counted him as righteous. Therefore I do not part with asking for your position on homosexuality or an assessment of your character but rather with the simple question, "Do you believe God's word?"

Tsadaqah

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. -- Genesis 15:1-6

When last we met, Abram was enjoying one of the high points of his life. He started off as a wayfaring pilgrim leaving his home at the age of 75. He soon encountered a famine and was forced to flee to Egypt. There he felt compelled to deceive Pharaoh and place his wife, Sarai, in a compromising position to avoid his being slain. The Lord miraculously delivered Abram and his family as they were simultaneously expelled from Egypt and given great wealth. Soon afterwards, their riches divided Abram and his nephew, Lot, who was subsequently captured by an invading army. Against all odds, Abram and a few hundred of his servants rescued Lot and all the other captives from the raiding army. Upon returning home, Abram was met by the King and Priest Melchizedek, who blessed him and to whom Abram gave "tithes of all."

Ironically, it is on the heels of Abram's mountain-top experience that we find him lamenting. Although he was rich in goods, valiant at arms, respected by kings, and blessed by God, Abram recognized that his success was limited by his mortality. When God came to him "in a vision" Abram simply asked, "Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless?"

At first glance it appears that Abram is being a bit ungrateful, but closer inspection reveals that he does not want more for himself but rather to share what he has. Abram's perspective was maturing from a self-centered view to a long-term one encompassing future generations. He was not the only one recorded in the scriptures to undergo this transformation: both kings David and Solomon, though they enjoyed unmatched personal success in their day, eventually reached a point where they were most concerned about their children. In the New Testament several of the apostles seem to have experienced a similar concern for their spiritual descendants -- the church.

It seems likely that Abram's complaint was about his lack of biological offspring. And God answers Abram's prayer by promising him a biological heir even though it seemed an impossibility considering Abram's & Sarai's advanced age. But the Lord goes even further in His promise to Abram by adding that Abram's children will be as numerous as the stars. By the grace of God, Abram "believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. -- Jeremiah 23:5-6

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. -- Romans 3:21-26

Romans 10:4 declares, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

The Hebrew word translated "righteousness" in Genesis 15:6 is tsadaqah; and it is defined as justice, righteousness, and truthfulness. Although tsadaqah appears 150 times in the Old Testament in a variety of contexts, one of the recurring themes of the word is God's righteousness in a saving or justifying manner. Based on the language of Genesis 15:6 (i.e. "...he counted it to him for righteousness), such seems to be the use here. Although Abram is a sinner by birth, God counts him righteous because "he believed in the LORD."

What Abram did or did not understand about this promise is not all that pertinent for us today. What is pertinent for us today is what we understand, so let's review what God has revealed so far.

Genesis 3:15 says, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

The Savior will be descended from Eve and will destroy the Devil.

Genesis 3:21 states, "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."

Genesis 4:4 accounts, "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering."

The Savior will need to sacrifice blood in order to redeem or buy back sinners.

Genesis 6:8 declares, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."

The Savior is a gift of God's grace.

Genesis 6:13-14a proclaims, "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark...."

Although humanity is universally sinful and condemned, the Savior is the one way to life.

Genesis 12:2-3 records, "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

The Savior will come through Abram but will be a blessing to "all families of the earth."

Genesis 14:18 foretells, "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God."

The Savior will be a priest similar in nature to Melchizedek.

Genesis 15:6 chronicles, "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

The Savior will impute righteousness to those who believe in Him.

Melchizedek

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. -- Genesis 14:18-20

In the last post, we examined God's blessing of Abram recorded in the beginning of Genesis 12. Let's take a moment to highlight Abram's life as chronicled in the scriptures from chapter twelve to chapter fourteen of Genesis.

First, Abram by faith obeys God's call and leaves his home. Among others his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, accompany him. Because of a famine Abram journeys south to Egypt where he stays for a time. Apparently, Sarai was quite "the looker" because eventually Pharaoh expels Abram out of Egypt after Pharaoh, having been deceived by Abram about the nature of Abram's & Sarai's relationship, attempts and fails to take Sarai as his wife.

Next, Abram returns north but is now confronted with a new problem: his and his nephew's herdsmen are disputing over pasture-land, which is in too short supply for the combined total of their livestock. They decide on the obvious solution and go their separate ways with Lot choosing to live near Sodom.

Finally, a war involving Sodom erupts and Lot is taken as a prisoner of war. This news reaches Abram, who arms "his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen," and miraculously rescues Lot and the other prisoners from the invading army. Upon his return Abram is met by the king of Sodom and the enigmatic King of Salem. Fortunately, much of the mystery surrounding Melchizedek is explained in the New Testament.

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. -- Hebrews 7:1-4

Melchizedek's name is interpreted as the King of righteousness, and he is identified as the King of peace. Romans 5:21 declares, "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord;" and the first verse of the chapter proclaims, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Of course, there are many other scriptures pointing to Christ as being our source of righteousness and peace; but Melchizedek provided more clues to his identity. He then "brought forth bread and wine." The significance of this act in light of the Lord's supper cannot be overlooked.

And he[Jesus Christ] took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. -- Luke 22:19-20

Also, Melchizedek is called "the priest of the most high God." One must remember that this appellation predates the Levitical priesthood, which would not begin for three more generations.

By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. -- Hebrews 7:22-28

Finally, one should consider Abram's response of giving Melchizedek "tithes of all." Giving an offering is an act of worship not to be entered into lightly. By this time Abram was a worshipper of Yahovah because chapters twelve and thirteen of Genesis record Abram building at least three altars to the Lord and calling upon the Lord at least four times. Clearly, Abram knew exactly who Melchizedek was. The question is, "Do you?"

Barakah

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. -- Genesis 12:1-3

The Hebrew word translated "blessing" in the above passage is barakah, and it is defined among other ways as a source of blessing, a gift or present, or a treaty of peace. As you have probably guessed, the words translated as "bless" and "blessed" are closely related to barakah. Although the above passage is recounting specific commands and promises made by Yahovah to Abram, it is also an important revelation about Eve's "seed," who was previously foretold about in Genesis 3:14-15. However, before we go into detail about that let's take a moment to try to better understand Abram's history up to this point.

Abram is removed from Noah by only 11 generations. Although that may seem like a long time, one should consider that 11 generations ago our ancestors were likely discussing or fighting for American independence. In contrast, the birth of Noah and the birth of Abram were separated by 892 years. Continuing with our analogy, 892 years ago our ancestors were likely discussing or fighting in the Crusades!

The reason for this dramatic difference is that people during the time period from Noah to Abram were still enjoying what we would consider to be supernaturally long lifespans. Although humans were no longer living eight or nine hundred years, they were still blessed with 200 to 400 years of vitality.

There were, no doubt, many changes between the time of Noah and Abram's day; but I would like to focus on the couple that are mentioned in scripture. Perhaps the most profound difference was the confounding or mixing up of humanity's one language into many. Certainly, this had some effect on transitioning a family-oriented culture to a nation-oriented one.

Another major change was people's initiating propagation at a much younger age than they previously did. For instance, Noah did not have his three sons until he was 500 years old; however, Abram was born when his father was only 70 years old. This would have had two effects on Abram's culture. First, the world's population would have been growing at a much increased rate. Second, one would have been contemporary with not only his parents and grandparents, but also with many of his forefathers. For example, Noah was still alive for much of Abram's life.

Now that we have a some idea of Abram's world, we can turn again to the Lord's revelation to him in Genesis 12. Certainly, God is revealing to Abram that He will make the nation of Israel from Abram. However, the promise goes much further than that because the Lord tells Abram, "...in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." The Lord uses the Apostle Paul to explain in Galatians 3:7-8, which states:

Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

The beginning of Genesis 12 recounts God's prophesying to Abram two important truths about the coming Savior. First, He will come as a member of the nation of Israel. Second, He will come to bless "all families of the earth." Abram may also have concluded that the One to come will be the Source of blessing, the Gift, & the Peace-maker.

Abraham is commonly reported as the father of the faithful, and that is certainly a title that he earned by God's grace. However, Abraham's faith was blessed only because of the Object of his faith -- the Lord. So I would like to leave you not with the common question of "Do you believe?" but rather "In what or whom do you believe?" Lord willing, we will learn more of the blessed One in the next post soon.

Loving Our Kids on Purpose

Recently, I finished reading Danny Silk's book, Loving Our Kids on Purpose. The author is some sort of family or associate pastor, but he indicates that he wrote the book because of his experience as a foster-parent having to utilize non-corporal discipline exclusively. Despite the stated basis for the book, it appears the only specific examples he cites pertain to his natural children.

His main argument in the book is that parents should love their children without causing them to fear punishment or discipline such as spanking or the rod. His primary, and perhaps sole, scriptural support is I John 4:18 which states, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

On the surface, the above verse makes a fairly convincing case. After all, it seems pretty clear that fear and love are mutually exclusive at least in this passage. And although Mr. Silk does not exactly build his case with scripture, he does pull out of his bag of tricks a handy anecdote, which he repeats "ad nauseum", to really cinch the deal. It appears that at some point in time either he or one of his children noticed a picture of a large yellow construction-sized dump-truck crushing a red street-sized pick-up. Upon viewing this picture he seems to have had an epiphany of sorts and concluded that there are no yellow trucks in Heaven.

I know pastors love their illustrations, but this book is a perfect example of how widely misused they are even by the clergy. First of all, I will admit that illustrations do have their place in helping one to understand a difficult concept. However, illustrations are not scripture; nor do they carry the weight or force of scripture. Unfortunately, Mr. Silk relies on this illustration to be one of, if not the primary, source(s) of evidence for his premise. Although Mr. Silk draws some debatable conclusions from this illustration, it really doesn't amount to a hill of beans because he relies on the illustration, not scripture, as proof for his point.

So let's get back to what scriptural support Mr. Silk does use -- I John 4:18. On page 54 of his book Mr. Silk defines the passage by saying, "It means that all the fear leaves your life when love comes in. There is no fear of punishment in love!"

The Greek word translated as "fear" in this passage is phobos, and it means alarm or fright according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Additionally, there are several other closely related words such as phobeo. However, just like many English words, context is important to defining the Greek phobos and its derivatives. Perhaps that is why I Corinthians 2:12-13 gives the following instruction:

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Now, while I concede that I John 4:18 certainly makes a profound theological point regarding the Christian's relationship to his Savior, I am not convinced that it is a universal truth applicable to the parent-child relationship. If, as Mr. Silk puts it, "...fear leaves your life when love comes in," then how does he explain the following "problem" texts to name just a few of the many examples available:

"And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word." -- Matthew 28:8

"And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day." -- Luke 5:26

"There is no fear of God before their eyes." -- Romans 3:18

"Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour." -- Romans 13:7

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God....For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter....And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him. -- II Corinthians 7:1,11,15

"Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." -- Ephesians 5:21

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." -- Philippians 2:12

"Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." -- I Timothy 5:20

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:" -- I Peter 1:17

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" -- I Peter 3:15

In a word, he doesn't. Frankly, I found this aspect of the book rather alarming coming from a man who identifies himself as a pastor. Perhaps I shouldn't be shocked, but this was a scripturally shallow, if not outright erroneous, book written to scripturally shallow readers. The real tragedy is that Mr. Silk's book is only one of many such "wishy-washy" publications readily received by many of today's Christians and "pseudo-Christians" alike.

So even though Mr. Silk fails to prove his case, his book does have some merits that may make it worth reading. For instance, he does bring home the point that parenting and bullying often resemble each other a little too closely for comfort in the American fundamentalist paradigm. Also, he poses some very good questions about what one's goals should be in parenting one's children. But perhaps the most redeeming feature of the book are the examples he cites with his children. The stories reveal what correction can look like sans spanking.

So perhaps unwittingly Mr. Silk has indeed inspired me with Loving Our Kids on Purpose. Although I am not ready to remove spanking from my parenting toolbox, I am compelled to try other tools first. Even more significantly, Mr. Silk has prompted me to reassess my parenting goals and to utilize discipline in accordance with these goals. Finally, he has encouraged me to use creativity in parenting instead of solely relying on a single method of correction.

Tebah

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark....
-- Genesis 6:11-14a

The Hebrew word translated as "ark" is tebah, and it is used only in reference to the vessel that Noah built and the much smaller one built for baby Moses as recorded in Exodus chapter 2. What these two arks had in common is intriguing: for one thing, they both saved their passengers from certain death; and for another, the builders of both arks had to place their faith in God and His word to benefit from them.

Let's take a closer look at Noah and his ark. One thing you may want to note from the start is that up until the flood rain had never fallen on the Earth. Genesis 2:5-6 states, "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."

Now if God told you or me to build an ark because there was a flood coming, we would most likely not follow through because of our unbelief despite the fact that we are familiar with rain, floods, and other such things. Imagine, if you will, the level of faith Noah exercised in obeying God and building an ark for an event never yet witnessed to even the slightest degree. It would be roughly comparable to God giving us some monumental undertaking to prepare for global destruction from fire or stone raining down from the sky. I think we can agree that God's grace was still working in Noah's life.

Although it took about a century (One must remember that Noah and his contemporaries enjoyed a very generous lifespan.), Noah finished building the ark. One can scarcely imagine the mockery and scoffing he endured from others of his time while he was building the ark. However, once he was done the ark stood as a truly massive testament to God's love and grace. Although it's exact size and shape are open to some debate, the ark was a rather large project to say the least. It was probably about the same size as a W.W. II aircraft carrier. It may be the biggest structure ever built by an individual.

Well, you are probably familiar with the rest of Noah's history. He, his wife, his three sons and their wives were the only representatives of humanity to place their faith in God and enter the ark. Additionally, God arranged for mating pairs as well as extras of certain kinds of non-aquatic animals to board the ark. Finally, Noah had loaded the ark with food and other supplies at God's command. Once all were aboard the ark with Noah "...the LORD shut him in" (Genesis 7:16b). According to Genesis 7:11a the same day that Noah entered the ark "...were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."

What followed was a disaster that was uniquely destructive in both its intensity and scope. To say that people were inundated in the Deluge is to engage in gross understatement. Not only did it rain for forty days, but vast reservoirs of water under the seabed broke open like fountains likely resulting in earthquakes and tidal waves around the world. The resulting destruction and salvation happened just as God had told Noah:

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
-- Genesis 7:17-24

Aside from recording the historical account of a singular event in the world's history, the story of Noah is meant to impress upon us an important truth for us today:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Hebrews 11:6-7

The Lord Jesus Christ is our ark to save us from condemnation and destruction. However, we only enter into a relationship with Him by faith in Him alone for our salvation. Just as there was only one way to escape the flood in Noah's day, Jesus is the only way to escape our rightly deserved sentence of eternal death in hell because of our sin. In both instances God has been gracious and provided a way of salvation, but will you believe God and be saved?

Chen

Our sin is a horrible thing. You don't have to look far to see its prevalence and harmful effects. Sin abounds in news stories from around the world and just down the street. Daily, we practice sin in our homes, commit it at school or work, and even seek for it in our entertainment. Beyond any shadow of a doubt, we are absolutley entrenched in our sin. However, the incredible fact is that once upon a time it was even worse:

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
-- Genesis 6:5-7

Seriously, can you fathom in your deepest imagination living in a world where every single thought of every person in the whole world is exclusively evil? Whether we can comprehend it or not, that is exactly what the world was like a mere nine generations after Adam. It is hardly surprising that such a state of affairs "grieved [God] at his heart" and moved Him to utterly destroy His creation with a flood. What is surprising is Genesis 6:8 which states, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
-- Romans 5:20-21

In order to begin to appreciate the heights of God's grace, one must recognize the depraved depths of sin. If you care to read Genesis chapter 6, then you will notice that no where is Noah excluded from the shared wickedness and condemnation of the rest of humanity. In other words the thoughts of his heart were continually evil, too. It was only after he "found grace in the eyes of the LORD" that he was described as "a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God" -- Genesis 6:9b. Noah got out of his horrible pit of sin because God in His grace reached down and brought him out. It was through God's grace that Noah was reckoned as "just" and "perfect" as well as his being reunited with God.

Sadly, nearly every religion in the world is at odds with this simple but important account. Religion wants to teach you to be just and perfect in order to earn God's grace. There are two major problems with this line of thinking. First, grace is not something one earns. Second, even if one could "earn" grace, humans are utterly unable to do so because of our nature having been corrupted by sin. Unfortunately, you cannot climb out of your horrible pit of sin; but God would bring you out of it as we shall see in the next post because God's grace had only just begun in Noah's life.