PARDON OF SIN

THE SCRIPTURE expresses the nature of the pardon of sin in many different ways. In ISAIAH 43;25 it is called a BLOTTING OUT OF SIN. Jehovah says, ''I AM HE THAT BLOTTETH OUT THY TRANSGRESSIONS FOR MINE OWN SAKE.'' Sin is a debt, the debt of all debts, and we cannot pay it--we cannot escape from our Collector. We can't deny our debt and get by with it, so the debt stands in God's book. But when the sinner is arrested and brought to account, God brings forth the record, and the sinner looks sat that record. WHAT A LARGE AMOUNT IT IS..... His heart fails him, and he falls down and confesses his debt and his inability to pay that debt. Then he flees to his great Partner, the LORD JESUS, and begins to cry for mercy, saying, ''O LORD, UNDERTAKE FOR ME.'' Then the LORD JESUS says, ''Charge that to My account,'' and God takes the pen, dips it in the blood of the Son of God, and crosses out all the sinner's sins and blots them out forever. That's so.

He so blots them out that there is no record of them. There is no record against the believer in heaven; there is no record in heaven against me today. I leave everything moment by moment with the Saviour to clear with the Father. According to II TIMOTHY 1;12  HE will keep what I have committed into His hands until the day of Redemption.

LUKEWARM PEOPLE--by Francis Chan

1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians do, so they go. (Isaiah 29:13)
2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? (1 Chronicles 21:24; Luke 21:1-4)
3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives (Luke 6:26; Rev. 3:1; Matthew 23:5-7).
4. Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one (John 10:10; Romans 6:1-2).
5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers (James 1:22; James 4:17; Matthew 21:28-31).
6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion (Matthew 10:32-33).
7. Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street (Luke 18:11-12).
8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives (Luke 9:57-62).
9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; it’s only for pastors and missionaries and radicals (Matthew 22:37-38).
10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, whose kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached (Matthew 5:43-47; Luke 14:12-14).
11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give (Luke 18:21-25).
12. Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come. Regarding this, C.S. Lewis wrote, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this” (Philippians 3:18-20; Colossians 3:2).
13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. They are quick to point out, “Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, only that the love of money is.” Untold numbers of lukewarm people feel “Called” to minister to the rich; very few feel “called” to minister to the poor (Matthew 25:34, 40; Isaiah 58:6-7).
14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without it requiring to much of them. They ask, “How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?” instead of “How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?” They ask, “How much do I have to give?” instead of “How much can I give?” They ask, “How much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible? instead of “I wish I didn’t have to go to work, so I could sit here and read longer!” (1 Chronicles 29:14; Matthew 13:44-46).
15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God (1 Timothy 6:17-18; Matthew 10:28).
16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel, so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian or because some people persist in calling us a “Christian nation” (Matthew 7:21; Amos 6:1)
17. Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them – they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live – they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis – their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God (Luke 12:16-21; Hebrews 11).
18. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong (Matthew 23:25-28).--Francis Chan

1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians do, so they go. (Isaiah 29:13)
2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? (1 Chronicles 21:24; Luke 21:1-4)
3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives (Luke 6:26; Rev. 3:1; Matthew 23:5-7).
4. Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one (John 10:10; Romans 6:1-2).
5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers (James 1:22; James 4:17; Matthew 21:28-31).
6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion (Matthew 10:32-33).
7. Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street (Luke 18:11-12).
8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives (Luke 9:57-62).
9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; it’s only for pastors and missionaries and radicals (Matthew 22:37-38).
10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, whose kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached (Matthew 5:43-47; Luke 14:12-14).
11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give (Luke 18:21-25).
12. Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come. Regarding this, C.S. Lewis wrote, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this” (Philippians 3:18-20; Colossians 3:2).
13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. They are quick to point out, “Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, only that the love of money is.” Untold numbers of lukewarm people feel “Called” to minister to the rich; very few feel “called” to minister to the poor (Matthew 25:34, 40; Isaiah 58:6-7).
14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without it requiring to much of them. They ask, “How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?” instead of “How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?” They ask, “How much do I have to give?” instead of “How much can I give?” They ask, “How much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible? instead of “I wish I didn’t have to go to work, so I could sit here and read longer!” (1 Chronicles 29:14; Matthew 13:44-46).
15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God (1 Timothy 6:17-18; Matthew 10:28).
16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel, so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian or because some people persist in calling us a “Christian nation” (Matthew 7:21; Amos 6:1)
17. Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them – they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live – they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis – their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God (Luke 12:16-21; Hebrews 11).
18. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong (Matthew 23:25-28).--Francis Chan

REGENERATION

Regeneration (the New Birth) is monergistic (by the singular power of God) and radical (to the core of the human heart)! Regeneration is the necessary cause of saving faith. Because all children of Adam are born enslaved to sin, they are incapable of heart driven “repentance toward God" or "faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Regeneration is the great need of every fallen sinner:

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? (The rhetorical answer is “of course not!”). Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.” (Jeremiah 13:23).

And, unlike the involuntary slavery common throughout history, the human will is enslaved to a heart that is driven by self-gratification (the ME-FIRST syndrome). Sin driven slavery is WILLING slavery. Sin driven hearts WANT to sin:

“Do you not know that if you PRESENT YOURSELVES to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).

Their wills are in bondage to the sin they love! Consequently, their hearts live in denial of the obvious knowledge of God manifested to their natural senses (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling) through the created order. And because their wretched hearts love the idol of self, they refuse to acknowledge the Creator they know exists (Romans 1:18-23).

Regeneration is the enabling power of spiritual perception (faith): “unless one is born again he CANNOT SEE the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Regeneration is the enabling power of spiritual motion (repentant response): “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he CANNOT ENTER the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

Entering God’s kingdom is coming to Christ by the effectually enabling, monergistic power of God: “NO ONE CAN COME TO ME unless the Father who sent Me DRAWS him. And I WILL RAISE HIM UP on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And THEY (those He discretely draws) will all (every single one of the drawn) be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard (natural faculties) and learned from the Father (spiritual faculties) comes to Me” (John 6:44-45).

Regeneration is God resurrecting spiritually dead (unresponsive) hearts formerly capable only of satisfying the sinful passions of the flesh. The unregenerate heart can use inherent physical faculties, only to satisfy the desires of sinful fleshy passions. It is by the mercy of God in applying His monergistic (singularly sovereign energy) power, in the raising of dead hearts from spiritual death, that sinners experience spiritual life and vital union with Christ.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:1-9).

Regeneration is a New Genesis by which God commands a re-creation of the heart by divine fiat in the process of uniting them to Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This New Genesis, through effectual union with Christ, empowers the newly regenerated heart (the seed or root) to become obedient to God in doing good works (the fruit): “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10).

Regeneration is God’s effectual call (irresistible command) to His saints unto Himself: “To all those in Rome who are loved by God and CALLED TO BE SAINTS: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7). 

They are called unto God’s sure and certain plan and purpose: “And we know that for THOSE WHO LOVE GOD all things work together for good, for THOSE WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.

They are intimately loved (known) by God from all eternity, predestined, CALLED, justified, and glorified by Him: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30).

God’s effectual regenerating call Makes the distinction between whether the Gospel is considered foolishness by those who are left to themselves, or God’s wisdom to those whom He regenerates and calls to Himself: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).

Paul gives the bottom line reasoning as to why God’s saving work is begun in the needy sinner by His monergistic regenerative call:

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, SO THAT NO HUMAN BEING MIGHT BOAST IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. And BECAUSE OF HIM you are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

From all these passages it is very clear, that God alone changes hearts through New Birth, and by New Birth, He calls sinners to spiritual life that ensures repentance toward Him and faith (trust, reliance, dependence) upon the Person and work of Jesus Christ alone for saving grace unto justification and a life that treasures Christ above all things..

A MISSING NOTE

A MISSING NOTE

One of the missing notes in the preaching of today is Bible repentance. The Bible plainly says, ''Without shedding of blood is no remission'' of sin [HEBREWS 9;22]. Then Christ said, before He returned to Heaven ''that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem'' [LUKE 24;47]. Blood redemption in Christ means nothing to a person, until he or she, first repents. Repentance and faith are the means of grace for entrance into the blessings of the atonement, or, blood redemption in Christ. Now, it is one thing to preach repentance; it's another thing to see the Holy Spirit work repentance in a sinner's heart, until he or she, finds himself, or herself, at the feet of a crucified, buried, risen Lord as a lost sinner crying for mercy. It is one thing to preach Holy Spirit conviction; it is another to see Holy Spirit conviction fall upon the sinner's hheart, stripping him or her of all self-righteous rags and bringing him or her, naked before a Sovereign God, Who can save, or damn, and then,see that sinner cry for mercy until God moves to forgive him or her, and clothe him or her with His righteousness. In today's spiritual dearth, seldom do we see such results of Holy Spirit conviction under our present-day preaching, but when it occurs, it is so new and amazing, that folks at first, won't accept it. Such Holy Spirit conviction, which so strips a sinner until the world loses all attraction to that person, and he is so awakened to his lost, condemned condition before God, and becomes so concerned about the salvation of his soul in Christ that he cannot rest--preaching that results in such conviction is called by our present- day ministry, unwholesome, embarassing and disturbing. THE AVERAGE PREACHER TODAY HAS NO MESSAGE FOR THE SOULS OF MEN. Their messages center around a program, a little moral sermonette.

What is a Sovereign Grace Baptist Church ?

What is a Sovereign Grace Baptist Church/

Whenever and Wherever I go to preach, or teach God's Word, the question is ultimately asked, ''What is A Sovereign Grace Baptist Church/ This comes about, when people hear me teach or preach, for they realize immediately, that I am not associated with a free will Arminian Church, or, a legalized reformed congregation. They understand quickly, that I am a Baptist, but not like any, they have ever met. The first question, they ask about my church association is; ''What kind of Church, are you a member of/'' I reply, ''A Sovereign Grace Baptist Church. ''What is that/,'' they ask. I answer, ''IT IS A LOCAL CHURCH, WHICH ADHERES TO THE WORD OF GOD ALONE, AS ITS STANDARD AND RULE OF FAITH AND PRACTICE.'' At Grace Baptist Church, in Ponce De Leon, Fl, We are not at all bashful about identifying our doctrine, and confessing it before men, and proclaiming it from the housetops. Our church is not ruled, or governed, or obligated, in any way, to any creed, or confession of faith, of less inspiration than, ''Thus saith The Word of The Lord.'' Every doctrine we preach, every ordinance we practice, and every part of out public worship, is demanded by the plain statements of Holy Scripture. Having said that A Sovereign Grace Baptist Church adheres to The Word of God, we turn to Acts 4;42, where The Holy Spirit describes the characteristics of the first assembly of believers, after our Lord's ascension. There, We are told, ''And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.'' There are 4 things, mentioned in this verse, which characterize a Gospel Church, a Sovereign Grace Church. A Sovereign Grace Church adheres to ''the apostles' doctrine.''That is, to say,We believe and incessantly preach the Doctrine of the Apostles, exactly as they did. The doctrine of the Apostles included all those glorious God hon0ring, Christ exalting, flesh abasing doctrines, referred to as Calvinism, or The Doctrines of Grace

EQUIPMENT FOR WARFARE WITH DEVILS

EQUIPMENT FOR DEMON WARFARE

I. You need to know who demons are. 1.Evil spirits. 2. Disembodied spirits. 3. Part of Satan's wicked hosts. 4. Lost and hopeless spirits seeking embodiment. They have a keen desire to re-embody themselves on earth, where they once lived. See Matthew 12;43-45. II. You need to know what demons know. They are intelligent. They have superhuman knowledge. 1. They know us. Acts 19;15. 2. They know Jesus. Acts 19;15; Luke 4;34. 3. They know future. Matthew 8;29. 4. They know their doom. Matthew 8;29; Isaiah 14;15-17; Matthew 25;41. III. You need to know where demons dwell. 1. They dwell in human beings. Matthew 8;28; 12;45. 2. They dwell in false prophets. Matthew 7;15; I John 4;1; 2 Peter 2;1; Second Corinthians 11;13-15; Revelation 19;20. 3. They dwell in apostate institutions. See Revelation 14;8; 18;4, 8; 19;1-6, I Cor. 10;20; Revelation 13;3-4. IV. You need to know what demon spirits do. 1. They disseminate false doctrines. See I Timothy 4;1; 2 Peter 2;1; II Corinthians 2;17; 4;2; 11;4, 13-15. 2. They dethrone reason and take its place. See Luke 4;33-34; Mark 5;1-5. 3. They lead the people, into false worship. See 1 Corinthians 10;20; Revelation 13;3-4. V. You need to know how demon spirits operate. 1. They work through suggestion. Matthew 4;3, 6, 9. 2. They work through signs. 2 Thessalonians 2;9-10; Rev. 16;13-14; Matthew 24;24. 3.They work through pressure. Luke 13;16; Judges 16;16. 4. They work through deception. Matthew 24;11; 2 Thes. 2;9-10; Rev. 12;9; 13;14; 19;20. VI. You need to know how to recognize demons 1. They produce deception. 2. They produce bondage. 3. They produce fierceness. 4. They produce a terrible strain on the heart, and on the nervous system. See Matthew 8;28; Luke 21;25-26. VII. You need to know what are our weapons of warfare. In 2 Corinthians 10;4 God says our weapons ''are not carnal''. In Ephesians 6;10-18 the different parts of our weapons are enumerated for us; 1. Girdle of truth. 14. 2. Breastplate of righteousness. 14. 3 Feet shod with preparation of gospel of peace. 15. 4. Shield of faith. 16. 5. Helmet of salvation. 17. 6. Sword of the Spirit. 17. 7. Praying in the Spirit. 18. See Jude 20; Romans 8;26-27 Paul W. Foltz

GRITS AND GRACE

As A Southerner I enjoy grits with almost everything. It is a staple for me. Likewise God's Free Sovereign Grave is my only hope for the Future. How sad it is , that most Baptists, today, do not know that the Baptist originally stood for the Doctrines of Grace. They are older than John Calvin. They are found on the pages of God's Holy Word. MEN hate them for it strips them of all the glory, and lays them bare, before God as wretched, ruined creatures, deserving judgment and hell.
 Paul Foltz DD

FREE WILL IS FALSE

THE NOTION THAT ALL people have "free will" is a blatant lie from Hell. Such a view is NOT in the Bible. Some "Church Fathers" taught this false view but they were wrong.

In his excellent chapter titled "Free Choice And The Divine Will In Greek Christian Commentaries On Paul," in the book "Paul And The Legacies Of Paul" (Southern Me...thodist University Press, 1990), Robert L. Wilken, William R. Kennan, Jr. Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia, documents in detail how St. Paul in the Scriptures undermined the free-will-Greek-thinking which infected some early Christians.

For example, Theodoret of Cyrus is paraphrased as having taught (Affect. 5.1-4.) that "the scriptures gush out streams of living waters, and by free choice (authaireton) those who are thirsty come to drink and those who have no desire turn away. The physician of souls does not coerce the will of those who do not wish to savor goodness. He has created human nature independent and free...he does not compel us against our will to partake of better things."

Noting that "a large measure of the intellectual effort of antiquity was given to discovering a certain path of virtue, to achieving self-sufficiency by rational means in a world that seemed to work against one's best efforts," Wilken quotes Martha Nussbaum as saying, in her book "The Fragility of Human Goodness: Luck And Ethics In Greek Tragedy And Philosophy" (Cambridge, 1986), that: "This splendid and equivocal hope is a central preoccupation of ancient Greek thought about the human good. A raw sense of the passivity of human beings and their humanity in the world of nature, and a response of both horror and anger at that passivity, lived side-by-side with and nourished the belief that reason's activity could make safe, and thereby save, our human lives --- indeed, must save them, if they were to be humanly worth living."

Alexander of Aphrodisias is paraphrased to have believed (De fato 16, trans. R.W. Sharples, Alexander of Aphrodisias on Fate: Text, Translation, and Commentary, London, 1983, 66, text on 95) that: "The life of a virtuous person is evidence for free choice. Virtue lies within our own power."

Wilken says the first mention of "free choice" in Christian writings occurs in Justin Martyr's "First Apology" where he defends free will with

some Old Testament verses and a line from Plato's "Republic" (!). Says Wilken: "Justin's argument is, of course, commonplace. What is not traditional is the claim that he learned the doctrine of free choice from the scriptures. Although the arguments are well worn, the claim that free choice is a Christian teaching appears here explicitly for the first time. Justin...cites only those texts from the scripture that support free choice, ignoring those that intimate the reverse."

Then we come --- thank God! --- to St. Paul who, repeatedly, drives nail after nail into the coffin of the absurd notion that man has a "free will" apart from God. Wilken notes St. Paul's preaching about Jacob and Esau, how God says He loved the former but hated the latter. He quotes St. Paul's use of Exodus 33:19 where God says: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." He quotes St. Paul re: how things depend not on man's will, but on God's mercy (Romans 9:15-16). St. Paul mentions the story of Pharaoh, about whom it is said that God used him to "show forth his power." Romans 9:17-18 tells how God has mercy on whomever he wills, and hardens the heart of whomever he wills. And St. Paul introduces the metaphor of the potter who makes from the same lump of clay a vessel for beauty and another for menial use, asking: What right has the clay to speak back to the potter? (Romans 9:19-21).

Says Wilken of St. Paul's language: "undefined must have startled Christians and pagans alike....Paul's language shatters conventional assumptions, and its examples offend common sensibilities."

Noting that Christian expositors were reluctant to relinquish the acquired wisdom of Greek antiquity, and that what St. Paul preached was "offensive to Greek thinking," Wilken says that "the cleavage between the scriptures and classical thought is deep and unbridgeable....In the scriptures, however, nature is always subject to God's will....it hardly needs saying that the idea of divine will is foreign to classical thinking." Wilken says that St. Paul's letters "thrust on Christian thinkers a new and discordant vocabulary with which to speak about God....as a way to break out of natural determinism or fatalism....Romans was first and foremost a book about God's purpose in the history of the Jews and in the life of the Christian community."

In conclusion, Wilken says: "One cannot but be impressed at the power of [St. Paul's] scriptural language, in the context of the biblical narrative, to alter well-established ways of looking at the world....The problem of freedom can no longer be formulated in terms of necessary or accidental events but now has to be viewed in the light of the purposeful actions of a gracious God. Paul's language, his metaphors and images, rearranges the conceptual world the commentators were accustomed to inhabit....There was something new in Paul, and in the Bible; and the task of exegesis was to find out how the language of the Bible worked, to draw out its implications, to try out a new vocabulary in relation to received wisdom....

"The language of the scriptures was not the language of Homer or Plato or Chrysippus; and one way to see how much difference it made for Christianity that the Bible was the church's book is to read the early Christian commentaries...to look closely and patiently at the way the early Christian commentators read the Bible, the way Biblical language enters into their vocabulary, the way new words and images shape and mold their patterns of thought."

Well, amen! And this is precisely what Christians must do, again, today. We must think and act Biblically! Indeed, we must bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" which will result in "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God" (II Corinthians 10:5) --- one of the most idiotic and sinful of these imaginings being this wretched "free will'' heresy. 

july 4th

july 4th is a day of celebration of freedom and independence. all of this is a gift from God

Satan Is Healing People.