Sunday, 19 April 2009
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What Nation Would Abandon God? - part 2
Jer 2:11 "Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory For what does not profit."
Rom 3:1-8 "What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged." But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world? For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"?; as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just."
Review
- The Glory was God’s Presence.
- Israel was exalted by having been given God’s Word.
- Israel was exalted because she had the way of salvation revealed to her.
- Glory Rejected in Favor of Lies
- Israel declined and fell into ruin because of ignoring God’s Word.
John 8:33-41 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father." They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father; God."
Matt 3:7-9 "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."
1. The Jewish concept of salvation was that if you were a covenant member of Israel, you were going to end up in heaven, though you might have to pay for some of your sins for a time. Their great objection to Paul’s applying his general principles of justice to their case was that their situation was peculiar: ‘God has chosen us as his people in Abraham. If we retain our relation to him by circumcision and the observance of the law, we shall never be treated or condemned as the Gentiles.’
That such was the doctrine of the Jews is shown by numerous passages from their writings. "If a Jew commit all manner of sins," says Abarbanel, "he is indeed of the number of sinning Israelites, and will be punished according to his sins; but he has, notwithstanding, a portion in eternal life." The same sentiment is expressed in the book Torath Adam, fol. 100, in nearly the same words, and the reason assigned for it, "That all Israel has a portion in eternal life." 9 This is a favorite phrase with the Rabbins, and frequently occurs in their writings. Justin Martyr, as quoted by Grotius on chap. 2:13, attributes this doctrine to the Jews of his day: "They suppose that to them universally, who are of the seed of Abraham, no matter how sinful and disobedient to God they may be, the eternal kingdom shall be given." This interpretation, therefore, makes the verse in question present the objection which the Jews would be most likely to urge. ( Kirk Douglas)
It cannot escape notice how completely the doctrine of the Jews has been transferred by ritualists to Christianity. They held that if a man was circumcised and remained within the Theocracy, he might be punished for his sins, but he would ultimately be saved. So ritualists hold that all who are baptized and remain within the pale of the true Church, though they may suffer for their sins here or hereafter (in purgatory) are certain to be finally saved. (Charles Hodge)
2. There are too many in this day who have a similar concept of salvation.
a. God saves all the "good old boys". b. Being associated with a church will do it.
c. Being associated with a quasi-religious fraternal organization will do it.
d. Just believing that God exists will do it.
3. The Unbelieving Fundamentalist! — Some folks don’t believe, in spite of the advantages they have been given.
'For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged."'
4. Dumb idea #1—Taking care of unrighteous religious people makes God look good.
Such is the apostle’s argument against the grounds of confidence on which the Jews rested their hope of exemption from condemnation. ‘Our unfaithfulness serves to commend the faithfulness of God, therefore we ought not to be punished.’ According to this reasoning, says Paul, the worse we are, the better: for the more wicked we are, the more conspicuous will be the mercy of God in our pardon; we may therefore do evil that good may come.’ (Charles Hodge)
"But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?"
One great wicked man, in years past, muttered the following words as he lay dying—"God will forgive, it is His job!" WRONG! God is going to judge the world, and unless you have lived a life of absolute perfection and conformity with His Law, you will be judged guilty and sentenced to everlasting punishment.
OR, unless you have a Substitute who has taken the punishment for you already.
5. Dumb idea #2 — By sinning, we can make God look better when He pardons us.
"For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"?; as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just."
Matt 5:17-20 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
- Bible Christianity is NOT unlawful.
- Bible Christianity does NOT say we may live as we please.
- Bible Christianity re-affirms, within the New Testament, 9 of the ten commandments, and all of the moral regulations which stem from those commandments.
- A Bible-believing Christian is expected to grow in grace and live a life that conforms to the moral teachings found in the Bible.
- Bible Christianity merely points out that is obvious about the Law — The Law cannot save because we are too wicked, and we cannot meet the standard of the Law.
- There is a perversion of the doctrine of Eternal Security which teaches "once professed, surely possessed — once I have made that profession, I am saved, secure, and safe, no matter what I do."
C. Conclusion — Let me assure you, that is false. The Bible teaching is that once someone is truly saved, they will not lose God’s salvation, because He will not let them go. However, once someone is TRULY saved, their life will grow to reflect that fact. If there is no evidence in your life that God has saved you, the chances are very great that He has NOT saved you, and you stand in need of salvation right now.
1. We should feel the peculiar responsibilities which rest upon us as the inhabitants of a Christian country, as members of the Christian Church, and possessors of the word of God; as such, we enjoy advantages for which we shall have to render a strict account, vers. 1, 2. 2. It is a mark of genuine piety, to be disposed always to justify God, and to condemn ourselves. On the other hand, a disposition to self-justification and the extenuation of our sins, however secret, is an indication of the want of a proper sense of our own unworthiness and of the divine excellence, vers. 4, 5.
3. Beware of any refuge from the fear of future punishment, founded upon the hope that God will clear the guilty, or that he will not judge the world and take vengeance for our sins, vers. 6, 7.
4. There is no better evidence against the truth of any doctrine, than that its tendency is immoral. And there is no greater proof that a man is wicked, that his condemnation is just, than that he does evil that good may come. There is commonly, in such cases, not only the evil of the act committed, but that of hypocrisy and duplicity also, ver. 8.
© Charles T. Buntin
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