Failing to finish the race

A person does not fail to finish the race just because he falls down. The one who fails to finish is the one who falls down and chooses to stay down.  http://tinyurl.com/djl5q4

The danger in ‘Calvinism’

The danger in “Calvinism” is precisely the same as that in “Arminianism” — acknowledging only half the truth.

Disowning Christ

“Whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33 NIV)

A person may disown Christ actively, by what he does, repudiating the One who died to save him.

Can one also disown Christ passively, by what he does not do? Is it apostasy when we fail to bear witness, to be fruitful, to make disciples? Or is that active disobedience, our refusal to obey a direct command?

Who died on the cross for us?

Anyone who affirms election but not freedom — or freedom but not election — has got only half the truth.

I’m deeply saddened to see a spirit abroad in the Church like the one in the Corinthian congregation: “I follow Paul … I follow Apollos … I follow Peter.” The body of Christ is being divided into factions. Wouldn’t Paul ask us: “Was it Calvin who died on the cross for us? Were we baptized as Wesley’s disciples?”

A comment from the weekend

“Someone who affirms the doctrine of election, yet denies our freedom and responsibility to choose the Lord’s way over our own, has yet to understand the doctrine of election.”

if Calvinism is so resurgent …

… why has CBD got the 22-volume commentary series knocked down to $100?

Two notes about becoming a disbeliever

A brief interaction with two “former Christians” reminds me how many people who grew up in church really have no clue what a faith relationship with Jesus is all about. I’ve posted these notes on my Facebook page. Thought I’d add them here as well.

You can’t walk away from Jesus

You can quit “believing in God.” You can quit “being a Christian.” That’s not so hard. It’s just religion. But “believing in God” and “being a Christian” aren’t the same thing as being reborn in a faith relationship with Jesus. You can’t walk away from Jesus if you were never walking with him in the first place. And if you are walking with him, no skeptic’s disbelief can shake your faith, built as it is on love for and gratitude toward the one who died to set you free.

Nothing more than a concept or legend

When God is nothing more to you than a concept, when Jesus is merely a legend, becoming a disbeliever is no more difficult than giving up your childhood belief in the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. But when you have personally encountered the reality of the Living God, when the Risen Lord has transformed your heart and mind, when you have experienced the comfort and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you can no more quit “believing” in their existence than you can question the reality of your family and closest friends.

Disowned

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns (arneomai) me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 10:32-33 NIV)

A father may disown his child, and a child may disown the father, but how does that happen except that first they are family? Can a stranger disown someone he never even knew?

If a brother strays …

“My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20 NASB)

The one who is in danger of death (thanatos) is one of the brethren (adelphos), one who is among us who strays (planaô) from the truth.

How many times have you heard the latter part of this passage quoted as an exhortation to evangelism? Don’t the two verses together actually refer to church discipline and the danger brothers (and sisters) in Christ face if they stray from the truth?

If James is referring to a member of the congregation who was never really saved, why speak to the “brethren” about someone who is one of them? How do you stray from the truth except you first embrace it? What do you make of the assertion that the danger the brother (or sister) faces is death?

Assurance of salvation

David Jeremiah, founder of Turning Point for God and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., has an excellent column on the assurance of salvation here.

He does a great job of laying out the scriptural basis for the promise, protection, and proof of eternal life. His words should go straight to the heart of any genuine believer: “God has given us His Word to assure us of our relationship with Him so that we may walk as Christians with confidence, knowing that our salvation is in Him. … Your heavenly home was bought for a price, and that payment results in a title deed that can never be lost through foreclosure. You can go joyfully into your day’s activities and rest peacefully tonight knowing that your salvation is secure and your home in heaven is being prepared for you!”

He also acknowledges the fact of disobedience and affirms that obedience characterizes the genuine believer: “Christians are not perfect, and all of us do sin along the way. But genuine Christians hear His voice and follow Him. As a Christian, when you know God has told you to do something, you do it. If we love Him, we’ll keep His commandments. A person who is genuinely saved is going to obediently hear what the Lord says.”

It’s such a shame that the Christians who should be least worried about security are often the ones who fret about it the most. Their tenderheartedness is the greatest evidence that they have nothing to fear. The Gospel truth is that security is for believers and believers are eternally secure.