LETTER TO A DEAR BROTHER ON TINA TURNER AND THE END OF THOSE WHO FOLLOW BUDDHISM

My dear Brother John,
Thank you for your recent letter and the questions you have asked concerning Tina Turner and the Salvation of those who follow the Buddhist path. I am not surprised that you being a newly converted Christian asked me such a question. But do not the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ settle that question once and for all, dear Brother? For He bluntly said,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but BY ME!” [John 14:6]

And His disciples after Him reiterated the same truth by asserting, “Neither is there salvation in ANY OTHER: for THERE IS NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN given among men, whereby we must be saved.” [Acts 4:12]

I understand that there are a lot of folks on Social-media who are praising Tina Turner and all the good that she has done etc, saying that “she is in a better place now” blah blah. And as far as I know, only one prominent Christian writer, Ray Comfort spelled out the facts on Twitter, saying – “The Queen of rock ‘n’ roll passed into eternity today. All the money that Tina Turner possessed, all her fame, all her awards, and accolades now mean nothing. The only thing that matters, is “Were her sins forgiven?”

Oh, brother that sure stirred a hornet’s nest amongst the ungodly, with people bashing this man right, left and center . . . you know why? It’s because he was coming against their idol, and in exposing HER he was exposing THEIR OWN GODLESS LIFESTYLE AND THEIR INEVITABLE END, if you will. It happens every time you speak out exposing the wrath of God that awaits those who know not Christ, celebrity or not.

Our Lord stated that in no uncertain terms, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM!” [John 3:36]

So, what of Tina Turner and her faith? WHAT did she believe and practice? While Tina Turner is heralded as a Rhythm n Blues and Rock icon, her Buddhist faith was the soul that drove her eventful life and career.

She often credited the Buddhist religion with helping her find the strength to leave her abusive relationship with her husband Ike Turner in 1976. In the years since, Turner was known to recite Buddhist chants daily, even chanting on national television on Larry King’s CNN show in 1997, a practice she continued until her death on Wednesday, at 83, in her home in Küsnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland, where she had kept her own Buddhist shrine.

Here’s what she said concerning her Buddhist faith, “Chanting helped me to go within myself and open deep sources of happiness and wisdom in my own heart and mind,” she revealed. “Soon, I realized that I already had within me everything I needed to change my circumstances and create a truly happy life. We all have that, and I want everyone to know it. I’ve met people from all over the world, from many cultures and faiths, and I believe that all religious traditions share the same basic aspirations at their core—to experience everlasting joy by aligning with the positive forces of the universe. We may describe this ultimate reality as Jehovah, God, Allah, Jesus, Hashem, Tao, Brahma, the Creator, the Mystic Law, the Universe, the Force, Buddha nature, Christ consciousness, or any number of other expressions.”

Read that again, John, she said that she “already had within me everything I needed to change my circumstances and create a truly happy life.” Oh, how different from the apostle who said, “For I know that in me [that is, in my flesh,] dwelleth no good thing!” [Rom 7:18]

Any ‘Christian’ who knows Tina’s lifestyle and beliefs and thinks that “she is in a better place now” needs to be Born-again! And for those who argue that such ungodly sinners could have repented on their death-beds, A.W. Pink’s words are appropriate –“What insanity is it that persuades multitudes to defer the effort to repent till their deathbeds? Do they imagine that when they are so weak that they can no longer turn their bodies they will have strength to turn their souls from sin? Far sooner could they turn themselves back to perfect physical health.”

Coming back to Tina Turner, she was deluded into thinking that all religions “share the same basic aspirations at their core—to experience everlasting joy by aligning with the positive forces of the universe” She is dead wrong!

As we have said in many of our posts, there are basically only TWO RELIGIONS in the world. One says, “IF YOU WILL do such and such, God will graciously bestow His blessing upon you.” The thousand and one varieties of this religion differ only on what the “such and such” is that you must be willing to do. One variety says bathe in a sacred river, another bids you to sit and chant mantras for hours on end, while another beckons you to kiss the sacred rock located in the holy city, still another says be baptized or some similar rite, and in distinctly evangelical circles this religion emphasizes, “IF YOU WILL OPEN YOUR HEART, THEN GOD WILL etc . . .”

Now the second religion is the message of the Bible. It is the gospel of FREE GRACE. It does not look to God for the PROVISION and then turn to man for the POWER, but it boldly proclaims that the same sovereign grace that planned salvation for helpless sinners also furnishes them with the ability to desire and receive it. This second religion not only starts at a different place, it works on a different principle, and moves toward a different goal. In short, it is a totally different religion.

The religion based on free will which include Hinduism, Buddhism, Mohammedanism, and Roman Catholicism [i.e., Arminianism in general – If you will …], and that based of free grace [i.e., Calvinism — God makes us willing …] are two very distinct and opposite religions that differ on every theological point at which they meet.

But since your question concerns Tina Turner and her Buddhist faith, let us briefly examine the religion she followed.

Buddhism teaches that man has to work in order to find salvation from suffering. He does this by following the ‘Noble Truths’: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Awareness, Right Meditation.

This is just the proud error that man has believed since the beginning: self-salvation. The Buddhist does not believe that he is a sinner and needs to be saved from the guilt, punishment and pollution of sin. Buddhists do not have a correct view of sin: the transgression of the holy law of God. Buddhists have no understanding of original sin: that all people are born totally depraved because they sinned ‘in Adam’. They believe that man is basically good and can achieve ‘enlightenment’ by his own efforts. However, all the supposed good works man does are eloquently described in Scripture as ‘dung’ [Phil. 3:8] and ‘filthy rags’ [Isaiah 64:9].

The Christian on the other hand does not want to be found in his own righteousness, but to be found in Christ. Paul [who was a Pharisee before his conversion] says this: ‘But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith’ [Phil 3:7-9]. When God saves a person, all glory must go to Him. No sinner can boast in God’s presence that he attained salvation in any sense by his own efforts. Any sinner who believes that salvation is by works is lost, no matter how sincere and outwardly nice he is. That includes all Buddhists.

PEACE IS TO BE FOUND IN CHRIST ALONE:

Peace comes not from relentlessly chanting Buddhist chants or Rosaries, but from having one’s sins forgiven in the blood of Jesus Christ. When a sinner knows, really knows, that he has eternal life, trusting that Jesus Christ bore the curse and guilt of his sins, he has peace. How can a Buddhist have peace? He never knows if he has done enough to achieve salvation. He can never tell if on his death he will cease to exist [which is the ultimate goal of Buddhism!], come back as a worse or better form of life, or awake in hell. What a torment that is!

The child of God however knows peace: ‘I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety’ [Ps. 4:8]; ‘Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them'[Ps. 119:165]. Christ is called the ‘Prince of Peace’ [Isa. 9:6]; and ‘the chastisement of our peace was upon Him’ [Isa. 53:5], meaning that the punishment which brought peace to sinners was upon Him. Only by satisfying God’s justice on the cross could Christ make peace for sinners with God. However, to the wicked ‘there is no peace’ [Isa. 57:21] because they ‘have not known the way of peace’ [Rom. 3:17].

To His followers Christ says, ‘Peace I give unto you’ [John 14:27]. Many of the Epistles start with the greeting of peace [Rom. 1:7 etc.]. The fruit of the Spirit is peace [Gal. 5:22]. Christ’s work brings peace: ‘Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ [Rom. 5:1]. ‘For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us'[Eph. 2:14]. He ‘made peace through the blood of his cross’ [Col. 1:20]. All who reject the peace-making Atonement of Christ on the cross are lost, including all Buddhists.

I trust that answers your query briefly. And in closing let me add that all who have abandoned the Faith of their fathers, [I am speaking here specifically of Hollywood and Contemporary music and sports celebrities] for a faith or a god other than the one the Bible proclaims are LOST, PERIOD!

“O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters!” [Jer 17:13]

with much Love
thy Brother for whom Christ died
Brother Mike

WHY READ GOOD REFORMED BOOKS?

Terpstra Charles J [The Standard Bearer]

Why Read?

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” Mortimer J. Adler

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” Mark Twain

“. . . Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”Ecclesiastes 12:12b

“. . . Give attendance to reading. . . .” I Timothy 4:13a

Have you started to read a good Reformed book yet? If not, find one and get started! If you have, keep at it! As we pointed out in our initial article, we want to encourage our Standard Bearer readers to become greater readers, that is, to read more books and to read better books.

In this article encouraging you to read, we want to explore the “WHY” of good reading. That is, why should you as a Reformed Christian want to become a greater reader? Or, to put it another way, what are the reasons for reading solid Reformed/Christian books? We believe there are many reasons that may be given; we will highlight a few of them in this article.

First of all, we begin with the most important reason, the THEOLOGICAL reason (where all good Calvinists should begin!): We should read good books because GOD wants us to! Why do we say this, and how do we know this? We have several points in mind under this reason. First, God wants/expects/calls us to read as His people because He gave us the greatest book to read—His Holy Word, the Scriptures!

When God chose to communicate to us, His covenant friends, He chose to do so in WORDS. It is true that these words were initially given ORALLY (and in some cases VISUALLY—cf. the visions of Ezekiel and John), that is, out of God’s mouth through the mouths of His spokesmen (prophets, apostles, etc.). But in the end God committed these spoken words to writing and had them placed in His Book, the Bible (cf.Ex. 24:7; I Sam. 10:25; Neh. 8; Luke 3:4, 20:42; II Tim. 3:15, 16; II Pet. 1:20, 21; Rev. 1:11), or scripture (Mark 12:10, 24; Rom. 1:2, 15:4).

And therefore, this holy Book God charges His people to READ (cf. Neh. 8; Is. 34:16). That means that we must first and foremost be readers of this Book! Not just any book under the sun, but the Bible must be the first book we turn to! Every Christian must be devoted to reading the word of God, like the Bereans of old searching the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). This is chiefly what Paul meant when he instructed Timothy to “give attendance to reading” (I Tim. 4:13). And what was true for that young pastor is to be true of every member of God’s covenant. God wills that we be readers because He gave us this marvellous Book of His words!

Second, and closely related to this, is the truth that this chief and fundamental book God gave us to read centers in His Son, Jesus Christ. The most important Word God gave us to read was His Son, the living and abiding Word of God (John 1:1, 14; Heb. 1:1, 2; I Pet. 1:23). Everywhere we go in the Scriptures we must read “Jesus Christ” the “Word of God.” That is true not only in the New Testament portion of the Bible, but also in the Old Testament (cf. Ps. 40:7; Luke 24:27; John 5:39). This is why the Scriptures are able to make us “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 3:15). This is why they are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” so that we may be complete and mature Christians (II Tim. 3:16). But only if this word be read! So read, people of God! Read the Bible chiefly and diligently! Set yourself to do so faithfully in this new year! Let SOLA SCRIPTURA be the motto we live by in 2015! Indeed, God wants us and calls us to be readers, because He gave us this holy Book, centered in His Son, our Savior.

There are more reasons why we should be and become better readers. And we may confidently say that the other reasons we will now list are all rooted in that first one. The fact that God gave us His Book to read is the principle that governs all our other reasons for reading. This will become plain as we proceed.

So then, why should we read? In the second place, because reading is vital to the growth of our faith and walk in godliness. God in His sacred Book calls us to spiritual growth. II Peter 3:18, e.g., states, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (cf. also Eph. 4:15; I Pet. 2:2; Jude 20). Earlier in that same epistle Peter wrote that we should be “giving all diligence” to “add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness” (I Pet. 1:5, 6). And how are we going to do this? By reading! By reading (and hearing!) the Scriptures, of course (cf. I Pet. 2:2). But also by reading other sound Reformed/Christian books that teach us and encourage us to spiritual growth.

So then, are you tired of not being as strong in your faith as you should be and could be? Are you frustrated by the fact that your walk with God is not as close as it ought to be? Do you struggle with being spiritually mature and wise in handling trials and temptations in your life? Then READ. Yes, again, read the BIBLE, so that your faith becomes more grounded in Jesus Christ and your walk is brought closer to the Lord! But also read the books that your fellow believers have written to help you grow in faith and godliness! They stand with you and support you in this calling to grow. They have wisdom and experience to share with you as we walk the common path of the Christian in this world. Our fellow Reformed Christians have written books because of their own struggles and hardships. Let us read them to benefit from them; to enhance our own spiritual life; to become stronger in faith and more holy in life! This too is why we must read!

In the third place, we should read good Reformed/Christian books because it is important to defend our faith and abide in the truth of God’s word. We are talking about the area of APOLOGETICS, the defense of the Reformed-Christian faith and walk. In this present world there are always threats to our faith and life. The devil and his hosts walk about as a roaring lion seeking to devour us with lies and deception (I Pet. 5:8). The world of unbelief with its “lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” seeks to lead us astray from the Father (I John 2:16).

False prophets and teachers in the church “bring in damnable heresies” and “pernicious ways,” trying to overthrow “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3; I John 4:1ff.; II Pet. 2:1ff.). And, yes, our own sinful nature is still inclined to and tempted by all these lies and errors and ungodliness. We are Christian soldiers, called to be on the defensive against all these spiritual dangers (Eph. 6:10ff.). We are exhorted to resist doctrinal lies and remain steadfast in the faith (I Pet. 5:9). We are admonished to abide in godliness and stay obedient to our Savior, suffering accordingly (I Pet. 3, 4).

And how shall we be able to do this? By READING! Yes, again, by reading the Scriptures (Eph. 6:17). But also by reading good Reformed books that lead us and help us in the battle for the truth and for godliness! By reading we stay abreast of dangerous trends in the church and in the world. By reading we are informed of and warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing. By reading we are encouraged by the courageous stands of our fellow believers in other times and places. By reading we are urged to be faithful when the majority fall away into error and lawlessness. Yes, we must read for this reason too! Do you see the need for reading, especially now in these last days? Will you become a greater reader with this in mind too? We pray that you will, for the honor of Christ and His word, and for the safety of your own soul.

Finally, we have a very practical reason for reading good Reformed/Christian books. That is that by reading such books we set a good example for our children and young people. This too is so important, especially in the world in which we now find ourselves. As we mentioned in our opening article, we and our children are exposed to so many temptations and hindrances to good reading.

We are in constant competition with TV, video games, the Internet, iPods, etc. But when our children and young people see us as adults taking time to read, to read the Bible and to read books that make us grow in our faith and walk, we provide a great example and encouragement for them to do the same. Then we are better able to gain their respect when we tell them to read good books. And, of course, at the same time, when we have on our shelves and on our tables (and in our hands!) good Reformed/Christian books that we are reading, we provide them with the very materials we want them to read too! And THAT is a win-win situation!

WAITING UPON GOD

WAITING UPON GOD

C.H. Spurgeon

“Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation” [Psalm 62:1].

Blessed posture! Waiting truly and only upon the LORD. Be this our condition all this day and every day. Waiting His leisure, waiting in His service, waiting in joyful expectation, waiting in prayer, and content. When the very soul thus waits, it is in the best and truest condition of a creature before his Creator, a servant before his Master, a child before his Father. We allow no dictation to God, nor complaining of Him; we will permit no petulance and no distrust. At the same time, we practice no running before the cloud and no seeking to others for aid: neither of these would be waiting upon God. God, and God alone, is the expectation of our hearts.

Blessed assurance! From Him salvation is coming; it is on the road. It will come from Him and from no one else. He shall have all the glory of it, for He alone can and will perform it. And He will perform it most surely in His own time and manner. He will save from doubt, and suffering, and slander, and distress.

Though we see no sign of it as yet, we are satisfied to bide the LORD’s will, for we have no suspicion of His love and faithfulness. He will make sure work of it before long, and we will praise Him at once for the coming mercy.

A SEAT IN HEAVEN IS NOW THINE, BUT A CHAIN IN HELL WOULD HAVE BEEN THINE HAD NOT GOD’S SOVEREIGN GRACE MADE THE DIFFERENCE

C.H. Spurgeon

Look upon this, believer.

“What was there in thee to merit esteem,
Or give the Creator delight?”

Yea, look upon thyself as thou art now. Doth not thy conscience reproach thee? Do not thy thousand wanderings stand before thee, and tell thee that thou art unworthy to be called his son? Does not the weakness of thy mental power, the frailty of thy moral power, thy continual unbelief, and thy perpetual backsliding from God, tell thee that thou art less than the least of all saints? And if He hath made thee any thing, art thou not thereby taught that it is grace, free, sovereign grace, which hath made thee to differ?

Should any here, supposing themselves to be the children of God, imagine that there is some reason in them why they should have been chosen, let them know, that as yet they are in the dark concerning the first principles of grace, and have not yet learned the gospel. If ever they had known the gospel, they would, on the other hand, confess that they were less than the least—the offscouring of all things—unworthy, ill-deserving, undeserving, and hell-deserving, and ascribe it all to distinguishing grace, which has made them to differ; and to discriminating love, which has chosen them out from the rest of the world.

Great Christian, thou wouldst have been a great sinner if God had not made thee to differ. O! thou who art valiant for truth, thou wouldst have been as valiant for the devil if grace had not laid hold of thee. A seat in heaven shall one day be thine; but a chain in hell would have been thine if grace had not changed thee. Thou canst now sing his love; but a licentious song might have been on thy lips, if grace had not washed thee in the blood of Jesus. Thou art now sanctified, thou art quickened, thou art justified; but what wouldst thou have been to-day if it had not been for the interposition of the divine hand?

There is not a crime thou mightest not have committed; there is not a folly into which thou mightest not have run. Even murder itself thou mightest have committed if grace had not kept thee. Thou shalt be like the angels; but thou wouldst have been like the devil if thou hadst not been changed by grace. Therefore, never be proud; all thy garments thou hast from above; rags were thine only heritage. Be not proud, though thou hast a large estate, a wide domain of grace; thou hadst once not a single thing to call thine own, except thy sin and misery. Thou art now wrapped up in the golden righteousness of the Saviour, and accepted in the garments of the beloved; but thou wouldst have been buried under the black mountain of sin, and clothed with the filthy rags of unrighteousness, if He had not changed thee.

“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?” [Eze 15:1,2]

And art thou proud? Dost thou exalt thyself? O! strange mystery, that thou, who hast borrowed every thing, should exalt thyself; that thou, who hast nothing of thine own, but hast still to draw upon grace, shouldst be proud; a poor dependent pensioner upon the bounty of thy Saviour, and yet proud; one who hath a life which can only live by fresh streams of life from Jesus, and yet proud! Go, hang thy pride upon the gallows, as high as Haman; hang it there to rot, and stand thou beneath, and execrate it to all eternity; for sure of all things most to be cursed and despised is the pride of a Christian. He, of all men, has ten thousand times more reason than any other to be humble, and walk lowly with his God, and kindly and humbly toward his fellow-creatures. Let this, then, humble thee, Christian, that the vine-tree is nothing more than any other tree, save only for the fruitfulness which God has given it.

“By the grace of God I am what I am!” [1Cor 15:10]

REJOICING IN THE TRUTH OF SOVEREIGN ELECTION

Compiled by Michael Jeshurun

Whatever truth I contend for is usually the truth which God has been showing me all along progressively, either from His Word or from my own personal experience as a preacher. For instance, I was sovereignly taught by the Lord concerning Election and Predestination long before I ever picked up any book by Calvin or A.W. Pink! Even though in my initial years I sat amongst ‘Arminians’, I always knew in my heart that I had not chosen Him, but that HE had chosen me! [John 15:16] Come now, how could I have chosen Him, when I was a hardcore Satanist who took pleasure in burning Bibles and campaigning for Satan for all those years I spent in the Occult!

So, when a few years following my Regeneration I finally ran into some Calvinists/Monergists or whatever you want to call them, it was like finding your family after many years of separation! I knew I had found the fold where I belonged! It mattered little what language they spoke or what color they were; what mattered most was that God had ALREADY revealed to them, what he was now revealing to me!

And that is – that Salvation is “not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy!” and the very reason I had come to believe in the Gospel was not because I had carefully weighed the pros and cons and made a ‘decision’ to ‘accept’ Christ, but only because, I was “chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, so that I should be holy and without blame before Him . . . in love He had predestinated me unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory, not of my supposed ‘free-will’ or decision, but of His sovereign grace, wherein He had made me accepted in the beloved!”

When God first revealed to me the truth of His election and predestination, man I was blown! I just flipped out! To think that God had passed by so many of my good and moral religious relatives and friends, (not to mention the drunkards, drug-addicts and blasphemers who were my bosom buddies) and had chosen ME just blew my mind. I could weep with David, “Who am I, O Lord GOD that Thou hast brought me hitherto?!” [2Sam 7:18]

And ever since, Election and Predestination have been my cause for rejoicing. Here are some technical or doctrinal reasons as to why –

ELECTION ENSURES THAT THE PURPOSE OF GOD WILL STAND –
“For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth; it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.” (Rom. 9:11-12)

ELECTION ENSURES THAT MY SALVATION DEPENDS NOT ON ME BUT GOD’S MERCY:
“So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but OF GOD that showeth mercy” (Rom. 9:16).

ELECTION PRODUCES IN ME HUMILITY, MAINTAINING THE CREATOR-CREATURE DISTINCTION:
“Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” (Rom. 9:19-21)

ELECTION GUARANTEES MY GOOD IN THIS LIFE AND MY GLORIFICATION IN THE NEXT:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” (Rom. 8:28-30).

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning CHOSEN you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thes. 2:13-14).

ELECTION ENSURES MY BLAMELESS JUSTIFICATION:
“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth!” (Rom. 8:33).

ELECTION GUARANTEES THAT MY GOD WILL BE WORSHIPPED :
“God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed Thy prophets, and digged down Thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant ACCORDING TO THE ELECTION OF GRACE.” (Rom. 11:2-5).

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, BEING PREDESTINATED according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Eph. 1:11-12).

ELECTION ESTABLISHES GRACE:
“And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” (Rom. 11:6).

ELECTION OBTAINS THE SALVATION I SEEK:
“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for ;but THE ELECTION HATH OBTAINED IT, and the rest were blinded (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.” (Rom. 11:7-8).

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning CHOSEN YOU TO SALVATION through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thes. 2:13).

It is worth noting that God’s Election here is specifically to SALVATION, and not just for ‘service’ as some haters of election propose!

ELECTION MAKES THE GIFTS AND CALLING OF GOD IRREVOCABLE:
“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, (i.e., irrevocable).” (Rom. 11:28-29). A man may at times be sorry that he chose to marry a certain woman or adopted a certain child from an orphanage, etc. But the great God never feels sorry or regrets having chosen someone for Salvation. What’s more He knew full well what they would turn out to be and how they would behave long before He chose them. (Isaiah 48:8,9)

ELECTION EXPRESSES ITSELF WITH THE FATHER’S LOVE TOWARD ME IN ADOPTION:
“According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. . . ” (Eph. 1:4-5).

ELECTION COINCIDES WITH THE SANCTIFYING WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Pet. 1:1-2).

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thes. 2:13).

ELECTION PROVIDES THE GROUND FOR MY PERSEVERANCE IN GOSPEL MINISTRY:
“Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them.” (Acts 18:9-11).

“Therefore, I endure all things FOR THE ELECT’S SAKES, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10).

There are many more reasons as to WHY the truth of Election is sweet music to my ears – the main one being I happen to be one of them. Come now, it stands to reason that only God’s elect can rejoice in the truth of Sovereign Election, just as only the ‘redeemed’ can rejoice in the truth of Redemption.

I do not expect the non-elect or the reprobate to either understand it, receive it or rejoice in it. They can only stop their ears to it, cavil against it and persecute those who preach it. In other words they can only behold it, wonder about it and perish! As it is written “BEHOLD, ye despisers, and WONDER, and PERISH: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in NO WISE BELIEVE, though A MAN DECLARE IT UNTO YOU”. [Act 13:41]

As John Kay said long ago, “Men are greatly deceived in religion. They think thus that there is no mystery in religion; whereas, TRUE RELIGION IS THE VERY MYSTERY OF GOD. “The mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” (Rev. 10:7) “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom.” (Matt. 13:11; Luke 8:10)

For my part, I bless God that it was early in my religion laid on my mind to pray; to pray in reading the Scriptures; to pray in everything; for I became gradually persuaded that there was a secret, a mystery, “a deep couching beneath”; something hidden; something the non-elect were never to know; something hidden from the eyes of all naturally living; something “sealed”; something running under ground, as it were, in religion. And O the deeps! for who hath known the mind of the Lord? “Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun (of righteousness); because, though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea, farther, though a (supernaturally) wise man think to know it, yet shall not he be able to find it,” (Eccl. 8:17) by thinking merely, reading, hearing, or speculation. It is “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” [Zech 4:6]

THE CHRISTIAN IN THE WRONG PLACE

A.W. Pink

“I am thoroughly convinced that one of the chief hindrances today to many of the Lord’s people enjoying their inheritance is that they are in their WRONG PLACE, they are where Christ is not: he is on the outside of EVERYTHING CORPORATE.

To be where he is not is to miss the place of blessing, is to have our peace disturbed, and is to be corrupted by those who are not walking with Him. I am more firmly convinced today than I was 14 months ago that our place is on the ‘outside of the camp’. That is the place of reproach, loneliness, and of testing; but as it is the place where CHRIST is, it is, necessarily, the place of blessing, peace and joy”.
[A.W. Pink in his letter to the Colemans. Quoted from ‘The Life of Arthur W. Pink’ – Iain H. Murray]

“COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATE, SAITH THE LORD! [2 Corinthians 6:17].

And what will follow when this Divine command is obeyed? Why, then we shall prove the truth of those words of Christ: “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world HATETH you (John 15:19). WHICH “world” is specifically in view here? Let the previous verse answer: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”

WHAT “world” hated Christ and hounded Him to death? The RELIGIOUS world, those who pretended to be most zealous for God’s glory. So it is now. Let the Christian turn his back upon a Christ—dishonoring Christendom, and his fiercest foes and most relentless and unscrupulous enemies will be those who claim to be Christians themselves!

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you… for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad” (Matthew 5:11,12).

Ah, my brother, it is a healthy sign, a sure mark that you are profiting from the Word, when the religious world hates you. BUT IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU STILL HAVE A “GOOD STANDING” IN THE “CHURCHES” OR “ASSEMBLIES” THERE IS GRAVE REASON TO FEAR THAT YOU LOVE THE PRAISE OF MEN MORE THAN THAT OF GOD! [Profiting from the Word]

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, AND TOUCH NOT the unclean thing.” [2Cor6:14,17]

O my Christian reader, seek grace to obtain the uncompromising spirit of Moses. When urged to worship God in “Egypt” (i. e. the white-washed “churches” OF THE WORLD), say it is impossible, for “what communion hath light with darkness!” when pressed to leave your children in a worldly Sunday School, to be instructed by those who have not the fear of God upon them, refuse, when invited to at least retain your membership in the HOLY SPIRIT-DESERTED “CHURCHES” and contribute of your means to their upkeep, decline to do so.

That going forth to meet the Lord is to be understood as expressing both external and internal action. Externally, it signifies separation from the world, especially its pleasures, for Christ will not be met with while we waste our time engaging in them. “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers… come out from among them” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17) must be heeded if we would “meet the Bridegroom.” More particularly, their going forth denoted a turning of their backs upon the apostate ECCLESIASTICAL SYSTEM: Christ had informed His disciples that he had abandoned a Judaism which had rejected Him (Matthew 23:37, 38), so if they would meet with Him, they too must “go forth unto Him outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:15). THE SAME IS TRUE NOW. [Practical Christianity]

[Writing to Lowell Green, September 2, 1934]
My earnest advice is for you to have little or NOTHING TO DO with the people of the religious world today. They CANNOT help you spiritually, and where they help not they are bound to HINDER! Be much in prayer and on your guard against a holier-than -thou attitude. if we are not very watchful, separation soon leads to self- righteousness. On the other hand, association with empty professors soon corrupts and paralyzes true spirituality.

Prayer, reading and meditation will do far more for your soul – with God’s blessing on the same – than attending meetings and being active in ‘Christian service’

THE TWO RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD

by John G. Reisinger

There are basically only two religions in the world. One says, “IF YOU WILL do such and such, God will graciously bestow His blessing upon you.” The thousand and one varieties of this religion differ only on what the “such and such” is that you must be willing to do. One variety says bathe in a sacred river, another bids you kiss the sacred rock located in the holy city, still another says be baptized or some similar rite, and in distinctly evangelical circles this religion emphasizes, “IF YOU WILL OPEN YOUR HEART, THEN GOD . . .”

Notice carefully the three key words IF YOU WILL.
(1) God’s forgiveness is possible IF …..
(2) God’s forgiveness is possible if YOU…
(3) God’s forgiveness is possible if you WILL. . . .

The ultimate success or failure of this religion is determined solely by the will of man. Everything depends on an “if,” and on “you,” and on “your willingness” to do your part. Redemption is always CONDITIONAL since it depends on man’s cooperation for success. The great work of salvation is not actually accomplished until God can find someone who is willing to “cooperate with Him.” Our forefathers called this “if you will” system the “religion of works.” It was also called “Arminianism” and “semi-Pelagianism” since these were the men who originally caused division in the church by introducing this error of free will. Regardless of the name attached to it by friend or foe, the distinguishing marks are always the same — the IF, the YOU, and YOUR WILL are the decisive factors that make the plan of salvation work.

This religion offers a wonderful plan of salvation that is able to do mighty things if YOU WILL ONLY LET IT. The God of this free will religion can only desire and offer to save sinners. He is helpless to secure, by His own power, what He longs to do. The goal of redemption cannot be reached unless man, of his own free will, chooses to permit God to accomplish His purposes.

The false religion of free will, or works, is based upon several unbiblical doctrines. The most basic of these is THE UNIVERSAL AND INDISCRIMINATE REDEMPTIVE LOVE OF GOD. God is said to love all men in the same way and to the same degree. He loved Judas the same as Peter, Esau like Jacob, and the goats as much as the sheep. Since His love is universal then the greatest gift of His love, Jesus Christ His Son, must have been given to provide a universal atonement, meaning for every individual without exception, in His death. The objects of the Son’s atonement must be equal to the objects of the Father’s love, so both must include every man. If the Father loves all men equally, and the Son redeemed every man without exception, it follows that the Holy Spirit must convict every man or else the Trinity is not working together toward the same end in the task of redeeming lost men.

It should be amply clear that this religion of works, or free will, based on a universal love and universal atonement, makes God’s whole scheme of redemption depend on man for its success. God’s love will prevail IF MAN will let it. Christ’s atonement will actually redeem only IF MAN will let it. The Holy Spirit will apply redemption’s purchased benefits IF MAN will allow Him. No wonder C. H. Spurgeon, that great soul winner, called free will “utter nonsense,” and universal atonement a “monstrous doctrine akin to blasphemy.”

Now the second religion is the message of the Bible. It is the gospel of FREE GRACE. It does not look to God for the PROVISION and then turn to man for the POWER, but it boldly proclaims that the same sovereign grace that planned salvation for helpless sinners also furnishes them with the ability to desire and receive it. This second religion not only starts at a different place, it works on a different principle, and moves toward a different goal. In short, it is a totally different religion. The religion based on free will (Arminianism – If you will …), and that based of free grace (Calvinism — God makes us willing …) are two very distinct and opposite religions that differ on every theological point at which they meet.

Any individual who piously says, “It is really not important, it is merely a question of EMPHASIS,” is either deliberately dishonest or completely ignorant of Bible doctrine in church history. The Synod of Dort and the Council of Trent clarified forever the vital importance of the issue once and for all time. I challenge any man to read Dr. J. I. Packer’s introduction to the DEATH OF DEATH IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST by John Owen, and then talk about emphasis. Packer clearly shows that free will and free grace are totally different religions, and furthermore, that they are irreconcilable enemies.

WHO WEARS THE CROWN?

As you can see, the real battle ground is the nature of man, and the prize to be won is the Crown of Credit for making redemption’s plan actually work. Is free grace, given sovereignly by the Father, the decisive factor that causes the elect to believe in the first place, or is man’s will, exercised sovereignly by the individual, the decisive factor that causes God to choose these whom He “foresees” are willing to believe? Who wins the right to wear the crown of glory, God or man? And by what power was that right won — free will or free grace?

The basic difference between these two opposing religions can also be summed up by asking another question, a question vitally related to the first one. Instead of asking how any man can perish, and being told that, “the man would not do his part which was to simply believe,” we now ask, “Why are SOME men saved?” How is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’s work able to succeed in some cases but not in others? The religion of free will humbly (?) answers that “MAN MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE BY BEING WILLING TO OPEN HIS HEART AND GIVE GOD A CHANCE!” It does not matter if we are speaking of those who perish or those who are saved, we always come back to that IF YOU WILL.

Actually, the gospel based on free will can never be more than a gospel of mere POSSIBILITY. It is a plan of redemption that cannot truly redeem by its own power, but can only effect real salvation when it finds someone who make themselves willing to do “their part.” It is not a question of whether a man must, or does, become willing before he can be saved, we all believe that, but WHO AND WHAT POWER makes the sinner willing? Does man, of himself, choose to become willing, or does God, by His sovereign power, make His elect willing “in the day of His power” (Ps. 110:3)? It seems both logical and judicially necessary to crown with glory the individual who made the plan of salvation actually work, and the free willer does not hesitate to reach for the crown and place it on the head of the sovereign and free will of man.

Some folks may feel we are laboring this point to an extreme, but actually this is the heart of the matter. Who really deserves all the glory for man’s salvation? It cannot be both God and man, nor can it be, as many would imply, half and half. Either God saves sinners by “making them willing in the day of His power,” or they save themselves by making themselves willing in the “day of their free will decision.”

And Romans 9:16 settles the matter once and for all –
“So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy!”

10 THINGS I DID NOT UNDERSTAND BEFORE I WAS REFORMED

Les Lanphere

I, like so many others in my generation, was a Christian for a long time before being confronted with the doctrines of grace. Why does this matter? What difference do these doctrines make in the Christian life?

There is a solid Christianity that has been fought for, that people have died for. There have been Church councils and controversial men who stood up to revolt against corrupt practices and unbiblical doctrines. We aren’t left in the dark to figure Christianity out all over again. The truth has been opened and passed down to us by Saints past.Not only has reformed theology opened my eyes to new things, it’s cleared up so many things that I already believed but failed to understand.

10. MY SIN

I knew I was a sinner. I knew I needed to be forgiven. But just how much of a sinner, I had no idea. Sometimes I would say, “Wow, I didn’t sin much this week.”

Now I know that it’s quite possible that I have never, for a second, obeyed the command “Love the Lord, your God, with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength.”. I never took seriously Jesus’ words that looking at a woman with lust is to commit adultery, or that hating a man in your heart is murder. I ignored the fact that Jesus said “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” -Matthew 5:48

I finally understand that I sin every day, every hour… on some level I sin every moment of my life. This is how sinful I am. But God! Oh, how merciful He is to such a sinner.

9. GOD WORKS ALL THINGS FOR MY GOOD

This seemed like a nice idea – God works stuff out in the end. I don’t need to worry too much, because God can clean up the messes and put it back together.

But once I understood sovereignty, it all changed. God doesn’t just react to what people are doing or the messes that pop up in life. He is “working all things” for the good of His people. Because He orchestrates everything, my life isn’t left to chance for a split second. Nothing surprises Him, not because He knows it all but because He’s actually in control.

8. WHY WE PRAY FOR THE LOST

This is something everyone does. We pray for our family and friends to be saved. We say things like “soften their hearts” or “reveal yourself to them”. It’s not something I ever thought about as incosistent with my beliefs, but now I see how strange it really was.

If God couldn’t override people’s free will, how could He save them? How could He do anything different than the 100% He was already giving everyone, waiting fo them to make their decision. What does it mean to “soften a heart” other than “do more than You are doing to change their mind”?

Now I can pray fervently for God to override a family member’s sinful will, because I know that this is their only hope. If God can’t touch our wills, we all go to Hell. God, destroy their will, and MAKE them love You, so they can be saved from Hell!

7. THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION

I was always on the fence on the “can we lose our salvation?” question. I’d seen and heard of epic backsliding and people who walked completely away from faith. So it only seemed logical that there were certain sins that could push us too far away from God.

The Bible says nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love that is in Christ, let alone the very thing he died to forgive. The gospel teaches that everything past, present, and future is forgiven. So what could undo the work of Jesus and make us accused again?

Now I understand that sins aren’t counted against me anymore. God convicts me to cease from sinning, but the condemnation and marks against me have been paid for. I’m truly free.

6. JESUS TOOK MY PLACE

The idea that Jesus was in my place on the cross was another nice thought, and was truly my object of faith. But I believed He took everyone’s place on the cross, even people who would wind up in Hell. What kind of assurance can I find in a substitution that doesn’t help such a large number of people it took the place of? What does it mean to die in someone’s place, if not that they are pardoned?

I understand, now, that Jesus was laying His life down for His sheep… perfectly. Not one of the people who’s place He took on the cross will be in Hell. Those who do find themselves in Hell were never atoned for. Jesus truly, perfectly, and finally took my sins on Himself not because I applied His blood to myself, but because the Father placed my sins, specifically, on His Son.

5. THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER

I used to pray. I would pray especially hard when I messed up, or when something was completely out of my control. When I knew there was nothing I could do about a situation, then I’d give it over to God. Other than that I’d pray very generally that God would help me in my life.

Reformed theology has opened my eyes to the truth that I am completely helpless. I’m one-hundred percent at God’s mercy. God could, if He wanted, take the faith out of my heart tomorrow. I’d wake up, shake my head, and say, “Wow, that Christianity phase was weird.” and get right back to my sinful life. God promises to never do that, but that’s how much we are at His mercy.

I NEED God to live, I need him in every area because I’m powerless without Him. He’s the power that makes me flee from sin, help people, open His word, and even pray. Yes, we should pray that God would give us the desire to pray. God is truly our strength, so we must pray without ceasing. Anything less would be relying on our powerless flesh.

4. BEING BORN AGAIN

When I look back, I don’t even know how I would have defined being born again. I knew it was a change, maybe a feeling. I definitely knew that you needed to be born again to be saved, and I even knew the moment that it happened to me. What it was, though, I’d be hard pressed to answer.

Oh boy! I could tell you now. It is the supernatural change of a God-hater into a God-lover. It’s the work of God to change a man’s entire nature. We are set free from slavery to sin, and made slaves of righteousness. We are new creations. Without it man cannot believe the gospel or repent. Praise God for this free-will smashing new birth!

3. THE HOLY SPIRIT

What a mystery the Holy Spirit was. I believed in the Trinity. Father – The one who calls the shots. Son – The One who came to earth to die for sin. Holy Spirit – um… it’s like a mist, that like… is everywhere. Kinda like the wind, I guess. And it… helps us.

Praise God for His Holy Spirit! The third Person of the Trinity that works in God’s people. He’s IN me! It’s amazing! He’s the One that produces the fruit, the One that makes me understand the Bible, the One that makes me cry “Abba, Father!” The Holy Spirit confirms to my spirit that I’m in Christ. He perfects my broken prayers and praises. Without God’s Spirit inside us, we’d never know God.

2. THE NECESSITY OF THE GOSPEL

I would, from time to time, share my faith. I would talk about how Jesus died, but the most important thing I was seeking was a decision. Offensive parts of the gospel, about sin and wrath… those don’t make people want to accept, so I’d minimize them. I would let people know that Jesus wanted to make them happier and fulfill their lives – certainly not that He demands their submission and will take away their rights.

Now I know that apart from the clear and complete gospel, nobody can be saved. Anybody who has signed a decision card or said a prayer based solely on a promise of, “The Bible tells us that we can know where we go when we die. Come to Jesus and He’ll forgive you.”, is not going to heaven. They were deceived. People must hear about their sinfulness, the forgiveness on the cross, and the repentance God requires. This is how we are saved, through the gospel.

1. THE MEANING OF LIFE

God’s creation, I would have guessed, was an experiment in free will. How will people respond to God becoming a man and dying? God was trying His hardest to save as many people as possible, yet inevitably some would go to Hell since it was their decision. Jesus died to make salvation possible, and God was going to be eternally frustrated by all the people that He loved who would be in Hell for eternity. In the back of my mind, I always had a theory that God would forgive them all and bring them into Heaven in the end, and we’d all rejoice.

Oh, how glorious God’s plan truly is. God’s number one priority is to show off His majesty and be glorified. God is beautiful, and when we see His beauty and respond in worship, we are fulfilling our entire purpose. When we fail to love God, we are spitting in this glorious King’s face, and we will be punished.

The purpose of this creation is for God to demonstrate His power and mercy. The fall of Satan and Adam are all part of this amazing story. God’s righteous hatred toward sinners will display His awesome power for eternity. God became a man and redeemed mankind from His own wrath. All who He has mercy on will worship Him for eternity because of this amazing love displayed on the Cross. Heaven will be the most amazing pleasure imaginable, fulfilling the very purpose of creation. We will worship God forever because we’ll know what we have been saved from. He displayed love beyond our comprehension! Praise God!

SIX THINGS JESUS DOES WITH SIN

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” [Jn 1:29]

John the Baptist commands a beholding of the sin-taking-away Lamb. What do we see in this beholding? How exactly does Jesus take away our sin?

Here are six things Jesus does with sin:

1. HE CONDEMNS IT.

Jesus puts a curse on sin. He marks its forehead.

“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” [Romans 8:3]

Jesus says to sin in no uncertain terms, “Sin, you’re going to die.”

2. HE CARRIES IT.

Like the true and better scapegoat, Jesus becomes our sin-bearer.

“Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” [1Peter 2:24]

“For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

3. HE CANCELS IT.

He closes out the account. (Even better, He opens a new one, where we’re always in the black, having been credited with His perfect righteousness.)

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil (or is not resentful).” [1Cor 13:4,5]

That word resentful is more directly “to count up wrongdoing,” which is why some translations of this text say that “Love keeps no record of wrongs.”

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” [Colossians 2:13,14]

4. HE CRUCIFIES IT.

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” [1Peter 3:18]

At the cross, Jesus dies and takes our sin with Him. Only the sin stays dead.

5. HE CASTS IT AWAY.

Jesus takes the corpse and chucks it into the void.

“He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” [Micah 7:19]

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” [Psalm 103:12]

6. HE CHOOSES TO UN-REMEMBER IT.

Jesus is omniscient. He is not forgetful. But He wills to un-remember our sin.

“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” [Jer 31:34]

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” [Hebrews 8:12]

“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” [Hebrews 10:17]

Astonishing. We bring our sin to Him, repentant and in faithful confession, and He unconditionally forgives and forgets them.

THIS is how Jesus forgives sin: He condemns it, carries it, cancels it, kills it, casts it, and clean forgets it. If we’ll confess it.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1John 1:9]

(quoted from the web)

GOD’S ELECT ARE PEOPLE OF ‘THE BOOK’!

David Simpson

We are people of “The Book”! We don’t look to the stars, to tea leaves, to palm-readers or to astrologers. We aren’t looking for additional revelations or manifestations. We aren’t followers of new apostles or prophets. God has provided His revelation in His time and His way. He gave prophets for a particular period and apostles as the front line to bear the message of Christ. That day has passed and we have “The Book”. The proper name Bible means book. It has sixty-six books but it is one Book. It has numerous writers but one Author, the Holy Spirit. It’s as relevant in the twenty-first century as it was in the first century.

Jesus was a man of “The Book” [its very subject and content]. Again and again He challenged His generation with these words “have you not read?” He spoke of Moses and David, of Isaiah and generally of the prophets. He referred to Jonah as a type of Himself. He said He came to establish righteousness by fulfilling every jot and tittle of the law. Where do we find that law? In “The Book”!

Peter was a man of “The Book”. On the day of Pentecost, he quoted the prophet Joel and the psalmist David (Acts 2:14). Philip was a man of “The Book”. How did he deal with the questioning Ethiopian? He “began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35).

Timothy and Paul were men of “The Book”. Paul said to his younger counterpart: “from a child you have known the holy scripture, which are able to make you wise unto salvation…” (2 Timothy3:16). Paul instructed him: “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, and doctrine” (I Timothy 4:13).

[Don’t quote philosophers, thinkers and geniuses of the world my friend . . . . quote THE BOOK . . . Thus saith the Lord! End of argument! – M.J.