"The Immeasurable Riches of His Grace" -- Ephesians 2:1-10

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon on Ephesians (the fourth in a series). Note--there is a slight hum in the audio.

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20090517-Ephesians.mp3

Tonight's Academy Lecture

Rev. Andrew Compton continues his Academy series entitled "Current Trends in Old Testament Studies." Join us tonight @ Christ Reformed (7:30 p.m.) for a lively evening of discussion followed by a question and answer period and refreshments.

Rev. Compton's lecture is entitled: Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Part 1

Here's the synopsis:  Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, in its rewriting of church history, cited among other things, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In fact, since the scrolls’ discovery in 1947, much uncertainty and speculation has ensued over if and how the scrolls relate to the early Christianity. In this lecture, we’ll cover some of the basics of one of the greatest discoveries of the 20^th century for Old Testament studies. We’ll discuss the site of Qumran, the kinds of scrolls found, the Jewish community reflected in the non-biblical scrolls, how the biblical scrolls help us understand the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, and whether the scrolls speak of Christ or the apostolic era. Once the rumors and uncertainty are cleared up, we’ll see that the scrolls are indeed a wonderful historical discovery that tell us a great deal of the evolution of Judaism and the canonization of the Old Testament in the final centuries before Christ.

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Refutation of Errors, Article One

Rejection of the Errors

Having set forth the orthodox teaching, the Synod rejects the errors of those

(I) Who teach that, properly speaking, it cannot be said that original sin in itself is enough to condemn the whole human race or to warrant temporal and eternal punishments.

For they contradict the apostle when he says: Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death passed on to all men because all sinned (Rom. 5:12); also: The guilt followed one sin and brought condemnation (Rom. 5:16); likewise: The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).

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The first error of the Arminians addressed by the Canons is the notion that although the human race is fallen in Adam, Adam’s act of rebellion and the resulting “original sin” is not the basis upon which the unbelieving members of the human race will be condemned.

According to the Arminians, Adam’s sinful act plunged the human race into sin and condemnation, but the death of Jesus Christ (they contend) remits the guilt of that original sin. Since people are actually condemned to eternal punishment, however, it is not because of imputed or inherited guilt from Adam’s sin. Having remitted the guilt of Adam’s sin and removed the grounds for God’s just condemnation of the entire human race, it is now left up to the individual sinner to believe in Jesus Christ (as enabled by prevenient grace secured by Jesus Christ) and thus be saved. Should the sinner reject the Savior, they are lost.

Those who are condemned, the Arminians teach, are condemned by rejecting Jesus Christ and are punished for actual sins only, not because of the imputed guilt and inherited corruption resulting from Adam’s act.  “Fairness” supposedly dictates that we can only be held responsible for our own acts, not for the actions of another. This denial of the imputation of the guilt of Adam’s sin to all of his descendants sets up a very dangerous theological precedent, which, as we will see, has grave consequences for the gospel.

That this is the case, becomes very clear when looking at the efforts of several Arminian theologians in the period preceding the writing of the Canons, in dealing with the question of the death of infants, and of those who never hear the gospel. These are two groups who, in the Arminian scheme, escape condemnation on the basis of Adam’s sin. Since neither infants nor those who don’t hear the gospel perish because of the guilt of Adam’s sin, the Arminians find the death of members of either of these categories to be problematic.

Regarding infant death, the Arminians argue that since all infants die without actual sin, they are saved since there is no guilt imputed to them for Adam’ sin. According to Arminius’ defense of his own controversial views: “since infants have not transgressed this covenant (that God made with Adam, Noah and Jesus Christ), they do not seem to be obnoxious to condemnation; unless we maintain . . . that it is the will of God to condemn them for the commission of sin” which they themselves did not commit.

This amounts to the age-old accusation that it is not fair for God to punish someone for the sins of another—an argument which ultimately boomerangs on the Arminian, since it is on this same basis that Jesus Christ bears the guilt of our sins. Arminius goes on to say, “when Adam sinned in his own person and with his free will, God pardoned that transgression; there is no reason then why it is the will of God to impute this sin to infants, who are said to have sinned in Adam.” (James Arminius, The Works of James Arminius, trans. James Nichols and William Nichols, reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Baker book House, 1986, II.11).

There is no question then whether the Arminians do in fact teach what the authors of the Canons accuse them of teaching, namely that the human race is not condemned because of the guilt of Adam’s sin. This seriously undermines the teaching of Scripture regarding the effects of Adam’s sin upon the human race.

The same kind of argument is offered by Arminius in response to the Reformed accusation that the Arminians teach that God condemns the “heathen” who do not hear the gospel on the ground of actual sin only, because the guilt of original sin, having been remitted, cannot be imputed to them. Arminius argues that according to Romans 1-2, all men and women without exception have a knowledge of God upon which they can and must act.  Arminius gladly accepts the Pelagian dictum of the schoolmen (the medieval scholastic theologians) with but a slight the modification—“God will bestow more grace upon that man who does what is in him by the power of divine grace which is already granted to him, according to the declaration of Christ, `To him that hath shall be given’” (Arminius, The Works of James Arminius, II.16).

According to Arminius, natural revelation does not serve to condemn, quite contrary to the apostle Paul, who clearly teaches that it does.  Rather, says Arminius, those who know God from natural revelation do indeed receive a measure of grace.  But they must act upon this grace and seek additional grace in order to respond in faith. If not they perish in unbelief because they choose not to take avail of God’s prevenient grace, which Arminius connects to general revelation.

This is self-evidently a synergistic scheme in which salvation results not from a sovereign and gracious act of God, but one in which salvation flows from cooperation between the grace of God and the fallen human will.  At its fundamental point, Arminianism is not a religion of sola gratia, but is a religion in which man and God cooperate in such a way that fallen humans must themselves act to be saved, with God’s help.

In the case of infant death, as well as in the case of the death of those who do not hear the gospel, the Arminians must argue that the ground for any condemnation is actual sin only. According to the Arminians, infants go to heaven then because they cannot sin, and must be regarded, therefore, as innocent before God.  The so-called “heathen” perish because they do not act upon natural revelation and universal prevenient grace made available to them, not because they are guilty in Adam.  If the heathen do not act upon this prevenient grace, they will not receive additional grace and will perish.  Nevertheless, such people are only punished for their actual sins, especially the supreme sin of rejecting Jesus Christ.

In this synergistic conception of salvation, God contributes an impersonal but universal prevenient grace, and then waits for the sinner to take avail of that grace.  God responds in turn, by giving the sinner even more grace.  In any case, such grace is not seen as effectual, as it remains to the sinner to act, and for God merely to respond.

But this is not what the Scriptures teach.  As the authors of the Canons make plain, in Romans 5:12-19, Paul teaches that through the disobedience of the one man, the many were declared (or regarded as) sinners.  In fact, sin enters the world through Adam’s act, and as a result the entire human race comes under condemnation.  How can the actions of the one man (Adam), render “all” of humanity to be sinners, unless Adam’s guilt is imputed, or reckoned to all of his descendants.  Romans 6:23 is also illustrative here, since death is said to be the wage of sin.  Death results from human sin, not from human finitude, which is, as we will see, the logical conclusion of the Arminian teaching.

In Psalm 51:5 we read these words:  “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  While the Arminian will agree with the Psalmist’s assertion, they will turn right around and argue that Christ’s death removes this guilt.  The only problem with this is there is not a single text anywhere in Scripture which teaches such a thing! 

In Psalm 58:3, we are told, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.”  Moses tells us in Genesis 6:5 that the reason for the cataclysm known as the “flood,” stems from the fact that “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” If the wickedness of the people’s hearts brought about the flood, it is clear that we are guilty for the sinful condition, as well as for our own actual sins. God judged the world with the waters of the flood because of the sinful condition, as well as for actual sins!

The New Testament is equally clear.  In Romans 3:11, the apostle Paul, citing a litany of Old Testament texts, tells us that “ no one understands; no one seeks for God.”  In Ephesians 2, Paul speaks of the human race as “dead in sins and trespasses,” and that we are by nature objects of wrath, because we are enslaved to our sinful cravings.  In Colossians 2:13, Paul speaks of God making us alive in Christ when we were dead in sin and in the uncircumcision of our sinful nature.  In John’s gospel, the apostle makes plain that, “no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him,” and that “no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”  How does that bad tree become a good tree?  Does the bad tree will itself into a good tree?  How does Lazarus prepare himself for resurrection? Does Lazarus begin unwrapping the bandages and chiseling away at the inside of the tomb!

Even from this short survey of biblcal passages, it is obvious that the Arminian position has no basis whatsoever in Scripture.  The human race is guilty for Adam’s sin and original guilt is not a figment of the Reformed mind (as Arminius contends) but is the clear teaching of scripture.

But the most obvious refutation of the Arminian view, unfortunately, is the grim fact of infant death.  If infants cannot sin—which leads to death—why, then, do infants tragically die?  The Arminian must state that infant death results from human finitude or from the sins of another against the infant.  Yet scripture clearly teaches that death is a result of sin!  And if infants cannot sin, why do infants die?  Tragically, infants die because of Adam’s sin, and this point alone, thoroughly and utterly refutes the Arminian notion that the human race is not under universal condemnation for Adam’s sin.

"Behold, You Shall Conceive" -- Judges 13:1-14:20

The Fifteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

Many of us were raised on “Bible stories.” One of the most famous of these is the story of the long-haired Samson, and his evil paramour, Delilah. As we have seen throughout our time in Judges, the various men (and one woman–Deborah) whom we know as the “judges” are raised up by God to rescue his people from their plight whenever Israel falls into sin, and is nearly overcome by neighboring enemies. While many Bible stories present these people as role models for Christians to emulate, the fact of the matter is these people are not role models. Rather, they are living illustrations to us as to how deeply sin is rooted in the human heart, including our own. Gideon is not presented in Judges as an example so I can be a “Gideon.” Gideon is a man who is weak in faith, who needs constant reassurance, and who uses his success in battle as the basis to establish a personal empire. Gideon is not an example for me to follow. Rather, Gideon is a picture to me of . . . me. The judges we meet in this book are all sinners who are used by God to save Israel. But the grim fact is these judges can do absolutely nothing to deal with Israel’s deepest problem–human sin. Therefore, these judges are a constant reminder that while God can and does use sinful men and women to accomplish his purposes, it will take a messiah, who is both God and man, to save us from the guilt and power of sin.

Now that we have made our way nearly to the end of the book of Judges, it is obvious that the Judges we have already met–Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, and Jephthah–would make great characters in a novel, a movie, or even a soap opera. Although God uses them to accomplish his purposes, their sinful behavior, and their personal foibles shock us. Yet, the reality is that these people are just like us. My guess is that the reason that we remember these characters we read about in our youth so vividly into adulthood, is precisely because they are such scoundrels. The best way to prove this my thesis is with a simple question. “Which of Israel’s Judges is the most faithful, and the most successful?”

It is Othniel. Why do we forget about him? Because Othniel was faithful, he married an Israelite, and he did just as YHWH commanded him to do. So, we forget the one Judge who makes the best role model, and who is, in many ways, the very antithesis of the more dramatic Samson–the subject of the next section of Judges. Samson–someone we all remember–is a man who seems trapped between faith in YHWH, and the lusts of the flesh. In this sense, Samson is just like us, struggling with his sins. He is a mighty warrior, even a savior of sorts, and yet Samson is a hot-head and a notorious womanizer. He is given the Holy Spirit, yet he breaks his vows, and stumbles along through life, disobeying the will of God, and suffering the consequences. As we cover the details of his mis-spent life and heroic death, we see yet again, that no sinful human can save our fallen race from the guilt and power of sin.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

Just Send the Bill to Our Children . . .

Can you believe the proposed FY 2010 Federal Budget?  More than a Trillion in the red . . .  Borrowing half of what will be spent . . .  This is one of the most irresponsible acts I can remember.  This is an outrage.  If paid my credit card bills with another credit card, how long would it take before I could never dig myself out?  Not long . . . 

My total disgust with the "inside the Beltway crowd" is thoroughly bipartisan.  Both political parties and the last three presidents are complicit in this.  This kind of deficit spending is utterly immoral and indicative of what happens when the pot-smoking, tie-dye wearing hippies of my high school years have finally become the political ruling class.  We'll have double-digit unemployment for years to come, the inevitable inflation (the cruelest tax of all, especially for the poor and elderly), and much higher taxes on everything for the foreseeable future.  And your kids and mine (and their kids) will be forced to pay for all of this irresponsible spending.  Pox on both parties!!!!  Pox on congress!!!!  Click here: White House forecasts higher budget deficit - Yahoo! Finance

Since nothing upsets the "Beltway crowd" any more than to be called on the carpet for their pomposity, a little lampooning of the Washington elite is always a good thing.  My friend Pat Yamada, has some of the best political humor around on his new blog "The Disassociated Press" (DiP).  You can read Pat's news parodies here.  His latest is the "Hypochondriasis Epidemic."  Hilarious.  Click here: index

This comes as no surprise.  Men hate singing those effeminate praise songs which characterize so much of evangelical "worship."  They don't like too many flowers or liturgical dance in church either.  Funny how the church is never more irrelevant than when it tries to be relevant.  Click here: Men want 'macho' hymns, fewer flowers and less dancing in church | Mail Online

Guess what happens to the children of atheists? They grow up to be religious.  I guess most atheists are not very good at catechism.  Click here: Defectors to faith mark a growing trend | The Australian

Who Said That?

"We believe that everyone at birth is given a Life’s Assignment. This Assignment is weaned and nurtured through your dreams, visions and goals. To truly accomplish this Assignment, however, you must first be equipped to generate the wealth and resources necessary to finance your Life’s Mission.  Many highly capable men and women have, unfortunately, fallen short of achieving their dreams because they do not know how to use their God-given ability to generate wealth. The good news is that you have already been equipped with everything you need to succeed in life. You simply need to know how to develop and use the millionaire seed already inside of you."

Put that millionaire seed inside you to work and leave your guess in the comments section below.  Please, no cheating or google searches.  Answer to follow next week.

Update on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 09:39AM by Kim Riddlebarger

This is from the "Millionaire University" tied to "John Avanzini Ministries."

Academy Audio Posted

Here's the link to Rev. Compton's lecture, "Issues in Old Testament History and Archaeology, Part 2" (05/08/09)

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/A20090508-TrendsOTStudies.mp3

"Above Every Name" -- Ephesians 1:15-23

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon (the third in a series on Ephesians).

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20090510-Ephesians.mp3

Tonight's Academy Lecture

Rev. Andrew Compton continues his lecture series entitled "Current Trends in Old Testament Studies, Part Two." Join us for a lively evening of discussion followed by a question and answer period and refreshments.

The lecture is held at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, is free of charge, and begins at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, Click here: Christ Reformed Info - Schedule of Academy Classes and Author's Forums

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Seventeen

Article 17: God's Use of Means in Regeneration

Just as the almighty work of God by which he brings forth and sustains our natural life does not rule out but requires the use of means, by which God, according to his infinite wisdom and goodness, has wished to exercise his power, so also the aforementioned supernatural work of God by which he regenerates us in no way rules out or cancels the use of the gospel, which God in his great wisdom has appointed to be the seed of regeneration and the food of the soul. For this reason, the apostles and the teachers who followed them taught the people in a godly manner about this grace of God, to give him the glory and to humble all pride, and yet did not neglect meanwhile to keep the people, by means of the holy admonitions of the gospel, under the administration of the Word, the sacraments, and discipline. So even today it is out of the question that the teachers or those taught in the church should presume to test God by separating what he in his good pleasure has wished to be closely joined together. For grace is bestowed through admonitions, and the more readily we perform our duty, the more lustrous the benefit of God working in us usually is and the better his work advances. To him alone, both for the means and for their saving fruit and effectiveness, all glory is owed forever. Amen.
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Article seventeen, although lengthy, simply reminds us that the Scriptures themselves connect the divinely appointed ends (the salvation of God's elect) with the divinely appointed means–the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments.

Therefore, as Christians, we must not only believe the correct things about God and his grace as taught us in his word, but that we must also ever be on our guard not to separate that which God has joined together. God does not effectually call his elect to faith in Christ, nor does he give us the new birth, through any means other than those which he has prescribed in his word.

This means that there is a spiritual marriage between divinely appointed means and ends, a marriage in which we dare not attempt to divide what God has so clearly joined together. This, of course, was the error of the Anabaptists at the time of the Reformation, who sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit apart from the text of Holy Scripture, the same error made by many Charismatics and Pentecostals today. Everything we need to know about how God saves sinners has been revealed in God's word and is confirmed through the two divinely appointed sacraments.

Since the Holy Spirit works in and through the word and the sacraments, we must seek God to do the things he has promised to do through the means which he has prescribed, and only through the means he has prescribed. This is why the Canons contend that “it is out of the question that the teachers or those taught in the church should presume to test God by separating what he in his good pleasure has wished to be closely joined together.”

We cannot expect God’s blessing if we divorce the work of the Spirit from the word, or expect the Spirit to work apart from the word and sacraments. This is not to say that God cannot work outside of these means (and ordinarily he does not), but that he has bound himself to these particular means.  We can expect God’s blessings only if we trust in God’s promise, power, grace and mercy, and reject all humanly devised efforts and techniques.

Therefore, when all is said and done, we are left with the two things God has prescribed—word and sacrament. These are the weapons and instruments of our spiritual warfare. When we trust in the power of God to work in and through the means he has prescribed, there we will see God advance his kingdom.  Let no man divide that which God has joined together!