Free Will, Part 3

In earlier blogs (Part 1 and Part 2), I answered the first question asked by a friend concerning the free will of man. Here is his follow-up question and my efforts at answering it.

I must admit that I did not intend for this answer to become one concerning irresistible grace, but that is the way the answer went. I pray that this answer helps others come to an understanding of this seemingly difficult and controversial concept in the larger study of God’s sovereignty in election.

Question 2

If man has free will before salvation, what about after salvation? Can he decide to leave the faith?

Answer 2

No more than he could will himself to have two legs after having one amputated.

No more than Adam could “unwill” his decision to rebel by intentionally disobeying God’s commandment not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Adam may have been sorry that he rebelled. He probably repented of his rebellion. But that did not undo the fact that he had actually rebelled. It was a fact of history that could not be repealed.

Man has the ability to make a decision for righteousness – and the ability to acknowledge Christ as Lord for the purpose of salvation – only after he is empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit at the discretion of the Father. (John 3:3)

Man, by his very nature, will never cease to resist the will of God in his own strength and by his own will. (Romans 3:10-12) He is only able to make a decision for righteousness when he is overcome by an infinite grace that is irresistible to the continued defiance of man’s will – thus, irresistible grace and irrevocable atonement (Romans 11:28-29).

Irresistible grace does not mean that God chooses a man and bowls him over with grace against the man’s will, but that God is persistent in applying infinite grace toward the finite and defective will of man until God’s grace, by its very definition overcomes man’s ability to resist.

Here is where evangelism comes into the picture. Here is where there is room for preaching and persuasion. The fact that God’s grace is irresistible once applied should prompt every Christian to a renewed effort at reaching out to lost people.

If He wanted to, God could speak a word and every man would be saved. But God does not work that way in the plan of redemption. God works through men. God causes one man to be saved by the hearing of the Word from one who already knows Christ as Lord.

Our persistence in sharing the Gospel with a lost person equates to the grace of God bearing more and more weight  of grace against the resistance that is natural to man’s being until that man can no longer naturally resist.

Once a man is enabled to see the kingdom of God – more specifically, the person of Christ – he is then able to choose something that he never had the ability to choose before – righteousness!

By the gift of faith from God that now becomes effective in his heart, he can no longer resist plunging full-depth into the previously unperceived riches of the grace of God’s redemption and is immediately baptized into the spiritual realm of eternal blessing and the presence of God.

Then with Paul, he begins to sing, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11.33)

He would no more give back or abandon the gift of faith that redeemed him than he would the new leg he had willed in the place of the one that had been amputated (if such a thing were possible).

In fact, he cannot give back his salvation or abandon his faith, because he is forever preserved within the state of grace by the earnest of the Holy Spirit who now indwells his heart and bears upon his will. (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5)

Free Will, Part 2

This is a continuation from the answer to the question that was asked yesterday: Under what conditions does a man have free will. If you missed Part 1, scroll down or click here. (By the way, if you ever want to comment on a particular article I've written, click on the article title and scroll to the bottom of the page.)

Yesterday I taught that when Adam expressed his free will in the Garden of Eden by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he did not lose his free will; he only lost the ability to choose righteousness. 

As a result, when man expresses his free will - whenever man makes a choice - whether for good or evil, he is always choosing from the realm of unrighteousness. His way is blocked to the Tree of Life until by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit the man is given life and the ability to see the Tree of Life (the kingdom of God, as John put it in John 3.3).

I was reading yesterday in one of my old books – a study of Ephesians by Watchman Nee entitled Sit, Walk, Stand. I read it many years ago (1972, in fact), but have forgotten most of it. Here is a passage from the section on walking:

Since the day that Adam took the fruit of the tree of knowledge, man has been engaged in deciding what is good and what is evil. The natural man has worked out his own standards of right and wrong, justice and injustice, and striven to live by them. Of course as Christians we are different. Yes, but in what way are we different? Since we were converted a new sense of righteousness has been developed in us, with the result that we too are, quite rightly, occupied with the question of good and evil. But have we realised that for us the starting point is a different one? Christ is for us the Tree of Life. We do not begin from the matter of ethical right and wrong. We do not start from that other tree. We begin from Him; and the whole question for us is one of Life. (Nee, Watchman. Sit, Walk, Stand. Christian Literature Crusade:Ft. Washington, PA, 1972, p. 25.)

It’s funny how something I read almost 40 years ago now comes to surface in my current understanding of how God works. I love it.

Free Will

It's been a long  time since I've updated my blog. One of the big changes at church was a new webpage. I have spent most of my time trying to learn how to keep the page current. There are still areas that need to be completed. I am working on these, but progress is slow.

The one area I have learned how to update is the sermon page. You can find sermons there in mp3, Word, and pdf formats.

We also have attempted to start a Facebook page, but that is another challenge that we are still working on. Stop by for a visit.

The reason for the title of this blog: 

I recently had a friend of mine ask me two questions. As usual, my answers were too involved, but I decided to share them with you anyway. Let me know if my answers help or hinder. I will post Question 2 in the next post.

Question 1

Under what conditions does man have free will?.

Answer 1: All conditions. Man always has free will.

·         In the Garden, man had two choices: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Unrighteousness) and all the other trees, including the Tree of Life (Righteousness).

·         Utilizing his free will, man made the choice of unrighteousness, thus forfeiting for eternity the ability to choose righteousness – in other words, he died.

·         From that point on, every choice, whether good or bad, was an unrighteous choice because it was made without the Spirit – it was a choice of death.

·         Even if man could live a life filled with nothing but choices for good, he would still be expressing his will in the realm of unrighteousness. Even good people are dead because of the sin of Adam.

·         By giving life to a man dead in sin, the Spirit restored his ability to choose righteousness. Once he is born again, he is as Adam was – he can see both choices – righteousness as well as unrighteousness.

·         Because of God’s grace, he will choose righteousness.

Update

It's been three weeks since I visited my blog with an update. Thanks to those of you who faithfully check to see if I have been working!

I haven't been able to give much time to the blog because we have been busy setting up a new web page for our church. I am happy to say that it is up and running, although when you visit, you will see that we still have much to do. And even though some of the unfinished pages may look like it, we haven't started speaking in tongues or preaching in Latin.

We are in the process of creating a Facebook page for True Life Church also. That is still some days ahead, but keep checking. There will be a link both here and on the web page.

Here is the sermon from this past Sunday, March 6.


mp3        Word        pdf

From now on, my sermons will be posted on the web page instead of on my blog. You will find the sermons in the latest series, The Pursuit of God, posted there. Right now, if you prefer to listen online instead of downloading, just left-click on the mp3 link beside each sermon date. Hopefully, we will have a player on the page soon so you can listen that way also.

Witnessing through Technology

(Scroll down for this week's sermon, The Pursuit of God, Part 2.)

A few days ago, my computer experienced a breakdown that required me to contact technical support. If you've ever had that pleasant experience, you know how long the call can take. I decided to make the most of the situation and asked the technician, a young lady located in Manila, Philippines, named Michelle, about her relationship with Jesus.

Her immediate response was that she was a Christian. I did not know what to expect from the conversation since she was on the job, but she responded by asking me if I was a believer. Pleasantly surprised by her response, I told her that I am a believer. Then she asked something I thought was strange: She asked if I was a Christian or a Catholic.

I was caught off-guard a bit by her question, but answered that I am a Christian - that I am, in fact, pastor of a Baptist church. She then asked me to explain what it means to be a Baptist. Wow! Here we go!

The conversation had taken a wonderful turn, and gave me a chance to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her during the hour-long session. She listened and responded very favorably to my statements and further inquiries to her. The one thing that became very clear after only a couple of questions was that she was not a Christian. She knew no answers to any questions I asked her and confessed that, though she has a Bible, she had never read it.

I asked her if she would go to heaven if she should die today. She replied with the classic answer, "Well, I hope so."

I then asked, "Suppose you were to die today and you did go to heaven. Then suppose God met you at the gate and asked, 'Michelle, why should I let you into heaven?' What would be your reply?"

She gave a little bit of a gasp and said, "I do not know what I would say. That is a very hard question."

Since she was a captive audience of a sort, I told her that I did not want to take advantage of her in this situation, but that the question did have an answer. She asked me what the answer was, so I quoted Romans 10:9-10 and explained how she could know for certain that she would go to heaven and that God would welcome her in.

The session was almost over by this time, so I explained a little bit more about the Bible and its importance and encouraged her to read the Gospel of John at her earliest convenience. She promised that she would try. She was very gracious, but made no commitment or decision. Nevertheless, I was very excited about being able to witness to someone halfway around the world without ever having to leave my office.

Technology is a wonderful thing. Please pray for Michelle in Manila, Philippines.

The conversation was a reminder of how critical it is that we teach our children the truths of Scripture. It is critical that church leaders, from infant care to the pastor, realize how important it is to be grounded in the things we believe. That is why this current series, Rooted, is so important.

Below is Part 2 of the current series, The Pursuit of God, in mp3 format along with the listening guide. I pray that it is a blessing to you.



Sermon 13Feb2011       mp3       Word       pdf

New Sermon Series - "Rooted"

This Sunday (February 6, 2011), I began a new sermon series I’ve entitled “Rooted.”

We have been working diligently to get our new webpage up and running and have finally agreed on a design. The page is up, but is basically empty while we create information to fill in the blanks.

One of the pages of the website tells about True Life Church. On that page will be a statement of our beliefs. While I was reviewing that statement, I was moved to prepare a series of sermons on the subject of what we believe.

This is a work in progress, so I am not sure how long it will take us to go through a study like this. During this series, we will review the truths of the Bible on particular subjects such as the nature of God, the person of Christ, the role of the Holy Spirit, as well as such subjects as man, sin, salvation, preservation of the saints, end times, and the judgment.

The goal will be that, by the time we are finished, we have a good general idea of what the Bible teaches about particular doctrines.

This morning we began this study at the most likely place – the beginning. Gen. 1:1 says, In the beginning, God…” So the title of this first series in the study is entitled, “The Pursuit of God,” - our search for truth concerning the person and nature and attributes of God.

There are many concepts and beliefs about God which have crept unawares into our homes and even our churches. We do not have a clear concept of biblical doctrines because we do not have a clear concept of the God who created us.

If we get it wrong about God, then we will get it wrong about everything else. That is why we will begin our “Rooted” study learning what the Bible has to say about God.

We will do this with lots of scriptures and with limited commentary. I encourage you today to begin praying that God will move in our church and even in our community as we endeavor to understand Him and His ways and purposes.



Sermon 06Feb2011       mp3       Word       pdf       PowerPoint     

Learning Guide       Word       pdf

Jesus is the Life, John 14.6

As of this weekend, we are officially "True Life Baptist Church." We have embarked on a great adventure in the Lord and pray that we will always stay within the center of His will. Our worship was really great this Sunday as God saw fit to bring several guests to be with us in worship. We are excited to see what God has in store for us.

This is the final sermon in the series entitled "True Life" dealing with the relationship between our new church name and John 14.6, where Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." The sermon was different in that it was made up primarily of Scripture, but I believe God really spoke to our congregation through this message.



Sermon 30Jan2011       mp3       Word       pdf

This sermon contained so much scripture, that I used a listening guide instead of depending on just a PowerPoint. If interested, you can download the listening guide by clicking on either of the links below.

Listening Guide Word       Listening Guide pdf 

True Life Church

2011 marks a turning point in the life of our church. Behind us there is conflict and doubts and uncertainty. The way ahead of us I pray will not be one of conflict and doubt, but even in the presence of strong faith there is always uncertainty.

We cannot see what God has in store for us, but we venture forth into this new year with a confidence that God is sovereign and that He will accomplish His mission of seeing the gospel message carried to the ends of the earth so that all people groups will have a chance to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

In effect, 2011 is a year of starting over. It is the first year of a new decade. It is a year of new beginnings, and whatever happens from this point forward will be determined by our faithfulness to God’s call to be obedient to the Great Commission and to remain faithful to the fellowship of our church.

We even have a new name – True Life Baptist Church. (Click the picture for a larger image.)

That new name will not make us successful. It will not make us into anything that we are not and will not free us from the obligation we have to work diligently and in cooperation with one another.

Yet there is much in this new name to inspire us to understanding and to renew our commitment to Christ and to each other.

We are now in the middle of a sermon series that shows how our new name relates to the person of Christ and His testimony in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." 

Below are the first three sermons in this series.

Please pray for us - that we will wisely discern God's will and that we will make an impact on our community and our world for the sake of the Gospel and for the glory of God.

Sermon 09Jan2011: Jesus is the Way Pt. 1, John 14:6

mp3       Word       pdf

Sermon 16Jan2011: Jesus is the Way Pt. 2, John 14:6

mp3       Word       pdf

Sermon 23Jan2011: Jesus is the Truth, John 14:6

mp3       Word       pdf

Radical Experiment

The New Year of 2011 is at the same time a new start for our church. We elected to change our name to True Life Baptist Church (which prompted the new title of my blog) and are in the process of changing logos, signs, etc. It is a bigger task than we at first thought, but we are making the change slowly but surely. More on that in the next entry.

For the first Sunday of the new year, I preached on the Radical Experiment based on David Platt's book, Radical. Click on this link for more on the Radical Experiment.

Most of the adults in our church are participating in the Experiment, meaning that each person has accepted the challenge to...

1. Pray for the entire world
2. Read through the entire word
3. Sacrifice their money for a specific purpose (for us that means Faith Promise)
4. Give their time in another context (participate in a missions activity)
5. Commit their lives to a multiplying community (which means a commitment to True Life Church hopefully)

You can listen to or download the sermon here.



Sermon 02Jan2011     mp3     Word     pdf