*
Существует ни одного праведного, даже не один (Римлянам 3:10).
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Все согрешили и лишены славы Божией (Рим. 3:23).
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Возмездие за грех является смерть (Римлянам 6:23).
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Но Бог продемонстрировал свою любовь к нам, Христос умер за нас (Рим. 5:8).
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Бог оправдывает (верующих) в подарок, по благодати его, Римлянам 3:24).
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Если устами твоими Иисуса как Господа и сердцем твоим веровать, что Бог воскресил его из мертвых, то вы должны спастись; с сердцем человек считает, что приводит к праведности, а устами он признается, что приводит к спасению. Тот, кто призовет имя Господне будет сохранен. (Римлянам 10:9-10, 13).
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ЗНАКИ СВОЕГО ИЗБРАННИКА. 1 Фессалоникийцам: 1-10
29 августа 2013 г.
Знаки своего избранника
Я Фес 1: 1-10
Ты избранный, потому что у вас есть 1.A веры, которая работает, 2. любовь, которая трудится,
3. Надежда, что переносит, 4. Проповедь, которая является мощным.
5. Новая жизнь – имитирует Властелина.
6. преодолевая радость
7. поведение, которое является образцовым
8. один из свидетелей, что является сильным
9. представление к Богу. Превратилась из идолов
10. в ожидании возвращения жениха
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God’s Simple Plan of Salvation
My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?
God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”
In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?
First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. “For the wages [payment] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.
“ . . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “ . . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). “ . . . without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).
“ . . . God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.
My friend, “God . . . commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.
In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . . .’ ”
Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.
“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.
Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.
In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray: “Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”
Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!
God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.
You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.
If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this tract over and over, without laying it down, until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.
God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth:
Pray — you talk to God.
Read your Bible — God talks to you.
Witness — you talk for God.
You should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .” (2 Timothy 1:8)
Who do you think that I am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him:
JESUS IS GOD
While Jesus was on earth there was much confusion about who He was. Some thought He was a wise man or a great prophet. Others thought He was a madman. Still others couldn’t decide or didn’t care. But Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). That means He claimed to be nothing less than God in human flesh.
Many people today don’t understand that Jesus claimed to be God. They’re content to think of Him as little more than a great moral teacher. But even His enemies understood His claims to deity. That’s why they tried to stone Him to death (John 5:18; 10:33) and eventually had Him crucified (John 19:7)
If the biblical claims of Jesus are true, He is God!
JESUS IS HOLY
God is absolutely and perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3), therefore He cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13).
As God, Jesus embodied every element of God’s character. Colossians 2:9 says, “In Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” He was perfectly holy (Hebrews 4:15). Even His enemies couldn’t prove any accusation against Him (John 8:46)
God requires holiness of us as well. First Peter 1:16 says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
JESUS IS THE SAVIOR
Our failure to obey God–to be holy–places us in danger of eternal punishment (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The truth is, we cannot obey Him because we have neither the desire nor the ability to do so. We are by nature rebellious toward God (Ephesians 2:1-3). The Bible calls our rebellion “sin.” According to Scripture, everyone is guilty of sin: “There is no man who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And we are incapable of changing our sinful condition. Jeremiah 13:23 says, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”
That doesn’t mean we’re incapable of performing acts of human kindness. We might even be involved in various religious or humanitarian activities. But we’re utterly incapable of understanding, loving, or pleasing God on our own. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:10-12).
God’s holiness and justice demand that all sin be punished by death: “The soul who sins will die” (Ezekiel 18:4). That’s hard for us to understand because we tend to evaluate sin on a relative scale, assuming some sins are less serious than others. However, the Bible teaches that all acts of sin are the result of sinful thinking and evil desires. That’s why simply changing our patterns of behavior can’t solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences. We need to be changed inwardly so our thinking and desires are holy
Jesus is the only one who can forgive and transform us, thereby delivering us from the power and penalty of sin: “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Even though God’s justice demands death for sin, His love has provided a Savior, who paid the penalty and died for sinners: “Christ … died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Christ’s death satisfied the demands of God’s justice, thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him (Romans 3:26). John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” He alone is “our great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13).
JESUS IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE OBJECT OF SAVING FAITH
Some people think it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere. But without a valid object your faith is useless
If you take poison–thinking it’s medicine–all the faith in the world won’t restore your life. Similarly, if Jesus is the only source of salvation, and you’re trusting in anyone or anything else for your salvation, your faith is useless.
Many people assume there are many paths to God and that each religion represents an aspect of truth. But Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6). He didn’t claim to be one of many equally legitimate paths to God, or the way to God for His day only. He claimed to be the only way to God–then and forever.
JESUS IS LORD
Contemporary thinking says man is the product of evolution. But the Bible says we were created by a personal God to love, serve, and enjoy endless fellowship with Him
The New Testament reveals it was Jesus Himself who created everything (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). Therefore He also owns and rules everything (Psalm 103:19). That means He has authority over our lives and we owe Him absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship.
Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Confessing Jesus as Lord means humbly submitting to His authority (Philippians 2:10-11). Believing that God has raised Him from the dead involves trusting in the historical fact of His resurrection–the pinnacle of Christian faith and the way the Father affirmed the deity and authority of the Son (Romans 1:4; Acts 17:30-31).
True faith is always accompanied by repentance from sin. Repentance is more than simply being sorry for sin. It is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to Him, and making a conscious choice to turn from sin and pursue holiness (Isaiah 55:7). Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15); and “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31).
It isn’t enough to believe certain facts about Christ. Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don’t love and obey Him. Their faith is not genuine. True saving faith always responds in obedience (Ephesians 2:10).
Jesus is the sovereign Lord. When you obey Him you are acknowledging His lordship and submitting to His authority. That doesn’t mean your obedience will always be perfect, but that is your goal. There is no area of your life that you withhold from Him.
JESUS IS THE JUDGE
All who reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior will one day face Him as their Judge: “God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).
Second Thessalonians 1:7-9 says, “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”
HOW WILL YOU RESPOND?
Who does the Bible say Jesus is? The living God, the Holy One, the Savior, the only valid object of saving faith, the sovereign Lord, and the righteous Judge.
Who do you say Jesus is? That is the inescapable question. He alone can redeem you–free you from the power and penalty of sin. He alone can transform you, restore you to fellowship with God, and give your life eternal purpose. Will you repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
See grace to you website for this and many resources. http://www.gty.org
If you look in to the New Testament you will find many giving testimony to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is God.
THE DEMONS
For example, demons affirm the deity of Christ. In Mark 5:5, 6 and 7, the demons said, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God,” even the demons, even the minions of hell, the fallen angels know of His deity, they know He is the Son of the Most High God.
THE BLIND MAN
In John 9 you meet a man born blind, a man whom Jesus healed, a man who was sick for the glory of God. And Jesus says to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man? And he answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? And Jesus said you’ve seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe and he worshiped Him.” He knew he was dealing with God.
THE DISCIPLE’S TESTIMONY
And then there were the disciples who gave testimony.
Peter on behalf of all of them said, “Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God.”
Nathaniel said, “Thou art the Son of God.”
Matthew said, “He is God with us.”
Mark said, “He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Luke said, “He is the Son of God.”
The Apostles, the writers of the New Testament, affirm the deity of Christ.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
There was John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin who said, “I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God.” There was Martha the sister of Mary who said, very sincerely “I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world,” John 11:27.
THOMAS
Thomas the disciple declared concerning Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Jesus does not correct him.
THE ROMAN SOLDIER
There was the testimony of a Roman soldier at His crucifixion, “Truly this man is the Son of God.” And Christ repeatedly made such claims. He said, “If you’ve seen Me you’ve seen the Father. I and the Father are one.”
GOD HIMSELF
The Father spoke out of heaven and said, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him.” And that was a strong word from God. But an even stronger word from God was that God raised Him from the dead and God was in essence saying…This is My beloved Son and He is proven to be My Son in that He has been raised from the dead, now for sure and for every reason listen to Him.
PAUL THE APOSTLE
In Romans 1 Paul introduces us to the phrase, “The gospel of God,” Romans 1:1. Verse 2 says, “God promised it through the prophets.” Verse 3 says, “It was the gospel of God concerning God’s Son.” Then verse 4 says, “It was the gospel of God concerning His Son who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.” Romans 1:4 is the testimony of God the Father. He is the supreme witness.
In Acts 13:30 it says, “God raised Him from the dead.” And God did it to give testimony to His deity.
In Romans 6:4 it tells us as well that Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father. The Father wanted Him raised from the dead so through His glory or His power, His attributes, His essence, He raised Christ from the dead.
In Ephesians chapter 1:19 talks about the surpassing greatness of God’s power. How great is it? Verse 20, “It is the power with which He brought about the resurrection of Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand.”
Titus 2:13 encourages us to wait for the coming of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ (see also 2 Peter 1:1).
In Hebrews 1:8, the Father declares of Jesus, “But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.’” The Father refers to Jesus as “O God,” indicating that Jesus is indeed God.
In Revelation, an angel instructed the apostle John to only worship God (Revelation 19:10).
Several times in Scripture Jesus receives worship (Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38). He never rebukes people for worshiping Him. If Jesus were not God, He would have told people to not worship Him, just as the angel in Revelation did. There are many other passages of Scripture that argue for Jesus’ deity.
The most important reason that Jesus has to be God is that, if He is not God, His death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). A created being, which Jesus would be if He were not God, could not pay the infinite penalty required for sin against an infinite God. Only God could pay such an infinite penalty. Only God could take on the sins of the world (2 Corinthians 5:21), die, and be resurrected, proving His victory over sin and death.
God is the one who raised Christ. And He did it to give testimony to His deity. He is become in His resurrection both Lord and Christ. The resurrection, Peter says in Acts 2:36, shows Him to be Lord and Christ.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” (Matthew 27:46–47)
A second miracle occurred at about the ninth hour, or three o’clock in the afternoon, through an inexplicable event that might be called sovereign departure, as somehow God was separated from God.
Because Jesus was quoting the well-known Psalm 22, there could have been little doubt in the minds of those who were standing there as to what Jesus was saying. They had been taunting Him with His claim to be God’s Son (v. 43), and an appeal for divine help would have been expected. Their saying, “This man is calling for Elijah,” was not conjecture about what He said but was simply an extension of their cruel, cynical mockery.
In this unique and strange miracle, Jesus was crying out in anguish because of the separation He now experienced from His heavenly Father for the first and only time in all of eternity. It is the only time of which we have record that Jesus did not address God as Father. In some way and by some means, in the secrets of divine sovereignty and omnipotence, the God-Man was separated from God for a brief time at Calvary, as the furious wrath of the Father was poured out on the sinless Son, who in matchless grace became sin for those who believe in Him.
Habakkuk declared of God, “Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, and Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor” (Hab. 1:13). God turned His back when Jesus was on the cross because He could not look upon sin, even-or perhaps especially-in His own Son. Just as Jesus loudly lamented, God the Father had indeed forsaken Him.
Jesus did not die as a martyr to a righteous cause or simply as an innocent man wrongly accused and condemned. Nor, as some suggest, did He die as a heroic gesture against man’s inhumanity to man. The Father could have looked favorably on such selfless deaths as those. But because Jesus died as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world, the righteous heavenly Father had to judge Him fully according to that sin.
The Father forsook the Son because the Son took upon Himself “our transgressions, … our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5). Jesus “was delivered up because of our transgression” (Rom. 4:25) and “died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3). He “who knew no sin [became] sin on our behalf” (2 Cor. 5:21) and became “a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet. 2:24), “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust” (1 Pet. 3:18), and became “the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Jesus Christ not only bore man’s sin but actually became sin on man’s behalf, in order that those who believe in Him might be saved from the penalty of their sin. Jesus came to teach men perfectly about God and to be a perfect example of God’s holiness and righteousness. But, as He Himself declared, the supreme reason for His coming to earth was not to teach or to be an example but “to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).
When Christ was forsaken by the Father, their separation was not one of nature, essence, or substance. Christ did not in any sense or degree cease to exist as God or as a member of the Trinity. He did not cease to be the Son, any more than a child who sins severely against his human father ceases to be his child. But Jesus did for a while cease to know the intimacy of fellowship with His heavenly Father, just as a disobedient child ceases for a while to have intimate, normal, loving fellowship with his human father.
By the incarnation itself there already had been a partial separation. Because Jesus had been separated from His divine glory and from face-to-face communication with the Father, refusing to hold on to those divine privileges for His own sake (Phil 2:6), He prayed to the Father in the presence of His disciples, “Glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was” (John 17:5). At the cross His separation from the Father became immeasurably more profound than the humbling incarnation during the thirty-three years of His earthly life.
As already mentioned, the mystery of that separation is far too deep even for the most mature believer to fathom. But God has revealed the basic truth of it for us to accept and to understand to the limit of our ability under the illumination of His Spirit. And nowhere in Scripture can we behold the reality of Jesus’ sacrificial death and the anguish of His separation from His Father more clearly and penetratingly than in His suffering on the cross because of sin. In the midst of being willingly engulfed in our sins and the sins of all men of all time, He writhed in anguish not from the lacerations on His back or the thorns that still pierced His head or the nails that held Him to the cross but from the incomparably painful loss of fellowship with His heavenly Father that His becoming sin for us had brought.
adapted from GTY blog
In John 3:11 Jesus says to Nicodemus in this conversation I want to tell you the truth. And the first truth I want you to understand is that salvation is a divine work that God does from heaven down, that doesn’t depend on you. It’s absolutely crystal clear in verses 1 to 10. You must be born again! You had no part on your physical birth, nor can you have any part in your spiritual birth.
And then without any transition, Jesus, continues the conversation, in verses 11-21 and says, “Anyone can be saved who believes.”
So on the one hand you have the doctrine of divine sovereignty. (Calvinism)
On the other hand you have the doctrine of human faith, human belief, or human responsibility. (Arminianism)
Jesus goes on in this chapter to explain that If you don’t believe, you’ll be judged, which means that if you don’t believe, you’re responsible for your unbelief. This is human responsibility. Consequently you need to believe. You need to believe and in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, you will not perish; you will have eternal life.
So in John 3: 1-10 is a clear presentation of sovereign salvation and inJohn 3:11-21 we have a clear presentation of human responsibility. This prompts a frequent question in the minds of believers.
“How can salvation be solely a work of God and me be held responsible for believing or not believing? How can those two go together?”
Scripture clearly teaches these truths run parallel. They never
come together. They will never intersect. They will never be diminished; legitimately, they are what they are. The fact that you don’t understand how they go together only proves that you’re human. It doesn’t say anything about God. Your inability to harmonize those things is a reflection of our fallenness.
Perhaps the classic example of this is found in Romans
* GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
In Romans 9 he begins with affirming the privileges that the Israelites had. Verses 4 and 5, the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the temple, the promises of the Father’s. Even Christ came through the line of Israel, all of that. The Word of God didn’t fail. What happened?
“Not all Israel is Israel.”
What? “Not all Israel is Israel.” God makes choices. And you go down to verse 13, you see an illustration. “Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated.” What? “Jacob have I loved, Esau I hated. I even determined that the older would serve the younger.”
Verse 14, the response then, “What are we going to say? There’s no injustice with God, is there?” That doesn’t sound fair. How can you make that determination before they’re born? How can you choose Jacob and not Esau? How can you do that? That’s not fair.
Verse 15, Here’s God’s answer from Exodus 33, “I’ll have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I’ll have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” I make that decision. I decide to whom I will give mercy and compassion. “It doesn’t depend on the man who wills. It doesn’t depend on the man who runs.” It depends on God who has mercy.
Verse 18, “He has mercy on whom He desires. He hardens whom He desires.”
Verse 19, Here’s the question. “How can He then find fault with me?” I’m not even a factor. If He’s making all the choices, how can He hold me responsible for rejecting? Because who could resist that sovereign will? That’s your complaint. That’s not fair.
Verse 20, Here’s God’s answer! “Who are you, O man, who answers back to God?” “Who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did You make Me like this, will it? Does not the potter have a right over the clay? To make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? So what if God desired to demonstrate His wrath and make His power known through vessels prepared for destruction?’” God has a right to put His glory on display, the glory that He gets through His wrath. And so what if God wanted to make known the riches of His glory on vessels of mercy. God is glorified in His wrath and He’s glorified in His grace.
Verse 25, from Hosea “I’ll call those who were not My people My people.” I’ll make that call. I’ll make that decision. That’s a sovereign decision made by God. That is one of the strongest arguments section on the sovereignty of God in choosing people for salvation.
*HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY
Now you come to chapter 10, the next chapter. Here’s the other side, human responsibility. What’s the problem? “My prayer to God is for Israel’s salvation. I pray that they’ll be saved.”
Why are they not saved? Well, “they have a zeal for God,” verse 2, “but not in accordance with knowledge.” They don’t have enough knowledge. He’s not saying, Well there’s no way they will be saved because I guess God didn’t choose them.” He doesn’t say that. He says, “The problem is they don’t have knowledge.” And what is it that they don’t understand?
For example, they don’t understand God’s righteousness. They don’t understand that God is as righteous as He is. They think God is less righteous than He is. And they seek to establish their own righteousness.
So they have a bad theology! They think God is less righteous than He is.
They have a bad anthropology! They think they are more righteous than they are, and so they can satisfy God on their own.
How amazing is that? Verse 4, they don’t understand that righteousness which brings an end to the tyranny of the Law is available to everyone who believes. And so, Paul says, “That’s what we preach,” verse 8. We preach the Word about faith. We preach about faith. We preach that ihf you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you’ll be saved, for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness.” And then He says in verse 11, “Whoever believes in Him will not be ashamed.” “For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
So in chapter 9, Paul is resolute and absolute on the sovereignty of God in salvation, but in chapter 10 it’s about knowing the truth, believing the truth, believing in Christ.
How do we respond to these two things? Well, we have a mandate. Verse 14, and this is how you resolve this. “How will they call on Him in whom they haven’t believed? How will they believe in Him whom they haven’t heard? How will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they’re sent?”
You see, faith, verse 17, comes from hearing the Word concerning Christ. So what’s our responsibility? Climb into an ivory tower and try to find a solution to these two parallel truths? To try to find a way to resolve the apparent paradox? To try to catapult ourselves to the level of the mind of infinite God?
No!! Our responsibility is to recognize this. We have been given a command and a commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature because anyone who believes can be saved. Anyone who believes will be saved. “Anyone who comes to Me,” Jesus said in John 6, “I will never turn away.” The only way people can come to Him and believe is if they hear. The only way they can hear is as if we go and tell them.
К Римлянам 9. Боги суверенитет
Russian New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV-RU)
Бог и иудеи
9 Я истину говорю вам во Христе. Я не лгу, и пусть моя совесть, находящаяся во власти Святого Духа, будет мне в этом свидетелем: 2 в сердце моём великая печаль и боль за свой народ. 3 Я так близок к тому, чтобы себе самому пожелать оказаться отлучённым от Христа, ради спасения моих братьев и сестёр, моих соплеменников. 4 Они — избранные дети Божьи, им принадлежит право быть признанными детьми Божьими, увидеть Славу Божью и принять Соглашение, заключённое Богом со Своим народом. Им был дарован Закон Моисея, истинный обряд богослужения в храме и обещания Божьи. 5 Это они — потомки наших великих отцов, они — земная семья Христа, Бога над всем, благословенного вовеки. [a] Аминь!
6 Я ни в коем случае не утверждаю, что Божье обещание народу израильскому не исполнилось, однако не все, кто произошёл от Израиля, на самом деле израильтяне. 7 И если они — потомки Авраама, то это ещё не значит, что все они — истинные дети Авраама. Как сказал Бог: «Твоими единственными законными потомками будут дети Исаака» [b]. 8 Это означает, что не все потомки Авраама — истинные дети Божьи, а лишь те, кто родился во исполнение Божьего обещания Аврааму. 9 Обещание же гласило: «Через год, когда Я вернусь, у Сарры родится сын» [c].
10 И это ещё не всё. Ревекка также имела сыновей, у которых был один отец — наш предок Исаак. 11-12 И перед тем как родились оба сына, ещё до того, как они совершили что-либо хорошее или плохое, Бог сказал Ревекке: «Старший сын будет служить младшему» [d]. Бог сказал это ещё до их рождения, потому что мальчик, которого Он избрал, был избран на основании того, что Бог решил избрать его во исполнение Своего намерения призвать именно его, а не на основании их поступков. 13 Как сказано в Писании: «Я любил Иакова, но ненавидел Исава» [e].
14 Что же сказать теперь? Ведь Бог не бывает несправедлив, не так ли? Разумеется, не бывает! 15 Он сказал Моисею: «Я помилую того, кого Сам решу помиловать, и сжалюсь над тем, над кем Сам решу сжалиться» [f]. 16 Это значит, что Бог выбирает, кому из людей оказать милость, независимо от человеческих желаний или усилий. 17 Но согласно Писанию, Бог сказал фараону: «Я сделал тебя царём для того, чтобы через тебя явить всем силу Мою, и имя Моё было проповедано по всей земле» [g]. 18 Так вот, Бог проявляет милость к тому, кого Сам избирает для милости Своей, и ожесточает тех, кого Сам выбирает для этого.
19 Вы, может быть, скажете мне: «Если Бог руководит нашими поступками, то почему же, в таком случае, Он винит нас за грехи?» 20 Да, но кто же ты, смертный человек, чтобы задавать такие вопросы Богу? Ведь не спрашивает же глиняный горшок у горшечника: «Почему ты создал меня таким?» 21 И разве глина не подвластна воле горшечника, когда он превращает кусок глины в особый сосуд или в простой кувшин?
22 Бог хотел проявить Свой гнев и показать Свою силу, но Всевышний проявил большое терпение по отношению к людям, которые вызывали у Него гнев, и которым было назначено уничтожение. 23 Он терпел, чтобы проявить Свою безграничную милость к людям, которые должны были обрести Его милосердие, и которых Он приготовил к принятию Своей Славы. 24 Мы именно те люди, которых Он призвал не только из иудеев, но и из язычников. 25 Как сказано в Писании в книге Осии:
«Тех, кто не принадлежит к народу Моему,
Я назову Своим народом,
и нелюбимый народ
Я назову любимым».
26 А также:
«И в том же самом месте, где,
в прошлом сказал Бог: „Вы — не Мой народ”,
в том самом месте их назовут детьми живого Бога».
27 И Исаия восклицает по поводу Израиля:
«Даже если дети Израиля числом своим
подобны песчинкам на дне морском,
то только небольшое число их будет спасено,
28 так как Господь быстро исполнит Свой суд
над людьми на земле».
29 И, как предсказал Исаия:
«Если бы Господь Всемогущий
не оставил нам потомков,
то ныне мы уподобились бы Содому
и стали как Гоморра».
30 Что же сказать теперь? Мы приходим к заключению, что язычники, не искавшие праведности, всё же обрели праведность через веру. 31 Но народ Израиля, следовавший указаниям Закона, который мог привести к оправданию перед Богом, не преуспел в этом. 32 Почему же? Потому, что они искали оправдания перед Богом не через веру, а через свои дела. Они не доверились Богу и споткнулись о камень преткновения, 33 как и сказано в Писании:
«Смотри же, Я положу в Сионе
камень преткновения,
камень, о который люди спотыкаются.
Но кто верит в Него, никогда не разочаруется».
Footnotes:
К Римлянам 9:5 Христа … вовеки Или «…Христа. Бог, Который властвует над всем, да будет благословен вовеки!»
К Римлянам 9:7 Быт. 21:12.
К Римлянам 9:9 Быт. 18:10, 14.
К Римлянам 9:11 Быт. 25:23.
К Римлянам 9:13 Мал. 1:2-3.
К Римлянам 9:15 Исх. 33:19.
К Римлянам 9:17 Исх. 9:16.
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Russian New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV-RU)
Copyright © 2007 by World Bible Translation Center
К Римлянам 10. Наша ответственность / выбор
Russian New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV-RU)
Иудеи могут найти спасение
10 Братья и сёстры! Я от всего сердца желаю, чтобы все израильтяне были спасены, и молю об этом Бога. 2 Я свидетельствую о том, что они ревностно относятся к Богу, хотя и не знают верного пути. 3 Так как они не знали о праведности, даруемой Самим Богом, и пытались по-своему достичь праведность, то не принимали того пути, следуя которым люди могут оправдаться перед Ним. 4 Христос положил Закону конец, чтобы каждый, кто уверовал, был оправдан перед Богом.
5 Моисей так пишет о праведности по Закону: «Кто хочет обрести жизнь, следуя этому Закону, должен исполнять его». [a] 6 Но в Писании так говорится о праведности перед Богом, достигнутой через веру: «Не спрашивайте про себя: „Кто вознесётся на Небо?”» (То есть «Кто вознесётся на Небо, чтобы привести Христа на землю?») 7 «И не спрашивайте: „Кто спустится в бездну?”» (То есть «Кто спустится в бездну, чтобы привести Христа обратно из царства мёртвых?»).
8 Вот что сказано в Писании: «Слово Божье рядом с тобой, оно на устах твоих и в сердце твоём». [b] И слово это о вере, которой мы учим людей.
9 Если ты произнесёшь своими устами: «Иисус — Господь» — и поверишь в сердце своём, что Бог воскресил Его из мёртвых, то будешь спасён. 10 Каждый, кто в сердце своём верует, что оправдается перед Богом, устами объявляет свою веру, чтобы обрести спасение. 11 Потому что Писание гласит: «Кто верует в Него, никогда не разочаруется» [c]. 12 Нет никакого различия между иудеем и язычником, так как Господь един для всех, и Он безмерно вознаграждает Своими благословениями всех тех, кто взывает о помощи к Нему [d]. 13 Потому что «каждый, кто полагается на Господа [e], будет спасён» [f].
14 Но как же люди смогут молиться Господу о помощи, если они не поверили в Него? И как смогут они поверить в Него, если не слышали о Нём? И как смогут они услышать о Господе, если никто им не проповедует о Нём? 15 И как же будут люди проповедовать, если никто не пошлёт их на проповедь? Как сказано в Писании: «Как прекрасны те люди, которые приносят благую весть» [g].
16 Но не все люди признали Благую Весть. Исаия сказал: «Господи, кто поверил поучениям нашим? [h]» 17 Это значит, что вера приходит к людям, если они слышат Благую Весть, проповедуемую о Христе.
18 Но я спрашиваю: «Разве они не слышали Благую Весть?» Конечно, слышали! В Писании сказано:
«Звуки голосов их разнеслись по всей земле,
и слова их достигли края света».
19 Но я снова спрашиваю: «Ведь народ Израиля понял всё, не так ли?» Сначала Моисей вот что сказал [i]:
«Я возбужу в вас ревность с помощью народа,
который и не народ.
Я вызову у вас гнев с помощью народа,
которому не дано понять».
20 Затем Исаия повторяет [j] смело:
«Меня нашли те, кто не искал Меня.
Я открылся тем, кто не спрашивал обо Мне».
21 Но о народе Израиля Бог говорит:
«Я ждал весь день, чтобы принять этих людей,
но они отказываются повиноваться
и следовать за Мной».
Footnotes:
К Римлянам 10:5 Лев. 18:5.
К Римлянам 10:8 Втор. 30:12-14.
К Римлянам 10:11 Ис. 28:16.
К Римлянам 10:12 кто взывает … к Нему Или «кто верует в Него».
К Римлянам 10:13 полагается на Господа Буквально «взывает к имени Господа».
К Римлянам 10:13 Иоиль 2:32.
К Римлянам 10:15 Ис. 52:7.
К Римлянам 10:16 Ис. 53:1.
К Римлянам 10:19 Моисей говорит Имеется в виду, что Моисей повторяет сказанное Богом.
К Римлянам 10:20 Исаия повторяет Имеется в виду, что Исаия повторяет сказанное Богом о язычниках.
It is not hard to spot a jellyfish Christian or theologian. They care more about what others think about their beliefs than the truth of their beliefs. To use contemporary language, a jellyfish Christian or theologian is one who just won’t declare his beliefs. Nor is he willing to pay the cost for them. He professes to follow Christ, but when he is called upon to pay the price, he compromises, either redefining the Christian faith or denying it altogether.
Sadly, there are many jellyfish Christians and theologians today. If we are not careful, we can subtly become one too. We begin to compromise, shift our positions, become ambiguous, or hide our beliefs in embarrassment. And lest we be recognized for what we are, we begin to pressure others to do the same.
Jesus, however, was no jellyfish nor did he produce jellyfish followers, but disciples who would pick up their cross and die, literally.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39 ESV)
J.C. Ryle described a jelly -fish Christian as one without bone, or muscle, or power. A jelly-fish is a pretty and graceful object when it floats in the sea, contracting and expanding like a little, delicate, transparent umbrella. Yet the same jelly-fish, when found on the beach is a mere helpless lump, without capacity for movement, self-defense, or self-preservation. Sadly, It is a vivid type of much of the religion of this day, of which the leading principle is, “Just love everybody, don’t worry about biblical doctrine, it’s just too divisive.
We have hundreds of jelly-fish men of the cloth, so called clergymen, who do not appear to have a single bone in their body of divinity. They don’t have opinions; and they are so afraid of “extreme views” that they have no views at all. THEY ARE TERRIFIED ABOUT BEING DIVIDED BY TRUTH, AND PREFER TO BE UNITED BY ERROR!
Thousands of jelly-fish sermons are preached every year, sermons without an edge, or a point, or a corner, smooth ear tickling diatribes, awakening no sinner, and edifying no saint.
We have an interminable number of jelly-fish graduates annually turned out from our Liberal and even so called reformed seminaries armed with a few scraps of second-hand human philosophy, who think it a mark of cleverness and intellect to have no decided opinions about anything biblical, and seem to be utterly unable to make up their minds as to what is Christian truth.
Worst of all, we have myriads of jelly-fish worshippers—respectable church-going people, who have no distinct and definite views about any point in theology. They cannot discern things that differ, any more than color-blind people can distinguish colors. They think everybody is right and nobody wrong, everything is true and nothing is false, all sermons are good and none are bad, every clergyman is sound and no clergyman is unsound. They are “tossed to and fro, like children, by every wind of doctrine”; forty days of this and fifty days of that.
They are often carried away by any new excitement and sensational movement; ever ready for new things, because they don’t have a firm grasps on sound doctrine, and are utterly unable to “render a reason of the hope that is in them.”
Never was it more important for all professed believers to hold systematic views of biblical truth, and for preachers to “preach the word, in season, and out of season” very clearly and distinctly, without apology.
THE EVOLUTIONIST’S BIG BANG THEORY DEFINED AND DOCUMENTED
March 27, 2014
The Theory Defined
The big bang concept alleges that some twenty billion years ago (give or take ten billion), all of the matter in the known universe was tightly packed into a microscopic cosmic “egg.” One writer expresses it this way: “Astonishingly, scientists now calculate that everything in this vast universe grew out of a region many billions of times smaller than a single proton, one of the atom’s basic particles” (Gore 1983, 705). This is truly an incredible statement!
In one of his books, Dr. Robert Jastrow a professed evolutionist asserts that in the beginning “all matter in the Universe was compressed into an infinitely dense and hot mass” that exploded. Over many eons, supposedly, “the primordial cloud of the Universe expands and cools, stars are born and die, the sun and earth are formed, and life arises on the earth” (1977, 2-3). Dr. Jastrow is describing, of course, what is commonly known as the big bang theory, and it does not require much critical acumen to conclude that the concept is evolutionary to the core.
Where the cosmic egg came from no one seems to know. Certainly no cosmic chicken has been located! Some allege that the egg always existed. They speculate that it possibly resulted from some earlier universe that collapsed upon itself. This assumes that matter is eternal. But this idea is refuted by our knowledge of physics (e.g., the second law of thermodynamics). Jastrow concedes that “modern science denies an eternal existence to the Universe, either in the past or in the future” (15). Others, like Professor Victor Stenger of the University of Hawaii, muse that perhaps the universe came from nothing (the egg laid itself!):
[T]he universe is probably the result of a random quantum fluctuation in a spaceless, timeless void . . . the earth and humanity, are not conscious creations but an accident. . . . [I]t is not sufficient merely to say, “You can’t get something from nothing.” While everyday experience and common sense seem to support this principle, if there is anything that we have learned from twentieth-century physics, it is this: Common sense is often wrong, and our normal experiences are but a tiny fraction of reality (1987, 26-27).
One thing is certain: one is required to lay aside his “common sense” in order to accept the foregoing incomprehensible speculation. None of these materialistic theories has any credibility scientifically. Some evolutionists should take a hint from the Scottish skeptic David Hume: “I have never asserted so absurd a proposition as that anything might arise without a cause” (1932, 187).
The man of God is known or marked by what he flees from, verse 11. “But flee from these things, you man of God.” That is a present imperative, that is it is a continuing action, a continual action being commanded. The Greek verb, feugo from which we get the English fugitive. We are, to begin with, fugitives. We are running relentlessly. We are fleeing all the time. And from what? From these things, you man of God. The question is, what things are we fleeing from? If you go back just a little bit and read verses 9 and 10. If one is to be a man of God he is a fleeing man. First Corinthians 6:18 warns all of us, “Flee sexual sin, flee fornication.” First Corinthians 10:14 warns all of us, “Flee idolatry.” And here the man of God is warned, “Flee loving money and all the material things that go with it, all the passing fancies of this fading world, all of the evils that are attached to self-indulgence, self-fulfillment, self-aggrandizement. Paul told Timothy in chapter 1 verse 4 to avoid myths, endless genealogies which give rise to speculation. Avoid those things that corrupt your clear mind and assault and attack biblical truth.
Secondly, the man of God is known not only by what he flees from but what he follows after. In the same verse 11, you see in the word “pursue,” it’s actually the verb to follow after, “Flee from these things, you man of God, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” While we’re fleeing from the world, we’re running after spiritual virtues. We’re fleeing temporal values and pursuing spiritual virtues. And this also is a present imperative indicating continuous action under command. We are commanded to be always fleeing and always following. The negative side always fleeing the corrupting things, and the positive, always following after, pursuing the righteous godly things. Paul is simply saying, “Get out of the sight of the things that corrupt and never let the things that produce virtue out of your vision.” Your Christian life is an effort to run from evil and to pursue God. That’s what it is. That’s what it is for us. Proverbs 15:9 says, “The Lord loves him that pursues, that runs after, that follows after righteousness.” The man of God has to ask himself, ” Am I fleeing man? And am I a following man?”
Thirdly, you fight. The man of God is known by what he flees from, what he follows after, what he fights for. Sometimes you have to tell people flee these sins. Sometimes you have to tell them follow these virtues. Sometimes you have to tell them, “Fight this fight.” It says fight the good fight of faith. What it means is the noble fight, kalos, the noble fight for the faith, the content of the Christian faith. Why? Because biblical truth is always under attack. Every faithful believer is a fighter. This is an agonizing battle in which we are engaged and a faithful man of God is a soldier, a warrior, a fighter, a boxer, a battler. Fight the good fight. I don’t know if you know how it was in ancient times. Kenneth Weistro said the gloves of Greek boxers were fur-lined on the inside and on the outside made of ox hide, sewn into the ox hide was lead and iron. That’s how you fought. It’s pretty serious conflict. And so is spiritual warfare. It’s sad to see believers and especially pastors who don’t want to fight, who don’t want to go to battle, who don’t want to guard the truth, who don’t want to protect the truth. Chapter 6 verse 20, “Guard what has been entrusted to you,” that’s just part of your duty, guard it…guard it. Second Timothy chapter 1 verse 13, “Retain or guard the standard of sound words.” Verse 14, “Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure that’s been entrusted to you.”
Fourthly, one more thing that characterizes the man of God is known by what he is faithful to. What he flees from, follows after, fights for and is faithful to… Here’s the main idea, “I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
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