Posts by SwedishChef

posted

78
Calvinism
by Calvinist02 in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the basic 5 points of calvinism.

1. total depravity- all men are sinners.

we are totally corrupt and wicked.
SwedishChef

Donkey, the doctrine of God's sovereignty is the most offensive to human nature. If you choose to reject the Gospel, it is not my problem. Every man is accountable for his own self. I cannot do anything about it. However, I would prefer if you would refrain from outwardly mocking God and the Bible. There is no reason for it. If you don't like Bible doctrine, then you don't have to comment on it.
As the title suggests, this thread is about a specific Bible doctrine, (the doctrines of grace, or Calvinism) and there is no reason for atheists and Bible haters to comment.
78
Calvinism
by Calvinist02 in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the basic 5 points of calvinism.

1. total depravity- all men are sinners.

we are totally corrupt and wicked.
SwedishChef

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
78
Calvinism
by Calvinist02 in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the basic 5 points of calvinism.

1. total depravity- all men are sinners.

we are totally corrupt and wicked.
SwedishChef

Here are some Biblical points about salvation:

1) We are dead in our sins. (Ephesians 2:5)
2) No man will come to the Father by their own will, there is none who seek Him. (Romans 3:11)
3) The Father must draw that person, the Holy Spirit must quicken him/her. (John 6:44)
4) Those who attain salvation are called the elect. (Colossians 3:12, Titus 1:1, Romans 8:33)
5) The elect have been predestinated according to His purpose. (1 Peter 1:2, Romans 8:29,30)
6) Christ's sheep hear him, and come to him. They shall never perish. (John 10:27,30)

God can do whatever He wants. If he chooses to show mercy on one and not another, that is His will.
You can argue about atonement, but can't argue with the Sovereignty of God. If God wanted to, He could only save one of us and leave the rest to go to hell and there would be no unrighteousness with Him.
Romans 14-16 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."

This is a paragraph from the writing I posted above. In case you didn't want to read all of that, I just want to direct your attention to this. Spurgeon said it better than I can.

I do not think I differ from any of my Hyper-Calvinistic brethren in what I do believe, but I differ from them in what they do not believe. I do not hold any less than they do, but I hold a little more, and, I think, a little more of the truth revealed in the Scriptures. Not only are there a few cardinal doctrines, by which we can steer our ship North, South, East, or West, but as we study the Word, we shall begin to learn something about the North-west and North-east, and all else that lies between the four cardinal points. The system of truth revealed in the Scriptures is not simply one straight line, but two; and no man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. For instance, I read in one Book of the Bible, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Yet I am taught, in another part of the same inspired Word, that "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." I see, in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free-will. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so over-rules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism. That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.
189
Donkey's never-ending atheism thread
by donkey in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.
SwedishChef

1. There is never a conflict between what the Bible says in the original
languages and the TRUE OBSERVATIONS of such sciences as cosmology,
geology, astronomy, chemistry, anatomy, anthropology and psychology.
2. However, actual scientific data and information in the Bible is
extremely limited. The Bible is NOT a scientific text book, nor was it
designed to be one.
3. Being a Book of God's doctrines and filled with spiritual phenomena,
it is obvious that the Bible will occasionally allude to or comment on
what we classify as scientific subjects.
4. Wherever the Bible comments on scientific subjects, the Bible is
always accurate in the original languages. God is the origin of all the
laws and all the phenomena which science is based upon.
5. Therefore, science does not confirm the Bible but occasionally the
Bible confirms scientific data or some scientific classification.
6. If scientific speculation does not line up with the Bible then such
speculation is inaccurate. If there is a true conflict between
scientific speculation and what the Bible says, the Bible is right. Just
as when there is a conflict between some historical interpretation and
what the Bible says, the Bible is right. In other words where the Bible
comments on science, science must agree with the Bible, the Bible is not
required to agree with science.
7. The continuation of the universe and the earth, including man,
animal life, plant life, the stable state of the atmosphere with its
various components all depends on the all powerful and unchangeable
characteristics of Jesus Christ. (Col 1:17, Heb 1:3)
8. 'Scientific laws' is a misnomer. Scientific laws as such, do not
exist because science did not develop these laws and science cannot
enforce them. For example in chemistry God promises that when certain
elements are combined, certain results will follow. This is a DIVINE
LAW, not a scientific law.
9. So-called scientific laws are based on the assumption that the
universe, which operates according to a fixed norm, will continue to do
so. Science can observe and classify certain divine laws and then apply
them productively, but only God in His sovereignty can guarantee the
continuation of these laws.
10. The universe, with its function of matter and energy will not always
exist as it does at the present time. (2Pet 3:10-12, Rev 20:11 )
11. Known scientific laws and phenomena, which man has been able to
observe, classify and apply depend entirely on the faithfulness of God.
(Colossians I:17)
12. The reason for preserving the universe is to resolve the perpetual
conflict in human history, and to bring many sons into glory. (Heb 2:10)
13. The Word of God will survive the destruction of the universe for the
Word of God and Bible doctrine will exist forever. (Ps 119:89)
14. Regenerate man in resurrection body will live forever and survive
the changes in the universe, even surviving the destruction of the
present universe.
15. It is Jesus Christ who holds the universe together by the power of
His Word. (Heb 1:3). At the same time He is holding back eternity in
order for the human race to have the opportunity to believe in Jesus
Christ.
16. Many scientific phenomena are elucidated in the Bible.
a) The Movement of Planets (Job 38:31,32) In the 19th century M. Medler
discovered that Aleyone the brightest star in the Pleides is the centre
of gravity of the solar system. The Hebrew word for Pleides is KIMAH
which means hinge, pivot or axle.
b) Static Electricity (Jer 10:13) This states that static electricity
may be formed by the condensation of vapour.
c) The Earth is Spherical (Isa 40:22, Prov 8:27) The words translated
circle in Isaiah and compass in Proverbs should be translated spherical.
d) The Earth rotates on its Axis ( Lk 17:24 )
e) Air has weight (Job 28:25) - "discovered" in 1630 by Galileo.
f) Winds have circuits (evaporation and precipitation). (Ecclesiastes
1:6) "Discovered" in 1630 by Galileo.
g) Radiation and Polarisation of Lights. (Ps 65:8)
h) Messages are sent by Lightning. (Job 38:35) - Who invented
telegraphy? - God did.
i) The Circulation of the Blood. (Ecclesiastes 12:6) - "discovered" by
Englishman Dr. Harvey.
j) Quarantine for Communicable Diseases (Lev 13:45-46) "discovered" in
recent years by medical research.
189
Donkey's never-ending atheism thread
by donkey in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.
SwedishChef

1. The following are brief comments which support the creationist view
of life and confirm the Biblical statements on science. Science supports
creation rather than the theory of evolution.
2. Gen 1 and 2 tell the correct sequence of created matter and life.
3. Atmosphere
a) Carbon 14. Scientists say that the production of Carbon 14 should
reach equilibrium with Carbon 12 when the atmosphere is 40,000 years
old. Modern calculations show that Carbon 14 is being produced at 3 1
greater rate than it is decaying. This indicates the atmosphere is less
than 10,000 years old. Carbon dating is based on the speed of light
which has been found not to be constant but gradually reducing in speed.
b) Helium. Produced by the action of cosmic rays on the atmosphere the
amount of helium present in the atmosphere indicates an approximate age
of 10,000 years. No atmosphere 10,000 years ago - no life thus fossils
and men are contemporaries.
4. Oceans
Cosmic dust enters the atmosphere at 14.3 million tons per annum. If the
earth was 4.5 billion years old the earth should have a dust blanket in
excess of 100 feet in depth. This doesn't allow for the greater rate of
dust deposit which most scientists believe occurred in ancient times.
The dust is not evident. This dust has been subject to rain translating
the dust from the land via the new system to the oceans.
a) Nickel. Assuming that the oceans were initially of absolutely pure
water we would expect a certain amount of nickel deposits in the ocean
as though somewhat rare on earth nickel is common in cosmic dust. There
should be 950 pounds of nickel per square foot of ocean floor if the
earth is 4.5 billion years old. The amount of nickel present in the
ocean indicates an age of 9,000 years for the ocean.
b) Uranium and Silicon. Similar readings with uranium and silicon give
ocean ages of approximately 10,000 years only.
5. The Earth's Crust
a) Magnetic Field
The magnetic field of the earth has a half life of 1,400 years. This
means that 1,400 years ago the magnetic field was twice as strong,
2,800 years ago four times as strong , etc.
By continuing this process back into history by 8000 BC it has been
calculated that the magnetic field would be the same as a magnetic star
precluding life on the planet. A magnetic star maintains its field by
thermo-nuclear reaction.
Projecting forward by 3100 AD the magnetic field decaying at its present
rate will collapse causing the Van Allan belt to disintegrate allowing
massive radiation of the earth which will end life on this planet. The magnetic field is less than 10,000 years old.
b) Earth's Molten Core
The famous scientist Lord Kelvin calculated the heat loss from the
molten core of the earth through the earth's crust and showed that the
earth was far younger than its estimated 4500 million years. He also
estimated the age of the sun as being young.
6. Biology
a) Mules. Mules are formed by crossing horses and donkeys. Whilst male
mules are always infertile, occasionally a female mule can produce
offspring. By crossing a male horse with the mule a horse will always
result. Similarly a male donkey will produce a donkey. Nature will
revert back to its own kind.
b) Cereals. Hybrid grains can be grown but are generally infertile.
With the recrossing of wheat or oats with the hybrid wheat or oats are
formed, never the hybrid.
7. Geology
a) The Geological Column according to evolutionary theory ranges from
Pleistocene in the Age of Mammals to Pre Cambrian of 570 million years
or more. There are 15 subdivisions in this column. Nowhere in the world
does the geological column exist in its correct order in nature.
b) In the column Trilobites are in the Cambrian period of 500 to 570
million years. In recent years a fossil of a trilobite has been found
with a human sandal print superimposed over it showing trilobites and
man coexisted on the earth at the same time.
c) In the Paluxy River, Texas, along the river bed are lines of dinosaur
foot prints, foot prints of man and children together with giant foot
prints 18" long. (Gen 6:1-6). Giants in the land.
d) In the Appaluchian Mountains from Maine to Georgia are human foot
prints in granite.
e) Supposed "missing links" in humanity.
i) Neanderthal Man is now considered to be modern man. The famous French
general Lafayette had a perfect Neanderthal skull.
ii) Cro-Magnon Man had a brain capacity of 1450 cc towards the upper
limit of human craniums nowadays which range from 900 cc to 1500 cc.
Cro-Magnon had a skull exactly like Charles Darwin.
iii) Piltdown Man, found in East Sussex was found to be an elaborate
hoax which fooled the scientific community for over 40 years.
iv) Nebraska Man was created from a tooth. The tooth was eventually
identified as a pig's tooth.
v) Java Man was constructed from a cranium and jaw found many metres
apart in a gravel bed in Java.
8. Astronomy
a) Jupiter and Satum both give out 21/2 times the heat received from the
sun showing they are young bodies.
b) lo, one of the moons of Jupiter, not only has an atmosphere but has
active volcanoes.
c) Titan, the largest moon of Saturn also has an atmosphere. This
indicated that the moon is less than 10,000 years old.
d) The rings of Saturn are undulating not smooth. By the gravitational
pull of Saturn it is estimated that the rings would have smoothed out
completely between 10,000 and 100,000 years.
e) Astronomers agree that comets have a life of no more than 10,000
years. Assuming that comets are not being created this shows a solar
system of less than 10,000 years.
f) When the first space ships landed on the moon NASA expected that
there would be a 28 mile thick layer of dust of the consistency of icing
sugar. NASA spent $1,000 million experimenting for a successful soft
landing. When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon he found the dust on
the surface averaged 3" in thickness indicating some 8,000 years in age.
g) Space probes were sent to Mars and Venus to try to find life. Both
were unsuccessful.
9. Thermodynamics
a) 1st Law - Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It changes from
one state to another - this supports creation.
b) 2nd Law - When changes take place, the structure always becomes less
organized, never more complex. Creation confirms this. Evolution is
based on the opposite stance of simple systems becoming more organized
or complex.
c) This very brief topic shows clearly how science supports the fact of
creation rather than the theory of evolution with a likely date of
original creation less than 10,000 years ago.
78
Calvinism
by Calvinist02 in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the basic 5 points of calvinism.

1. total depravity- all men are sinners.

we are totally corrupt and wicked.
SwedishChef

A DEFENCE OF CALVINISM -- BY C.H. SPURGEON
The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again.
TIS A GREAT THING to begin the Christian life by believing good solid doctrine. Some people have received twenty different "gospels" in as many years; how many more they will accept before they get to their journey's end, it would be difficult to predict. I thank God that He early taught me the gospel, and I have been so perfectly satisfied with it, that I do not want to know any other. Constant change of creed is sure loss. If a tree has to be taken up two or three times a year, you will not need to build a very large loft in which to store the apples. When people are always shifting their doctrinal principles, they are not likely to bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. It is good for young believers to begin with a firm hold upon those great fundamental doctrines which the Lord has taught in His Word. Why, if I believed what some preach about the temporary, trumpery salvation which only lasts for a time, I would scarcely be at all grateful for it; but when I know that those whom God saves He saves with an everlasting salvation, when I know that He gives to them an everlasting righteousness, when I know that He settles them on an everlasting foundation of everlasting love, and that He will bring them to His everlasting kingdom, oh, then I do wonder, and I am astonished that such a blessing as this should ever have been given to me!
"Pause, my soul! adore, and wonder!
Ask, 'Oh, why such love to me?'
Grace hath put me in the number
Of the Saviour's family:
Hallelujah!
Thanks, eternal thanks, to Thee!"
I suppose there are some persons whose minds naturally incline towards the doctrine of free-will. I can only say that mine inclines as naturally towards the doctrines of sovereign grace. Sometimes, when I see some of the worst characters in the street, I feel as if my heart must burst forth in tears of gratitude that God has never let me act as they have done! I have thought, if God had left me alone, and had not touched me by His grace, what a great sinner I should have been! I should have run to the utmost lengths of sin, dived into the very depths of evil, nor should I have stopped at any vice or folly, if God had not restrained me. I feel that I should have been a very king of sinners, if God had let me alone. I cannot understand the reason why I am saved, except upon the ground that God would have it so. I cannot, if I look ever so earnestly, discover any kind of reason in myself why I should be a partaker of Divine grace. If I am not at this moment without Christ, it is only because Christ Jesus would have His will with me, and that will was that I should be with Him where He is, and should share His glory. I can put the crown nowhere but upon the head of Him whose mighty grace has saved me from going down into the pit. Looking back on my past life, I can see that the dawning of it all was of God; of God effectively. I took no torch with which to light the sun, but the sun enlightened me. I did not commence my spiritual lifeno, I rather kicked, and struggled against the things of the Spirit: when He drew me, for a time I did not run after Him: there was a natural hatred in my soul of everything holy and good. Wooings were lost upon mewarnings were cast to the windthunders were despised; and as for the whispers of His love, they were rejected as being less than nothing and vanity. But, sure I am, I can say now, speaking on behalf of myself, "He only is my salvation." It was He who turned my heart, and brought me down on my knees before Him. I can in very deed, say with Doddridge and Toplady
"Grace taught my soul to pray,
And made my eyes o'erflow;"
and coming to this moment, I can add
"'Tis grace has kept me to this day,
And will not let me go."
Well can I remember the manner in which I learned the doctrines of grace in a single instant. Born, as all of us are by nature, an Arminian, I still believed the old things I had heard continually from the pulpit, and did not see the grace of God. When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soulwhen they were, as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron, and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown on a sudden from a babe into a manthat I had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, the clue to the truth of God. One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher's sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a momentI should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, "I ascribe my change wholly to God."
I once attended a service where the text happened to be, "He shall choose our inheritance for us;" and the good man who occupied the pulpit was more than a little of an Arminian. Therefore, when he commenced, he said, "This passage refers entirely to our temporal inheritance, it has nothing whatever to do with our everlasting destiny, for," said he, "we do not want Christ to choose for us in the matter of Heaven or hell. It is so plain and easy, that every man who has a grain of common sense will choose Heaven, and any person would know better than to choose hell. We have no need of any superior intelligence, or any greater Being, to choose Heaven or hell for us. It is left to our own free-will, and we have enough wisdom given us, sufficiently correct means to judge for ourselves," and therefore, as he very logically inferred, there was no necessity for Jesus Christ, or anyone, to make a choice for us. We could choose the inheritance for ourselves without any assistance. "Ah!" I thought, "but, my good brother, it may be very true that we could, but I think we should want something more than common sense before we should choose aright."
First, let me ask, must we not all of us admit an over-ruling Providence, and the appointment of Jehovah's hand, as to the means whereby we came into this world? Those men who think that, afterwards, we are left to our own free-will to choose this one or the other to direct our steps, must admit that our entrance into the world was not of our own will, but that God had then to choose for us. What circumstances were those in our power which led us to elect certain persons to be our parents? Had we anything to do with it? Did not God Himself appoint our parents, native place, and friends? Could He not have caused me to be born with the skin of the Hottentot, brought forth by a filthy mother who would nurse me in her "kraal," and teach me to bow down to Pagan gods, quite as easily as to have given me a pious mother, who would each morning and night bend her knee in prayer on my behalf? Or, might He not, if He had pleased, have given me some profligate to have been my parent, from whose lips I might have early heard fearful, filthy, and obscene language? Might He not have placed me where I should have had a drunken father, who would have immured me in a very dungeon of ignorance, and brought me up in the chains of crime? Was it not God's Providence that I had so happy a lot, that both my parents were His children, and endeavoured to train me up in the fear of the Lord?
John Newton used to tell a whimsical story, and laugh at it, too, of a good woman who said, in order to prove the doctrine of election, "Ah! sir, the Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else He would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards." I am sure it is true in my case; I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that great Biblical doctrine. I recollect an Arminian brother telling me that he had read the Scriptures through a score or more times, and could never find the doctrine of election in them. He added that he was sure he would have done so if it had been there, for he read the Word on his knees. I said to him, "I think you read the Bible in a very uncomfortable posture, and if you had read it in your easy chair, you would have been more likely to understand it. Pray, by all means, and the more, the better, but it is a piece of superstition to think there is anything in the posture in which a man puts himself for reading: and as to reading through the Bible twenty times without having found anything about the doctrine of election, the wonder is that you found anything at all: you must have galloped through it at such a rate that you were not likely to have any intelligible idea of the meaning of the Scriptures."
If it would be marvelous to see one river leap up from the earth full-grown, what would it be to gaze upon a vast spring from which all the rivers of the earth should at once come bubbling up, a million of them born at a birth? What a vision would it be! Who can conceive it. And yet the love of God is that fountain, from which all the rivers of mercy, which have ever gladdened our raceall the rivers of grace in time, and of glory hereaftertake their rise. My soul, stand thou at that sacred fountain-head, and adore and magnify, for ever and ever, God, even our Father, who hath loved us! In the very beginning, when this great universe lay in the mind of God, like unborn forests in the acorn cup; long ere the echoes awoke the solitudes; before the mountains were brought forth; and long ere the light flashed through the sky, God loved His chosen creatures. Before there was any created beingwhen the ether was not fanned by an angel's wing, when space itself had not an existence, when there was nothing save God aloneeven then, in that loneliness of Deity, and in that deep quiet and profundity, His bowels moved with love for His chosen. Their names were written on His heart, and then were they dear to His soul. Jesus loved His people before the foundation of the worldeven from eternity! and when He called me by His grace, He said to me, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."
Then, in the fulness of time, He purchased me with His blood; He let His heart run out in one deep gaping wound for me long ere I loved Him. Yea, when He first came to me, did I not spurn Him? When He knocked at the door, and asked for entrance, did I not drive Him away, and do despite to His grace? Ah, I can remember that I full often did so until, at last, by the power of His effectual grace, He said, "I must, I will come in;" and then He turned my heart, and made me love Him. But even till now I should have resisted Him, had it not been for His grace. Well, then since He purchased me when I was dead in sins, does it not follow, as a consequence necessary and logical, that He must have loved me first? Did my Saviour die for me because I believed on Him? No; I was not then in existence; I had then no being. Could the Saviour, therefore, have died because I had faith, when I myself was not yet born? Could that have been possible? Could that have been the origin of the Saviour's love towards me? Oh! no; my Saviour died for me long before I believed. "But," says someone, "He foresaw that you would have faith; and, therefore, He loved you." What did He foresee about my faith? Did He foresee that I should get that faith myself, and that I should believe on Him of myself? No; Christ could not foresee that, because no Christian man will ever say that faith came of itself without the gift and without the working of the Holy Spirit. I have met with a great many believers, and talked with them about this matter; but I never knew one who could put his hand on his heart, and say, "I believed in Jesus without the assistance of the Holy Spirit."
I am bound to the doctrine of the depravity of the human heart, because I find myself depraved in heart, and have daily proofs that in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing. If God enters into covenant with unfallen man, man is so insignificant a creature that it must be an act of gracious condescension on the Lord's part; but if God enters into covenant with sinful man, he is then so offensive a creature that it must be, on God's part, an act of pure, free, rich, sovereign grace. When the Lord entered into covenant with me, I am sure that it was all of grace, nothing else but grace. When I remember what a den of unclean beasts and birds my heart was, and how strong was my unrenewed will, how obstinate and rebellious against the sovereignty of the Divine rule, I always feel inclined to take the very lowest room in my Father's house, and when I enter Heaven, it will be to go among the less than the least of all saints, and with the chief of sinners.
The late lamented Mr. Denham has put, at the foot of his portrait, a most admirable text, "Salvation is of the Lord." That is just an epitome of Calvinism; it is the sum and substance of it. If anyone should ask me what I mean by a Calvinist, I should reply, "He is one who says, Salvation is of the Lord." I cannot find in Scripture any other doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. "He only is my rock and my salvation." Tell me anything contrary to this truth, and it will be a heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has departed from this great, this fundamental, this rock-truth, "God is my rock and my salvation." What is the heresy of Rome, but the addition of something to the perfect merits of Jesus Christthe bringing in of the works of the flesh, to assist in our justification? And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the Redeemer? Every heresy, if brought to the touchstone, will discover itself here. I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.
"If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas!
Would fall a thousand times a day."
If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be; and then there is no gospel promise true, but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then He will love me for ever. God has a master-mind; He arranged everything in His gigantic intellect long before He did it; and once having settled it, He never alters it, "This shall be done," saith He, and the iron hand of destiny marks it down, and it is brought to pass. "This is My purpose," and it stands, nor can earth or hell alter it. "This is My decree," saith He, "promulgate it, ye holy angels; rend it down from the gate of Heaven, ye devils, if ye can; but ye cannot alter the decree, it shall stand for ever." God altereth not His plans; why should He? He is Almighty, and therefore can perform His pleasure. Why should He? He is the All-wise, and therefore cannot have planned wrongly. Why should He? He is the everlasting God, and therefore cannot die before His plan is accomplished. Why should He change? Ye worthless atoms of earth, ephemera of a day, ye creeping insects upon this bay-leaf of existence, ye may change your plans, but He shall never, never change His. Has He told me that His plan is to save me? If so, I am for ever safe.
"My name from the palms of His hands
Eternity will not erase;
Impress'd on His heart it remains,
In marks of indelible grace."
I do not know how some people, who believe that a Christian can fall from grace, manage to be happy. It must be a very commendable thing in them to be able to get through a day without despair. If I did not believe the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, I think I should be of all men the most miserable, because I should lack any ground of comfort. I could not say, whatever state of heart I came into, that I should be like a well-spring of water, whose stream fails not; I should rather have to take the comparison of an intermittent spring, that might stop on a sudden, or a reservoir, which I had no reason to expect would always be full. I believe that the happiest of Christians and the truest of Christians are those who never dare to doubt God, but who take His Word simply as it stands, and believe it, and ask no questions, just feeling assured that if God has said it, it will be so. I bear my willing testimony that I have no reason, nor even the shadow of a reason, to doubt my Lord, and I challenge Heaven, and earth, and hell, to bring any proof that God is untrue. From the depths of hell I call the fiends, and from this earth I call the tried and afflicted believers, and to Heaven I appeal, and challenge the long experience of the blood-washed host, and there is not to be found in the three realms a single person who can bear witness to one fact which can disprove the faithfulness of God, or weaken His claim to be trusted by His servants. There are many things that may or may not happen, but this I know shall happen
"He shall present my soul,
Unblemish'd and complete,
Before the glory of His face,
With joys divinely great."
All the purposes of man have been defeated, but not the purposes of God. The promises of man may be brokenmany of them are made to be brokenbut the promises of God shall all be fulfilled. He is a promise-maker, but He never was a promise-breaker; He is a promise-keeping God, and every one of His people shall prove it to be so. This is my grateful, personal confidence, "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me"unworthy me, lost and ruined me. He will yet save me; and
"I, among the blood-wash'd throng,
Shall wave the palm, and wear the crown,
And shout loud victory."
I go to a land which the plough of earth hath never upturned, where it is greener than earth's best pastures, and richer than her most abundant harvests ever saw. I go to a building of more gorgeous architecture than man hath ever builded; it is not of mortal design; it is "a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens." All I shall know and enjoy in Heaven, will be given to me by the Lord, and I shall say, when at last I appear before Him
"Grace all the work shall crown
Through everlasting days;
It lays in Heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise."
I know there are some who think it necessary to their system of theology to limit the merit of the blood of Jesus: if my theological system needed such a limitation, I would cast it to the winds. I cannot, I dare not allow the thought to find a lodging in my mind, it seems so near akin to blasphemy. In Christ's finished work I see an ocean of merit; my plummet finds no bottom, my eye discovers no shore. There must be sufficient efficacy in the blood of Christ, if God had so willed it, to have saved not only all in this world, but all in ten thousand worlds, had they transgressed their Maker's law. Once admit infinity into the matter, and limit is out of the question. Having a Divine Person for an offering, it is not consistent to conceive of limited value; bound and measure are terms inapplicable to the Divine sacrifice. The intent of the Divine purpose fixes the application of the infinite offering, but does not change it into a finite work. Think of the numbers upon whom God has bestowed His grace already. Think of the countless hosts in Heaven: if thou wert introduced there to-day, thou wouldst find it as easy to tell the stars, or the sands of the sea, as to count the multitudes that are before the throne even now. They have come from the East, and from the West, from the North, and from the South, and they are sitting down with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob in the Kingdom of God; and beside those in Heaven, think of the saved ones on earth. Blessed be God, His elect on earth are to be counted by millions, I believe, and the days are coming, brighter days than these, when there shall be multitudes upon multitudes brought to know the Saviour, and to rejoice in Him. The Father's love is not for a few only, but for an exceeding great company. "A great multitude, which no man could number," will be found in Heaven. A man can reckon up to very high figures; set to work your Newtons, your mightiest calculators, and they can count great numbers, but God and God alone can tell the multitude of His redeemed. I believe there will be more in Heaven than in hell. If anyone asks me why I think so, I answer, because Christ, in everything, is to "have the pre-eminence," and I cannot conceive how He could have the pre-eminence if there are to be more in the dominions of Satan than in Paradise. Moreover, I have never read that there is to be in hell a great multitude, which no man could number. I rejoice to know that the souls of all infants, as soon as they die, speed their way to Paradise. Think what a multitude there is of them! Then there are already in Heaven unnumbered myriads of the spirits of just men made perfectthe redeemed of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues up till now; and there are better times coming, when the religion of Christ shall be universal; when
"He shall reign from pole to pole,
With illimitable sway;"
when whole kingdoms shall bow down before Him, and nations shall be born in a day, and in the thousand years of the great millennial state there will be enough saved to make up all the deficiencies of the thousands of years that have gone before. Christ shall be Master everywhere, and His praise shall be sounded in every land. Christ shall have the pre-eminence at last; His train shall be far larger than that which shall attend the chariot of the grim monarch of hell.
Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement because they say, "It is so beautiful. It is a lovely idea that Christ should have died for all men; it commends itself," they say, "to the instincts of humanity; there is something in it full of joy and beauty." I admit there is, but beauty may be often associated with falsehood. There is much which I might admire in the theory of universal redemption, but I will just show what the supposition necessarily involves. If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins. Once again, if it was Christ's intention to save all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed, for we have His own testimony that there is a lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, and into that pit of woe have been cast some of the very persons who, according to the theory of universal redemption, were bought with His blood. That seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption. To think that my Saviour died for men who were or are in hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to entertain. To imagine for a moment that He was the Substitute for all the sons of men, and that God, having first punished the Substitute, afterwards punished the sinners themselves, seems to conflict with all my ideas of Divine justice. That Christ should offer an atonement and satisfaction for the sins of all men, and that afterwards some of those very men should be punished for the sins for which Christ had already atoned, appears to me to be the most monstrous iniquity that could ever have been imputed to Saturn, to Janus, to the goddess of the Thugs, or to the most diabolical heathen deities. God forbid that we should ever think thus of Jehovah, the just and wise and good!
There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answerI wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it. But far be it from me even to imagine that Zion contains none but Calvinistic Christians within her walls, or that there are none saved who do not hold our views. Most atrocious things have been spoken about the character and spiritual condition of John Wesley, the modern prince of Arminians. I can only say concerning him that, while I detest many of the doctrines which he preached, yet for the man himself I have a reverence second to no Wesleyan; and if there were wanted two apostles to be added to the number of the twelve, I do not believe that there could be found two men more fit to be so added than George Whitefield and John Wesley. The character of John Wesley stands beyond all imputation for self-sacrifice, zeal, holiness, and communion with God; he lived far above the ordinary level of common Christians, and was one "of whom the world was not worthy." I believe there are multitudes of men who cannot see these truths, or, at least, cannot see them in the way in which we put them, who nevertheless have received Christ as their Saviour, and are as dear to the heart of the God of grace as the soundest Calvinist in or out of Heaven.
I do not think I differ from any of my Hyper-Calvinistic brethren in what I do believe, but I differ from them in what they do not believe. I do not hold any less than they do, but I hold a little more, and, I think, a little more of the truth revealed in the Scriptures. Not only are there a few cardinal doctrines, by which we can steer our ship North, South, East, or West, but as we study the Word, we shall begin to learn something about the North-west and North-east, and all else that lies between the four cardinal points. The system of truth revealed in the Scriptures is not simply one straight line, but two; and no man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. For instance, I read in one Book of the Bible, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Yet I am taught, in another part of the same inspired Word, that "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." I see, in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free-will. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so over-rules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism. That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.
It is often said that the doctrines we believe have a tendency to lead us to sin. I have heard it asserted most positively, that those high doctrines which we love, and which we find in the Scriptures, are licentious ones. I do not know who will have the hardihood to make that assertion, when they consider that the holiest of men have been believers in them. I ask the man who dares to say that Calvinism is a licentious religion, what he thinks of the character of Augustine, or Calvin, or Whitefield, who in successive ages were the great exponents of the system of grace; or what will he say of the Puritans, whose works are full of them? Had a man been an Arminian in those days, he would have been accounted the vilest heretic breathing, but now we are looked upon as the heretics, and they as the orthodox. We have gone back to the old school; we can trace our descent from the apostles. It is that vein of free-grace, running through the sermonizing of Baptists, which has saved us as a denomination. Were it not for that, we should not stand where we are today. We can run a golden line up to Jesus Christ Himself, through a holy succession of mighty fathers, who all held these glorious truths; and we can ask concerning them, "Where will you find holier and better men in the world?" No doctrine is so calculated to preserve a man from sin as the doctrine of the grace of God. Those who have called it "a licentious doctrine" did not know anything at all about it. Poor ignorant things, they little knew that their own vile stuff was the most licentious doctrine under Heaven. If they knew the grace of God in truth, they would soon see that there was no preservative from lying like a knowledge that we are elect of God from the foundation of the world. There is nothing like a belief in my eternal perseverance, and the immutability of my Father's affection, which can keep me near to Him from a motive of simple gratitude. Nothing makes a man so virtuous as belief of the truth. A lying doctrine will soon beget a lying practice. A man cannot have an erroneous belief without by-and-by having an erroneous life. I believe the one thing naturally begets the other. Of all men, those have the most disinterested piety, the sublimest reverence, the most ardent devotion, who believe that they are saved by grace, without works, through faith, and that not of themselves, it is the gift of God. Christians should take heed, and see that it always is so, lest by any means Christ should be crucified afresh, and put to an open shame.
Edited by - SwedishChef on 11 December 2002 20:9:37
5
The Eternity of Christ Part 1 Old Testament
by hooberus in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the following thread discusses the eternity of christ in the old testament.

please restrict your comments to old testament passages on the eternity of christ (i will start a new testament thread later).

"before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art god.
SwedishChef

Comparing some Old Testament passages with some New:

Isaiah 41:4 "Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he."
Revelation 1:17 "And when I saw him (Jesus), I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:"

Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

Mark 1:1-3 "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."

Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

John 8:57,58 "Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."

Isaiah 45:23 "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."

Philippians 2:10,11 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Joel 2:32 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call."

Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord [Jesus] shall be saved."

Zechariah 12:10 "And I [Jehovah] will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."

Revelation 1:7,8 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

Zechariah 14:9 "And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one."

Revelation 17:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."

Zechariah 11:11-13 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Matthew 26:15 "And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver."
37
Believers and their "Free Will" Dogma
by JT in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
one of the most interesting dogmas found among believers is the concept called free will- on the surface it starts out sounding reasonable, until you start the ask questions and listen to the explanations that are given , after awhile you realize it has no legs to stand on.

we are told by believers that god allows each person to make thier own choice and we are not robots and therefore we are able to exercise free will, the only problem is when you ask the question, what about when someone exercises thier free will and it harms someone else, why would a loving god allow someone the free will to hurt someone innocent, at that point free will sounds more like an excuse to give god a bye in terms of having to do anything- i read this posters comment and i couldn't for the life of me see any logic or reasonablness behind the concept of free will when folks get hurt like this person has-.

one of my earliest memories is of my grandfather raping me.
SwedishChef

2 Timothy 3:1-7 "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Why does God allow these things to happen? Why does He allow blasphemers, unholy, and fierce people to go about doing the things that they do? I am not going to lie to you and say I understand the mind of God, but one must understand that God does not owe a person anything. We are by nature a sinful and rebellious race which time and time again likes to shake its fist in the face of a Holy and Righteous God. 1 Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." God, full of mercy, love and compassion, sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. To shed His precious blood so that whosoever believes on Him may have everlasting life. Philippians 2:8 "And being found in fashion as a man, he [Jesus] humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Who is to shake their fist in the face of the Lord? The suffering anyone goes through on this earth cannot compare the suffering the Lord Jesus Christ went through for us. His friends cowardly fled away when Jesus was captured and betrayed. Peter even denied he knew Jesus. The Lord was betrayed and taken before the judges. He was mocked, lied against, and sentenced to be crucified. He was whipped with a reed, spit upon, His beard pulled out, a crown of thorns placed on His head. He was lead out to be crucified, too weak to carry his own cross. When at the top of the hill, He was stripped, His hands and feet were nailed onto two planks of wood, and He was left to writhe in pain while being mocked, spit on, and His garments gambled with. During that period of time, the Lord Jesus took upon Himself the sins of His people, the very wrath of God which we deserved was being poured without mercy on the Lord Jesus. He faced agony that cannot be related to with words, separation from the Father! And yet while he was hanging there taking upon this burden, He prayed and said "Father forgive them, for they no not what they do." He was speaking of the very people He came to save. The Lord Jesus is the mighty champion of the cross, the Sovereign Lord and Savior. And you dare to say that there is unrighteousness with Him? to excuse your unbelief by saying, "well, I just dont understand why this and this happened"? The Word of God says "thou are inexcusable, O man." God knows all the trouble you go through, He sees your need for a Savior; that is what the sacrifice at Calvary was all about. Isaiah 53:3-6 "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Come to Jesus today: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 )
Edited by - SwedishChef on 11 December 2002 15:24:4
39
The Judgment Day
by Calvinist02 in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what are you going to do when you get judged before the lord.... romans 2:12 .

"for all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.".

revelation 20:13.
SwedishChef

Gospel Message (not written by me)

*** SALVATION IS OF THE LORD ***

What the Bible Says To You
About Personal Salvation

The word salvation implies different things to different people. The typical dictionary, for example, defines salvation as, "Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil." The Bible, however, gives new meaning to this word and reveals that true salvation from sin, and the destruction that results from sin, come wholly and solely from God.

My friend, there is a very pointed verse in God's Word, the Bible, which reads:

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God
(Romans 14:12).

Someday, whether it be today or years from now, you will personally give an account of your life to God. May I ask you, what kind of an account will you be able to give?

I would like to take just a few moments of your time to outline what God's Word says to you about salvation and how you can receive it. Please take the next few moments to consider four things. These few moments will be the most important in your life.

1. Realize That You Are A Sinner

Sin, which literally means "to miss the mark," and is simply the breaking of God's law (or commandments), came into the world because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. That one sin brought death to every man and woman without exception.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned
(Romans 5:12).

For the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23a).

Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:15b).

The type of death these verses are speaking of is not only physical death, since man slowly began to die when he sinned, but spiritual death as well. This death is described in Revelation 20:14 and 21:8:

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
Second Death.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone: which is the Second Death.

This spiritural death is the result of God's wrath upon man's sin. Because God is holy and just by His very nature, He must punish sin ("The soul that sinneth, it shall die," Ezekial 18:4). In one of the most pointed statements of Scripture, we read:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold [or suppress]
the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of
God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them (Romans
1:18-19).

Is this not a sobering and frightening thought? Many people today, even religious people, speak of God's love, but few speak of His wrath. But God's wrath is just as real as His love. Why is God's wrath upon man? Because man in his sin suppresses the truth about God that God Himself put in man. By nature man hates God:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and
their foolish heart was darkened. Who changed the truth of God
into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature [man] more
than the Creator [God], Who is blessed for ever. (Romans 1:21,
25).

The Bible reveals that man is so sinful that he is actually "dead in trespasses and sins," and that he conducts his entire life according to "the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (Ephesians 2:1-3). Just as a physical corpse is incapable of resuscitating itself, neither can the spiritually dead man do anything to resuscitate himself spiritually. He can do nothing righteous, nothing good, nothing to please God. Yes, he can do "good things" as far as earthly good is concerned, such as humanitarian acts, but in the sight of God he, like all of us, is:

. . .an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64:6).

Nothing that we do here on earth can satisfy the righteousness of God. All of our good deeds and good intentions are as offensive to God as a "menstrual cloth," which is the literal meaning of "filthy rags."

Most people do not think that sin is a serious problem at all. Most think it simply means "an honest mistake" or other such thing. But sin and its results are terrible and ugly.

Romans 1:18-32 paints a truly hideous picture of man's sinfulness. We read there that man suppresses God's truth, is unthankful for what God has done, is foolish, worships other gods, even himself, is unclean, and indulges in vile, obscene, and repulsive behavior. It goes on to say that man is "filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, [and] maliciousness, [that] he is full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, [and] evil-mindedness, [and that men] are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, [and] unmerciful." The last verse then says that "those who practice such things are deserving of death." Yes, sin is, indeed, a terrible thing!

In case we be tempted to think that we might be an exception, consider these words:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10-13,
23).

Again, in ourselves, we cannot please God. Spiritually speaking, any so-called "good thing" we do means nothing. There are countless religious people who go to church, observe a sacrament, get involved in a cause, or even get active in "ministry," but it means absolutely nothing spiritually speaking.

But, thank God, "Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

2. Recognize Who Jesus Is And That He Is The Only Way Of Salvation

Of all the questions in life, the most important one is found in Matthew 22:42: "What think ye of Christ?" Some say that Jesus was just a good man, or a good teacher, but if this is true, then He was the most brazen liar Who ever lived, for He claimed to be God (Matthew 4:10; John 10:30-33; etc.).

Dear friend, what do you think about Jesus Christ? The answer Peter gave to a similar question in Matthew 16:13 ("Whom do men say that I am?") was, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16).

Jesus was, indeed, God in the flesh (John 1:14) and came into this world to die for sinners like you and me, and it is only through Him that we can have eternal life.

But God commendeth [proves] his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord
(Romans 6:23b).

Church membership, baptism, confirmation, or any other "good work" will not save you. Only the blood of Jesus Christ will save you.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by Me (John 14:6).

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).

In Whom [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
(Ephesians 1:7).

The word grace is perhaps the most beautiful word in the Bible. It's basic meaning is "unmerited favor," that is, a kindness shown to us who are guilty of sin, worthy of death, and totally undeserving of salvation. The work of salvation, from beginning to end, is wholly by God's grace, and true, eternal salvation from the horrors of Hell is found only in Jesus Christ. "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9).

3. Repent Of Your Sin

Repentance means "to change your mind" and clearly implies turning from one thing to another. To become a Christian means you change your mind about sin; that is, you no longer want sin to be the rule in your life; you no longer want to cling to the very thing that condemned you to Hell.
Our Lord Jesus made the need for repentance quite clear in Luke 13:3:

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish.

Other verses are equally clear:

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted
out. . .(Acts 3:19).

. . .God. . .now commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts
17:30).

. . .repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance
(Acts 26:20).

God's Word also clearly reveals the reason we need to repent of our sin and believe in Jesus Christ, namely, to have righteousness.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all
and upon all them that believe (Romans 3:21-22).

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10).

Believing in Christ and His shed blood immediately implies our desire for His righteousness. When we come to Jesus Christ, our entire life changes; sin is no longer the rule:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II
Corinthians 5:17).

4. Receive Christ As Your Savior And Lord

The final principle of salvation, which we have already mentioned, is believing in (or receiving) Christ, which, wholly by God's grace, gives us eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life (John 3:16).

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9).

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved (Romans 10:13).

Believing in Christ, however, means more than a simple mental assent to a few facts about Jesus. For example, it is just as easy to say, "Oh, yes, of course I believe in Jesus, " as it is to say, "Oh, yes, of course I believe in Abraham Lincoln." Even Satan and his demons "believe in" God and even tremble at the thought (James 2:19), but they do not love or obey Him, and hence are not saved.

The word believe means "to trust, to be firmly persuaded as to something" and also carries the idea of obedience. In short, believing
is obeying. Believing immediately and fundamentally demands lordship, because it has the underlying foundation of obedience, commitment, and submission.

To illustrate, when someone believes something, regardless of what it is, that belief in some way changes them and results in some action or behavior that is characteristic of the belief. For example, we all believe in the law of gravity and our behavior proves our belief (that is, we don't jump off tall buildings).

Applying this to salvation, to "believe in Jesus" means three things. First, it means to believe in Who He is, that He is God incarnate, Savior, and Sovereign Lord. Second, it means to believe in what He did, that He died for your sins and rose again from the grave. Third, it means to believe in what He says, to trust Him and His Word implicitly and desire to obey Him in all things. To obey Him means we acknowledge His lordship and submit to His authority.

It is Biblically impossible and totally contradictory to say you will receive Christ as Savior but not as Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord, and for you to be saved, you must accept Him as such. The Lord Jesus clearly emphasizes that before someone believes they must "count the cost" and then follow Him unconditionally (Luke 14:26-33; see also Matthew 7, in which the whole context is a progression concerning salvation; Matthew 10:34-39; Luke 6:46-49; etc.).

As we noted earlier, salvation fundamentally implies a changed life.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord
[unconditionally], so walk ye in Him [unconditionally and
in holiness] (Colossians 2:6).

The life of the Christian is different than that of the non-Christian. His "walk" (that is, his life) is characterized by holy living and obedience to the things of Christ. In the words our Lord:

If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed
(John 8:31).

If ye love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15).

Will You Believe?

What do you think of Christ? What is your need? Will you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord right now? May I urge you to believe without delay. God's Word appeals to those who would put off receiving Christ:

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of
salvation (II Corinthians 6:2b).

Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1).

Without the saving grace of God and the redemption of Christ's blood, you will remain in your sin and spiritual death and will one day face the Lord Jesus in judgment.

God. . .now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because He
hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in
righteousness by that Man [Christ] whom He hath ordained; whereof
He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him
[Christ] from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

May I urge you once again to believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord right now. He came so that you "might have life, and that [you] might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Truly, "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9).
39
The Judgment Day
by Calvinist02 in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what are you going to do when you get judged before the lord.... romans 2:12 .

"for all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.".

revelation 20:13.
SwedishChef

"Every eye shall see Him." Every eye; the eye of every living man, whoever he is. None will be able to prevent it. The voice of the trumpet, the brightness of the flame, shall direct all eyes to Him, shall fix all eyes upon Him. Be it ever so busy an eye, or ever so vain an eye, whatever employment, whatever amusement it had the moment before, will then no longer be able to employ it, or to amuse it. The eye will be lifted up to Christ, and will no more look down upon money, upon books, upon land, upon houses, upon gardens.
Your eyes and mine. O awesome thought! Blessed Jesus! May we not see Thee as through tears; may we not then tremble at the sight! (Dr. Doddridge)
"And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter....And Peter went out and wept bitterly." So shall it be, but in a different sense, with sinners at the day of judgment. The eye of Jesus as their judge shall be fixed upon them, and the look shall awake their sleeping memories, and reveal their burdens of sin and shame--countless and cursed crimes, denials worse then Peter's, since life-long and unrepented of, scoffings at love that wooed them, and despising of mercy that called them--all these shall pierce their hearts as they behold the look of Jesus.
And they shall go out and flee from the presence of the Lord--go out never to return, flee even into the outer darkness, if so be they may hide them from that terrible gaze. And they shall weep bitterly--weep as they never wept before, burning, scalding tears, such as earth's sorrow never drew--weep never to be comforted, tears never to be wiped away. Their eyes shall be fountains of tears, not penitential and healing, but bitter and remorseful--tears of blood--tears that shall rend the heart in twain, and deluge the soul in fathomless woe. (Anon)