Two lenses through which we understand biblical salvation

1 Peter 1:1-2 "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure."

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I takeno pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?"

Ezekiel 32-33 and 1 Peter 1 are prime examples of two important truths presented in scripture concerning our salvation: God's Sovereignty to save and mankind's responsibility to believe in order to be saved. Whenever you read Ezekiel 32-33, the question to ask is: who is at fault for rejecting the Gospel? God or man? Answer: Man. 

God's judgment on the Egyptians and other nations in the land of Canaan, as well as His pronouncement of judgment on Jerusalem is due to her free and willing decision to reject Him. God plainly says in Ezekiel 33:11 that He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but actually urges them to turn from their choice of rejecting Him. God does not send anyone to hell, that is man's choice. This insight matches with what we read in 2 Peter 3:9, namely that God is not desiring or willing that anyone would perish, but all come to repentance. 

Whenever you turn to 1 Peter 1, you are still looking at the same Biblical salvation, however through a second lens - the lens of Sovereignty. If we were to ask the question: "who is to be credited for anyone believing the Gospel freely and willingly?" Answer: God. Peter opens His epistle by noting how his readers were those who, being scattered throughout the Roman world, were "chosen according to the foreknowledge of God". (1 Peter 1:1-2) 1 Peter 1 views our salvation through the lens of Sovereignty by the appearance of such words as "foreknowledge", "chosen" and "caused". (1 Peter 1:2,3) However Peter also presents this same salvation through a second lens - the lens of human response to salvation by such words as "to obtain" (1:4) and "faith" (1:5, 7 and 9). 

Peter reminds us that our salvation from beginning to end is bounded by God's Sovereign purposes of grace (1:2, 20) and is received by the gifting of faith and lived out by believers who obey the truths of scripture. (1 Peter 1:10-17) The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 notes concerning Sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation - "Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility."

Only God could design a salvation wherein there is no conflict between God's Sovereign intention to save and whosoever believes as being saved. As the late pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Dr. W.A Criswell stated about these truths, one cannot look upon the mountain of truth and comprehend how God Sovereignly elects sinners and yet it is those sinners who truly believe and are saved. We cannot see all the sides all at once. However we do know that God's Word and the eye of faith affirms both truths, and thus we must go to all men with the Gospel with the confidence that salvation comes not from man, but from the Lord. (Jonah 2:9-10)

Distinguishing between chastening and judgment

Hebrew 12:5-8 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

Introduction

Ezekiel's prophecy in Ezekiel 24 begins with God likening the judgment of Jerusalem to a boiling pot of meat being spilt out on the ground and then the pot returned to sit on the fire to be consumed in the flames. As Ezekiel was writing these words, the Bible says it was in the same year that Jerusalem itself was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. To think things could not get worse, God tells Ezekiel one of the saddest and traumatic things recorded in the prophetic books - that Ezekiel's wife was going to die. As the prophecy comes true, Ezekiel is told to go and preach to the people another message of judgment. 

We ask ourselves - why such extreme measures? Should not every instance of straying away from the Lord be treated as sad and traumatic? Should we not hate sin so much that the thought of doing it brings us grief? Only the Lord can sustain and protect us. Only He is faithful. As you read the other prophecies against the nations and enemies of Jerusalem's past, we are reminded of the fact that God alone can deal effectively with our past. There is a distinction to be made between the Lord's chastening of His people and judgment.

God's chastening of His people for wrongdoing is different from the judgment He puts upon unbelievers. Chastening means God is purifying His sons and daughters with the prospect of restoring them, whereas God's judgment of the wicked is giving them what they truly wanted - life and eternity without Him. 

James in James 3:13-15 writes about the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below. The wisdom from above is referring to salvation and the life of faith that follows from the miracle of the new birth. The wisdom from below speaks of the life of unbelief that draws its direction from the world, the flesh and the devil. Only one will get you to God, whereas the other will lead you away from God. Thankfully scripture clearly lays out for us that Jesus Christ alone is the Wisdom from God in Whom we are to by grace through faith believe in and trust for salvation, life and eternity. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

God's Sovereignty, Providence and the Eternal Glory of Jesus Christ

Daniel 2:20-21 “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding." 

Introduction:

In the above two verses we see two key concepts: God's Sovereignty or right to reign in 2:20 and then God's Providence or ruling reign in 2:21. As the Lord prophesies through Jeremiah, we discover that not only was Jeremiah a prophet to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, but to the nations. God's Providential and Sovereign control over nations and history is uncontested in these chapters. The Ammonites were the descendants of the vile union between Lot and one of his daughters in Genesis 19:38 and had caused much trouble for Israel in her history. Clearly God was going to judge them, as well as the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother, for their failure to help Israel at key points in her journeys. The prophecy of Jeremiah and the older book of Obadiah share this judgment against Edom. 

As other nations are mentioned, we come to the Elamites, whom God will use in the Book of Daniel to take over the Babylonians, the empire that he pronounces judgment upon in Jeremiah 50. Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon is remarkable not only because of its accuracy of prediction, but also in Revelation 16-19 we see the predicted the fall of another Babylonian-like empire prior to Christ's return. 

History's repeated patterns are one of the many ways we see God's Providence at work. Concerning His program for the nations, all of His efforts are focused upon Israel, His chosen people whom He promises to save and restore upon His return and Millennial reign. (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25-26; Revelation 19-20) 

The Sovereign and Providential control of the Father as Almighty God is shared by the Son in equal measure. According to Hebrews 5:1-6, the Person of the Son is the "only Begotten" of the Father, meaning He shares the same qualities and One eternal nature with the Father. Touching His Deity, Jesus Christ is the Son of the Father. Then in Hebrews 5:7-10 we see a second truth about the Son, namely that He came to take on a human nature through which He learned obedience and achieved our salvation, being deemed the Mediator or Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Third and finally, Hebrews 5:11-14 tells the reader that understanding Christ's Undiminished Deity and real humanity may be hard but necessary for spiritual maturity. As God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Eternal source of salvation and as man, He is able to administer such salvation to all who by faith truth in Him.   

Portraits of Jesus Christ from Isaiah

Isaiah 1:1 "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah."

Luke 4:18 "And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written."

Introduction:

The four Gospel writers record Jesus referencing Isaiah's prophecies nearly fifteen times throughout the course of His earthly ministry. With the exception of Moses, no prophet influenced Jesus more than Isaiah. Isaiah has been called by past preachers "the prince of the prophets". Undoubtedly his writing style is the most eloquent and most sublime among the writing prophets. Yet that is not what makes Isaiah so precious to students of the Bible. Rather, it has to do with how many prophecies are included in Isaiah's writing that point to the Lord Jesus Christ. Today's post is called: "Portraits of Jesus from Isaiah". I want to alert readers to some of the more significant prophecies about the Messiah contained in Isaiah's book. Afterall, can we ever get too much of Jesus? I think not. Notice....

1. Prophecies of Jesus' earthly reign. Isaiah 2 

When Jesus returns, He will bring into visible sight the Kingly reign with which He inaugurated spiritually following His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:11; 2:33-36). This earthly, visible aspect of Jesus' reign will usher in an age of peace and fulfillment of God's promises to Israel (Romans 11:25). Revelation 20 states on six occassions that Jesus' earthly reign will last a millennium or 1,000 years. Oftentimes Bible teachers call this Jesus' millennial reign on this earth. Throughout Isaiah prophecies we see reference to Jesus' earthly or millennial reign (Isaiah 25,32,35,60-66). Some reputable Bible teachers see these prophecies as giving an earthly description of what will be the eternal state of Jesus' and His people Israel and the redeemed nations. However, the repeated imagery of an earth-based headquarters for Jesus' throne cannot be ignored. Thus Isaiah gives us a glimpse into what will be Jesus' reign on this earth for 1,000 years. 

2. Prophecies Jesus' earthly life. 

Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7 both predict the virgin birth/conception of Jesus' in His humanity. Undeniably Isaiah 9:6-7 reminds us of the fact that the Son has been and always will be eternal God. Yet, Isaiah 7:14 predicts what would be the Son's assumption of human flesh in the virgin's womb. New Testament passages such as Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35 and John 1:14 all testify to the beginning of Jesus' earthly life as the virgin born Son of God.

Isaiah 40:1-3 predicts the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ - namely John the Baptist. As the Holy Ghost predicted Jesus' beginning of human life through Isaiah, it is in passages such as Isaiah 40:3 that we see the beginning of Jesus' public ministry as a result of John the Baptist's forerunning ministry (compare Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23). 

Then of course remarkable physical descriptions of Jesus are given in Isaiah 49:3; 50:6; 53:2. Isaiah 61:1-2a predicts what would be Jesus' earthly ministry as referenced by Jesus Himself in Luke 4:18. So Isaiah predicts Jesus' future earthly reign and the beginnings of His life, as well as his full life and ministry here on earth.

3. Prophecies of Jesus' death and resurrection

Perhaps no chapter in Isaiah stands out more than Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53:1-8 predicts the crucifixion of Jesus. Isaiah 53:9 predicts the burial of Jesus. Then Isaiah 53:10-12 predicts what would be the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Notice how this corresponds with the definition of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." It's like Jesus said to His disciples on the road to Emmaus following His resurrection in Luke 24:44, that is, how the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms testify concerning Him. 

Your source of strength in difficult times

Hebrews 4:11 "Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience." 

In order to get our attention, God will often times cut off the ungodly things or relationships that we have mistakenly come to view as sources of comfort. Such Fatherly discipline by God is designed to teach the believer that He alone is the believer's source of strength. Additionally, the process of God's discipline communicates that His word, as well as godly counsel and the people of God are resources he provides for Godly living, strength and comfort. 

As God speaks words of judgment to Egypt, Philistia and Moab through Jeremiah, He is judging nations that had at first plagued Judah throughout her history. As one reads the Old Testament's portrayal of the history of God's people, they eventually came to view these former enemies as spiritual and political allies in times of desperation. God's prediction of defeat on these nations served to remove any confidence that the Jewish people had in anyone of these nations. 

So why would God do this? So as to provide space for Jeremiah's message of comfort to Jerusalem and her inhabitants that God alone was her Savior. Though God would be disciplining His people, their destiny would entail restoration after it was all over. (Jeremiah 46:27-28) 

In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews 4 urges us to fix our eyes on the Lord and keep them there. As we think about the outcomes of God's people in the Old Testament, Christians today need to ask: where or in whom is found ultimate spiritual, emotional and physical refreshment? Is it in this world or in the Lord? Does the Creator and Savior bring us our greatest thrill or do we have more confidence in created things? Do you and I rely upon the opinions of men to put band aids on our heart or do we rely upon God's word which alone can cut, wound and heal the heart, making it anew? Only at the throne of grace in Jesus Christ can we find unending comfort and strength.

The Prescription for Strong Christian Faith

Hebrews 3:1 "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of aheavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession."

What is the prescription for strong faith? As we begin today's post in Hebrews 3, we discover three important things to consider for having a strong faith: 

1. Consider the Lord (Hebrews 3:1-6) 
2. Consider His Word (3:7-11) 
3. Consider your heart (3:12-19). 

The writer of Hebrews is warning his readers of a powerful virus that is already in the heart of unbelievers and threatens the spiritual lives of God's saints: namely the disease of unbelief. In citing a historical example from the days of the first generation of Israelites coming out of Egypt under Moses, the writer of Hebrews demonstrates the results of not taking the prescription for strong faith. 

The first stage of the disease of unbelief begins to set in: hardness of heart (Hebrews 3:12-15). The second stage following hardness of heart is spiritual blindness (3:16-17) with the final stage that demonstrates the lack of true saving faith, namely inability to enter into God's rest of salvation (3:18-19). The frightening reality of these warnings about unbelief is that true believers can experience for seasons at a time the first two stages of hardness of heart and spiritual blindness. Only the grace of God in God's Fatherly discipline can prevent them from falling away from salvation. (compare Hebrews 12:5-8) 

To illustrate this from the Old Testament, whenever you read Jeremiah 43-44 you see God the Father attempting yet again to convince the left over people of Judah to repent and turn to Him. However the people refuse and in perhaps one of the most blatant acts of rebellion recorded in God's Word, actually tell Jeremiah that they will not listen to God. They refuse Jeremiah's God-given prescription for strong faith. The result? God does to them as described in Romans 1 - He hands them over to the depravity of their desires and mindset. 

The worse form of judgment is whenever God gives us what we want. The people's refusal to receive the remedy demonstrated their lost condition. Because of their refusal, God passed over them in judgment, even though He desired to show mercy. Jeremiah 45 is another prophecy written prior to the events of Jeremiah 43-44 that demonstrates how much God has issued repeated warnings and given space for repentance. May you and I receive God's prescription for strong faith: consider the Lord, His word and your heart.

It's always better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man

Psalm 118:8 "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."

The opening passage of today's post is appropriately the middle verse of our English Bibles. The Bible is unquestionably God centered. Wherever you turn in the books of the Bible, you will find verse after verse depiciting either man's ultimate need as being God in Jesus Christ or the glorious revelation of this God. Take the prophecy of Jeremiah for example. In Jeremiah 40-42 we see what happened to the people of Judah who were left behind following the exile of the majority of Jewish people into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. 

Jeremiah the prophet was left to live among the poorer people spared by Nebuchadnezzar to remain behind in and around Jerusalem. Not everyone was happy to be remaining and much fear was brewing among the remnant of Jews as to whether they would be taken to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had assigned a governor by the name of Gedeliah to watch over the people. To compound the already jittery climate of fear, Gedeliah was assassinated by a wicked man named Ishmael who was part of an intricate plot conceived by the Ammonites, a pagan people who dwelled in the land. Ishmael's wickedness was demonstrated when in killing a bunch of men he had them thrown into an old, dried up well in the city. 

Mankind is no better than a well full of dead corpses when attempting to preserve himself in the face of judgment . Jeremiah the prophet comes along and warns the people and the leaders among them not to fear, but to dwell in the land around Jerusalem, for God is willing to grant favor and sustain them. Jeremiah warns those who have it in them to flee to Egypt to not go, lest they suffer by the hand of the king of Babylon from whom they are trying to escape. 

Despite the prophet Jeremiah's warnings, certain leadership convinces the people that they have no other choice but to flee to Egypt. They choose to trust in man rather than God. Jeremiah and others are forced to go with them, showing that God has a remnant whom He uses to bear witness and call others to repentance. 

When we briefly turn to the New Testament, the book of Hebrews urges the reader to look to the excellency and supremacy of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 2 we see the first of five warnings in the book issued to those who claim to know Jesus with their lips but do not possess the necessary saving faith in their hearts. Anyone who refuses to heed God's voice does so because it was in them to do so as a result of their willful choice. (Acts 13:46; Hebrews 2:3) Anyone who turns and believes on the Lord does so because of God's grace working in the person whom He has given to run into the arms of Jesus. (John 10:27-29; Hebrews 2:13) The writer then details all that God did in the sending of His Son, and how Christ alone provides salvation and the grace necessary to fight and overcome temptation. 

So in this brief look at two books of the Bible, what can we glean? It is always better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.