Of Free Will and Anarchy

Judges 17:6
In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

I will do.

I will go.

I am free.

It is my life and I will do what I want with it.

Libertarian free will and its philosophical offspring libertarianism will by necessity lead to anarchy.

According to Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary

lib-er-tar-i-an, n. 1. a person who advocates liberty, esp. with regard to thought or conduct.... advocating liberty or conforming to principles of liberty.

We, especially as Americans, love our liberties, our pursuit of happiness, and the American Dream with little or no hindrance to what I want and when I want it.  We have been taught to varying degrees that we are free and have the ability to freely choose whatever we want.
Read more »

Freedom Apart From God

The leading opponent, Democratic Sen. Ruben Diaz, was given only a few minutes to state his case during the Senate debate.

"God, not Albany, settled the issue of marriage a long time ago," said Diaz, a Bronx minister. "I'm sorry you are trying to take away my right to speak," he said. "Why are you ashamed of what I have to say?"

After days of contentious negotiations and last-minute reversals by two Republican senators...

Read more »

The United State of Man

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death

Patrick Henry, 1775

We in America have a long history of autonomy, rugged individualism, pragmatism, and the pull yourself up by your bootstraps mentality that many ( not all ) relate to.  We want to be our own person, do our own thing, and go our own way without the government, our elders, or any authority directing our actions or limiting our " freedom ", but are we truly free?

Read more »

Can Christians Sin? The Answer

1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

There is a pernicious doctrine making its rounds over the Internet and through our churches today called sinless perfectionism.  Sinless Perfectionism quickly defined is:

The belief that once saved someone can and does obtain perfection in this life since they are " in Christ " and they are a " new creation ".  It is the belief that one has arrived at the destination of ultimate glorification and believers are completely and wholly free from sin.

Read more »

Can Christians Sin?

I have been going the rounds of the Internet the last few days and I have seen something that is rather alarming: The notion that Christians cannot sin. 

I have been aware of the doctrine of sinless perfectionism for quite some time but I did not know that it apparently had become so prevalent.  I have seen quotes ranging from " those who are in Him are unable to sin " to " I have not sinned for weeks ".  This sentiments are both dangerous and unbiblical.  They place a burden upon the believer that they are in no way capable of carrying to its logical and practical conclusions. 

We are not yet perfect brethren and we are still living in the confines of this flesh.  We are not yet ultimately glorified and as such we must deal with the curse of sin.

Tomorrow I am going to deal with this more thoroughly so please read Here to find out more!!

The Happy Dance over a Sinner's Death?

Romans

13:1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

13:4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil

How should we as Christians feel about the death of the wicked?

Read more »

The dead and the living

 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 

 Ephesians 2:1

These doors lead down a hallway for those hospital patients recovering from their stay in the critical care wing and they had doctors, nurses, and therapists to attend to and care for their needs.  They had various maladies and were in differing states of wellness, but they all had one thing in common: they were alive.  Once they passed from this life to the next they were ushered out and into the place of the dead apart from those still alive.  

Those not in Christ have everything  in common with the latter and nothing in common with the former.  While the patients can and often are nursed back to health the dead are beyond hope and treatment.  Such are sinners apart from the grace of God, dead in there sins and trespasses, without hope in this world or the world to come.

Romans 3:11
THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD

Colossians 2:13
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh

Dead men neither receive medical care nor do they respond to outside stimuli.  Dead men cannot and do not repent.  They are deaf, dumb, and totally incapable of pleasing a Holy God. The lost cannot seek after God apart from Him and their morality is a vain attempt appear alive and holy.


Ephesians 2:5
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved)

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God

It is by God's amazing grace that we have been saved and brought to life.  This dead and wretched flesh that once dominated and enslaved us is brought to life by faith through the free gift of grace that is from God.



Romans 6:6
knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin



Our old selves, the old person that we were, has been crucified with Christ so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. That old nature, the carnal man, is dead and buried with no power over us.

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

James 1:14-16

 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 

Why do we sin? Because want to and find pleasure in it for a season.  Our own lusts and desires carry us away far from the One who bought us.  It is inside us....it is a cancer that has metastasized to every organ and member of our being and when we give ourselves over to it death is the result.  Physical death.  The end of our lives upon this earth and all that entails.  Are we living daily for and submitting to Christ's Lordship with the resulting righteousness or are we giving in to sin with the resultant death?


John 14:15
" If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

John 14:21
" He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."

Do you love Him?  Are you keeping His commandments not in an effort to earn salvation but out of a heartfelt love for the One who has redeemed you?  Is Jesus both Lord and Savior?

1 John 1:9-10

 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

We as believers are not perfect and sin is so ingrained within us, it so permeates the flesh we live in, that until His return or our death we will deal with its effects upon our lives, but He has promised to be faithful to forgive us when we confess.  Not only forgive but to cleanse us from all the unrighteousness that has accumulated and clings to us in this world.


Have you been saved by Grace?  Are you living for Him, by Him, through Him, and for His glory?  Is he your Lord and do you love His commands?

The Compassion of the Lord

For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants,When He sees that their strength is gone,And there is none remaining, bond or free.

Deuteronomy 32:36

One of the great questions often brought up during times of adversity is whether God really cares, is He truly compassionate?  Is He the compassionate, loving, and kind God presented by Modern Christianity or is He a stern, authoritarian, and unapproachable deity reigning from on High?  God does care, He is Love, and His compassion will never fail.

God’s compassion and Love are not like or own in that His love is perfect and complete needing nothing to add to it.  Within Himself, that is the Godhead, He has both the capacity to love and be loved.  This is
Read more »

Walk of the Living Dead

        And as it is appointed unto men once to die, 

but after this the judgment:
Hebrews 9:27

This is our lot in life as sons of Adam, Birth and Death.  The span of years offers both good and evil, the sublime and horrific as all things pertaining to life are found between those two little words.  A Mother’s kiss, a Father’s stern rebuke, hurts by friends or the simple joy of a warm spring day with the clouds drifting lazily by in a deep sea of blue.  The loss of loved ones and the birth of new ones are woven into this tapestry that we call life.

Read more »

Losing Hell??? A Critique of an Emergent View of the Afterlife

There has been an uproar recently coming over the Internet from the Emergent Community and their opposition fueled by Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins, and the charge of universalism.  An entry located on Emergent Village Web log details the journey of one author's departure from historic orthodox Christianity to a more universalist approach to the doctrine of Hell.  In , What I Lost Losing Hell, Chad Holtz says, "I was raised in the church....I believed in an eternal Hell    ( rightly so )..(but) this all changed about three years ago....the past few years I have given thought to what I lost by losing Hell..."  Mr. Holtz is apparently unaware that by abandoning an orthodox view of Hell he is also abandoning an integral tenet of Christianity found in Scripture.
Read more »

Scrubbing the Surface

As I was pondering the mysteries of life this week ( not!! ) I felt it would be prudent to interrupt my regularly scheduled post for something that has been weighing on me.  It really is a simple matter but with consequences for everyone involved.  I do not know how I have lived this long without dealing with this issue more thoroughly.  How clean is my house?  I mean really.  When was the last time the furniture was moved, the baseboards scrubbed, the ceiling fan spotless ( don't ask ), and all the beds made?

Read more »