Quick Thought for Meditation – Debtor to the Whole Law – Galatians 5

Galatians 5:3

“For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.”

The Apostle Paul is not speaking here of any man who is circumcised — for in today’s society circumcision is often done for medical purposes without any thought being given to the religious side of the issue.  Rather, Paul was speaking of any man who was circumcised for the purposes of eternal salvation.  If a man chose to be circumcised in order to help gain eternal salvation then he must also accept that he was responsible for the entire law service.  The law service was a perfect and just law given by God.  It was complete.  Likewise, grace is complete in and of itself.  A man must choose one or the other but cannot join the two together for they are not the same.  Thus, any man who wished to be circumcised as the false teachers promoted in order to gain salvation must also be ready to keep the rest of the law as well.

 

Additional Reading

Romans 2:28-29

Quick Thought for Meditation – Children of Promise – Galatians 4

Galatians 4:28

“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.”

We are the children of promise in more ways than one.  We are the children of a promise made unto Abraham just as Isaac was for it was promised to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations.  He is the father in our lineage of faith as Paul has proven over and over again throughout the book of Galatians.  He is not the father to just the Jews but rather to all that have faith such as he displayed.  And yet we are the children of a greater promise which is the promise of eternal salvation made before the foundation of the world.  Just as God had a covenant with Abraham he made a covenant with his own Son for the redemption of a chosen people.  In that covenant you were known and were promised to be brought forth unto eternal life.  Certainly, we are as Isaac and are the children of promise.

Additional Reading:

Acts 3:25

Tuesday Tea – Blessings of Salvation – Examining the Articles of Faith – February 12, 2013

Today I will take under consideration the seventh Article of Faith of the Amarillo Primitive Baptist Church which expresses a common belief among the Primitive Baptist faith in general.  This week’s article of faith again deals with eternal salvation and the knowledge of eternal salvation here in this lifetime.

“We believe that all the spiritual blessings that are essential for consummation of the eternal salvation of the elect were given them in Christ before the world began, and in time bestowed upon them by virtue of his atonement for them.”

Admittedly the word choice and syntax of this particular article of faith is difficult to understand.  Should the Amarillo Church decide to revisit the articles of faith and potentially revise them, the language of this article would be at the top of the list.  The truth being expressed would be retained, but the wording could be much improved.  So what is this article saying in all reality?

He Hath Saved Us by His Works

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” (2 Timothy 1:9)

The first truth expressed in this article of faith is the method of salvation.  Here Paul words that method as being — the purpose and grace of God was given unto us before the foundation of the world.  That may seem counter intuitive, for how could something be given to an individual that had not yet been created nor had any of that individual’s ancestors come to exist yet.  The only possible method for this gift was through the omniscience of God knowing those that are his and giving them a gift through the promise of the coming of Jesus Christ.

In other words, all of the spiritual blessings that were necessary in order for eternal salvation to take place were possessed within the Godhead but were bestowed upon a chosen people in the promise of eternal salvation.  Along these lines we read in Romans 3 that God had faith in his Son that he would perform the work.  Thus, we can also say that the gifts were given through faith unto us in times past.

Christ Revealed the Gifts

“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”

The gifts of eternal salvation were always present as long as the world has existed.  But when Christ Jesus came and set foot upon this earth, preaching “repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” then those gifts began to be visible and understood.  Through his preaching and establishment of the New Testament and through his death upon the cross those gifts were made apparent unto the believers.

Thus, the writers of our articles of faith say that in time they were bestowed upon us through his atonement.  Does this mean that the gifts did not apply to the elect of the Old Testament?  Absolutely not, they just did not have the privilege of receiving the gifts that were theirs until they crossed over into the promised land of heaven.

Thus, the simple truth of this article of faith comes down to this — Before the world began Christ gave us the gift of his love, grace, and mercy that we might be saved from ourselves.  In the fulness of time he revealed unto us the work that had been done before the foundation of the world, and allowed us to rejoice in our salvation here in time.  What a beautiful truth.

May The Lord Bless you this week,

J.W. Cunningham

Tuesday Tea – Assurance of Salvation – Examining the Articles of Faith – January 29, 2013

Last week in the Tuesday Tea examining the Articles of Faith of the Amarillo Primitive Baptist Church I tried to write a few words examining the method in which eternal salvation comes to the Child of God.  With that established, this week I will examine the surety of our salvation.  What do the scriptures say about losing our salvation?  What role does obedience play in keeping our salvation?  Are we supposed to enjoy our salvation here in this life?

“5.We believe that all the chosen in Christ shall be called, regenerated and sanctified by the Holy Spirit; and they will all be justified in the sight of God by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them and will be preserved through grace and never fall away.”

The fifth Article of Faith of the Amarillo Primitive Baptist Church deals with what comes after our eternal salvation.  Not only can we lose our salvation – the simple answer to that question being “NO!” – but how does it affect our life and walk here on this planet.

Our Salvation is Sure

“²⁸ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

²⁹ My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

³⁰ I and my Father are one.” (John 10:28-30)

In these verses one important truth is established.  Twice are we told that no man can pluck one of the elect out of the hand of salvation.  The key to understanding these verses fully is the fact that they do not say no “other” man, but rather no man.  In other words, you cannot remove yourself from the hand of salvation either.  Salvation is an act solely of the Lord and whether or not you are obedient in this life has no impact on whether or not you are saved for eternity.

More Than a Passing Act

“²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

²⁹ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

³⁰ Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)

While verse 28 has often been distorted to promote many errant beliefs – it in all reality is the foundational text for a series of truths about our salvation and what follows after salvation.  The scriptures clearly teach that salvation is not a drive by act that has no lasting effect on the believer.

Rather, after salvation we are told that we are called.  This calling happens on many levels, but the simplest way to think about it is that we are called to action.  Action as a spiritually alive child of God, called to action as one who has assurance there is a God, called to action as one who has truth revealed to him or her, or in the greatest sense called to action as a member of the true church of God.  With all of this being the case we should strive to make sure our lives reflect our answer to that call to action.

So are we supposed to enjoy our salvation in this life?  The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:7 that we are to rejoice and rejoice.  Not enjoying our salvation here in this life would be like getting a new car and refusing to drive it for several years.  We have been given the greatest gift this world has ever known.  Let us strive to live our lives in a way that shows we are rejoicing in our very present and real salvation.

May the Lord Bless you,

Elder J.W.

Tuesday Tea -Examining the Articles of Faith – Predestination and Election – January 22, 2013

Last week in the Tuesday Tea post I tried to spend a few moments analyzing the belief in Total Depravity.  While many churches believe in or at least suggest that they believe in something similar to Total Depravity it is what they do with that belief that separates the churches.  This response is defined by how the church views the subject of eternal salvation.  Thus, in this week’s Tuesday Tea let us consider the Article of Faith that deals with that subject.

“4.We believe in a covenant of redemption by the Holy Trinity and that a definite number of fallen sons and daughters of Adam were chosen in Christ before the world began, and that they should be holy and without blame before him in love.”

A Definite Number of Redeemed

“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” (John 6:39)

At times the scriptures are so straightforward and clear about the truth that we must work in order to distort the teachings presented.  When it comes to the subject of “who are the redeemed” we find one of those cases.  Christ himself says here in the writings of John that the Father gave him a definitive number.  How do we know this?  Well, it would be impossible to know if you had gained or lost one person if the number was not set before hand.

To use an analogy — if a child is given a package of M&M’s and is instructed to not pour them out the child will not know how many M&M’s they have.  If they leave the bag and the older brother walks by and eats one of those M&M’s without the younger child seeing they will never know that they have missed one M&M.  However, if the child has poured them out in his hand and counted each color separately, if the older brother walks by and eats one, the younger child will know of the missing M&M. — Likewise, because Christ was given a definitive amount of people to redeem He could say that the Father would know if any were missing.

This simple teaching debunks many of the ways in which eternal salvation is viewed.  If salvation is up to the actions of man then it simply cannot be a definitive number decided before the foundation of the world and it would make John 6:39 to be untrue.  However, if man is totally depraved and has not the ability to save himself by any action including belief, then it leaves salvation up to Christ and the number is sure.

When and How Were they Elected?

“The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.” (Psalm 14:2)

 ^“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” (Ephesians 1:4)

Again the scriptures are clear on this point.  The election of the redeemed by God happened before the world was formed.  Ephesians 1:4 as well as other places in scripture make it clear that the Father and the Son agreed upon a chosen people before the first portion of the universe was ever spoken into existence.  These names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and it was these that Christ died for in the fulness of time.

Furthermore, they were not chosen according to their own works.  Some might suggest that God looked down through time and saw those that would love him and thus chose them accordingly.  However, the Psalmist by the inspiration of God writes that the Lord looked down from heaven and in doing so found none that were seeking after God, none that understood, and none that would do good.  If God had chosen a people based on their fitness for salvation no one would ever be a child of God.

Let Us Be Thankful

Let us therefore be thankful that when we were in the depths of our depravity, God saw fit to love us and choose us to be his adopted children.  Let us be thankful, that despite our wretched state Jesus Christ was willing to give up his own place in heaven to come to this earth and redeem his chosen people.  Finally, let us be thankful that the Holy Spirit has revealed this truth unto us.

May the Lord Bless you this week!