There has never been an intelligent reason to sin. God created people. He knows best how a person is supposed to operate. These descriptions of how people should operate are called moral absolutes. They apply to everyone. They never change. When we choose to live differently we make a stupid choice. We make a completely unintelligent and unloving decision. We decide that we are in charge and God is not.  In other words, we sin.

There is no conceivable reason why man should have rebelled against God.

God ran a great risk when He made mankind because He made them capable of relationship. For relationship to be possible they had to have personality functions (a mind, a will and emotions). They had to be able to reject relationship or there would never be real relationship. This was the risk. It was possible that they would reject God. Not likely nor intelligent but possible. Adam and Eve had a perfect world and a perfect life. They had intimate friendship with God. God was happy that He had created them. He said they were good. I don’t think God was lying. I think He really thought they were good. It was amazing. Then they ruined it. They decided that they would be the king of their hearts and simultaneously made the stupidest decision in the history of the universe.

God is perfectly reasonable in all His requirements. He only lays out design requirements like that of a car which needs oil. He won’t ask us to do even one thing that we can’t do or shouldn’t do. He made us able to obey, which means we are also able to disobey. This is reasonable.

And so, people are without excuse. Rom 1:18-21 ESV  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  (19)  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  (20)  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.  (21)  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

We need to understand what we have done. We need to understand our part in the revolt. Adam and Eve revolted against God. And every one of us have done the same thing at some point in our lives. I remember very clearly what I think was the first time I sinned. I was probably 3 years old and I was mad at someone close to me. I knew what was right and what was wrong. I could have walked away. Instead I chose to hurt her. It is such a sickening and disgusting memory. But it is exactly what happened every time I sinned in my life. I made a wicked and stupid decision. I rebelled against God’s loving and intelligent descriptions of how things are supposed to be every single time.

1Jn 3:4 ESV  “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.  It is a refusal to live according to the truth that God has given us. It is refusing to live according to self-discipline and what we know to be right.”

I’ve heard it said that men are not sinners because they sin, but they sin because they are sinners. Think about this for a moment. What does this lead us to? It makes us say, “Well, we have to sin because we’re sinners.” And so what do we do? We sin. Of course we do. We have to, right? We are caused to sin. But is this true? Are we caused to sin or do we rebel against God and His intelligent, loving commands? Is He right to tell us not to sin? Is He right to hold us responsible for our sin? I think so!

We establish and build our character on continuous choices.  It’s always easier to keep on doing what we’ve been doing.  The more we choose to sin the easier it is to sin. It’s hard to steal for the first time. Your skin gets hot, your heart pounds in your chest, perhaps you break out into a sweat, perhaps you are shaking from the nervous excitement.  You have to fight your conscience and try to explain away your guilt, but it gets easier every time. The next time you steal it’s easy because you’ve already worked things through in your mind. The physical symptoms of guilt one by one fade away until you are not longer affected. You feel a little less guilty. The same goes for good choices. The longer we learn to live with Jesus, the easier it gets.

I want to leave you with just a couple verses to think about. Whether you are a Christian or not, you are a person who was designed to live a certain way. When you choose to rebel against any of God’s moral absolutes you reject the most loving and intelligent Being in the universe and in doing so make the dumbest decision you have ever made.

1Jn 3:6 ESV  “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”

Mat 7:15-20 ESV  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  (16)  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  (17)  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  (18)  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.  (19)  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  (20)  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

The incarnation of Christ is the turning point of human history. God himself enters the arena of humanity and earns the title “Emmanuel” – God with us. Although most evangelical Christians would agree with the statement that Jesus was both fully man and fully God, there is disagreement over exactly how the two natures were able to coexist in one person. In one camp there are those who believe that Jesus had the full range of both human and divine attributes at the same time. In other words, Jesus as a human was spatially located, limited in knowledge, and limited in power, while Jesus as God was omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. Most people would agree that this is a profound mystery and a paradox, if not an outright contradiction.

In another camp, there are those who do believe that an outright contradiction exists in this view of the incarnation. These people believe that in order for the second person of the Trinity to become fully human as the Bible teaches he did, he had to relinquish the use of certain divine attributes that would had prohibited him from becoming fully human. In other words, a being who is fully human cannot be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, since these are attributes which cannot accurately be used to describe a finite being. Christ did not have to relinquish all of his divine attributes (his divine holiness and love, for example) because these attributes can be granted to humans. Nothing about being fully human precludes us from perfect holiness and love (at least in theory) but it does preclude us from being all-knowing or all-powerful.

A question that I have been pondering lately is this: when Jesus performed miracles, was he performing them as a human or was he tapping into his divine nature to bend and break the laws of the universe that he himself created? The answer that seems most natural is that Jesus, being fully God, made use of his divine power or knowledge to work miracles, heal the sick, control the weather, raise the dead, and read people’s thoughts. However, I do not believe this to be the case. I believe that Jesus performed miracles as a finite, limited, dependant human being, who relied totally and completely on his Father as his source of power and knowledge. Jesus’ miracles are not proof of his divinity. On the contrary Jesus’ life and miracles give us the best example of what it means to be truly human.

Scripture is clear that Jesus depended on the Father and the Holy Spirit on a regular basis. (Luke 4:1 – Jesus was led around the wilderness by the Spirit; Matt. 12:28 – Jesus claims to cast out demons by the Spirit of God; John 5:19-30 – Jesus says that he can do nothing on his own initiative, but can only do what he sees the Father doing. ) Jesus’ supernatural abilities are almost always attributed to the Holy Spirit or the Father working through him.

Scripture is also clear that we are to follow the example of Christ (Phil. 2:5, 1Cor. 11:1) who was “tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). But if Christ had the advantage of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence while here on earth, how can we possibly follow his example? If Christ possessed those attributes, it renders the exhortation to follow his example incoherent. Jesus also told his disciples, “He who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12). I can imagine the disciples looking around at each other in disbelief, wondering how in the world they themselves would be able to perform greater works that Jesus. Just a few verses later, Jesus explains that He will ask the Father to send them another Helper, whose functions presumably include aiding them and all believers in accomplishing these “greater works”.

What I have been saying is that Jesus’ life was one of total and complete dependence on the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is the kind of life that all humans are called to. In fact, living a life of total surrender and dependence on God is the way that God designed humans to live. Living a life of selfishness and self-reliance is actually like living a less-than-human life. We are defined by our potential. To live a truly human life is to live in true submission to God. That is the way we were created to live. Jesus gives us the only perfect example of how to do this. His life was lived in total and utter surrender to the direction of the Father. He relied on the Spirit in everything. His life is a model of what it looks like to live up to our creaturely potential. And this is what excites me: the kind of surrendered life that Jesus lived (one of reliance on the Spirit and the Father, one of dependence on the Spirit for power, wisdom, and direction) is exactly the kind of life that we too are called to live. The sensitivity to the Spirit that Jesus demonstrated is not reserved for him alone – it is available to us! Jesus’ ability to surrender to God, to allow the Father to work miracles and healings through him – this is available to us! The intimacy and communion with the Father that Jesus enjoyed – this too is available to us!  To the extent that we follow his example of total dependence and submission to God, we will fulfill Jesus’ promise to us that we will do “even greater works” than even he himself did.

I don’t need to follow all of those rules. I can do whatever I want. I’m under grace not the law! Quit being so legalistic. After all, Jesus rejected the law. Right?

Gal 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Now, I know that not many Christians would go this far, but how many people are thinking like this? I know there was a time that I would have thought something close to this. How many people are continuing to sin because they have the idea that we are “free from the law”? The idea of not being under law is appealing to people. They can pursue their goals and secure their own pleasure all while feeling justified because they are justified by faith and not by works of the law. I think that this thinking is a problem and a problem that is very fixable. Did Paul and Jesus reject all forms of law? Were they ever suggesting that we should stop following moral law?

The word Paul uses in Galatians for “law” is the Greek word “nomoV”. This is also the word used for “law” all throughout the New Testament. I must clarify here that I am not one to seek out mystical surprise definitions of Greek words to produce a fluffy and witty sermon. There are, however, occasions in translation where English equivalents fail to communicate clearly. I think that this may be one. We don’t need to replace the word “law” in our Bibles with another word, we just need to look at the verses using it with new glasses.

It seems to me that the when the writers of the New Testament talk about the law they are not talking about the laws we are accustomed to today. They are not talking about moral law (the internal, right and wrong kind of law). They are talking about the Law the way their Jewish audiences would have understood it. That is the Torah. The Pentateuch. The Law of Moses. Mark, who wrote his Gospel to Gentiles, never even used the word “law” (nomoV) because the word was a Greek equivalent to a Jewish idea and was not relevant to Gentiles. “Law” equals “Torah” all throughout the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles.

Mat 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish the Torah.” The Torah is NEVER referred to negatively in the Bible. It was beautiful and from God. God liked the Torah. He gave it to the people “for their good.” Grace is better, but law is not bad.

The Torah had three parts: Ceremonial law, Civil law, and Moral law. The Ceremonial law is found from Exodus 25 to the end of Leviticus. It included the sacrificial system, the tabernacle system, and the cleanness (physically) system. The Civil law is found in Deuteronomy 6 through 26. It included such things as consequences for stealing and murder, political and criminal laws, property rights and distribution of land. The Moral law is recorded in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 in the form of the Ten Commandments. These laws are special. They are founded in the Character of God and in reality. They are the basic right and wrong understanding that everyone has. They are the eternal law of God. These three parts of the Torah make up one Torah, but are they all of the same importance?

Leviticus 14 commands that a person tithe a yield of their seed year by year. 1500 years later Jesus spoke about this to a group of Pharisees. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” – Matthew 23:23. I ask again, are all the parts of the Torah of the same importance? Jesus seemed to suggest otherwise. He declared the moral law as the part of the law that they should have focused on.

And it is this set of laws that the Christian in my first paragraph is wanting to be out from under. Yet it is the one set of laws that no one can ever declare they are not subject to.

Romans 1:20-32 talks about moral law. It appears to be talking about people as a whole and says that people are without excuse. People know right from wrong. And “law” (nomoV) is not written once in this passage. Moral law has been established since creation and is not exclusive to the Torah. Without the Torah people still know right from wrong. Without the Torah people are still held accountable to moral law.

So what can I say to the guy who says, “don’t hold me to your moral standards. I’m under grace not the law”? In a humble, loving and peace-seeking way I can tell him that he is right. He is no longer required to fulfill the Torah’s civil and ceremonial laws. He is now under grace through faith in Jesus and now must only obey the moral law. He must simply love God and his neighbor as himself.

The Bible reveals to us five areas of the overall atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All five areas are vital and essential, with none being greater or more important than the other. Each area of the atonement is effectual to its particular aspect of required need and each specifically accomplished that for which God intended it to accomplish. Those five areas are: Obedience, Sacrifice, Propitiation, Reconciliation, and Redemption.

A fourth area of the overall atoning work of Christ is reconciliation. The result of the expiation of guilt and the propitiation of God’s wrath is reconciliation of the relationship between God and those saved by Christ’s atonement. This aspect of the atonement of Christ is spoken of in Romans 5:10, For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. II Corinthians 5:18-19 also states, Now all these things are from God, Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.

This area of the atonement of Christ accomplishes the change of relationship between God and sinners from one of a state of hostility to peace. Man was created to live in a loving personal relationship with God. Such a relationship is the essence of what the Bible calls “life.” Just as a tree has life by its vital union and relationship with its roots, so human beings were created to live in vital union and relationship with God. The severing of this relationship as a result of sin is “death” which is separation from God. Because of the fall of man into sin, the relationship between God and man was changed to one a state of hostilities toward each other. The Bible says that fallen human nature is hostile toward God (Romans 8: 7). And, as we have seen, God has wrath toward man because of sin. But through atoning death of Christ, this relationship is reconciled with all who trust in Christ. Instead of being under the wrath of God, the forgiven and cleansed sinner is has peace with God. As Romans 5:1 says, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ.

There are five important things about reconciliation for us to know. These are:

1. Reconciliation with God is based totally and only on what God has done for us in Christ – We had nothing to do making possible reconciliation with God.  It was totally His idea and His initiative. Human beings are by nature in rebellion against God and run away from God. Romans 3:11 states, No one seeks God.  Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws Him.” There is no such thing as a human being seeking God to find God based exclusively on his own initiative and desire. Left to ourselves, everyone would reject God. The person who finds himself seeking God is doing so only because God has first sought him and is drawing him. God is the One who initiates reconciliation. And the only basis on which a holy righteous God can come and personally seek us is the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  We have done nothing to make it possible and we can add nothing to make it possible.
2. It was a historical reality before it becomes a personal reality – Reconciliation is based on what Christ did for us in history in order to expiate our guilt and propitiate God’s wrath against us. The completed result of Christ’s death for us is then made personal applied to our lives by the gracious work of the Holy Spirit.  Whether one subjectively feel reconciled or not, the basis of our reconciliation is upon what Christ objectively did for us in history. This is a completed fact that then becomes a personal reality to us through saving faith in Christ.
3. It is God’s attitude that is changed first – Before we are reconciled with God, He is our enemy. Romans 5:10 says, While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (See also Isaiah 63:10).  On the basis of Christ’s death, God’s attitude toward the sinner who believes in Christ is changed because He is reconciled to the sinner through Christ.
4. Our reconciliation with God affects our relationships with all of God’s children – Because we have received grace, forgiveness and unconditional acceptance from God, we can and are to do the same to all God’s children. Romans 15:7 says, Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.  Ephesians 4:32 says, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  I John 5:19 says, We love because He first loved us.  Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Our experience of the reality of reconciliation with God will cause us to seek peace and reconciliation with all of God’s children whether in our marriages, our church, or different denominations.  The Bible is very clear when it says the person who does not love does not know God. I John 4:7-8 states, Beloved, let us love one another for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born o God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God for God is love
5. The reconciliation of Christ has a cosmic impact – Speaking of the effects of Christ’s death, Colossians 1:20 says God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross. The structures and relationships of all things that became alienated from God by the fall of Adam and take over of Satan will one day be completely become right with God.

The Bible reveals to us five areas of the overall atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All five areas are vital and essential, with none being greater or more important than the other. Each area of the atonement is effectual to its particular aspect of required need and each specifically accomplished that for which God intended it to accomplish. Those five areas are: Obedience, Sacrifice, Propitiation, Reconciliation, and Redemption.

The third area of the overall atoning work of Christ is propitiation. As we have seen it is used in Romans 3:23 which speaks of Christ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood. This word is also used in three other verse in the New Testament. Hebrews 2:17 states, Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God, and to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  I John 2:2 says, He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.  And I John 4:10 says, In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

This area of Christ’s work of atonement as a propitiation for sins accomplishes the satisfaction of God’s just wrath so as to turn away His wrath from a sinner. Isaiah 53:11 states, As a result of the anguish of his soul, He will see it and be satisfied. The reason this aspect of the atonement of Christ is so vital for us is that God’s wrath against our sin is the greatest danger and problem that anyone faces in all of life and existence. The Scriptures declare the reality of the wrath of God saying, It is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord (Romans 12:19). Romans 1:18 speaks of the wrath of God as being a present reality: The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of man who suppress the truth in wickedness. Romans 2:8 tells us that God’s future judgment upon all who sin is wrath and anger.  Ephesians 2:3 says that every single person born into this world is by nature an object of God’s wrath. Wrath is the permanent attitude of God against sin, for the Bible reveals that hell is eternal.

Propitiation fundamentally deals with God’s personal disposition of wrath against us because of our sins.  The Lord is righteously angry at us because of our sin, but by the death of Christ His attitude toward us is changed. His righteous vengeance, wrath and anger against sin was satisfied by the punishment of our sins in Christ.

From this, then, we can see two things that the cross gives demonstration of:

1. God’s hatred of sin – The Bible says, The fear of the Lord is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). This is because God hates evil and sin is the root of all evil. The horror of the cross displayed God’s pure and righteous hatred of sin. The terror, dread and agony that Christ suffered on the cross was caused by Him bearing the full force of God’s utter hatred of sin. Christ’s cry, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” was the foremost expression of His experience of God’s righteous displeasure against sin.
2. The just penalty of sin – The wages, payment and penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Christ died for our sins (I Corinthians 15:3). As our substitute, He received in Himself the just penalty of capital punishment for the capital crime of sin against God. Once we understand God’s hatred of sin and just wrath against it and then see that Christ voluntarily took our place to bear the full punishment of the just wrath of God, we then will understand and appreciate the love and grace of God.

It is important that we emphasize this because without a proper understanding of God’s just wrath against sin that which will become meaningless is God’s love.  To illustrate this, think of a young man who says to his sweetheart, “I love you so much, and I will show you how much I love you. I am going to throw myself in front of a speeding train and kill myself for you.”  That would not be love. That would not even be sentimentality. It would be stupidity, a complete waste of life and love, and would most of all be an act without just purpose or reason.  But, other the other hand, if this young man’s sweetheart had fallen on the railroad tracks where a speeding train was coming and about to kill her and the only way she could be saved was for him to die rescuing her life, giving up his life for her life, and he did that very thing, that would be love.  That young man would have saved his sweetheart by laying down his life for her. In a similar way Christ died to save us from the eternal death of God’s holy and just wrath against us for our sins. If there is no wrath of God for us to be saved from, Christ’s death was an utterly foolish act and a complete waste. There would have been no reason from Him to die. But because the just wrath of God against sin is a dreadful reality, we see how great God’s love for us really is in that Christ died for us bearing the full punishment of God’s wrath against our sins in Himself.  On the cross, the Lord Jesus bore the full wrath of God against our all of our sins to propitiate the just anger of God.

I love history.  A fascinating history teacher once said that most of history is the history of the unintended.  We look back on how things happened and think that it all had to happen the way it did because it was inevitable.  Of course, things happen the way they do because God wants to achieve His desired result.  That’s called Providence.

Consider this nearly true story: A professor finds himself angered by the bad theology espoused by a shady faith healer who guarantees a healing in return for a seed-faith gift of only $100.  Now the professor knows his theology pretty well, and posts a notice on his blog asking his subscribers what they think about the faith healer.  Before you know it, the story is posted on the Drudge Report and the professor’s story is the hot news story of the day.

I called this a “nearly true” story because it really happened, but I took liberties with a few facts.  Nearly 500 years ago, an Augustinian monk was very unhappy about some shady business conducted by a guy named Tetzel, and he posted a notice on the door of his church.  A few college students read the posting, translated it into the local language, and printed up a few thousand copies on the newly invented Gutenberg press.  It is said that within 2 weeks all of Germany was in an uproar over the 95 Theses.  Martin Luther went from being a monk and professor to heretic and hero of the Christian faith.

At the risk of oversimplifying what started on the door of the Castle Church, I would like to share five major issues that were at the center of the Protestant Reformation.  They are nicely summarized in five expressions that are easily remembered and central to a proper understanding of our faith:

Sola Fide (Faith Alone): If the reformation was an earthquake, Sola Fide was the epicenter.  The Roman Catholic faith had become more corrupt and polluted over the centuries, built on the idea that one was justified (declared righteous) by faith PLUS good works.  Luther and the reformers understood that it was faith alone that resulted in justification, and that good works were the natural result of salvation.

Sola Gratia (Grace Alone): There is nothing we can do to merit our salvation; it is totally, wholly, and fully a free gift of God.  Our works do not impress God in the least.  He chooses those He will choose, and the basis for this choice is His will, determined long before the foundation of the earth.  Some people think that God will save them because they are, “a good person”, or because they prayed a prayer.  The problem with that picture is that the Bible says we are dead in our sins.  Imagine a corpse doing CPR on itself.  You can’t?  I’m not surprised.  A corpse is dead.

Sola Scriptura (The Scriptures Alone): Some people like to place Sola Scriptura first in the list of Solas, for the simple reason that scripture is the only source of authority for matters of faith.  Regardless of where it falls in the list, it is important to understand why this was a big deal in 1517 and why it is a big deal today.

In 1517, the scriptures were out of reach of ordinary people.  The church believed that people were unable to read it themselves and gain a true understanding of what it meant and how it applied to their lives.  The position of the church was that the Bible could be understood only when interpreted by the Roman church.  The authoritative voice of the church was spoken by the pope and by church councils, and this ultimately meant that the pope and these councils were more authoritative than the plain words of scripture.  This is evident in the faulty logic the Roman church used to explain the basis for salvation (Faith + Works = Justification).

Sola Scriptura did two things: it set aside the authority of popes and councils, and asserted that ordinary people could understand, interpret, and apply scripture to their own lives.

Sola Christus (Christ Alone): It is easy, in our post-modern age, to misunderstand the meaning of Sola Christus and its implications.  Our focus is not on the “many paths to god” heresy espoused by Oprah and her minions, but rather on three elements within the Roman church that robbed Jesus of His full glory:

1. The Roman church believed that the Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a mediator between God and man.  Catholics will explain that Mary represents someone vital to the life of Christ, sort of like a mother who will put in a good word with her son to gain His favor.
2. In the Roman church placed faith in the elements of communion (bread and wine).  Their belief was that these elements became, in substance, the flesh and blood of Jesus when the priest consecrated them.  By implication, the elements then were treated with the same reverence as the living Lord Jesus Christ – they were worshipped.  The reformers rightly rejected this as idolatry.
3. Another area in which the reformers and the Roman church disagreed was the area of the priesthood.  The Roman church believed it was the final and only means for grace to be delivered to the people.  The priesthood became, in effect, the means of access to God.

All of these alternatives (Mary, communion, the priesthood) were unnecessary because we have direct access to God the Father through His son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria: The final of the five solas is the summation of them all meaning Glory to God Alone.  Nothing we can do, have done, or ever will do, is worthy of glory.  Any works-based theological system, including Arminianism, attacks God’s glory by taking some part the glory that is rightfully God’s and placing it before man.  The Ordo Salutis, or order of salvation, as understood by the reformers, begins with God’s will (His decree) and bears fruit in His effectual calling, faith (His gift to us), justification (His declaration of our innocence, based totally on Christ’s atoning sacrifice), sanctification (the Holy Spirit working in us to make us more holy), and ultimately, our glorification (the fullness of salvation revealed in us, all as a result of His work). 

To the extent that we receive glory for any work of Christ, we are guilty of stealing God’s glory.  This would include assertions that we chose Christ of our own “Free Will”.

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It may appear that this short essay is a bit harsh on the Roman church, so allow me a short opportunity here at the end to mention a few things that God did in using the Roman church that positively benefit us today.  The concept of Providence is clearly illustrated in these examples.

1. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, it received the protection of the most powerful earthly kingdom of the day.  As a result, the church spread far and wide.
2. One of the side effects of being a state religion is that the heads of state tended to interfere in church affairs.  This wasn’t all bad – when a dispute arose among theologians, the government was in a position to help resolve the situation.  The Roman Emperor would send a call out to the bishops telling them to meet for a church council and the issues would be debated and decided.  Once the matter was put to rest, the Emperor would put his stamp of approval on the matter and no one would dare question it.  As a result, the church’s theological basis was established.
3. Bad theology didn’t keep popping up over and over again.  As a contrast, consider how many popular “Christian” teachers & musicians continue to receive wide support in the church despite their clearly unbiblical and heretical underpinnings.  The music group Phillips, Craig and Dean denies the Trinity, as does the popular teacher T.D. Jakes.  Many Word of Faith teachers hold aberrant beliefs but are well-received at Christian conferences.

A Brief History

The Five Articles of Remonstrance resulted from the efforts of forty-one preachers and two leaders of the Leyden state college. They came together in 1610 to state in written form their views concerning disputed doctrines. In response to this document the Cannons of Dort or TULIP was written in 1618.

Although TULIP does not follow the order of the Cannons of Dort it is an easy acronym to remember. However, for the purpose of this review of these two documents we will use the acronym TULIP. Interestingly the Five Articles of Remonstrance contrast with TULIP on four points and agree on one point (total depravity).

Articles

Article I – That God, by an eternal and unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake, and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through this grace, even to the end; and, on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn them as alienate from Christ, according to the word of the Gospel in John 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him,” and according to other passages of Scripture also.

To be honest when I first read this I thought this sounded Calvinistic. I had to re read it, and in contrast the Calvinist doctrine to the gospel places an emphasis on God seeking His people verses people seeking God. I know that the doctrine of election bothers many people, but the problem they feel is not actually with election; it is with depravity. If sinners are as helpless in their depravity as the Bible says they are, unable to know and unwilling to seek God, then the only way they could possibly be saved is for God to take the initiative to change and save them. This is what election means. It is God choosing to save those who, apart from His sovereign choice and subsequent action, certainly would perish. This is the “U” in Tulip.

Article II – That agreeably thereunto, Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer, according to the word of the Gospel of 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.” And in the First Epistle of John 2:2: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

In contrast the Calvinist doctrine states that Jesus actually atoned for the sins of those the Father had chosen. He actually propitiated the wrath of God toward His people by taking their judgment upon Himself, actually redeemed them, and actually reconciled those specific persons to God. Perhaps a better name for “limited” atonement would be “particular” or “specific” redemption. This is the “L” in TULIP.

Article III — That man has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will, inasmuch as he, in the state of apostasy and sin, can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do any thing that is truly good (such as saving faith eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ, through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or will, and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will, and effect what is truly good, according to the Word of Christ, John 15:5, “Without me ye can do nothing.”

Similarly the Calvinist doctrine states that all human beings are affected by sin in every area of thought and conduct so that nothing that comes out of anyone apart from the regenerating grace of God can please God. As far as our relationships to God are concerned, we are all so ruined by sin that no one can properly understand either God or God’s ways. Nor do we seek God, unless He is first at work within us to lead us to do so.  This is the “T” in Tulip.

Article IV — That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of all good, even to this extent, that the regenerate man himself, without prevenient or assisting, awakening, following and cooperative grace, can nei ther think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that all good deeds or movements, that can be conceived, must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ, but respects the mode of the operation of this grace, it is not irresistible; inas much as it is written con cerning many, that they have resisted the Holy Ghost. Acts 7, and else where in many places.

In contrast the Calvinist doctrine states that left to ourselves we resist the grace of God. But when God works in our hearts, regenerating us and creating a renewed will within, then what was undesirable before becomes highly desirable, and we run to Jesus just as previously we ran away from Him. Fallen sinners do resist God’s grace, but His regenerating grace is effectual. It overcomes sin and accomplishes God’s purpose. This is the “I” in TULIP.

Article V — That those who are in corporated into Christ by true faith, and have thereby become partakers of his life-giving Spirit, have thereby full power to strive against Satan, sin, the world, and their own flesh, and to win the victory; it being well un derstood that it is ever through the assisting grace of the Holy Ghost; and that Jesus Christ assists them through his Spirit in all temptations, extends to them his hand, and if only they are ready for the conflict, and desire his help, and are not inactive, keeps them from falling, so that they, by no craft or power of Satan, can be misled nor plucked out of Christ’s hands, according to the Word of Christ, John 10:28: “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginning of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was deliv ered them, of losing a good conscience, of be coming devoid of grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scripture, be fore we ourselves can teach it with the full persuasion of our mind.

In contrast the Calvinist doctrine states God perseveres with us, keeping us from falling away, as we would certainly do if He were not with us. But because He perseveres we also persevere. In fact, perseverance is the ultimate proof of election. We persevere because God preserves us from full and final falling away from Him. This is the “P” in TULIP.

Pray then like this: ”Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Matthew 6:9

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ”Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ”Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24He answered,  ”I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26And he answered, ”It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, ”O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Matthew 15:21-28

The latter block of verses begins with Jesus withdrawing. He basically needed a vacation. He went with his disciples to Tyre and Sidon. Maybe they went to spend some time at the beach. They stayed at a certain house that they didn’t want anybody to know about. But of course, word got out that Jesus was in town. People came to Jesus in need of healing.

We see a Canaanite woman coming to Jesus for this reason. Canaanites were not in the covenant community that the Jews belonged to. Her daughter was demon-possessed. She cried out to Jesus to have mercy; she was desperate for her daughter to be healed.

Jesus didn’t even answer her. The disciples asked her to leave because Jesus wasn’t responding to her. When she didn’t respond to that, the disciples asked Jesus to send her away. He told them that he did not come for her. She was not a part of the covenant. Somehow, she got through the crowd and knelt before Jesus. 

But the woman persisted. She got through the crowd and disciples somehow. Jesus asked her, “Why should the children’s bread be given to the dogs?” In this context, the bread is healing and the dogs are those who are outside of the covenant (non-Jews). Jesus insisted that this provision was reserved for God’s people. The Canaanite woman acknowledged her status as a dog, but she showed that she still came in faith asking for the crumbs from the masters table. Jesus finally granted her request because of her faith. 

There are two fundamental covenantal principals regarding healing in this true story. They are God’s justice and God’s mercy. Justice is doing what is right. Justice is giving people what they deserve. Mercy, stated negatively, is to NOT give people what they deserve. Stated positively, mercy is giving people what they don’t deserve. It is this latter definition of mercy that is commonly referred to as grace. 

Justice and mercy are the ways that God administers His covenant. In Deuteronomy 32:39 we see that God is sovereign over life and death. In Exodus 15, why does God say that He will not put disease on His people? Justice. If the people obeyed, they would not be subject to disease. If they rebelled, they would be judged. God’s sovereignty over death and life should bring us peace and comfort.

Why do people die?

We die because of sin. Ultimately, we die because of Adams sin. In Genesis 2:17 God says that if Adam breaks the law he will die. All sickness and disease originates with the sin that took place in the garden.

And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.”
Exodus 15:26

God said, “I am your healer.” Why?

1. Because His people get sick.
2. Because He heals as a God of mercy. 

Healing is a provision of His covenant. Deuteronomy 7:15 says that He will remove all sickness from you.

These principles of covenant show why Jesus responded to the Canaanite woman the way He did. In the same way that healing is a part of the covenant promise, the promise that the blood of Christ covers the sins of applies to those in the covenant. Those outside the covenant receive righteous justice. Examples: Noah and the flood, Passover

So then, how do we receive the covenant promises of God? FAITH. 

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The preceding article comes from my sermon notes taken during a sermon delivered by Bill Hyer.

Since it was vitally necessary for Christ to die to make atonement, what is the reason that the atonement was necessary? The atonement of Christ was necessary because of our sins. Two verses in the Book of Romans clearly set forth the desperate need we have for the atonement of Christ because of our sins. The first is Romans 3:23, All have sinned, and the second is Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death. We have the absolute and utter need for atonement of our sin, first of all, because of the effects of original sin through Adam. It is because of original sin that we all have the legal standing of condemnation before God and have a personal nature that has been corrupted by sin (Romans 5:18-19). And, secondly, we have the vital need for atonement because of our own actual and personal sins. The Bible says that the punishment for sin is death. Because of this, unless a person’s sin is atoned for, he will be condemned to everlasting damnation and punishment in hell. It was because of the just consequences of our sins that Christ had to make atonement. This is concisely stated in I Corinthians 15:3, Christ died for our sins.

While our sins were the reason that it was necessary for Christ to die to make atonement, what was it that caused Christ to die for us to make atonement for our sins?  From the first book of the Bible, in chapter three of the Book of Genesis, to the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, the Bible declares that the cause of the atonement was God Himself. God was the originator, initiator and provider of the atonement for our sins. This is explicitly declared by Abraham at the time he was commanded by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and he said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb…” (Genesis 22:8). In John 3:16 we are told, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Throughout His ministry Jesus said that He came to do the will of His Father. In John 6:38, He said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” In quoting Psalm 40:7, the book of Hebrews 10:9-10 quotes Jesus and says, Then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will”…By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Perhaps the most sacred place in all of Scripture that demonstrates that the cause of the atonement was God Himself is in the words of the prayer of the Lord Jesus in the Garden before He was suffered and died. Matthew 26:39 says, And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me, yet not as I will, but as You will.” The cause of the atonement was the will of God Himself.

When we look at what the Bible tells us about God being the cause of the atonement, there are three important things that need to be emphasized. These three things are: 

(1) God freely provided the atonement according to His grace

It is of the utmost importance for us to realize that there was nothing compelling God to provide the atonement. It was because of His free grace that He made it possible for people to be saved through the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Bible speaks of free grace, it does not mean that it costs us nothing. It refers to the choice of God, a choice that was not in any way compelled but was a choice that was free. This is true in two ways: 

(a) There was nothing outwardly compelling God to save people. God was not forced by some outside power to save anyone. This should be obvious since nothing is more powerful than God.

(b) There was nothing inwardly compelling God to save people. This is true in two ways.

1. First of all, there was nothing inwardly compelling God to provide the atonement because of a moral obligation. There was no moral obligation within the nature of God that required Him to save anyone. The only moral obligation within the righteous nature of God toward sinners that was required was that of justice. There was no moral obligation within Him to give grace or mercy. The only thing everyone deserved was justice. God could have given everyone justice if He chose to do so and this would have been righteous and good because justice would be rendered to all. But according to His free grace, and by no inward moral necessity, He chose to provide atonement for sins.
2. Secondly, there was nothing inwardly compelling God to save people because of some need within Him. There was not any kind of need within God such as the need for love or fellowship that human beings would fulfill which compelled God to provide the atonement. Sometimes, when people are evangelizing, they will say that God needs them and their love. In this way, they are actually saying people are doing God a favor and fulfilling a need in Him by coming to Christ. This is a great error for two reasons. This first is that God has no need that any human being would fulfill. God is eternally blessed in and of Himself as the Triune God eternally self-existing in the perfect love and fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit being and in need of absolutely nothing. The second reason is, perhaps, even more significant. When we say this, we utterly diminish the love and grace of God that was demonstrated in the atonement. God did not provide atonement for our sins because He needed us but rather because of His love and grace. When we see that it was free grace and love that motivated God to save us, we see how great the love of God is. Romans 5:6-8 states, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

(2) In the atonement, all the glorious attributes of God are supremely displayed

There was no disharmony or cross-purpose in the working of God’s attributes in providing the atonement. God’s justice required that sin be punished and the debt paid and His love desired that sinners be saved.  God’s justice and love did not work against the other. To the contrary, in the atonement of Christ we see all the attributes of God wondrously expressed:  love, justice, wisdom, righteousness, holiness, power and more all displayed in glorious unity.

(3) The atonement is the result of all three Persons of the Trinity working in perfect unity

Sometimes people will wrongly characterize the saving work of Christ in His death as if He were the “good guy” who loved us and died to save sinners from the angry justice of the “mean, grumpy Father.” In this way, they in effect, pose the work of the Son as a kind of antagonism to the Father. However, the Scriptures teach that the atonement was the result of all three Persons of the Trinity working in perfect unity. They tell us that the Father sent the Son and the Son came, the Father gave the Son and the Son laid down His life, as well as the declaration of Hebrews 9:14 that says that Christ offered Himself up through the eternal Spirit. There was no disharmony in the Trinity, but rather perfect unity of purpose to accomplish the work of atonement.

The subject of this series addresses the central work of God in all of history. The central work of God in all of history is the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.  All of history pivots upon this work of Christ. It is the very heart and core of what God has done for us in history.

The word atonement means all that is involved in Christ dying to save us from our sins. In its original use, the word “atonement” specifically referred to Christ bringing God and man back into a right relationship where there is peace and joy in the unity of a loving relationship. It literally spoke of “at-one-ment.” This meant bringing God and man back together as one through the reconciliation accomplished by Christ’s death. Through the years, however, the connotation and meaning of the word “atonement” developed and expanded to encompass the overall conception of all that was involved in the work of Christ and His death to save us from our sins with reconciliation being one aspect of that completed work.

Throughout the Scriptures, from the third chapter of the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation, the Bible tells the story of what God would do and did do for us through the death of His Son. In all of Scripture, perhaps one of the greatest places that reveals the eternal significance of the work of atonement of Christ is Revelation chapter five. The fourth and fifth chapters of the Book of Revelation give the description of the worship of God in heaven. In chapter four, we see the worship of God the Father because of Who He is and because of His creation of all things (Revelation 4:11). Chapter five describes the worship in heaven of the Lord Jesus Christ Who is depicted as the Lamb. Just as all of heaven worships God the Father, so all of heaven worships God the Son. But whereas the worship of the Father focuses on Him as Creator, the worship of the Son focuses on Him as the Redeemer. Revelation 5:9 tells us that all of heaven worships Him saying, “Worthy are You…for You purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe, and tongue and people and nation.” Revelation chapter five shows us that above all other things, it is the atoning death of Christ and what His atoning death accomplished that is the focus of the worship of heaven. As we see what heaven focuses on in its worship, we can see the eternal significance of the work of atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we study the Scriptures, and especially the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, we see that it was of absolute and essential importance for Christ to make atonement. Mark 8:31 states, “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” The Scriptures summarized the teaching of the Lord Jesus here as saying that He “must suffer…and be killed.” The word “must” stresses His teaching that it was absolutely necessary for Him to suffer and die. Jesus said the reason that it was necessary for Him to suffer and die was so that He would make atonement. In Mark 10:45, He said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” His words, “a ransom for many,” speak of the atonement.  

In my next post on this series, I will begin by discussing why the atonement of Christ was necessary.