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The theology of C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis is someone who is often quoted on social media. No matter how solid a brother and sister in Christ might be, it seems Lewis always gets quoted by them. His books are sold in many respectful Christian conferences. In many seminaries, some of his books are mandatory to read. Is he, therefore, someone we should read without hesitation?

Martyn Lloyd-Jones sounds off the alarm

One of Lewis' friends, pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones, warned others that “Lewis was essentially a philosopher” and not a theologian. Why did Lloyd-Jones say that? Because, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones noted: “(1) Lewis taught and believed that one could reason oneself into Christianity; and (2) Lewis was an opponent of the substitutionary and penal theory of the Atonement.” The former is a cause to concern, seeing that it goes directly against Romans 8:7, but the latter is to completely deny the Christian faith.

Inclusivism

Lewis was an inclusivist. He believed that faith in Christ is not necessary for salvation, and all worship, no matter the religion, eventually leads to the same destination: the Christian God — even if the people in other religions don’t know/realize it. He wrote:

There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it. For example a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain points.”

He came to this conclusion when he considered all the people of the world who had died before the incarnation of Christ. He wrote: “Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position [that is, saved].”

Prayers to false gods

Since God is merciful, Lewis believed that God would accept worship from everyone, and that meant He’d also listen to all prayers. Lewis wrote: “I think that every prayer which is sincerely made even to a false god or to a very imperfectly conceived true God... is accepted by the true God and that Christ saved many who do not think they know Him.”

While visiting Greece with his wife, he was very tempted to pray to a false god. After all, for Lewis, someone can be heard by the Christian God if they pray to any false god. He wrote: “I had some ado to prevent Joy (and myself) from relapsing into Paganism in Attica! At Daphni it was hard not to pray to Apollo the Healer. But somehow one didn't feel it would have been very wrong — would have only been addressing Christ sub specie Apollinis.”

Genesis, Jonah, and Esther

For Lewis, the Old Testament wasn’t a reliable source of history because it was either pagan stories or purely poetic. As a matter of fact, for Lewis, the Bible didn't start to be real history until the New Testament. Lewis wrote:

The earliest stratum of the Old Testament contains many truths in a form which I take to be legendary, or even mythical—hanging in the clouds, but gradually the truth condenses, becomes more and more historical. From things like Noah’s Ark or the sun standing still upon Ajalon, you come down to the court memoirs of King David. Finally you reach the New Testament and history reigns supreme, and the Truth is incarnate.

He also could not believe in the book of Jonah, or Esther, as being real stories. He wrote:

The point is that the whole Book of Jonah has to me the air of being a moral romance, a quite different kind of thing from, say, the account of King David or the New Testament narratives, not pegged, like them, into any historical situation. In what sense does the Bible 'present' the Jonah story 'as historical'? Of course it doesn’t say, 'This is fiction,' but then neither does our Lord say that the Unjust Judge, Good Samaritan, or Prodigal Son are fiction (I would put Esther in the same category as Jonah for the same reason).

Evolution

Because his views of Genesis were flawed, he also believed in theistic evolution. He wrote:

For long centuries God perfected the animal form which was to become the vehicle of humanity and the image of Himself… The creature may have existed for ages in this state before it became man: it may even have been clever enough to make things which a modern archaeologist would accept as proof of its humanity. But it was only an animal because all its physical and psychical processes were directed to purely material and natural ends. Then, in the fullness of time, God caused to descend upon this organism, both on its psychology and physiology, a new kind of consciousness which could say ‘I’ and ‘me,’ which could look upon itself as an object, which knew God, which could make judgments of truth, beauty, and goodness, and which was so far above time that it could perceive time flowing past.

Purgatory and praying for the dead

Lewis held to certain Catholic beliefs. For instance, he believed in purgatory and praying for the dead. He wrote:

Of course I pray for the dead. The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me. And I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbidden. At our age, the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of intercourse with God could I have if what I love best were unmentionable to him? I believe in Purgatory. I assume that the process of purification will normally involve suffering. Partly from tradition; partly because most real good that has been done me in this life has involved it.

No literal, or eternal, hell

For Lewis, hell wasn’t a place where there “shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” but rather he believed those in hell would “enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved."

Lewis couldn’t tell how long someone would be stuck in this made-up hell. He wrote: “[The Bible] usually emphasizes the idea not of duration but of finality... but whether this eternal fixity implied endless duration–or duration at all–we cannot say.”

Lewis also talked about a possible version of hell where you are stuck in a solitary existence — a self-imposed mental prison while in purgatory. He wrote: “Whether [hell] being left to a purely mental existence, left with nothing at all but one's own envy, prurience, resentment, loneliness & self conceit, or whether there is still some sort of environment, something you could call a world or a reality, I never pretend to know.”

The existence of the devil is unimportant

For Lewis, whether you believe in the devil or not, is unimportant. He wrote: “No reference to the Devil or devils is included in any Christian Creeds, and it is quite possible to be a Christian without believing in them.”

The Bible has errors and contradictions

In various publications, he expressed the idea that the Bible is not without error; he didn’t believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. He believed the Bible was inspired by God, but there are errors are within Scripture. He wrote:

The main difficulty seems to me not the question whether the Bible is 'inspired,' but what exactly we mean by this. Our ancestors, I take it, believed that the Holy Spirit either just replaced the minds of the authors (like the supposed 'control' in automatic writing) or at least dictated to them as to secretaries... Errors of minor fact are permitted to remain.

Regarding certain events found in Scripture, even though he believed they were wrong, he still held the opinion such events were at least close to reality. Lewis wrote: "Either this is reportage—though it may no doubt contain errors—pretty close up to the facts... If it is untrue, it must be narrative of that kind. The reader who doesn't see this has simply not learned to read.”

When talking about the contradictions, or accurate portrayal of history, in the Bible, Lewis wrote: "Naïvety, error, contradiction, even (as in the cursing Psalms) wickedness are not removed. The total result is not 'the Word of God' in the sense that every passage, in itself, gives impeccable science or history.’” And because the Bible can't be trusted to properly describe historical events, we should not be "using it as an encyclopedia or an encyclical.”

Jesus was capable of errors

Lewis believed that for Jesus to be truly human, He had to have made mistakes and committed sins — especially when He was young, for Lewis believed that Christ came to understand His divinity as He grew up. For Lewis, a sinless Christ would make Him less capable of understanding us. He wrote: “Was our Lord himself incapable, qua Man, of such errors? Would it be a real human incarnation if he was?”

And last but not least, one of the worst takes from Lewis regarding Jesus. He wrote:

It is clear from the New Testament that [the first Christians] all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, 'this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.' And He was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.' It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible.

Lewis believed that the fact that Jesus was wrong, and that embarrassing errors said by Jesus were never removed from the Bible, is proof that the New Testament can be relied on as true historical events. Lewis wrote: “This passage (Mark 13:30-32) and the cry 'Why hast thou forsaken Me?' (Mark 15:34) together make up the strongest proof that the New Testament is historically reliable.”

Conclusion

C.S. Lewis is one of the most well-known names in Christianity. Narnia is a book (turned into movies) that is loved by not only Christians but unbelievers alike. His theological books are recommended by false and solid teachers alike. However, the man behind Narnia held to some very dangerous beliefs and we must be aware of them. Be aware of the dangers that often go unnoticed in Lewis’ writings. Always guard your heart when reading the literary works from anyone who isn’t a Christian.

#C.S. Lewis #Martyn Lloyd-Jones #theology #Reformed theology #doctrine #Jesus Christ #Word of God #The Bible #Scripture #Christian quotes #apostasy #heresy #Christianity #faith #religion #Christians #Narnia #The Screwtape Letters #Biblical contradiction

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christ-our-glory · 2 years

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It’s far easier to give in to sin than to confess them because most of the time we don’t even see the wrong. As Charles Spurgeon said, “It is easy to commit sin but hard to confess it... Even when sin stares [us] in the face, it still pleads innocence.”

Some sins are so heinous that we may simply be ashamed to talk about them to someone else — but even in these cases, there is hope. As Charles Spurgeon wrote, "There may be some sins of which a man cannot speak, but there is no sin which the blood of Christ cannot wash away."

Psalm 32:5 gives us the best example of how to deal with sin: “I acknowledged my sin to You, And I did not hide my guilt; I said, ‘I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord’; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

Beware of being afraid, or ashamed, of sin. I’ll finish this with the words of a 17-century Puritan, William Gurnall:

If Satan continues to hound you, call in help and do not listen to the devil’s counsel to the contrary. The very strength of some temptations lies in trying to keep them hidden. Telling a trusted, godly friend of your struggles often brings relief. Satan knows this too well, so in order more freely to rifle the soul of its peace and comfort, he frightens it into silence. “Oh, my,” Satan says, “if your friends knew such a thing of you, they would cast you off. You had better hope they never find out!” He has kept many a poor soul in misery by swearing it to secrecy. You lose two blessings by keeping the devil’s secret – the counsel of your fellow brethren, and their prayers. And what a serious loss this is!

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We are called to be holy; in fact, Scripture tells us that “without [holiness] no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Unfortunately, many Christians have a “form of godliness” without being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. They may wear a cross necklace, go to church, get baptized, and yet they aren’t saved. Unlike what C.S. Lewis believed, no one can will themselves to become a Christian (Romans 8:7). God alone draws His elect to Him. How does one become a Christian? As Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: “No man can do it, no priest can do it, no church can do it, no human or authority or power can ever do it, it's impossible. It's not within the realm of the possibilities opened to men to make anybody else a Christian... How does it happen [then]? ... It is God alone who can do that.” Many Christians live secretly in sin. They might have the outward appearance of holiness, they may fool us, and we may never find out about their allegiance to sin in this life, but God will not be mocked and they will not inherit the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul is clear: avoid the ones living unholy lives. Paul preaches total avoidance, to the point of “not even to eat” with a “so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler” (1 Corinthians 5:11). Avoiding Christians who are living outside of God’s will is a command. We must minister to them so that they may truly repent of their sins and believe, but the apostle Paul is clear that we are not to be friends with such so-called Christians living in rebellion against God's Word. Be holy, as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).

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What is a woman?

Social media exploded some time ago when a Supreme Court nominee in the US couldn’t define what a woman was. Therefore, let us examine the question that she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, give a direct answer to: “What is a woman?”

From the early 1880s when chromosomes were first discovered, up until 1955, the definition of a woman was simple: XX chromosomes are unique to women, therefore, if you have XX chromosomes you are a woman and if you have XY chromosomes you are a man. Then came the discovery of De La Chapelle Syndrome, which showed men can have XX chromosomes, and in 1972 came the discovery of Swyer Syndrome, which showed women can have XY chromosomes. Both of those syndromes threw a wrench at how we used to define a man and woman, but should they?

A woman with Swyer Syndrome will have to undergo hormonal therapy for the rest of her life, and if she starts it early enough her uterus will develop normally and she will be able to get pregnant through IVF (because her ovaries don’t produce eggs). Meanwhile, a man with De La Chapelle Syndrome, even though he has XX chromosomes, will never be able to give birth.

The intersex (or as it used to be known, “hermaphroditism”) condition is often said to be around 1.7% of the population (mostly claimed by activists who use Fausto-Sterling’s estimate), but realistically that number might only be as high as 0.018% of births.

Throughout the years, further discoveries have been made in the field of genetics. Apart from the extremely rare cases of women having XY chromosomes, and the far more common XX chromosomes, women can also have the following combinations of chromosomes: XO (Turner Syndrome - the O indicates the second X is partially or completely missing), XXX (Triple X Syndrome), XXXX (Tetrasomy X Syndrome), and XXXXX (Penta X Syndrome). Men also have a variety of chromosomal variations.

Why do all these genetic variations happen? Because of the Fall — there was no death prior to it. Death entered this world through Adam (Romans 5:12). With death came not only sin but also genetic degradation — DNA is no longer perfect. After the Fall our ancestors lived for nearly 1,000 years at first, and now we live for around 100 years.

Some people attempt to use such genetic degradation to complicate how we view men and women. These people try to use such rare chromosomal abnormalities in an attempt to broaden the meaning of womanhood and manhood; don’t fall for it. Although not all women will have XX chromosomes, they will always be born female. Although not all men will have XY chromosomes, they will always be born male. Anyone not born female will never be a woman. God has assigned your sex long before you were even born; we merely recognize what it is at birth. Genesis 5:2 tells us, “He created them male and female” and we are made how He intended us to be (Psalm 139:14).

We have always known what makes a man a man, and a woman a woman, long before the discovery of chromosomes. Mutilate yourself beyond recognition, inject yourself with hormones from the opposite gender, and change laws to accommodate your sinful mind, but you will never be able to change God's design. Any attempts to change how God has made us will be in vain in the end. The way He made you is the way you will be facing Him when you die. You will stand as you are, not as you or the world may perceive you to be. Whatever change you have made in your body will be gone when you stand before Him.

While the science of it all can be fascinating, don’t get lost in it. As A.W. Tozer wrote, “Science observes how the power of God operates, discovers a regular pattern somewhere and fixes it as a ‘law.’ The uniformity... [and] trustworthiness of God’s behavior in His world is the foundation of all scientific truth... Religion on the other hand... is concerned not with the footprints of God along the paths of creation, but with the One who treads those paths.”

I’ll finish this by answering what that USA Supreme Court nominee (who’s now a Supreme Court Justice) wouldn’t answer: a woman is a human being who was born female and she will always be female no matter how she may feel about it for it was by God’s design she was born female and nothing she can do will ever change God’s design and, in the end, even if she has mutilated her body in order to appear to be a man, all her work will be undone and she will face God as she is: female.

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When you die, you don’t stop existing, or have your memories wiped out, or become angels. You are still yourself. In these verses (Luke 9:29-30), we read about how two dead prophets (Moses and Elijah) came down to earth —momentarily because no one lingers on after death— to talk to the Lord during the Transfiguration. In Luke 16:19-31, the Lord tells of two men who died but went to very different places. One went into agony and the other into comfort. The one in torment knew the name of the other man (Luke 16:24), and he also remembered he had a family (Luke 16:27-28). His memories weren’t wiped out. In 1 Samuel 28:16-19, we read about how a dead prophet comes back to life —once again, momentarily to fulfill God’s purpose— and he still remembers king Saul (who also recognized the dead prophet), and Samuel still remembered the events of the past (1 Samuel 28:16-18). The dead prophet’s memory wasn’t wiped out. Personally, I believe that just like our sins (Acts 3:19), so will the guilt/shame of sin for those covered by the blood of the Lamb to be blotted out once we make it to heaven. The sin that clouds the mind will be gone once we leave this sinful body behind. For the first time, we will be able to think clearly. For a believer, this is an unfathomable joyful thought, while for the unbeliever such clarity will only make hell a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” due to the clear thinking (not to mention the obvious physical agony) which now haunts them for all they’ve done on this earth. Unless you “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15), all that waits for you is eternal torment (Revelation 14:10-11).

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1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. They were members of the Church, these people, they appeared to be Christians, they said the right things and up to a point their life seemed to be right, but they ‘went out’. Why? They went out ‘because they were not of us’ — they were not regenerate. They had never been born again. That is why they have gone out, says John, in a sense, to give proof of the fact that they have never really had life.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

#Martyn Lloyd-Jones #doctrine #Christian quotes #Christians #exvangelical #ex Christian #abandoned the faith #regeneration #unregenerate heart #born again Christian #Bible verse #Bible quote #leaving Christianity #church member #church #religion #Christianity #faith #theology

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Every little compromise ends up chipping away at the faith, weakening it. In our attempt to fit in the world, we end up listening to music we ought not to, or we watch TV shows and movies we ought not to, or befriending people we ought not to. We fool ourselves into thinking that the acceptance of others —or even our own selves— will matter in the long run. Who cares if the world accepts you or even likes you? You are to live for Christ; you are to be holy. People want to make it to heaven by the skin of their teeth, but even if you do make it to heaven, will you be happy there? As J.C. Ryle said, “What could a [unbeliever] do in heaven if he did get there? (...) No one can possibly be happy in a place where he is not in his element.” If you aren’t willing to live a holy life on this earth, what makes you think you’d be happy living a holy life for all eternity in heaven? How can you be content in Christ if you are content in sin? God has “brought [us] out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke [our] chains in pieces” (Psalm 107:14) and yet you foolishly keep going back to sin like “a dog returns to his own vomit” (Proverbs 26:11). Stop being chained to sin, traditions, customs, friendships, feelings, or whatever else it may be that keeps you from being holy. Your chains have been broken (Galatians 5:1) and you are now free (John 8:36), unless, of course, they haven’t been broken and you are still a slave to sin and the world. Stop with the compromises. Start to live for God and see your faith grow — you’ll be much happier living for Him than you had ever been when you lived for the world.

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No partiality

Acts 10:28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.

Now, whether saved or unsaved, regardless of color or creed, we are now to "treat others the same way you want them to treat you" (Luke 6:31). No disrespecting or thinking less of someone because of their standing with God, their ethnicity, wealth, education, or anything else.

His Word tells us that in heaven there will be a "great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes" (Revelation 7:9). All nations and ethnicities will be represented in heaven.

No nationality, ethnicity, or social status is sinful. Christian writer Thomas Coutouzis wrote: "when you show personal favoritism you are in fact looking at those whom you don't favor as having no value... Nationalism says that people within their own nation have greater value than those who live outside of it."

The past histories of many countries are filled with hurt and pain when it comes to interactions between different nationalities, creeds, and ethnicities. As theology professor Owen Strachan put it: "Whatever our past holds, the biblical way forward is to find oneness in the finished work of Christ. If we cannot find unity in our union with Christ, we simply will not attain unity. We will remain divided."

All peoples everywhere are now called to "repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Let us forgive and be forgiven (Matthew 6:15), rather than hold on to hatred and discord. Let go of the past, forgive and be forgiven, and follow the Lord with your brethren—no matter what ethnicity they may be.

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James, in James 3:9-11, poses the question: “With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?” So many of us have incorporated such an ungodly manner of speaking into our everyday vocabulary — profanity no longer shocks us. We make excuses to listen to music with it, or watch movies/TV shows filled with it, or play video games that have incorporated it into the gameplay, being friends with those who speak it often — we do everything possible in order to justify continuing pouring out, and drinking from, that “bitter water.” Profanity is just one of many great compromises many of us have made in our daily lives. We also embrace and support socially acceptable sins; we watch movies and TV shows that promote drunkenness, sexual immorality, and all that is unholy; we befriended people that the apostle Paul tells us to not even eat with! Every compromise chips away at the faith and we then wonder why we feel like our faith has stagnated, and why we feel so distant from God and ask why we don’t seem to be growing in holiness. Beware of being comfortable around sin. As J.C. Ryle wrote, “Every fresh act of sin lessens fear and remorse, hardens our hearts, blunts the edge of our conscience, and increases our evil inclination.” Do you want to guard your tongue? Then, guard your heart.

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Many Christians date unbelievers or those who follow false religions, hoping to bring them to Christ once they’re married. This goes directly against Scripture.

God may be merciful, and your spouse could turn to Him eventually, but you still have gone against His Word. You have disobeyed Him. His grace does not mean agreement with what you’ve done.

The person they are before marriage will most likely be the person they’ll be after marriage. As Living Water’s Director of Social Media Strategies, Trevor Sheatz, wrote: “If a girlfriend is regularly combative and boisterous, you can bet that she likely won’t be a very submissive wife in marriage, causing endless problems. Men, don’t compromise. Draw near to God, grow in biblical masculinity, and wait for God’s timing. It will be worth it.”

Men, you must lead from the very start. Poor leadership at the start will cause trouble down the line. As Voddie Baucham wrote, “A man who has led his wife poorly will encounter the fruit of that bad leadership when he first makes an effort to lead her well.”

Beware of embracing the “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3) in your life. The apostle Paul asks us in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness?” Opposites cannot, and should not, attract each other when it comes to Christian dating.

No marriage to a godly person can guarantee the unbeliever will ever change their behavior. We cannot transform hearts; only God can (Ezekiel 36:26).

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The grafting of the Gentiles

Romans 11:11-24 I ask, then, have they stumbled in order to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their stumbling, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. Now if their stumbling brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full number bring!

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. In view of the fact that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if I can somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them. For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? Now if the firstfruits offered up are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree, do not brag that you are better than those branches. But if you do brag—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” True enough; they were broken off by unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen but God’s kindness toward you—if you remain in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from your native wild olive and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural branches—be grafted into their own olive tree?

As Gentiles, we did not replace Israel but we were grafted in. Israel’s stumbling was our gain.

Paul also gives us, the Gentiles, a stern warning. Though some of Israel's branches "were broken off" so we could be "grafted in among them" that we may "share in the rich root," we must "not be arrogant, but be afraid" because "if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either." Remember John 15:6 in which the Lord says: "If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." Anyone who does not abide in Christ stands already condemned (John 3:18).

All are under the same condition for salvation now: "repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). In the old times, sins were overlooked with various types of sin offerings (Hebrews 10:4) but those times are now over. Acts 17:31 says God "overlooked the times of ignorance" and "God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent." Only in Christ—not our standing as those who were grafted in, or Israel itself (Matthew 3:9)—can save us. Christ, and Christ alone, is the One who saves us from the Father's wrath (Romans 5:9).

Some believe we shouldn't evangelize the Jewish people, but Paul makes it clear that only by their belief in Christ they too can be "graft them in again." As Matthew Henry wrote, "The conversion of a soul is the receiving of that soul, so the conversion of a nation. They shall be received into favour, into the church, into the love of Christ, whose arms are stretched out for the receiving of all those that will come to him. And this will be as life from the dead—so strange and surprising, and yet withal so welcome and acceptable. The conversion of the Jews will bring great joy to the church."

Christ is the root of all believers. There is “neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Abide in Him (John 15:4-10).

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God alone is Almighty, not the devil.

We are told in Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.” We belong to the Lord.

Scripture also tells us the devil is the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31) and that he is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The devil has no power over the children of God, but only over the “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3) — the ones who are not born-again Christians. He is the ruler and the god of those who opposes Christ and His kingdom.

The devil will not rule over hell. As a matter of fact, he’ll be “thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). Such a destiny isn’t only fated for the devil, but all who follow him. All who are not in Christ are His enemies. You are either with Christ or you are against Him. Remember Christ’s own words: “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).

There is only One whom you should fear: God. As Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” Worth noting this is a fear to be encouraged, for it is a reverential awe of God.

Another important point to make is that Satan not only knows Scripture inside and out but he also knows God. Beware of being a great theologian like the devil — knowing God without having a heart for Him.

Ultimately, the devil, along with all who oppose God, will kneel before the King of kings (Philippians 2:10-11).

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christ-our-glory · 2 years

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Sin, of any kind, is unholy. Although every sin will keep us from heaven if we embrace them (Hebrews 10:26-27), not every sin calls you to be “put to death” over them. Sins such as homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), adultery (Leviticus 20:10), bestiality (Exodus 22:19), murder (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:12), etc., are all called for those who have committed them to be put to death. God takes sins seriously, which means that Jesus, being God, also takes them seriously. When nearly all of mankind drowned to death in the Great Flood, or when people were burned to death in Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus was neither absent nor contrary to such decisions. Thankfully, God also takes grace and atonement seriously as well. We are told in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin leads to death but, thankfully, because “God so loved the world” “He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Sadly, many Christians remain forever stuck with faith without repentance. They remain "attracted" to their sin, even though they don't practice it. They say they are in Christ, while also dwelling in their sins within their minds. Remember Christ’s words: “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Mortify your sin — no matter where it may reside; don't merely set it aside. God saw fit to put to death His only begotten Son in your place. He died on that cross so you may live. Therefore, put to death your sinful desires and be a slave to Christ; no longer be a slave to sin but now be a slave to righteousness (Romans 6:8-18). Repent of your sins and believe in the Christ who has died for you.

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christ-our-glory · 2 years

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The call to evangelize

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Even though He already separated those who will be saved from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), we don't know who they are. We are not exempt from the responsibility to preach to people (Romans 10:14).

We will try to win souls for Christ, it's our nature. Why should we want people to perish? Why would we want to be alone in heaven? As Charles Spurgeon said, "Do you want to go to heaven alone? I fear you will never go there. Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that.” The apostle Paul would often try to "win" souls for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-22), and we should too.

Although we tell of the Good News to others, remember this: we don't save anyone, God alone does. We cannot "force" someone to believe, no matter how hard we try, for God only draws those whom He wants to Himself (John 6:44). The elect (and that's how we're called in Scripture [Matthew 24:24; Luke 18:7; Titus 1:1; Romans 8:33; etc.]) will find their way to God if they are meant to be saved; not when we want to, but when He has appointed them to.

If everyone who would be saved was born with a big, visible, letter X somewhere on their body, then we could preach only to those and ignore everyone else. However, we don't know who the elect are, therefore, we must preach to everyone all the same and hope at least a few seeds land on good soil as we hear in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15).

God's election doesn't diminish our evangelistic role. Charles Spurgeon talked about how "Rowland Hill, when he was asked to preach only to the elect, said that he would do so if somebody would chalk them on the back." Since we cannot know who is saved or not, we must preach all the same to everyone.

Don’t hide your faith. Don’t keep the Good News only to you. As He told His disciples, so should we “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

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