The Arms of Divine Grace

The Puritan writer Matthew Henry must be one of the most quotable of all the Christian authors. He had an amazing ability to grab ahold of a great text or a great doctrine and to reduce it to a few sentences that beautifully sum it all up. Recently I went looking for what he said about suffering, and found a few powerful quotes. 

"He never intended this world for our rest, and therefore never appointed us to take our ease in it. This travail is given to us to make us weary of the world and desirous of the remaining rest. It is given to us that we may be kept in action, and may always have something to do; for we were none of us sent into the world to be idle. Every change cuts us out some new work, which we should be more solicitous about, than the event.

The calamities of the righteous are preparing them for their future blessedness, and the wicked, while their days are prolonged, are but ripening for ruin. There is a judgment to come, which will rectify this seeming irregularity, to the glory of God and the full satisfaction of all his people, and we must wait with patience till then."   Continue at Tim Challies

Is Anyone More Holy than Anyone Else? The Missing Category of the 'Righteous Man'

So, what exactly is a “righteous” person? Surely we cannot suggest that all these passages are simply referring to the imputed righteousness of Christ (as important as that is).

“No one is more holy than anyone else.” That was the statement I heard in a recent sermon. At first, I thought I must have misheard it. But, I had not. The point being made to the congregation was clear: abandon your ‘self-righteousness’ and recognize that you are no holier than the person in the pew next to you.

 

Now, statements like that sound compelling at first. Humble, even. After all, we are trained to go after those Pharisees among us (usually defined as anyone who appears to be holier than we are!). Moreover, we have the reformed doctrine of total depravity entrenched in our minds, reminding us that our hearts are wicked beyond what we can imagine. And, above all this, surely Christ is most glorified when we acknowledge that no one is more holy than anyone else. Right?

 

 Well, not really. Although the Bible certainly condemns self-righteousness, and while we are certainly much more sinful than we ever could realize, there is something missing here. What is missing—ironically in many reformed circles—is the clear biblical category of the “righteous man.” Noah is described this way in Gen 6:9: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” Joseph of Arimathea was described this way in Luke 23:50: “Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man.” Zechariah and Elizabeth were described this way: “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 1:6). And there are countless passages throughout Scripture that contrast the “righteous” with the “wicked” (e.g., Ps 1:5-6; 32:1-2; 37:16-17; 75:10).

 

So, what exactly is a “righteous” person? Surely we cannot suggest that all these passages are simply referring to the imputed righteousness of Christ (as important as that is). No, it appears the Bible uses this category of the “righteous man” for believers who display a marked consistency and faithfulness in walking with God. Of course, this doesn’t mean these people are perfect, sinless, or able to merit their own salvation. It simply means that the Spirit is at work in such a way that they bear steady fruit in their lives.   Continue at Michael Kruger

 

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John 3:16 Does Not Say God Loves The World

Before we get started, we must understand that no one is righteous, no not one, and none seek after God (Rom 3:10-11) – no one.

 Romans 3:10-11 KJV As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after (ekzeteo) God.

after (ekzeteo) – it is a verb that means to seek out, investigate, to seek out for one’s self, beg, crave.

The bible states that men do not seek God unless God, who has sets everything according to His will,  has chosen us (His elect) from the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:4-6 KJV According as he hath chosen (εξελεξατο) us in him before (προ) the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5) Having predestinated (προορισας) us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will (θεληματος), (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

εξελεξατο – eklego – this is a past tense verb that means He ( God ) has already chosen before the foundation of the world. The word is derived from eklektos that means chosen, elect.   Keep Reading...

Declared Righteous: Rome vs. the Reformation

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