A Believers Liberty In God’s Word.

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:5

Here in Texarkana, we were blessed to have one of our supported Missionaries to visit us last Wednesday night. Brother Dan Sullivan Missionary in Thailand, Brother Dan brought a study titled “Soul Liberty” which is the base for this article. While I have titled it different is all means the same thing, in fact some people would title it “Christian Freedom”. As Christians we are bound to Gods word, the doctrine or teachings of the bible are facts and cannot be changed for any thought or reason. As Sovereign Grace Baptist we are bound to the doctrines and beliefs of God’s word as has been handed down through history from Jesus Christ until now. Men and women have worked hard, even died to preserve God’s blessed Truths from generation to generation. And we here in the Twenty-First Century must also preserve the truth of the scriptures. It is not doctrine I am speaking of here, but rather the beliefs in God’s word that we differ. I have for years wrote, preached, and begged Christians to be tolerant of one another and our different beliefs. Once again I want to remind all my beloved Family in Christ and especially my beloved Minister Brethren that not a one of us is perfect in our belief of the Scriptures. We are all sinners, and come short of the perfectness of the Holy Scriptures. If any person does not allow room in their thoughts for error, then that person might as well stop their learning of God’s Holy Word. The fact is we are all subject to error and we must all allow each other room for error. Remembering our own frames and how fragile we truly are. I agree with Brother Sullivan when he said the Baptist Doctrine are fact and unmovable and any true Baptist will believe them and stand on them, and they are not subject to argument any more. However, there are some interpretation of the scriptures that are debatable because of the way you and I might interpret them. God said "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation...For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:20 - 21 meaning man did not write the word of God, but were writing as God moved them. It is God’s word and therefore it is exactly what God wants it to be. We as Believers or churches cannot change it and make it a private interpretation. Sometimes we will find things in the bible that you will see one way and I will see another way, but who is right, you or me? Here in Romans the subject is about whether Christians can eat meat or should we abstain from meat. God answered in verse 3 "Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him." Do not offend each other, because you are not the judge of your brother or sister, but of God. Folks, the truth is there are some things that we are going to interpret in the scriptures that others see another way. As Christians and church members we must allow for error on both sides. Beloved, this is a fact, if I separated myself from every Christian I disagreed with on something scriptural, then I would most likely be alone. God said we are to be acceptant of one another, because you are not the judge of what is right or wrong, God is. Please allow me to ask this question, if by chance you are wrong on something and you chastised another believer, or withdrew fellowship from another brother because of this non-doctrine difference, how will you feel when you stand before Jesus Christ to find out that you were wrong?  As “A Believers Liberty In God’s Word” is allowed freedom to their interpretation of God’s word, and still be able to worship and serve together as Saints of God. If you judge another Christians beliefs as though there is no room for error on both sides, then you will be judged by Jesus Christ the very same way. God told us two very important things when we judge another believer, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:" Luke 6:37 and "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." John 7:24 Brother things that are of private interpretation are just that and should be just that and nothing more. I have personally had a couple of brethren whom I love withdraw fellowship from me because they disagree on a private interpretation of a non-doctrinal issue. They will account before Jesus Christ for their intolerance of “A Believers Liberty In God’s Word.” May God be merciful to them in judgement. Beloved it is ok for you to see a scripture one way and I see it another, we are not perfect Theologians of the scripture. Even our beloved first churches did not see everything perfect. There were many errors in the Lords first churches, and we still error today. Now for this final thought, we are not God’s policemen. God did not appoint us to police the belief of other Christians or church members. And the reason He did not is because there is only one single perfect being and His name is Jehovah, and we know Him as Jesus the Christ. Paul finished this thought in Romans chapter 14 with these words, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12 Brethren, you do not have to account for me before God, I do. Allow room for error because the error might actually be on your part and not mine. Let them that eat meat eat it, and those that eat herbs eat them, it’s ok, we still worship, pray, study, and learn together in Christ. “He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.” Romans 14:6 Let us all worship together and work together, for we are small as it is in this world, and let us not quarrel over little things. Again, while the doctrine of the church has been handed down from Jesus, Paul, Peter, and etc., not everything we believe is Baptist church doctrine. Let us all love one another and study together to show ourselves approved to God, we are only here for a short time and we must hand down a unified loving church to our next generation. We must ask ourselves, what kind of a church attitude are we handing down? What kind of an example are you personally handing down? Is it godly?      

Frustrating God

1 Thessalonians 4:8 “He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.”

This week we want to look again at the word “frustrate” taken from Galatians 2:21 where Paul wrote "I do not frustrate the grace of God..." that is, he will not render the grace of God worthless or bring it to naught by saying that salvation is by works. Because it cannot be by both works and grace because one makes the other worthless. This week we see the word “despiseth” which is the same Greek word as frustrate. Here Paul writes that “He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God…” Despising God here is disobeying what God commands. When Christians disobey God’s word they are not despising or rendering man’s words worthless, but rather God’s. Your Pastor does not preach, nor did the Apostle Paul write our own words but the words of God, therefore to render them useless by disobeying them is to frustrate God. See God is Sovereign and when people do not recognize God as Sovereign then they in reality render God useless. People who does not recognize His word as His Own Sovereign Word, then they fail to recognize His authority. It is the same in salvation, when men make-up their own salvation then it renders God’s salvation as worthless, therefore rendering God useless. God designed salvation to bring Himself and His Son Jesus The Christ glory. Therefore, every time a sinner is saved then the Angels in heaven rejoice in their praise to God because He has graciously saved a sinner. This giving all glory to God, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for their miraculous act in combining to save a sinner. Now let us explore some ways that God is frustrated or rendered useless by Christians, churches, and Pastors, today. When God is taken out of salvation then God is no longer needed in order for a sinner to be saved. In other words, if a Preacher is good at convincing a sinner to choose to repent and the sinner makes that decision, then who is to be praised? Why would the Angels in heaven rejoice over that? They are created to praise God, not man. Ah, then in this type of salvation the sinner and the Preacher are to be praised and not God. God said in Romans 1:24 "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:" because they no longer worship God, but themselves leaving God out of salvation altogether. According to them their salvation is to their praise and glory because God had nothing to do with it, rendering Him useless. God said in Romans 1:25 “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” Now if you look at real salvation everything praises God, The Father chooses and predestinated everything, The Son died to furnish the sin cleansing blood, and the Holy Spirit delivers salvation to the sinner, this renders man useless instead of God. See God is King in all things and this is a truth some people have forgotten, refused to believe, or simply have ignored this truth. God said that salvation “…it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” Romans 9:16 Therefore God saves whomever He chooses. See, God has that right since He is the creator of all things, He has the right to make a vessel unto honor like Jacob, and one unto dishonor like Esau, whether man likes it or not. Romans 9:21 “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” Rendering God useless in salvation is rendering man’s salvation worthless. God saves sinners and man has nothing to do with it. God blesses us in allowing us to preach the gospel, but God saves sinners and He does not need man to get it done. Therefore, while so many render God useless we as Sovereign Grace Baptist praise God and we render man useless. God needs no one to accomplish His will.

Frustrating Jesus Christ.

John 12:48 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

Last week we looked at “Frustrating The Grace Of God”. We learned last week that the word “Frustrating” has many differing definitions which all lead to the definition - to reject, - it is also like, to set aside, disannul, bring to nought. The ugliest definition is “bring to nought” which is what is done when Salvation by grace is rejected for any sort of works on our part. God boldly said salvation cannot be of both works and grace because one cancels the other out. Romans 4:4 - 5 "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt…But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." In our text scripture John 12:48 it says “He that rejecteth me…” the word “reject” is the identical Greek word as Frustrating in Galatians 2:2. So you might ask “how does one render Jesus Christ disannulled or bring Him to nought? Well, Jesus answered that question in John 12:48 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words…”. By rejecting Jesus Christ as Saviour one is making Him worthless to themselves. If Jesus Christ has no true value to you as Saviour then He serves no purpose to you. It is the same with God’s grace, either it is everything in bringing you to your salvation or nothing. God promised that Jesus Christ would come and save sinners “…thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 God also promised that "...being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." Romans 5:9 Since this is true then we must also believe that salvation is in Him and Him alone because Jesus Christ said it absolutely was. "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39 Why would they testify of Him and not our works, because He is salvation, and Him alone. The way one can frustrate Jesus Christ is exactly the way they frustrate God’s grace, they render it useless through false thinking in works. If one truly examines the scriptures, they cannot determine that works have any place in salvation at all. Salvation is not Grace and works and salvation is not Jesus and works, otherwise both grace and Jesus are rendered totally useless. This is properly defined in   Ephesians 2:8 - 9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God...Not of works, lest any man should boast." If salvation is of Grace and through Jesus Christ, then nothing else belongs in it. What else could be a part of it? Pastors and Ministers frustrate both grace and Jesus Christ every single time they preach that works, any sort of works have any part in salvation. This is God’s record, recorded in His word, and to deny it is to deny God’s word and truth. God sent His Son to seek and to save and this mission has nothing to do with the efforts of man and his works. If you are saved, truly saved, then you were saved by God’s wonderful grace and through His Wonderful Son Jesus Christ. Paul summed this all up in his letter to the church as Rome in Romans 3:24 - 25 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” 

Frustrating The Grace Of God

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians 2:21

 

The subject we want to look at today is “frustrate the grace of God”. In order to understand this in its proper usage we look at the Greek word for “frustrate” which is atheteō and that means - to set aside, disannul, bring to nought – therefore Paul is writing here not to disannul God’s grace. So the next question is how does one render God’s grace worthless? Well in reality we cannot, God’s grace is God’s and not ours. It is only our grace once God gives it to us and believe me once you receive God’s grace, the last thing you want to do is to lose it. Paul is speaking to those who believe that you are not saved by God’s grace but rather by some sort of works. See if one is saved by works, and that is works of any sort then they void out grace. Grace and works will not go together. God says that grace is an act of giving, and works are a payment of debt which we cannot pay. If one earns salvation, then it is of works and not of grace. Paul defined it this way in Romans 4:4 - 5 “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt…But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Now, what is counted as righteousness, his faith. Because works voids out grace. Paul went on to say in Ephesians 2:8 - 9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God...Not of works, lest any man should boast.” One cannot boast if salvation is by grace, but God has nowhere to glory if salvation is of works. People who want to earn salvation by works, any sort of works is foolish because they cannot be saved. Nowhere in the scriptures is it even hinted that one is saved by works, not in one single place, without stretching the scriptures beyond their bounds and causing it to change from its original meaning. If God said in Ephesians 2:9 “Not of works…” then it would be contradictive for Him to say elsewhere that it is of works. God also said it frustrates the grace of God to say it is any other way than by grace. Let us look at the context in which Paul was speaking in Galatians 2, in verse 20 Paul said "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Paul is saying that the life we have in our redeemed state is in Christ and not ourselves. Paul said the life “I live; yet not I…” it is not my life but the life of Christ in me. Now if the life we live in our redeemed state is Christ, then how is it by works. God said that salvation is a Gift, “…it is the gift of God…” Eph. 2:8, and if a gift of grace then where is works? People sing these words “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me....” but kill the whole blessing of grace with works. God point blank said (1.) that it is not of works, and (2.) that it is of grace and here people want to change the record of God and tell people that it is earned by our works. Folks here is Gods record and if your Pastor tells you any different he has changed the truth of God into a lie. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son...He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:11 – 12 According to God’s record salvation is by God’s grace and through the blood of Jesus Christ. We cannot simply change God’s Holy Script, but people do it all the time. Please do not frustrate the grace of God, it is too valuable. God said "And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

 (31.) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:30 – 31 again nothing about works, it is all about the grace of God and in Jesus Christ.