Who Saves?

One of the most disputed topics within Christendom is the subject of salvation. There's no question that Jesus saves. This is fundamental to the Christian faith.

Many controversies, rather, arise from the "how" of this salvation. That is, how are we saved? Does Jesus do all the work? Or do we have some part in our being saved through free will?

Without directly answering these questions at this time, instead I propose an analogy:

If a there was a fire in a building, and a woman was trapped inside. Imagine that she is discombobulated from the smoke, and therefore direction-less and confused.

Who is most worthy of being praised? Is it the firefighter that shouts out to her and guides her out of the burning building, without taking a step into it?

Or is it the firefighter that risks his life by entering the building? Only this firefighter does not only look for her regardless of the harm that may come to him, he finds her. And once he finds her, he picks her up and carries her out to safety.

Who is most worthy of being praised?

The firefighter that relies on the incapacitated free will of the woman, or the firefighter that takes it upon himself to save the woman?

We do have a part in salvation. But our part, our role, is in being the saved ones, not the saviour. If we do try to wrest that role from God, then we are glorifying ourselves. It would be like that woman saying that she was the one who ultimately walked out of that building alone, so she deserves the credit.

The firefighter, then, is not the one most worthy of being praised, but only partially worthy. Similarly, God is not the one most worthy of being praised in the hearts of those who deny the sovereignty of God.

One person told me that there is nothing wrong with having different opinions about how God is in control. But I sincerely pray for him to understand that there is something very wrong. And that is, as a people whose ultimate end is to glorify God, we must believe that God is most worthy of being praised!

Who sent His son to die on the cross? Did we?
Who died on the cross for our sin? Did we?
Whose story makes possible our salvation? Us?
By no means! It is God!

A post from Team Pyro that I really liked

Proverbic distillation:

For the Christian, all misery is temporary.
For the non-Christian, all pleasure is temporary.

More poetically:

The sorrows of the godly are fleeting,
As are the pleasures of the wicked.

Scriptures:

Line A:
Psalm 16:11; 23:6; 73:23-26; Isaiah 24:1-9; Matthew 5:3-12; Luke 6:20-23; Romans 8:18, 28-39; 16:20; 2 Corinthians 4:16 — 5:10; James 1:2-3, 12; 1 Peter 1:5-6; 5:10; 1 John 2:17; Revelation 21:4; 22

Line B:
Psalm 1:4-6; 17:14a; 37:10; 73:16-20; Proverbs 10:28; 11:7; Matthew 16:26; Luke 6:24-26; 12:16-21; 16:19-31; Romans 2:5, 9; Colossians 3:5-6; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Hebrews 11:25b; James 5:1-6; 1 John 2:17; Revelation 20:10, 15; 21:8

Quote from "Between Two Worlds"

As many of you know, the word for “church” in the New Testament is the Greek word “Ekklesia.” It refers to those who have been called out of darkness in order to be called together by God into his presence. In other words, we have been “called out” of bondage and “called into” community so that we might worship God the Father, through God the Son, in God the Spirit together. Thirsting for God together and receiving from God together is what we were all created and designed for. This is why I look forward to Sunday mornings more than any other time of the week. When I am with God's people and we are worshipping together (praying, praising, preaching), my anticipation for the “great gathering” on the last day intensifies. What we do together on Sunday mornings is nothing less than a glorious rehearsal of what we will experience when the “ultimate assembly” is fully and finally brought together by Christ. Our weekly worship is a foretaste of that day when our “feasting” will be permanent and our “fasting” will be over. I could dream about that all day long! Wait a second...it's Sunday...I can! And so can you.

Reformed Conference in Toronto!

Hello anyone who reads this blog! I've certainly been waiting for a reformed conference to come to Toronto... and guess what? There's one coming!

Check it out: link.

There is one pastor name Thabiti Anyabwile and one theologian names James White. Both are fantastic teachers, each in their own right.

No doubt, this will be on the scholarly side, but I'm sure some people from Faith Church would like to go.

Lies!

"I got the camera bag for fifty dollars," says Will.
"But that's so much!" replied Melissa.
"Don't worry, we'll use it well," rebutted Will.

It was at that point that Will casually bent over to pick up the garbage, when the receipt for the camera bag stuck out of his back pocket. In an instant, Melissa grabbed the receipt. She curiously read what was written and exclaimed: "Liar!"

"What the, huh?" floundered Will.
"You said the camera bag was fifty dollars," said Melissa. "Why then does the receipt say that it was 80 dollars?"

Will, like a child caught with his hand in the piggy bank, could only somberly reply: "I lied"

All lies are bad.

To think that white lies, small lies, or half-truths are okay is a lie in itself. The enemy wants us to think that the little sins we commit are inconsequential. He wants us to fail by convincing us that we can flippantly and facetiously ignore our lies. But that does not glorify God. Nor does it progress the gospel in our lives or in others.

There are three things that I've learned from this true incident.

1. Lies, no matter what, do not build up the faith of our Christian friends.

By lying, we undermine the earnestness of praying for the one we lied to. By lying, we essentially sin against a brother/sister; and if the lie persists, we sin also by not promoting their Christ-likeness, whereby we deny them the ability to forgive us of our lie (Matthew 18:25).

2. Lies, no matter what, do not build up our own faith.

By lying, we show that we do not have the integrity in our hearts to share in the Ultimate Truth, which is the gospel (1 John 2:21).

3. Lies, no matter what, do not glorify God.

God wants us to be pure so that we can glorify God (Philippians 4:8; Titus 1:15). No one can glorify God if he/she is not cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Lies prevent us from worshiping God.

In the North American worldview, lies don't seem to be as major as murder. But if we truly understood the glory of God, then it is clear that all sins are equally devastating to our souls.

Why? Because the mode of all sin is to "de-god" God. In other words, the mode of sin is our very natures. Our natures are inclined to sin, as it is evident through our acts of sin. And when we are inclined to sin, then we "de-god" God and "Godify" our sinful nature. This, for obvious reasons, offends God. No glory should be given to anyone but God.

"Lord, we need help.
We are intrinsically God-defying and sinful.
Our lies testify to our inability to worship You.
Lead us to your mercy.
Forgive us.
And may we be transformed by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.
And on that claim, and that claim alone, do we cry:
'Abba, Father,
Holy is the Lord,
Most worthy of praise!'"