WE ARE FREE TO CHOOSE BUT NOT FREE TO CHOOSE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CHOICES

Posted on by

Mercy is the biblical term for not getting the punishment we deserve. But mercy does not do away with consequences. Even though God is ‘longsuffering and abundant in mercy,’ He reserves the right to visit the consequences of sin on future generations.

“The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’” Numbers 14:18

Even though David was forgiven for his double sins of adultery and murder, the consequence of his sins would be the death of the child conceived in immorality.

And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.’ 2 Samuel 12:13-14

Mercy spares you from punishment. But it doesn’t always spare you or others from the consequences of your sin.

Old Testament doctrine: “Generational curse”

In Romans, chapters 5 through 7, the apostle Paul argues that human sin and death are a corporate problem rather than an individual one. He tells us that “one man’s sin [Adam] brought guilt to all people” (Romans 5:18) and that “sin entered the world because one man sinned. And death came because of sin” (Romans 5:12).

This is why each one of us remains a “slave of sin” unless we’re “set free” by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:20-22).

So here’s what the “generational curse” is really about, the skeletons in your closet weren’t put there by your dad or your grandmother or your great-aunt. They’re the work of your First Parents. You were in Adam when he broke God’s commandment. You were condemned with him. But that’s not the end of the story — praise God!

Just as you were in Adam when he fell from grace, so now, if you believe in Jesus, you are in Christ through faith. This is what Paul means when he says that “one man [Jesus] did obey. That is why many people will be made right with God.” (Romans 5:19).

To get out from under the “generational curse,” you have to be grafted into a whole new family tree (Romans 11:11-24).

New Testament teaching: Salvation is individual

There is only one standard God uses to judge the world and determine who is saved and who isn’t: faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible confirms this in several passages, including:“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” 1 John 5:12,

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” John 3:17-18

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah wrote 600 years before the birth of Christ, and he anticipated this New Testament perspective. That ultimately, you will answer for your own actions:

“In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes. But the children have a bitter taste in their mouths.’ Instead, everyone will die for their own sin. The one who eats sour grapes will taste how bitter they are” Jeremiah 31:29-30

Every individual is responsible for their own choices

In the end, the only choice that really counts is how you answer this question: “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22, ESV)

Will you reject Him? Then you will receive just punishment and second death in the Lake of Fire. It won’t be because of the skeletons in your family closet. It will be because you didn’t embrace the gift of God’s forgiveness and grace through Jesus Christ (John 1:17, John 3:16).

Or will you receive Him? You will reign with Jesus and the Saints for one thousand years (Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom) and then after the White Throne judgement with Jesus and our Heavenly Father on a new Earth where only the righteous dwell. If so, it won’t be because you somehow managed to avoid the mistakes that previous generations made. It will be because you accepted God’s merciful offer of unmerited deliverance and salvation.

No one can make that decision for you. It’s your decision to make. Even the worst offender in a long line of sinners can be saved if they turn to Christ.

Set theology aside for a moment. Common sense tells us that behavior and attitude problems tend to run in families. Just like physical characteristics of height, weight, hair color, and complexion.

In the same way, certain types of sin can pass from generation to generation. This is particularly true of addictive behaviors such as alcoholism. Similarly, physical and sexual abuse might become ingrained in the psychological legacy of certain families.

However, none of this should be viewed in terms of an irreversible “curse.” Spiritual deliverance is available to everyone who sincerely calls upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). And there are many sources of professional assistance for those who need practical help — pastors, therapists, counselors, and doctors.

UNDERSTANDING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN EVANGELISM

Posted on by

The church is simply to be found faithful to the task of heralding God’s message. We are to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth, which for most people, means we are to bring the gospel into our workplaces, friendships, families, and so forth. All that is required of us is to look to where God has placed us currently and simply to be found faithful to the task of proclaiming the good news to those who are dead in their sins.

It requires that we not be ashamed of the good news of the gospel, which includes not being ashamed of the bad news of God’s judgment against sin (perish in the Lake of Fire). “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16). There is a second death. The Bible is explicit about it.

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” Revelation 2:11

“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6

Punishment and Second Death

Whatever the result of our proclamation of the gospel may be, whether a hardening or a softening of the heart, God effectually uses our message for His purposes. We may not necessarily like the implications of God using our proclamation of judgment and salvation to effectively harden an individual’s heart. We may not believe the implications of this are even fair—but we ought to remember in the midst of everything that we don’t want fair, because our idea of what’s fair doesn’t square with God’s.

What’s fair is God condemning every man, woman, and child to an eventual second death in the Lake of Fire. What’s fair is that the only blameless One to have ever existed would not be put to the cross to pay for the sins of others. What you and I desire is mercy and grace, because mercy is not giving people what they deserve, which is condemnation, and grace is giving people what they don’t deserve, which is no condemnation. The gospel is a scandal to the world because it sees the murderer, rapist, racist, and the like, on equal footing with the sweet old lady who doesn’t confess Christ—and offers them all the same grace of God in Christ. What that very simply means is that the gospel is not barred from anyone on the basis of their own doing or choosing, but rather, on the sovereign choice of God Himself.

If those who struggle with evangelizing were to focus on the sovereignty of God in evangelism, it would free many a burdened soul up to take joy in the work that God has given them, realizing that whether the person they share the gospel with rejects or receives it, God is glorified in accomplishing His work through the preached word.

In some cases, God actually uses the proclamation of truth as a means to close one’s mind from repentance, we can guard our hearts by recognizing that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass. What that means with respect to evangelism is that sometimes, the preaching of the gospel actually serves as the means through which an individual’s heart is hardened against God. In other words, not every instance of proclaiming a message of repentance is designed by God to bring the people who hear it to repentance and faith. In fact, Scripture often demonstrates the opposite is true—that the proclamation serves to condemn the recipients rather than restore. A great example of this is found in the commissioning of the prophet Isaiah:

“Go, and tell this people: keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” and He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, houses are without people and the land is utterly desolate, the Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, and it will again be subject to burning, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump” (Isaiah 6:8-13).

Christ Himself taught in parables for the express purpose of concealing the truth of the Kingdom of God, lest those whom it was not granted to would hear and repent (Matt. 13:10-16; Mk. 4:10-12; Luk. 8:9-10). The apostle Paul even picks this idea up when he speaks of God giving mankind up to the lusts of their hearts, dishonorable passions, and a debased mind (Rom. 1:18–32). When you look through the entirety of the Old and New Testaments, what is plainly seen is that God is at work to harden the hearts of whom He desires, which is most clearly expressed in Rom. 9:6-29. In every instance where the edict is rendered a “lost-cause” against the recipients of the message, the truth of God has been made self-evident so that man is without excuse.

“”What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.“Romans 9:14-18

None of this is a matter of controversy in Scripture. Instead, election and condemnation are simply part of the cosmic reality of judgment and salvation unfolding before us as the plan of God is revealed. In the midst of this, Scripture unabashedly upholds the tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility without much qualification. The important thing to note in all of this is that it is not as if those under this severe indictment from the Lord are under it without cause. In every instance, the people have either forsaken the covenant or rejected their Creator willingly. The commission of Isaiah serves to show us this reality quite clearly, in that chapters 2-5 give clear evidence that the people plainly rejected the terms of their covenant with God, and as a result, He would send the prophet to seal their fate.

This post is based on an article by Grayson Gilbert “A Lesson from Isaiah on the Sovereignty of God” http://www.patheos ,com

IS TRUMP DRAINING THE SWAMP AS PROMISED?

Posted on by

Even before Trump’s January 2018 State of the Union Address, his administration had waded into the swamp and begun the cleanup process, fully embracing 64 percent of the agenda items proposed by the conservative Heritage Foundation for changing the way Washington works.

Pulling America out of the Paris Agreement on climate change turned out to be a major public relations victory for the president, sending a warning salvo across the bow of Washington, D.C.’s entrenched climate-change lobby and earning plaudits from his anti-globalist base.

Ending Obama-era regulations on net neutrality was another.

Then proposing and passing a once-in-a-generation tax reform package—over the objections of legislators from both parties—was an important sequel leading to, contrary to some media warnings, higher take-home pay and bonuses for American workers.

Using the provisions of the Congressional Review Act, the administration worked with Congress to eliminate 14 regulations adopted in the waning days of the Obama administration. The president made it clear he intended to wage war on over  regulation and began by lifting Obama’s moratorium on coal leases on federal lands. He then instructed all executive branch agencies to review all new rules, with the goal of eliminating two regulations for every new one. By year’s end, the administration had withdrawn, delayed or made inactive 1500 proposed regulations, saving more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory costs, with the promise of increasing savings to $9.8 billion with regulatory cost-cutting in 2018.

Another priority of President Trump’s agenda is the nomination and confirmation of conservative constitutional judges, perhaps best illustrated by the appointments of Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. Trump also appointed and gained confirmation for 12 circuit court of appeals judges before the end of his first year in office. This was the largest number of appellate judges confirmed during the first year of any American president. However, the challenge would become more complicated the following year, as more than 90 of the president’s appointments were blocked in the Senate.

Nominating and confirming strict constitutionals to the federal bench, as the Trump team has repeatedly pointed out, is an important step in reducing bureaucratic entanglements since most federal cases are settled at the appellate level. As many as 8,000 cases are filed before the Supreme Court each year, which is far more than any court can consider. Plenary review with oral arguments by attorneys for both sides is granted in about 80 cases each term, and as many as 100 cases may be disposed of without plenary review. Only one of every 700 cases heard by the appellate courts will find its way to the Supreme Court, so reducing the number of activist judges, eliminating needless bureaucracy and resolving disputes at the earliest possible level is a victory for the rule of law.

And by God’s grace, we will see an increase in this kind of victory in the Supreme Court. I encourage you to read more about this topic in Steve Strang’s Trump Aftershock.