I will add yet another encouragement for the man that is coming to Jesus Christ. Art thou coming? Art thou coming, indeed? Why,
1. Then this thy coming is by virtue of God's call. Thou art called. Calling goes before coming. Coming is not of works, but of him that calleth. "He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would; and they came unto him" (Mark 3:13).
2. Art thou coming? This is also by virtue of illumination. God has made thee see; and, therefore, thou art coming. So long as thou wast darkness, thou lovedst darkness, and couldst not abide to come, because thy deeds were evil; but being now illuminated and made to see what and where thou art, and also what and where thy Saviour is, now thou art coming to Jesus Christ; "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee," saith Christ, "but my Father which is in heaven" (Matt 16:17).
3. Art thou coming? This is because God hath inclined thine heart to come. God hath called thee, illuminated thee, and inclined thy heart to come; and, therefore, thou comest to Jesus Christ. It is God that worketh in thee to will, and to come to Jesus Christ. Coming sinner, bless God for that he hath given thee a will to come to Jesus Christ. It is a sign that thou belongest to Jesus Christ, because God has made thee willing to come to him (Psa 110:3). Bless God for slaying the enmity of thy mind; had he not done it, thou wouldst as yet have hated thine own salvation.
4. Art thou coming to Jesus Christ? It is God that giveth thee power: power to pursue thy will in the matters of thy salvation, is the gift of God. "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do" (Phil 2:13). Not that God worketh will to come, where he gives no power; but thou shouldest take notice, that power is an additional mercy. The church saw that will and power were two things, when she cried, "Draw me, we will run after thee" (Song 1:4). And so did David too, when he said, "I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart" (Psa 119:32). Will to come, and power to pursue thy will, is double mercy, coming sinner.
5. All thy strange, passionate, sudden rushings forward after Jesus Christ, coming sinners know what I mean, they also are thy helps from God. Perhaps thou feelest at some times more than at others, strong stirrings up of heart to fly to Jesus Christ; now thou hast at this time a sweet and stiff gale of the Spirit of God, filling thy sails with the fresh gales of his good Spirit; and thou ridest at those times as upon the wings of the wind, being carried out beyond thyself, beyond the most of thy prayers, and also above all thy fear and temptations.
6. Coming sinner, hast thou not now and then a kiss of the sweet lips of Jesus Christ, I mean some blessed word dropping like a honey-comb upon thy soul to revive thee, when thou art in the midst of thy dumps?
7. Does not Jesus Christ sometimes give thee a glimpse of himself, though perhaps thou seest him not so long a time as while one may tell twenty.
8. Hast thou not sometimes as it were the very warmth of his wings overshadowing the face of thy soul, that gives thee as it were a gload upon thy spirit, as the bright beams of the sun do upon thy body, when it suddenly breaks out of a cloud, though presently all is gone away? Well, all these things are the good hand of thy God upon thee, and they are upon thee to constrain, to provoke, and to make thee willing and able to come, coming sinner, that thou mightest in the end be saved.Exerpt from: Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ, a Sermon by John Bunyan. Provided by John Bunyan Online, a division of Mount Zion Online, a ministry of Mount Zion Bible Church in Pensacola, FL.
Old Doxoblogy
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
An Invitation to Christ Based on Irresistible Grace
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19 comments:
Pretty good country preacher, wouldn't you say?
Liked his ox, too, 'till he fell into a ditch on the Sabbeth.
No, wait...that was his brother, Paul.
Why is it so important to you people to insist on these doctrines (ULI) that cast a pall on the God's offer of salvation? If He truly does it this way, then why can't we just wait until we get there to find out about it? Thinking about all of this makes me think of God as a person who created individuals knowing they would go to hell; IT IS DISTURBING! Leave it alone and preach the GOOD NEWS already. Or does it make you feel special because He chose to draw you and not some other sinner?
I guess because God has revealed them in Scripture and intends that we understand them, otherwise they would not be stated so clearly in Scripture.
If you had read this post free of your own prejudices you would have noticed that John Bunyan, a Calvinist, believed in the free offer of the Gospel to all people.
But I guess you didn't want to read and understand.
From now on no anonymous comments.
If you're ashamed to let people know who you are, don't comment.
Hard to respect someone publishing a rebuke of any kind anonymously.
Was it you or Steve? Just kidding!
It wasn't me! But it reminds me of a story:
Once a preacher received an anonymous letter in response to a statement he made in a sermon. He opened the envelope and it simply said, "Fool!" The next Sunday he brought the letter with him into the pulpit and said, "Last Sunday I experienced something quite unique. I have received many messages without a signature. Now for the first time someone has given me a signature without a message."
"anonymous" is your sterotypical anti-calvinist. He/she probabyl doesn't even know enough to articulate arminian or calvinism, they simpl don't want to accept the complete lordship and sovereignty of God.
Again, the ridiculous thought that because one believes in the doctrines of grace, they wouldn't evangelize. Truthfully, as I have grown in my understandng of and commitment to the doctrines of grace, I have become even more zealous in evangelistic outreach! I see the amazing thought that God chose me and I want to do my part to lead others to becom worshippers of Him!
Grace to You!
If God didn't elect then I would see no need to pray.
Hey don't get mad at the anti-calvinist anon guy. I personally don't mind, since I've never seen so many guys with such similar interests in one setting before in my life. I guess that's the thing with blog if you ask me, it's so surprising.
I don't think you should restrict anonymous. It make someone think they have to be a blogger to ask questions and that might not be good.
To me the biggest thing with someone who doesn't like the calvinists is just to study the scriptures with them without losing them, but helping them get lost in seeing the picture of Christ in the scriptures or to get lost in the delight of God and how glorious God is. At least that seems to work well with me.
To me that is help as I am reading colossians again tonight.
Check out this verse I read tonight how glorious this God is when we were dead in our sins made us alive.
Colossians 2:13-15
"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."
Shawn,
All that person has to do is put a name in a Blogger profile. It is just hard for me to take any criticisms from someone who doesn't have enough 'gumption' (I'm a hillbilly) to put their name to that criticism. I cn't take that criticism seriously and so ultimately it does more harm than good for everyone involved. The fact of the matter is that this person put their two cents worth in and will come back to see how I respond to their criticism but have already closed their minds to anything I have to say. Look at the post they chose to comment on!
I do see your point though and will let you guys decide.
Should I turn 'anonymous' back on?
Thanks for the advice.
BTW, Did you notice the difference inthe way i responded to you and the way I responded to anony mouse?
Mr. Anonymous filled his comment with emotionally laden words and phrases, such as: you people; cast a pall; IT IS DISTURBING; leave it alone and does it make you feel special.
These words invite us to know more about where this person is coming from. Maybe he/she has some really productive things to say. Too bad we can't know 'cause we don't know who he/she is or how to reach him/her.
Makes me wonder whether this person is either hypercritical by nature, ashamed of his/her everyday thoughts, or just wants to hide.
There seems to be a great deal of anger in the response. Let's pray that God will help him/her learn to deal with that anger.
God bless you,Jeremy. I really enjoy your posts (if you could not already tell).
Gee, all that fuss over such an uninformed and unintellectual person as myself. (smile) I didn't mean to upset anyone, I just wanted to see what you would say if challenged a little. I find the stress on TULIP very discouraging and wanted to express my reaction. Maybe you all are enjoying such a love fest that you don't want visitors stirring the pot. By the way, my name is Mike and next time I comment, (if I ever come back) I will use my name, but I don't see what difference it makes if I use "Mike" or "Anonymous".
Mike,
I allow your comment to stand.
The big deal about an anonymous comment is I generally do not converse with anonymous people. There is no anonymous person. All people have prejudices and issues that inform the way they think. If you have read my profile, I have let you know everything relevant about me except my physical address. You can see where I'm coming from.
As regarding your previous comment;
1) By (ULI) I can only assume that you mean to say you believe in Total Depravity and Perseverance of the Saints. If it is true that we are all sinners (Total Depravity) and that only saints go to heaven (Perseverance of the Saints), then there must be a middle part to this discussion. How do sinners who are not looking for God, find God? The biblical answer is God chose to save some of the people who by their own choice were running headlong into Hell. How did He choose? According to His own wisdom and pleasure. How did He accomplish their salvation? By sending His Son to die for them. How did they come to love and trust the one they had previously hated? God drew them.
2) We don't have to wait to get to heaven to find out about it. God has revealed this in Scripture and intends that we study Scripture.
3) God did create people knowing they would go to Hell. Arminians and Calvinists both agree on this.
4) The Good News is this, God saves sinners, beginning to end salvation is His work. Otherwise who could be saved? Certainly not me.
5) It does make me feel special. I am a sinner. And based on nothing in me, for some reason unbeknownst to me, in His wisdom and good pleasure sought me and rescued me from Hell. Do I feel like I am better than others? No. That's why I feel special. I'm no good. Yet God treats me as if I were good. Please read my posts on TULIP and look at a couple of the resources listed in the last post.
The response to your second comment is;
Your challenge sounded more like a rebuke,
The stress I place on TULIP is only as far as it is in line with the Gospel,and
You've degenerated into the same harshness and mean-spiritedness in this second half of your comment as your first comment.
Marilyn said,
I am a senior citizen that has just been learning how to navigate on the computer in the last few years and enjoy reading lots of different sites (Christian). I am a Southern Baptist and have been all my life. Brought up in a home with a Dad that became a pastor later in life than most, have a brother that started in the ministry young. I am noticing in my reading that there seems to be a lot of differences that are trying to divide God's children. I also notice that it seems that sometimes everyone is trying to interpret what someone else believes and in some instances, I think our perceptions of each other are being misinterpreted and leading to "arguments" (not the polite term) that probably turn off unbelievers. If we can not reason with each other as believers without harshness, how are we different than the unbelievers? I attended the 2 days of the pastor's conference at the SBC and I did not see the negativity that I have read about. As far as I know, I thought all conservative Baptists believed that we are saved because the Holy Spirit draws us and it is by the mercy and favor of God that we are chosen, but I have never spent a lot of time trying to figure out who is so blessed as to be included in this group. I thought we were to reach out to everyone with the gospel and that it was God's "business" to cause that seed to grow. If we divide each other over who is the best at our "jobs", we are wasting time. (Just my opinion). God Bless all you young preachers! I can tell you truly love the Lord.
Thank you for your comment and words of encouragement Marilyn.
I agree with you. I have written a post on this matter. If I Believed That I Would Just Sit At Home And Never Witness!
In this post I try to emphasize the necessity of the spreading the Gospel.
Also in this post, TULIP Conclusion, I try to show that the truth of God's choice and the Holy Spirit's calling are doctrines that enforce rather than destroy Gospel preaching.
Once again, thank you for commenting.
Marilyn,
You are correct lots of things divide Christians that shouldn't and I think it's bad, but also realize that sound doctrine is what God has called us to. We are to watch our doctrine closely to save us and those who hear us to.
So for me I look at it this way as my pastor say, By God's Grace, the right study of theology and God's Word will lead to doxology.
It will bring us to a place of endless praise and we need we need to be captivated and enthralled with Christ and the only way to do this is to ponder the scriptures together and who God is and how great and glorious He is.
This should and I pray as I say this will lead to greater boldness and greater desire to share Christ.
Not to be starting a group that doesn't reach out to others, but to help others see and savor the Savior.
Paul was pretty clear about sound doctrine being important though, look in Galatians about how the little lump of yeast setting up the whole batch and how we need to focus on how important justification is (That's what Galatians were struggling with). If someone says you can be saved, but by something other than by all of the GRACE OF GOD, they are wrong.
That's what is important and yes many debates and arguments on the internet are bad and sad and such, but also some of the discussions or debates (the ones that are not arguments filled with men's egos) where God's Word is upheld are important because truth is important and sound doctrine is what we need as evangelicals.
I do most of hope though as believer proclaim Christ as He truly is to His children and unbelievers and I pray God will draw more to himself.
Jeremy & Shawn, I did not mean to come across as placing any less value on sharing God's word in soundness and truth. What I was really referring to was that on one site, I agree with the man's theology but he is coming down pretty hard on at least 3 speakers that I heard at the SBC and I have listened and watched Adrain Rogers for years, attended his church and never got any inclination that he believes other than I do about salvation. All of the differences that I see discussed mention Calvinism and I am thinking, in Conservative Baptists...where is that difference they are talking about? I read some sites that are not conservative and they bring my blood pressure up, but a lot of these sites that don't agree on Calvinism are not as far apart as it appears (that's my opinion). Sometimes, I am not sure if they disagree or just can't define each other. Sorry if I have rambled too much. I really enjoy reading your messages and scriptural texts. They show that you do love the Word and study to show yourselves approved. God Bless!
Marilyn's thoughts are my point exactly. There is such an emphasis on this TULIP thing. Yes, you have verses from the Bible that seem to support it, but an equal number that seem to contradict it. And the whole thing engenders strife! Besides discouragement. Maybe it doesn't discourage you, but I am discouraged with the thought of a limited offer of salvation. I'd rather not think about it, but everywhere I turn, there it is -that "limited view" - being emphasized by people on the Web! Jeremy, I agree with your response about the middle part of the discussion (salvation by Christ). But I still take issue with "ULI" Let me just address the "U": Romans 10:9 says, "That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." There is IF. That is a condition, isn't it? Confessing and believing is what the person must do to be elected. God is no repecter of persons, he doesn't choose you and not another guy based on something arbitrary, but based on His Son and what will you do with him. You can't hold a person responsible for rejecting Christ if you believe He was foreordained by God to do so (by not being elected).
Mike,
Click here and then respond to me on that post. I think it will be more beneficial if you read what I believe about election and then discuss the issue from there.
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