Category: Ramblings

The debate on the eternal security of a Christian and the possibility of a Christian losing his or her salvation has never been conclusive for clear Scriptural references have been put forth in support of both position.  A better re-phrased question to ask is : How is a Christian justified by faith ?

I believe the crux lies in repentance.  Repentance and saving faith are two sides of the same coin.  Though the Greek word for repentance, metanoia, means a change of mind, the Bible is very clear that repentance involves fruit or deed in line with it. Luke 3:8-14; Acts 26:20; Acts 3:19. In Acts 2:38, we are told to repent and be baptized in the name of our Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and then to receive the Holy Spirit.

So a true believer changes his mind from rejection of Jesus Christ into full acceptance of Him as his personal Savior and Lord. And a true change of mind will result in a changed life. 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 5:19-23; James 2:14-26.

But even this repentance is the work of God in our lives starting from disbelief changing into knowledge with God pulling us and then to wisdom when He opens our eyes. Eventually convicting us to make that decisive response of following Jesus as our Savior and Lord.

A Christian is not pre-disposed to sin anymore. Though he sins occasionally due to temporary weakness or strong temptation, his life is overall walking right with God. A good example is King David. 1 Kings 15:5 clearly explained that : For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. When his sin was pointed out, his immediate response was to realize his sin, feel godly sorrow and seek God’s forgiveness. That is the overall life of a regenerate believer.  (For full clarity, read the whole epistle of 1 John.)

An unregenerate believer or a professing believer is one who is overall indifferent to sin. You will notice his chronic sinful behavior. You will notice most, if not all, his decisions are worldly and not according to the instruction in the Bible.

(1 Cor 6:9-10.   Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.)

Another good example is Lot. Though he lived in Sodom and seemed to compromise at times, and even hesitated to leave Sodom before it was destroyed,  the Bible told us in 2 Pet 2:8 that he was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw in the city.

A regenerate believer will be distressed by sin. That is why the hyper grace gospel is so dangerous. From the onset, the false gospel downplays sin altogether and actually trivializes the tremendous perfect sacrifice of Christ our Lord for the atonement of sins. Heb 10:26-29.

A true believer is a new creation and he will love and obey the commandments of God as the fruit in line with repentance.

Gal 6:15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

1 Cor 7:19. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.

There is no question over the clear distinction between regenerate and unregenerate believers.   That leave only this last doubt.  Can a regenerate believer ever walk out of faith himself by returning back to a life of sin again ?

Let’s look at the parable of the prodigal son for a possible insight.  The younger son came to his senses acknowledging his sin and repented.  He went back with so much gratitude for the unconditional love of his father that he was prepared to start over without the privileges of son-ship.   Would he betray the trust of his father a second time and return back to the far country of reckless living again if his repentance was unequivocal ?

Matt 23: 23-24

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

The Pharisees followed the law to the letter meticulously. Yet when they come to the more important aspects of the law in showing justice, mercy and faithfulness to others, they were indifferent.

They were meticulous in straining out the gnat in their tea through their teeth but they were simply indifferent to swallowing the camel. That was the analogy par excellence given by our Lord.

The Lord did not condemn them for practising the law to the letter but reprimanded them for ignoring the more important spirit (or intent) of the law.

Likewise today, there are many churches who practice their tradition and sacraments to the letter without truly understanding the spirit or intent of them.

They will insist that water baptism has to be immersion and not sprinkling; or the Lord’s Supper has to be served with unleavened bread and real wine.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the lawyer wanted to put Jesus to the test and asked what he should do to inherit eternal life. And he answered the question himself by stating the summary of the law in the 2 greatest commandments.

After Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, He wanted the lawyer to answer for himself who was the true neighbour, or who was truly obeying the law to the spirit.

The priest and the Levite in the parable followed the law to the letter by avoiding a possible dead person while the Samaritan broke everything in the law to the letter. Yet the lawyer himself ascertained that the Samaritan was truly the neighbour by obeying the law to the spirit.

Going by the whole counsel of the Word of God on individual and corporate responses, they seem to be diametrically opposite.

While individually, we should not gloat over the demise of our enemies. Prov 24:17-18. Corporately we are told to rejoice over the demise of a corporate enemy. Rev 18:17-20.

Take another example.  The Ten Commandments forbid murder. But corporately, we still join the army to protect our nation against aggression and we have to kill in defense. We may have to take up whatever means to protect our communities in the face of persecution, even armed defense if necessary.

In the first few centuries during Roman times when the Christians were persecuted, they lived in underground cities. The origin of these cities were unknown but the early century Christians dug further most of the levels in these cities. Under these cities was a vast network of tunnels, connecting each home in the area to the city. When the area came under attack, families would flee to their basements, rush through the dark tunnels, and gather at the basement city.

“Unwary (enemy) soldiers could be caught in the many traps laid throughout the labyrinthine corridors, such as stones which could be rolled to block doorways, and holes in the ceiling through which spears could be dropped. Invaders were further outwitted by the Christian builders who made their tunnels narrow, forcing their enemies to fight, and be picked off, one by one.”  –

http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/incredible-rock-houses-and-underground-cities-cappadocia-001394

That revealed how the early Christians defended themselves against enemy invaders.

Luke 6:36-38

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.

Taking JI Packer’s paraphrase of the Moral Law, we can fully appreciate that it is the blueprint of a Christ-like life – a life characterized by loving God and loving one another.
“You shall worship your covenant God exclusively and wholeheartedly, according to His own revelation, regarding Him with consistent reverence and setting aside regular time for rest and worship in His honour; you should respect those who have nurtured you, labour to sustain the family unit; you must do all you can to safeguard the life, sexual purity, property, reputation, and well being of all you meet, and knowing that your God watches over you, you are to be content with what you have.” – JI Packer.

In Luke 6:36-38, our Lord gave us a practical account of what it meant to love one another.

We should show mercy to one another.
We should not be judgmental or have a condemning spirit against another.
We should be forgiving towards one another.
We should be generous towards one another.

What is a judgmental or condemning spirit ? Jesus told this parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Gatherer to some people who believed that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt. Luke 18:9. Viewing others beneath us in spirituality is false spirituality. That is spiritual pride with a judgmental or condemning spirit. We see ourselves as good and minimizing our own faults while maximizing the faults of others.

Showing mercy, especially to the poor and needy, also entails being generous. And when we are generous, God will repay us with the same measure of generosity in return. Prov 19:17. Jesus our Lord gave the following illustration to explain what generosity was. In His days, when one buys from a grain seller, and if the grain seller is generous, he will pour into the measure till it is full. Then he will shake the measure for the grain to settle to the bottom and even press down the grain. And he will continue to pour till the grain overflows into the buyer’s lap. That is generosity explained.

Such a wonderful passage on relationship between one another in Christ has been taken out of context to justify two wrong teachings by false prosperity and hyper grace teachers.

The first wrong teaching is on judging. Our Lord was teaching us not to have spiritual pride with a condemning spirit; but it did not mean we should not discern and judge false teaching and blatant sin. Our Lord and the Apostles judged the Pharisees, Judaizers and those who denied Jesus is the Christ for their hypocrisy, twisting of the gospel for their gain and the anti-Christ teaching respectively. The Scriptures even exhorted not to associate or receive such false teachers and to ex-communicate those who sin blatantly without remorse. 1 Cor 5; Titus 1: 11,13.

The second wrong teaching is on giving. The verse “give and it will be given to you” is taken out of context by prosperity gospel teachers to encourage giving with the promise that God will return many fold. As explained earlier, our Lord was exhorting a generous spirit towards one another.

Christian Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and it is not the same as Happiness as defined and desired by the world.

The Scripture described Joy as gladness in the heart in anticipation of something great while the dictionary defined Happiness as a satisfying or pleasurable experience.

Joy is such that even when one is in need, or in pain, or in the middle of a storm in life, he can still have joy. Joy does not depend on circumstances and is permanent. Unlike Happiness which depend on circumstances and is fleeting due to the vagaries of life.

A Christian, who truly loves the Lord and obeys His commands to bear the marks of a disciple, will surely experience joy and will not oscillate between happiness and sadness because his family, self and possessions do not have any hold on him and are all surrendered to our Lord. Luke 14:25-35.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and JOY in the Holy Spirit. – Romans 14:17.

Count it all JOY, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. REJOICE and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. – Matthew 5:11-12

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will REJOICE, and no one will take your JOY from you. – John 16:22

In this you REJOICE, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. – 1 Peter 1:6-7

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2

Let us REJOICE and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; – Revelation 19:7

The reaction to what I said about this (debate) was mixed. Some evangelicals responded thoughtfully and theologically, others with inflexible dogmatism – I find myself increasingly out of sympathy with excessive evangelical dogmatism – and a third group, especially in the US, was positively hysterical in its denunciation…It’s a very distressing thing about evangelicalism that we are not good at responsible domestic debate. But the hallmark of an authentic evangelical is not the uncritical repetition of old traditions, but the willingness to submit every tradition, however ancient, to fresh biblical scrutiny, and, if necessary, reform.

– John Stott, Balanced Christianity

How often we find ourselves similarly distressed debating over certain paradoxical doctrine. And we often confused debate on balanced Christian living with balanced view of doctrine. Let me explain so that we can have a clear understanding of the difference.

The Bible is full of exhortation to stay balanced in our Christian living. For example in Prov 30:8-9, the psalmist asked not of poverty nor riches for either extreme would be dishonoring the name of God or disowning Him altogether. We must not also be so generous as to be financially irresponsible towards providing for our own family, while at the same time not to be so miserly in not giving anything to anybody at all.

Concerning certain paradoxical doctrine (not including all other clear biblical truth but only referring to paradoxical ones), truth is accepting the biblical truth in both extremes, even mutually exclusive ones. For example, Jesus our Lord is 100% God and 100% man though they are mutually exclusive. In real life, we find light to have both the properties of particle and wave which has confounded scientists eversince, yet it does not deter scientists to continue their research and invention based on acceptance of both properties. Why must a scientist be so dogmatic on just one property of light and miss the whole picture ?

We find this paradox running across so many debates :
1. Faith alone and Works.
2. Predestination and Free Will.
3. Love and Suffering.
4. Etc.

We must bear in mind that God’s ways are definitely higher than ours, so what is impossible for us with our limited understanding may be possible for Him. I have come to believe truth may be found in the biblical part of both extremes. Standing on one extreme may be unbiblical as it will definitely include an unbiblical part arguing against the other extreme.

An example is the existence of both poverty and prosperity gospels. What the prosperity gospel disagree with the poverty gospel insisting that Christians must be materially poor is biblically correct, but that does not make the prosperity gospel a true biblical gospel with some truth in it. The true gospel is the balanced view in the stewardship gospel.

John 17 : 6-19
I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Our Lord’s prayer for His disciples in John 17 is the most important exemplary prayer we should pray for one another. Jesus our Lord prayed for His disciples :

1. To believe the Word of God and be sanctified by it.
2. To be united in love.
3. To experience the same peace and joy of Him.
4. To be protected from the evil one.
5. To be sent out into the world to make disciples.

Now in the last days, the urgency to pray for one another is even more acute because there will be troubled times or persecution ahead and false teaching will proliferate.

The hyper grace false teaching is drawing large numbers away from believing the truth in the Word of God and be sanctified by it. Many are experiencing the false security in idols of wealth and well-being instead of true peace and joy in Christ. Many are blinded spiritually by the evil one with very subtle teaching of blending messages which extol grace and promote self-gratification at the same time. Knowing fully well that the hyper grace gospel is a false gospel, we are most uncharitable if we do not warn the believers who have fallen for such teaching and pray for them.

Stop hearing and believing dangerous teaching that we do not need to practise righteousness after believing in Jesus. 1 John 3:7-8. The clear evidence of who are the children of God or the children of the devil is this : those who do NOT practise righteousness is NOT born of God. 1 John 3:10. 1 John 2:29. Beware of the counter twist by the false teachers that if we practise righteousness, we are actually nullifying the perfect atonement of Christ our Lord on the Cross. That is a punch below the waist.  Such twist is good enough for the naive and the blinded. What actually happen is when we sincerely repent and believe in our Lord Jesus, God’s seed abides in us (the Word of God and the Holy Spirit) and we will practise righteousness as evidence of a sanctified life. We will pursue godliness because when we are led by the Spirit, we will set our minds on the things of the Spirit. Rom 8:5.

Stop hearing and believing another dangerous teaching that discipleship is not necessary once we believe in Jesus. Jesus never give us such an option. He stated the necessary demands of discipleship.   Luke 14:25-33.  We are sent out to make disciples, not professing believers, and to teach them to obey every command of Jesus.  Matt 28:19-20

One clear evidence of false teachers today is this: whether they make up clever lies to get hold of your money.  Note the word “CLEVER”.  They will extol grace in their teaching and yet hookwink their believers into giving more of their money in one way or another.

2 Pet 2:2-3 NLT.

Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up CLEVER lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

So if we truly love Jesus, we have to pray often for the protection of His beloved from the enemy and his agents.  We have to pray for them to have such hunger for the Word of God and be sanctified by it.

1 Sam 15:2-3; Deut 20:16-18

Why did God order the genocide of the Amalekites and the Canaanites including the children ? On the surface, it will seem that God is not merciful though just.

We must first remember that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than ours. Is 55:9, Rom 11:33-36. We must trust that He is good as well as just.

Because King Saul did not obey God’s commandment to annihilate the Amalekites, decades later, the survivors were able to take King David’s family captive. This would never happen if King Saul obeyed.

And same for Canaanites which God forewarned that they would teach the Israelites detestable things such as worshipping idols and sinning against God. God was preventing future greater evil by giving such an order.

To judge such tribes without any righteous person seems fair but the difficult part of God’s command is the killing of children and infants.

But if the lives of the children and infants end before a certain accountable age to know right and wrong and they are saved, it will be a different matter altogether and in fact, it reveal God is merciful on the contrary. As seen in the case of the Amalekites, by sparing the young, they still grew up to be as wicked as their forefathers.

Two passages seem to suggest this possibility.

2 Samuel 12:22-23

22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Isaiah 7:14-15

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.

When the life of King David’s son was ended, King David assuredly said that he would go to him in future implying that he will see his son in heaven.

In the other passage on the sign of Christ given to Israel by the prophet Isaiah, there was an accountable age mentioned by which he would know how to refuse the evil and choose the good.

So I strongly believe that all children and infants who die before the accountable age will get to go to heaven by the grace and mercy of God.

Similarly those, who suffer from mental illness before the accountability age and are unable to how to refuse the evil and choose the good, will get to heaven by the same line of reasoning.

This concept is popularized by most charismatic churches today. What is of contention with other non charismatic churches is the belief of the continuation of the office of apostles and prophets.

I believe the contention is due to the failure of both camps to see that there is a primary and a secondary sense of these offices. I have drawn up a table to illustrate what I believe and actually experienced.

The mention of these five fold ministry comes from Eph 4:11-12.
Eph 4:11-12
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

Prior to these verses we read in Eph 2:20-21 that the church was built on the foundation of apostles and prophets with Jesus our Lord being the chief cornerstone. It is clear the divine revelation of the prophets and the apostles is complete in the OT and NT as canonized in the Holy Bible. The Bible is the complete foundation on which nothing more need to be built further. Rev 22:18,19. So in the primary sense, the offices of the apostles and prophets have ceased.

But in the secondary sense, we continue to see the continuation of these offices in recent times like the ministry of David Livingstone and Hudson Taylor. Allow me a little foolishness to say that I had this experience in the lesser sense as shared in my book.
Because of the warning of the presence of many false prophets in the last days and the clear evidence of their existence today, we tend to despise all prophecy instead of obeying Scripture to test each and every prophecy.

If the office of apostle in the secondary sense is still continuing, the good reputation of the office is definitely not helped but made worse by those who carry it like a superior title or badge of authority. Matt 23:8-12. We have seen mega-church pastors calling themselves as apostles carrying the title more as a big title and position of authority. How specific are their missions as compared to that of David Livingstone or Hudson Taylor ?

http://www.christianheroes.com/ch/missionaries.html

Great men of faith grew spiritually like Paul who started his ministry defending his apostleship, then called himself the least of all saints later in his ministry and finally called himself the chief of all sinners at the end. And these self styled apostles today cannot even boast of any of the weakness that Paul had boasted. On the contrary, they have all the lavish lifestyle of tycoons. But such abuses should not cloud out the many missionaries and prophets in the lesser sense who are continually obeying God in strengthening, encouraging and comforting the church.

I have reason to believe that the tongues spoken at Pentecost were intelligible languages and those mentioned in 1 Cor 14 seemed to describe some fervently ecstatic and sincere utterances not necessarily intelligible to listeners or even the speakers themselves and require interpretation.

As shown from the chart,  if we lump all the conflicting evidence to form a single opinion or belief,  either extreme of cessation of tongues and the continuation of this gift is questionable.

Could it be the former had ceased while the latter gift continued ?

I had first hand experience of my loved one with the latter gift of tongues in praying for a sick person once and convicting him to believe in our Lord Jesus.  It seemed to be one off and she did not have that gift anymore so far.  I believe it was a desperate and sincere utterance due to lack of words to pray sincerely for the sick.  The sick person was so cut to the heart that he wanted to be baptized immediately and did that later in the day.  And he went to the Lord a few days later.  Would I doubt that the Holy Spirit was present to convict the sick man to have faith ?   If it was so, what to make of the utterance of my loved one ?

(Martin Luther, the champion of sola scriptura, said this, “The signs here spoken of (Mark 16:17-18) are to be used according to need.  When the need arises, and the gospel is hard pressed, then we must definitely do these signs, before we allow the gospel to be maligned and knocked down.”  –  Believer’s Bible Commentary.)

(Information gleaned from Spiritual Maturity by J Oswald Sanders)