Parang di natuto

Konting reality check lang para sa mga kabataan na noo'y aktibo sa Sunday School ngunit gumradweyt na't nagtatrabaho na sa kasalukuyan. Isang tanong:

...Natuto nga ba tayo?
(Oo, tayo. Meaning, kasama ako dun).

Ang dami, dami, dami, dami nating napag-aralan tungkol sa Biblia, sa mga doktrina, sa Diyos, etc. Di na mabilang ang mga memory verses na alam natin. Pero anyare? Nang magkatrabaho na tayo, bakit nangongompromiso tayo? Nasan na yung mga tinuro sa atin at natutunan natin sa simbahan?

Nakakahiya (at nakakainis) mang isipin, pero ganyan tayo. Nagkakaroon tayo ng selective amnesia kapag pasok natin sa office. Lahat ng mga tinuro ni Sunday School teacher, lahat ng mga preaching ni pastor, at lahat ng pangaral ng mga elders ng simbahan... *puff!* - instantly deleted na sa mga alaala natin.

Yung totoo? Natuto nga ba?

Please lang, wag naman natin sayangin yung effort ng mga guro natin sa simbahan, at huwag natin silang ipahiya. Higit pa riyan, wag nating ipahiya si Cristo!

Sa mga kabataang "Kristiano" naman na magtatrabaho pa lang, please lang ano; wag niyo na lang ipagsabi sa mga katrabaho niyo na Kristyano kayo kung di niyo rin naman paninindigan. Dahil sa bandang huli, kapag nahulog na kayo sa pangongompromiso (i.e. nakisama na sa mga makamundong gawain ng mga katrabaho niyo) ay pagsisisihan nyo yung oras na sinabi niyo pa yun.

Ngayon, gusto mo bang bumait pero di mo magawa? Click mo to.

Sino ang tunay na Kristyano?

Ang salitang Kristyano (Eng, "Christian") ay hango sa salitang Griego na "Christianos" (G5546 - Χριστιανός) na ang kahulugan ayon kay Thayer ay "a follower of Christ." Tatlong beses lamang ginamit sa Bagong Tipan ang salitang ito (cf. Acts 11:26, 26:28, & 1 Pe. 4:16), at ayon sa kasaysayan ng sinaunang iglesya na naitala sa aklat ng Mga Gawa sa panulat ng doktor na si San Lucas, ang titulong ito ay unang ginamit sa Antioqua patungkol sa "mga alagad" ni Cristo (v. 11:26). Marahil ay pakana ng mga kalaban ng iglesya ang titulong ito bilang insulto sa kanilang pananampalataya gaya ng ipinahihiwatig sa mga salita ni San Pedro sa 1 Pe. 4:16:

• "Mapalad kayo kung kayo'y kinukutya dahil kay Cristo, sapagkat sumasainyo ang Espiritu ng kaluwalhatian, ang Espiritu ng Diyos. Huwag nawa mangyarig maparusahan ang sinuman sa inyo dahil siya'y mamamatay-tao, magnanakaw, o salarin o pakialamero. Ngunit kung kayo'y magdusa dahil sa pagiiging Cristiano (Gk, Χριστιανός), huwag ninyong ikahiya ito; sa halip, magpasalamat kayo sa Diyos sapagkat taglay ninyo ang pangalan ni Cristo." (MBB)

May halo din ng pangungutya ang naging tugon ni haring Agripa matapos niyang marinig ang testimonya at depensa ni San Pablo tungkol sa ebanghelyo: "Sa loob ng maikling panahon ay ibig mo yatang maging Cristiano ako!" (Acts 26:28, MBB). Tila noong unang panahon ay nagdaan sa mabibigat na diskriminasyon, pangungutya, at paguusig ang mga Kristyano (berbal man o pisikal) sa ilalim ng bansag na ito.

Sa panahon ngayon kung kailan lumalaganap nanaman ang kaliwa't-kanang paguusig laban sa Kristyanismo (lalo na sa ilang mga bansa sa Gitnang Silangan kung saan nanggugulo ang mga pasaway na teroristang grupo na ISIS), ang katapangan natin sa pagdadala ng titulong Kristyano ay maaaring masubok sa 'di natin inaasahang pagkakataon at pamamaraan. Gayunpaman, bago natin maaaring paghandaan ang bagay na yan ay mayroong isang mahalagang katanungan na dapat muna nating itanong sa ating mga sarili: Ako ba ay isang tunay na Kristyano? 

Ang pangaral ni San Pedro sa 1 Pe. 4:14-16 na binasa natin kani-kanina lang ay para lamang sa mga tunay na Kristyano. Sila ang mga tagasunod ni (o sumusunod kay) Cristo Jesus na ating Panginoon. Ayon kay Jesus, "Kung tinutupad ninyo ang aking aral, kayo nga'y tunay na mga alagad ko" (Jn. 8:31, MBB). Samakatuwid, kung hindi mo tinutupad ang mga aral ng Panginoon ay hindi ka maaaring ibilang sa kaniyang mga alagad at hindi ka kasama dun sa mga sinabihan ng apostol na huwag nilang ikahiya ang pagiging Kristyano. Isa kang kahihiyan kay Cristo kung dinadala mo ang kaniyang pangalan ngunit hindi mo sinisikap lakaran ang kanyang kabanalan.

Totoong ang Kaligtasan natin ay natamo natin nang walang bayad sa pamamagitan ng pananalig at hindi dahil sa mga gawa (Jn. 3:16-18; Eph. 2:8-9). Wala ring pagtatalo na tayo'y kinupkop na ng Diyos bilang mga anak niya nang tanggapin natin si Cristo sa ating buhay bilang Panginoon at Tagapagligtas (Jn. 1:12). Ang pagiging tunay na Kristyano ay nagsisimula naman talaga sa sariling puso sa pamamagitan ng buong pagtitiwala lamang kay Jesus bilang tanging Tagapagligtas at buong pagsuko sa kaniya bilang Panginoon (Rom. 10:9-10). Ngunit hindi ito nagtatapos doon; kailangan mo itong patunayan sa harap ng ibang tao (Mat. 5:15-16; Jam. 2:18).

Lingid sa kaalaman ng marami, hindi lamang mga gang o fraternity (na karamihan ay mga salot sa lipunan) ang mayroong initiation rites. Ang Kristyanismo ay may sarili nang initiation rite mula pa noong itatag ito mga 2,000 taon na ang nakaraan! Ang initation rite na ito na nagsisilbing panlabas na paraan ng paganib sa Kristyanismo ay walang iba kundi ang bautismo sa tubig. Ito ang pangunahing panlabas na pagsunod ng isang makasalanan sa Panginoon matapos niyang isuko ang kaniyang buhay kay Cristo Jesus (Mat. 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 41, 8:12-13 36-38, 10:47). Sa katunayan, walang sinumang mananampalataya sa alinmang pahina ng Bagong Tipan ang mapapatunayang hindi nabautismuhan (maliban doon sa magnanakaw na nakapako sa krus na walang pagkakataon noon na magpabautismo).

May mga simbahan na ipinagpapaliban ang pagbabautismo sa mga mananampalataya hangga't sila'y hindi pa nakakaunawa nang lubusan sa mga pangunahing doktrina ng Kristianismo (na kadalasan ay tumatagal ng ilang linggo, kung hindi man ay buwan). Ang masasabi ko'y walang basihan sa Biblia ang ganitong sistema. Nung araw ng Pentecost ay sumampalatya ang mahigit 3,000-katao at nabautismuhan din silang lahat sa mismong araw na iyon (Acts 2:41). Matapos marinig ng isang bating (o eunuch) ang ebanghelyo ay tinanong niya si Felipe kung pwede na ba siyang bautismuhan (Acts 8:30-36). Ang naging tugon ni Felipe sa kaniya? "Kung nananampalataya ka ng buong puso ay mangyayari" (tal. 37). Nang kumpirmahin ng bating na siya ay "sumasampalataya... na si Jesu-Cristo ay Anak ng Diyos," hindi na nagpatumpik-tumpik pa si Felipe at agad niyang binautismuhan ang bating (tal. 38). Ilan lamang ito sa mga patunay na ang pagsampalataya kay Cristo at ang pagpapabautismo ay magkaugnay at di-mapaghihiwalay. Sa katunayan, ang pagpapabautismo ang siyang nagsisilbing panlabas na tatak ng ating pakikipag-isa kay Cristo (Rom. 6:4-8). Sa pamamagitan nito ay ibinibihis natin si Cristo sa ating mga buhay (Gal. 3:26-27) bilang patotoo na siya ang ating Panginoon at tayo'y mga alagad niya. Ito ang nagsisilbing monumento na tumatayong representasyon ng ating minsan at magpakailanmang pagsuko kay Cristo, paghuhugas ng ating mga kasalanan, at bagong buhay na natamo natin sa pamamagitan ng kanyang kamatayan at muling pagkabuhay.

Noong panahon ng mga apostol, sa tuwing gugunitain ng isang Kristyano ang kaniyang pagkakaligtas, ang nasa isip niya ay ang kaniyang bautismo at ang nirerepresenta nito (tingnan sa Rom. 6:2-8 & Gal. 3:26-27). Hindi ibig sabihin nito na nakakapagligtas ang bautismo o hindi maliligtas ang sinumang hindi bautistado. Bagkus, ang bautismo ang nagsisilbing kumpirmasyon na tunay ngang naborn-agen ang isang taong nais magpahayag ng pananalig kay Cristo. Ang "bautismo ngayon ay nagliligtas sa atin," wika ni San Pedro. "Hindi sa paglilinis ng karumihan ng makasalanang likas kundi ang tugon ng isang malinis na budhi sa Diyos. Ito ay sa pamamagitan ng pagkabuhay muli ni Jesucristo" (1 Pe. 3:21, SND).  Nakakalungkot isipin na sa panahon ngayon ay napaka-babaw na ng unawa ng maraming simbahan sa kahalagahan ng bautismo sa buhay ng isang Kristyano. Ito'y nagiging opsyonal na lamang para sa karamihan, at ang ipinalit na nila sa pwesto ng bautismo (bilang representasyon ng ating pananalig) ay ang pagsambit ng panalanging pagtanggap o sinner's prayer na wala namang basehan sa Kasulatan.

Kapatid, nais mo bang matawag na Kristyano? Sundin mo ang mga aral ng Panginoong Jesus. Ang unang pagsunod kay Jesus ay ang paglalagak ng pananalig sa kanya (Rom. 5:1, 8:1). Kung isinuko mo na ang buhay mo kay Cristo, bakit hindi mo siya ibihis sa iyong pagkatao sa pamamagitan ng bautismo? "Sapagkat sa pamamagitan ng pananampalataya kay Cristo Jesus kayong lahat ay naging mga anak ng Diyos," ayon kay San Pablo. "Ito ay sapagkat lahat kayong binawtismuhan kay Cristo, ay ibinihis ninyo si Cristo" (Gal.  3:26-27). Huwag mong sarilinin ang commitment mo kay Jesus. Sa paningin ng ibang mga tao ay ikaw parin yung dating tao na nakilala nila. Upang malaman nila na iba ka na, dapat mo itong ipakita sa iyong mga gawa o sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatuloy sa mga aral ni Cristo. Huwag nating gayahin ang mga pasaway na Judiong mananampalataya sa Jam. 2:14-24 na pinagalitan ni San Tyago sapagkat inaangkin nila na sila'y may pananampalataya pero puro lang sila ngawa at di sila makitaan ng gawa. Kaya naman, ang pagangkin natin sa pangalang Kristyano ay hindi lang din dapat sa ngawa, kundi sa pamamagitan din ng gawa.

Amen?

- Jeph

The Love That Must Be Stopped (an exposition of 1 John 2:15-17)

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17, NIV 2011 update)

There is this idea that love is a matter of the heart and not of the head. That it is an emotion beyond the power of the will. The cultural usage of the phrase "falling in love" suggests that it is uncontrolled and inevitable. In his book What Jesus Demands From the World, John Piper confirms that love is indeed an emotion, but he adds: "Jesus does command the feelings. He demands that our emotions be one way and not another".¹

To support his assertion, Piper marshals these Bible proofs:

a.With regards to rejoicing, he demands that we rejoice in persecution (Matt.5:12) 

b. With regards to fear, he demands and that we fear not those who can harm only our bodies but fear him who could kill the body and send you to hell (Luke 12:5) 

c. He demands that we not feel shame over him (Luke 9:26) 

d. He demands that and that we forgive from the heart (Matt. 18:35)

In verse 15 of our text, God through his apostle John issues another command regarding our affections: "Do not love the world or anything in the world". Since this is a command, it demands our obedience. As followers of Christ we are told to not love the world, and if we feel we are having some sweet affair with the world, we have to stop² it at all cost.

But first we have to clarify what this command does NOT mean. The command to not love the world and the things in the world does not mean that we are to hate the physical created universe. After all, it is God who created this universe and was delighted to see its beauty (Gen.1:31). It does not mean we cannot enjoy works of art like secular music and movies (there could be expressions of worldliness in them but not necessarily). It does not mean we have to distance ourselves from pop culture. This is not about hairstyles or fashion. It does not also mean we have that we hate the unbelieving world. After all, we were commanded to love our enemies even those who persecute us. We are mandated to reach the world with the gospel of grace.

What does it mean then? The word "world" in this context means:

"an organized earthly system controlled by the power of the evil one that has aligned itself against God and his Kingdom" (Daniel Akin)³

"This is not a reference to the physical, material world but the invisible system of evil dominated by Satan and all that it offers in opposition to God, his Word, and his people." (John Macarthur)⁴

Whenever you see the prevalence of anti-God ideas and anti-God agenda, that is a part of worldliness (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Wanna feel the power and influence of this system? Go to U.S.A. and speak against the evils of the LGBT agenda. They will surely gang up on you.

Another verse to consider is Romans 12:2a "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The Greek word translated as "world" here is different from the Greek word translated as "world" in 1 John 2:15. Some say that it should be translated as "age".Yet when correlating bible verses, you just don't match words; you also match concepts. The concept Paul is conveying here is the same or at least very close to the Johannine concept of worldliness:

"Better translated “age,” which refers to the system of beliefs, values—or the spirit of the age—at any time current in the world. This sum of contemporary thinking and values forms the moral atmosphere of our world and is always dominated by Satan"⁵

In his exposition of Romans 12:2, James M. Boice mentioned several -isms of worldliness. The -ism of course is a suffix added to a word conveying distinctive doctrines or ideas. Not all -isms are worldly like Calvinism or Dispensationalism, but many of them are. Below are some of the -isms in Boice's list⁶ :

humanism-- humanity is of prime importance, not divine or supernatural matters.
relativism-- no absolute truth; it may be true for you but not for me.
hedonism-- the pursuit of pleasure is the highest goal
materialism-- physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life
pluralism-- all belief systems are valid; Christianity is okay but it needs supplement from other systems

These are just examples of worldly expression of man's hostility to God and his revelation in Scripture. If you subscribe to any of these ideas, you love the world.

You Might be a World-lover if...

1. You want to fulfill your desires outside of God's revealed will ("the lust of the flesh"  verse 16)

The lust of the flesh is "any sinful desire, any sinful interest, that draws us away from God or at least makes continuing fellowship with him impossible"- Gary Burge⁷

There is nothing wrong with the desire to earn more, for the sake of your family and for the needs of others; but if you earn by dirty business deals or other corrupt means, then you might be a world-lover.

There is nothing wrong with the desire to have a partner but if you want to fulfill it by marrying a unbeliever, then the world could have had captivated your heart.

There is nothing wrong with watching movies, surfing the net or playing video games; but if these activities cause you to neglect prayer, personal bible study and other spiritual disciplines, you mght be in love with the world.

2. Visual delights arouse your desire for sinful acts ("the lust of the eyes" verse 16)

This point is closely connected to the previous one because the eyes are "often the means by which sinful desires are introduced into the mind of the individual." (Danny Akin)⁸ -- Sinful desires could be awakened by sound or smell and other senses but the most often means is the sense of sight.

~ Eve stared at the forbidden fruit and it was pleasing to the eye (Gen.3:6).
~ Achan stared at a luxury robe, silver and gold, and kept them against the Lord's instruction (Joshua 6-7)
~ David stared at bathing Bathsheba, and ends in adultery (2 Samuel 11)
~ The trick is so effective the devil even tried it on Jesus (Matt. 4:8)

Two Philosophers could be helpful here: Plato and Augustine⁹

For Plato: the good, the beautiful, the true, the real is essentially the same thing. That is if there is one beautiful, it must also be good, and true, and real. Using this criterion, the woman on the magazine cover may be visually pleasing but if her appearance is devoid of goodness and truth, then it is not beautiful.

Augustine added a Christian flavor to Plato's musings. For him, there is only one good; only one real; only one true; only one beautiful. In saying this, he was not denying that there are other things good, true, real and beautiful. They do exist but only as reflections of God's infinite perfections. Because of that:

a. God is the SOURCE of anything good, true, real and beautiful
b. God is the JUDGE of what is good, true, real and beautiful
c. God's glory is the CHIEF END of all things good, true, real and beautiful.

Thus, when you are captivated by what you see but fail to honor God, you are in love with the world.

“The problem is not that God created the material things in the world. The problem is that people have made these things into idols” (Daniel Akin)¹⁰

3. You measure the worth of yourself and the worth of others by possessions and accomplishments ("the pride of life" verse 16)

The pride of life is "an attitude of pretentious arrogance or subtle elitism that comes from one's view of wealth, rank, or stature in society. It is an overconfidnce that makes us lose any notion that we are dependent on God"-- Gary Burge¹¹

I'm somebody because of my assets and income.
I'm somebody because of my degree and alma mater.
I'm somebody because of my position.
I'm somebody because of good looks.
I'm somebody because of my medals and trophies.

Some Biblical examples
~ Nebuchadnezzar's pride on his projects (Daniel 4:30)
~ Herod's pride on his oratorical skills (Acts 12:21-22)
~ Even religious people can be guilty of this like the Pharisees who were proud about their religious standing and looked down on others(Luke 18:9-12)

Reasons for Breaking this Kind of Love

1. Because if you love the world, you don't love God

I John 2:15b "If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them"

The text says that you either love God and hate his rival or love his rival and hate God. Take one of the world's ideas-- materialism for example, "the idea that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life"12. The Lord Jesus says,

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Matt. 6:24)

James 4:4 says "... don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God"

If we are divided between loving God and loving the world, it will not end in a 50-50 division. Rather, it will end 0-100, that is zero for God and 100 percent for the world. And if you have two hearts, you will not give one heart for God and one heart for the world. Rather, you will give both hearts to the world.

The Psalmist seems to have understood this, so he prayed "... give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name". (Psalm 86:11)

2. Because of this love's unhappy ending

Fairy tale endings are quite predictable. When the Prince finally marries her Princess, expect the last line to be "and they lived happily ever after". I guess it is a time-tested formula for fictional love stories. People like happy endings.

Soon, unbelieving people will realize that they pursued worthless things. Soon they will see that they have invested in the wrong place. The text says "the world and its desires pass away" (verse 17 a). It's like enjoying your stay at Sodom and hoarding possessions there, only to realize later that you will perish with them. For one of the reasons why God burned Sodom and Gomorrah is to make them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly (2 Peter 2:6).

If you want a happy ending to your love story, love God. Scripture says, "but whoever does the will of God lives forever" (verse 17b). What he prepared for those who love him is not just a happy ending but an eternity of endless joy in his presence.

"May thy dear Son preserve me from this present evil world, so that its smiles never allure, nor its frowns terrify, nor its vices defile, nor its errors delude me."  (The Valley of Vision)¹³

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NOTES

1. John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World
2.  In his online free bible commentary on the Johannine corpus, Bob Utley says that the grammatical construction conveys the meaning "to stop an act that is already in progress.
3. Daniel Akin, 1,2,3 John, New American Commentary

4. The Macarthur Study Bible
5. The Macarthur Study Bible
6. James M. Boice, Mind Renewal in a Mindless Age
7. Gary Burge, The Letters of John (NIV Application Commentary)
8. Daniel Akin, 1,2,3 John, NAC
9. See Albert Mohler's "A Christian Vision of Beauty, part 1"
10. Daniel Akin, 1,2,3 John, NAC

11. Gary Burge, The Letters of John (NIVAC)
12. American Heritage Talking Dictionary
13. The Valley of Vision's Facebook Page, March 5,2012 

Eternal Security and Licentiousness

Paul told the believers in Rome that there's now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). Aside from having been freely acquitted and counted righteous in God's sight through faith in His Son (Rom. 3:24-28, 4:4-6, 5:1), Paul wrote that they have also received the life-giving Spirit of Christ by whom "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts" (Rom. 5:5), leading them to walk in the newness of life God has prepared from them beforehand (Rom. 8:2-27; cf. Eph. 2:10). There's no way Sin can take hold of them once more because they're no longer under its power (Rom. 6:1-2). God, who is greater than all, makes everything to work together for the good of His children (Rom. 8:28), and this is in accordance to His good pleasure and eternal purpose in predestination (Rom. 8:29; cf. Eph. 1:4-5, 11). Thus, all whom God has chosen for Himself in eternity past will be finally glorified (Rom. 8:30). Nothing can totally overcome them because their sovereign Father is in control (Rom. 8:31; cf. Jn. 10:27-39). Because God didn't spare His Son but gave Him up for their own sake, surely He will also grant them whatever grace they need unto the fullness of Salvation (Rom. 8:31-34).

Having said all the above, the conclusion is inevitable:

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:37-39)

This conclusive declaration of Paul concerning the assurance of salvation for those whom God has called according to His purpose (i.e. the elect) echoes that of Christ in John 10:27-29 which says:

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." (Jn. 10:27-29)

Baptists call this doctrine as Eternal Security[1] in Christ; a glorious display of the greatness of God's grace and sovereignty in the whole process of redemption, yet also one of the most controversial and often misunderstood. The main objection thrown at this biblical teaching is that it seems to entice the Christian to be slothful and licentious. Critics of eternal security argue that if one cannot lose his salvation, it follows that it won't matter if Christians would just sit around the corner and neglect all that God has commanded them to do. Never mind going to church (Heb. 10:25). Never mind going out for evangelism (Mat. 28:19-20). Never mind reading the Bible (Josh. 1:8) or making every effort to become more like Christ (2 Pe. 1:5-10). Why bother if in the first place being holy or not won't make any difference to one's eternal destiny? Seems legit.

On the contrary, however, the glorious truth of our salvation being not in any way dependent on human performance should serve as a motivation for true Christians to be all the more eager to glorify their Lord and Savior with their lives. This is clearly seen in Titus 3:5-8. After stressing the complete gratuitousness of our salvation in verses 5-7, the apostle Paul went on to say:

"The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people." (Tit. 3:8)

Paul advised Titus to insist on the glorious doctrine of our gratuitous salvation in order to compel "those who have believed in God" to be "careful to devote themselves to good works"! This worked for me personally. When I learned from my study of God's Word that my Lord and Savior remains faithful even when I'm not (2 Tim. 2:13); that He will carry into completion at the day of Jesus Christ the work of salvation that He has begun in me (Php. 1:6; cf. Rom. 8:30); and that no one can ever pluck my soul out of His sovereign hand (Jn. 10:27-29), great joy, peace, and deep gratitude filled my innermost soul. All worldly fear and insecurity that once troubled my heart vanished altogether (Rom. 8:15), and I was left energized and ablaze to do more for Christ. Definitely, the doctrine of eternal security didn't make me slothful and licentious. Quite the opposite; it made me a better person!

Now I don't deny the potential danger in over-emphasizing the statement: "we are still saved even if we sin." While it is true that God never ceases to be our Father despite our shortcomings (see Heb. 12:5-11), this is just a portion of the whole truth concerning our eternal security in Christ, and a portion of truth is no better than a lie if not united with the other portions of the whole truth. The whole truth—and this must always be stressed—is that since God mightily preserves and sanctifies His children by His grace, all true believers will surely persevere in faith and holiness[2] unto the end (1 Sam. 2:9). The apostle John wrote:

"We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them." (1 Jn. 5:18)

A child of God may sometimes fall into sin through neglect and temptation, but God would never permit him to totally return to his old sinful lifestyle or finally repudiate his saving relationship with Christ (1 Cor. 10:13; Heb. 12:2; 1 Pe. 1:5). Our Father, being infinitely wise and sovereign (Rom. 10:32-36), can use even our downfalls to benefit us at the end of the day (Rom. 8:28). Yet it should also be emphasized that all professing Christians have the responsibility to evince their salvation by their works (Php. 2:12; Jas. 2:14-24; 2 Pe. 1:5-7). Doing so doesn't make one eternally secure, but it further confirms the genuineness of one's profession of faith (Mat. 7:16; Jn. 8:31; 2 Cor. 13:5; 2 Pe. 1:10).

In the final analysis, Eternal security is not a teaching that promotes idleness and licentious living. Far from it. It is a biblical doctrine that brings glory to God's grace and mobilizes true Christians to unceasingly worship God by pursuing Christ-likness.

"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 24-25)

Praise God for His unfailing grace!

-Jeph

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[1] Early Baptist documents with strong Calvinistic leaning such as the London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) call this doctrine as Perseverance of the Saints, emphasizing the need for professing Christians to persevere in faith and holiness as an outward evidence of their being truly born-again. Some Baptists, however, didn't like the term Perseverance as it can give wrong impression that we maintain our salvation by our works, so they prefer to call it Preservation of the Saints—emphasizing God's active role in keeping his saints secure. Both are valid designations and refer to the same concept, but in this paper we will use Eternal Security for the sake of brevity. 
[2] This doesn't mean we can no longer sin. Christians do sin (1 Jn. 1:8), but they don't deliberately live in Sin (1 Jn. 5:18), nor can they return to their old sinful lifestyle (Rom. 6:1-2) because they are now a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17)

Keep me burning, Lord!

Are you slowly loosing that burning desire to serve Jesus with your life that was once in your heart when you first encountered Him? You must be running out of oil. What oil? The joy of our Salvation; the filling of the Holy Spirit in our souls. 

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." (Psa. 51:12)

Ask. Plead. Cry for His mercy, and you shall receive. 

Give me oil in my lamp

Keep me burning

Give me oil in my lamp

I pray, Hallelujah!

Give me oil in my lamp

Keep me burning

Keep me burning till the break of day.

Sing, Hosanna!, Sing, Hosanna!,
Sing, Hosanna! To the King of Kings.

Sing, Hosanna!, Sing, Hosanna!,
Sing, Hosanna! To the King!

Give me peace in my heart
Make me humble

Give me peace in my heart
I pray, Hallelujah!

Give me peace in my heart
Make me humble

Make me humble for another day.

-Jeph

St. Augustine's On the Spirit and the Letter

St. Augustine of Hippo

If you're looking for a good book which deals about the role of the divine law in Christian sanctification, I would recommend St. Augustine's On the Spirit and the Letter. Personally, this book has helped me in lot of different ways - theologically, apologetically, and spiritually - because it teaches and emphasizes plenty of biblical principles (which I will summarize later) that I find to be greatly beneficial to our spiritual warfare with the world.

The book, written by St. Augustine in 412 AD, is in many ways similar to Luther's famous treatise On the Bondage of the Will. Firstly, they are similar in occasion and purpose. Luther's On the Bondage of the Will was a response to the semi-Pelagian sentiments of Erasmus who argued that since God does not command impossibilities, the commands of the law, then, indicates that we possesses the natural ability of will to apply ourselves to the things which lead to eternal salvation, or turn away from them. In On the Spirit and the Letter, on the other hand, St. Augustine responds to the Pelagian teaching that the only grace necessary for man to live rightly is the knowledge of the law, and that man doesn't need to be helped by God from within since he has the natural capacity and free determination of the will to do that which the law prescribes (cf. Ch. 4). This heresy is derived directly from Pelagius' repeated assertion: "If I ought, I can", which is the very same argument Erasmus used against Luther. Secondly, the two books are similar with respect to the counter-arguments used by the authors to refute their theological rivals. Both Luther and St. Augustine devastatingly refuted their opponents by (1) emphasizing the bondage of man's will in Sin, (2) the insufficiency of the law to redeem us from sin, (3) the proper use and purpose of the law being to reveal sin and condemn the sinner in order that he may take refuge in God's mercy by faith, (4) the absolute necessity of God's enabling and empowering grace for the execution of any godly virtue, (5) and the unrestricted sovereignty of God in dispensing His gifts on whomever He wills.

So why not read Luther's On the Bondage of the Will rather than St. Augustine's On the Spirit and the Letter? Both books are actually commendable, but I would still prefer St. Augustine because of his lucid and gracious style in dealing with the subject he is treating. I'm not saying Luther wasn't lucid or he isn't gracious (though there are instances in his writings where he is evidently sarcastic and somewhat full of himself). It's just that I find St. Augustine's approach more reader-friendly.  

As usual, St. Augustine's deep commitment to Sola Gratia and Solus Cristus shines noticeably thorough the entire book, which makes it overall a great read. Chapter after chapter, the sincere reader will find himself drawn into God's grace in Christ more and more as St. Augustine strips the human flesh of all its alleged natural sufficiency, in accordance to the testimony of God's Word.

Perhaps the only turn-off an evangelical Christian will have on this book is the apparent misunderstanding of the author on the nature of justification. As we all know, St. Augustine didn't see justification as a one-time event wherein God declares a sinner righteous in His sight, but instead a process by which sinners are morally transformed and made righteous as they cling to God's mercy in Christ by faith (cf. Ch. 18 [XI], 45, 58). According to scholars, this misunderstanding is due to St. Augustine's misinterpretation of the Greek word "dikaioo" [a courtroom term meaning "to declare righteous in the sight of the law"] by using the Latin word "justificare" [which meant "to make righteous"] to translate it. The difference is apparent and crucial because the former indicates an issued instant verdict, while the latter a gradual change from something bad to good. Nonetheless, I suggest the discerning reader to overlook this glitch as he read the whole book, since the reason I recommend the book in the first place is that it essentially deals with the role of God's law in the Christian sanctification (though wrongly equated by St. Augustine to justification). 

Overall, I would rate On the Spirit and the Letter nine stars (over 10) because of its clarity, simplicity, lucidity, and consistent Christ-centeredness. After you read this book, you'll understand why St. Augustine was dubbed as "blessed doctor of Grace" and why both Catholics and Protestants hold him in very high esteem. May this book be as helpful to you as it has been to me.

God bless!

-Jeph

"Changed from glory to glory" (Part V): Our Role in the Process

"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining to 

what lies ahead., I press on toward the goal for the prize of the

upward call of God in Jesus Christ." (Php. 3:13b-14)

In part III, we've seen how dangerous it is to put one's self under the compulsive moral obligation of God's law apart from the life-giving and liberating power of the Spirit (Rom. 7:1-25). Then in part IV, we have discussed how the Holy Spirit causes us to obey God's will (Eze. 36:27) and emphasized that even our willingness and exertion of efforts energized by love, even the desire to pray, are marks of divine favor wrought in us by this same Spirit (1 Cor. 4:7; Php. 2:13).

This leads us to the next question: If we do not possess the autonomous power to change ourselves (Jn. 15:5), so much so that our progress to holiness is entirely at the disposal of God (Php. 2:13), does this mean we don't have any role to play in our sanctification? If the Holy Spirit does it all, can we now just sit around and relax? 

V. Our Role in the Process

If we should attend to the question at hand biblically, the correct answer should be negative. The fact that the Bible says "it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Php. 2:13) doesn't mean we should neglect what is said in the previous verse: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (v. 12b). It is true that God is absolutely sovereign over human choices (Rom. 9:18), but we are also morally responsible and have moral duties to fulfill (Lam. 3:39-41). I know this is somewhat mind-boggling (philosophically speaking), but in so far as the Bible supports both concepts (i.e. God's sovereignty & human responsibility), we should therefore maintain both as truth - BUT with diligent care and balance. 

Why with diligent care and balance? Because over-emphasis of one to the effect of denying or neglecting the other can lead to terrible screw-ups, theologically and practically. For example, believers who over-emphasize human responsibility (and free-will) have a strong tendency of relying on their own 'natural abilities' in the pursuit of holiness. The usual argument is: "If we are truly responsible, it necessarily follows that we must be endowed (in nature) with all the necessary means to perform our moral duties. The main problem with this view is that it fails to consider the vast effects of Sin on man's nature and his disposition of will (see Rom. 3:9-12, 8:7-8; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 2:1-3). Moreover, if pushed to its logical conclusions, this view would render God's help as insignificant, or if it has any significance at all, it is not absolutely necessary. Against this self-relying / self-glorying mindset, the Bible says: "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Cor. 4:7); and again, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me" (1 Cor. 15:10); and again, "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5); and again, "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Php. 2:13); and many other passages. 

Now, as much as there are those who so rely in themselves in their over-emphasis of human responsibility, there are also Christians who put so much emphasis on God's sovereignty and human depravity that they tend to be slothful. These people tend to have a weak prayer-life; or worse, don't pray at all (i.e. "why pray if God has already predetermined all that should occur"-attitude). They also tend to be so lazy sharing the gospel to the lost (i.e. "why evangelize if those who have been predestined will surely be saved anyway"-attitude). And even worse, some tend to just sit down and relax in front of their laptops and computer screens the whole day, searching for people over the internet whom they can argue with over the doctrines of grace, Calvinism, etc. Some even go too far by saying we shouldn't exert any effort at all! But I should add that this problem of slothfulness isn't confined only to those who over-emphasize God's sovereignty. This is a problem widespread among Christians of different theological persuasions.

Make every effort to become more like Christ!

Wait... Did I just say"effort"? Yes! And I would argue that this is our proper role in the process of sanctification (see 2 Pe. 1:5-10). Does this mean I am retracting what I stated in my previous entries that we, as frail humans, don't have the sufficient natural capability to sanctify ourselves through our own efforts? Not in any way. 

By "own efforts," I mean efforts done in the flesh and not by the liberating, love-infusing, and energizing power of the Spirit. These are efforts driven with a wrong mindset or motives and are merely superficial in nature (Mat. 15:8, 23:28). Such works cannot please God who searches the hearts, however good they may appear outwardly, because they're not borne in humble faith and true love of God (Rom. 14:23; Heb. 11:6; 1 Cor. 13:1-3). 

In other words, effort isn't really bad. It becomes bad only if it isn't based on truth and if we rely on them for the attainment of holiness (Rom. 10:2-3). It is Christ and His work alone that we should rely on: "who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord'" (1 Cor. 1:30-31). Relying on Christ, however, doesn't entail that we can just sit down and relax. The Bible also tells us to: "make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love" (2 Pe. 1:5-7). True, we are saved by grace alone without works (Eph. 2:8-9), but it is also true that we are saved for and unto good works: 

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).

So the Bible tells us that we are "created in Christ Jesus," or born again, "for good works," and it was God's plan all along that "we should walk in them."  Physically speaking, walking doesn't really require much effort, unless you are impaired. An average person makes about six-thousand steps per day, and we don't even notice it. But in the spiritual realm where we are torn in the battle between the Spirit and our old-self, walking in righteousness is surely not a very easy task, that is, unless we have in our hearts the true love of God by which "we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome" (1 Jn. 5:3). Yet having genuine love for God and his righteousness is in itself not a very easy thing to do. This is where prayer assumes an important role in our sanctification.

The Importance of Prayer

In prayer, we come to God completely empty-handed, recognizing His sovereignty and acknowledging our frailness and insufficiency. We don't pray to brag about our achievements. We pray because we know we are nothing apart from Him (Jn. 15:5).

In Part IV of this series I have listed seven ways the Holy Spirit causes us to obey God; namely, that He (1) illuminates us, (2) convicts us of Sin, (3) infuses love in our hearts, (4) leads us not into temptation, (5) makes us pray, (6) intercedes for us, (7) and permits us to fall for a time. The last two in the list cannot be obtained through prayer, because it is a default that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us whenever we pray, and that His permitting us to fall for a time is due to our impertinence and pride. The first five, however, can all be procured through prayer. Thus, we pray that God will give us understanding (illumination) when we read His Word (Jas. 1:5). We pray God to convict our hearts so that we may not continue in sin (Job. 6:24). We also pray that God will grow the seed of love which Has implanted in our hearts so that we may delight and walk in His ways (Psa. 119:124). We pray that God won't let us fall into temptation by reminding us of what we have learned from His Word (Luk. 16:13). And lastly, since it is the Holy Spirit also who makes us to pray (Rom. 8:15), we should also pray that we should be more prayerful (Psa. 80:3)! 

Of course God knows exactly what we need before we even ask (Mat. 6:8), and He can give everything we need without us praying. Yet He commands us to pray so that when we receive what we need, we will not think of it as coming from ourselves or ascribe it to fortune. Prayer leads us to praise God for His wisdom in providence, because we cannot truly say, "To him be glory forever. Amen!" if we do not in the first place acknowledge that "from him and through him and to him are all things" (Rom. 11:36).

Indeed, there is power in prayer. Not a power to compel God to move for our own benefit; but a power to make hold of God's promises. Not a power to change God's eternal plans; but a power to change us from the inside out according to His plan. The Prince of Preachers, C.H. Spurgeon, says about prayer:

"If any one should ask me for an abstract of the Christian religion, I should say it is in that one word prayer. If I should be asked, “What will take in the whole of Christian experience?” I should answer, “prayer.” A man must have been convinced of sin before he could pray; he must have had some hope that there was mercy for him before he could pray. All the Christian virtues are locked up in the word prayer. In troubling times our best communion with God will be carried on by supplication. Tell Him your case, search out His promise, and then plead it with holy boldness. This is the best, the surest, and the speediest way of relief." (link)

I've got plenty of other things to say concerning our role in sanctification. But since I don't want this paper to become too much of an eye-sore, the rest of this chapter will be on a separate post. God bless and stay tuned!

To God be the glory!

"Changed from glory to glory" (IV-b): Should we blame God for our shortcomings?

"For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such
things are in his mind." (Job 23:14)

Before we advance to the next main topic of this series which concerns about our role in the process (i.e. sanctification), I would first want to clarify an important matter in relation to what has been laid down in the previous entries, especially the last one. (Originally, there were two misconceptions that I wanted to discuss in this paper, but I ended up treating only one because the second objection is essentially in connection to the central topic of our next treatment).

The Objection

In my previous installment for this series, I have proven from Scripture that it is wholly God's gift, by the inner working of His Spirit in us, that we desire and do that which pleases Him. This is clear in Paul's words: "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Php. 2:13); and again, "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Cor. 4:7); and again, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me" (1 Cor. 15:10).

Yet, however God-glorifying and truly humbling to the soul this truth is, it is also prone to perversion like many other Christian doctrines. Some people, due to their ignorance of Scripture, object: "If it is God's gift that we desire and do His will, then our sinning is evidently a consequence of God's withholding that gift from us. Therefore, when we do well - God receives the praise, but He should also receive the blame for our shortcomings."

Our Reply

The proper response to objections of this kind is to show the utter falleness of mankind and God's sovereignty in dispensing His mercy to whomever He wills. True, God has created man with a free determination of will with regards to both good and evil, but man's freedom to live rightly was lost in him when he sinned. Consider the following verses:

 "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Gen. 6:5)

"See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes." (Ec. 7:29)

"This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead." (Ec. 9:3)

"For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one'." (Rom. 3:9-12) 

So it is man's own fault that he is now enslaved by "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2) and is utterly incapable of loving God and desiring to walk in His righteousness (Jer. 13:23). With this in mind, it should be clear that every good quality that we have which pertains to holiness (e.g., faith, love of God, strong will for obedience, perseverance, etc) are all God's gift since we don't have in us the natural capacity to produce them. For "which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Jn. 3:6). But it is argued that anyone denied with any of these gifts can justly blame God for his sinning or shortcomings. Is that so?

Consider this illustration:

Suppose you and a friend of yours owe me P10 million each. In order for both of you to keep up with my regular collection of payback, and because I'm a good guy, I have also provided each of you a business to run for yourselves so both of you can earn sufficient money to pay me. Unfortunately, after a week, you ended up financially drained and bankrupt due to deliberate over-spending and gambling. The same thing happened to your friend. Now there's no way you and your friend can pay your debts, and I'm about ready to sue both of you.

First question: Is it against justice if I will pursue sending you to prison due to your inability to pay the money you owe me? Obviously not. Why? Because in the first place, it wasn't my fault that you lost the capacity to pay! In fact, I myself have provided the means by which you can earn money in order to pay me, though it was never a money-lender's obligation to do so. It was you who wasted your resources, and according to law you deserve to be punished!

Now suppose I'm gonna give your friend (who is in the same financially bankrupt condition as yours) a special favor. I will absolve his debts so he would no longer be liable to prison, and in addition to that, will make him heir to my billion-peso-worth of properties and real estate. Meanwhile, on the other hand, you will remain financially bankrupt, unable to pay your debts, and with a lawsuit filed against you.

My next question is this: Is it against justice if I do this? Is it unlawful for me to have material favor on whomever I like? Absolutely not! Why? Because common-sense tells us that I have every right to do whatever I wanna do with my own things, and I'm not bound to give anyone anything materially, especially those who have offended me!

Another question: Can you ever justly blame me of your own financial bankruptcy merely on account of my refusal to give you the same favor I gave your friend? Plain common-sense will tells us again: Absolutely not!  Again, it wasn't my fault that you were on that miserable condition; it was all yours! You cannot blame me for refusing to give you the same compassion I had on your friend. I don't owe you anything!

My point here, and I hope you're seeing it clearly already, is that God is not indebted to anyone in any way (Rom. 11:33-36). It is we who owe God our existence, and for that reason we are forever bound to glorify Him in all things. This is our eternal duty. Back in creation, God has given man all the means he would need to fulfill that duty. Man was endowed with all capability of will to live rightly. He had freedom. Yet man dissipated this gift by disobeying God and ended up entangling himself under the tyranny of Sin (Ec. 7:29; Eph. 2:1-3). Hence, in the final analysis, God cannot in any way be blamed on account of man's sinfulness since it was man's own fault that he lost his moral liberty.

Now God has every right to dispense His gifts on whomever He wants to give it according to His good pleasure. "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" (Rom. 9:15-16; cf. Dan. 4:35). God is absolutely just and His sovereignty is unrestricted when it comes to His giving the gift of faith, repentance, holiness, etc. to whomever He wills (Mat. 20:15).

Therefore, in the case of those who believed the Gospel and are striving to live according to God's law out of love for their Savior, boasting is excluded because it is "God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (1 Cor. 3:7; cf. 1 Cor. 4:7). In sinning, however, everyone must acknowledge their full accountability.

Lastly, if there's anyone who still wishes to pry against this biblical truth, putting forth questions like:"Why [then] does [God] still find fault? For who can resist his will" (Rom. 9:19), let the apostle St. Paul himself rebuke them: "But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?' Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?" (Rom. 9:20-21).

In my next installment, I will center around our role as Christians in our sanctification in holiness. God bless and stay tuned!

To God be the glory! Amen!

"Changed from glory to glory" (Part IV): The Spirit that gives life

This is the longest entry, so far, in my exposition regarding Sanctification, but I pray that God will give you patience to read through this post entirely and digest them by heart.

In the previous entry we have proven that God's law doesn't have any intrinsic power to sanctify us. Left in ourselves the law is but "the letter that kills" - which only aggravates the sinful passions of our flesh by its righteous admonitions (cf. Rom. 7:7-14). God's intention in handing out His law is to show man his sinfulness; to terrify him, in order that he may abandon self-dependency and rely on God's grace alone for healing, redemption, and sanctification.

Our sinful nature indeed avails for nothing except to sin. It cannot and will not bring forth any spiritual good that God's requires of men according to His law. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (Jn. 3:6a). "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8:7-8). In order that we may fulfill God's law, a special divine influence powerful enough to overcome the rebellion of our flesh is needed. This divine influence, as you know it, is the Spirit of God indwelling everyone who are in Christ. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all" (Jn. 6:63). "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Eze. 36:27). How the Holy Spirit works in our lives in making us more like Christ will be the central topic of this paper.

IV. The Spirit that gives life

"And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my 

statutes and be careful to obey my rules." (Eze. 36:27)

In order for anyone to be able to fulfill God's law, he must first and foremost be freed from the power of Sin (Rom. 6:20). Those who are in Christ are already free from the tyranny of Sin, in the sense that its guilt and penalty have already been taken away by the blood of Christ (Rom. 3:24-25), and that the course of their moral lifestyle now faces a whole new direction (i.e. from rebellion unto sanctification - Rom. 6:18). However, in a narrower sense, we still do not posses total freedom from Sin in every respect, in so far as we remain imperfect in practice and in deed (1 Jn. 1:8). The reality of this truth is evident in Paul's words: "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5; cf. Rom. 8:13). Thus, although "we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin" (Rom. 6:6), we are still to "put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires" (Eph. 4:22).

Having said all these, we conclude that the liberating power of the Spirit is necessary not only with respect to our conversion, but also to our daily sanctification as Christians (2 Cor. 3:5-6). God's aid should be continually implored by the faithful as long as he lives in his mortal flesh. When the Holy Spirit grants us liberty from any sinful habit that we have, it inevitably leads us to actually overcome that habit and walk according to God's will. This victory is worked out in us by the Spirit in many ways which I have listed below:

1) By illuminating us concerning the truths of God's Word. "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (Jn. 17:17). The primary external means the Spirit uses to sanctify the redeemed is God's Word; i.e. the holy Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Mere reading or hearing of Scripture will not profit us anything if we don't understand what we read or hear. This is when the illuminating power of the Spirit comes in. Because He dwells in us (Jn. 14:17), the Spirit can lead us into all truth, as Jesus promised: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (Jn. 14:26); and again, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come" (Jn. 16:13).

 2) By convicting us of Sin. "And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (Jn. 16:8). A Christian may know all the truths concerning God and His will, but unless He is convicted of his own sins and depravity, he will never turn from his old ways and seek God for deliverance and transformation. Man, however, cannot produce this conviction in his own heart (2 Tim. 2:25-26). It is God's gift through His Spirit. 

3) By infusing love in our hearts. In John 14:16-17 & 26, we find a concise description of the sanctifying agency of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. Note that every time Jesus tells his disciples that love is (or should be) the motivating factor in obeying His commands (v. 15, 21, 23), He immediately mentions the Spirit's internal influence in the life of believers. Jesus is implying that when our hearts begin to love God and take delight in His law, the praise should be ascribed to God Himself, who has "[poured His love] into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom. 5:5). This infusion of love is also described in the Bible as God writing His law on our hearts (Jer. 31:33). Therefore, it is God's gift that we truly love Him and hence ardent in obeying His commands (Deut. 30:6, cf. Rom. 2:28-29; Eze. 11:19-20; 36:26-27; 1 Jn. 4:19).

 4) By leading us not into temptation. "It was I who kept you from sinning against me" (Gen 20:6).  If it is in order that we should willfully walk in righteousness that the Spirit infuses love in our hearts, the same Spirit also infuses hate in our hearts towards carnality and Sin so that we may successfully overcome temptation. Jesus taught us to pray that God should lead us not into temptation; that is, that we may not fall into it and Sin (Mat. 6:13).Certainly, if we have in us the natural power to overcome the enticement of evil, Christ wouldn't have taught us to make such supplication. Thus it is God's gift also that we succeed in mortifying our sinful habits, for it is "the Spirit [who] helps us in our weakness" (Rom. 8:26; cf. Php. 2:13). 

5) By making us pray. "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" (Rom. 8:15). All the gifts mentioned above can be obtained by the Christian with or without requesting them in prayer. Nonetheless, those gifts are basically procured through prayer. In fact, Christian sanctification is a process mobilized by our total dependence on God's grace (manifested in prayer) and the power of the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:17; 2 Thes. 5:23-24). Yet in order that we may not boast of our progress in holiness on account of our being prayerful, the Scripture also reveals that it is God (by His Spirit) who moves us to come to God in prayer. "For what do you have that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 2:14). Therefore, it is itself a mark of divine favor that we desire and begin to pray. This is one of the glorious mysteries of our faith: That God commands what He wills, but He also grants what He commands. That God entreats us to pray, but it is also Him who makes us to pray. "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Php. 2:13). And again,  "...but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" (Rom. 8:15b).

6) By interceding for us. "...for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:26b-27, ASV). As frail humans, we cannot actually make a prayer worthy of God's attention: "for we know not how to pray as we ought" (v. 26b). The only reason I see why this is the case is that it is impossible for us to pray with a perfectly undivided heart, however adorned with deep flowery words and intense emotions our prayer can be. But there is truth in the saying: "God will provide" (Gen. 22:8), because God has "sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" (Gal. 4:6). It is the Spirit who makes our prayer acceptable by praying it Himself on our behalf "with groanings which cannot be uttered." Now the Bible also teaches elsewhere that Christ makes intercession for "those who draw near to God through him" (Heb. 7:25), but the nature of His intercessory ministry should not be confused with that of the Holy Spirit. In His high priestly office, Jesus Christ intercedes for the saints in the right hand of the Father to entreat His mercy on their behalf, on account of His saving and sanctifying blood shed on the cross so that they might be saved "to the uttermost" (Heb. 7:25a; cf. Rom. 8:32-34, 39). The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, intercedes for us within our hearts so our prayer will be worthy of God's attention. 

7) By permitting us to fall for a time. Now it seems strange to say that the Spirit who works our sanctification, also in some occasion permits us to fall. But I would contend that when the Holy Spirit does, it is due to our unfaithfulness and pride. However, since the Holy Spirit is God and infinitely wise, He perfectly knows how to make use of our downfalls to benefit us at the end of the day (Rom. 8:28). St. Augustine wrote: "God in some degree forsakes you, in consequence of which you grow proud, that you may know that you are 'not your own,' but are His, and learn not to be proud" (On Nature and Grace, Ch. 32 [xxviii]). So when the Holy Spirit withholds His influence from us, it is basically due to our prideful heart, yet it is also for the purpose (and notice the irony) of taking away that same pride that is in our hearts. Unless we are driven to despair by the realization of the fact that we can do and are nothing apart from God (Jn. 15:5), we will never appreciate His grace. Sometimes we must learn the hard way. Thus, the Holy Spirit would at times allows us to trip and fall in order to bend our pride (i.e., the mindset of self-sufficiency), to humble us, so that upon realizing our hopelessness apart from God's grace, we may cry out to the Lord in despair as David did: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit!" (Psa. 51:12). Moreover, in allowing us to trip and fall, the Holy Spirit gives the Father an occasion to manifest His fatherly love and deep concern for us by hitting us with His rod of disciple (Heb. 12:5-9), the end result being is our sanctification in holiness (v. 10-14). 

There are many preachers today who hold that the Holy Spirit will not be free to work in our lives if we ourselves are not willing to change. I don't subscribe to such view. Our willingness and desire to change is proof that the liberating power of Holy Spirit is already at work in our lives, as I've shown many times over. Hence, it is not we who give the Holy Spirit freedom to accomplish His will, but Him who frees us and works within us "to will and to act according to His good pleasure" (Php. 2:13). This is not to say, however, that we are thoroughly passive in that we don't exert any willing cooperation with the Spirit's working in our pursuit of holiness. But when we willingly cooperate, we must acknowledge that it is God's Spirit Himself who made us to cooperate, so that we may not glory in ourselves but in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:30-31). "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Cor. 4:7).

In my next installment for this exposition, I will answer a serious question (or objection) concerning God's justice in molding us the way He wants us to be according to His goodness and absolute sovereignty.

To God be the glory!

"Changed from glory to glory" (Part III): The Letter that Kills

In the past two entries (part one & part two), I have sufficiently presented from the testimony of Scripture that (1) God demands practical holiness to all His children as necessary outward evidence of their saving relationship with Him and that (2) even after being regenerated and justified we still do not possess the full ability to walk in His righteousness apart from the inner working of His Spirit in our lives. This special influence of the Holy Spirit on the Christian will be further discussed in the next post, but for the meantime, let's briefly examine the role of God's law in our pursuit of being more Christ-like day after day.

III. The Letter that Kills

"When, indeed, [God] by the law discovers to a man

his weakness, it is in order that by faith he may refuge

to His mercy, and be healed" ~ St. Augustine of Hippo

It is basic that every Christian preacher and pastor should be highly ardent in exhorting God's children to "walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul" (Deut. 10:12). This is why every Sunday's preaching and sermon are full of lectures concerning what we should and we shouldn't do in conformity to God's precepts. Do this, do that. Stop doing this, abstain from that. This is law. And in so far as these moral principles were taken from the Word of God, it is God's law.

Now the law is in itself good because it reflects God's holiness and justice. Yet however, it is in itself insufficient to lead us to transformation and holiness. Note I'm not saying that the law is unnecessary for achieving holiness. What I'm trying to say is that the law alone wouldn't effect our Sanctification. In fact, left in our sinful flesh the law wouldn't bring us anything good but only disaster. Paul wrote:

"For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death." (Rom. 7:5)

For some reason, as observed by Paul, whenever the law is presented to us our flesh becomes even more aggravated to do exactly what it says we shouldn't do. When we are prohibited to lust, that's when we lust all the more. Why is that? Is Paul now implying that God's law wasn't somehow really holy and good since it apparently arouses our sinful passions whenever we are exposed to its admonitions? Paul gives us an answer:

"What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me." (Rom. 7:7-11)

For sure Paul didn't intend to double-talk when he asserted that the same good law that prohibits covetousness actually "produced in me all kinds of covetousness," (v. 8) and that through it "sin came alive and I died" (v. 9). What he meant is this: The law is spiritual and intrinsically good having God as its direct souce. Strictly speaking, the law has absolutely nothing to do with our being sinful. The problem of Sin is in our sinful flesh, which is in its very nature "hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot" (Rom. 8:7). So the heart of the problem lies not in the law itself, but on our sinful nature which is unable to delight in the spiritual commandments of the law. Paul wrote:

"So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin." (Rom. 7:12-14)

Therefore, the law plus our flesh will not effectuate genuine moral transformation in us. Mere presentation of law, the preaching of God's moral precepts, rebuke against sinful activities, and all kinds of appeal unto godliness will not profit us anything towards Sanctification unless by the aid of another influence powerful enough to overcome the hostility of our flesh. 

Now the reason why many preachers fail to effectively lead Christians to grow more in holiness, though their sermons are filled with invitations to live godly lives and all, is that they focus on law without also emphasizing our inability to fulfill them with our own will-power and might, and that we should be totally dependent on God's power in pursuit of holiness (1 Cor. 2:14; Php. 2:13). Without these essential elements, a preaching or sermon would be simply law - the letter that kills - which would make its hearers to trust in their own strivings and harden their own hearts all the more (Jer. 17:5). Of course they may for a time, out of fear or sense of obligation, do what the law says, but the quality of their labor is superficial and not long-term in the final analysis. There can't be any genuine transformation inside out.

The proper use of God's law

Unlike the popular opinion that God's giving us His commandments indicates that we have the ability to fulfill its righteous demands (or in Pelagius' own words, "If I ought, I can"), the Bible actually states the contrary:

"Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." (Rom. 3:20)

God's law doesn't tell us, "You can make it! You are able! You are strong!" On the contrary, it actually mirrors how frail we are as sinners and that every efforts of our flesh won't make us win God's favor. This exposition of sin is the prime purpose of God's law, for by it, we discover how utterly weak we are, in order that by faith we may run to God for mercy and be healed (Gal. 3:24). St. Augustine beautifully states it this way:

"The law was therefore given, in order that grace might be sought; grace was given, in order that the law might be fulfilled. Now it was not through any fault of its own that the law was not fulfilled, but by the fault of the carnal mind; and this fault was to be demonstrated by the law, and healed by grace." (On the Spirit and the Letter, Ch. 34)

We are no longer under the law of works but under grace; the law of faith. In other words, our motivation for walking in righteousness should not be compulsion or legalism, but total dependence and gratitude to the grace of God in Christ which works in us. This "grace" through which we are healed and enticed to fulfill the law refers to none other than the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit without whose influence the law is but "the letter that kills." 

"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:17-18, KJV)

In the next entry, we will discuss how the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Triune God, works our transformation into being more like Christ day after day. God bless and stay tuned.

To God be the glory! Amen!

"Changed from glory to glory" (Part II): Are we capable?

(Read the first part here)

II. Are we capable?

"...even the beginning of our faith, as con-

tinence, patience, righteousness, piety, and
the rest... all God's gift, so that he that glo-

ries may not glory in himself, but in the Lord
~ St. Augustine of Hippo

Some Christians have this idea that when God freed us from the power Sin (at the point of Conversion), He thereby made us wholly capable of bringing about the moral transformation He expects us to achieve after being saved. Thus, it now lies in the power of our own will to walk or not to walk in God’s righteousness since He has already done His part by enabling us. Consequently, when we implore God’s help to work into our lives, it is only that we might perform our duties more easier or with less difficulty; but we can nevertheless attain to that Christ-likeness on our own in so far as we have already been freed from the power of Sin.

This idea is very appealing and prominent among many Christians today. However, I honestly believe God’s Word doesn’t support such view.  The Bible gives no indication that God made us wholly capable of sanctifying ourselves when He freed us from Sin. Freedom from the power of Sin does NOT grant us total independence from any spiritual influence so that we may be left on our own. Instead, God freed us from the power of Sin so that we may be under the inspiration and sanctifying influence of His Spirit (Rom. 8:15). To be exact, the Bible equates freedom from Sin [or deadness to Sin] to our incapability of totally going back to our old sinful lifestyle (see Rom. 6:1-2), but never to moral capability. Observe Paul's statement in Philippians 2:12-13:

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Php. 2:13). 

In exhorting the Philippians to "work out" their salvation (that is, to evince their justification by doing good works), Paul immediately added that they must strive do so with complete humbleness and lowliness of heart (i.e. "with fear and trembling"). Why? Paul gives us the reason: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Paul takes way all grounds of human boasting regarding our sanctification by exposing that it is God Himself who gives what He demands us to do according to His will. Note he didn't say, “God has already given you the ability, and the rest is up to you,” but rather “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Certainly, this divine inner working would be rendered completely superfluous if believers already possess the ability of obeying God’s will on their own.

This is not to say, however, that we cease to have a will under the inspiration of God's grace, or that it is no longer we that act when we do that which pleases God, but that the actual execution of godly virtues is an evidence that God’s grace is at work in our lives. Moreover, when it is asserted that Christians are void of natural ability to reform themselves for the better, it doesn't mean we remain sinners or in bondage to Sin even after we are saved. Rather, it is simply acknowledging that we are in every way dependent on God's grace in our pursuit of holiness, and that whenever when we experience victory from our old sinful habits and lifestyle, it is by God's working and not by our own powers and capabilities that we overcome them (Php. 2:13). As St. Paul puts it:

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." (2 Cor. 3:5)

Christ told His disciples, “without me ye can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5); meaning, we are incapable of moral reformation by our own strength. It is God's gift that we have the ability and desire to change (cf. Gen. 20:6; Deut. 30:6; Eze. 36:26-27; Rom.  5:5; Php. 2:13).

In the next post we will discuss the role of God’s law in our journey to attaining moral Christ-likeness. Stay tuned and God bless!

To God be the glory!