Where are the Watchmen?

                I know I shouldn’t be surprised at anything I see in the days in which we live, but I often am amazed at the thinking of the average professing Christian in our nation. For most, church attendance on Sunday is social event in which to make contacts that will help them increase their business, or a social club to go to when there is nothing more exciting lined up on the calendar.

                For others, attending church is a good religious deed that, when weighed in the balance, will tip the scales in their favor as far as making it to heaven is concerned. Are we ever living in the days of Laodicea! The organizations known as “churches” are lukewarm at best. They are more concerned about making it home in time for kick-off than they are about what the preacher is saying. If you don’t believe me, let the preacher go past noon next Sunday and get ready for the comments.

                The main problem in our churches today is that the vast majority of people who are on the membership rolls are lost. They have not been born again. They are unregenerate. I don’t know how else to say it. Because of the modern day easy believism  approach to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, many people have been talked into walking down an aisle and repeating a sentence and if they were sincere when they say it, then they were pronounced “saved” by the preacher and returned to their seats. They go through the rest of their lives living like world, yet thinking they are going to heaven.

                Ask the average church member what he or she looks forward to when he or she gets to heaven. Most likely it will go something like this… “I look forward to walking on the streets of gold, living in my mansion and hanging out with my friends.”  I remember one professing Christian who posted this… (not an exact quote) “I can’t wait to get to heaven so I can see my mom and Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, and all those other @#%#$$*$ who didn’t let the government of their day push them around.”  What a sad statement!

                The average church member is not looking forward to seeing Jesus Christ when he gets to heaven because the average church member is lost and at enmity with Christ. I have been reading through the book of Ezekiel and have been held up in Chapters 33 through 36. As I read Chapter 33, I saw that Ezekiel was called to be a watchman to the house of Israel. I wondered how the truths found there could apply to us in our day. After all, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable to us spiritually and it was written for our learning.

                When I look at our churches today, I see people who have followed in Israel’s footsteps. We are religious, yet the gods we serve are not the God of the Bible. The gods that most church members serve are gods of their own imaginations.  Not long ago I watched an interview with a prominent TV talk show host who said that she grew up a Baptist, but one Sunday when the preacher said God was a jealous God…

“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” (Exodus 20:5).

                … she knew that wasn’t her God. She was right. The God of the Bible was not her god. Her god wasn’t jealous and wrathful. Her god is a god who loves everyone. She has spent the rest of her life following after a god of her own imagination. Our churches are full of people like her. So who will warn them? Think about it…If God did not spare His own people, the nation of Israel, but chastened them for their idolatry and worship of false gods, do we think He will not do the same with us today?

                We need watchmen in our churches today. We need men who will stand up and proclaim the judgment of God on our churches unless we repent. We need men who will warn the wicked, lost, unregenerate church member to repent and turn from his wicked ways and believe on Jesus Christ, as well as warn the righteous of the importance of continuing to follow Christ.

                Ladies and Gentlemen…members of our churches today, Ezekiel 33 applies to you. Through the Old Testament prophets, we have been shown much about what is going to take place especially during the Great Tribulation. As we see events take place in our world, we clearly understand that the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to take His bride, the Church, to heaven for the wedding of the Messiah, is very soon. The storm clouds of the Great Tribulation are on the horizon.            

Exodus 33:8-20

⁸ When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

⁹ Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

¹⁰ Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

                If our sins and penalty of our sins are upon us (and they are), and we continue to live in them, how will we be able to live in the presence of God?

               

                Lost church member, you must understand the serious nature of your sin and God’s hatred for it. You must understand the consequence of your sins…eternal death…a separation from the peace of God, suffering the wrath of the Holy God forever in hell.

Romans 3:23 (part A)   For the wages of sin is death;

                Also know that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.               

¹¹ Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

                Here is a general call for repentance. This call is to be put out to all men and women, boys and girls. However, we know that a person in his natural, sinful condition cannot of his own free will repent of his sins and turn to Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

                The will of man is a slave to his heart and the heart of the natural man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. True repentance…repentance unto salvation is a gift from God…

Romans 6:23 (part B)  but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

… to those whom He chose before the foundation of the world as seen in Ephesians 1:4.

                Consider how repentance is given to individuals.

Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

                Remember, God told Ezekiel that Israel would not repent. Why not? They could not repent until God gave them repentance. The same is true of every person born into this world.

Acts 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

2 Timothy 2:24-25 

24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give to them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

                Just as God through the Apostle Paul, in the sermon he preached to the Athenians, instructed all men everywhere to repent, we too are to instruct all men (even church members) to repent and warn them of the consequences if they don’t.

Acts 17:30

30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.

31  Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.       

                We preach repentance and faith in Jesus Christ knowing that only the elect of God will have their eyes opened, their ears opened, their stony heart removed and replaced with a heart of flesh, and be given repentance and faith unto life. We do not know who the elect of God are. That is why we are to preach the Gospel of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to all men.

¹² Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.

                Here it is made clear that a person’s self-righteousness and religion will not save him. Understand from Isaiah 64 that all your righteousnesses are as filthy rags. It is impossible for you to please God in your own power, in the flesh.

¹³ When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

¹⁴ Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;

¹⁵ If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

¹⁶ None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

                True repentance and faith, when granted to an individual by God, will result in salvation and that person living a life pleasing to God, a life in which the fruit of the Spirit will be displayed.

¹⁷ Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.

¹⁸ When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.

¹⁹ But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.

²⁰ Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

                Isn’t that just like us? Many, especially those who don’t understand the Doctrines of Grace, say, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” …when actually our ways are not fair.

                No matter how righteous a person looks or acts, if it is done in self-righteousness it is sin and the person in a lost state or natural condition who dies in his sins will suffer the wrath of God unless God acts in his behalf. Though he may appear righteous, in all actuality he is wicked.

                Now if that wicked person is granted true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and he turns from his wickedness and is given a new nature and lives a life following Christ, he shall live.

                Though this is true and God is right to do so, men accuse God of being unequal or unfair. Yet God will judge every one of us according to our ways. Are we acting on our own or are we living out something that God has worked in our lives for His honor and His glory?

                People today need to know the vileness of their sin and the consequence of remaining in their sin. They also need to understand they are commanded to repent and believe the gospel and that failure to do so will result in eternal damnation in hell suffering the wrath of Almighty God.

                Again, God does not find pleasure in the death of the wicked, so I urge you to come to Christ. Those who hear and respond are those to whom it has been given to do so. Though God does not need anyone to save a soul, He uses men and we are responsible to send out the general call to repentance.

                Church members be warned:

2 Corinthians 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves, Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

                Stop playing “church” and get serious about the LORD.

God will not share His glory with another…

Isaiah 48:1-2

1   Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.

2   For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.

Here Jehovah, the One true God, is speaking through His prophet, Isaiah, to those of the southern kingdom of Judah, particularly those who dwelt in the city of Jerusalem. They were of the children of Israel and particularly of the tribe of Judah, the very tribe which the Messiah was promised to come through. 

They swore by Jehovah’s name… by that is meant they invoked His name in their religious exercises. They sang praises to Him. They honored Him with their lips. They professed to remember His works of old as they observed their solemn feasts, yet their hearts were far from Him. All those religious things they did were not done in truth or in righteousness. To them, at this time, Jehovah was one God among many, for they practiced idolatry. 

In verse 2 we understand those Jehovah is speaking to are from Jerusalem because they called themselves “of the holy city.” Jerusalem was known as the holy city because that was where the temple was and that was where God met with His people. Though they called upon the name of Jehovah and considered themselves to be right in His sight because of who they were and where they lived, yet they were strangers to God and His saints. 

They professed to trust in Jehovah and to lean upon Him, rely on His power, His providence, His mercy and goodness; yet they were simply religious hypocrites. As I mentioned, their hearts were far from Him… 

Isaiah 29:13   Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

How else do we know their hearts were far from Jehovah?

Micah 3:9-11

  9   Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

10   They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11   The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? None evil can come upon us.

As I read and studied these first 11 verses of Jeremiah chapter 48, I found myself wondering if I was reading about Judah or the United States of America in 2013. 

Isaiah 48:3  I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

Here in verse 3, Jehovah shows His omnipotence and His sovereignty. Why is He declaring these things to those in Jerusalem? Jehovah is proving to the household of Judah that He alone is worthy of glory…He alone is omnipotent and sovereign. There is no other God beside Him! In this verse He shows how from the time of Abraham, their father, He declared what would happen to his descendants; that they would live in Egypt, be afflicted there, and come out with great wealth. Also that He would bring them into  the land of Canaan and drive out the inhabitants before them.

Genesis 15:13-18

13   And he said to Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14   And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come our with great substance.

15   And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16   But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

17   And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18   In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates. 

Jehovah told these things to Abraham by the very word of His mouth. He showed Abraham all that would take place and even in Abraham’s time they began to take place…for Abraham had a son named Isaac who had a son named Jacob whose name God changed to Israel. He had 12 sons and they went down to Egypt as you well remember. Everything Jehovah spoke came to pass precisely as it was foretold.  Not one thing spoken of the LORD failed to happen.

Joshua 21:45   There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

Again, the LORD did this to prove that He alone was Jehovah or the One true God and that He alone was deserving of glory. Why would Jehovah need to show this to Judah?

Isaiah 48:4-5

4   Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

5   I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

The LORD knew the kingdom of Judah was heart hearted and rebellious, stiff necked and not at all compliant with the will of God. They were impudent and not ashamed of their sin and refused to hear the warnings of the prophets. Jehovah foreknew this and that is why from the times of Abraham He declared all that would happen before it came to pass. The LORD knew they would attribute those things that came to pass to their idols. In effect, He has stopped them before they could start giving credit to their false gods. 

Isaiah 48:6  Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

In this verse, the LORD tells Judah, You have heard all these things and knew they were told to you long before they ever happened. In your life you have seen them come to pass exactly as they were predicted. He said, look at those prophecies again and compare them with the events…pay close attention as to how they were perfectly, exactly fulfilled. When you have done so, can you be so arrogant and hard hearted that you will not admit it?

Here the Lord also reminds them of a more recent prophecy that He had just declared to them through Isaiah in chapter 45 and that is the prophecy of the rise of Cyrus, king of Persia who would deliver the Jews in the future. As of chapter 48 it had not happened yet. Their deliverance was hidden by the LORD and unknown to Judah until it was prophesied. At the time of the prophecy about Cyrus, Judah was still 100 years away from seeing it take place. 

In a similar way, the deliverance from sin seen in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hidden to men until it is made know to them by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Isaiah 48:7-8

7   They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.

8   Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and was called a transgressor from the womb.

Jehovah is saying, the prophecies of Cyrus delivering Israel from captivity, were new and not told to Abraham. They were created or decreed now and not from the beginning. God reserved them in secret before Judah heard about them, but in His time He revealed them to Judah, so they could not ascribe their knowledge of these prophecies to their own abilities to figure things out. 

In verse 8, Jehovah reproves Judah showing them that they were far from knowing the events that would take place before He gave them the prophecy. He said He gave them the prophecy when they did not want to listen, when they didn’t understand, receive or embrace it. Rather, Judah turned a deaf ear to the prophecies of Jehovah. 

The LORD knew they would deal very treacherously and were transgressors from the womb…that’s even before birth.  Does this not a perfect of picture of every single one of us? We were all conceived in sin and formed in iniquity inside our mother’s wombs. We went astray from God as soon as we were born. The imagination of our hearts was evil from our youth and we are continually breaking the righteous law of God and therefore justly deserve to be called a transgressor. Just as Judah needed a deliverer, we needed a deliverer…His name is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

In verse 9, Jehovah declares a truth that mortal men do not like and that is why God saves or delivers His people. Men like to think it is because God looked down from heaven and saw some good deed they would do or some good choice they would make to follow Him or invite Him into their hearts…not so!

Isaiah 48:9  For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

Everything that Jehovah does is for no other reason than for His name’s sake and for the praise of His glory. Though Judah was wicked and steeped in idolatry, God would not cut them off because they were called by His name and said to be His people. He did not want His name to be a reproach among the heathen or to have His glory diminished. 

Because He alone is Jehovah God and because He is holy and just and righteous, He could not allow the sin of Judah to go without correction. His name was at stake. 

Isaiah 48:10  Behold I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Therefore, the LORD refined them, in the furnace of poverty and captivity. He brought the Chaldeans from Babylon to take many away from Israel and those left in Judah and Jerusalem were left in poverty and affliction. Are we not refined through the affliction and conviction of our souls? Isn’t that how the LORD draws us to Himself? Do we not see ourselves in these verses?

Isaiah 48:11  For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for  how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory to another.

It was for His name’s sake that he deferred His anger and did not cut off or destroy the Jews of Judah living in Jerusalem. How should the name of the only true, holy, just and righteous God be polluted?  How should it be spoken evil of among the nations of this world? If Jehovah did not deliver His people, the nations of the earth could say that He didn’t really love His people or He was not able to deliver them and the gods of the Babylonians and Persians were stronger than He was. 

There are many places in the scriptures that tell us the LORD does as He pleases for His name’s sake. In Ezekiel 36, which we looked in a previous study, the LORD is dealing with those Israelites who had been taken captive to Babylon. He says plainly that He was not going to deliver them for any reason other than for His name’s sake…they too had fallen into idolatry. 

Jehovah, again through Isaiah, had previously told them…

Isaiah 42:8   I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

He told them He was the self-existing One; eternal and immutable and He would not give His glory to another god or His praise to idols or graven images. For God to give His glory to another god would be idolatry on His part. That can and will never happen for the attributes of His holiness, justice, righteousness, all flow from within Himself. He cannot sin. Idolatry is sin. If we give glory to anyone or anything other than to Jehovah God, we are guilty of idolatry…guilty of robbing God of His glory. 

This is dangerous ground to walk on and yet we as mere mortal men often tread it just as the children of Israel did before us. I imagine most here would say, “I do not practice idolatry!” I’m sure it’s safe to say that none here have a statue or image that we bow down to and worship. We are not a nation that worships other gods! …Or are we? Do we unwittingly practice idolatry and ascribe glory to another other than Jehovah?

Consider the gods that men worship today and that have been worshipped in our country over the past 80 years or so. The reason we can say these “gods” are “worshipped” today is because anything for which a man will live, give his time, his energy, his money to is a god to him. If it excites him, enthuses him, if he lives for it, is controlled by it and is prepared to sacrifice all for it, then it is his god. 

What gods do we serve here in the United States of America?  How about Patriotism? Just look at the hero worship of soldiers that goes on in our country. Or the “American Dream”…money and wealth, and the things these can buy such as acreage, homes, cars, boats, social status and position. Then there is the god of “power”…climbing the corporate ladder or political office to assert one’s authority over others.  There are parents who worship their children. I know of those who this very day worship the body and physical fitness. 

What is the one of the most widely worshipped god in the state of Texas…they just started practicing for it this past Monday. I am speaking of the god of the gridiron…Texas High school football. Not just to pick on football you can name any sport you like. Americans worship sports it is a god to them. How can I say that? In the vast majority of churches across our land, let the preacher preach past noon and cause his church members to miss the pre-game show or the kick-off or tip-off and see the reaction…even if it is in a sarcastic joking tone (there is truth in sarcasm), sports mean much.

We are masters at justifying the worship of our gods at the expense of serving the one true God. Hunting, fishing, our hobbies, you name it…there are many gods worshipped across our nation. 

In and of themselves these things are not evil, but when a person becomes willing to forego reading the word of God, praying, or attending church in order to participate in these things, they have become his god…and men will justify it in their minds.

In my opinion, greater than any of these gods which are served in America, by even professing Christians, is the god of “man” himself. The belief in man and his powers is almost endless. There is nothing man can’t do if he sets his mind to it.  Some would call it humanism. We see it in Romans 1.

Romans 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

We in America have changed the truth of God into a lie…we have imagined Him to be like we are.

Romans 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

We have taken the incorruptible God in all His glory and in our minds have changed Him to be like a corruptible man. Men’s ideas of God today are pathetic even among professing Christians. The “God” that so many serve today is the god of their evil imagination and not the Jehovah of the Bible. He is more like a feeble, gentle, old grandpa who reminds us of Santa Claus. He is known as the “man upstairs” and not Jehovah God. 

Today, in our country, men worship the creature (man) rather than the Creator (God). This has even crept into our churches. You may say we don’t have idols or tiny statues in our homes or our churches. American Christians may not have golden images they bow down to, but the sinfulness of idolatry comes from ascribing value, worth, greatness and praise (that belongs only to God) to someone or something other than God. We, in our churches have done just that. How?

Many Christians today believe that the free will of man is sovereign over God’s perfect, eternal will. They often tell me that it is God’s will that all men, women and children be saved and they point me to 2 Peter 3:9, yet God is powerless to save them until they make a decision to open the door of their hearts and let God come in. They believe this based on their understanding of Revelation 3:20. 

Read the Scriptures!  First, 2 Peter 3:9 is written to “us-ward” the beloved or the elect of God. Second, Revelation 3:20 is written to the church, not lost men, women, and children. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time man gave God permission to do something? Did Job give God permission to take his herds, his flocks, his children and eventually his health? Did God ask Job for his permission? Absolutely not! 

In my humble opinion, the greatest robbery of God’s glory is done by Christians in regard to the salvation of man. Too many do not give God 100% of the glory for their salvation. They reserve a little glory for themselves. Jehovah alone deserves all the glory for our salvation because He alone has caused us to be saved. The only reason any of us have any hope of forgiveness of sins and eternal life is because He alone chose to act on our behalf, and we contributed nothing. Repentance and faith are gifts granted or given to us, not offered if we want them. 

2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.    

Acts 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. 

In our day, across this nation, many pastors will stand and tell their congregations that God provided the way of salvation in Jesus Christ, but it is up to you to exercise your free will and choose to repent and believe the Gospel. If you do so, then God will respond to your faith and save you. They say God offers the gift of salvation and will save whosoever will stretch out their hand in faith to receive it. 

That is not the Gospel. The Gospel is not, “Jesus has done all He can do, and now He stands at the door of your heart knocking, hoping and praying you will open the door and let Him in.” If that was the case, the Jehovah God would be sharing His glory with men. Since the final decision regarding salvation is presumably dependent upon man, he would be able to boast, “I opened the door of my heart. I let Him in. I accepted Christ. I chose to be saved. I closed the deal. I was seeking God. I found Him. I repented of my own free will and for all practical purposes, I saved myself because I was wise enough to see it.” 

Those thoughts fly in the face of the Scriptures…

Psalm 14:2-3

2  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 

3  They are all gone aside, they are all together come filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 

Psalm 10:4  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Isaiah 64:6-7

6   But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

7   And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

Salvation is a gift granted, not a gift offered. He is God and He gives His gift to whomsoever He will.  Many unwittingly rob God of His glory because they do not really believe He alone is Sovereign, as they say they do. Many Christians say that God, in His sovereignty, left man with a free will and basically left his salvation up to himself. If God did so then, again, He would have to share the glory of man’s salvation with man…and God said, “My glory will I not give to another.”

Had God, in His sovereignty, not chose us, called us, given us the gifts of repentance and faith and caused us to come willingly in the day of His power, we would never have done it. Because He has done all those things for His elect, we have been saved by His grace and He alone receives all the glory for it. 

Search your heart. Search your soul. Is there anything you love more than God? Jesus Christ is worth everything, even your life. Even if you must die to follow Him, He is of such infinite value that if you are not willing to give up your life for Him, you are not worthy to be among those who call Him Savior.

Who deserves glory, honor and praise more than the LORD? If He is not worth everything to us, we are idolaters even as those of Jerusalem in our text in Isaiah 48. If anything is of greater value to us than God Himself, whatever it is, that is our god. 

Never forget…the LORD will not give His glory to another, neither will He share it with another! 

Judgement has begun with the house of God.

                As a result of recent discussions with a dear friend of an opposing belief system, I sought to do some research to see if I could find those influences that lead John Calvin to teach the Doctrines of Grace which years after his death became labeled “The Five Points of Calvinism.” I also set out to find what influenced Jacob Arminius in his opposing belief system which, after his death, became known as Arminianism.

                 In the process of my research, I came across a website which contained an article written in 1995 by a gentleman named Keith Drury.  The way he describes modern churches is exactly what our church forefathers warned us against.  

                The following is a part of his article entitled, “Triumph of Arminianism (and its dangers).”  So as not to mistakingly take his words out of context, I have not simply printed one or two quotes. I have given you entire paragraphs. Read the entire article to get the full context of what Mr. Drury is saying. If you desire to read the entire article you may find it at http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/triumph.htm. I have not altered or edited his text in any way.

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The Triumph of Arminianism

There is little doubt about it: Arminianism has triumphed in the pew, if not in the seminary. The average Christian is a practicing Arminian, even if he claims to be a Calvinist in theory. "Practical" modern church members are increasingly rejecting traditional "five-point Calvinism." While Arminianism has been a "minority view" for decades, today there is a major drift toward Arminianism in most Calvinist churches.

Why the switch?

I spent several years as a determined five-pointer as a young man before changing my mind to accept Arminianism. I made the switch purposefully and with quite a bit of painful study as a student at Princeton Seminary. But many Calvinists today are making the switch for purely pragmatic reasons. They have not become convinced the Bible really teaches the Arminian approach. Frankly, Arminianism is simply more palatable to a secular culture. It "fits in" to the mind-set of the people in their pews. Like it or not, the secular mind is naturally Arminian in its outlook. I've discovered this repeatedly myself by administering a theological questionnaire to secular students in an adult education program. These "unchurched Harrys" invariably register Arminian theologically.

Face it, Arminianism is simply more logical. It makes sense to the person on the street. And today's church is scrambling to make sense to unbelievers. We want to sound sensible, logical, rational, enlightened, fair. Arminianism is so much more appealing to worldly people.

Thus, many Calvinist churches customize worship services, communication styles, architecture, and music, to fit the worldly customers. But they also adapt their theology by quietly creeping away from the "right end" of the theological continuum and drifting over toward Arminianism. The truth of the matter is, they are embarrassed by Calvinistic theology. They have found it offensive to the "customers." The Arminian approach to theology is simply a more "seeker sensitive."

Keith Drury teaches courses in practical ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University.

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                Now that you’ve read the full paragraphs. I want to pull some quotes out and let them stand alone. See if you get the same feeling in your gut that I do…

“Frankly, Arminianism is simply more palatable to a secular culture.”

“Like it or not, the secular mind is naturally Arminian in its outlook.”

“Arminianism is so much more appealing to wordly people.”

                I would now like to show you part of two articles, one written in 1887 and one in 1891, by Charles Spurgeon. As with Mr. Drury’s writing, I have not altered or edited Spurgeon’s text in any way.

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Sovereign Grace Hated by the

Modern Religionist C. H. Spurgeon

    If anything is hated bitterly, it is the out and out gospel of the grace of God, especially if that hateful word "sovereignty" is mentioned with it. Dare to say "He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he will have compassion on whom he will have compassion" (Romans 9:15), and furious critics will revile you without stint. The modern religionist not only hates the doctrine of sovereign grace, but he raves and rages at the mention of it. He would sooner hear you blaspheme than preach election by the Father, atonement by the Son, or regeneration by the Spirit. If you want to see a man worked up till the Satanic is clearly uppermost, let some of the new divines hear you preach a free grace sermon. A gospel which is after men will be welcomed by men; but it needs a divine operation upon the heart and mind to make a man willing to receive into his inmost soul this distasteful gospel of the grace of God.

    My dear brethren, do not try to make it tasteful to carnal minds. Hide not the offence of the cross, lest you make it of none effect. The angles and corners of the gospel are its strength: to pare them off is to deprive it of power. Toning down is not the increase of strength, but the death of it. Why, even among the sects, you must have noticed that their distinguishing points are the horns of their power; and when these are practically omitted, the sect is effete. Learn, then, that if you take Christ Out of Christianity, Christianity is dead. If you remove grace out of the gospel, the gospel is gone. If the people do not like the doctrine of grace, give them all the more of it. Whenever its enemies rail at a certain kind of gun, a wise military power will provide more of such artillery. A great general, going in before his king, stumbled over his own sword. "1 see," said the king, "your sword is in the way." The warrior answered, "Your majesty's enemies have often felt the same." That our gospel offends the King's enemies is no regret to us.

Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1891, page 49.

    I preach the doctrines of grace because I believe them to be true; because I see them in the Scriptures; because my experience endears them to me; and because I see the holy result of them in believers. I confess they are none the less dear to me because the advanced school despises them: I should never think it a recommendation of a doctrine that it was new. Those truths which have enlightened so many ages appear to me to be ordained to remain throughout eternity. The doctrine which I preach to you is that of the Puritans: it is the doctrine of Calvin, the doctrine of Augustine, the doctrine of Paul, the doctrine of the Holy Ghost. The Author and Finisher of our faith himself taught most blessed truth which well agreed with our text. (Ephesians 2:8). The doctrine of grace is the substance of the testimony of Jesus.

The Sword & The Trowel, January, 1887.

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                It would appear that Mr. Spurgeon agreed with Mr. Drury on this…secular and worldly people hate the Doctrines of Grace.  Therefore, today’s modern American churches have done what Spurgeon warned against and that is they have sought to take away the offensiveness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They have made it tasteful to carnal minds and in doing so have deprived it of its power.

                Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To him it was the power of God unto salvation. Many churches today are ashamed of the offensive Gospel of Jesus Christ and have toned it down to make it acceptable to carnal men. The modern Gospel has no power. That’s why secular marketing, gimmicks, programs, and gymnasiums are necessary to draw people into the church.

                If this is true of many of our modern American churches as it seems, it would appear to me that our nation is under the judgment of God because scripture states that judgment begins with the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). He has given us our request and sent leanness to our souls. With the desire to have huge numbers on membership rolls and the willingness to compromise the preaching of the true Gospel, the majority of today's churches are filled with religious people who have been made two fold a child of the devil and on that dreadful day of the Lord will say , "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" ...only to hear the Sovereign God say, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Ezekiel 36...Salvation is of the LORD!

            In our recent studies we have looked at the ruined condition of the natural man. Sin has so affected man in every area of his mind, body and soul that he is totally depraved. We searched the scriptures and clearly showed this to be true. We saw how that because his heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) that his affections are desperately wicked. If his affections are desperately wicked then it can only follow that his will is desperately wicked and he cannot and will not choose to seek God. This principle is clear in scripture.

Isaiah 64:6-7

6   But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

7   And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and has consumed us, because of our iniquities.

Psalm 14:2-3

2   The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

3   They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

                Since man cannot and will not seek God in his natural state (Psalm 10:4), how can he then be reconciled to God? There has to be a propitiation…an atoning sacrifice…a substitutionary sacrifice. We find this sacrifice in Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Romans 3:24-25

24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.

                It’s time to think… If man, in his natural condition, is desperately wicked and his affections and will are desperately wicked and he will not seek God…

Psalm 10:4   The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

… then how can any one of us repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?

Matthew 19:26   But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

                Man can only be justified or be declared to be right with God (he can only be saved) by His grace which is His divine influence on the heart and the reflection of it in the life.

                The word of God is plain in Jonah 2:9…Salvation is of the Lord and only of the Lord. It is not of the Lord and man working together to accomplish a common goal. Man has no part or say in his new birth, just as he had no part or say in his natural birth. 

Deuteronomy 32:39-40

39    See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

40   For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live forever.

                It is God who makes the spiritually dead natural man alive.  It is God who quickens, or makes alive, his dead soul and draws him or causes him to come to God.

Ephesians 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Ephesians 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved;)

Ephesians 2:8-9

8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9   Not of works, lest any man should boast.

                If our salvation was based on a decision we made to come to Christ, then we would have somewhat to boast of. It was God’s divine influence on our desperately wicked heart and Him doing for us something we could not do…drawing us to Himself.

John 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Psalm 110:3  Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,

                Christ quickens the soul that is dead in sins and trespasses. He then draws that soul to Himself, at which point that person is willing to come to Christ.

                This truth is beautifully shown to us in the book of Ezekiel in chapter 36. In this chapter we see the power of the Sovereign God revealed in the salvation of man. In studying this chapter, the first thing we have to realize is the context. The context of this chapter is that God is speaking to the nation of Israel through the prophet Ezekiel. Chapter 36 is for Israel. It is a prophecy of what will take place at some point in the future. Right now Israel has a veil over their eyes and they do not see that Jesus Christ is the Messiah they have been looking for.

                In Romans chapter 11, Paul the Apostle is clear that when the fullness of the Gentiles is complete, God will return to Israel, remove the veil from their eyes and will carry out what is prophesied in Ezekiel 36.  Just as the Gentiles are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, so too will the Jews be saved. Ezekiel 36 not only explains what will take place with the nation of Israel, but it also shows us the principle of salvation. Notice that it is God who does it all.

                In the first 23 verses God is telling Israel what He is going to do to those nations who have persecuted them. In these verses we see a type or picture of those who are not drawn to God; those who are left in their sins. They are the ones who persecute the church, the bride of Christ. Beginning in verse 24 we see redemption and salvation from God’s point of view.

Ezekiel 36:24-32

24   For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

                In context God is speaking to Israel and He began bringing it to pass in 1948. Though this is speaking of Israel, there is a principle application that can be made today. In this we see God will gather His chosen (the elect) people out from among the heathen (the non-elect). He calls us out from this world. In John 17, the prayer our Lord prayed before going to the garden of Gethsemane, Christ prays (John 17:6) for the men which were given to him out of the world. 

25   Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

                Look at the power and sovereignty of our God. HE WILL sprinkle clean water on us…that is a picture of the Holy Spirit.  He will clean us from our filthiness…our wretched sinfulness. HE WILL cleanse us.  Notice there are no conditions like, if we come to Him, if we ask Him to, if we invite Him into our hearts, or if we do anything. Notice it says, He will!

26   A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

                He says HE WILL give His elect a new heart and a new spirit. HE WILL do it! HE WILL take away the stony, unregenerate, deceitful and desperately wicked heart from us and HE WILL give us a new heart of flesh…the new man as Paul puts it.  If God does not do this, it will not be done. We cannot change our nature, nor can we change our heart. God does it all!

27   And I will put my spirit within you,  and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

                God says, I WILL put My Spirit within you. After He has quickened our dead spirits by the power of the Holy Spirit, He gives us a new heart and a new spirit.  Then He places the Holy Spirit within us. HE CAUSES us to walk in his ways…(Philippians 1:6 tells us, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.)

                Does that mean we never sin again?  No! Though we have a new nature ( a new heart and spirit) we still live in these bodies of flesh that were conceived in sin. These fleshly bodies are sinful and prone to sin. Yet, those who are Christ’s will follow Him. They will bear the fruit of a Christian.

28  And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

                We will be His people…HE  WILL be our God! Don’t you see? God didn’t make a way salvation and leave it up to men to choose whether or not they wanted it. Of His elect, chosen before the foundation of the world, He says they will be His people and HE WILL be their God.  He can say that because He is sovereign.

29   I will also save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

                He continually is cleansing us.  As we sin, Holy Spirit conviction comes, we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). As He, which began the work of salvation in us, continually works in our lives shaping us into the image of His dear Son, He increases our repentance and faith. We continue to grow spiritually.

30   And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

                Thou we may slip and fall, He does not leave us there to suffer reproach. We continue to grow in repentance and faith. He says HE WILL do this.

31   Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

                When we realize that our salvation has nothing to do with us or any decision we made. When we see that it is only because of God, we are humbled and we see ourselves as we are…wretched, miserable, blind.  That is why Job said, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). That is why when Isaiah saw the vision of Jesus Christ in all His glory, he cried out “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).

                The problem with many Christians today is they do not recognize that they are wretched, miserable and blind. They think there is something good in them because they chose to give their heart to Christ. They think they are out working mighty works for God, yet it’s mostly done in the flesh. Their pride is puffed up and they think they are rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that they art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17).

                Now God makes a statement that to me is most interesting. Have you ever thought about why God would save a wretched, sinful person like yourself? Was it because He looked down through time and saw that you would choose to give your heart to Him? Was it because He saw you would one day be an awesome Christian that would be beneficial to the promotion of His kingdom? Was it for your own sake that He saved you…because He felt sorry for you?

32   Not for your sakes do I this, saith the LORD GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.               

               

                It wasn’t for our sakes that God saved us!  Then why did He do it? Had we covered the first half of the chapter in detail, we would have seen why He saved us first. He starts off by telling us why, then He tells us how. Back up to verses 18 through 23.

Ezekiel 36:17-23

17   Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

18   Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:

19   And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

20   And when they entered unto the heathen, wither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth our of his land.

21   But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

22   Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, wither ye went.

23   And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

                Every single thing God does, including the salvation of men, is for His names’ sake. Israel, God’s chosen nation, had profaned His name in the land He gave them. They rebelled against Him. He scattered them out among the other nations to judge them. While there, they continued to rebel and profane His holy name. It wasn’t for their sake He is going to redeem them. It is for His name’s sake.

                 God created a perfect world and a perfect man and woman. Adam and Eve (being the only humans to have a free will) chose to rebel against God’s authority and in doing so profaned His holy name among God’s creation. Sinful men daily profane the holy name of God. Why didn’t He just destroy us all? Why did He leave Noah and His family alive on the ark? Why didn’t He destroy all mankind? He should have. We all deserve His wrath. Yet, for reasons known only to Him, He has chosen to extend His mercy and grace to some of Adam’s fallen race. In doing so, God has revealed some of His attributes such as His mercy and grace. Why does God choose to save some and not all? That is a good question and one that only God can answer.

                The truth is that God is sovereign in every aspect of His creation. He is sovereign in creation and in salvation. Man has no part. That will not go over well with some, but it is the truth nonetheless. In the prophecy given to Ezekiel for the nation of Israel, God has revealed not only what He is doing with Israel, but He reveals to us how He saves individuals.

                Why do some Christians struggle so much with the sovereignty of God?! 

"So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." (Romans 9:16)

Salvation is of the LORD!