saved – Auriesville Tubthumper

Here Comes the Judge Part 4

The Sentencing:

DEATH! YOU ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH

The Sentence: “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23, Gen 2:17)

Death – in Bible means (separation) Gen: 2:17 Man experienced the first death. (When Eve took of the tree of life it introduced death to mankind.)

Physical Death- separation of the person from the body.

Spiritual death- separation of the person from God.

Eternal separation of the un-repentant sinner to Hell.

And now there is an announcement in the court.

YOUR SENTENCE HAS BEEN PAID – YOU ARE FREE. You can go free. Your sentence has been paid by the judge. The judge has taken your place. Your offenses have been forgiven. The indictment is sealed.

OH MY!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? The Judge took my sentence. How do I deserve that? Could that be possible?

Oh yes, it is so. Jesus was put to death on the cross for you. He paid the price for your sins and the sins of all mankind.

The Judge paid the sentence. Amazing!!!

The Miracle “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This is Justification, The Gift of God is Eternal Life.

The nature of this miracle, it is free… “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:24)– “Justified Freely”- without a cause. Because of his Holy grace.

The persons in the miracle, He for you. – God sent forth… “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.” (Romans 3:25) This word PROPITIATION is very important. It’s a Biblical word that we don’t often use in our vocabulary. It means that an atonement has been made through a sacrifice of blood. A sacrifice of Christs blood and His death on the cross has saved us.

Satan- fought it
Father – wrought it (shaped, fashioned, hammered out)
Holy Spirit- taught it 1 – 3 is the Justification miracle.
Son- bought it

See the trinity at work?

5. Rich Man (Nicodemus) – sought it

6. Thief on the cross- caught it

7. I’ve Got it!

Saved! Saved! Saved!

The source of the miracle (3:24,28) Freely by His grace (v. 24) By faith (v.28) Without the deeds of the law (v. 28)

The scope of the miracle- “Unto All”- unlimited (Rom. 3:22,29- John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him shall not parish but have everlasting life.”

The Bestowal of this miracle – limited (Rom. 3:22,26) Only to those that believe.

Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (v24) God does this freely because of His grace and love for me, I am an undeserving sinner and I have been made an heir of His glorious kingdom to spend eternity in His glorious presence in the fullness of joy and pleasure for evermore. Amen!

If you have never, as of yet understood “Justification.” Please understand it now. Justification is a one-time act of God and an extremely important doctrine. Sanctification is a continual process until you are taken to be with the Lord. We will talk Sanctification another time. Understand this Justification by Faith Alone doctrine first.

Because man’s condition was totally ruined by sin, salvation is based on a truly remarkable principle. We are justified freely by His grace. Pay close attention to the words “justified,” “freely” and “grace,” those three words summarize how God meets ruined man’s needs.

“Justification is the legal and formal acquittal from guilt by God as the Judge, and the pronouncement of the believing sinner as righteous in His sight. This verb is in the present and continuous sense and shows a constant process of justification in the succession of all who believe and are justified.” Can you see the difference between being forgiven and being justified? When you are saved you can plead not guilty and your case is dismissed. The Lord Jesus has fully discharged all our obligations so there is no legal ground for charges to be pressed on us anymore. We have a perfect standing before God and are fully acceptable in His sight. And we are justified freely, he does not charge us anything. “By His grace.” Just to be clear… Grace is unmerited favor. It is getting something we do not deserve. How remarkable!!!

I think it’s important to clarify this as well.

Salvation is free, but it is not cheap. It cost God his only begotten son and it cost Jesus the agony of dying on the cross. The blood Christ shed for us is very precious.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1: 18-19) The cost of Calvary is far beyond any human comprehension. It is!

The witnesses of this miracle. “Witnessed by the law and the prophets.” (Rom. 3:21) It is totally scriptural. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Heb. 11:39) “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.” (1 Pet. 1:10) – Prophesied of the grace.

The Legal accomplishments of the miracle – To reconcile God’s justice and God’s mercy by a mediator or bridge. We said it before, God set forth Christ to be a propitiation. (Romans 3:25) The sinner must be condemned, God wants to save the sinner.

The harmony between law and grace can be seen in the miracle. Do we need to keep the law? Yes, The Law cannot justify us but by following it but the Law can bring us to despair and cause us to take Gods alternative of committing ourselves to faith in Christ. “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” (Romans 3:31)

The Bible is not the record of man searching after God, but it’s the record of God searching after man.

The judge died for the defendants.

It’s a miracle- The just dying for the unjust.

The three major Imputations of the Bible. Impute= add to 1. Adams sin was Imputed to the human race. 2. My sin and yours was Imputed to Jesus Christ. 3. God’s Righteousness was Imputed to all Believers.

The miracle of Justification is that we are sinners and Christ died for us. We are justified with His blood.

Because of Justification we have Hope. Our hope concerns the future. Something good in the future, something possible in the future- the coming again of Jesus Christ. That is our hope.

(Romans 5:6-11) “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

Back in the days of Moses the High Priest went to the Holy of Holies once a year. Because of Justification we have access to the Throne of God immediately. We don’t need to wait. I don’t need to provide a sacrifice. My sacrifice was already offered by the savior Jesus Christ.

Let me be clear however,

Justification is only for “him which believeth in Jesus.” I cannot say that strong enough. Please hear me…

God justifies only those who believe in Jesus. Everyone believes in something and everyone serves someone. THE ONLY BELIEF THAT COUNTS WITH GOD IS BELIEF IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

I have the invitation. You have the invitation. If you haven’t accepted it do it now.

Don’t ever forget the Judge paid your fine. The Judge took your punishment. It is the only Judge that will ever do that for you. Enter the Kingdom. Tell Jesus you believe, you understand you are sinner and want to be saved by his grace. Ask Him into your heart to save you from the chains of Hell.

God bless you all in the pursuit of Him,

The Tubthumper

The Noble Savage

“Do impulses toward sadistic cruelty lurk in the depths of every human psyche?”- Anthony Storr

“Man with all his noble qualities still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lovely origin.”- Charles Darwin

The Creational Male is the first of the six stages of manhood. We are definitely not saints because for every heavenly thought we have there is the downward pull of our devilish and sinful flesh. We could have the most noble desires and within us is seated the unexpected savagery of man. Margaret Mead said, “We as men (and all of humankind) are noble savages“

This first stage on the masculine journey is the only stage that also includes the females 0f the world. Every other stage is totally exclusive to males. The use of the word Adam is uniquely creational and we are creational kind of guys. We were not created to be alone or to benefit ourselves and we owe something back to our creator. It is written that man does not live on bread alone. (Deuteronomy 8:3) We are the Lord’s earthly representatives. We should have a relationship with the living God and we should also have a benevolent relationship with the earth and our fellowmen. (Which includes women.) “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” – Jeremiah 10:23 Genesis 1:28 tell us of our duty regarding wisdom, care and stewardship of God’s creation. We have accountability. We are to include justice, kindness, and humility before God. This was given to Adam. If we men try to run away from our Creator and try to run from our responsibilities we are really running from ourselves and running from what it means to be manly. All men have the holy spirit following us around. When we realize what it is that we are rejecting and running from and know that it is the creator and the character of Christ we fall down prostrate and see the Creator that we were created for. This is called repentance, it’s in the Bible and repentance is a manly thing. If we don’t accept this we will never be the men we should be.

Turning again to the word Adam, we find that we are to have a certain relationship with women, our feminine counterparts. “ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:18-25) There is much more to this than the thought of opposites attract because the Lord created men and women as opposites. What a mystical and magical thing there is with this relationship. It’s as if God certainly had a sense of humor. If you are married you know exactly what I mean. And as a man, when I get out of the shower in the morning and look in the mirror at the equipment that was made on me I can tell I was created to go with another.

Please remember your worth, men. Because we are creational we have a dignity and we have a value. Our worth does not come from our performance or what we achieve but rather it comes from our being, from our birth. We have incredible value just because we are, because we were made, not because of what we accomplish. It should be encouraging to know you have value and the value is for no other reason than you are you. When we get disgraced and our dignity gets dinged which is really called pride in our society, it just tells us who we are and what we are, Creational Males.

Well, that original high esteem and dignity we were made with by God didn’t last too long. Probably if Adam had not sinned we would have been immortal. Young men always deny the sense of mortality that us older men begin to feel and realize. It’s that foreboding sense of mortality and the deterioration of the human body that God said would be limited because of the curse. We thought we would live forever and not have a heart attack, lose the ability to do things on our own, or literally lose our minds. When you pass a cemetery just know that people are just dying to get in there. I am amused when people are talking about the end while getting legal affairs in order and they say, “If anything happens to me”. Hey brother, I’m here to tell you, “something will definitely happen to you, you will die.” Every one of us will die and turn back to dust. (Numbers 16:29 and Psalm 90:3) We are dependent. Yes we are. My very breath is in my creators hands. (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7) I sleep trusting Him to keep me breathing during my sleep. The very sleep is His gift. (Psalm 127: 2)

Lastly we should address this noble savagery. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Galatians 5:16) Whether male or female we humans always have the battle raging between flesh and spirit. The intent of the heart in men and women (all humans) is evil from youth. “And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21) It is very hard to explain how in “civilized countries” we have the surprising level of violence, greed, human degradation and depravity we see. Underneath our noble presence and our refined culture lurks a sea of horrific evil. We may appear to be saints but underneath is a savage. How is this? Why is this? Should we be surprised by the savagery of our souls?

We are made in God’s image, yes we are. We posses immense capability for good. However, because we are creational beings we also have a freedom of choice that allows us to be drawn to unholy paths and become the most evil of creatures. Until we realize the evil we are capable of it is difficult to believe the presence of Christ means so much. It’s sobering to know what it is we are saved from. For folks to think the world is made up of just good or bad people is a naive. To say we are the good guys is crazy, We need to remember what is written in Ecclesiastes: “We have vanity, we have evil, and we even have insanity in our hearts.”

In the end we die and our physical bodies go back to dust where they came from. Our soul does to either Heaven or Hell. And yes there is a Hell. See my post called Hell is Real. So I’ll end this one with the fact that decay always wins. (Psalm 49:10-12) “For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.”

Credit goes to The Masculine Journey by Robert Hicks.

Come back for stage two which is Zakar: The Phallic Male. Click here to jump to stage two.

Yours truly,

The Tubthumper

Finders Keepers, part 4

Back again…

While we are still on the subject of Eternal Security let us turn to Romans chapter 8. This is probably the most telling chapter in the Bible when it comes to the subject of having security that your salvation is preserved. Chapter 8 of Romans amplifies John 5:24 and Revelation 21:5. It says in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Wow, see that! The words “hath everlasting life”. How long is “everlasting”? It is not 5 years, it is not 10, it is not even 100 but in fact it is forever. FOREVER! Now look at Revelation 21:5, “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” He makes all things new, (all things) so alas, if you believe on Christ in faith you are a new creature. You are no longer what you were.

Shall we go deeper with the new creature issue and look at the 7 new things a believer has? Yes.

First, a believer has a new position as you can see in Romans 8:1-8. You have a new position in relation to the Son of God. In your new position you are “in Christ”. Remember the Philippian jailor in Acts 16? He felt the earth quake and then trembled and wanted to know what he must do to be saved. The answer came in verse 31, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” “Believe and live!” When you believe you then become a Christian. A Christian is “someone in Christ.” You are in Christ. You also have a new position when it comes to the law. You are now to please the law but it does nothing to save you. The law cannot claim you, the law cannot condemn you and the law can not control you because you are now free from the law and grace abounds. We are to please the law but we no longer are claimed by it.

Romans chapter 8 begins with condemnation. There is therefore, NOW, no condemnation. Now is when it happens and not later because salvation is immediate. Romans chapter 8 then, like bookends, will end with no separation. The last verse says, “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing can separate you, ever, ever, ever. It is everlasting, and everlasting is forever. The Father cared and he sent His own son. He sent His only son. He sent His only son to die for you and me when we were ungodly.

Second, as you will see in Romans 8: 9-13, you have a new guest. Your new guest is the Holy Spirit of God. You have two in-dwellings because you indwell the Savior and the Holy Spirit indwells you. The believer indwells Christ, we are in Him. We have a new guest in us which is the Holy Spirit. Both of these in-dwellings are promised in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” He that abides in me and I in him. This is a perfect indwelling to make us like Jesus. This is also a permanent indwelling. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”, John 14:16. Abide with you forever. How long is forever? Isn’t that once and for all? Once saved, always saved. And now for what is probably the best evidence that can be introduced we have Ephesians 4:30, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” You are sealed, “UNTIL THE DAY OF REDEMPTION.” That is always and forever, it is until the end.

Third, you have a new adoption. You as the believer are adopted by the Father. This is the theology of adoption. The word “adoption” literally means “the placing of a son.” This adoption follows your regeneration (from previous post) and provides you with the nature of a child of God. You have been adopted by the Father, “Abba Father”. The Father initiated the adoption by sending His son. He did it! We are heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ. Last, but certainly not least we see the trinity at work in this adoption. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You have intimacy with the Father. Abba Father, Dearest Papa, Beloved Dad, affectionately. You are illuminated by the Holy Spirit as the Spirit leads and assures you. You have the inheritance through the Son. You have an inheritance to the Kingdom of God.

What we have described here is “The Preservation of the Saints”. Praise The LORD! What the Law could not do for us Christ did for us on the cross.

Believe and live,

The Tubthumper

Come back for the next post as we continue with more of the new things we have in Christ and evidence of “Once saved, always saved”. Click here to go to the next post.

Click here to jump to any past in the series:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 Part 6