Thursday, September 25, 2008

Our First Anniversary

By Bruce Mills

A milestone has been achieved! The Inverted Planet blog is now one year old. It was on September 19, 2007 that I threw out my first posting, followed by several more in rapid succession so there would be something to read for those who found their way to it. Since then, 62 postings (including this one) have found their way into the cyber world through this website. Along the way, I picked up another contributor, Robert Fraire, another of the elders at my church, and I hope to someday get one or two more regular contributors to join us.

We aren't nearly as big, wise, important, or as well read as blogs such as Pyromaniacs, Triablogue, or Challies.com, but in one year, without any significant promotion, advertising, or effort to get our name beyond some of the folks at our church and our own circle of friends, we have had over 3,100 hits on our blog. Admittedly, some of those are our own, as we go to the site to check and see what (if any) comments have been made. We certainly have a long way to go before we get to the 2.1 million hits that the Pyromaniacs have had in less than three years. It would probably help if I invested in PhotoShop and learned how to use it. It would really spark up the appearance. But I simply don't have the time or money to do that. So for the time being, we will have to get by with our rather plain looking site, and hope that the articles we post there are interesting and stimulating for our readers. I am encouraged that there are those who are reading the articles and occasionally interacting. I wish more of the people who have told me that they enjoy reading the blog would get a free Google account and post a few comments occasionally.

So to our readers: thank you. If you enjoy this blog, tell others about it. Write us a comment or two once in a while. I know that I've certainly enjoyed getting the comments that we have received so far, because they have caused me to explain some of my doctrinal positions more carefully and completely. And please take advantage of the links we have included on the blog. There are some great sermons, articles, and books that you can use for your spiritual enrichment. Of course, you can also track the current college football standings (Go USF!), as well as our weather here in the Tampa Bay area.

Friday, September 19, 2008

The Failure of Trusting in Man

By Bruce Mills

I've been listening the past few days to the continual discussion regarding the collapse of some of Wall Street's biggest financial institutions. I've heard news anchors and reporters repeatedly say, "This is scary," as government officials madly scramble to find some means of stopping the failure from spreading throughout the entire financial structure of our nation. Even global markets have been affected by this situation.

Now, I'm no different than any other person. I don't want to see the collapse of our nation's financial structure. Millions upon millions of Americans depend on their pensions, investments, and savings as their means of surviving their retirement years. I myself am included among those who have saved for my future retirement years and have seen a signficant portion of what I have saved "disappear" over the past few months as the stock market has slumped, at one point to a three year low. The subprime mortgage crisis, skyrocketing fuel and food prices, and the overall economic recession have all taken their toll on every American's personal and family budgets.

So how are we believers to respond to these circumstances? If we wish to be light to a dark and confused world, what is to be our response? First of all, we must realize in whom we must place our confidence. Scripture is replete with exhortations to trust in God rather than in man's ability. Psalm 118:8 tells us, "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." The prophet Jeremiah who was reviled and hated throughout his ministry because of his integrity tells us in 17:7 of his book, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord." And then there is the prophet Habakkuk, who cried out to God for Him to restore righteousness to the nation of Israel and judge them for their sins. But when God replied, "I'm going to send the Chaldeans to do just that very thing," Habakkuk was shocked and questioned God's actions, because he realized just how completely devastating and destructive God's judgment was going to be. But in the end, he recognized God's sovereign purposes and accepted whatever would come, and so he said, "Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

He was describing the complete devastation of his agrarian society, and he said that even if he lost everything he had, he would still praise God. In todays terms, it would be like saying: "Though all the shelves in the grocery store are bare and there is no more food to refill them, even if the stock market completely collapses and I lose my job and every penny I own, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation because He is the One who has always sustained me and He will always continue to sustain me."

The unbelievers with whom we work and live need to see us living with that kind of confidence in God. Instead of being worried about what we might lose, or what might happen to our nation that would disturb our "comfort zone," we need to rest in God's sovereign control over every circumstance, even those such as currently face our nation. Unbelievers should see in us a sense of faith, trust, and dependence on our Lord which they do not have, and which might cause them to ask us why we can be so calm in the midst of such worrisome circumstances. We can then provide answers for the hope that is within us.

Second, we need to realize that God is judging our nation. He has turned this nation over to the consequences of its own sin, and we are now reaping the results. He has brought devastating storms that have swept away the livelihoods and possessions of entire communities. He has allowed terrorist attacks on our homeland to shake our confidence in our own abilities to protect ourselves. And now He has allowed the consequences of man's greed to bring this nation to its financial knees. And unfortunately, instead of seeking God's face and repenting of our sins, as a nation we have merely wrung our hands in desperation, stood up and sang "God bless America," and tried to concoct another human answer to our problems. And we who are Christians in this nation have been afraid to stand up like Jeremiah did and speak the truth about God's judgment and the need for repentance because we know that the people will respond to us like they did to Jeremiah, and we don't want that. We want to continue to live comfortable lives without persecution, despite the fact that Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me" (Matthew 5:11). and despite the apostle Paul's instruction that "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).

Until, we--myself included--decide that we will fear God more than we fear man, we will continue to be ineffective in presenting God's truth. We do not need to be offensive or nasty in calling people to repent, but we must be faithful to God's truth. The gospel itself is offensive to sinners and so when we present it, we will suffer persecution. But there will be those whom God has called to Himself who will respond.

In conclusion, we have to realize that we are to be light to a dark world. We only do that when we bring the light of God's word to bear on sin and then explain God's answer to man's sin problem, which is Jesus Christ's substitutionary death for sinners. People need to see the truth of the gospel demonstrated in our lives as we live in the hope of eternity rather than in hope of our earthly future. That is the message our nation needs to hear instead of the human wisdom of politicians and pundits.

Monday, September 15, 2008

What Are the Marks of Genuine Faith? Part 2

By Bruce Mills

In my last post, I discussed those things which may be present in someone’s life, but which neither prove nor disprove the presence of genuine faith. I would now like to discuss those things which are reliable proofs of the presence of genuine saving faith in someone’s life. When these things are present in one’s life, that individual can have assurance that he has truly been redeemed.

1. Love for God. Rom. 8:7 says, “The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God.” The unsaved person cannot love God and has no desire to love Him. However, the true child of God, despite his often failing his heavenly Father, will have a life characterized by delight in God and His Word. This is evidenced by several passages of Scripture. Let me list just a few found in the book of Psalms.

Psalm 1:1-2
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 42:1-2
As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 73:25
Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

Psalm 119:97-100
O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have observed Your precepts.

So, the first mark of genuine salvation is love for God. Every one of us should ask ourselves, “Do I love God? Do I love His nature? Do I love His glory? Do I love His name? Do I love His kingdom? Do I love His holiness? Do I love His will? You see, a supreme love for God is decisive evidence of true faith.

2. Repentance from Sin and Hatred of It. This is the flip side of the first point, the love of God. The person who genuinely loves God will have a built-in hatred of sin. It is impossible to love two things that are contradictory to one another. Jesus categorically declared, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). If one truly loves God who is holy and righteous, he will have a deep abhorrence of sin.

Let me put it this way: If I said to you, “I love my wife, but I couldn’t care less what happens to her,” you would question the genuineness of my love because true love always seeks the highest good of its object. So if I say, “I love God,” then I will have to hate sin because sin offends God. Sin blasphemes God. Sin curses God. Sin seeks to destroy God and His work and His kingdom. Sin killed His Son. So if I say, “I love God but I tolerate sin,” then you have every reason to question my love for Him. I cannot love God without hating that which is set to destroy Him.

Proverbs 28:13 declares, “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” That verse links the two inseparable parts of true repentance: the confession and the forsaking of sin.

The true believer often hates sin even while he is doing it and always after he has done it, because it is completely contrary to his new nature in Christ.

True repentance is more than simply being sorrowful over sin. Many people are sorry for and feel guilty about their sin. After he betrayed Jesus, Judas became sorry for His sin, to the point that he committed suicide, but he did not repent of his betrayal or ask Jesus’ forgiveness, and he is eternally condemned to hell.

True repentance always involves godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9), which is not the sorrow which often comes when one is caught or shamed or public humiliated, but rather godly sor-row is sorrow that comes because one has disobeyed and offended his Lord.

If a person’s sin does not bother him and increasingly convict him, that genuineness of that person’s salvation is questionable. The test for true repentance is not an individual’s sorrow over how sin has harmed himself or others, but whether or not he is sorrowful for how his sin has offended his Lord. Our sin is a slap in the face of a holy God, and a true believer will recognize it as such and seek forgiveness.

But true repentance not only involves confession, but it also involves turning from sin. I should be grieved over my sin. I should ask myself, Do I have a settled conviction of the evil of sin? Does sin appear to me as the evil and bitter thing it really is? Does conviction of sin in me increase as I walk with Christ? Do I hate it not merely because it is ruinous to my own soul but because it is offensive to my God whom I love? Does it grieve me more when I sin than when I have trouble? In other words, what grieves me the most: my misfortune or my sin? Do I find myself grieved more over my sin than over the sin of others? That’s the mark of salvation, true saving faith...it loves God, so it hates what God hates, which is sin.

3. Genuine humility. A proud person cannot be saved. By that I mean, the individual who trusts in his own ability to please God and who considers himself spiritually superior to oth-ers has not reached the point at which he can be saved. Salvation begins when one admits his absolute poverty of spirit and inability to do anything to please God. Like the prodigal son, the sinner who comes to his spiritual senses and recognizes his awful sinful condition, and then go to his heavenly Father and humbly confesses his sin and the fact that he is unworthy of forgiveness, is the one who will find God’s grace.

4. Devotion to God’s glory. The true believer will do what he does because he wants to glorify God. Sure, he fail in all of these things, but the direction of his life is toward loving Him and hating sin and being genuinely humble and self-denying and knowing his unworthiness and being totally devoted to the glory of God.

5. Prayer. I am not speaking of some type of formal prayer which is learned by rote and quoted in church on a regular basis. Rather, I am speaking of the continual heart cry of a genuine Christian who cannot help but call out to God, who is his heavenly Father and whose own Spirit is within him to generate that yearning.

As American’s greatest theologian and one of my heroes, Jonathan Edwards, succinctly observed, “Hypocrites are deficient in the duty of secret prayer.” That’s true. Hypocrites may pray publicly because hypocrites want to impress people, but they are deficient in the duty of secret prayer. A true believer with true saving faith has a personal, private prayer life which seeks communion with God.

6. Selfless Love. This is love, not only for God, but also for other people, especially fellow Christians. The person who does not sincerely care for the welfare of true believers is, him-self, not a true believer, but still abides in spiritual death. Throughout his first epistle, the apostle John continually emphasized how love was the evidence of genuine faith.

1 John 2:9-10
The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

1 John 3:14
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

1 John 4:7-8
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

People who say, “Well, I would go to church, but I just can’t stand being around Christians,” need to examine their hearts to see if they are truly in the faith. True believers love being with and around other believers. They enjoy meeting their needs, spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

7. Separation from the World. God’s Word calls believers to be in the world but not of it. Again, the apostle John addressed this issue in his first epistle.

1 John 2:15-16
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

On the other hand, 1 John 5:4-5 tells us, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

And throughout Ephesians 4 which addresses the Christian’s walk, we see that believers are not to be characterized by the things that are normal for the world, such as immorality, impurity, covetousness, greediness, lying, anger, theft, unwholesome filthy speech, bitterness, drunkenness, slander, and wrath. And then Paul concludes that whole litany of sins with this instruction: “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them” (Eph. 5:11). So believers are to live lives which are separated from the world in terms of practicing the sin the world loves to practice.

8. Spiritual Growth. The parable of the soils in Matthew 13 teaches us that true believers will grow spiritually to varying degrees, because by faith they have genuinely received the seed of the gospel. And Paul tells us in Phil. 1:6 that he was “confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” That word “perfect” means “to bring to completion.” True believers will grow spiritually because God is the One who is at work within them to bring about that growth.

9. Obedient Living. This is closely related to being separate from the world, but this is the positive side. Whereas separation from the world has to do with avoiding the world’s sin, obedient living is following the Scripture’s instructions about what we are to do. Again, we return to John’s first epistle:

1 John 2:3-5
By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought Himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

So, we are to obey God’s Word and live like Christ lived. He was always obedient to the Father and always obedient to the Word. And therefore, our lives will be marked by good works. Although no one is saved by his good works, those who are truly saved will produce good works. Paul told the Ephesians, “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 look at your life. Paul says in 2 Cor. 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” Do you see all those things, including selfless love, separation from the world, spiritual growth, and obedience? If so, that’s evidence of a saving faith. But if those things aren’t there, don’t be misled because you have some of those first seven things we looked at which don’t really prove anything about the genuineness of salvation. You need to “be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you” (2 Peter 1:10).

Saturday, September 6, 2008

What Are the Marks of Genuine Faith? Part 1

By Bruce Mills
What are the evidences of genuine saving faith? That is an important question, because there are many people in our churches, communities, and culture who think they are believers, but in actuality, they are not. But before we consider the answer to that question, I would like to consider some of the things many people exhibit in their lives which neither prove nor disprove the presence of genuine faith. Although these things will be evident to some degree or another in true believers, they can also be seen—sometimes even to a high degree—in unbelievers. So what are these things which neither prove nor disprove genuine salvation?
1. Visible morality. A person can be outwardly moral and yet not be saved. Many Roman Catholics and Mormons live lives which are outwardly moral and put many Christians to shame by their high standards of behavior.
I know a Roman Catholic lady who attends early morning mass every single day before going to work. She is a kind, sweet lady. By the world’s standards, she is one of the most outwardly moral people you would ever meet; much more so than many genuine Christians that I know. But she is deceived by her false religion which promotes a salvation based on her good works and, therefore, she is lost and on her way to hell.
Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked what good thing he should do to obtain eternal life? Jesus answered him to keep the commandments. He asked Jesus, “Which ones?” so Jesus listed several of them for him. When he responded back, “All these things I have kept,” Jesus did not challenge his sincerity. According to outward appearance and his own human perspective of obedience, he was probably telling the truth. But when Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor and then, “Come, follow Me,” Matthew tells us the man “went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property” (Matt. 19:16-22).
By his refusal to obey Christ, the man demonstrated that his outward obedience to the law was not done out of love for God or for the purpose of His glory, but was done out of self-love and for the purpose of his own self-interest. When commanded to give all of his possessions as well as all of himself to Christ, he refused. And by that refusal, even his seemingly good works were exposed as spiritually worthless works, because they were done out of selfish motivation.
2. Intellectual knowledge of God’s truth. It is possible to have a great deal of knowledge about God’s Word and yet be unsaved. Like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, many scholars throughout the centuries have devoted their lives to careful study of Scripture. But because they did not believe or obey the truths they studied, those truths became a judgment against them, and they remained as lost as the primitive tribesman who is unaware there is such a thing as Scripture.
Many years ago I was teaching through the book of James and was enjoying using a particular commentary because of its ease of understanding. The author was a former dean of students and Bible professor at a small evangelical Bible college out west. He had attended two excellent seminaries in pursuit of his degrees.
I was with my pastor at an event at which John MacArthur was speaking, and my pastor and I were standing backstage with John before he went out to speak. During the conversation, John mentioned that he was about to start teaching through the book of James, so I commented that this particular commentary was excellent. A look of sadness came across John MacArthur’s face and he said, “Unfortunately, that man turned away from Christ and became involved in a homosexual relationship, and is living and practicing that lifestyle. He is a reprobate and an apostate.”
Needless to say, I was shocked, but it was a lesson for me that great Bible knowledge is not evidence of genuine saving faith.
3. Religious Involvement. In the Old Testament, the Lord repeatedly condemned the Israelites for their meticulous outward observance of the Mosaic ordinances and ceremonies while having no trust in Him. They faithfully conducted their sacrifices, but failed to genuinely trust in Yahweh.
4. Active Ministry in Christ’s Name. Outwardly, Judas was as active as the other disciples, as evidenced by the fact that he was the keeper of the money bag for the disciples. And when Christ sent out the disciples to minister in His name, Judas obviously went with them. So for the better part of three years, he considered himself a follower of Christ. But we all know that he never was a true believer. And at the end of Matthew 7, Jesus said that at the final judgment, that some would think that they had been serving Him, but were not. He said,“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (vs. 21-23). So active ministry—even as a pastor, Sunday School teacher, seminary professor, or whatever, is not an indication of genuine salvation.
5. Conviction of Sin. This may surprise some of you, but just because someone feels guilty about their sin does not mean that they are a true Christian. Many unbelievers feel great guilt about the sin in their lives, as evidenced by the many people who reside in mental institutions around the world who are so burdened by the knowledge of their sinfulness that they cannot function in society. Their guilt over their sin became so overwhelming that it made them insane—but it did not cause them to flee to Christ.
Still, there are others who are convicted of their sin, and instead of turning to Christ, they determine to reform themselves. Many people who have been long and deeply enslaved by a particular sin have been able, sometimes through sheer will power, to rid themselves of it. But successfully forsaking a particular sin by their own will power does nothing more than make them even more susceptible to other sins, particularly pride.
Using Judas again as an example, even he felt conviction over his sin of betraying Christ, and committed suicide as a result. But he was not a believer in Christ; in fact, in His high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus called him “the son of perdition” (v. 12).
6. Assurance of Salvation. The world is filled with people who are sincerely convinced in their own minds that they are right with God and that their place in heaven is secured. They truly believe that their good deeds outweigh their evil deeds and that God will accept them on that basis.
If being persuaded that we are right with God truly made us right with Him, we would not need the warnings we find in the Bible about being deceived by false hopes. Yet Scripture is full of warnings to unsaved people who think they are saved (Matt. 7:21-23; James 1:22).
7. A Past “Decision for Christ” Experience. There are many people who make a decision for Christ when they are young and yet, they live their lives with no evidence of the reality of that profession. Sometime down the road, some of them begin to doubt the reality of their decision, and the worst thing that can happen is for someone to say to them, “No, no. Don’t you remember? When you were eight years old, you prayed and asked Jesus into your heart, so don’t have any doubts now. If you can find your Bible, look inside the front cover, because I remember that you wrote down the date there. Don’t doubt your salvation, just believe.”
No, if no evidence of godly living results from that event, no matter how strong and genuine the profession seemed to be, it is no proof of salvation, and those people should doubt the genuineness of their profession.
So, these are some of the things which may be present in a person’s life, but neither prove nor disprove the genuineness of one’s salvation. But there are some reliable proofs of saving faith. God does not leave His children in uncertainty about their relationship to Him. But we will wait until the next post to examine those.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

The Testing of Abraham Part 1

by Robert Fraire

Genesis consists of 50 chapters that take us from the creation of the universe to the movement of the descendants of Israel into Egypt. These thousands of years cover such events as Creation, the Fall, the Great Flood and the Tower of Babel. So it may come as a surprise that in the middle of this book are 14 chapters that contain the life and actions of one man: that man was Abraham. These chapters, 12-25, contain some of the most important truths which are referenced many times by the New Testament authors. One of these events is the testing of Abraham in the sacrifice of Isaac. This history is recounted for us in chapter 22.

My purpose in this post is to begin to set the context of chapter 22. God made a covenant with Abraham that he would be the father of a multitude and that his seed would bless the whole world. This covenant plays a central role in God's testing of Abraham so let us start by looking at the establishment of this covenant. The promise of God is found in chapters 12, 13 and 15 then in chapter 15 starting with verse 8 we read...

8He said, "O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?"

9So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

10Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.

(In verses 11-16 God details events that will occur)

17It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces.

18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,
"To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

This passage gives us the vivid picture of how seriously God takes his own promises. The animals being cut in half and laid opposite each other would cause the blood to empty out of the halves onto the ground in between them. In essence this would cause a "river" of blood to be formed. It is through this river that the "smoking oven and flaming torch passed between the pieces". This oven and torch is a picture of God, and He is the one who passes in the river of blood. At no time does Abraham pass through the pieces. God is the one committing himself here.

This picture then is that God says to Abraham that he would keep His covenant with him. And that if He failed to keep his word He would be bound to pass through the blood (which signified the death of the covenant maker). In other words, NOTHING, would keep God from keeping His word, on penalty of His own death!

Verse 18 makes it clear that God made a covenant with Abraham that day. We will have to keep this truth in mind as we move forward to God's testing of Abraham. In the next installment of this series we will look at how God progressively reveals how He will bring about the fulfillment of His will in the life of Abraham. And finally we will take these truths into the actual testing of Abraham.