Hebrews 1 - The Supreme Son

 Was blessed to teach the main service this past Sunday at Community Baptist. The sermon was from Hebrews 1 - The Supreme Son. My desire was to help the saints see with eyes of faith the Lord Jesus a little bit better.

Genesis 29:31-30:24; Discord in the Family

Two things present themselves in this passage: 1.) God is involved in the lives of His people, and 2.) people are by nature sinners: jealous and self-interested. What should we learn from this, what instruction has this same God given us in our day? Unity, not uniformity. Serving one another, not self. Keeping our focus on glorifying the Lord in all we do and say. And yet we see in Scripture, saints falling prey to the same selfish ambition revealed in our passage.

 Diversity in gifting for unity in service; this is our calling in Christ. Not diversity in perversity for celebrating debauchery; this is the call of the world.

The world tells us we need to think and speak as the world or we are hateful bigots. The Lord Jesus says don't think too highly of self but also to hate evil and love truth. This is why the world hated Him and will hate us.

We are to outdo one another in love, which covers a multitude of sins. This does not mean we white wash sin; it means we do not focus on sins against us but on loving one another in spite of personal offenses. Forgive 7x70. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ - He bore our burdens on the cross!

Justification by Faith

Rom 5:1-2 (HCSB) "Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

The word "righteous" in this verse shows up as "justified" in some other translations. Strong's defines the Greek word as:

G1344 δικαιόω dikaioo (d̮iy-kai-o'-ō) v.
1. to regard as righteous.
2. (judicially) to regard as innocent.
[from G1342]
KJV: free, justify(-ier), be righteous

Acts 13:38-39 (HCSB) "Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses."

Rom 3:21-22 (HCSB) "But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed — attested by the Law and the Prophets ​— that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction."   

Note this, dear saints: We have been declared righteous, been justified, by faith. We have peace with God, accessed by faith - we stand in grace that Christ has lavished upon us in redeeming us from our sin. These are explicit, showing justification being tied our believing on Jesus - not the date of His crucifixion.

Eph 2:8-10 (HCSB) "For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them." Again - saved through faith, exercised by those who were regenerated. We have good works to do, which were prepared some time ago - we did not exist but He has - always - and He chose us for salvation, applied that to us as humans in time, and causes us to walk as He ordains.

Since Scripture cannot be broken, there is no need to put meaning into passages such as Romans 4:25 to support an unwarranted claim that we were justified when Christ died or when He was raised up from the dead. Those two acts are instrumental in justifying us - if Christ be not raised we are without hope! If He did not deink our cup of wrath, we are doomed!

But nothing in Scripture mandates we think we existed in some fashion in the first century and were actually buried with Him or justified then. 

Genesis 29:1-30 Honor and Deception

 

Genesis 27:41 - 28:9 Man's Will and God's Will

This passage displays man working what his little heart desires and God's will being done. All men everywhere are used by God in the working out of His divine will and none can stay His hand.

And in the preview picture, it looks like I have a bad case of gas. 

To Memphis and Back Again

Prayer Meeting Trip Report – June 2023

To Memphis and Back Again

 

My home church belongs to the Sovereign Grace Baptist Fellowship; one of the congregations in that fellowship has been hosting a prayer convocation for 14 years. The aim of this meeting is to pray for the revival of the those who profess Christ, for unity within the local assemblies, for God to raise up young men as preachers and missionaries and raise up wives for these, and for the aging saints to not grow weary in well doing. This meeting lasts 3 days, taking place in northern Mississippi, just south of Memphis, TN. Since I am retired, I decided to participate in this year’s meeting. My dear wife suggested I make an adventure of it and take the motorcycle – my 1985 Honda Sabre 700. Love that woman!

Plan was to leave on 14 June, 2023 and have a couple of days to ride around the Memphis area for fun. The prayer meeting was 20 – 22 June. Ride home would be 2 days. I would spend the first night with friends I met at a Christian camp several years earlier; they live north of Logansport, LA. On the trip home, I would spend the night with a couple near Mt. Pleasant, TX that I have known for 20 or more years. Total trip would be 11 days, 10 nights. I took books I have written or edited and published for each person I would spend time with.

 

14 June, to Logansport. Beginning odometer: 23,135

Up early to leave the house around 6AM. Got half a block away and discovered the routes were not on

the GPS! Back to the house to correct this, and on my way at 0615 (military time used in this report).

The old Honda ran flawlessly, as I made good time with much of this leg being on highways 90, 21, and 79. The GPS started out working fine, but about 2 hours into the trip, it began rebooting continually every 1 to 5 minutes. It finally shut down. I had written out turn-by-turn directions for every day, with the current route in the clear plastic top of my tank bag. Not as stress-free as knowing the distance to the next turn. 

I arrived at my friend’s house around 1330; ending at 23,475 for a 340 mile day. Good chow and conversation with Donald and his wife, covering many theological topics. Their dog Cookie is a very nice dog. I gave Donald a copy of Baptism and Babylon, containing works on baptism by Andrew Ritor and John Tombs, and on Babylon by Hanserd Knollys; all from the 17^th century.

15 June, to Pine Bluff.

This day would be about 100 miles less than day 1, so I left Donald’s house at 0715. I took major highways to get around the west side of Shreveport and across the Red River; then back onto back 

roads.

The GPS began working for 10 – 15 minutes at a time, then dead for an hour or two. I made a stop for a nature call on a very remote, lonely section of a state highway 98. When I parked the bike on the side of the road (no shoulder), I failed to get the kickstand all the way down. As I got off the bike, it fell to the left; I was unable to lift it up.

I began praying that God would send some help. About 15 minutes later, a semitruck approached; I waved him down. The driver hopped out – a young man that was built like the Hulk. He asked what I needed and I told him I could use help picking up the bike. He reached down and lifted it up, I grabbed it. He asked if that was all I needed and was I OK? I assured him only my ego was bruised and thanked him for his help. Off he went and then I followed, once I checked the bike. Didn’t notice it at the time, but found out a couple days later than my horn switch was busted off during this mishap.

The rest of the trip was without drama. Arrived at Motel 6 in Pine Bluff at 1315, odometer at 23,756 for a 281 mile day. I had a book on textual criticism of the Old Testament with me; did some reading and grabbed a small dinner before hitting the hay.

 

16 June, to West Memphis.

Left Pine Bluff at 0730; GPS is mostly working. Short day with good, curvy road and some boring highways. Crossed the White River – gorgeous view! – but failed to stop for a picture. This is my major failure on motorcycle trips. Arrived at my motel in West Memphis, AR at 1100. This was to be my base for 3 days, until I moved to the hotel close to the prayer meeting. Had breakfast at IHOP for lunch.

Thunderstorms came rolling through, making ride plans for the afternoon void. Odometer at 23,927 for a 171 mile day. Total trip to destination was 792 miles.

Tomorrow’s weather looks promising, with a 300 mile ride planned.

 

17 June, at West Memphis.

Out the door around 0730. GPS was working – for 10 minutes; then it was dead and stayed dead. I found the route I had planned and was able to follow it for about an hour, when I missed a turn. Many

of these local roads have no markings, making my notes less than competent. I explored northern Mississippi and found my way back to the motel around 1400. Odometer at 24,187 for a 260 mile day. Saw this in the parking lot where I got dinner – a classic MG Midget.

More thunderstorms this evening and through the night. The Walmart superstore near my motel claimed to have a Garmin like mine in stock for $88. Between rain I rode 7 miles there and back again. Walmart is like Lowes – their stock is all bar-coded or RFID managed and yet their stock status on their websites can only be guaranteed to not be reliable. They did not have the item in stock and I was not going to spend $200 on a new GPS.

 

18 June, at West Memphis.

A YUGE thunderstorm that rolled from NE Texas, through Oklahoma and Arkansas hit Memphis Saturday night. I was going to ride into northern Mississippi to meet a friend for breakfast, but the weather changed every 15 minutes and I was not going through Memphis on my bike in the rain.

This friend – a close friend of a dear brother at my home congregation (Community Baptist in Elmendorf, TX) decided to drive 30 miles to pick me up. We had breakfast at the IHOP near my motel. After some conversation, he offered to drive to his place of worship (Mercy Hill, in Olive Branch, MS). Some of those saints are related to some saints back home! Great time with those dear people, with an excellent sermon about judgment day from Jude’s letter. Judgment Day will be a day of terror for those who do not have faith in the Son of God and that same day will be a glorious day of victory and joy for those who do.

We went to lunch then he took me back to my motel. No miles on the bike. The weather Sunday turned out to be beautiful. Weathermen still can’t bat 1,000 – even for today!

 

19 June, to Horn Lake, MS.

The direct driving distance to my new hotel was about 30 miles through Memphis; so I planned a 215

mile trip around the region, clockwise. Surprising to me, kudzu has invaded this area – I did not realize it was this far north.

This route took me on several small country roads that connected between two state highways. The GPS woke up occasionally – just when I needed it to show me a turn. Off and on it blinked, giving me much needed instructions time and again. This route was fun and took me through several small towns on curvy roads through hilly country.

The old Honda continues bring smiles to my face. The Lord kept brining hymns to my mind and caused me to pray for many people I know. Had lunch at Waffle House – pecan waffle, bacon, coffee. Great chow, friendly, efficient staff. Another reason to smile.

Arrived at La Quinta around 1400 Odometer was 24,417 for a 230 mile day. The GPS quit – for good – about 100 miles short of the hotel. But I had been in this area on Saturday and knew the roads I needed to get to my new home. Ordered a new GPS from Amazon – it arrived on Wednesday; plenty of time before I would depart.

 

20 – 22 June. Prayer Meeting.

Each day, at noon, we would meet at Bridgetown Baptist. The elder from that congregation would explain what the major topic of prayer for the first hour was and we – 25 to 35 people each day – would pray; asking God to revive His people, to save lost souls, to raise up men to be elders and missionaries, and to raise up wives for these; also that the aging saints would not grow weary doing well. Each of the three sessions had a related but different focus. We had snacks during the day and a nice dinner each evening before the preaching each evening.

I gave Larry – the elder at Bridgetown – a copy of my latest book, In Darkness – Light!, a look at the

hand of God on His people during the Dark Ages.

I had a room-mate at this hotel – a preacher from Louisiana that I knew. He did not ride his Sportster up, but thought he might get a bike more suited to long distance rides for next year. I am not sure I’ll be up for another trip like this next year. This was my parking spot for the time at this hotel. I gave this brother a copy of my first book, Captive to the Word of God, A Particular Baptist look at the Reformation and the Covenants.

These 3 days were deeply refreshing, spiritually. How rare for saints to cry out to God for all sorts of spiritual needs with not one prayer for a physical need. There was talk about the spiritual depravity on display in the daily news and in most cities in this nation. It is God’s role to judge sinful man; it is our charge to proclaim the gospel of grace to all people.

The new GPS worked fine and had no trouble loading my routes from the SD card I had in the dead GPS.

23 June. To JR’s.

The first day of the homeward journey was planned to end at the farm of a friend, east of Mt. Pleasant, TX. I departed at 0620. The new GPS was working and had my route loaded. This day was an uneventful ride on beautiful, engaging roads which took me UP and across the Mississippi River and across the Missouri, Arkansas, and Red rivers – all on small, 2 lane roads.

Stopped for a quick, small lunch about 80 miles north of Texas; was told to arrive hungry. Arrived at JR’s farm – in the COUNTRY, about 15 miles east of Mt. Pleasant – at 1420. It was sunny and hot. 8 hours in the seat, thankful I have an air cushion on my seat. Odometer at 24,806 for a 389 mile day. The old Sabre is a HOSS!

A dear friend of mine from my Oklahoma days was riding his bike down, as we haven’t seen each other in more than three years and he wanted to catch up. He arrived at 1730 – plenty of time for me to shower and relax. We went out to dinner and came back to the farm where the three guys stayed up a couple hours talking theology. I gave JR a copy of my book, The Gospel in Romans.

JR cleared out space in his pole barn so we could park our bikes under a roof – thunderstorms coming! He has a cabin with two bedrooms for guests. We were treated very well and were thankful to God for this brother.

I felt well and not tired after a long day on the road. Was looking forward to the final day!

  

24 June. Homeward!

Up at 0600 to find the storms had passed and skies full of sun. I loaded up the Honda and was on the road at 0630. Stopped for breakfast at 0730. Nice, cool morning with sun and lots of clouds. Fun roads between boring ones.

I started getting tired around 1000 – was riding generally southwest into a hot wind coming from the southwest. I stopped for a rest and a strawberry milkshake at 1130. This cooled my belly and my route

took me on TX-50, which was curvy fun!

But then, the road ahead was closed off by highway patrol; a few cars were in front of me. A rail tanker car was off the tracks just beyond the road, with heavy-weight wreckers on the scene. They had not yet attached any chains to the rail car. Behind the emergency vehicle at the left of the picture is the top end of the rail car. It would be HOURS before they opened the road.

I turned around and found a route that had 7 miles of gravel road and 20 miles of pavement to get around this and back on my route south of the scene. This added about an hour to my travel time.

I was hot and tired. Made it to Luling – about 50 miles from home – and stopped for a long lunch in an air conditioned restaurant. I made it home at 1600, odometer at 25,223 for a 417 mile day. Total trip was 2,088 miles.

Happy to be home. Thankful for a safe trip and enriching fellowship with saints of the living God. Need to find a new left hand switch module or make a new switch for the horn. Gonna need a couple of days to recuperate. The last trip like this I took was in 2007, when I flew to D.C. to buy a bike and ride it back to Houston that summer. 

On-going Sanctification

Sanctification

Definitive or positional sanctification: 1 Cor 1:2 & 6:11. Is this all there is to sanctification? Why does this matter?

There are some Christians who teach that saints are totally depraved, with no difference in our being than before we were redeemed. Some of these seem genuinely concerned that we do not hold to infusion of grace into our flesh; and that is a legitimate concern. There are others who think positional sanctification (which is ours when we are born from above) is all there is. Some of these seem genuinely concerned about people who think on-going or progressive sanctification is the perfection of the flesh – as the personal holiness movement teaches. The truth is on the narrow path the runs between these two ditches.

In the first place, it's not our flesh that has been made new by our new life in Christ. It's our soul that has been made alive. The soul of the unregenerate is dead - unable to move his flesh in a way pleasing to God. The saint has a soul that is alive to God, with the Spirit of God willing and making him able to do things that ARE pleasing to God (Phil 2:13). This is what I think we are taught in various places, including Romans 12:1-2 (HCSB) Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Note this: the way we avoid being conformed to this age is by being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The soul of the saint has been translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His glorious light (Col 1:13) and we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph 2:6). Obviously this is not speaking about our physical being, but our spiritual being.

It should also be obvious that our mind, which is part and parcel of our soul, controls our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. We are not told that our flesh gets better with time, but we are told to control our thoughts, words, and deeds; we are not to walk as reprobates do, but as children of God:

Ephesians 5:6-11 (HCSB) Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. Therefore, do not become their partners. For you were once darkness, but now ⌊you are⌋ light in the Lord. Walk as children of light— for the fruit of the light ⌊results⌋ in all goodness, righteousness, and truth— discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Did you notice: a command to walk as children of light, which will bear fruit of that light which will reveal itself in goodness, righteousness, and truth – which means we can discern what’s pleasing to the Lord. Why would He give us such discernment if we have NO ability to influence our thoughts, words, and deeds? Why tell us NOT to take part in works of darkness if we are depraved and unable to say no to sin?

None of us will be without sin while we inhabit these bodies of death; but none who have been born from above by the Spirit of God are without a Helper who wills and equips us to do that which is pleasing to Him. We have an Intercessor who will make a way of escape (1 Cor 10:13) so that sin will not have dominion over us, but allow us to run away from it, as Joseph did so long ago. This is the consistent teaching of Scripture.

Romans 6:16-23 (HCSB) Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?  But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to, and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.  I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to moral impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification.  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the end is eternal life!  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That transforming renewal of our minds works its way out in our patterns of what we think, what we speak, and what we do. We have been liberated from sin and enslaved to God, which results in sanctification – the end of which is eternal life. Sort of sounds like sanctification is one of those essential things God works in us that we cannot do without.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (HCSB) Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God.

We work at completing this sanctification by cleansing ourselves from impurities of the flesh and our fleshly desires. We should not think we can cleanse ourselves by our effort and we should not think God will sanctify us no matter what we do; both are ditches we need to avoid. It’s analogous to being so afraid of works righteousness that we do not tell people to repent and believe or being convinced we can save sinners by our clever words. Both are wrong thinking.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 (HCSB) For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don’t know God. This means one must not transgress against and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you. For God has not called us to impurity but to sanctification. Therefore, the person who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who also gives you His Holy Spirit.

Here is a very specific area of sanctification – sexual purity. Ouch! But look what we’re told: God wills our sanctification so we will know and be able to control our bodies in an honorable way. How anyone can say we are no different from unregenerate people confounds me. There is no teaching of perfectionism, but there is clear teaching that we are to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus so we won’t be led astray by lawless people (2 Pet 3:17 & 18).

Read the qualifications of elders and deacons in 1 Tim 3 and see sanctified life described in action terms: sensible, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, not a drunkard, not quarrelsome or greedy. No different from depraved reprobates?

2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 (HCSB) But we must always thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, either by our message or by our letter.

We are chosen by God for salvation through sanctification. Not that we are sanctified and then saved, but that just as repentance and faith are separate but inseparable, so is salvation and sanctification. And this sanctification is the work of Spirit through the Word of Truth. And we finish this passage with the exhortation to behave rightly and think rightly, as taught by the apostolic records in Scripture. The Christian’s life IS DIFFERENT than the unregenerate’s life.

I have come to the conclusion that while justification (salvation, redemption) is monergistic, sanctification (perseverance, preservation) is not. But it’s not synergistic, either. That term conveys the notion that both elements or parties are required for the process to function. Even a casual read through the Bible will reveal the fact that God bids us to obey (Galatians 6:9) and enables to do so (Hebrews 13:20 & 21), He commands us to press on for the prize that will not tarnish and sustains us in the doing (Hebrews 12:1 & 2), and reminds us that apart from Him we do nothing (John 15:5). This is the essence of Augustine’s famous prayer that ignited the controversy with Pelagius: “God, command what you will, grant what you command.” The Christian will want to obey God and trust Him to bring it to completion. Yet He also works to conform us to His Son when we rebel and are not careful to walk as children of the light (1 Corinthians 5:9-13; Hebrews 12:3-11; James 1:2-4 & 12). Brothers, this should not be the case, we should not kick the goads; but it is comforting (and convicting) to embrace a God Who is not dependent on us!

So I conclude that God can work to sanctify us without our active participation, yet we cannot work towards growing in likeness to Christ without His active participation (John 15:5). We take 100% responsibility for the sin in our lives, we give God 100% of the credit for the good thoughts, words, and deeds we do. His Spirit in us works so that we pray effectively (Romans 8:26), without Him we can do nothing.

Sanctification. If it’s not part of your life, you need to examine yourself to see if you be in the faith (2 Cor 13:5).