Are you the kind of worshippers whom God seeks?

"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. John 4:23

Are you the kind of worshippers whom God seeks?

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(Notes below by Pastor Jonathan R Crosby, Greenville Church, South Carolina)

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
Jesus revealed truth to the woman of Samaria that no one else in the world knew at that time. Glory!

He condemned Samaritan worship as not having any proper basis in revelation from God or even knowledge (4:22). He prophesied that Jewish worship in Jerusalem would soon come to an end as well, though it was from God (4:21-22).

This great change from the Old Testament form of worship to the New Testament form is called the reformation (Heb 9:10). This change was started by John the Baptist, continued by Jesus Christ, and then completed by the apostles, especially Paul (Luke 16:16).

God has always wanted true worshippers, and neither the false worship of the Samaritans or the outdated worship of the Jews was sufficient.

Do you remember what it means to worship in spirit and in truth? We want to fully understand this important description that we use in prayer and speech.

Worship in spirit means New Testament worship is internal by our spirits, hearts, and minds rather than outward worship of things perceived by senses.

The Old Testament worship of the Jews was in a certain place, with an altar, with many animal sacrifices, and lots of other physical rituals and ceremonies. This came to end with New Testament worship done in simplicity with nothing for the senses but preaching, praying, singing, etc. with the understanding.

Worship in truth means that clear and specific revelation from God is necessary for every point of doctrine believed and every ordinance practised.

The worship of the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim, thirty miles north of Jerusalem, was something they had made up and was totally a vain tradition of theirs.

Paul condemned any worship or gospel, even if he preached it, that was not exactly the inspired gospel and worship of the N.T. (Gal 1:6-9; Heb 12:28-29).

Therefore, our church has very simple worship with nothing for the senses religiously, and we want a tsunami of Bible evidence for any doctrine or practice.

The Samaritan woman knew that Messiah (or Christ) was coming and would reveal the will of God. Jesus told her that He was the Messiah (or Christ). When the apostles interrupted their conversation, she returned to the city and brought most or all of them out to meet Jesus. Very many were converted.

Read the rest of the encounter between Jesus and these Samaritans and follow the lessons that He taught by use of metaphors of meat and harvest.

Do you care about the souls of others as much as Jesus did ... as much as the Samaritan woman did? Who have you tried to convert to truth this week?

Rejoice and give thanks that God sent Jesus to despised Samaritans ... for it fulfilled prophecies He would also come after us (Gen 49:10; John 10:16).

Satan's strategy: cripple you gradually with freebies!

"Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"

An article by Debra Johnsen Baer
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210382712669834&set=a.1194773515170.2030514.1403402571&type=3&theater

[The strategy to catch wild pigs reminds me of the similar strategy of Satan's in ensnaring God's children. sing]

CRITICAL LIFE LESSON

"Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"

There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the professor noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist regime. In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked: "Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said that it was no joke. "You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free food".

"When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence". "They get used to that and start to eat again.

You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side". "The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat that free corn again. You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd".

"Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity."

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America . The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare entitlements, medicine, drugs, etc., while we continually lose our freedoms, just a little at a time as the government forces us to participate in many of these programs whether or not we want to.

One should always remember two truths: There is no such thing as a free lunch, and you can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself. If you see that all of this wonderful government "help" is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to share this with your friends.

God help us all when the gate slams shut!

Quote for today: "The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are now outnumbered by those that vote for a living."

Righteousness Imputed Legally, and Applied Personally

Siberian Tigers - majestic creatures that declares the glory of their Creator
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/art/2016-10/18/content_27085672_5.htm#Content

The Multifaceted Jewel of Justification

Decreed eternally,

Imputed legally, 

Applied personally, 

Experienced practically.

Do you know the distinction?
Not knowing it is like being colour blind. We fail to see the multifaceted dazzling colours of the doctrine of justification. May the Lord grant us eyes to see them. Amen.

"God did, from all eternity, decree to justify all the elect, and Christ did, in the fulness of time, die for their sins, and rise again for their justification: nevertheless, they are not justified, until the Holy Spirit doth, in due time, actually apply Christ unto them." That's WCF 11.4.

Here is the 1689 version, it has a very significant word 'personally' which greatly emphasize the distinction further.

"God did from all eternity decree to justify all the elect, and Christ did in the fullness of time die for their sins, and rise again for their justification; nevertheless, they are not justified PERSONALLY, until the Holy Spirit doth in time due actually apply Christ unto them."  LCF 11.4

(Please don't make the silly statement that the 1689 CoF is just a mere copy of the WCF. The above instant tells you otherwise. That's an insult to the Framers. They were cheapskate copycats!)

This paragraph on the doctrine of Justification states plainly 3 distinct aspects of Justification:
1. Justification DECREED in eternity.
2. Justification ACCOMPLISHED in the fulness of time.
3. Justification APPLIED in DUE time to each elect.

Then the 2nd paragraph (11.2) describes another aspect of Justification:
4. Justification EXPERIENCED through faith/believing in Christ.

Putting them in other words, we have:
Righteousness PURPOSED for all the elect by God in eternity.
Righteousness IMPUTED LEGALLY to all the elect at the cross.
Righteousness APPLIED to each elect PERSONALLY at effectual calling.
Righteousness EXPERIENCED by a child of God at initial conversion.

These are DISTINCT and separate aspects/facets of justification.

Very many Reformed Baptists and others who claim to hold to the 1689 CoF are completely ignorant of this multifaceted jewel.

'They are not justified PERSONALLY...' even though they are justified LEGALLY. When Christ died on the cross, LEGAL justification of all His people took place; all their sins were imputed to Him, and His righteousness was imputed to them. The DOUBLE IMPUTATION took place on the cross. [Listen, if your sins were not imputed to Christ when He died on the cross, I am very sorry for you. You don't expect Christ to die one more time just for your sins! Take care of them yourself! Good luck to you,  ;-) ] They are LEGALLY justified... but they are not PERSONALLY justified... because though righteousness was imputed legally, it is not yet APPLIED personally to each one; therefore they are not YET justified personally...

UNTIL the Holy Spirit does in due time, i.e., in God's appointed and approved time, actually apply Christ to them - that is, UNTIL their effectual calling out of their native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation at God's appointed and approved time, freely by God's grace. That's when the righteousness of Christ is APPLIED personally. (See 1689.10.1)

A reformed man insisted, 'That personal application is by faith.'
His notion is taken from here: "Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification; yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love." WCF 11.2 .

I commented:
No no no. Personal application ENABLES faith...
No, no, no. Faith does not effect personal application!

Before personal application, a man is still personally in the state of death and condemnation, utterly incapable of believing.

Faith is a SAVING GRACE..... did you read that?
Faith is a fruit and effect when salvation is already APPLIED personally. All saving graces are fruit and effect of the personal application of justification; faith is ONE of among all other saving graces. Read it again without glasses.

"Faith ... is not alone in THE person justified..." Faith is one of the saving graces worked within a child of God by the Holy Spirit. This faith is manifested and drawn out by the preaching of the gospel.

Faith can only be found in a person whom the Spirit of God has applied Christ and His righteousness.

Faith evidences the justified state of a man.

And faith is the means to EXPERIENCE the blessedness of the justified state... faith in contrast to observing the ceremonial laws. That was Paul's message to the children of God among the Jews. And Abraham was marshaled as the classic example.

That's where ALL new school calvinists get it wrong - making faith as the instrumental means of justification before God.

'Faith alone' - believing in Jesus Christ, IN CONTRAST to Jewish believers' insistence of observing the ceremonial laws of the OT - is the ONLY means appointed by God for God's children to EXPERIENCE the blessedness of their justified state by God's free grace based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. Abraham is the classic example marshaled to demonstrate that simple truth to the Jews.

Three distinct sets of contrast in three distinct aspects of justification.

1. The ground of justification:
- Christ's righteousness vs. your own.- No righteousness, no justification of life; a man remains in the condemnation of death!
- Justification by faith alone' is a heresy in this context... for it militates against legal justification by the righteousness of Christ ALONE.
- And righteousness is obtained through perfect obedience to all the laws of God.

2. The manner of justification:
- God's free grace vs. your compliant with some conditions.
- No free grace, no righteousness APPLIED; unjustified man REMAINS in sin, under the condemnation of death, and incapable of meeting any condition.
- 'Justification by faith alone' is a heresy in this context... for it militates against vital justification applied FREELY by the grace of God ALONE. The one in need of justification (in his un-justified state is still in the state of condemnation and death) IS INCAPABLE of meeting any condition to be justified by God.

3. The means to experience the blessedness of justification
- Believing in Christ alone vs. observance of ceremonial laws.
- Abraham experienced the blessedness of his justified state without keeping the ceremonial laws. He believed and his believing was blessed unto him to experience that blessedness.
- Justification by faith alone' is true in this limited and particular context only... for it is the only means appointed for the justified (by God's free grace based on the righteousness of Christ) to experience the blessedness of his justified state.


A biblical distinction is the essence of sound theology.

The new-school reformed people have muddled the three distinct aspects of justification, turning a multi-faceted jewel into a spherical glass marble!

Scriptures repeatedly declare, 'The just shall live by faith.'

It is the just - those already justified by God when they were still in their native state of condemnation and death - that have the grace of faith worked in them by the Holy Spirit, thus they shall live by faith.

The natural state of a man is death and condemnation, before God, by His free and sovereign grace, justifies him. Before his justification by God's free and sovereign grace, he is spiritually dead, in enmity and rebellion against God and wholly incapable of believing.

When the justification of life takes place, a man is enabled to believe the truth of the gospel.

It is 'the just shall live by faith.' But so many read this declaration and make it to say, 'the unjustified (therefore in the state of death and condemnation) shall believe and be justified.'

That's sola fideism - a grave perversion of the gospel truth.

Now it was not written for his sake alone... but for us also!

Now it was not written for his sake alone... but for us also!

A dear Brother wrote:
I will appreciate if you can me help me to understand this verse:
Rom 4:24  "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead..."

It seems to me that the "if" in the verse implies that  righteousness imputed is conditional upon our believing, which doesn't sound right.

Thanks.
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 Dear Brother,

Concerning the question on Rom 4:24, "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."

The apparent contradiction is resolved simply by remembering that there are several distinct aspects of justification taught in the Scriptures
- Decretal justification of all elect in eternity by God's decree, (Justification purposed in eternity)
- Legal justification of all the elect at the cross by the redemption of Christ, (Justification Accomplished at the Cross)
- Vital justification of each individual elect personally at effectual calling at God's own appointed time, and freely by the grace of God (Justification Applied at the Effectual Calling)
- Practical justification when a child of God (vitally justified, regenerated, adopted) believe God's word concerning His Son Jesus Christ, (Justification Experienced at Conversion)
- Final justification when the children of God are publicly vindicated and glorified on the great judgment day

The whole of Romans 4 deals with the practical aspect of justification. Apostle Paul marshalled the classic example of Abraham, to demonstrate how the blessedness of one's justified state by God's free grace is to be experienced personally. What was Abraham's experience; what did he find? How did he experience the blessedness of his righteous standing before God? Abraham had been justified (vitally, the righteousness of Christ applied to him personally) when was still an ungodly man in the Ur of the Chaldean, prior to his calling to leave.

The APPLICATION (VITAL justification) of Christ's righteousness to God's elect in their native state of condemnation and death has been dealt with in chapter 3. The LEGAL justification took place at the cross. What took place at the cross is APPLIED to each individual elect PERSONALLY when God effectually calls them out of their native state of sin, condemnation, and death.

3:24 describes that vital justification in these words, "being justified FREELY by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." The redemption that is in Christ Jesus has been stated in verse 22 in a very specific manner, "even the righteousness of God (i.e. of God's own provision) which is by the faith of Jesus Christ (i.e. through the faithfulness of Christ in His redemptive work as the Saviour of His people). The righteousness of Christ deals with our LEGAL and VITAL justification before God. The believing act of God's children (i.e. justified and regenerated elect) deals with their PRACTICAL/experiential justification.

4:1 "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

How did Abraham, who had been freely justified by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus - which had happened way back when he was still in Ur, experience the blessedness of that righteous standing before God by His free grace? By believing the word of God concerning the promised seed.

Chapter 4 takes up answering that question, and the CLASSIC incident recorded in Gen 15:1-6 was marshaled.
Abraham experienced the blessedness of his justified state, freely by God's grace based on the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, simply through believing, and not through any work of observing ceremonial laws.

His believing in God's promise concerning the seed - the  "it" - was accounted to him for righteousness.

So verse 5 reiterates, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

(God justifies the UNGODLY, i.e. those under the just condemnation because of sins. Believing in Jesus Christ is an act blessed by God to the believer to experience the blessedness of his righteous standing before God, i.e God has freely justified him by His grace PRIOR to his believing.)

This verse speaks of practical justification CONDITIONED UPON believing on Him that justifies the UNGODLY. Him that justifies the UNGODLY is a distinct aspect of justification from Him that justifies the BELIEVING ONE, the former is the VITAL aspect, the latter is the PRACTICAL aspect.

4:22 draws the conclusion:
"And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness."
The pronoun "it" refers to Abraham's act of believing," the act of believing is accounted unto the believing one for righteousness, THAT IS, to experience the blessedness of his righteous standing before God through the righteousness of Christ alone, FREELY imputed to him when he was in the state of condemnation and death.

So many read "it" to mean the righteousness of Jesus Christ, i.e. the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed on the condition of faith. This is wholly irrational. Without the righteousness of Christ, a man is still under the just condemnation and death; such a man can't possibly believe!

4:23 "Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;"
That incident in Gen 15 was written not only for Abraham's sake, to testify that his act of believing was accounted to him to experience that blessedness of having been justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

"Not for his sake alone" implies for the sake of others ALSO, as the next verse shows.

4:24 "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead..."

Please note that the pronoun "it" does not refer to the righteousness of Jesus Christ but the believing act of a child of God. It is his believing that is imputed/accounted/blessed by God for him to experience the blessedness of his just and righteous status before God by God's own free and gracious act of justifying him when he was in his native state of sin, death, and condemnation.

So, the subject in this verse is still the same subject that has been considered in the previous verses concerning the experience of Abraham. "But for us ALSO" means the exact same truth applies to us too. Our believing in the gospel of God concerning the promised Seed is the means/instrument to experience the blessedness of our righteous standing before God by His freely justifying us based the righteousness of Christ.

The condition is implied even though the word ei, which expresses a condition, is not in the Greek text. That explains the conditional "if" in the kjv text. It SHALL be imputed when a condition is met. It is a blessing that can only be attained or experienced by God's children if they believe God's word concerning His Son.

Apostle Paul was laying the ground to call upon the recipients of his epistle to BELIEVE in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Apostle Paul wrote to those who were ALREADY the "called of Jesus Christ" (1:6), the "called "beloved of God" and the "called to be saints" (1:7).

Eternal salvation has been freely applied to them. They needed to hear the gospel of that salvation. And believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ is the condition for God's children to experience that blessedness of their righteousness before in Jesus Christ. That was the case with Abraham, and that is the case with all the others. There is no exception.

I hope the above help to clarify your question.
I thank you for inquiring. Please feel very free to do so.
I love you in the Lord, Brother.

your brother and servant,
sing