Sonship and Discipleship...

Enjoying a picnic dinner by the FTZ coastal park.
Picture was taken by Brother Ban YS.

Here are two questions.

"What must I do to be born again?"

"What must I do to be saved?"

Do you know the difference? Many don't have a clue! They see them as synonymous!

"What must I do to be born again?" - Before having been born again, a man is dead in trespasses and sins... such a man is actively in enmity and rebellion against God, and loves wallowing in this state of sin and death. There is nothing he can or will do to be born again. It is absolutely a nonsensical question. It is like a dead man asking what he must do in order to be raised from the dead!

"What must I do to be saved?" - ONLY an elect whom the Lord God has bestowed eternal salvation through the effectual call [whereby a man is called out of his native state of sin and condemnation to that of grace and salvation in Christ Jesus] is able to ask a question like that. And the salvation such a person is inquiring is the temporal salvation... there are lots of things a child of God must do, in obedience to God's will for him, in order to work out HIS OWN salvation with fear and trembling.

Our four children were conceived and born without them making any decision or doing anything. That's begetting and sonship.

They were nurtured and trained to grow up (with the help and involvement of not a few others); these require their active obedience. That's parenting and discipleship.

Get it?

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Great Mama so often prepared picnic dinners and got the family out to the beach along the FTZ. She makes the "bestest of the worlderest" pizzas and garlic bread. With roast chicking, steamed corn cobs, and cucumber, what great time we so often had along that stretch, with nice cycling path for children.
Blessed be the Lord for all His great kindness and mercies.

(Photo was taken by Brother BYS who was visiting us then. We thank the Lord for every remembrance of that kind Brother.)

By Grace Alone - is this what you mean?

The LONE bird perches on a branch ALONE

God ALONE purposed eternal redemption for all the elect.

Christ ALONE accomplished the eternal redemption for all the elect.

The Spirit ALONE applied that eternal redemption to each individual elect personally.

All these are the free and sovereign acts of God... without man playing any part whatsoever.

When the eternal redemption has been applied to each elect, he is perfectly and completely fitted for eternal glory.

Nothing further is needed for their entrance unto their eternal glory.

God ALONE will consummate that eternal redemption for all His children at the return of Christ for His redeemed.

And ALONE means ALONE... not alone plus some effort or contribution of man.

This is the truth of salvation by God's free grace alone.

The ministry of the gospel is ordained for the well-being of God's children as they journey through this world unto their eternal glory.

The gospel ministry does not add anything to their BEING as God's children immutably destined for eternal glory.

The gospel ministry has been ordained for the spiritual well-being of God's redeemed elect; for their instruction, to make them wise concerning eternal their salvation by the free and sovereign grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Titus 2
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD.

"Come now, and let us reason together, 

saith the LORD...." Isa 1:18a

"Produce your cause, saith the LORD; 

bring forth your strong reasons, 

saith the King of Jacob." Isa 41:21

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 

1Th 5:21

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: 

and be ready always to give an answer 

to every man that asketh you

 a reason of the hope that is in you 

with meekness and fear."1Pet 3:15

Go to link and download this 138-slide on the subject:
The Logic of Faith. 
http://www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/reasoning-in-the-scriptures.pdf

"As many as..."

Can you count as many as 10?

'As many as...' the exact number, not one more and not one less.

John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

This popular passage is misunderstood by many. They understand 'received' Christ' as referring to new birth, instead of conversion to the gospel of Christ. This is obviously an error.

It is very clear that three distinct and specific things are mentioned in the two verses:

- 'received him' : man's act of believing and receiving Christ...

- 'given the power to become the sons of God'...

- 'born of God' the new birth.

And the logical and chronological order of these three actions are obvious: 

- new birth : 'born of God', 

- conversion : 'received Him', 

- experiencing the right and authority to claim divine sonship - given 'power to become the sons of God.'

A man who believes in Jesus Christ gives evidence that he has eternal life, for 'whosoever believes have eternal life.' Whosoever believes is born of God, and has the right and authority to claim divine sonship. It is obvious that one must be born of God first, which enables him to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in believing he is given the power to become, to claim himself as a son of God.

It is a common error to equate being given power to become the sons of God as the new birth! It is the new birth by the sovereign activity of God that enables a man to believe. And it is believing the gospel truth that enables a man to experience the power to become a son of God.

Believing that the unregenerate sinner, i,e, dead in trespasses and sins, can so 'receive Christ' to be born again, is so contrary to Christ's own declaration, 'Except a man be born again, he CANNOT...' This common notion repudiates the declaration of Christ, and that is no light matter!

John 1:11 'as many as' has also be perverted in another way, that is, that God has effectually and irresistibly predestinated that all the elect shall so receive Christ (through hearing the gospel, and believing it). This is plainly contrary to Scriptures, as well as historical facts. Such notion also erroneously conditioned regeneration on the preaching and the hearing and believing of the gospel.

It is typical of even the Calvinists to confuse the preacher's gospel call blessed to the conversion of God's children as the divine effectual call, calling an elect OUT of his native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation in Christ Jesus. But the effectual call is God's direct and immediate activity in calling an elect out of his native state of sin and death to that of righteousness and eternal life in Christ.

Such understanding of salvation is no longer by God's free grace alone, but tainted and adulterated with man's activities, both the preachers' and the hearers' activities. It is based on the fable that the activities of life can precede that life itself.

Life must precede any activity of that life! The difference is fundamental!

Read a related article here...
http://things-new-and-old.blogspot.my/2012/07/to-them-gave-he-power-to-become-sons-of.html

A prayer for the once upright and great USA

08 Nov 2016
Yes, LORD God of heaven, please send a brave servant to Drain the Stinking Swamp, so infested with two-legged crocodiles, that is not only poisoning and killing the once beautiful and great nation but also stirring up troubles around the globe.
O Lord, frustrate the abominable schemings of the globalist cabal.
Amen!

06 Nov 2012
A prayer for USA...
Our Father in heaven, the Governor and Ruler of all that exist, please let good sense prevail in that great country call USA... as her people go to the ballot box to choose their President and all sorts of civil officers! And do strike fear into those who would commit fraud! Turn the nation back from the path unto destruction! Heal the sick and suicidal nation. For the sake of thy precious people, restore to her common sense and righteousness once again. Do not destroy her as her madness deserves! Spare her Lord... but do banish the wickedly corrupt from their office.

I ask these in the blessed name of thy only begotten Son, Amen!

The crippling effect of the dreaded disease "soundbytitis"

The same is an apt description of what happens in bible colleges and theological seminaries too; students are indoctrinated in a set of teachings held by such institutions. They are not taught to be students of the Scriptures like the Bereans.

Have you ever heard of one such institution teaching its students to ask,
How can a UN-justified man ever believe in order to be justified by God?" What is the spiritual state of a UN-justified man?

or asking,
How on earth can the repeated biblical statement "the just shall live by faith" ever be read to mean sola fidei, i.e.,"the UN-justified believes in order to be justified through his faith?"

or asking,
How does - Gen 15:6 "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" teach that when Abraham believed, righteousness was imputed to him by God? WHAT did God account to Abraham for righteousness? And what does that mean?

or asking,
If Abraham was justified by God in Gen 15:6, then he had been a UN-justified man before that point, hadn't he? Do you know what is the spiritual state of a man in his native UN-justified state?
Do Genesis 12-14 give you a picture of Abraham as a man still in his native state of CONDEMNATION and DEATH? Do they?

It was said of the Bereans that they put on their God-given BRAIN, and they search the Scriptures. They were not given to sound-bytes! What about you? "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with ALL READINESS OF MIND, and SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES daily, whether those things were so." Act 17:11.

No, such institutions don't teach the students to think and reason, and ask questions; instead, they indoctrinate them. Students are indoctrinated with sound bytes, without thinking and reasoning, that "the just shall live by faith" means the UN-justified shall be justified by God through their act of believing, the fable and fiction of "sola fidei."

Just a whole load of sound bytes!

But what says the Scriptures?
2Ti 2:2 "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."

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Go here, and read some exchanges.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207598142327118&set=a.1182086067794.2026451.1097484914&type=3&theater