Things New and Old: Preterition damns none; free offer to the dead deceives many

Things New and Old

Ancient truths revealed in the Scriptures are often forgotten, disbelieved or distorted, and therefore lost in the passage of time. Such ancient truths when rediscovered and relearned are 'new' additions to the treasury of ancient truths.

Christ showed many new things to the disciples, things prophesied by the prophets of old but hijacked and perverted by the elders and their traditions, but which Christ reclaimed and returned to His people.

Many things taught by the Apostles of Christ have been perverted or substituted over the centuries. Such fundamental doctrines like salvation by grace and justification have been hijacked and perverted and repudiated by sincere Christians. These doctrines need to be reclaimed and restored to God's people.

There are things both new and old here. "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things" 2Ti 2:7.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Preterition damns none; free offer to the dead deceives many

Do you ever charge the dead of wilfully refusing

your generous offer of a bag of French fries?
You can probably charge some living Americans on that.

Preterition and free offer

1. Preterition, being bypassed by God in His sovereign and gracious work of election, damns no man. The righteous LORD God wronged no one in electing many to eternal salvation while bypassing the rest to their just desert.

What damns a man is his own sin.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

2. Free Offer

The "means of grace" are irrelevant to those dead in trespasses and sins, no matter how earnestly and sincerely offered to them. The idea is a fable. Offering food to the dead is a heartless insult and taunting and mockery of the dead; the superstitious and misguided preachers do that. The LORD God does no such evil.

Food is for the living. "Feed... feed... feed My lambs, My sheep, My sheep" saith the Lord, John 21. Feeding has to do with the living; feeding is not to bring to life those that are dead. Feed the living with what? With the means He himself as appointed for His lambs and sheep.

The "means of grace" are ordained for the nourishment and discipleship of God's children. It is God's children who are culpable of wilfully refuse the means divinely appointed for their spiritual good and usefulness. Such become fruitless; the faith of such is fruitless.

2Pe 1:8

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Failing to give all diligence to add those things mentioned in verses 5-7, one shall become barren and unfruitful.

Mat 13:23

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Anything less leads to fruitlessness. He "who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Who have ears to hear spiritual things; who is capable of hearing the things of the Spirit of God? Children of God.

The parable of the ground (Mt 13) is addressed to God's children among the Jews 0 being a parable of the kingdom of God, warning them to hear in the manner that will bear fruit.