Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; 

teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

 

May 24, 2020  ·

#Word_of_Christ  and #Your_singing

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Some thoughts:

i. "the word of Christ"

- words concerning Christ, His person as the only begotten Son of God, the eternal Word made flesh; His work as the Redeemer of His people; His threefold offices as the prophet, priest, and king to His people; these are the chief themes of the whole of the inspired Scriptures. Essentially, the word of Christ is the same as the word of God.

ii. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you"

- The Scriptures are to be carefully attended to publicly, diligently read and frequently meditated upon privately; they are able, under  God's divine appointment, to furnish disciples with all spiritual wisdom, or to make God's children wise unto their salvation by His free grace in Jesus Christ.

- This is the only way the word of Christ will begin to find a dwelling place in you. An implanted microchip won't do!

- It requires discipline, devotion, commitment, and time; it calls for your mental exertion to have the word of Christ to dwell in you, to have it firmly rooted in you. To dwell is to make it to abide, to remain, to continue in you; not just a TnG thing, but a permanent and fulltime resident.

- Mt 13:19 happens all too often, "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side." What a waste of effort; 2Co 6:1  "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."

iii. "richly in all wisdom"

- "richly" - in abundant measure, the whole counsel of God. Act 20:27 "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." 2Tim 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:17 that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

iv. "in all wisdom": in all wisdom speaks of the ability to use word of Christ suitably for all occasions and for all needs. It is the ability to use it profitably for its divinely intended purposes.

- Having a workshop equipped with all the great tools and gadgets is great and impressive; having the knowledge and wisdom to use them is absolutely needed if those tools are to accomplish any profit to anyone.

- Without wisdom, the word of God may be abused and misused to cause harm.  2Pe 3:16 "As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."

Having the word of Christ dwelling in you richly in all wisdom is a PREREQUISITE for the mutual duty of "teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

There is too much singing that is detached from, and uninformed by, the word of Christ.

1Co 14:15

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

Amen.

p/s Church choir does not fulfill this scriptural command in Col 3:16; congregational singing does.

 

Sola Fide and Heretics

1. There is a 'sola fide' that I reject as the lie from the pit of hell.
2. There is a 'sola fide' that I receive as the truth taught by Apostle Paul.
Which sola fide do you believe?

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/3286320512340
May 24, 2020  ·

#Ignoramus #Heretic

Facebook reminded me of this post on May 24, 2012.

A Mr. Diaz called me a heretic; the RBs of Malaysia had done the same earlier in 2004 for similar reasons.

I left two comments as indicated in the screenshot; they are as follows:

Sing F Lau

Perhaps you can show us that you even understood my position.
1. There is a 'sola fide' that I reject as the lie from the pit of hell.
2. There is a 'sola fide' that I receive as the truth taught by Apostle Paul.

Now, please show us that you have read and understood my positions on the above two statements. Otherwise, you are just speaking ignorantly... and that is shameful enough!

Sing F Lau
There is a sola fide that is a lie of the devil and comes from the pit of hell, even this popular fiction about justification before God: "righteousness is imputed to a man through his believing." And this is what Nathaniel and the likes of him believe... whether they are of the reformed or Arminian tent. 

That view is just plain erroneous for this nonsense:
- it implies that a man without the imputed righteousness, therefore still under just condemnation and death, is capable of believing...
- it implies that a man without the imputed righteousness is already regenerated and capable of believing...
- If you need more, let me know!!!

A man is JUSTIFIED by the righteousness of Christ alone
- That's the LEGAL justification: the righteousness of Christ IMPUTED IMPUTED IMPUTED to him at the cross.

A man is JUSTIFIED by the grace of God alone:
- That is VITAL justification: how the righteousness of Christ is APPLIED APPLIED APPLIED freely to a man personally by the grace of God

A man is JUSTIFIED by faith alone:
- This is EXPERIENTIAL justification: believing in Jesus Christ is the manner how a CHILD OF GOD [ALREADY justified, regenerated and adopted, and given the Spirit of adoption...] EXPERIENCES EXPERIENCES EXPERIENCES the blessedness of his justified state by God's free grace. There is NO NO NO accounting of righteousness here at all.

A biblical distinction is the essence of sound theology.

"So is every one that is born of the Spirit."

When regeneration and conversion

are not kept and restricted to their own track,

what you get is the wreck! Right track, no wreck!

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10204283171894929
May 21, 2015

John 3:8
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

It is stated categorically, "so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

What this means is simple and plain enough: all the elect, without any exception, is regenerated in exactly the same, and needless to say, to exactly the same extent. So, every elect is regenerated in exactly the one same way, and to the one same degree.

- Do you agree? If you do, proceed. If you don't, you need not read further.

What is the one and only absolutely sure and certain way that ALL the elect, without a single exception, will be be regenerated, between their conception and physical death?

- Is it regeneration WITH the gospel preaching, or
- Is it regeneration WITHOUT the gospel preaching?
- (If there is a third alternative, please tell us. thanks)

To those who hold to the "regeneration WITH the gospel preaching",

Let's say, as you affirm, that regeneration by the Spirit is through the preaching of the gospel, then these are necessary implications:

- there is absolutely no elect among those who had no opportunity to hear the gospel; your mantra is, "no preaching, no regeneration!" Therefore, if there are elect among them, they will be left in their native unregenerated state, and will eventually end up in the lake of fire.

- there is absolutely no elect among those who have no ability to hear the gospel; your mantra is, "no preaching, no regeneration!" Therefore, if there are elect among them, they will remain in their native state of sin and death, and will finally end up in the lake of fire.

Since it is insisted that the divine work of regeneration is dependent upon the human work of preaching, an activity necessarily performed by a man (Rom 10:14), this necessarily implies that the eternal salvation of a man is NOW DEPENDENT upon the activities of other men, since your mantra is, "no preaching, no regeneration!"

Why is it so hard to believe that the gospel ministry is for the CONVERSION of God's children to the truth of their salvation by the free and sovereign grace of God in Jesus Christ? Why do preachers insist that their gospel ministry has anything to do with the regeneration of sinners dead in their trespasses and sins to eternal life? They do most certainly sound so much grander, and indispensable, to think themselves intimately involved in the begetting of God's children. They assist God in His work of regeneration.

They are REFUSE to think that God can regenerate without them! They are incapable to think that God uses them for the conversion of His children whom He Himself has already begotten!

I have never heard of a midwife so stupid to insist that she helps in the conception of the lives she helps to deliver. But I have heard of many stupid (i.e. lacking common sense) preachers, with ThD and DD behind their names, who insist that their activities are necessary to assist God in His work of begetting His children.

Similarly, I have never met a farmer who says that the wind will not blow on the farm unless is present, and doing something on the farm! But countless seminary-trained preachers believe that their presence and activities are necessary for the Spirit to do His work of regeneration! 

When one is unable to keep regeneration (quickening the dead), and conversion (turning a living person into the right doctrines and practice) distinct and separate, there will always be contradictions and inconsistencies at best, and damnable heresies at worst.

 ========

10 Comments

Bhaskar Ban
Oh so sad

Sing F Lau
Sorry you are made so sad!!!

Jerry Chapin
Didn't see what's sad about the New Birth being ALL of God and NO part left to man...also, couldn't correlate the train wreck with your article...

Sing F Lau
When regeneration and conversion are not kept and restricted to their own track, what you get is the wreck!  Right track, no wreck!

Jerry Chapin
Oh! OK...I can see that correlation...too early in the AM for me I guess...have a blessed day, Bro. Sing...

Sing F Lau
It is 8.20pm here! We are on the opposite side of the small globe. May our Lord bless you richly. 

William D Martin
Sing, Why Romans 10:14, please give me some feed back.

Sing F Lau
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

========

That's a good question!

Why Romans 10:14?

Romans 10:14 declares the necessity of preaching the gospel for the CONVERSION of God's children (elect that are already bestowed with ETERNAL salvation at regeneration to eternal life)... SO THAT God's children can hear, and be brought to know and believe the truth of their salvation by God's free grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

How shall they hear without a preacher bringing to gospel of their salvation to them? Preaching is very necessary... necessary ONLY for the end appointed by God (i.e. the conversion of His children to the truth of their salvation); not necessary for the end hallucinated by many preachers (regeneration of sinners dead in trespasses and sins by the Spirit.)

How shall God's children believe in their blessed Saviour without them hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ? Hearing the gospel is very necessary... necessary ONLY for the end appointed by God (i.e. the conversion of His children to the truth of their salvation); not necessary for the end hallucinated by many preachers (the means for the Spirit to regenerate of sinners dead in trespasses and sins.)

Just consider who the passage is dealing with... who does the pronoun "they" refer to?
- who are they that shall call upon the Lord Jesus Christ when they do hear the gospel of Jesus Christ?
- who are they that shall believe in Jesus Christ when they do hear the gospel of Jesus Christ?
- who are they that shall hear the gospel of Jesus Christ when it is preached to them?

THEY are them that ARE SAVED; them that HAVE BEEN SAVED by God, and they alone that are capable of all those things.

THEY are NOT them that are still in their native state of sin and death! Many preachers imagine so, thus believing their preaching activities are involved in the regeneration of sinners dead in trespasses and sins.

1Cor 1:18
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Do I make sense? I like good questions.

Marty-Sandy Smith
Amen. Regeneration, or giving everlasting life to those dead in trespasses and sin, is all of God (monergistic), and man is the passive beneficiary of regeneration by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Conversion, or giving gospel food to those with life in Jesus Christ, is a synergistic work of God and man, and man is blessed to be an active participant in that gospel.

Conversion does not precede or accompany regeneration, but conversion is made possible by regeneration.

Jerry Chapin
Good exegesis from you both...and on the conversion part, how wonderful when that little sheep sees, for the first time, what his Lord has done and how he's kept in and by the power of God...blessings to you both...