Understanding 1 Timothy 4:10

Question: Pastor John, I appreciate your blog very much but I do have a question. Please could you explain 1 Timothy 4:10 which says, “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”

Answer: I am pleased to know that you are enjoying the blog and thank you for your question.

This verse has had many interpretations. Here are a few of them:

(1) Universalism – The idea that “God is the Savior of all men” means that all will be saved. This of course is contrary to all sound doctrine and in fact, has always been viewed as heresy by the Church. The proponents of this idea emphasize the love of God as God’s chief and most important attribute, to the exclusion of all others, such as His holiness and His justice. This heresy is very easily refuted because the Bible makes it very clear that some people will end up in hell, forever (Rev. 14: 9-11; 20:15; Matt. 5: 21-22, 27-30; 23: 15, 33; 25: 41, 46).

If the phrase “the Savior of all men” was seeking to teach universalism, the rest of the verse would have no meaning when it says “especially of believers.” Continue reading

Calvinism v. Arminianism

I guess the secret is out. I am a Calvinist.

Actually, I do not think it was much of a secret, yet I hesitate to use the term Calvinist because it seems to mean many different things to different people. There are so many straw men built in the minds of people as to what it means, that I think its often best to not use the term at all. Many have been taught some very erroneous things in this regard.

Its unfortunate that a man’s name is associated with the doctrines that came out of the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin was not the first to articulate these truths, but merely was the chief systematizer of such doctrines. There was actually nothing in Calvin that was not first seen in Martin Luther, and much of Luther was first found in Augustine. Luther was an Augustinian monk, of course. We would also naturally affirm that there was nothing in any of these men that was not first found in Paul, Peter and John in the New Testament, and Jesus Himself.

So having laid my theology bare, so to speak, I would quickly add that I have no desire to be a Calvinist in the Corinthian sense of the word – a follower of John Calvin, per se. Though I believe Calvin was a tremendous expositor of the Scriptures and had many great insights, I am not someone who believes he was in any way infallible. I am with C. H. Spurgeon (the man known as the Prince of Preachers) who declared:

“There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of grace than I do, and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer – I wish to be called nothing but a Christian; but if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin, I reply, I do in the main hold them, and rejoice to avow it.” (C. H. Spurgeon, a Defense of Calvinism)

The issues involved in the Calvinism v. Arminian controversy are important – I think far more than people realise. They speak to the very character of God, His Sovereignty and His glory in saving sinners and go to the heart of the gospel itself and the nature of God’s grace. To be sure, these are not trivial issues. God will not share His glory with another. Yet although the Arminian and I may strongly disagree on some vital issues, we do not have to be strongly disagreeable. We can engage in conversation in a Christ-like spirit as brothers and sisters in Christ. Continue reading

Total Depravity

“The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind…” – Jer. 17:9-10

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh;” – Romans 7:18

“The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.” – Psalm 58:3

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” – Psalm 51:5

Every child comes into the world with an alarming capacity for evil. Does that shock you? Did you think I was going to end the sentence differently? Scripture teaches us that the heart of the human problem is the problem of the heart. That’s true of us even before we are born.

The theological term for this is “total depravity.” It means that the depravity of man, including all the babies born into our world, is total.

Does this mean that people are as depraved as is possible for them to be? Does total depravity mean utter depravity?

No, for even the very worst amongst us can still be looked upon as having the capacity to be even worse than they are.

How’s that? Well, remember, Adolf Hitler? As bad as he was, he did not kill his mother! As strange as it may seem, we can conceive of Hitler being even worse than he actually was, of committing more crimes, and killing more people.

What total depravity means then is that every area of man has been affected by the Fall: man’s entire body, soul and spirit has suffered a radical corruption. This does not mean that man is without a conscience or any sense of right or wrong, nor that every sinner is devoid of all the qualities that are both pleasing to men and useful to society, when those qualities are judged only by human standards. In addition, this does not mean that every sinner is prone to every form of sin. Continue reading

This Morning…

I had an interesting interaction this morning on the internet. A lady I know in another state wrote to me saying…

6:56 a.m. EST – M: “I am asking for prayers for my sister- she was found by my brother hanging in her closet and is still alive but on a ventilator and they are not detecting any brain activity- Thanks.”

8:49 a.m. EST – Me: “oh nooooo – of course – praying..”

10:15 a.m. EST – M: “Thank you for your prayers!!! She just opened her eyes!”

11:31 a.m. EST – Me: “wow – thank you Jesus – let me know when you know more.”

As I say, I don’t know any more details than this, but its interesting to note what rises in our hearts when we hear something like this. Unbelief? Thanksgiving to God? perhaps what we call a healthy scepticism (believe it when we see it approach)?

I really am not sure about what happened today exactly. All I know is what I have written here, but I am reminded of the words of Martin Luther, “The Holy Spirit is not a sceptic.”

Just something to ponder.

Prayer – in preparation for Sunday

It is common for us as pastors to be telling the congregation what they ought to be doing. It is oftentimes less common for an explanation to be given as to HOW to do these things. One such area is the arena of prayer. We all know we should be people of prayer, but what causes many to stumble is a lack of knowledge as to how exactly to go about the task.

I was greatly impacted by reading a written prayer made by Tim Challies, found on his blog (www.challies.com) some time back, in preparation for a conference he was due to attend. The thought came to me that if I adjusted just one or two words, and maybe added one or two things, the prayer would be a useful tool for all of us Christians as we prepare our hearts each week for a different setting; that of Sunday worship. Here then is that suggested sample prayer, based almost word for word on the one Tim wrote. I trust many will find it useful.

A SAMPLE DAILY PRAYER IN PREPARATION FOR SUNDAY
Our gracious God and Father. I approach Your throne today, knowing that it is only through the name of Jesus that I can stand before You. I thank and praise You for Your goodness in allowing me to do so. I recognize very well that I am unworthy of this honor, this privilege, apart from Your unmerited favor and grace. I come before You to seek Your blessing on the service on Sunday.

Grant that the Word will come to us with power and with great freedom. Be near to our Pastor and his family. Keep the family close as they serve You together. Protect them from dangers both seen and unseen. May our pastor know great wisdom as he plans his day and his week around the priorities You lay before him. May his schedule allow him much time to study Your word and to pray. May he know that he is serving You and all of us very well as he makes these a high priority. May our pastor’s family time also be protected. Grant that he would be free from all unnecessary busy-ness in ministry. Also grant our pastor sufficient rest and sleep. Continue reading

The Reformation – has the Holy Spirit moved on? (3)

continued from “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6

“by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by this name this man stands here before you in good health. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10, 12

In all reality the doctrine of justification by faith alone is really theological short-hand for justification by the work of Christ alone. There was a double function at work in this regard. Christ not only died an atoning death for our sins, but we need to remember that He also lived a sinless life. If all that was necessary for our justification was the death on the cross, Christ could have come to earth on Good Friday, died on the cross for us, and three days later, risen again. However, for more than 33 years, Christ was tempted in every way like us, yet He was without sin (Heb. 4:15). Christ is the only One who can say that He loved His Father perfectly in life, with all His heart, soul, mind and strength and fulfilled the entire demands of God’s law.

At the cross then, all our sins were laid on Him (though of course, He remained the holy and spotless Lamb of God, in and of Himself) and as our sin bearer, He was punished in our place. As the angel declared to Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24). Continue reading

The Wonders of Natural Revelation

Natural Revelation is a phrase used by theologians to describe what God has revealed about Himself through the natural world around us. There is enough revelation in nature for God to declare that mankind knows of His existence inherently so that to deny such leaves a person “without excuse.”

God does not believe in atheists! That is the claim of the Bible in Romans 1:20 where it tells us that God’s invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

As spectacular as natural revelation is, it has its limitations. Nature does not tell us everything about God, or even all we need to know about God for salvation. Therefore, in addition to natural revelation, God has also given us Special Revelation, the God breathed Scriptures (the Bible). The Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy wrote, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 3:14,15) Scripture tells us who this Creator God is and how we can be put in right standing with Him through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Continue reading

The Reformation – has the Holy Spirit moved on? (2)

continued from meaning “by Faith alone.” This was the material or substance of the preaching of the Reformers. The formal principle “Scripture alone” was the principle that Scripture alone (and not Church tradition) is the sole infallible rule of faith for the Church. This was the principle by which “Faith Alone” is affirmed, as well as the other solas. That is because these doctrines are the doctrines of the Bible.

Against the background of a Europe filled with the traditions of men, including priestly absolution, penances, indulgences, pilgrimages, prayer to the saints, etc., Luther and the Reformers made the bold cry of “Faith alone.” This did not mean faith in isolation, or a dead faith that produced no works. This referred to a vibrant, living faith, for only a living and not a dead faith would result in justification. Faith without works is dead, and a dead faith will not save anyone (James 2:17).

Sola fide declares that faith alone is the instrument of justification without any meritorious works of man added to it.

Rome believed (then as it does now) that justification is by grace, through faith and because of Christ. What Rome does not believe is that justification is by faith alone, or by grace alone, or by Christ alone. For Rome, justification is by grace plus merit, through faith plus works; by Christ plus the sinner’s contribution of inherent righteousness. In contrast, the Reformers called the Church back to the one true Biblical Gospel: based on the assured foundation of Scripture alone, God declares a person “just” or right in His sight, by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, to the Glory of God alone. Continue reading

Excuse me waiter, did you mess with the food?

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. – 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5 ESV

To serve as the pastor in the newly formed King’s Church in Phoenix is a high calling and an amazing privilege. To serve the King of Kings and the people Christ died for – what could be greater than this? Yet with every great privilege comes great responsibility.

Have you noticed in the above text how it is the presentation of Scripture as God breathed (at the end of 2 Timothy 3) that is the basis for the solemn and holy charge given to preach the Word, in chapter 4? The one thing naturally leads to the other. It is because of the nature of Scripture as divinely inspired that Paul tells Timothy to preach it with boldness, in season and out of season. Literally this phrase means “in good times and bad times,” or by way of application, “preach the word when the people like it and when they do not.” Continue reading

The Reformation – has the Holy Spirit moved on? (1)

I was recently involved in a friendly discussion with a fellow Christian minister. I was talking about the doctrines that sparked the Protestant Reformation, when out of nowhere, it seemed, my minister friend said, “The Holy Spirit is not stuck in the 16th Century. He has moved on. Why don’t you?”

I was a little taken aback to hear this, especially from a minister, but I then realized that he is perhaps speaking for many when he wonders why people like myself are enamored with the Reformation almost five centuries on. Many wonder about the relevance of the Reformation, and see no obvious relationship between that time and our own.

So, is it the case that I am seeking to go back in time and live in the 16th Century? Was that an era that simply thrills my soul?

Hardly! I can assure you that I have no desire to re-establish the dress, fashion, music or mindset of the 16th century. Those days are long gone and I am actually very thankful for that. However, there is a big difference between the time of the Reformation and the central truths of the Bible which the Protestant Reformation brought back to the Church. Here I would have to admit that I strongly desire that the Church comes back to these Bible truths. In this, I hold up my hands, and admit that I am guilty as charged. Modern day believers are largely ignorant of the issues and in this regard, I earnestly pray that the Holy Spirit will bring a new reformation back to the forefront of the Church in our day. Continue reading