Category Archives: Bible Exposition

Jesus on Election and Evangelism

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In the past, when people have asked me how evangelism and election can co-exist, I have pointed them to Romans 9 and 10 where Paul teaches election clearly (chapter 9) and follows it with the notion that they will not hear the good news without a preacher (chapter 10). God has His ends (His elect coming to faith in Christ) and achieves those ends through the use of means (prayer and the preaching of the word).

I have pointed people to Luke’s writings in the book of Acts where in commenting on the outreach of the apostles as they preached the word, it was noted “and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48

I have also pointed out how Luke again makes clear that Lydia’s heart was opened by the Lord as she heard Paul’s words (Acts 16:13, 14) – 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

Other passages could and should be cited in this regard and taken together, this should surely be enough for us. God has made His truth clear. However, God has been especially gracious to us in that He has revealed these same truths from the lips of Jesus Himself. John’s gospel seems to be especially full in describing Jesus’ view of election and evangelism. I think of passages in John 3, John 6, John 10 and the prayer in John 17.

However, recently I was reading Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter 11 and noticed something I had not seen before. Here, Jesus is grounding evangelism in election and once again sees no contradiction between the two…

Matthew 11: 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Notice that Jesus teaches us:

(1) God hides some things from some and reveals them to others (election)

(2) Come to me all…. (the evangelistic call)

For decades I had read these words but I think what I had done before was see these verses (25-27):

Matthew 11: 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

unrelated to the next verse (28):

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Now I see they are said in the same breath, so to speak, and of course, there’s no contradiction.

Its so good to see Jesus preaching these things. As much as I admire the Luthers, Calvins, Edwards, Whitefields and Spurgeons of this world, it is the fact that Jesus preached these things so clearly that seals the issue for me.

We don’t know who the elect are; they are not running around the countryside with the letter “E” for the elect stamped on their forehead. Nor are people stamped with the letters “NE” so that we avoid them as the “non-elect.” No, we are to preach the gospel to everyone, commanding all to come to Christ, yet at the same time, knowing in the back of our minds, only the elect will be enabled to come. “All the Father gives Me will come to Me” Jesus said (John 6:37).

Bible Prophecy Fulfilled in Stunning, Dramatic Detail

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In light of the Harold Camping debacle (I fully endorse Dr. James White’s open letter to Camping found at a time when many in the world are scoffing at the truth claims of the Bible, how good it is to remind ourselves that God’s word stands alone as the ultimate source of revelation for the future.

We should always remember that around 80% of the Bible’s predictions have already been fulfilled. That does not mean that the Bible is only 80% accurate. Far from it in fact. I venture to say that the Bible is 100% accurate and will be proven to be so as time transpires. The remaining 20% of Bible prophecy are yet to be realised, simply because they relate to events immediately before, during and after the second coming of Messiah.

As Christians, we believe our Savior’s name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Its important to understand that “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, but rather a title. The word “Christ” comes from the Greek word “Christos” which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah. When we say, “Jesus Christ” we are literally saying, “Jesus the Christ” or “Jesus the Messiah.” But are these claims valid? Can we be sure that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah?

Through what we call Messianic Prophecies, God provided a sure and certain way to recognize His Messiah when He came. These are events written in the Bible, hundreds and even thousands of years before they would take place in time. Only God could reveal such amazing detail millennia in advance of the events.

God had declared that His Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham (Gen. 22:18), from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), and a son of David (Jer. 23:5,6; 1 Chron. 17:10b-14). God had also said that the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), in the surroundings of poverty (Isa. 11:1-2), in Bethlehem, the city of David (Micah 5:2). He would be proceeded by a herald (Isa. 40:3-5, Mal. 3:1), be seen riding on a donkey (Zech 9:9, 10) and would be present 483 years after the decree was made to rebuild Jerusalem, after the Babylonian captivity (Dan. 9:24-27). He would be a king (Gen 49:10; Isa. 9:6,7), a priest (Psalm 110:1-7) and a prophet (Deut. 18:15-19; Isa. 61:1, 2).

But there’s more. He would be legally tried and condemned to death and would suffer and die (Isa. 50;4-9; 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22), by means of piercing his hands and feet (Zech. 12:10; 13:7; Psalm 22), His death would be substitutionary (in the place of others), He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb and He would be resurrected from the dead (Isa. 52:13-53:12; Psalm 16:1-11; Psalm 22).

All in all, around 330 prophecies such as these were fulfilled by Jesus in His first coming, and as I have indicated above, many more will be fulfilled when He comes back to earth.

Amazingly, more than 30 prophecies were fulfilled in just one day – the day Jesus Christ died! Continue reading →

Describing the Blessed man

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Psalm 1:1-6

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, sick and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

We have all heard a preacher use Psalm 1 to say “Be like the blessed man who delights in the law of the LORD and not like the wicked who will perish.” Yet, when we actually examine the text, it is interesting to note that there is no prescriptive language whatsoever. Read the Psalm through again and you will discover that the text does not actually tell us to DO anything. There are no imperatives, no commands. Psalm 1 is entirely descriptive language.

Eric Costa is quite right when he asks, “What is being described here in Psalm 1? The life of those called “righteous” in contrast with those called “wicked.” What is the main difference between the righteous and the wicked? Is it the object of their delight? Is it the fruit of their labors? Is it the eternal destiny of their souls? No, the first thing that makes the righteous differ from the wicked is that the righteous are “blessed.” The starting point of the “way of the righteous” is the blessing of God.”

As in the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, the book of Psalms opens with a blessing.

Blessed means supremely happy or fulfilled – Dr. James Montgomery Boice states that the Hebrew word for blessed here is actually plural, which “denotes either a multiplicity of blessings or an intensification of them. The verse might be correctly translated, “O the blessednesses of the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.”

The blessed man does not do certain things (negative) (v. 1) but takes his delight in God’s word (positive) (v. 2).

1) He does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly – he receives wiser counsel.
2) He does not stand in the path of sinners. His company is more select – he does not fellowship with evil (2 Cor. 6:14).
3) He does not sit in the seat of the scornful – he does not listen to the scoffing and mockery of others

Positively, his delight is in the law of the Lord. This is what he thinks about. His mind is focused on scripture, day and night.

John Stott – this delight “is an indication of the new birth for ‘… the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so’ (Rom. 8:7). As a result of the inward, regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, however, the godly find that they love the law of God simply because it conveys to them the will of their God. They do not rebel against its exacting demands; their whole being approves and endorses it… Delighting in it, the godly will meditate in it, or pore over it, constantly, day and night.”

This Psalm contrasts those who are in love with sin and those who love God.

The law of the Lord, in David’s time, only referred to a few books, but now encompasses the entirety of the 66 book canon of the Bible. (2 Tim 3:16, 17)

v. 3 – This blessed man is likened to a tree planted – A tree does not plant itself. Someone else does the planting. It is the Father who plants….

Matthew 15:12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.” Continue reading →