Romans 1:17

Indulgences
Purgatory
95 Theses

In an age driven by experience and feeling more than by truth; the Reformation seems to most people like much ado about nothing.
To many, the essence of religion is the experiential feeling of the Divine. Creeds and confessions, liturgies and Scripture all seem too binding and divisive.
The motto quickly becomes: “Nor creed but Christ.”

But is this not the slippery slope to the gates of Hell? Yes, doctrine divides and sadly some of those divides have been caused by fights over trivial minutia. When that happens, the casualties that pile up are the tragic result of the Churches obsession with petty things.
But when separations happens over core, essential truth; that division is demanded by faithfulness to Scripture.

During the Protestant reformation, the things that separated Luther from Catholicism were essential truth’s that had been obscured by years of accumulation of tradition.
These traditions had slowly superseded Scripture’s authority. When that happened, the gospel was compromised.

The 5 core convictions that came out of the Reformation were convictions based on what we call the “sola’s” or “alone’s”. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola Christus (Christ alone),Sola Gratia (Grace alone), Sola fide (Faith alone), Sola Dei Gloria (To God alone be the glory).
These sola’s must still serve as the foundation from which all our conviction grow.
Today we think on these things.

Because of grace,
Tim

The post By Faith appeared first on EBCSV.

We are saved by faith- but what does this faith that saves look like?
Notice the link between “believe” and “receive” in the following scripture.

“…much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the One man Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17
John 1:12 “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. “

The Reformer’s recognized three aspects to faith. They did so using three Latin terms: noticia, assensus, and fiducia. Let me explain.Noticia is the content of faith
Assensus is the personal recognition of the veracity of the truth claim.
Fiducia is the trust element or the personal reliance on Christ alone.
All three are vital to saving faith.

A person can’t be saved without certain content. This is why neither a baby nor a person who never hears the name of Christ can actually believe. True belief rests on content, not just sincerity.
A baby, who has not reached the age of personal accountability is not saved by faith alone- they are saved by grace alone. Because they are incapable of understanding the content of our faith they cannot “believe” in that sense of the word.

On the other hand, an Islamic believer may be very sincere but also sincerely wrong. Their faith rests on a different foundation. So Peter says: “There is salvation in no other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” This is what the reformers meant by Noticia.

Secondly, not only must an individual “know” certain things; they must also assent to those things truthfulness.
They must give mental assent to the veracity of what the Bible teaches concerning Christ. This is why Romans 10 tells us “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the Assensus of faith.

Lastly, there is fiducia or personal reliance. This is what is described in Romans 10:13 when the Holy Spirit says: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The calling out to a Savior is the personal reliance that seals the deal.
All three of these components of faith are necessary for faith to save. When one or more of these elements is missing, faith is defective and deficient.

Because of grace,
Tim

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“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:1

I don’t know about you but I’ve been enjoying the smoke lately. California sure exports all its finest products! Wildfires in the west, hurricanes in the east. COVID all over the place. Back to school worries. To mask or not to mask. BLM anarchy. Election jitter’s. Everyone’s nervous. Anxiety and depression everywhere. Is there any peace?

Today we begin to study the resultant state of our justification: Peace. This peace isn’t just any peace- it is peace with God. This peace results from the work of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is why at the announcement of His birth to shepherds outside of Bethlehem the angel proclaimed: “Peace on earth.”

Jesus is the source of our peace. This peace affects our internal state enabling us to deal with anxiety, worry and guilt. This peace also affects our relationships helping us be harmonious and willing to reconcile. Since we are forgiven- we are people who in turn forgive.
Are you at peace with God? You will never rest in peace if you don’t first experience His peace ruling in your heart. How? By faith! Give up your striving and simply rest- rest in what Christ has done and what the Holy Spirit is doing. Rest in the lap of our ABBA. Peace is yours- rest

Because of grace,
Tim

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“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
We are saved by faith, We walk by faith not by sight, But what is faith?

If faith is the essential element behind a relationship with God- then what does it entail? In Hebrews 11:6 we are told that “without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one that comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

So, first we must have a conviction that God exists. But not just any god will do- God has revealed Himself as eternally existing in the three persons of the Trinity- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To not believe this would be idolatry.
Where does this conviction come from? It is produced in the heart by the Holy Spirit as the human heart is confronted by the Word of God.

Also, an important element of faith is trust. Trust is reliance or maybe even rest. It is more of a heart thing than a head thing. It is embraces the promises of God and entrusts itself to the God of the promise. It is commitment. It is the “I’m all in” kind of thing.

Faith is not a generic vague hope. It has a specific focal point. It sees all the promises of God as coming to fruition in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It rests in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. It expectantly looks to Jesus for the hope of the resurrection. It experiences the resources of Jesus through the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It perseveres in trial and confidently awaits the fulfillment of the Promise.
It clings to Scripture as the source of our comfort and peace.

Got faith?
Lord I believe! Help my unbelief!

Because of grace,
Tim

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“What would it look like to stop treating Jesus as simply a role model and start serving Him as our sovereign king?” Blog post Reasonable Theology

Good Question.
Jesus is the ruling Monarch (Sovereign) of the universe.
His rule is established in His humanity by the fact that He was born of David. His rule is demonstrated by the fact that death could not hold Him. Death is man’s greatest foe-yet even death could not defeat Jesus.

So what does this mean to me?
When it comes to government, we Americans tend to think in terms of a constitutional Republic. We are grateful we have the chance to vote in our rulers to represent us (supposedly). We are grateful we have a voice in the establishment of laws that govern us. We are thankful we can even run for elected office if we so choose.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not a Constitutional Republic. Jesus doesn’t reign because we vote Him into office. Mankind can’t impeach Him either. He rules by the power of His own person- Jesus is King.

Now, in one sense His rule is not complete. Yes the battle has been won and the victory is His. But death is not yet completely abolished and so for now this earth is still enemy held territory (Hebrews 2). One day this will change- he will return and abolish death and win the final victory.

Until then how do we view Him? Kind of like a big brother that we look up to and is sort of a role-model for our behavior? Or rather as the Sovereign Lord who commands our allegiance. When He says “follow me” He’s not simply speaking like a big brother inviting us to follow in His shoes; no He is speaking like a battlefield general who leads His men over the top and into the fray.

Follow me is the command of the Sovereign Lord of the universe. Are we huddled in the trench fearing the conflict? Or are we climbing the ladder and leaving the trench and engaging the foe?

Because of grace,
Tim

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During the Pax Romana Rome had spread its power and authority from Spain in the west to Parthia in the East. From Britannia and Germania in the north to Carthage and North Africa in the south. Everywhere Roman legions marched, Roman engineers built roads. These roads carried the mail, moved goods and services and were a means of unprecedented travel that united the then known world. On these roads the calloused feet of first century believers carried the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. Beautiful feet carrying good news!

Rome was power, prestige and privilege. It was a place of great opulence and learning. It was the center of the universe in the first century. And Paul longed to get there- His heart was set on piercing the darkness of this cultural center with the good news of Jesus Christ. A flourishing church already existed there as evidenced by the list of believers Paul knew there in Romans 16:1-16. Priscilla and Aquila, Paul’s fellow tradesman in tent making, had a church in their house (16:3-5). Because Paul does not write the letter to refute error but rather to simply expound the truth is evidence that this was a healthy congregation, full of mature believers, well taught in the Scriptures and powerful in the Spirit. Paul longs to come to them, to be strengthened by them, as well as to strengthen them and to use them as a springboard to advance him on his way to mission work in Spain.

In the book Paul recounts his driving ambition: “I am a debtor both to Greeks and barbarians, both to wise and unwise, so as much as in me is I am prepared to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes… (1:14-16)” This passion drives Paul’s life: To know Christ and to make Him known. As we study this book, my prayer is that we too may have a heart to know him and to make him known. That no shame would silence us, that no diversion would distract us, but that with patience and precision we would share the gospel of Jesus Christ in all its beauty. We too are debtors to those around us- may we pay the debt we owe.

Because of grace,
Tim

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“No longer drink Ol1ly water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent illnesses.”
I Timothy 5:23

In the middle of instruction to Timothy on how to select and install elders, Paul takes a parenthesis and gives Timothy some fatherly council.
Although it is really impossible to know why (we can only speculate as to the reason) Timothy had broken with the common practice and was drinking water without any wine.The purpose of mixing wine into water in the ancient world was to purify it.

Water is Iife- but it is also death! Water borne illnesses like cholera; bacterial infections like giardia; and contamination from raw sewage have always been a problem with the world’s fresh water supply.
It was not until well’s were sunk deep into the ground, sewer systems advanced and plumbing to transport water into homes was standard practice that much of this danger was eliminated.

So what do we learn from Paul’s advice? First, we are to trust God- but we are also to use our brains.
Just like we saw earlier in this chapter, financial planning and faith are not polar opposites. So too, good health practices only make common sense.
Secondly, God would have us seek to prevent disease whenever we can. Good hygiene, proper nutrition, healthy diets and exercise glorify God. Lazy habits don’t!
Thirdly, God would have us make use of means. Wine was considered to be not only a purifier of water- it was also considered to be medicine.

Timothy was frequently ill. Paul said: treat your illness with the medicine you have available. Again, it does not honor God when we are ill to just say “I’m trusting God to make me better,” and then not go to the Dr. for help.
Christianity is not a pie in the sky religion- it is of all things most practical. It not only fits us for eternity and Heaven.
It shows us how to live right now. So, when in doubt: trust God and use a little wine.
Because of grace,
Tim

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