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7/30/2019 Sound of Grace, Issue 190, September 2012
1/20
the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it
was tting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in
bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their
salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sancties and
those who are sanctied all have one source. That is why he
is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will tell ofyour name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation
I will sing your praise. And again, I will put my trust in
him. And again, Behold, I and the children God has given
me. Since therefore the children share in esh and blood,
he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through
death he might destroy the one who has the power of death,
that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of
death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not
angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abra-
ham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every
respect, so that he might
Christ is that Prophet who fullls the prophecy concerning the new law-
giver who would replace Moses. The Old Testament prophecy is recorded in
Deuteronomy 18:15-19, and the object lesson demonstrating that the prophecy
has been fullled is the Mount of Transguration (Matt. 17:1-6; Mark 9:2-8;
Luke 9:28-36). Scripture makes it clear that the Jews not only knew about the
promise that God made to Moses concerning a new prophet; they were looking
forward to its fulllment. They asked John the Baptist,
What then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the Prophet?
And he answered, No (John 1:21 NKJV).1
Their point of reference was Deuteronomy 18.
1 Bold type within a quotation indicates that I have added the emphasis.
Issu e 190 Septem b er 2012
It is good fo r the heart to be strengthened by grace Hebrews 13:9
Christ, Our New Covenant Prophet
Part 2
John G. Reisinger
The incarnation is at the heart of the Christian faith.
God became esh. There are many places in Scripture that
we could go to see why God became a man, but Hebrews
2:5-18 is particularly rich and helpful in answering this
question:
Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to
come, of which we are speaking. It has been testied some-
where, What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son
of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while
lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and
honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now
in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing
outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything
in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while
was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with
glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by
Why Did God Become Man?
A. Blake White
ReisingerContinued on page 2
WhiteContinued on page 12
In This Issue
Christ, Our New CovenantProphet Part 2
John G. Reisinger1
Why Did God Become Man?
A. Blake White1
Jonathan Edwards and Free-dom of the Will - Part 1
Steve West
3
The Four Horsemen of theApocalypse - Part 1
Dr. J. David Gilliland
5
You Are a Missionary
A. Blake White7
Concerning Sanctifcation
Robert Traill 11
7/30/2019 Sound of Grace, Issue 190, September 2012
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Page 2 September 2012 Issue 190
Sound of Grace is a publication of SovereignGrace New Covenant Ministries, a tax exempt501(c)3 corporation. Contributions to Soundof Grace are deductible under section 170 ofthe Code.
Sound of Grace is published 10 times a year.The subscription price is shown below. This isa paper unashamedly committed to the truthof Gods sovereign grace and New Covenant
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Sound of Grace Board: John G. Reisinger,David Leon, John Thorhauer, Bob VanWing-erden and Jacob Moseley.
Editor: John G. Reisinger; Phone: (585)396-3385; e-mail: [email protected].
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Permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are takenfrom the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used byPermission. All rights reserved.
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ReisingerContinued from page 1
ReisingerContinued on page 4
A bit later, John again mentions the
expectation of the promised prophet.
After Jesus had fed ve thousand
people with two small sh and ve
small barley loaves, he told them to
gather up the leftovers.
Therefore they gathered them up,
and lled twelve baskets with the frag-
ments of the ve barley loaves which
were left over by those who had eaten.
Then those men, when they had seen
the sign that Jesus did, said, This is
truly the Prophet who is to come into
the world (John 6:13-14 NKJV).
Again, their expectation came
from Deuteronomy 18. This is a very
important section of Scripture. Let us
examine it carefully and see exactly
what God was promising. Notice that
the new Prophet will speak with the
full authority of God himself. I have
added bold numbers within the pas-
sage to mark four signicant points.
(1) I will raise up for them a Prophet
like you from among their brethren,
and
(2) will putMy words in His mouth,
and
(3) He shall speak to them all that I
command Him.(4) And it shall be that whoever will
not hearMy words, which He speaks
in My name, I will require it of him.
(Deut. 18:18-19 NKJV)
Point One: Exactly how is Jesus
like Moses? The two primary like-
nesses of Moses and Jesus are that (1)
they are both mediators of a specic
covenant, and (2) they are both law-
givers. They both mediated covenants
that established nations. Moses medi-
tated the covenant that established
Gods earthly people, the nation of
Israel, and Jesus is the Mediator of
the new covenant that established the
church, the true Israel of God. Both
Moses and Christ gave the specic
laws under which the covenant people
of God to whom they minister are to
live and by which they will be judged.
Moses is the mediator and lawgiver
of the old covenant and Christ is the
Mediator and Lawgiver of the new
covenant. Moses is the lawgiver for
Israel; the chosen earthly nation of
God living under the old covenant.
Christ is the Lawgiver for the true
people of God living under the new
covenant. Additionally, God promises
that the new prophet will be fromamong their brethren. The author of
the letter to the Hebrews stresses the
humanity of Jesus Christ (2:11-18;
10:5-10). Jesus Christ fullls this part
of the prophecy on both details; he is
like Moses as a lawgiver. He is also
like Moses in that he is both a hu-
man being and a seed of Abraham.
Point Two: All true prophets speak
the words of God when they prophesy,
but at other times, they speak theirown words. There is no question that
Moses was the greatest of all prophets
until the advent of our Lord. Moses is
the only prophet that ever spoke face-
to-face with God, but not every word
that Moses spoke during his ministry
was directly from God. The words of
Moses spoken merely as a man were
no more inspired than the words you
and I speak today. Jesus did not have a
one-time face-to-face encounter with
God; he came from an eternal exis-tence with the Father. John records
Jesus explanation of which he spoke,
I do nothing on my own but
speak just what the Father has taught
me I did not speak of my own ac-
cord, butthe Father who sent me
commanded me what to say and how
to say it. I know that his command
leads to eternal life. So whateverI say
is just what the Father has told me
to say These words you hear are
not my own; they belong to the Fatherwho sent me (John 8:28; 12:49, 50;
14:24).
It is exegetically impossible to
attempt to make these words mean
that Jesus came, not to give any new
revelation or laws about morality and
holiness, but he came only to give us
the true meaning and interpretation
of the highest laws that were already
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Issue 190 September 2012 Page 3
WestContinued on page 8
Reward and Punishment, Praise andBlame. Under this title, he afxes
Romans 9:16, It is Not of Him That
Willeth. The elements of his title
must be remembered while reading
his work; they really do tell you what
he is investigating.
Edwards begins by doing some-
thing that very few philosophers
have done before or since: he actu-
ally explains what he means by the
will! He writes (p. 4): And thereforeI observe, that the Will(without any
further metaphysical rening) is, That
by which the mind chooses any thing.
The faculty of the Will, is that power,
or principle of mind, by which it is
capable ofchoosing: an act of the Will
is the same as an act ofchoosingor
choice. Edwards also carefully and
clearly explains what he means by
Liberty and Freedom (p. 12): The
power, opportunity, or advantage, that
any one has, to do as he pleases. Or inother words, his being free from hin-
drance or impediment in the way of
doing, or conducting in any respect, as
he wills. And the contrary to Liberty,
whatever name we call that by, is a
persons being hindered or unable to
conduct as he wills, or being necessi-
tated to do otherwise.
For Edwards, then, the will is not
disconnected from the mind. The
mind assesses, and the will is the pow-er of choice. When the mind chooses,
it selects its preference (this is basi-
cally a tautology: it can be reversed
and stated as when the mind has a
preference, it chooses it). If the mind
chooses what it prefers, then it does so
freely. To be free is to do what pleases
you, and your will always chooses the
option which is most pleasing to you
overall. (This is the case even if you
It is an overwhelming understate-ment to say that Jonathan Edwards
was a brilliant person. In terms of
evangelical philosophical theology,
he probably does deserve the title of
the most brilliant theologian North
America has ever produced. Over the
past months, I have written a series of
articles on free will. One of the most
impressive things about Edwards is
that many of the main issues that are
discussed today were already being
worked out by him. Even if his workis not the nal word, it is immensely
helpful and deserves careful attention
not only because of its historic signi-
cance but also because it still sheds
profound insight into the topic these
few centuries later.
This article is planned to be rela-
tively descriptive. I want to sketch
some of his arguments and note some
particularly relevant points. There are
places where I will break off for com-mentary or excursus, but with the goal
of elucidating Edwards own thought.
Although there are scholarly-critical
editions of Edwards works, most pas-
tors I know dont own them! But there
are a number of pastors and believers
I know who have the two-volume set
The Works of Jonathan Edwards.1
Instead of footnoting references, I will
place page numbers in brackets for
ease of reference.
Edwards says more in his title than
most of us could say in a book. His
work is calledA Careful and Strict
Inquiry into the Modern Prevailing
Notions of that Freedom of the Will,
Which is Supposed to be Essential
to Moral Agency, Virtue and Vice,
1 The edition I am using was published
by Hendrickson (Peabody: Hendrickson,
1998).
choose short-term pleasure at the ex-pense of greater long-term gainyou
will to be gratied now rather than
defer to greater pleasure in the future.)
The opposite of freedom is be-
ing forced to do something you dont
want to do, or being restrained from
doing what you want. If someone
overpowers you, puts a gun in your
hand, and makes you pull the trigger
killing an innocent person, you have
been forced to do something againstyour will and are not responsible. Or,
if you see someone drowning and
try to save them, but someone over-
powers you and ties you up, you are
forcibly restrained from doing what
you willed. Being overpowered, either
by being forced to do what you dont
want, or kept from doing what you do
want, is the opposite of liberty.
What is exceptionally important
for Edwards is that the will is in-
tegrated into the human person. It
is very strange today to read many
arguments about free will where the
governing idea seems to be that the
will is somehow free-oating in the
human being, but without being af-
fected much by the mind or heart. It
is almost as if it is an autonomous
faculty that remains neutral regardless
of what else the person is. Edwards
does not allow for such a position. He
(rightly) argues that liberty can onlybe found in a being that has a will, but
not in just the will itself (p. 12). The
will does not have a will. If the will al
by itself had liberty, it would have to
have the power to do what it pleases
and the properties of the mind to as-
sess. But then what is being described
is a will in the will. And if the will has
a will, then the only way for its will to
Jonathan Edwards and Freedom of the Will - Part 1
Steve West
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Page 4 September 2012 Issue 190
covenant of law.2
We insist as loudly as we can that
Christ never once contradicts Moses.
Contrastingtwo things to emphasize
their difference and show why one is
better than the other one is not at all
the same as saying they contradict
each other. If anyone ever teaches that
Christ contradicted Moses or says
Moses said something that was wrong,
they are clearly destroying the unity of
the Scriptures. Our Lord never says,
or in any way implies, that Moses was
wrong. He does contrast his teaching
with that of Moses and clearly claims
the law of his kingdom of grace is a
higher law than that given to Moses
for Israel.
When Hebrews insists that there isa new and better covenant, the writer
is not saying the old covenant was
either bad or wrong. He is merely
insisting that the new covenant is
much better than the old covenant. If
that were not true, there never would
have been a need for a new covenant
as a replacement. Christ is contrasting
a theocratic earthly kingdom based on
good, holy, and just law with a spiri-
tual kingdom based on pure grace andhigher laws. Both kingdoms, though
different, are righteous and good and
both come from God. However, one
is betterthan the other one. Actually,
one prepares the way for the second
one. Christ is contrasting the essence
of the very nature of law and grace,
but he in no way is denying that both
law and grace are holy, righteous
and good. Our Lord is contrasting
the theocratic kingdom established
under Moses based on pure law withhis newly founded kingdom based on
pure grace. The latter is far superior
to the former, but in no sense was the
former wrong or bad.
2 For a detailed proof of this assertion,
see myBut I Say Unto You, available
from New Covenant Media, 5317 Wye
Creek Drive, Frederick, MD 21703-
6938.
ReisingerContinued from page 2
given through Moses at Mount Sinai.
Moses, despite his greatness above all
the prophets, must still speak only as a
prophet. Our Lord not only speaks as
a prophet, he speaks as the Creator; he
speaks as God himself. We will come
back to this point.
Point Three: According to Hebrews
1:1-3, our Lord is the full and nal
revelation of God. In his Son, God has
said all that he has to say. Not only
does Christ bring Gods full and nal
message, Christ himself actually is
the Message as well as theMessenger.
Moses spoke as a faithful servant in
Gods house; Jesus spoke as the Son
who built Gods house and who is in
charge of that house.Therefore, holy brothers, who
share in the heavenly calling, x your
thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and
high priest whom we confess. He was
faithful to the one who appointed him,
just as Moses was faithful in all Gods
house. Jesus has been found worthy
of greater honor than Moses, just as
the builder of a house has greater
honor than the house itself. For every
house is built by someone, but God
is the builder of everything. Moseswas faithful as a servant in all Gods
house, testifying to what would be said
in the future. But Christ is faithful as a
son over Gods house. And we are his
house, if we hold on to our courage
and the hope of which we boast. (Heb.
3:1-6)
Point Four: The new Lawgiver
gives some new and higher house
rules that are more appropriate for the
new spiritual house. As mentioned
above, Moses alone of all the proph-ets spoke face-to-face with God, but
even he, like all other prophets, had to
preface his speech with, Thus saith
the Lord when he repeated a specic
message that God had given to him.
Only our Lord could say, But I say
unto you and speak with the author-
ity of God himself. Moses, like all
true prophets, could claim that God
told me to say this, but only Jesus
could say, I am speaking as God. I
am speaking with the full authority of
God himself. I am telling you that you
must believe what I say just because
I said it! In Deuteronomy 18, God
promises that he will judge men based
on an individuals attitude to the
words of the new prophet, and Jesusrepeats that idea.
There is a judge for the one who
rejects me and does not accept my
words; that very word which I spoke
will condemn him at the last day
(John 12:48).
These words cannot be tortured to
mean, There is a judge for the one
who refuses to accept my true inter-
pretation of Moses.
Ironically, this unique authority ofJesus Christ as the new Lawgiver is at
the heart of a great controversy in Re-
formed, especially Reformed Baptist,
circles today. I have been the subject
of several books and quite a few ar-
ticles that claim I am an antinomian
simply because I believe that Christ is
a new lawgiver who replaces Moses.
My great sin is believing that the Ten
Commandments were indeed the high-
est law and revelation of the characterof God ever given up to that point in
time, but our Lord gives his church an
even higher standard. I believe Jesus
not only gives his church a much full-
er revelation of Gods holy character,
he also gives the new covenant people
of God a higher moral standard. The
holiness demanded of a new covenant
believer indwelt by the Holy Spirit is
greater than that required under the
law. One preacher who disagreed with
me on this point insisted, Christ is aLaw-keeper not a Law-giver. I re-
plied, I believe he is both. I believe
that Christ, in the But I say unto you
contrasts in the Sermon on the Mount,
is clearly establishing himself as a
new Lawgiver in contrast to Moses
as the old lawgiver. In the Sermon on
the Mount, Christ gives us higher and
more spiritual laws than Moses gave,
or could have given, to Israel under aReisingerContinued on page 6
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Issue 190 September 2012 Page 5
read:
Now when the attendant of the
man of God had risen early and gone
out, behold, an army with horses and
chariots was circling the city. And his
servant said to him, Alas, my master!
What shall we do?So he answered,
Do not fear, for those who are with
us are more than those who are with
them. Then Elisha prayed and said,
O LORD, I pray, open his eyes thathe may see. And the LORD opened
the servants eyes and he saw; and be-
hold, the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of re all around Elisha.
This phraseeyes to see is a con-
cept that will be emphasized through-
out the Book of Revelation. The pri-
mary purpose of this book is to give
us an understanding of the principles
that lie behind the events of human
history and how that history relates to
the plan of God for his people.
Views within the Christian com-
munity regarding the time frame of
its fulllment range anywhere from
entirely within the rst century typi-
cally with the destruction of Jerusalem
in 70 A.D. to the nal few years of
human history. I think what is more
biblically consistent, though, is to rec-
ognize that there are elements of both.
Remember, this is a book that was
written for us, but not to us. It was
written to a group of recently planted
churches in western Turkey sometime
near the end of the rst century. It
was written to a people living under
the oppression of Rome, and it was
written in a style that is particularly
unfamiliar. Most importantly, it was
written in a way that would have been
real to them understandable in
their day and applicable to their cul- GillilandContinued on page 9
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse-Part 1
Revelation Chapter 6
Dr. J. David Gilliland
Dr. Gilliland is the Teacher of Historical Theology and Christian Ethics at Providence Theological Seminary
A special blessing is promised
to the ones who read and heed the
teachings of the Book of Revelation;
however, it also presents quite a
unique challenge. For many it means
venturing into uncharted waters as it
seems to be a very mysterious com-
munication even by biblical stan-
dards. Recognizing that there may be
some here who are relatively new to
the study of this book, let us take afew moments by way of introduction
to survey its structure, style, and mes-
sage.
It is written in what theologians
refer to as an apocalyptic style.
Interestingly, it is a style not par-
ticularly unique to the Old or New
Testament as numerous examples can
be found in the literature of the pagan
nations of biblical history. It was a
style of writing used to depict the cru-cial events of human history events
ultimately ascribed to God or some
pagan deity. It was characterized by
the use of bizarre other world ani-
mation and cataclysmic natural disas-
ters to emphasize the spiritual signi-
cance of these events. The Greek word
for Revelation is apocalypsis, which
means to reveal oruncover. It
has more to do with revealing the
nature of the spiritual realm than it
does the development of a detailed
road map for the distant events of the
future. Turn for a moment to the book
of II Kings where we read of an epi-
sode in the life of Elisha which gives
us some insight into what we can ex-
pect in the Book of Revelation. Elisha
was being pursued and was ultimately
surrounded by the armies of the king
because of his faithful preaching of
the scriptures. In II Kings 6:15-17 we
ture yet also written in a way that
would use the events of Israels his-
tory and those of the rst century as
types or pictures of the principles
that would dene the church age as
well as the nal events of history.
Turn for a moment to Revelation
chapter 17 for a brief example:
And on her forehead a name
was written, a mystery, BABYLON
THE GREAT, THE MOTHER
OF HARLOTS AND OF THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
And I saw the woman drunk with the
blood of the saints, and with the blood
of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw
her, I wondered greatly. And the angel
said to me, Why do you wonder? I
will tell you the mystery of the woman
and of the beast that carries her, which
has the seven heads and the ten horns
that carries her. The beast that you
saw was, and is not, and is about tocome up out of the abyss and go to
destruction And those who dwell on
the earth, whose name has not been
written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, will wonder
when they see the beast, that he was
and is not and will come. Here is the
mind which has wisdom: The seven
heads are seven mountains on which
the woman sits . . .the ten horns which
you saw are ten kings who have not ye
received a kingdom, but they receive
authority as kings with the beast forone hour (Rev 17:5-12).
Reading this passage with a
twenty-rst- century perspective is
very confusing to say the least. If
you lived in the rst century, though,
you likely would have recognized that
the seven mountains on which the
woman sits referred to Rome. The
horns and the kings may well
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Page 6 September 2012 Issue 190
ReisingerContinued on page 16
under a covenant of law.3 I have a real
problem trying to understand why this
is so difcult for some people to grasp
when Scripture is so clear.
A catch question that enables a
certain brand of theologian to imme-
diately label you as either orthodox or
antinomian is this: Do you believe
the Ten Commandments are the rule
of life for a Christian today? Any-
thing but an unqualied yes earns you
the label of antinomian. My response
to that question is this: I believe the
Ten Commandments, not as they were
written on stone and given to Israel as
covenant terms,4 but as they are clear-
3 Both Dispensationalism and Covenant
Theology forget that Israel, as a na-
tion, was the earthly loved, chosen,redeemed, called people of God even
though most of those loved, cho-
sen, redeemed, called people were
ungodly rebels who died in unbelief
and went to hell (Heb. 3:16-19). We
dare not attach, as both Dispensation-
alism and Covenant Theology do,
New Covenant spiritual meanings to
the redemptive words Scripture uses
of Israel as a physical nation. This is
a root error of both Dispensationalism
and Covenant Theology.
4 Very few writers or theologians
acknowledge the fact that the Ten
Commandments constituted the basic
covenant document, or the summary
document of the old covenant. Their
theology insists that the Ten Com-
mandments must be trans-covenantal.
However, Scripture makes it clear in
specic texts that the author of those
texts considered the Ten Command-
ments written on stone as the terms
of the covenant God made with Israel
at Sinai. Exodus 34:27-29: 27 Thenthe LORD said to Moses, Write down
these words, for in accordance with
these words I have made a covenant
with you and with Israel. 28 Moses
was there with the LORD forty days
and forty nights without eating bread
or drinking water. And he wrote on the
tablets the words of the covenant--
the Ten Commandments. 29 When
Moses came down from Mount Sinai
with the two tablets of the Testimony
in his hands, he was not aware that
Living under the covenant of
law given through Moses and living
under the gracious covenant of grace
established by Christ are two differ-
ent things. No one questions that the
laws God gave to Moses to govern
the nation of Israel are holy, just andgood (Rom. 7:12). Those laws fulll
Gods primary intention to convict a
rebellious nation of its guilt and push
them to believe the gospel promised
to Abraham. Those same laws are not
high enough to govern saints of God
indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This is
what our Lord is stating in Matthew
19:8, 9. He specically insists that the
true nature of most Israelites, even
though they were redeemed by (ani-
mal) blood was that of hard-heartedsinners. Jesus told the Pharisees,
Moses, because of the hardness of
your hearts, permitted you to divorce
your wives, but from the beginning it
was not so (NKJV). Hard-hearted
sinners need a covenant of law to con-
vict them of sin. Gods true church,
living under the new covenant, does
not have any hard hearted-sinners.
They have been given new hearts that
love righteousness. They have heartsupon which Gods law has been writ-
ten. They are all regenerated. They
all know the Lord in saving faith
(Hebrews 8:11).
God provided Israel with the
Mosaic laws concerning easy divorce
and polygamy only because of Is-
raels hardness of heart (Matthew
19:1-9). I repeat: none of Gods new
covenant people have a hard heart.
They all have new hearts that yearn to
please God. The laws that God gave
to hard-hearted sinners under the old
covenant in order to convict those
sinners of their need of grace are not
of the same nature as the laws given
to regenerate saints with new hearts
under the new covenant. The laws,
or rules, that govern a child of God
living under grace will always make
higher demands than the law or rules
that govern hard-hearted sinners living
ly interpreted and applied by our Lord
and his apostles in the new covenant
Scriptures, are a very realpartof a
Christians rule of life today.5 The
Ten Commandments contain moral
law, but the Ten Commandments are
not THE moral law. Strangely enough
some of the people who get the mostupset when we make those statements
will say the very same thing using dif-
ferent words.
Dr. Richard Barcellos has written
extensively against what I believe
concerning New Covenant Theology.
He wrote a book titledIn Defense
of the Decalogue.6The major thesis
of his book is exactly what the title
states. He is defending his belief that
the Ten Commandments, as written
his face was radiant because he had
spoken with the LORD(NIV). Deuter-
onomy 4:13:He declared to you his
covenant, the Ten Commandments,
which he commanded you to follow
and then wrote them on two stone
tablets (NIV).
Deuteronomy 9:9-11: 9 When I went
up on the mountain to receive the
tablets of stone, the tablets of the
covenantthat the LORD had made with
you, I stayed on the mountain fortydays and forty nights; I ate no bread
and drank no water. 10 The LORD
gave me two stone tablets inscribed
by the nger of God. On them were
all the commandments the LORD
proclaimed to you on the mountain
out of the re, on the day of the as-
sembly. 11 At the end of the forty days
and forty nights, the LORD gave me the
two stone tablets, the tablets of the
covenant(NIV).
5 For a detailed study of the place of the
Ten Commandments in the history ofredemption, see my Tablets of Stone
(New Covenant Media, Frederick, MD
2004).
6 We have written a lengthy response to
Barcellos and laid out what we really
believe. It is titled, In Defense of Je-
sus the New Lawgiver. It is available
from New Covenant Media, 5317 Wye
Creek Drive, Frederick, MD 21703-
6938.
ReisingerContinued from page 4
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You are a missionary. I know what
you are thinking, Not me. I live
in the States! So goes the typicalconception of Christians in North
America. We are not missionaries, but
we know we are supposed to pray for
and support them. Now, I dont mean
to denigrate those Christians who
have left North America to preach the
gospel to other nations. Obviously that
is needed and extremely important!
Local churches should prioritize nan-
cial and prayerful support for foreign
missionaries.
What I am concerned with is that
those Christians who stay home feel
as if they have done their part by
praying for missionaries and sending
a check. Not the case. If we simply
dene missionary as one who is sent
by God to tell the gospel to others,
then we are all missionaries. A mis-
sionary is a person sent to promote the
Christian faith. Thats all of us.
Every single Christian is mandated
to make disciples. A disciple is one
who makes disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Disciple-making is not optional
for New Testament Christians. Every
single Christian has been sent. This
may sound strange at rst, but think
about it. You do believe in the bibli-
cal teaching that God is meticulously
sovereign, dont you? We may throw
the dice, but the Lord determines how
they fall (NLT).
Christian, you are not in your city
by accident. Before your grandpasgrandpa had his rst job, the Lord
knew that you would be working
where you are working right now. You
live in the neighborhood that you do
by divine decree. Acts 17:26 reads,
From one man he created all the na-
tions throughout the whole earth. He
decided beforehand when they should
rise and fall, and he determined their
boundaries. That includes your loca-
tion. You are there because God has
put you there. Are you representing
his rule well there? Do your neighbors
know about him?
Every one of us are sent ambassa-
dors (2 Cor. 5:18-21). If America ever
was a Christian nation, it certainly
isnt now. It is the new mission eld.
Ask the Lord to grant you his eyes.
Are you serious about the lordship of
Christ? How are you seeking to serve
your neighbors and gain a hearing
for the gospel? Do you know their
names? Are you intentional in your
workplace? Do you view your co-workers as those who will one day
face God in judgment if they do not
turn to Christ?
You are a missionary. If you have
neglected this aspect of your call-
ing and identity, join me in pursuing
gospel intentionality all the time in all
aspects of life.
As the Father has sent me, so I
am sending you. (John 20:21) m
You Are a Missionary
A. Blake White
I would like to help support the ministry ofSound of Grace:
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Live so that the preacher can tell the truth at your funeral.
Anonymous
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function is if the wills will has a will.
An impossible innite regress looms.
The idea is incoherent. The will is not
endowed with liberty only a full per-
son who possesses a will can be free.
After establishing this principle,
Edwards argues that Arminian theol-ogy falls into this regress (pp. 13-20).
Arminian views of the will require it
to be self-determining (p. 15): There
is a great noise made about self-deter-
mining power, as the source of all free
acts of the Will: but when the matter
comes to be explained, the meaning
is, that no power at all is the source
of these acts, neither self-determining
power, nor any other, but they arise
from nothing; no cause, no power, noinuence, being at all concerned in the
matter. The horns of the dilemma are
either choosing an impossible innite
regress of willings, or having the rst
willing arise for no reason and out
of nothing. Either way, it is difcult
to see how the concept is coherent.
Furthermore, it is likewise hard to
see how such a reality can confer the
property of being responsible, or how
it can be responsible-making.
But these philosophical cavils are
nothing compared to the theological
inconsistency that Edwards examines
next. Many libertarians argue with
great vigor that libertarian free will
is necessary for genuine morality and
responsibility. If we are to really be
blameworthy or praiseworthy, we
need to be responsible for what we
have done. They contend that we need
to form our own characters. Many of
the Arminian arguments run along thelines that human beings must have
libertarian freedom in order to be
justly rewarded or punished. The great
inconsistency with this position, how-
ever, is that Goddoes not have this
kind of libertarian freedom. Edwards
observes that Arminians frequently
appeal to free will as necessary for
responsibility, but they also praise
God for being necessarily holy, just,
righteous, and good (p. 41). In fact,
it is common for Arminians to urge
that Calvinism cant be true because
God is necessarily loving. So, notes
Edwards, Arminians have no problem
ascribing praise and necessity to God,
but then they argue that any being
who acts out of necessity is not free,and therefore not responsible, and not
to be blamed or praised!
At this juncture, a short excursus
is justied. What Edwards points
out here is extraordinarily impor-
tant, not just in Calvinist-Arminian
discussions, but in all discussions of
freedom and responsibility. When we
are talking about human beings, it is
easy to keep isolating elements that
confer or remove responsibility. Butin our analysis, as we keep breaking
things down more and more, we can
end up supporting positions which
deny glory to God! What libertarians
claim is necessary for responsibility
ends up making God nonresponsible!
It makes the incarnate Christ non-
responsible for his righteousness. It
makes saints in heaven (unless we
believe we can sin in heaven) nonre-
sponsible. Yet nothing is clearer than
that God is necessarily holy, and thathe cannotsin: yet he is the only being
worthy of praise. Read Revelation
4-5, and see that the One who sits on
the throne and the Lamb are worthy
to be praised. Even for human beings,
surely it is strange to think that we are
responsible for being virtuous here in
this life, but when we are perfected in
glory, we will never be responsible for
anything virtuous we do again because
we cant choose to sin.
Beyond this, it is increasingly
common to hear Arminians of all
stripes say that libertarian freedom
and choice is necessary for real love
between persons. If I cant choose not
to love God, they say, then I do not do
so freely, and love that is not freely
chosen is not love at all. Besides some
inherent strangeness in this position
(after all, does my wife really want to
know our love only remains genu-
ine if I can still choose not to love
her whenever I want?), it ies in the
face of the doctrine of God. Does the
Father love the Son? Does the Son
love the Spirit? Do they love each
other freely: of course! But could the
Father hate the Son? Could the Spiritchoose not to love the Father? Even
writing the very idea seems close to
blasphemy. God is love, and he loves
necessarily. If this is the case, and
God is love, then the libertarians are
simply wrong when they posit liber-
tarianism as a necessary component of
genuine loveif they are right, then
God is not really love, and there is no
real love amongst the persons of the
Trinity. But surely any position that
brings us here is just dead wrong! Itmust be abandoned.
God is free not on libertarian
grounds but on the basis of the great
cosmic fact that he does whatever he
pleases. True freedom is not libertar-
ian: true freedom comes from act-
ing without compulsion or restraint
from your own character. Good trees
produce good fruit (i.e., their actions
accord with their character). A perfect
God acts perfectly. The sinful mindnot only doesnt submit to Gods law
(which is terrifying enough), it can-
notdo so. Whatever we do ows out
of what we are. That is freedom (or
bondage).
Rather than limiting God, Edwards
sees this as a reason to praise him.
Here are three quotes (pp. 70-71):
It is no disadvantage or dishonour
to a being, necessarily to act in the
most excellent and happy manner,from the necessary perfection of his
own nature. This argues no imperfec-
tion, inferiority, or dependence, nor
any want of dignity, privilege, or
ascendancy. It is not inconsistent with
the absolute and most perfect sov-
ereignty of God. The sovereignty of
God is his ability and authority to do
whatever pleases him
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have represented the political leaders
of that century as well. But there is
more involved here than just a refer-
ence to the historic city of Rome. The
name Babylon the Great suggests
that Rome is also a type of the po-
litical powers yet to come. It is a pic-ture, as well, of the nal Rome and
echoes the rst Babel the secular
state and world system that elevates
itself above God, Gods people, and
Gods revelation (Rev. 19). In summa-
ry, this passage is typical of much of
this book. There are references to spe-
cic historical events that you would
have recognized had you lived in the
rst century, yet the text is written in a
way so as to reveal the principles and
conicts that would characterize the
rest of history.
Finally, the book is structured
around a series of sevens: seven
churches, seven seals, seven trumpets,
and seven bowls all having to do
primarily with events on earth that
span the church age. Interposed be-
tween the discussions of these groups
of seven are interludes that depict
events in heaven an arrangement
emphasizing the relationship betweenevents on earth and those occurring
in the heavenly realm. Lets turn now
to our text in Revelation 6 a fa-
mous scene in apocalyptic literature
known as The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse.
Then I saw when the Lamb broke
one of the seven seals, and I heard
one of the four living creatures saying
as with a voice of thunder, Come.
I looked, and behold a white horse,and he who sat on it had a bow; and a
crown was given to him, and he went
out conquering and to conquer (Rev
6:1-2).
The NIV reads, and he rode out
as a conqueror bent on conquest
which gives a clear sense of the pas-
sage. The point, of course, is not that
this is a literal white horse and a rider
with a bow but what it represents.
This imagery in not particularly new
either, as it is similar to one recorded
in the book of Zechariah (Zech 1).
The saint in the rst century would
have understood that whatever the
purpose was of these riders and
horses, they were under the control of
God. The picture of a conquering heromounted on a white horse was a com-
mon one in that era and has endured
as a symbol of conquest throughout
history. Perhaps you can picture the
historic images of Alexander the
Great, Caesar Augustus, or Napoleon,
to name a few. While not preclud-
ing a responsible national defense,
what is in view is the greater specter
of autonomous political power and
authority undergirded by the threat
of military force, as opposed to themoral authority of Gods righteous-
ness. Additionally, John may have had
in mind the Parthian conquerors from
the East who had won an important
battle against the Romans in 62 A.D.
and were known for their mounted
archers.
You may remember, however, that
there is another rider on a white horse
in the Book of Revelation: And I saw
heaven opened, and behold, a whitehorse, and He who sat on it is called
Faithful and True, and in righteous-
ness He judges and wages war. His
eyes are a ame of re, and on His
head are many diadems; and He has
a name written on Him which no one
knows except Himself (Rev. 19:11-
12). As you might guess, some exposi-
tors have suggested that these riders
and horses are one and the same, and
what the rst seal in Revelation 6
pictures is Christ and the power of
the gospel. I would suggest there are
a number of differences that indicate
they are not the same. The rider in
Chapter 19 (without question the Lord
Jesus) carries a sword, whereas the
rider in Chapter 6 is armed with a bow
the later commonly associated with
Gods judgment in the Old Testament.
The crown referred to in Chapter 6
is the victors crown (stephanos)
as opposed to the diadem or royal
crown of Chapter 19. Note also, that
John was careful to point out that the
crown was given to the rider in
Chapter 6. This phrase was given is
used throughout the book to describe
the authority or permission given to
wicked forces as instruments of Godsjudgment. Additionally, there seems
to be a relationship between the four
horses that is not as well explained if
the rst seal represents Christ and the
gospel.
What the author does intend to
portray, though, is the apparentlike-
ness between the two. And it under-
scores one of the main themes of the
book: Things are often not as they
seem. How many times in history dopolitical and military leaders come
onto the scene appearing as Christ-
like? How many times have we seen
an almost religious devotion to leaders
who promise and often sincerely at
rst peace, prosperity, and security?
They certainly are seen as a type of
messiah in the eyes of the gullible
masses. The other writers in the New
Testament warn us of Christ-like g-
ures that will deceive many, and we
have seen them throughout history.In the rst century, the Roman kings
often demanded to be worshipped
as gods, and they were often treated
as gods as long as the empire was
in the period known as thePAX
ROMANA.The twentieth century is
full of these messiah like leaders
as the socialist, communist, and fas-
cist leaders come to mind. We think
of Hitler and his promise of a Third
Reich, Imperial Japan, and Stalin or
Lenin and their desire for a great em-
pire or utopian state. Unfortunately,
some have walked these shores as
well, at least in the opinion of some
of their followers. For example, there
was an article written several years
ago describing the global initiative
of one of our most popular politi-
cians. The goal of the initiative was
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to identify immediate and pragmatic
solutions to some of the worlds
most pressing problems (poverty,
religious intolerance, global climate
change, etc.). Among other things, this
politician was referred to as World
Savior. The foreign policy travels
of another politician were more re-
cently described by the following
proclamation: He ventured forth to
bring light to the world! The anointed
ones pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a
miracle in action and a blessing to
all of his faithful followers. Gerard
Baker, an editorialist of the Times on
Line, recently had this to say, Every
decade or so the people who control
the way we see the world anoint some
American politician the Redeemerof a Troubled Planet. Yes, even the
non-Christian world recognizes the
principle behind the rider on the white
horse. We should stop here for a mo-
ment and ask ourselves: What is the
source of our condence in America?
Is it on our military might or the
strength of our economy? Is it based
on the strength of ourdemocratic
process or freedom? Or is it based on
faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ
and His word? Who is our hero on the
white horse?
When He broke the second seal, I
heard the second living creature say-
ing, Come. And another, a red horse,
went out; and to him who sat on it, it
was granted to take peace from the
earth, and those men would slay one
another; and a great sword was given
to him (Rev. 6:3-4).
We see in this text, as history
shows as well, that fast on the heelsof a spirit of conquest come war and
bloodshed. What started out with a
promise of peace eventually (although
often over a number of generations)
leads because it is mans system, for
his glory, and devoid of biblical righ-
teousness to a moral breakdown in
society, foolish alliances that attempt
to substitute for a dependence upon
God, and ultimately war. It was cer-
tainly common in Israels history as
one king after another lead the people
astray with false hopes of safety.
Rather than trust in Gods providence
and blessing, they demanded a king:
We will be like all the nations (I
Sam 8). Compare by contrast those
who Jesus says will be victorious,Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall inherit the earth. Note
here as well, like the rider on the
white horse that was given a crown,
that this rider too was given a
sword. Again, John is stressing that
no matter how things may appear the
actions and consequences of these
leaders and events are under the sov-
ereign control of God. It may have
appeared to the saints in the seven
churches that Caesar was in controlof the events that impacted their lives.
But John wants them to understand
that even Caesar is under the authority
of God.
When He broke the third seal, I
heard the third living creature saying,
Come I looked, and behold, a black
horse; and he who sat on it had a
pair of scales in his hand.And I heard
something like a voice in the center
of the four living creatures saying,
A quart of wheat for a denarius, and
three quarts of barley for a denarius;
and do not damage the oil and the
wine (Rev. 6:5-6).
Some of the inevitable conse-
quences of war or violence are eco-
nomic collapse, shortage of essential
goods, and famine. This is just as true
in our day as it was in the rst century.
For example, it is estimated that at
least 10 million people died of starva-
tion during the economic and agricul-tural experiments in Stalins Soviet
Union. You can see it in the news
from the war-torn African countries
every day.
And I heard something like a
voice in the center of the four living
creatures saying, A quart of wheat
for a denarius, and three quarts of
barley for a denarius; and do not dam-
age the oil and the wine (Rev.6:6).
A denarius was roughly a days
wage for the average worker. It took
a days wage to pay for a quart of
wheat. And what should we think
about the statement, Do not dam-
age the oil and the wine? The com-
mentators are not certain as to its
exact meaning. It probably suggeststwo things. One of the similarities we
notice during the rst few seals, trum-
pets, and bowls is that although judg-
ment does come, it is temporary and
limited in scope. The vineyards and
olive trees were known to have the
deepest root systems and would likely
be the most resilient during times of
famine. This emphasizes the fact that
even though the drought was severe it
was not total. The recurring message
is that there is still time for repentance the end is not yet. This may also
have alluded to the edict of Caesar
during one of the major famines dur-
ing the rst century that prohibited the
use of vineyards and olive groves for
the growth of more desperately need-
ed staples like wheat and other grains.
This points to the other inevitable as-
pect of warfare poverty. The oil and
wine were items of luxury, and the
effort to preserve them at the expenseof the basic food supply would have
the greatest effect on the poor and less
fortunate. During war it was the poor
that suffered the most.
This was a reality all too familiar to
the early Christians. Unlike a biblical
economic environment like we have
enjoyed (until recently I should add),
where investment and capital growth
is part of what it means to be a faith-
ful steward, wealth in the rst century
usually meant one thing compro-
mise. The labor guilds were extremely
powerful during the rst century, as
they were often aligned with the tem-
ple cults and emperor worship. If you
didnt participate in those events, you
suffered economically and often were
forced into poverty. Participation in
this economic system is part of what
John refers to later in the book as the
GillilandContinued from page 9
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the image of the earthly by being born
in sin and misery; we bear the im-
age of the earthly by living in sin and
misery; and we bear the image of the
earthly by dying in sin and misery;
and we bear the image of the earthly
in the rottenness of the grave; and we
bear the image of the heavenly Adam
when we are sanctied by His Spirit.
This image increases in us according
to our growth in sanctication, and
we perfectly bear the image of theheavenly Adam when we are just like
the Man Christ, both in soul and body,
perfectly happy, and perfectly holy,
when we have overcome death by His
grace, as He overcame it by His own
strength. It will never be known how
like believers are to Jesus Christ, till
they are risen again, when they shall
arise from their graves, like so many
little suns shining in glory and bright-
ness. Oh, how like will they then be
to Jesus Christ, though His personaltranscendent glory will be His prop-
erty and prerogative to all eternity!
2. Wherein are justication and
sanctication alike?
I answer, in many things.
Firstly, they are like one another as
they are the same in their author; it is
God that justieth, and it is God that
sancties. Who shall lay anything to
the charge of Gods elect? It is Godthat justieth (Rom. 8:33). I am the
Lord that doth sanctify you, is a com-
mon word in the Old Testament (Exod.
31:13; Lev. 20:8).
Secondly, they are alike and the
same in their rise, being both of free
grace; justication is an act of free
grace, and sanctication is the same.
Not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to His
mercy, He saved us by the washing of
regeneration, and the renewing of the
Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5). They are both
of grace.
Thirdly, they are alike in that they
are both towards the same persons.
Never a man is justied but he is also
sanctied; and never a man is sanctied
but he is also justied; all the elect of
God, all the redeemed, have both these
blessings passing upon them.
Fourthly, they are alike as to the
time; they are the same in time. It is
a hard matter for us to talk or think
of time when we are speaking of the
works of God: these saving works
of His are always done at the same
time; a man is not justied before he
is sanctied, though it may be con-
ceived so in order of nature, yet at the
same time the same grace works both.
Such were some of you, saith the
apostle, but ye are washed, but ye aresanctied, but ye are justied in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the
Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11).
Fifthly, they are the same as to the
operation of them by the same means,
that is, by the Word of God: we are
justied by the Word, sentencing us
to eternal life by the promise, and we
are also sanctied by the power of
the same Word. Now ye are clean,
saith our Lord through the Word thatI have spoken unto you (John 15:3).
That He might sanctify and cleanse
His church, saith the apostle, with
the washing of water by the Word
(Eph. 5:26).
Sixthly and lastly, they are the
same as to their equal necessity to
eternal life. I do not say as to their
equal order, but as to their equal ne-
TraillContinued on page 13
Concerning sanctication, there
are three things that I would speak to.
What sanctication is.
Wherein it agrees with justica-
tion.
Wherein it differs from justica-
tion.
1. What is sanctication?
It is a great deal better to feel it
than to express it.
Sanctication is the same with re-
generation, the same with the renova-
tion of the whole man. Sanctication
is the forming and the framing of the
new creature, it is the implanting and
engraving of the image of Christ upon
the poor soul. It is what the apostle
breathed after: That Christ might be
formed in them (Gal. 4:19); that they
might bear the image of the heav-
enly (1 Cor. 15:49).
There are but two men only that
all the world is like, and so will it fare
with them, as they are like the one, or
like the otherthe rst Adam, and the
second Adam. Every man by nature is
like the rst Adam, and like the devil;
for the devil and the rst fallen Adam
were like one another. Ye are of your
father the devil, saith our Lord, and
he was a murderer from the begin-
ning (John 8:44). All the children ofthe rst Adam are the devils children;
there is no difference here. And all the
children of the other sort are like to
Jesus Christ, the second Adam; and
when His image shall be perfected
in them, then they shall be perfectly
happy. As we have also borne the
image of the earthly, so shall we also
bear the image of the heavenly (1
Cor. 15:49). Pray observe: we bear
Concerning Sanctication
Robert Traill1 (1642-1716)
1 From Traills Sermons, upon 1 Peter 1:1-3, vol. 4, pg 71, Edinburgh edition of Traills Works, 1810. (Banner of Truth Trust,
1975) reprinted inHoliness, by J.C. Ryle (Hertfordshire, England, Evangelical Press, 1987) p 317.
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become a merciful and faithful high
priest in the service of God, to make
propitiation for the sins of the people.
For because he himself has suffered
when tempted, he is able to help those
who are being tempted (ESV).
This passage gives us four reasons:1. To taste death for everyone (vv.
5-9)
2. To bring many children to
glory (vv. 10-13)
3. To defeat the devil through
death (vv. 14-15)
4. To become a merciful and
faithful high priest (vv. 16-18)
Recall that Hebrews was writ-
ten to a group of Jewish Christians
who were being tempted to return to
Judaism in light of the present perse-
cution. The author of Hebrews wants
to highlight the superiority of Jesus in
comparison to all rivals. The summary
of Hebrews could be Jesus is better.
The rst reason we see from this
passage on why God became man was
to taste death for everyone (2:5-9).
Verses 5-8 say, Now it was not to
angels that God subjected the world
to come, of which we are speaking. It
has been testied somewhere, What
is man, that you are mindful of him, or
the son of man, that you care for him?
You made him for a little while lower
than the angels; you have crowned
him with glory and honor, putting ev-
erything in subjection under his feet.
He writes that it is testied some-
where. Hebrews is a sermon, so the
preacher doesnt have time to bust outhis Psalm scroll. Hes on a roll so he
just says, trust me, its in there. Of
course, we know that he is referenc-
ing Psalm 8, which speaks of Gods
majesty. In light of his grandness, who
are we?
Mankind was created to rule
over the created order. But are we?
Is Psalm 8 presently true? We are
called to rule over creation, but it
sure doesnt look like we are in full
measure. We rule in part, but not like
Psalm 8 envisions. We live in a broken
world. I cant even exercise dominion
over trash bags. Inevitably, they dont
work the way I want them to. Often,
technology rules over me, not the
other way around. We have dominionoversome animals. People try to ex-
ercise dominion over lions and tigers
and other wild ones, but they usually
end up on the show, When Animals
Attack. The author of Hebrews ap-
plies Psalm 8 to Jesus, as we will see.
Son of man was one of Jesus
favorite ways of referring to himself.
He was made lower than the angels
for a little while. The commission of
Adam is ultimately fullled in the lastAdam. The author of Hebrews reads
Psalm 8, as well as the whole Old Tes-
tament, Christologically that is, in
light of Christ. Psalm 8 is not true of
us now, but it is true of Jesus. Do you
remember that strange comment in
the rst chapter in Mark? Jesus goes
to the wilderness and is tempted by
Satan, and Mark writes, And he was
with the wild animals (Mark 1:13).
Jesus has dominion over them. They
recognize his kingship. He fulllsGods original intention for humanity.
Hebrews 2:8b states, Now in put-
ting everything in subjection to him,
he left nothing outside his control. At
present, we do not yet see everything
in subjection to him.At presentwe
do not yet see everything in subjec-
tion to him. Notice that it says at
present. All things have indeed been
placed under the feet of Jesus, but
we do not yet see it. That awaits hisreturn. We live in the overlap of the
ages, between the already and not yet.
The pastor wants us to be assured that
Christ really is in control.
Verse 9 says, But we see him who
for a little while was made lower than
the angels, namely Jesus, crowned
with glory and honor because of the
suffering of death, so that by the
grace of God he might taste death for
everyone. Jesus was crowned with
glory and honor because of the suf-
fering of death. Because of his death,
he was crowned. Jesus has been Lord
for all eternity as the second person of
the Trinity. He has been the Son from
eternity, but there is a sense in which
he earned this lordship. So in Acts 2we read that God has made this Jesus
Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). Romans
1:4 says that the Son was appointed
the Son of God in power by his resur-
rection from the dead (NIV).
He was crowned so that by the
grace of God he might taste death
for everyone. The Son of God tasted
death for us! In our place! He drank
the cup we deserved! He meets our
greatest need. D.A. Carson writes, IfGod had perceived that our greatest
need was economic, he wouldve sent
an economist. If he had perceived that
our greatest need was entertainment,
he wouldve sent us a comedian or an
artist. If God had perceived that our
greatest need was political stability,
he wouldve sent us a politician. If he
had perceived that our greatest need
was health, he wouldve sent us a doc-
tor. But he perceived that our greatest
need involved our sin, our alienationfrom him, our profound rebellion, our
death; and he sent us a Savior.1
The second reason God became
man was to bring many children to
glory (2:10-13). Verse 10 reads, For
it was tting that he, for whom and
by whom all things exist, in bring-
ing many sons to glory, should make
the founder of their salvation perfect
through suffering. It was tting? This
is the miracle of Christmas, the mira-cle of the incarnation. Remember that
crucixion was a cruel form of public
execution. God came in the esh
and suffered this awful death. Jews
thought those crucied were cursed by
God, and non-Jews just considered it
1 D.A. Carson,A Call to Spiritual Refor-
mation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992),
109.
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cessity, that is, as it is determined that
no man who is not justied shall be
saved, so it is determined that no man
who is not sanctied shall be saved: no
unjustied man can be saved, and no
unsanctied man can be saved. They
are of equal necessity in order to thepossessing of eternal life.
3. Wherein do justication and
sanctication differ?
This is a matter of great concern-
ment for peoples practice and daily
exercisewherein they differ. They
agree in many things, as has just now
been declared, but they likewise differ
vastly.
1. Justication is an act of Godabout thestate of a mans person, but
sanctication is the work of God about
the nature of a man, and these two are
very different, as I shall illustrate by
a similitude. Justication is an act of
God as a judge about a delinquent, ab-
solving him from a sentence of death;
but sanctication is an act of God
about us, as a physician, in curing us
of a mortal disease. There is a criminal
that comes to the bar, and is arraigned
for high treason; the same criminalhas a mortal disease, that he may die
of, though there was no judge on the
bench to pass the sentence of death
upon him for his crime. It is an act of
grace which absolves the man from
the sentence of the law, that he shall
not suffer death for his treasonthat
saves the mans life. But notwithstand-
ing this, unless his disease be cured,
he may die quickly after, for all the
judges pardon. Therefore, I say, justi-
cation is an act of God as a gracious
Judge, sanctication is a work of God
as a merciful Physician; David joins
them both together. Who forgiveth
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy
diseases (Ps. 103:3). It is promised
that Iniquity shall not be your ruin
(Ezek. 18:30), in theguiltof itthat
is justication; and it shall not be your
ruin, in thepowerof itthere lies
sanctication. TraillContinued on page 15
2. Justication is an act of Gods
grace upon the account of the righ-
teousness of another, but sanctication
is a work of God, infusing a righteous-
ness into us. Now there is a great dif-
ference between these two, for the one
is by imputation, the other by infusion.
In justication, the sentence of
God proceeds this way: the righteous-
ness that Christ wrought out by His
life and death, and the obedience that
He paid to the law of God, is reckoned
to the guilty sinner for his absolu-
tion; so that when a sinner comes to
stand at Gods bar, when the question
is asked: Hath not this man broken
the law of God? Yes, saith God;
yes, saith the conscience of the poor
sinner, I have broken it in innumer-
able ways. And doth not the law
condemn thee to die for thy transgres-
sion? Yes, saith the man yes,
saith the law of God, the law knows
nothing more but this, the soul that
sinneth must die. Well, then, but is
there no hope in this case? Yes, and
gospel grace reveals this hope. There
is One that took sin on Him, and died
for our sins, and His righteousness is
reckoned for the poor sinners justi-
cation, and thus we are absolved. Weare absolved in justication by Gods
reckoning on our account, on our
behalf, and for our advantage, what
Christ hath done and suffered for us.
In sanctication the Spirit of God
infuses a holiness into the soul. I do not
say, He infuses a righteousness; for
I would fain [be glad to] have these
words, righteousness and holiness,
better distinguished than generally
they are. Righteousness and holinessare, in this case, to be kept vastly
asunder. Our righteousness is with-
out us; our holiness is within us, it
is our own; the apostle plainly makes
that distinction. Not having mine own
righteousness (Phil. 3:9). It is our
own, not originally, but our own inher-
ently; not our own so as to be of our
own working, but our own because it
is indwelling in us. But our righteous-
ness is neither our own originally nor
inherently; it is neither wrought out
by us, nor doth it dwell in us; but it is
wrought out by Jesus Christ, and it
eternally dwells in Him, and is only to
be pleaded by faith, by a poor creature.
But our holiness, though it be not our
own originally, yet it is our own inher-ently, it dwells in us: this is the distinc-
tion that the apostle makes. That I may
be found in Him, not having my own
righteousness, which is of the law, but
that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by
faith (Phil. 3:9).
3. Justication is perfect, but sanc-
tication is imperfect, and here lies a
great difference between them. Justi-
cation, I say, is perfect, and admitsof no degrees; admits of no decays,
admits of no intermission, nor or any
interruption; but sanctication admits
of all these. When I say justication
is perfect, I mean, that every justied
man is equally and perfectly justied.
The poorest believer that is this day
in the world, is justied as much as
ever the apostle Paul was; and every
true believer is as much justied now,
as he will be a thousand years hence.
Justication is perfect in all them thatare partakers of it, and to all eternity;
it admits of no degrees. And the plain
reason of it is this: the ground of it
is the perfect righteousness of Jesus
Christ, and the entitling us to it is by
an act of God the gracious Judge, and
that act stands forever; and if God jus-
ties, who is he that shall condemn?
(Rom. 8:33.) But sanctication is an
imperfect, incomplete, changeable
thing. One believer is more sanctied
than another. I am apt to believe that
the apostle Paul was more sanctied
the rst hour of his conversion than
any man this day in the world.
Sanctication differs greatly as
to the persons that are partakers of
it, and it differs greatly, too, as to the
same man, for a true believer, a truly
sanctied man, may be more holy and
TraillContinued from page 11
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WhiteContinued from page 12
foolish. But this is exactly what God
has done. It was grace. It was tting.
Notice what he says on the side:
all things exist by God and for God.
This is similar to what Paul wrote in
Romans: For from him and through
him and to him are all things (Rom.11:36). Do you view your life this
way? Are you as God-centered as
Scripture calls us to be?
He brings us to glory. With the
use of this verb the author is probably
alluding to the Exodus. In Exodus 3:8,
we read, and I have come down
to deliver them out of the hand of the
Egyptians and to bring them up out
of that land to a good and broad land,
a land owing with milk and honey.Jesus accomplishes a new exodus
by bringing many sons to glory. The
many here determines the scope of
the everyone in verse 9.2 Glory re-
fers to Gods power and presence. To
be brought to glory is to be brought to
where Gods presence is manifest.3
He calls Jesus the founder of our
salvation. The word forfounderis
difcult to translate. Pioneer is good
since it can handle both leading andfounding (so NIV), but it could also
be trailblazer, source (NET), or cap-
tain (KJV). It is the one who is rst;
the one who stays at the head; the one
who leads.4 Jesus is called a forerun-
ner in Hebrews 6:20 as well. He is
the champion. He was made perfect
through suffering. This is not referring
to moral improvement, but to being
made complete or fully equipped for
his ofce.5 He is our perfect substitute.
Hebrews 2:11 reads, For he who
sancties and those who are sanctied
all have one source. That is why he is
not ashamed to call them brothers.
2 Peter T. OBrien, The Letter to the
Hebrews, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerd-
mans, 2010), 105.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid., 106.
5 Ibid., 107.
We are his brothers, and he is the rst-
born. We were predestined, Romans
8:29 says, to be conformed to the im-
age of his Son, in order that he might
be the rstborn among many broth-
ers. He had every right to be ashamed
of us and completely leave us alone to
run our hell-bound race, but instead heis not ashamed to call us brothers.
The third reason God became man
was to defeat the devil through death
(2:14-15). He shared in our humanity.
He shared in esh and blood. He be-
came a man so that he might destroy
the one who has the power of death,
that is, the devil.
Satan is powerful. He is the god of
this age (2 Cor. 4:4). First John 5:19
says, The whole world lies in thepower of the evil one. Some avoid
religion so that they can be free, but
none are free. The whole world lies in
the power of the evil one. Through the
cross, Jesus destroyed Satan. We al-
ready saw that he is the pioneer of our
salvation, a theme started in Genesis
3:15. God kept his promise. The rea-
son the Son of God appeared was to
destroy the works of the devil (1 John
3:8). He disarmed the rulers and au-
thorities and put them to open shame,
by triumphing over them in him (Col.
2:15). Now is the judgment of this
world; now will the ruler of this world
be cast out (John 12:31).
All people are enslaved to the fear
of death (thanatophobia). Woody
Allen once said, I am not afraid of
death; I just dont want to be there
when it happens. He speaks for many
who are scared to death of death,
but it is important for Christians to
remind others of the grand statistic:
10 out of 10 die. One has said, our
birth is nothing but our death begun.
Christian, for you death is dead. It has
lost its sting. Oh Death, where is your
victory (1 Cor. 15:55)? In John 11:25-
26, Jesus said, I am the resurrection
and the life. Whoever believes in me,
though he dies, yet shall he live, and
everyone who lives and believes in me
shall never die. Do you believe this?
Christ paradoxically defeated death
by means of his own death. Jesus, the
God-man, is our only hope in death
and life.
The fourth reason God became
man was to become a merciful and
faithful high priest (2:16-18). He-
brews 2:16 says, For surely it is not
angels that he helps, but he helps the
offspring of Abraham. Here he al-
ludes to the new exodus theme again.
Isaiah 41:8-10 says: But you, Israel,
my servant, Jacob, whom I have
chosen, the offspring of Abraham,
my friend; you whom I took from the
ends of the earth, and called from its
farthest corners, saying to you, You
are my servant, I have chosen you andnot cast you off; fear not, for I am
with you; be not dismayed, for I am
your God; I will strengthen you, I will
help you, I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.6
He had to be made like us (Heb.
5:1). To represent us as high priest,
the Son of God had to identify him-
self with us. He is merciful, and he
is faithful. Mercy is pity moved to
action. He never tires of hearing fromhis children. He is faithful. You can
trust him with all. He will not fail you.
He came to make propitiation.
Outside of Christ, we were under the
wrath of God. He was angry with us.
Many people today do not like the
idea of a God who gets angry, but
that is not Christianity. God is holy,
righteous, and angry with sin and sin-
ners. Propitiation conveys the sense of
an atoning sacrice that puts away sin
and satises Gods wrath.
Hebrews 2:18 says, For because
he himself has suffered when tempted,
he is able to help those who are being
tempted. He suffered when tempted
and is able to help us when we are
tempted. He experienced the full
range of temptations. You will never
nd yourself in a place he has not
6 Ibid., 117.
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GillilandContinued from page 10 TraillContinued from page 13been. Jesus can help. He knows. He
understands.
What a Savior we have! He came
to put all things under his control. He
tastes death for everyone. He destroys
the devil and therefore destroys the
power of death. Because of him, we
will live forever. He is not ashamed to
call us brothers and share his inheri-
tance with us. He helps us when we
are tempted. As high priest, he prays
for us and makes propitiation for us.
Gods wrath has been absorbed be-
cause he has tasted death for us. That
is why God became man. m
sanctied at one time than at another.
There is a work required of usto
be perfecting holiness in the fear of
God (2 Cor. 7:1). But we are nowhere
required to be perfecting righteous-
ness in the sight of God, for God hath
brought in a perfect righteousness, inwhich we stand, but we are to take
care, and to give diligence to perfect
holiness in the fear of God. A saint in
glory is more sanctied than ever he
was, for he is perfectly so; but he is
not more justied than he was. Nay,
a saint in heaven is not more justied
than a believer on earth is; only, they
know it better, and the glory of that
light in which they see it, discovers
it more brightly and more clearly to
them. m
mark of the beast. John, in essence,
is reassuring them with the thought,
Dont be surprised when you nd
yourselves in a state of poverty and
exclusion from the economic system
of the day.
How then do we apply these prin-
ciples in the twenty-rst century?
They can be applied in the same way
they were in the rst century. When
we see wars, famine, and persecution,
it reminds us that God still judges in
history. It may only mean the end
of a city or nation, but for those with
eyes to see it is yet another warn-
ing of the nal judgment that is yet
to come. And that is part of the big
idea of the Book of Revelation thatwe will further develop in Part 2 of
this series. m
La Soberana de Dios en la Providencia [The Sovereignty of God in Providence]- John G. Reisinger
Hay seis principios que son bsicos al concepto de la soberana de Dios en la providenciaque corren a travs de la palabra de Dios y esfuerzan su mensaje de la salvacin.
1. Dios siempre est en control de todas las cosas y constantemente trabaja en lograr suplan.
2. Dios controla y usa todo el mundo, aun el diablo, llevando su plan a cabo.
3. Dios castiga los que El usa en completar sus propsitos cuando actan con motivosincorrectos.
4. Todas cosas vienen de Dios, pero el diablo es el agente de toda maldad.
Dios tiene un plan y propsito denitivo para el mundo. Es imprescindible comprender
y creer estos seis principios para poder tener un entendimiento bblico de Dios o de la teleologa de sugracia soberana. Poder captar y aplicar estas verdades en su vida cotidiana es fundamento para estableceruna esperanza bblica que nos lleva a una alegra verdadera en el Seor. Es difcil tener una seguridady esperanzada razonable y asegurado mientras que vivamos en nuestro mundo loco, sin conocimiento yaprecio de la soberana de Dios en la providencia personicada en estas seis verdades bblicas.
Entiende usted el mensaje de esperanza y gracia indicado en la palabra de Dios, o tiene algn problemaentendindolo en un sistema coherente? Puede usted relacionarse a las verdades de la Biblia en su vidacotidiana, o le parecen las doctrinas de la escritura sin relacin a las situaciones de la vida real de su mundopersonal hoy? Este folleto se escribi precisamente para darle ayuda clara y especca en estas dos reas. Sudisea es para ayudarle a entender lo que realmente dice la Biblia y lo que signica, y adems aplicar esemensaje a las situaciones de la vida real que les hace frente en su mundo personal.
All through the New Testament, when God's work in human lives is spoken of,the ethical takes priority over the charismatic.
J.I. Packer
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on the tables on the covenant (Ex.
34:27, 28), are the unchanging moral
law of God. He rejects our contention
that Jesus is the new Lawgiver who
replaces Moses in exactly the same
manner that Jesus replaces Aaron. Af-
ter Barcellos sets forth what he thinkswe believe, he gives us his version
of what he believes Matthew 5:17-20
really means.
What Jesus is saying is that the OldTestament is still binding upon His
people,but not in the same way
it used to be.(p. 65, italics in the
original)
But that is precisely what we
believe and teach! When we say the
identical same thing but use some
different words, Barcellos calls us
antinomians. When Barcellos makes
that statement it is good theology, but
when we state the same truth us-
ing different words, we are heretics.
Barcellos then quotes New Testament
scholar Vern Poythress.
All the commandments of the