Total Depravity

Psalm 14:1-3

One of the tenants of Calvinism is the total depravity of man. Left on our own, people will not seek God (Psalm 14:1-3 and Romans 3:10-11). And, just to get it out there, yes, I am a Calvinist. I believe the bible teaches what John Calvin, Martin Luther and other great theologians taught, which is God initiates contact, not us. Jesus Himself said it (John 6:44 and Matthew 11:25-27).

Some people are tripped up by the term "total depravity". When we think of depravity, we think of pornography, human trafficking, serial killers, etc. All sorts of horrible images come to mind. But that is thinking using our own understanding. God is a holy God (Revelation 4:8-11). His standard is holiness, period. The only thing in us that could possibly live up to His standard is complete obedience, even in our innermost thoughts. None of us is capable of that, so we all fall short (Romans 3:23).

Let's examine God's holiness and how seriously He takes it.

In the book of Leviticus God tells Moses all the standards, procedures and specifications for Aaron and his sons to follow in all the duties of the priesthood. They were not to deviate in any way from any of this. In Leviticus 10:1-3, Aaron's sons deviated from the standard, and they paid the price. God told Moses that He was to be regarded as holy to anyone who comes near Him.

In Exodus 25:12-15, God gave very specific instructions for transporting the ark, and in Numbers 4:15, God designated the sons of Kohath as the ones to carry the ark. And that the ark, among other holy objects, was not to be touched "lest they die".

In 2 Samuel 6:1-7, Israel went to bring the ark back to Jerusalem. They put the ark on a cart pulled by oxen. The oxen stumbled, the ark was jostled and Uzzah reached up, almost reflexively to steady the ark. He touched it and the bible says God struck him. Uzzah died. It doesn't seem fair.  Even David became angry about it (2 Samuel 6:8). But God stated very clearly that the ark was not to be touched and what would happen to anyone who touched it. God will not compromise His holiness.

Let's take a look at ourselves in comparison. We are sinful. Our righteousness compared to His is woefully lacking (Isaiah 64:6-7). Anyone who encounters a holy God shrinks back in shame and fear (Isaiah 6:3-5 and Luke 5:8). We know that, in the presence of His holiness and absolute righteousness, we, in juxtaposition, are totally depraved.

Thanks and praise to our great God for the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We have been made alive in Him (Ephesians 2:1-6).

God is AWESOME!

Old vs New

Genesis 12:1-3

Our preacher at church was telling us how a lot of people believe the Old Testament and the New Testament are not related, and how the Old Testament should be disregarded by Christians since we are in the New Covenant. This is false teaching of the most insidious kind. The Old and New Testaments are inextricably linked.

From the moment Abraham believed God, he was blessed (Genesis 15:1-6). He became the founder of our faith. Because Abraham believed God, we received our salvation in Christ Jesus (Matthew 1).

To bring His promise to Abraham to all of it's fullness, He extended His grace in Christ to the gentiles (Acts 10).

Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. He was faithful to keep His promise to His friend (James 2:23) and has now given everything to His Son, our savior and our great King Jesus the Christ who has the authority to reveal His grace to whom He wishes (Matthew 11:27-30).

God is AWESOME!

The Name

Jeremiah 17:9-10

We have all heard the phrase "follow your heart". Well, that's a terrible idea. You cannot trust your heart, your heart will only lead you to ruin. This is why the fruits of the spirit include patients and self control (Galatians 5:22-23), because the works of the flesh, or heart, are deceitful and desperately wicked (Galatians 5:19-21).

As followers of Christ, we represent His Name. His Holy Name. The Name that the world profanes and uses as a curse word instead of saying it with reverence. The Name above all names, the Name above which there are none (Genesis 22:9-18; Hebrews 6:13). We cannot do justice to His Name on our own, because of the sin nature we inherited from the fall. So God Most High, in His mercy and for His Name's sake, did it for us (Ezekiel 36:16-27).

It is not only for the Gospel that we are careful with His Name, it is for the church (Galatians 5:24-26).

I get tired of hearing believers referring to God as if He were their buddy or calling Him "the big guy" or an assortment of other disrespectful terms (Galatians 6:7). He is deserving of all honor and reverence. He is the Lion of Judah, the Mighty God, the only one in the universe worthy to be worshipped.

So, when your heart is telling you one thing with your emotions, look to His word, and remember His Name, and tell your sinful, wicked, deceitful heart to take a hike.

God is AWESOME!

Affliction

John 16:32-33

As we go through life, we will experience bad things. Things that make us wonder and even ask why. Things that could even shake our faith. Natural disasters, illness, death of loved ones, tragic accidents or the cruelty of another person. We don't know why.

We can find a few clues in the bible.

1. God's confidence that your faith is strong and your trust in Him is absolute (Job 1:1-5).

2. It's really got nothing to do with you. It's to teach someone else something (John 9:1-3).

3. Because God is a holy and just God (Luke 15:1-5).

Whatever the case, it is proof that God is working in you. Bringing you into a more intimate relationship with Himself (James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

I have been to war. The men with whom I had the privilege of serving are some of the people I know better than anyone on the planet. Some situations reveal who people really are, and seeing that is very intimate. We can be courageous and strong, but at the same time, extremely fragile. The Apostle Paul likened us to jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7-18).

Life is hard. There are a lot of things that make it harder still for some of us. But if we keep our focus on our faith and trust in the Lord, even when we don't understand, He will give us peace and restore us (1 Peter 5:10).

God is AWESOME!

The Return

Revelation 21:1-5

Before the fall, Adam enjoyed a close Father/Son relationship with God. God would walk in the garden in the cool of the day. The bible doesn't give us much about the interactions of Adam and God, but we can safely assume that He and Adam walked and talked in the garden at times. Until the fall (Genesis 3:1-8). Then everything changed. Sin entered the world with a resounding boom and destroyed everything. God and mankind were seperated and death reigned.

God had a plan to resolve the problem. He chose people through history to reveal this plan to, although they didn't always understand (Genesis 28:12; Isaiah 53; Psalm 22 and 1 Peter 1:10-12).

Then, in the "fullness of time", the most significant event in the history of all creation (Luke 2:1-32), God's promise to Abraham was here. The beginning of the restoration of the relationship between God and man (Matthew 11:27). Christ Jesus went on to fulfill the prophets and the law, He would suffer at the hands of the "religious" people and the cruel Roman whips and the cross. He defeated death and overcame sin (John 16:33). He closed the gap and bridged the chasm between man and God. He took away our sin and made us just, those of us who believe (John 1:1-5; John 1:29-34; Colossians 3:1-4).

We will once again be walking with our Father in the cool of the day because of our great Savior (Jude 1:24).

God is AWESOME!

Unworthy

Revelation 4:1-11

I have talked to people who have been lead astray by the "name it and claim it" and "health and wealth" gospel. They site scriptures like Psalms 37:1-4 and Matthew 7:7-11 that talk about being given the desires of your heart and getting whatever you ask. These scriptures are taught completlely out of context. When studying God's word, context is very important. It doesn't hurt to study what the culture was like at the time and what was happening politically in that time. For example, Psalms 37:1-4 starts with not worrying about the evildoers. We can see over in Psalms 73, Asaph said his feet almost slipped because evildoers were prospering. But God showed him what was coming to them. In Psalms 37 King David understood they wouldn't prosper for long.

Anyway, I always think that the name it and claim it people are arrogant. Like they are somehow deserving of riches and luxury. If the Apostles were poor and suffered (Acts 5:12-40 and 2 Corinthians 11:16-28), and even Christ Himself suffered and did not demand the honor He was due (Philippians 2:5-8) why would they believe themselves to be worthy of just the opposite?

Even the Elders on the 24 thrones in Heaven did not consider themselvew worthy of their crowns. They threw them to the feet of the only One who is worthy.

We are all, every one of us humans, wholly unworthy of God's favor in any way. It is only in Christ Jesus that we find favor with God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and it is by Christ alone that we are able to stand in the presence of God's glory (Jude 1:24).

God is AWESOME!

Praise

Psalms 8

On my way to work this morning, I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises from The Great Artist. The clouds were thinly brushed across the sky, the sun had risen above the horizon, and behind the filter of the clouds, the sun was a beautiful shade of orange and lavender. It took my breath away. No description will do it justice.

The spectacle of breathtaking beauty caused me to begin gushing praises to our great and glorious God (Psalm 19:1).

As I watched the sun and sky go through this kaleidoscope of colors, my mind began to wonder at the absolute genius of The Ancient of Days, how all of the laws of pysics and astrophysics came from His mind. It is not that He simply understands the science behind it, He created the science (Genesis 1:1-27).

God's understanding goes deeper than any man can fathom (Job 38-40:5). He is altogether different from us. His thoughts are radically higher than ours (Psalm 139 and Isaiah 55:1-9).

We sometimes think that God created this beautiful universe for us to marvel at His genius. That is not the case. It was all done for His Majesty, Christ Jesus. It was done for Him and through Him (John 1:1-2 and Colossians 1:15-17).

The tragic events that took place in the garden, which seperated us from our Father and caused the spirits of men to die (Ephesians 2:1-3), had a depth of evil and enormity of significance that we will never fully understand. We developed a sinful nature that we all fully gave ourselves over to. Sin ruled over us like a cruel master (Genesis 4:7), keeping us from the love of the Living and awesome God who created us.

But God, in His infinate wisdom and great understanding, made a way for us to break free from our bondage and be truly free (John 8:36).

The Lord Jesus came and shed His majesty (Philippians 2:5-7) and lived a human life, humble and gentle. He suffered for our sin under the cruel Roman scurging and upon a Roman cross, He was murdered (Isaiah 53). For His Name's sake (Ezekiel 36:22-27) and because of His great love for His lost children, He died. Three days later, He rose from the dead never to die again.

He gathered His lost children to Himself (Matthew 11:27) and healed their broken hearts (Isaiah 61:1-5).

In this, God's beauty is revealed. The wonder of our salvation in Christ Jesus (1 Peter 1:10-12) allows us to truly see the beauty in His creation (Job 42:5).

God is AWESOME!