I praise the Lord God as the source of rest for the weary! We are commanded: "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him" (Psalm 37:7). The destination of the obedient believer is to enter into His rest (Psalm 95:11). The blessed Saviour Jesus Christ tells us to take His yoke on us and learn of Him in order to find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-29). This rest is offered not only to the Jewish nation, but also to the Gentiles; and we will all find that "his rest shall be glorious" (Isaiah 11:10). When we trust in the Lord, we enter into that rest for our souls by ceasing to seek entrance into heaven by our own works (Hebrews 4:10). But, there "remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). One day, we will enter into that glorious rest. I can rest in my Lord. He gives rest to my soul and will bring me one day into His glorious, heavenly rest. What a Lord and Saviour we have!
John M. Frame in his book called "The Doctrine of God" has some helpful teaching on the being and works of God. However, when he begins to teach his Calvinistic theology, he seems to lose His grip on what is proper. According to him, although man is responsible for his sins, these sins are also foreordained by God. Consider this quote (p.130): "Human sins, too, are foreordained. Sometimes, indeed, as we have seen, Scripture describes God specifically as 'hardening' people, that is, making them more sinful. When God brings about sin, that sin is in one sense unavoidable." I only hope this the teaching that God foreordains sin, makes men more sinful, and brings about sin, is as repugnant to you as it is to me. But more important, it is unscriptural. God is careful to point out that He is not the tempter of sin but that sin is the result of us being drawn of our own lust (James 1:13-15). What is the point of this teaching if God has ordained our sin? This is the foolishness that consistent compliance to the Calvinistic system bears.
Last night, Drew Ray preached a powerful message at Antioch Baptist Church. The text of his message was taken from Hebrews 4:9, which states, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." This idea was that, although we have a present rest in Jesus Christ, our true rest will come after we leave this world. Therefore, our present life is a time for service. We need to work; or, as Jesus said in Luke 19:13, "Occupy till I come." Brother Ray pointed out the word "occupy" is related to the word "occupation." One of the most convicting passages he used was the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-29. It begins, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." But too often we stop with the rest. The next statement is, "Take my yoke upon you." That is work. We find our rest in Jesus Christ through our service to Him. All this reminds me of a verse I read yesterday: "Their strength is to sit still" (Isaiah 30:7). We have far too many in our churches who are described by that statement.
According to an article in today's "Wall Street Journal," cellphone providers in Asian countries are offering many innovative services. In India, Hindu worshippers can send text messages to their god Ganesh at the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai. Ganesh is the god in charge of destroying obstacles that might keep you from successfully completing personal goals (like getting a job or purchasing a house) and he is particularly receptive to requests on Tuesday's. So visitors on that day may wait in a line for up to five hours just to get Ganesh to obliterate the hindrances in their path. However, for only four cents per text message (a fee split between the cellphone company and the temple), participants can use their cellphone to send a text message request which will be printed out, neatly folded, and placed in a box next to the temple's idol--with the hope that he takes time to read them. Presently, about 70,000 text messages are coming in from all over India each week.
Note: What follows is an introduction I just wrote to a lesson on Mark 6:1-26 entitled "Changes in the Ministry of Christ." I thought it might be an encouragement to someone who is presently going through some great changes.
One of the dirty little secrets of Calvinism is that it really does make God the author of sin. In "The Doctrine of God" by John M. Frame, John Calvin is quoted (p.177) as saying: "But how it was ordained by the foreknowledge and decree of God what man's future was without God being the author and approver of transgression, is clearly a secret so much excelling the insight of the human mind, that I am not ashamed to confess ignorance." John Frame declares (p.176), "it seems to me that it is not wrong to say that God causes evil and sin." In another place (p.65), Frame states, "God does in fact bring about the sinful behavior of human beings, whatever problems that may create in our understanding." Yet James 1:13 states, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." It all boils down to whom we believe: God or man. Who do you believe?
Comments we received in regard to "Three Kings and Some Land": Hi Pastor Reagan, I have been studying in the book of Jeremiah and read the chapter you are quoting yesterday. My KJV Bible spells the kings name "Nebuchadrezzer" I checked my wifes KJV and it says the same thing. However you are spelling it "Nebuchadnezzar" I checked my concordance and it says these are the same. I was wondering if you had any insight as to why the different spellings. I don't think there are two different kings of Babylon. Just wondering??
