Sound of Grace, Issue 190, September 2012

7/30/2019 Sound of Grace, Issue 190, September 2012

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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


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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.

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ReisingerContinued from page 1


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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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.


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


5/20


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


6/20



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.



7/20


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:

A tax-deductible gift in the amount of ______________ is enclosed.

I would like to receive Sound of Grace via the USPS:

A check in the amount of $20.00 for a paper copy (payable to Sound of Grace) is enclosed.

I would like to receive Sound of Grace via email: A check in the amount of $10.00 for a pdf le (payable to Sound of Grace) is enclosed.

Please continue free of charge: Via email via USPS

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLYTHANK YOU

Name:

Street Address:

City: State/Providence: Zip/Postal:

Email address: @ Phone number:

Mail to: Sound of Grace, 5317 Wye Creek Drive, Frederick, MD 21703-6938

Live so that the preacher can tell the truth at your funeral.

Anonymous


8/20

Page 8 September 2012 Issue 190WestContinued from page 3

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

WestContinued on page 18


9/20


GillilandContinued from page 5

GillilandContinued on page 10

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

GillilandContinued on page 15


11/20


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.


12/20

Page 12 September 2012 Issue 190WhiteContinued from page 1

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.

WhiteContinued on page 14


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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

Sound of Grace, Issue 190, September 2012

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Transcript of Sound of Grace, Issue 190, September 2012