Conversion

I will get to the topic of Total Depravity, I promise! For now I shall touch on something that leads up to that.

Today's topic continually comes up and it ties together all "tulip" points. That topic is CONVERSION. Jesus said "You must be born again". We cannot do the works that the Lord desires from us unless His Spirit resides in us to be able to do so. Any other "works" no matter how holy seeming, are all for nothing. Sure the Lord can use them if He desires, but for that person's salvation it adds or subtracts nothing...it is what the Lord does, has done, and will do that matters. There are lots of scripture verses that substantiate that; I'll leave it for another time. However it would behoove us to look up study those verses, to do the digging.

It (the topic of conversion) goes back to the "U", "L" and the "I" of the 5 points. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/dabney/5points.htm however there is something that we can find from delving deeper into the reformers writings that we do not get from a superficial study of the 5 points....the drawing of the Lord (irresistible grace) includes a determined seeking (which of course also comes from the Lord, because we cannot do anything good unless it is from the Lord to do it). His word goes out, those who act on it and receive it do so because the Lord has activated this call in those He calls, causing them to seek Him and not stop in that seeking until He allows us to find Him.

"But (you may ask) aren't there many who seek and yet never find Him?" Only the Lord knows who it is that TRULY seek Him. The proof (for us) is in the pudding, as the saying goes, because those who sincerely seek Him will do so until they find Him. Those who give up or turn away, were never sincere, no matter how much they argue to the contrary. How do I know? It is because of the fact that they stopped and they turned away, that is the proof given to us in scripture (gospel of John ch 6 and 1 John ch 2) and since the Bible says so, I believe God before I believe those who protest their own innocence in the matter.

Isaiah 55:6-7  

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, 

call ye upon him while he is near:  

Let the wicked forsake his way, 

and the unrighteous man his thoughts: 

and let him return unto the LORD, 

and he will have mercy upon him; 

and to our God, 

 for He will abundantly pardon.(KJV)

Luke 11:9-10

  And I say unto you, 

Ask, and it shall be given you;

 seek, and ye shall find;

 knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

   For every one that asketh receiveth;

 and he that seeketh findeth;

 and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.(KJV)

In these the Arminian or semi-pelagian will flatter himself with the notion that it is his own seeking and perseverance that forces God's hand to move. Nothing of the sort. He is not moved by our manipulation. It is His choice that He answers, His goodness that moves Him, His promise that He honors to answer us, and not our pleadings (which may or may not be sincere).

Then there are those that say: "But God DOESN'T always answer, in fact, more often than not, He does not answer when suffering people cry unto Him" and I would argue that He always does, but not according to our fleshy notions of what an answer is supposed to look like. Jesus had plenty to say about the foolish generation that seeks after a sign, and yet He supplied the sign needed, the sign that meant exactly what He meant about moving mountains and spiritual blessings, the sign which was rejected...but that would be another topic for another time.

There is a passage in the book of Esther...the Jewish people are about to be annihilated because evil Haman wants all Jews murdered. Esther asks Mordecai to tell the people to fast and pray for 3 days. After the 3 days she approaches the king to bring him her request. If he leans his scepter towards her it means he honors her presence, if he doesn't she would face execution. That is the same situation we face if we stand before an almighty and holy God, He has the right to kill us on the spot and we would be powerless to say anything in our own defense. It is God's grace (and often prayers of others who are faithful in Christ) who make way for the Lord to receive us unto Himself. When we see Him we will know it is all because of Him, not anything we did, not our choice, that saved us.

 

Likewise, those that are left outside, eternally without God, seething, ever hateful, ever shaking their fist at God, will know that their choices brought them nothing, and will forever hate the Lord for not choosing them saying that He denied them their rights. We do not have the "rights" that we demand of God. We are beggars before our sovereign. Like Esther, we come before God knowing HE has THE RIGHT to kill us for our imperfections, our inner hidden sins, our pride that we would consider ourselves to be equal or higher than Him. Yet these will go on seething with this idea of their rights having been denied them, and will do so for all eternity, gnashing their teeth, weeping that they didn't get what they feel they deserve.

However, this little blog article won't convince anyone that believes in "their rights" being denied by God. It won't convince those who see the Bible by the "light" of their own darkened understanding....those who have determined (for themselves and do their best to try to convince others) that the Bible doesn't make sense, or contradicts itself...

 

 2Peter 3:16  

As also in all his (Paul's) epistles,

 speaking in them of these things;

 in which are some things hard to be understood, 

which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (torture, pervert),

 as they do also the other scriptures, 

unto their own destruction. (KJV)

 

I won't convince anyone, but I do hope the Holy Spirit will convict some, and bring them to true repentance in true humility before Him.

 

Examine Yourselves

2Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (KJV)


Yesterday I was notified of a cousin's passing, he passed away while at church, and I pray that his heart truly was converted and that he is with Jesus.

Yesterday was a day for much thought and prayer and self-examination while thinking about my cousin (who was a little younger than I) and his now widowed wife.

This had me reflect again on my acquaintance who I gave the name "Isabel" in "A True Story" (tabbed above). Isabel came to a point in her walk with Christ where she, like the people in the gospel of John chapter 6, realized upon self examination that her heart truly wasn't transformed by the Lord, and was still a reprobate, and instead of asking from the Lord without ceasing until her request became a reality of a true conversion, gave up on God, thereby giving up on herself and her own eternity with God.

I also came to such a point of a personal meltdown, a time of truth, when I had to confess that I was a reprobate because I did not truly have Jesus in my heart, soul and mind, and that I was the source of my own strength instead of truly relying on the strength, goodness and power of the Lord. I begged God for His mercy in the light of this truth, this understanding, and I would not let go of asking for the miracle of a true conversion. I asked with the centurion that begged Jesus: "Lord I believe! Help Thou my unbelief!!!" and then trusted that He would help my unbelief, and each time my unbelief would rear it's ugly head He would remind me that His faithfulness was greater than my unfaithfulness, and to trust Him.

This world is full of trouble and evil on every side, and our lives are but a tiny candle in a wind tunnel, only flickering for a short time until it is snuffed out, and by God's grace remains lit for the time that it is. Let us use the time wisely, to seek Him while there is yet time, and not follow the sick world in it's debaucheries and insanities.

Hold fast to what is true, Jesus is the way, the Truth, and the life. Ask, seek, and knock, and do not give up and give in to the weakness of thinking self is all you need because you err in thinking that God is too far from you...He is very near, even at the door, continue to persevere and He will give you the strength to go on persevering. Do not be cut off from Him, from Him flows life, and truth, and endurance to be with Him and of Him, continue in well doing by His might, not your own strength. Our own strength is very weak indeed, and in the end (even if we think we are being loving of others and selfless, we lie to ourselves if it isn't God doing it in us) the only true love can come from God through us to others. If we love others by our own strength there is always an ulterior motive, some selfish need being fulfilled, to seem virtuous to others and to try to gain their honor and respect for ourselves. Would we still love them if they spat in our faces the way Jesus continued to love and forgive those who despised and hated Him? We cannot, unless it is He loving others through us and forgiving others through our forgiveness of others,  as He also has forgiven us.

Trust Jesus instead of honoring yourselves,
                                                                    for without Him we are nothing.

2Peter 2:17-18
These are wells without water,
clouds that are carried with a tempest;
to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
For when they speak great swelling words of vanity,
they allure through the lusts of the flesh,
through much wantonness,
those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
(KJV)

Eternity
in blackness 

of self-reflection without Jesus 

is a long, long time...

More on the Topic of Goats

In trying to find more information on this topic, I found this at the End Time Pilgrim website:

Sheep and Goats Judgment

The problem for me with that article is that it states the sheep and goats of that parable are all unsaved Gentiles. Sheep (lost or not lost) in my way of thinking always applied to Jews or saved Gentiles so I have trouble with their interpretation.  They also say that everyone (all various theological perspectives) teach that it is different from "The Great White Throne Judgment". I personally believe it is possible they are the same, and that is the way it is presented here.

This is another site linked here that says the Sheep and Goats Judgment and the Great White Throne Judgment can be one and the same. I have found that because Jesus mentions something in a couple of sentences (in Matthew ch 25) doesn't mean the events that are told about happen moments (or even a few days) later... and conversely, if it is written about in another chapter using different word pictures, it doesn't mean it's about something else, it is possible the subject is the same but described differently.. There are at least two passages where a comma in the same sentence is separated by a couple thousand years in it's unfolding. I believe it is something that we can all have opinions about, but the final proof will be in the pudding....when it happens we will know exactly what God was talking about, and everyone will be amazed at how accurately God spoke and it will all be cleared up for us and  "the why" of why we couldn't understand it before the time it will happen (like we all disagree on how it will be at this time) won't even matter to us then when we see it played out. We will all just be glorifying God in how perfect He is and how perfectly He keeps all of His promises.

However, I was going to talk about goats...

...and more specifically, the scapegoat of the Day of Atonement. Why is it a goat that is being sacrificed when goats represent people that are going to hell in the Sheep and Goats Judgment? Please read Leviticus 16  where the subject is the sacrificing of the two goats, one on the altar, and one as a scapegoat sent away into the wilderness, is given to the Israelites.


This online lesson discusses the possibilities for Azazel (the scapegoat) being Jesus (He was made sin for us) or satan (who is the embodiment of sin), and this particular author concludes that both goats in this offering represent Jesus.


About Azazel (from my esword electronic Bible):


scape goats:  Heb. Azazel, that is, the goat-gone-away, The Hebrew עזאזל has been supposed by some to be the name of a place, either a mountain or cliff, to which the goat was led.  But no place of that name has ever been pointed out, except a mountain near Sinai, which was too distant for the goat to be conducted there from Jerusalem.  Other learned men think it was the name of the devil, who was worshipped by the heathen in the form of a goat.  But Bp. Patrick justly objects to this opinion; for it is difficult to conceive, that when the other goat was offered to God, this should be sent among demons.  The more probable opinion seems to be, that it was name given to the goat itself, on account of his being let go; from aiz, a goat, and azal, to depart.  So LXX αποπομπαιος, and Vulgate emissarius, sent away; Aquila and Symmachus τραγος απερχομενος, or απολελυμενος: the goat going away, or dismissed.

If I find more on the topic, I'll post it at a future date, Lord willing :-) Also if anyone has weblinks that would help to shed more light on this subject, they would be much appreciated. I have a feeling Arnold Fruchtenbaum might have insight into this topic, eh Ma?

Sheep and Goats

 picsearch

Did you know that there are alot of similarities between sheep and goats? I find that interesting in the light of the parable that Jesus gave us about the separating of sheep and goats:

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35  For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42  For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 

Do you notice what Jesus does here? The sheep come from a place of credit where anything they do is added to them. The goats come from a place of debit where the moment they fail to do the right thing, they have failed altogether and hopelessly so.

What can we learn from what these animals are like?

There's alot of info here about sheep and goats. One of the main differences is what they eat. Goats can eat just about anything and not get sick. If sheep eat the wrong things, they get diarrhea and it sticks to their wool, which can cause them further problems if the shepherd doesn't take care of his sheep properly. The link says sheep have tear glands, but doesn't say the same for goats..see also 

Goats are more independent while sheep get uncomfortable if they get separated from their group. 

Also check out this story told by someone who did some time as a sheepherder in New Zealand 

Most sheep don't have horns like goats do....but some do

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.


Hmmm looks like a sheep, with two horns, and speaks like a dragon. What does a dragon speak like?

Dan 11:21  And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Dan 11:22  And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
Dan 11:23  And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

He will tell people what they want to hear. He will appeal to people's fleshy desires.

Jesus knows what His sheep really need, and it isn't flattering...but He loves us so what He does for us is out of a gracious and loving heart.

Pe 5:2  Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

1Pe 5:3  Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
1Pe 5:4  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.