Stomach Turning Truths (part 2)

Bethlehem Bible Church

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But sometimes I like to do something different on a Sunday night, and this one has struck some controversial nerves.

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The idea is this, that all the truth in the Bible is

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God's truth, and some of it is a little more difficult to digest than other parts.

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Some about God's compassion and God's forgiveness and God's kindness and God's mercy, those are easy for us, and TV promotes them all day long.

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Talk radio promotes them all day long, Christian talk radio. There are other parts of Scripture where we go and we say,

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I've got to study that a little bit. How did God, for instance, why did God, for instance, say it's time to just wipe out everything and everyone, children, women?

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Those are difficult truths, and so I just thought we would spur some interest and have a series called Stomach -Turning

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Truths, Offensive Doctrines for People that Haven't Heard Them Before, are in the process of maturing, are maybe new to Christianity, but they are rooted in the

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Bible. And so my goal is that you think about things biblically, you talk biblically, and that if you believe something, but the

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Bible teaches the opposite, that you would say to yourself, I will submit my mind to the

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Scriptures and believe it even though I might not like it. There are all kinds of doctrines in here that don't really lend themselves to warm fuzzies.

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Would you believe that? Absolutely. And so that's what we'll talk about tonight. In a quick review, the first Stomach -Turning

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Truth that we looked at several weeks ago is that God hates the sinner and the sin.

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And you can look at Psalm 5, chapter 5, verse 5, and find out very easily that that is a true statement.

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And I tried to make the point that if we realize how sinful we are, and then this great triune

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God comes and saves us, it is a magnification of His glory that He would save people like us.

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You will see the gap between His holiness and our sinfulness, and the result would be praise.

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I don't think we should go around, you know, scratching ourselves and cutting ourselves and never encouraging our kids.

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I'm just trying to say that you can't separate, according to Psalm 5, 5, and Psalm 7, 11, and Romans, chapter 9, that we looked at, you can't separate sin from the sinner.

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Men and women by nature are sinful because of the fall, because of Adam's sin, and then they manifest themselves in life by sinning.

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And so God is angry with the wicked, what does the text say, every day. And He hates all those that do unrighteous things.

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And so we just need a great Savior, if there's a God who's actually mad, versus the George Burns God, oh

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God, who's just happy with whatever you do. I'll never forget the story, I've told you it many times, but for those that are new, my grandmother was kind of the boss in Grandma and Grandpa's house.

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My mother's mother, her name was Nona, and what Nona said went, and her husband Carl pretty much just sat and got drunk all day.

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And he would get a job every couple weeks, and then he'd lose his job because he was drinking. And Grandma always told me, because my mom had to go to work, she went to Mutual of Omaha's insurance company,

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Grandma said, if you disobey one more time, see that ruler over there? Remember, you used to get rulers, they'd be yardsticks, even, that would have the hardware store imprint, you see those even today.

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And so she just kept saying it over and over and over and over again, the next time you do that, I'm going to put that on your bottom, on your rear end.

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And I just thought, this is a grandma talking, my mind couldn't process it, but I thought she's never going to do it.

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So I walked over, took that yellow yardstick, broke it over my knee, and handed it to Grandma. And she still didn't spank me, amazing.

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There's a judgment day for sinners, there's a judgment day for those that God hates, and the only one who can take the holy and just hatred of God and absorb it so that God can show us his love is

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Christ Jesus, that was number one. Number two, hold on to your hats, God ordains sin.

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In other words, God plans sin. God is not the author of sin in some kind of James 1, verse 13 way where God tempts and God makes us sin.

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But a quick reading of Acts 2 and Acts 4, when Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the

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Gentiles and the people of Israel crucified Jesus. It says in verse 28, to do whatever your hand,

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God, and your purpose predestined to occur. If you don't believe that God had sin in the plan, then what do you do?

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Is this plan B? Is this his backup plan? No, we believe that Jesus Christ is the

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Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. So we talked about that for a long time.

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Number three, as commonly defined, there's no such thing as free will.

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There's no such thing as free will. Now, I'm surprised no one threw anything at me when I said that.

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But here's what we're talking about. We're talking about the unbeliever and does that unbeliever have a capacity and a desire and a will to choose good, to choose

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God by himself. And what we're really doing is we're saying, how depraved is man?

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Is man fully depraved? Are his emotions depraved? Is mind depraved? Is intellect depraved? And is his will depraved?

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Does an unbeliever have the power of contrary choice? Can he or she pick yes,

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God, no, to sin? Can they do that? And we realize that because of the fall,

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Doug Wilson was right, while evil men are free to do what they want, they are not free to do what they should.

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They're free to do what they want to do, but they're not free to do what God commands them to do. Hence, the need for Christ Jesus.

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We looked at different verses. We didn't look at this one, but listen to Revelation 17, 17. For God has put it in their hearts to execute

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His purpose by having a common purpose. God put it in their hearts for them to do something. And you say, well, that makes

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God unjust because He's calling for people to do something they can't do.

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Oh, if God was unjust, would He do that?

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Unless He first gave the ability to perform what He required before the fall. God would be unjust unless man by his own will brought this inability upon himself.

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God is unjust in requiring what man cannot perform unless such a requirement, which is impossible to meet, is designed to lead him to acknowledge and deplore his inability.

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I don't know if you know much about tools. I'm just learning about tools. But you have a ratchet set. Did you ever teach a boy how to use a ratchet set?

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And what happens with that ratchet set? Sin is like that ratchet set. You start ratcheting, and once you go that one direction, you can't go back.

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Of course, unless you change the setting, then my analogy breaks down.

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If someone cannot pay a debt, his debt is still, his debt's not excused.

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Let's see, where could I go with this? Let me ask you some questions, just because I think this is an interesting topic.

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You tell me which one of these are true. All right? I'm going to give you two sentences.

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Pick which one is true. Option two, God chooses those who, of their own free wills, decide to believe.

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Option one. Option two, God gives faith to those whom he has sovereignly chosen.

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Two. Okay, good. We're differing between free will and free grace. Option number one,

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Christ's blood has redeemed all, but it is our faith in him that saves us. Option number two,

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Christ saves every person whom he redeemed with his blood. Good. Option one or option two, last question for a moment.

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Those who are willing to believe enable the Holy Spirit to regenerate them. Or option two, the

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Holy Spirit regenerates the elect and enables them to believe. That's the difference between free will and free grace.

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Since I'm on the questioning mode, let me ask you another question. I have 14 questions. Gracie?

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You don't have to write them down. True or false? You say, well, you're not in any text.

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We were doing that last week and we will get there in the next point. A fallen sinner is totally unable to cooperate with divine grace.

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True. Then you don't believe in free will. Number two, salvation is exclusively the result of divine monergism.

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God alone working. Salvation is God's work alone. Then you don't believe in free will.

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Number three, this is a little trickier, but that's all right. God foreknows what he does and does what he foreknows.

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True. I hate to tell you what all the answers are, but I see a pattern. Number four, to say that a fallen sinner has the power to cooperate with divine grace is a denial of the necessity of Christ's work.

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If man can cooperate with grace, who needs Jesus's work? True. If you believe the opposite, you believe in free will.

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Number five, the human will is in bondage to sin because of our union with Adam in his fall.

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The regenerate and unregenerate act according to their respective wills. True. I won't give you all.

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Let's see. I can tell where this is going tonight.

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Ought does not imply can. People ought to believe, but they cannot believe.

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So then if I say you must believe, that means you're able to believe. Before the fall, they were able to believe, but after the fall, they weren't.

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That's why we need the second Adam to obey. All right, how about this one?

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This is the one I wish we could do around here. Free will is an empty term which should be discarded. When you say free will, it has too many meanings.

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Do you mean I have the freedom to do this? What do you mean? Here's what I mean. When it's an unbeliever, can he in and of himself choose

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God without God's help? The answer is no. So how can you believe in free will?

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Human inability disproves self -salvation. True. Men and women are not able to save themselves, so it disproves you can save yourself.

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Rousseau even had it right. Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains. All right, that was just a quick review.

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Number four, false teachers should be called out by name. We looked at that in 2 Timothy 4, where Alexander the coppersmith is called out.

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And then number five, brand new for tonight. And if you're visiting or you are not used to this,

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I'm going to give some hope here, so don't leave quite yet. I know we had some people walk out last time.

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By definition, Roman Catholics are not Christians.

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Here's what I mean. I saw Bob getting up. I thought Bob was going to leave. Eighty percent of our neighbors are

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Roman Catholic in New England. If those neighbors believe what their church is teaching them, they need to be born again.

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I am not saying that some Catholics aren't Christians. Some Catholics are

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Christians, but is it because of Rome or is it because of the Bible? Let me ask you a question.

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If anyone says that by faith alone the sinner is justified, do you think that would be a good thing or a bad thing?

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By faith alone in Christ Jesus the sinner is justified. Do you believe that statement? Yes. Then the

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Roman Catholic Church believes the opposite. It says, so as to mean that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, let him be damned.

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If you believe it's faith alone and no cooperation, you are to be accursed. True or false?

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The Roman Catholic Church affirms that for believers, the sacraments of the new covenant are necessary for salvation.

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True. Why don't you turn your Bibles please to Galatians chapter 2. Friends, I'm just trying to say this. I'm just saying if you meet a

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Roman Catholic and they're a Christian, great. But if you meet a Roman Catholic by default,

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I hope you start saying, I think I should evangelize this person. I think they need to know the real true gospel.

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I think they have the right vocabulary but the wrong meaning. They've got a wrong Jesus is what they've got.

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And so we don't like this. I don't know how many times I've been called a Catholic basher. I'm not bashing

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Roman Catholics. I think I'm supposed to love Roman Catholics. But I am going to bash what they believe because it is heretical and it's unbiblical and it is damning.

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Galatians chapter 2, verse 16. By the way, tonight if you want any of the quotes, I'll give them to you. They're all from the

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Roman Catholic Vatican 1, Vatican 2, Catholic Catechism.

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I'm just not going to give you the references on each one but that's where they're found. Galatians chapter 2, verse 16.

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Knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ.

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I don't like that translation. Let me find a different translation. Galatians chapter 2, verse 16.

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We know at this church that it is by Christ's work alone that we have salvation.

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Chapter 2, verse 16. Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Christ Jesus.

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Even we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith, not sacraments, in Christ and not by the works of the law.

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Since by the works of the law, how many people will be justified? Zero.

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No one will be justified by the law. So how does a

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Roman Catholic get away with saying a person is saved through the Roman Catholic Church via the sacraments?

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You have the blood of Christ Jesus, the death of Christ Jesus and it's given to the church, the Roman Catholic Church, through the sacraments.

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Seven sacraments. Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Marriage, Orders or Ordination.

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You tell me if this is a true statement or a false statement. Baptism, the gate to the sacraments, is necessary for salvation.

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In fact, are at least in intention by which men and women are freed from their sins, are reborn as children of God and configured to Christ by an indelible character.

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True or false? False. But I'm telling you, if you go to a Roman Catholic hospital, and frankly, some

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Roman Catholic hospitals I've been glad to go to because I know they won't perform abortions there. But these dear nurses that come up to me and say, oh, you're the pastor and hand me something about this big.

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I've been in rooms before where we've had people die and I've had a little thing about this big secretly handed to me.

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And if you were a pastor and you had a secret thing handed to you like that, what would be the first thing that you would do? Well, you'd look at it.

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And I found myself holding a what? Not a rosary but a scallop shell.

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And I said, excuse me, you know, thank you, but I have no idea what to do with the scallop shell.

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That's the deceased baby. And if you believe that sacraments are the vehicle for salvation, you'll do even that.

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Catholic Catechism 1263, by baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins as well as all punishment for sin.

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It's not true. Furthermore, did you know all grace comes through the sacraments, but all the sacraments give grace from the

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Catholic Church only? Vatican Council, for it is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help towards salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained.

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Is that true? I mean, the answer is no. So let me just give you three things to talk about with your

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Roman Catholic friends that I think will help you when you deal with them. Okay, three quick ones.

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Number one, present to your Roman Catholic friends and family Christ's sufficiency to save sinners completely.

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We're not going to be bashing them. Now we're going to lovingly preach the gospel to them. Hebrews chapter 10, let's go there quickly.

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Love your Roman Catholic friends enough to help them with these three areas. Number one, tell them that Jesus' death is sufficient to save sinners completely.

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Nothing needs to be added. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 10. If you can't find Hebrews, you can just go to the very front of your

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Bibles and you'll find it. We want to show them this Jesus who can take care of sin completely at Calvary.

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They don't think that because they're having Mass every single week, every day, some of them. And here we see this whole idea of John 19 .30,

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it is finished. Hebrews 10 .10, by this we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, and we did this a few weeks ago, once for what?

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All. And every priest stands daily ministering. He's not talking about the Roman Catholic priest here, but of course the implications are obvious.

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And offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can what? Never take away sins, but he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, his work was done, so he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet.

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For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Friends, if you have a

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Roman Catholic worker, a neighbor, your grandma is Roman Catholic, then

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I would go straight to Hebrews and say, this is what the Bible says Jesus did at Calvary, then why do you have the

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Mass every day? The Roman Catholic Catechism says in 1382, the

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Mass is the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated.

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Or they'll say, Roman Catholic Catechism 1366, the Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re -presents the sacrifice of the cross and because it applies its fruit.

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Jesus is no victim, Jesus is King. Number two, if you have a

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Roman Catholic friend, would you preach to them that they can have complete forgiveness in Christ Jesus, complete forgiveness.

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Is it good news to know that you don't have to pay for any of your sin when you die? I remember when I was a kid, it wasn't

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Catholic guilt, it was Lutheran guilt. And Lutherans in those days were pretty much the same as Catholics.

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And I would lay there thinking, what sin did I not confess before I went to sleep? Turn with me to Colossians chapter 2.

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We will see we don't have to purify ourselves through purgatory or indulgences or sacraments.

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It's all done by Christ. Show them Christ, friends. Your Roman Catholic friends do not understand who

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Jesus is. Because if they did, they'd be out and they'd be a Protestant because they protest the

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Roman Catholic system of a Jesus who doesn't finish his work at Calvary. And Colossians chapter 2, in this great book that talks about superiority and sufficiency of Christ, it's all about Jesus.

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He's the star, He's the hero, He's the one whose fame is proclaimed. Colossians chapter 2, verse 13,

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And when you were dead in transgressions and uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him.

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It was all God's work. I love Charles Wesley's song, Long my imprisoned spirit lay,

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Fast bound in sin and nature's night. Thine eye diffused a quickening ray. I woke the dungeon flame with light,

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My chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

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And so what did this great God do? He made us alive, and then what's the last phrase in chapter 2, verse 13 of Colossians?

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Having forgiven us all our sins. Mortal, venial, original, actual.

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They're all gone. And by the way, that word forgiven, let me spell you the root word of this word forgiven.

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C -H -A -R -I -S Sound familiar? He graced, forgave us all our transgressions.

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It's all. Ignorant sins, high handed sins, past sins, future sins, original sins, actual sins, omission sins, commission sins, and he just lays it on so nobody who reads this will misunderstand that we have complete forgiveness.

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Verse 14, Having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, and which was hostile to us, and has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

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He erased it all. He cancelled it. He blotted it out. The Greek word is to erase.

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He rubbed it out. Blotted it out. Or sometimes they would have an animal skin with writing on it, so you'd have to take a sharp shard of something and scratch that thing off so you couldn't see it.

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And the last thing I want you to tell your Roman Catholic friends, they can have assurance of eternal life. You can know you're going to heaven.

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Is it possible to know for sure you're going to heaven? Your Roman Catholic friends do not know. They only hope.

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Let me just push it. If this doesn't freak you out, then I don't know what will. Canon 16 of the

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Council of Trent, If anyone says that he will for certain, with an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance even to the end, let him be damned.

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If you think you're going to heaven and you know for sure, you are accursed. Romans 8 .33,

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let's go there. Great passage that talks about our assurance.

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We could go to 1 John, we could go to John 17, we could go to all kinds of passages, but whenever you're in doubt, just run to Romans.

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If somebody ever asks you to get up and do Bible Council time for the kids, or you have to speak sometime, or you're the religious guy in the crowd and they ask you for a word, just quick open to Romans 8.

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You're good. You don't know what to say, just read it. Romans 8 .33, based on the work of Christ that's talked about in chapter 3, verse 20 and following, 21 and following, chapter 4, chapter 5, etc.

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Based on the righteousness of Christ, credit to our account because of Christ's life and death, confirmed by His resurrection.

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Here is the question that I ask Trent, that you should ask your friends. Who wants to live with that Damocles sword over their heads all their life and they still don't know?

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You can go to mass every single day and you don't know if you're going to heaven. Who will bring a charge against God's elect?

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Let's make it personal, put your own name in there. If you're born again, who will bring a charge against Mike Abendroth?

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It's the highest court in the land, it doesn't matter if they're after me. God is the one who justifies.

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And here's what's happening. The writer is anticipating. Paul anticipates. What if we fail because of our sin?

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Chapter 6 and 7, we are in Christ but we don't always obey.

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Chapter 7, I don't do what I ought to do. I'm a wretched man. Am I ever going to make it?

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Who's going to bring a charge? You know, this is a lawyer term and it means to impeach.

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Satan, the great accuser, it means to impeach. Who is going to impeach one of God's elect?

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God's the one who justifies. He's declared us righteous.

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He's not going to condemn us then. And then you look at the passage. Who is the one who condemns?

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He's not going to condemn us because He's already judged Christ in our place. So this is thrown out of court, as it were, to use the lawyer language.

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Christ Jesus, Messiah Jesus is He who died. If the Messiah died for us, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand, who also intercedes for us.

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If Jesus is praying for you now at the right hand of the Father, are His prayers going to go unanswered?

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Christ died for you. Christ was raised for you. Christ has power where He sits and He makes intercession.

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The Gospel according to Jesus MacArthur said this is the crucial point on which Protestants have historically been in full agreement.

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Sinners are not justified because of some good thing in them. God can declare them righteous because He first imputes to them the perfect righteousness of Christ.

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Again, this is owing no good thing to us, not even God's sanctifying or regenerating work in our hearts.

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But when He saves, we're saved for good. Alright, number six.

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We've got to go. Boy, time goes by so fast. Number six. We don't have to go. I mean, leave the church, but we've got to go for the next point.

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That's what I meant. Stomach -turning truth number six. Men and women are different in the local church.

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I always tell the guys in discipleship, I like femininity.

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In women, is what I tell them, there are different functions between men and women, not only in their house, but also in the church.

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Society says we're equal with function. History says we're equal in function.

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Other religions say we're equal in function. The culture is equal in function. Poles, we're equal in function.

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And the list goes on and on and on. And so what does the Bible actually teach? By the way, be prepared to be called a bigot, a woman -hater, a dinosaur, an obscurantist altogether.

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You want to know? Well, let's just make it fun tonight. Are you laughing at me?

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Are you laughing at Amelia? God is not a feminist.

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And God's not pleased by them either. Sheila Cronin, radical feminist leader, quote,

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Since marriage constitutes slavery for women, it is clear that the women's movement must concentrate on attacking this institution of marriage.

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Freedom for women cannot be won without the abolition of marriage. Vivian Gornick, author,

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University of Illinois, being a housewife is an illegitimate profession. The choice to serve and be protected and plan towards being a family maker is a choice that shouldn't be.

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Declaration of Feminism in 1971, quote, The end of the institution of marriage is necessary for the liberation of women.

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Therefore, it is important for us to encourage women to leave their husbands and not live individually with men.

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All of history must be rewritten in terms of oppression of women. We must go back to the ancient female religions like witchcraft.

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Ann Laurie Gaylor, Feminist Salvation. She wrote an article in 1988. Let's forget about that mythical Jesus and look for encouragement, solace, and inspiration from real women.

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Two thousand years of patriarchal rule under the shadow of the cross ought to be enough to turn women toward the feminist salvation of the world.

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Dare I go on. Mary Jo Bain, a feminist at Wesley College. Boy Charles and John would roll over in their graves if they could hear this.

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In order to raise children with equality, we must take them away from families and communally raise them.

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Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood. The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it.

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And Sheila Cronin, what comes around goes around. Boy, you can just see where this goes. Writing in the

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National Organization of Women Times. The simple fact is, every woman must be willing to be recognized as lesbian to be fully feminine.

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What's a godly lady to do? Forget culture. Forget friends' opinions. Forget Oprah's double standards.

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And say, how do I live before the one who's made me? Now, I believe men and women are equal in God's eyes.

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Let's go there, Galatians chapter 3. They are equal in God's eyes salvifically. We believe that here at the church.

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Nobody's better than anyone else. We just have different functions. But I want to make sure we understand that Galatians chapter 3 talks about equality in God's eyes.

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Quality in the church. No one's better, no one's worse because of their sex. We disagree with the

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Greek historian who said that women's highest praise is not being mentioned at all. I don't think that's right.

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We disagree with Josephus who said, women are in all things inferior to man.

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We disagree with Rabbi Judah who said, a man must pronounce three blessings each day.

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Blessed be the Lord who did not make me a heathen. Blessed be the Lord who did not make me a woman. And it wouldn't even matter what he said for number three, would it?

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We disagree with the Jewish rabbis in the first century who were not even supposed to teach or speak to women.

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Quote, he who talks much with womankind brings evil upon himself and neglects the study of law and at last will inherit

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Gehenna. Another writer said, from garments cometh a moth and from a woman the inequities of man.

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The same writer said, better is the iniquity of a man than a woman doing a good turn. The low status of women during the days of the

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Bible are clear. But listen to Paul the Apostle, verse 26 for context. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

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Not just sons of God because God made us physically, but spiritually he has made us born again.

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What do you mean, Paul, specifically? Well, if you never know what to do when it comes to context, just keep reading. Verse 27, for all of you who were baptized into Christ.

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This has no water. This is placed in the body of Christ. The Spirit of God places us or baptizes us or immerses us into Christ.

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Those who have been baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ, but not the women. Just the men get the righteousness of Christ.

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The women, you're on your own. Is that what the text says? For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

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And because of that, what does verse 28 say? There's neither Jew nor Greek.

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Why? Because they're both in Christ. There's neither slave nor free man. They're both in Christ Jesus. God the

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Father sees Christ. He doesn't see their station in life. There is neither male nor female.

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Why? Because they're in Christ. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. No one is better than the other person.

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In our marriage, I'm not better than Kim. Kim's not better than me. The elders aren't better than the nursery workers.

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And the list goes on. By the way, it is fascinating to study what happens in the

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Bible when we think about women. Did you know that women had the same protection as men did from Mosaic law?

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Did you know some women had the same vows as men, like a

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Nazirite vow? Did you know some chapters of the Bible are written to talk about virtuous women praised by men, which would be what?

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Proverbs chapter 31. We don't possess women as possessions.

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We don't believe the Talmud when it says it's better to burn the Torah than teach it to a woman. We have

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Jesus as an example as he talks to the woman at the well and other things. Turn with me to Romans chapter 16.

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We've got to move here quickly. Romans chapter 16. Paul has written all these chapters and now he commends people who have served the

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Lord well. You think he's going to mention any ladies? It's going to be a strange thing to commend women in the culture.

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And here he commends all kinds of women for the great job they've done. By the way, this church would fall apart if the women stopped serving.

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Romans chapter 16, verse 1. I commend to you our sister Phoebe who is a servant.

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Verse 3. Greet Priscilla. Verse 6. Greet Mary who's worked hard for you.

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This is not a male name. This is not a female name, but it's such a weird name I'm going to mention anyway just for fun.

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Verse 9. Stachys. My beloved, what's Stachys mean? Ear of corn.

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How did you know that, Dave? Old corn ear did a good job. These are the ladies that did a good job in old corn ear.

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Verse 12. Tryphina. Tryphosa.

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Those are female words, female nouns, names. Workers in the Lord greet

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Persis, the beloved. By the way, tryphina means delicate. Tryphosa means dainty.

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And compared to old ear of corn, they're really dainty and really delicate. All right.

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Verse 15. Julia, Nereus and his sister.

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Go through and count how many times. I think out of 26 names, 8 are ladies. Can women serve the

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Lord in a local church? Absolutely. I think of Lois and Eunice in Timothy's life.

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But there is a difference. And the difference is God's ordained roles. Let's see where I can just take you.

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Let's just go to 1 Corinthians 11. And we better wrap up that point here and then off to the next thing.

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1 Corinthians 11. We have functional differences. Men are elders. Men are deacons.

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Men are pastors. The apostles were men.

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But I want you to just see quickly that submission does not mean inferiority. It does not mean no dignity.

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It does not mean cramped style or second -class citizens. Because we'll even see here the submission that's within the

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Trinity. 1 Corinthians 11. The whole context is head coverings, but we won't deal with that. That would be another stomach -turning truth.

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But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man.

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And the man is the head of woman. And God is the head of Christ.

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Would anyone dare to say that the Son is somehow not equal to the Father? Of course not. We believe that there's differences between men and women for the good and for the glory of the church.

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1 Timothy 2 deals with that a lot. All right. It's 38 minutes in, and so let's just talk about number 7.

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We're going to have to do this quickly, but we're going to do this for a little while. We're going to talk about limited atonement.

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Limited atonement. That's why people are probably here tonight. Did Jesus die for each and every person who was born?

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Or did Jesus die just for the elect? Now, as I said in discipleship this morning, if you are either one of these, you think

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Jesus died for each and every person, or you think that Jesus died for the elect, you're welcome at this church.

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I'm not trying to run you out. I hope somebody doesn't leave because of it. Most people in our society today believe that Jesus died for each and every person who was ever born.

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If we flash back to New England in the 1700s, it would be rare to find such a person, and you would find people in the 1700s, especially because of Edwards and Whitefield's influence, that Jesus died specifically for the elect, with the intention of dying for the elect.

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And so what we want to do at this church is you don't have to believe everything the leaders believe, although the leaders are unanimous on this particular point, or else

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I wouldn't be teaching it. Jesus died for the elect, or did

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Jesus die for each and every person, including Hitler and Judas and all those? All right.

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And you say to yourself, why even talk about it? I found it interesting today, even with Erickson in the discipleship class, it will affect you in lots of ways.

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Here's just one little one for a preview. If you believe Jesus died for the elect only, can you say, when you preach the gospel to someone,

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Jesus died for you? If you believe that Jesus died for each and every person, you easily can say,

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Jesus died for you. So how do we evangelize? Based on our view of this, it will change our evangelism.

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But the first thing I'd like to say is, everyone limits the atonement. I hate the name limited atonement. Limited atonement people limit the atonement because they limit it to the elect.

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Other people limit the atonement because we're not sure who makes it and who doesn't. I'll get to that in a minute.

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Question one, whose punishment did Christ bear?

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All men without distinction, no one in particular, or a certain number that the

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Father had given him. That's the question you've got to work through. Here's how you ask yourself the question, what was the purpose of God the

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Father sending the Son? To save all or to save some?

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If he was to save all and only save some, I'm going to argue for the next 15 minutes that Jesus' death on Calvary was a flop.

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Let me give you a few reasons why I believe in particular redemption. Limited atonement.

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This is the kind of sermon that if you candidate, you'll probably get kicked out if you teach this right away. I don't know why.

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I'm going to give you a bunch of people and you tell me what they believe, limited or unlimited. William Carey.

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Say it. David Brainerd. Hudson Taylor.

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Jonathan Edwards. Spurgeon. Calvin. That just sounds, limited, limited.

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You're not a heretic if you believe in limited atonement is my point. Let me show you a couple scriptures that show explicitly that Jesus died for not the whole world.

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Let's just do a couple quick ones. John 6, verse 37.

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I think I did a whole sermon on this a few years ago. You can always pull up the tape. Just quickly, this is a stomach turning truth.

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When I first read this, I couldn't believe it. I remember sitting on the bed talking to Kim. I was reading the

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Arthur Pink Sovereignty of God book and it says something about Jesus not dying for everyone. I about had a conniption fit.

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Kim became the five -pointer before I did in the family. I was holding on to unlimited atonement.

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Let's go to John 6, verse 37.

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The New American Standard reads, But I say to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

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All that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.

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Fast forward please to John chapter 17. John chapter 17.

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The Father had a certain group that he was going to give the Son so the Son could do the work for them.

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John chapter 17, verse 2. Even as you gave him authority over all flesh that to all whom you have given him he may give eternal life.

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The Father has a set of given ones to the Son and those are the ones the Son is going to go redeem.

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The given ones. Verse 6. We carry the same idea. I manifest your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world.

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This is pre -cross by the way. This is eternity past. They were yours and you gave them to me and they have kept your word.

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Now we move on to chapter 17, verse 9. I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world but of those whom you have given me for they are yours.

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Verse 19 please. For their sakes I sanctify myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

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And then finally verse 24, the same chapter. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am so that they may see my glory which you have given me for you who love me before the foundation of the world.

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We could look at the many in Isaiah 53. We could look at the children in John 11.

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We could look at those that have been given to him. We could look at the church, the sons, the brethren, the children, the seed, the people, his friends, his sheep.

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But there is a limiting effect of many scriptures, and even the unlimited people would believe this, of Christ's death.

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Number two. Number two. My first proof for limited atonement is several scriptures limit

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Christ's death. Now, number two. The Bible states that Christ came not to enable men to save themselves but to save sinners.

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In other words, the language of scripture is definite. Jesus did not come to make atonement possible, to make reconciliation possible, to make redemption potential, and to make propitiation obtainable.

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He came to redeem, to propitiate, to reconcile, and to atone for. They're always past tense terms.

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And I'll just give you one quick term for redemption in Hebrews 10, verse 14.

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For by one offering he has perfected for all those who are sanctified. He actually redeemed.

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You say, well, the word redeemed is not in there. How about Ephesians chapter 1, verse 7? In him we have redemption.

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Nowhere in the text does it say to make possible, to be potential. All right, we're still here in John chapter 17.

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Let me give you the third reason why I believe in limited atonement. Christ's sacrificial work cannot be separated from his intercessory work.

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Here's the idea. Jesus died for the elect, and he prays for only the elect.

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If you believe Jesus died for everyone, why does he only pray for the elect? Why is his intercessory ministry only for these people, not everyone?

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Let's go there, John chapter 17, verse 9. We were just there, so let's look again.

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I believe that there's a tie -in between Christ's sacrificial work and his intercessory prayer work.

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Why would Christ pray for only some if he died for every person, in other words?

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And again, hold in there with me. We're still going to be friends at the end of the night, even if you disagree with me. It's fine. You say,

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I don't want to join the church. If you believe that, then we should talk. But you're allowed to join, whether you're unbeloved, unlimited, or limited.

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John chapter 17, verse 9. I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world.

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Why, if Jesus died for the world, is he only asking for these? Verse 20.

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It's almost clear. I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in me through their word.

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Verse 24. Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, in order that I may behold my glory which thou hast given me.

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For thou didst love me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known thee, I have known thee.

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And these have known that thou didst send me, and I have made thy name known to them. They will make it known that the love wherein thou didst love me may be in them, and I in them.

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Romans chapter 8. Jesus is praying only for the elect.

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All right. I know what you're saying about, Father, forgive them. They do not know what to do. We'll get there in a little bit. Number 4.

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Number 4. Let's just talk about the Trinity for a minute, and go to John chapter 6.

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Let me ask you this. Does the Trinity always work together? Does the

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Father ever do something that the Son doesn't do, that the Holy Spirit doesn't do? That is to say, when they're working on the plan of redemption, are they all equal in what they desire and what their intention is?

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And so here's the thing. I remember I was driving in the car this week, and we were talking about the election, and one of the kids said,

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Well, it doesn't matter, Dad, who wins, because only three votes count. Right? The statement I used last

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Sunday. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit always vote for the same person. So here's my question to you. If the

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Holy Spirit... Now let's back up. If the Father chooses some and not all, the

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Holy Spirit makes those some regenerate. He makes them born again, but not the all.

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Will the Son die for the some, or will He die for the all? What's the answer?

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Well, you might not like the answer that I'm trying to give here, but I believe that if the Father only chooses the elect, the

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Spirit of God only regenerates the elect, why would Jesus die for more than the elect? To one -up the

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Father? No, absolutely not. If God planned for all the world to be saved, each and every person, and Jesus died for each and every person, and the

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Spirit of God was sent to make each and every person born again, I could understand it. But the

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Son is not dissatisfied because His blood is shed in vain for the majority of people?

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I don't think He's defeated. This is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given me,

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John 6 .39, I lose nothing. Every one that the

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Father gave me, I'm not going to lose. Why? Because I died for them and the rest of the world, or I just died for them.

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I think you know the answer. All right, let me give you something else.

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Again, it's kind of more logic, but there's some logic to be held. True or false?

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Jesus died for people that were in hell before He was born.

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Nicole said, At the time of our Lord's death on the cross, the eternal destiny of many reprobates had already been sealed in death and hell,

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Sodom and Gomorrah, Judas. Can we suppose that our Lord died with the intent of burying the sins of those who were then and there in hell?

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If not, He did not die for all. Did Jesus die for Goliath?

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For the people of the Tower of Babel? Nimrod? Next point, and then time is fleeting.

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Does God demand double payment? Is there double jeopardy with God? Proverbs 11 says,

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A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.

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Listen to what Top Lady said of Rock of Ages, Payment cannot God twice demand.

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First at my bleeding surety's hand, and then again at mine. God's not a

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God who perverts justice. God says, I'm going to demand punishment. You've sinned, and either you have to pay for your sins in hell, or Jesus will pay for them.

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And you'll say, Alright, I know what you're going to say, so let me anticipate it. Why is Judas in hell today?

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Anyone? Judas, I think, is in hell for sure. I think people from Sodom and Gomorrah are in hell for sure.

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Saul may be debatable, etc. But why is Judas in hell today? Pardon me?

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The sin of unbelief. I have a question, by the way. Thank you for that little, you know, it's late in the day, for that slow ball,

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Steve, the sin of unbelief. If you believe that Judas is in hell today,

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Jesus paid for all his sins, except for the sin of unbelief, what have you done? There's two things that you've done.

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Judas is in hell today, Jesus paid for his sins, but he's still in hell. He's got to be in hell for some reason, so he's in for unbelief.

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What else have you done when you think that way? You've done two things, Steve. One, you've created two classes of sin, because sin manifests itself oftentimes in the sin of unbelief.

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Unbelief is a sin. By the way, I'm very glad Jesus died for my sin of unbelief, because for 29 years, I was an unbelieving person.

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What else have you done when you say Jesus died for each and every person, yet Judas is still in hell?

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Weakened the cross, okay? Jesus died for somebody and he didn't make it, but here's what I'm after. Is there any punishment in hell that has degrees?

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Are there degrees of punishment in hell, or is everybody in hell today for just one sin? They're just in hell for one sin, the sin of unbelief.

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You have to be very careful before we say, Jesus died for each and every person.

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You say, well, yes, but what about the world? What about the alls? I'm glad you asked the question, and we're going to close with that.

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There are two general words that are used. One word is world, and one word is all.

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Now, here's my point, and then we'll look at a couple, then we'll be dismissed. Are there difficulties in the doctrine of the

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Trinity? Are there difficulties when we look at Jesus as a man and say, how could he be man and still

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God? Are the difficulties there? So here's my question. When you see those verses that are difficult, do you say,

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I'll look at those verses in light of the many verses that are clear, or I'll look in light of the many verses that are clear, then

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I'll take a look at this. That is to say, if I'm not saying it correctly, when you have a difficult doctrine, do you interpret the hard verses in light of the many easy ones, or do you interpret the many easy ones in light of the hard doctrines?

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The doctrine of the Trinity, which one do you do? You interpret the hard verses in light of the many easy ones,

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Jesus is God, the Father is God, the Son is God. How about the deity of Christ? You interpret verses that are difficult regarding the deity of Christ in light of all the verses that are plain and blatant,

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Jesus is God, He's eternal God, He's Emmanuel and all those things. You do that, don't you? You interpret the few in light of the many.

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Now, here's my question for you who believe in unlimited atonement. Why do you switch now? Why do you interpret the few verses, for God so loved the world, a propitiation for not only sins but even of the world, why do you interpret the few not in light of the many?

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You interpret the many in light of the few. Why do you do that? Because it suits your theology. I think that's why you do it. 1

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John, let's quickly go there. Everyone says this is the verse that makes you not believe in unlimited atonement, not believe in limited atonement.

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1 John 2, we can look through all these verses. As a matter of fact, you can get Smitten's works on the apostles' view of the atonement.

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He goes through every verse that deals with the atonement. And what was the intention? Is Jesus' intention to die for the elect?

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Or is Jesus' intention to die for everybody who was ever born? You say, you didn't do a good job tonight explaining it all.

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There's all kinds of books that you can read. I recommend Boyce and Rykin's book on the doctrines of grace. There's a great chapter there that you should read.

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And you should know that this is not hyper -Calvinism. This is just historic Calvinism, historic

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Bible teaching. 1 John 2. Don't forget verse 10 of the previous chapter.

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If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children,

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I'm writing 1 John 2, 1, these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the

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Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also those of the whole world.

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I have a question for you. If Jesus fully satisfied the wrath of God for each and every person that was ever born, is there anybody in hell today?

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The answer is there can't be. So what is He trying to say? Here's what you have to do. You have to say, huh, the word world is used over 100 times with 8 different meanings.

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Is it the globe? Is it terra firma? Is it the cosmos, the evil world system?

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Is it humankind? Is it each and every person that was ever born? Or is it the non -Jews?

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Here it's very simple. He is a propitiation for our sins and not only ours, but also of the whole world.

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He's not just a Savior of the Jews, He's the Savior of the Gentiles too.

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And you say, that's kind of convenient for you to say. 1 Timothy 2, last verse we're going to look at, and then we're going to have to go,

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I don't know where we're going to, but we're going to have to go. 1 Timothy 2, and you say, what's the big deal about this?

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The whole world versus not the whole world. Many times the word world is used for Gentiles.

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And if that doesn't strike you as odd, then let me show you 1 Timothy 2 without giving away my sermon for next week.

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We're to pray for all these different kinds of people. Verse 5 of 1 Timothy 2. For there is one

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God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.

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Who are those all? The all is verse 1. You can go back to verse 1 of chapter 2.

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First of all, then I urge entreaties, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made on behalf of all men.

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You mean each and every person I pray for in the world? No. These kinds of men. For kings, verse 2, and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

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This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved. What do you mean all men?

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Each and every person? Does Jesus desire each and every person who is ever born to be saved? No. These kind of kings and those in authority.

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He desires those kind of men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Therefore he gave himself a ransom for those kind of all.

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By the way, the Greek word all can be all, all manner of, all kinds of, all sorts of. Then listen.

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Who gave himself as a ransom for all the testimony given at the proper time. Verse 7. For this

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I was appointed a preacher and an apostle as a teacher of the

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Gentiles in faith and truth. What part did I miss of that verse? What part did I not say of verse 7?

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I'm telling the truth, I'm not lying. Why would Paul say that? Does he lie sometimes in his epistles? I'm telling the truth,

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I'm not lying. Why would he say that? I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the

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Gentiles. I'm not lying. You think it's just for the Jews, but I'm an apostle to the Gentiles.

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Peter goes off and he takes care of the Jews. I'm an apostle of the Gentiles. It is so crazy, so out there, that you're going to think

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I'm lying if that's not true. If you see the word world and you say, therefore

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I believe in unlimited atonement. Friends, you don't remember that the word world can mean not just each and every person, not just the evil world system, but also that it can mean the non -Jew.

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John chapter 4. Hey guys, come and take a look at this man. He told me every sin

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I ever did, you know, with all my husbands and ex -husbands and current husbands and all those people. And then they come running back and they said, you know what, we've seen it for ourselves, woman at the well.

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Jesus isn't just the Savior of the Jews. He's the Savior of the world.

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We all go to heaven now. We're all universalists because He's the Savior of the world. Is that what He's trying to say?

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Absolutely not. The word all can mean all manner of, all kind of. The word world can be used five, six, seven, up to eight different ways.

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So when you say, for God so loved the world, you need to ask yourself the question, for God so loved the globe, for God so loved the evil world system, for God so loved humankind, for God so loved each and every person, for God so loved the elect, for God so loved the non -Jews, that He gave

01:00:15

His only begotten Son, that those believing in Him should not perish. I believe that Jesus limits the atonement because the

01:00:24

Father gives Him the elect. And so Jesus dies for these elect.

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And then the Spirit of God takes these elect and makes them come to faith. If you believe that Jesus died for each and every person, you're welcome to be at this church.

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You're welcome to interact. I didn't give you every possible reason tonight for that doctrine.

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But we believe that if Jesus dies for somebody on Calvary, they will be saved.

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And by the way, if you've got an unbeliever, for a friend or a mother or a sister or a brother who's not a

01:00:56

Christian, believe me, if God has chosen them before time and the Son has died for them 2 ,000 years ago, then the

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Spirit of God will, in fact, make them born again. No matter what.

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It's not this, Jesus died for everybody and now is a gentleman knocking at the door waiting for you to make the first step.

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Just, you know, I'm just going to kind of coax you along. Jesus will not be dissatisfied.

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Well, why don't we pray and we will be dismissed. Thank you, Lord, for tonight.

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Thank you that we can look to your word. Lord, I pray for some of those tonight who don't believe this doctrine, who believe that your

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Son died for each and every person. I just pray that we'd have good unity at this church, that we would not have this somehow divide or we'd create two camps or anything like that.

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I just am thankful that we have dear people who want to hear the Bible taught on Sunday night and I pray that you'd bless these people.

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And, Lord, if I'm right, it's not because I'm right, because I'm smart, because you've revealed these things to me.

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And I personally am thankful, though, Lord, that if you have sent your Son to die for someone, they will be saved.

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It gives me hope for my kids. It gives me hope for these dear people's loved ones. And, Lord, you're not waiting for us to do anything because you would wait forever.

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Instead, you are the God who works and who wills and who dies. And if we have no free will, we need a

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Savior like you because we're in bondage to sin and we need a Savior who will die for our sins and be raised from the dead.