I Have Decided To Follow Jesus

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. Mike Abendroth here with Steve Cooley. Were you just talking about spam? Oh, yes, spam. I love it. What does spam actually mean? Do we know what spam means?

It�s an acronym, is it? Yes, it�s unwanted, unsolicited email. And you know, when you think about spam, it�s unwanted, unsolicited, unidentifiable meat, so that�s, right? Is that it? Yeah, it comes in a can, of course.

You never ate spam growing up? Well, we did some. My dad really liked it. I think he ate it a lot in Korea. Here it says, �Irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the internet to a large number of recipients.

See, I don�t know about irrelevant, because it may be relevant, but it�s not you didn�t ask for it. You know, you just I mean, we get spam at the church, and sometimes it�s relevant, but I�m just like, I�m not going to respond or do anything to this because I don�t want to verify the fact that you�ve got a good email address, and frankly, I want to know how you got this so that I can get myself off that other list or give that person, you know, kind of a peace of my mind.

Please don�t do that.

Spam is big in Hawaii. Did you know that? It�s got all kinds of different flavors and stuff.

Well, because the cost of living is so high over there, they probably have to eat spam to get by. I mean, you know, we had a couple here that moved from BBC, against the Lord�s will, to Hawaii and, you know, got a teardown house for $500 ,000.

Teardown, you know. Yeah. Well, I would say who they are, but we don�t mention their name anymore.

Because we want to protect their identity.

The unuttered tetragrammaton. We love them. They�re great. They were here not too long ago. Steve, anything else going on new with you? You writing any books, speaking any schedules?

No, the only thing exciting in my life is just, you know, we�re anticipating a new grandchild. Number six. Six, yeah. It�s hard to keep track of. Seriously. In fact, you know, when I got a text, we were in Seattle, and we�re in this, what do you call them, when a building�s all made out of, like, copper, and it blocks all the signals going in there.

There�s some kind of technical. I just had it in my head here a minute ago. It doesn�t matter. Doma silence. Yeah. Kona silence. There�s a technical term for it anyway, but we�re inside this thing, but I do get this text, and it�s from my son-in-law, and he says, you know, call ASAP kind of thing.

And I�m like, okay. When I finally talked to him, I said, by the way, you know, when my daughter is seven and a half months pregnant, please don�t send me a text. But that was the bad news, or the good news, that she�s fine, but it was something else that we were talking about.

But anyway. What is that called when it�s all copper, and there�s an impenetrable.

Steve Jr. was talking about it, and there�s a name, a person�s name, and it has to do with the fact that nothing can get in or out, and it�s� Daniel Boone.

Not even close. Not even close. Why was it when you and I were growing up, I mean, the coonskin cap, Daniel Boone, Davy.

Crockett. From the coonskin cap on the top of old Dan.

To the heel of his rawhide shoe. Yeah, that�s it. The rippin�s, roarin�s, fightin�s man. The frontier. The frontier this country ever knew. Maybe it�s country. The country never, yeah.

Ever knew, yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, I watched an episode. It was probably about six months ago. I think I was sick or something, because I�m never looking around on the gospel channels, and they had Daniel Boone on there.

Good moralism. And he saved George Washington, President George Washington, from being assassinated.

Well, Davy Crockett, he was king of the wild frontier. Killed a bear when he was only three.

Did you know that? Yeah, but I was. I mean, growing up, we watched Daniel Boone. My brother loved that show. My brother�s quite the outdoorsman.

I�m the indoorsman of the family. Okay. All right. Well, last time we were looking at ladders, Jacob�s Ladder, and it was a song, because we found some old song sheets here at Bethlehem Bible Church, entitled Preferred Songs, okay?

These are preferred songs. Now, if you go to the back, it says, �The Story of Preferred Risk. So, it says, �Alcohol is the worst single killer on our highways. Why should non-drinkers help pay for accidents of those who drink?

Why not offer insurance for non-drinkers only? Preferred Risk Mutual has grown from three employees to more than 1 ,000 employees and over 1 ,600 agents serving policyholders in most of the continental United States.

In addition to auto insurance, also provides insurance for homes and churches. If you are a non-drinker, you belong with Preferred Risk Group. And so, what they thought they would do is they would send out 29 songs in this tri-fold little brochure that churches, oh, no more than tri-fold, quad-fold, that people could sing for non-drinkers.

For the non-drinkers.

So, don�t be a bibber.

What would it be with that Acts 2 kind of new wine song? What would that mean?

What would �Fill My Cup, Lord� be? Pete S. Well, with grape juice. I think it�s actually in here.

Here it is. �Fill my cup, Lord, like the woman at the well I was seeking, for things that could not satisfy. I thought that was Boone�s Farm. Pete S. It was water, though, the woman at the well. Pete S. Oh, and then I heard my Savior speaking, �Draw from my well that shall never run dry.

Pete S. See? It�s water. Pete S. There are millions in this world who are craving the pleasure earthly things afford, but none can match the wondrous treasure that I find in Jesus Christ my Lord. Pete S. That part�s true.

Pete S. Yeah, it is true. Pete S. Okay. �So, my brother, if the things this world gave you� and be 20 -20 �leave hungers that won�t pass by, my blessed Lord will come and save you if you kneel to Him and humbly pray.

Fill my cup, Lord. I lift it up, Lord. Pete S. Wow. Pete S. That�s good for preferred insurance. I still can�t believe an insurance company catering to churches with Welch�s Grape Juice for Communion, designed by a Methodist, would buy such a thing.

Pete S. Yeah, drinking. Pete S. All right. Well, here�s what I wanted to do. Pete S. Don�t drink. Pete S. I don�t want to do that song. Pete S. No, you don�t. Pete S. I wanted to do. �I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.

Pete S. And this is not the Amy Grant version.

This is a different song. Pete S. No, this is what was that guy�s name? What�s that lady singer? She�s from Canada, and she�s singing that. Pete S. Ann Murray. Pete S. Ann Murray. What song did Ann Murray sing?

Pete S. Oh, Snowbird. Pete S. Oh, that is awful. To me, Ann Murray and Phoebe Snow, they were all like in the same category of some bad folk song. Pete S. Yeah, I don�t know.

Phoebe Snow was quite. Pete S. I�m a poetry man. Pete S. Well, she also sang �Didn�t She �I�ve Had a Long Streak of Bad Luck.

Pete S. Who was that, Ann or Phoebe? Pete S. Phoebe. Phoebe Snow, I think. She had a few different songs. She wasn�t Pete S. Wasn�t Phoebe named after that Bible character, Phoebe? Pete S. Probably.

Pete S. Roman 16? Pete S. Yeah, and then she, you know, didn�t get saved.

Pete S. What do you do if your parents named you after a Bible character and then you don�t have anything to do with the Bible?

Pete S. My parents did. They did name me after a Bible character. Pete S. Me too. Pete S. Yeah. Michelangelo, right? They named me after and I didn�t really know it until I started reading the Bible, you know?

Pete S. Did they say Acts, you know? Book of Acts or Stephen? Pete S. No, that�s not why they named me Steve, you know? So, yeah. Michelangelo, so. Pete S. Was it an angel, Stephen? Stefanos? Pete S. No.

No, no. No, it was one of my dad�s friends, so. Pete S. Okay.

The Response of Faith and Repentance

Today, we�d like to talk about the gospel and then the response, and of course, when I read a lyric like this, I have decided to follow Jesus, times one, times two, times three, no turning back, no turning back.

Before we talk about the sovereignty of God side, Steve, is there a side of human responsibility where you actually do decide to follow Jesus? Would it be appropriate to say, I don�t mean it�s in total truth, but is it appropriate to say, I believed, I repented, I decided?

Steve. It is appropriate to do that.

I mean, I don�t really like the I decided thing because I think it gives me more credit than I deserve, but yes, I believed, you know, absolutely. You are responsible to believe, are you not? Yes. Are you responsible to repent?

Yes. So, yes, man is responsible. I think I have decided is almost like, you know, I weighed the pros and cons and I have decided to follow Jesus.

Pete I�m the ultimate factor in this. Steve I�m the arbiter, you know. Pete No, you�ll see language in the Old Testament, choose this day who you�ll serve. Steve Right. Pete Right? You�ll see things like that.

I personally don�t include the word decide either when I give a testimony or when I give a call to salvation. Today is the day you need to decide because I would much rather hide behind a biblical word that�s more often used in the New Testament, believe.

I mean, we don�t see in the New Testament, you know, decide you this day whom you will serve. You know, we don�t choose you this day whom you will serve.

We don�t see that. Pete. So, when I say to myself, how did I get saved, Mike? I then say, well, that was that one day in 1989. I decided things weren�t going so well and I had to get things right with the Lord and it�s I this, I that.

I don�t I think that�s a bad way to go. Steve. Do you refer to yourself in the second and third person when you�re talking to yourself? How did you get saved, Mike?

Is that does that really. Pete. Well, this is for radio. Steve. Oh, OK. Pete. And, you know, when I tweet things with NoCo in the third person, it�s just it�s me, but it�s a radio show.

Steve. It�s a little Trumpian of you, you know, third person.

Pete That�s true. Bo Jackson, we do the same thing. Pete Well, and I don�t blame Bo.

You know, I mean, Bo knows a lot of things.

So Steve Maybe even LeBron did that the other night too. Pete He probably did, yeah. Steve He said �we� a couple times.

Pete Yeah. Steve Uh-huh. Pete Well, I think there�s no doubt LeBron doesn�t win that game without some help. So Steve That�s true.

On average, I will use the words believe and repent. I think in the old days, I might say follow. Today, I don�t really say it too much. I would say, do you believe enough to follow? That�s a good way to think of modern saving of saving faith in a modern term because there�s no difference really between the word believe in a false messiah and believe in the real messiah except maybe Acts 16 .31 where you believe unto the Lord Jesus.

Pete I think I�ve said things like what would stop you from believing today, you know, things like that, you know. So.

Steve Let�s talk a little bit more about this man side, the response to the gospel. What man is responsible to do and of course, when God makes you alive, he bears you again. You are able to respond. We understand that when we talk about salvation.

But here�s man�s side which commonly is called conversion. How does it go about, Steve, in some person�s mind where they say, �Well, I don�t believe. I don�t believe. I don�t believe. I don�t believe.

But I�m really going to decide to believe. Left to themselves with a statement like that, that�s more Kierkegaardian, isn�t it? This kind of leap of blind faith then, well, no, I�m really going to now begin to trust in the Messiah.

In other words, this has to be a work of God because how could people come up with their own faith in what? I will believe this now and I�ll.

Pete. Right. Or suddenly get enough information to sort of tip the scales, you know, in Jesus� favor.

That�s just false. Steve. How about if I use this analogy? I personally do not like steak that�s cooked very much and what if I said to myself, �Today, we�re going to go have steak. Trevor Burrus. You�d say Mike.

Steve. I�d say Mike. That�s right. We�re going to go to the Capitol Grill or we�re going to go to Outback or we�re going to go to Ruth Chris Steakhouse or someplace that�s nice. I don�t really think Outback is the nicest but there are some evangelical speakers.

Trevor Burrus. It�s in my budget. Steve. There are some evangelical speakers that require Outbacks for lunch. Steve. Yes. I know who that person is. The same person that requires first-class accommodation.

Trevor Burrus It�s probably because he likes the grilled cheese sandwiches at Outback. Steve Maybe.

Actually, the other day, I took my family to there�s a nice dairy queen in town here in West Boylston. Some of the church young teens work there. It�s clean. It�s nice and we went for some dipped cones or something and they serve little pieces of toast with their fries or burgers or something.

It�s kind of like a Texas dairy queen toast. It looked good. I was jonesing for the carbos. Anyway, what if I were to say I like rare steak. I don�t want any other kind of steak but I�m going to make myself today, my own power switch and I�m going to like it fully cooked all the way, well done, charred.

How could I make myself like a different kind of food or food differently prepared?

Trevor Burrus. Well, I don�t know. It would be difficult but, hey, given enough A1 steak, all things are possible. Or A1 steak sauce.

Steve I cannot believe for years I put ketchup on a nice steak in Nebraska.

How did that work? Trevor Burrus. It�s funny because I would always put ketchup on my hamburger and on my liver but not on a steak but A1 occasionally would cross my steak and now I would never do that.

Steve Now, I just do salt, some butter and salt. But if I cannot make myself like, I don�t know what it is, red beets. Trevor Burrus. Brussels sprouts. Steve Yeah, even with beets. I don�t like red beets at all but they�re good for bicyclers and I begin to drink beet juice and I hate it but I just guzzle it anyway.

I cannot make myself love beets. Brussels sprouts, those aren�t too bad if they�re cooked well. Watch it.

Trevor Burrus. There are just some things in life I just can�t.

Steve I don�t make them that often because it stinks up the whole house but when you�re actually eating them, it tastes pretty good. A little olive oil or a little butter, a little some bacon juice.

Trevor Burrus. Some things I�ve really learned to like that. I never thought I would like, asparagus. My wife, the way my wife does it is absolutely wonderful.

Steve. But if I cannot make myself like a different food, how could I make myself, to use the words of a Puritan writer, love what I used to hate and hate what I used to love. Or I�m hating, as an unbeliever, I�m hating God right now.

I want to love him. That has to be a supernatural act of God.

Trevor Burrus. How do you make yourself hate sin and hate all the coarse jokes and all the things that you used to find so funny. Now all of a sudden, you not only don�t laugh, you get sort of bugged by them.

Steve. Well, I would think for most people who aren�t Christians, they would say to themselves, �Well, you know, if I get my girlfriend pregnant, well, you�re going to have an abortion, right? That�s just the way of the world.

That�s just the way people talk. You can�t get some kid in the way. We don�t even have a commitment. We just want to sleep together. And then all of a sudden you go, �No, but now I�m going to make my pragmatic self hate abortion and love protecting the life of this defenseless baby boy or girl.

Trevor Burrus. It doesn�t happen. Not on your own. And you�re just not going to do it because you have a nature, and your nature chooses what it wants. And what it wants is sin.

Paul. So, while Steve and I heartily agree that man is responsible to believe and repent and that man, in fact, does repent and believe because God doesn�t do that for him, Satan doesn�t do it, your wife doesn�t do it for you, we affirm prior to that that God has to make people born again, and then that new nature begins to love what they used to hate and believe what they used to think was ridiculous.

Trevor Burrus. And then Mike believes.

Paul. And then Mike believes.

Regeneration Before Faith

First John chapter 5. You know, there was a time when Mike would read First John chapter 5 verse 1, and Mike would say to himself, �Self. First John 5 verse 1, �Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.

In other words, if you�d like to know what comes first, regeneration or faith, regeneration, the work of God, monergistic work of God, and faith is certainly a gift of God, but it�s something that the person must do.

God in his word teaches, and even if you want to go for logic, you have to have regeneration prior to faith.

That�s what we teach. Mike. It�s a consistent testimony of scripture.

Trevor. Now, there�s a different way to look at things, Steve. There�s a logical way to look at it and a chronological way to look at it. Can you kind of walk through chronologically, I mean, can you be regenerate and not a believer?

I mean, is it like, you know, a three-step process, a four-second delay? Would Mike have to be regenerate and then believe? Steve. So, tell us the difference between the logic of thinking through this and then the chronological.

Mike. Well, I mean, logically, well, let�s start with the chronological because it�s probably better that way. Chronologically, if God causes you to be born again, you know, he regenerates you, he brings you from spiritual death to spiritual life, can there be a period of time in which you don�t believe?

And I think the answer is no, because once you�ve got those new desires, that new nature, all the things that you, you know, once thought were foolishness now become the very bread of life to you, you know, more important to you than anything else.

And you know, it�s like, for the first time, you see things as they really are and you don�t then, you�re no longer suppressing the truth and unrighteousness. You want salvation. You want to believe in Jesus Christ because you have that new nature.

So, is there a time during which you�re regenerate and not a believer? And I think the answer is no, you know. So, I think those two are so close in proximity that it would be indiscernible.

Jared Steve, I agree. Logically, you�ve got to have regeneration preceding faith, right, because in the flesh there�s no good thing and no one can come up with their own faith. They�re dead in trespasses and sins.

They need to be made alive. But the immediate instantaneous response probably can�t even be measured within a millisecond is faith. So, logically, one precedes the other and chronologically, they probably happen simultaneously, right?

So, when I think to myself, �Mike, how would you say�? When I look at 1 Peter 1, �Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope.

What our listeners need to be reminded of is that the cause of your salvation is God�s mercy, grace, and love. He�s the one that did that. Your faith doesn�t cause you to be saved. When you say, �I�ve decided to follow Jesus you�re not letting God now save you.

If you ever say, �I�ve decided to follow Jesus I think you�re already saved.

And I just, you know, on a broader note, if I could just say what I don�t like about this song is there�s just lots of �it�s all about me. This is a song talking about �me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me.

You know, and it�s just very uncomfortable.

Jared. If you do talk that way, and sometimes the Psalms do, they say, �Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike. But even if David, you�ll almost every time see the corner turned where David then will lift up his eyes to the hills to see whence his salvation, from whence his salvation comes.

He�ll say, �You know what? Now I see things from your perspective.

Pete. You know, how does this not sound like boasting? �Though none go with me, I still will follow. Jared I think Peter said that, didn�t he?

Can you imagine? Stephen�s, I mean, Peter wants to get warmed in the garden there. He left the garden and he�s back in Jerusalem. He wants to be warmed and everything. And that girl is like, �Wait a second.

It�s kind of dark, and there�s a fire, and I think, is that the guy? I think that�s the guy who�s with Jesus. Wait a second. She must have been thinking for a few minutes, pondering, �Hey, aren�t you with the Galilean?

You�re the guy with the Galilean, right And then what�s Peter say? He didn�t say just, �No. He�s like, �Uh, I don�t really know what you�re talking about. It�s so lame.

Pete Yeah, he goes into full criminal denial, you know?

I mean Jared And it shows you how weak we are because Peter just earlier, I don�t know how many minutes ago. Pete He was singing this song. Jared He was singing this song, and he�s cutting off Malchus�s ear, aiming for his head.

Pete. �Though none will cut off Malchus�s ear, I will.� You know?

Jared That�s exactly right. Pete So on No Compromise Radio today, we�re talking about regeneration and faith, and we certainly affirm people have to we�re not hyper-Calvinist. You have to believe. You have to repent.

But there�s two sides of the equation. There�s God�s sovereign working, and underneath that is man�s responsibility. Man needs help from God, though. He needs 100 percent help from God, a complete change of nature because the fall is so pervasive.

The fall is so deadly, and so man has no ability to respond. He needs to be made alive so he can respond.

Pete So would you say it�s fair to say we are hyper and we are Calvinist, but we�re not hyper-Calvinist?

Jared. Today I feel hyper. I haven�t eaten, and I�ve had plenty of coffee. And when I say help, I don�t mean God helps those who help themselves. I mean, you know, at the right time, God has a sun die for the helpless, right?

Kind of Romans 5 language, help meaning 100 percent help.

Jared I don�t mean throw out the life line. Pete. Yeah, you did a nice job of, you know, pulling that one out of the fire. I actually had somebody say to me yesterday on Facebook, well, you know, God helps those who help themselves.

And so I said, well, that�s not even close to what the Bible says. The Bible says quite the opposite, that while we were helpless.

Jared. Well, when I want to quote a pagan, Benjamin Franklin, God helps those who help themselves. I say, Mike, why would you? Can you believe it? First Peter, though, he�s caused us to be born again.

Now, we�ve got only a few minutes left, Steve, but doesn�t that fuel praise? What if it was up to us alone to decide to follow Jesus? Who gets the credit? Who gets the praise? And whom do we boast versus the other way around?

Pete Well, if you could say, Mike caused me to be born again. Pete No, that�s exactly right.

I mean, what Jared. I would sound like LeBron winning the championship.

I did it myself. Pete. What elicits the most praise? And isn�t that, if you just read the Old Testament, if you just understand how God desires to be praised, because it is right to praise him, then, you know, and then you look at salvation, you just think, well, what gives God the most praise?

I determined to follow Jesus or God caused me to be born again to a new hope, you know, to a living faith, which causes the most praise, and it�s obvious. It�s God goes first, and that�s what the Bible teaches.

Pete. Praise Mike, from whom all blessings flow. How can I sing that when I can�t even sing? Friends, if you�re a Christian, God made you a Christian, and then you responded with thank you, the belief of I trust you, I believe of thank you, that kind of thing.

Pete. And he doesn�t wear you down with his infinite wooing. He transforms you in an instant so that you believe.

Jared Trying to say this was an arranged marriage? Pete Yeah, from before the foundation of the world. Jared Mike Abendroth, Steve Cooley, No Compromise Radio. We�ll see you soon.