Called To Love God

Romans 9:

22  What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

23  in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory--

24  EVEN US WHOM HE HAS CALLED, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Romans 8:

28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, FOR THOSE WHO ARE CALLED according to his purpose.

29  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

30  And those whom he predestined HE ALSO CALLED, AND THOSE WHOM HE CALLED he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

32  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

33  Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

34  Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Romans 8:28 is an oft maligned verse as the last half of the sentence is usually never read or taught in conjunction with the first half. Paul in laying the foundation of the letter to the Romans, (1:18-32 and 3:10-18), makes it very clear that the entirety of fallen mankind, (jew or gentile) does not inherently have a love for God.
John in his first letter (chapter 4) reveals that the proof of our love for God is demonstrated by our love for His saints, i.e. for one another. He also makes it plain that we are incapable of loving God or His people without God first loving us:

1John 4:

9  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

10  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

19 We love because He first loved us.

This is in perfect agreement with the apostle Paul:

Romans 5:

6  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

7  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--

8  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So how does one who does not seek God at all, come to claim a genuine love for Him?

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Paul is speaking in respect to the saints alone, i.e. the called out, the ekklesia..

For all things to work to our good, we must be called, as all things work for good solely to those who love God, and only the called love God. Therefore if one loves God, (and subsequently one knows that all things are working to one’s good), then one is “called by Him according to His purpose”

Not only are the called loved by God and they return that love, they are justified and

glorified in Christ as a result of their calling.

Who then are the called?

The called are those whom are predestined by God to be conformed to the image of His Son.

                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Who are the predestined                                                                                               

Those whom the Father foreknew in Christ, from before the foundation of the world.          
 (Ephesians 1:3-12)

God’s foreknowledge is not confined to knowledge of our future actions or decisions.

Romans 8:33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

In this statement Paul is letting the reader know that in all that he has written prior to this, (and subsequently in all the he writes after) he has been speaking of the “elect”. Therefore God’s foreknowledge of the saints is based on the fact that He first chose them. God’s foreknowledge, which is essential to His being omniscient, is based on the fact that he has already decreed it to be. If this were not so, if He did not first love those whom He had chosen, and then sent His Son to redeem them, no one could claim to love God. All things are initiated by and from God in Christ.

God’s love is demonstrated in His election, and both His love and his election are without any prerequisite that we must fulfill, i.e. they are given without condition. He bestows salvation sovereignly, according to His will, purpose and good pleasure.

Romans 9:

10  And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,

11  though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls--

12  she was told, "The older will serve the younger."

13  As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Only the foreknown elect, predestined to the image of the last Adam, who is the express image of God, (1 Cor 15:45; Colossians 1:15) are loved by the Father (John 16:27) and are therefore able to return that love.

So let us walk in a manner worthy of our calling. (Ephesians 4:1)
That as the Father meets all our needs, and accomplishes His purposes in us and for us, causing all circumstances to work together for good, we demonstrate that we are the called, chosen by Him in Christ, and show that we are truly His by loving one another, thus proclaiming our love for Him.

1John 3:1a  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are……….

John 13:35  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Luke 10:27  And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

Romans 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:

38  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,

39  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Rev 19:7-9; The Righteousness Of The Saints

Rev 19:

6  Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

7  Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;

8  it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure -- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9  And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."

The bride is given her wedding garment, (it was granted her to clothe herself), which are the righteous deeds of the saints, from the Greek word; dikaiōma, i.e. righteous deeds, the deeds which are the product of having been justified in Christ and having His righteousness imputed to us solely by the sovereign will and purpose of the Father, and for no other reason than that.

This ties into;

Ephesians 2:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Also to what James is speaking of regarding faith and works;

   James 2:                                                                                                                            

18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Our deeds do not save us, but the post-conversion work of the saints is evidence that the finished work of Christ's atoning death, which is the justification of the saints, is at work in the lives of the saints.
Now the city, the New Jerusalem, is the bride (Rev 21:2 and 9-11), but the city consists of those who inhabit it, which we will and do. That is why she is clothed in our righteous deeds. We are the ones saved solely by God's grace through election in Christ, and our deeds display His righteousness. We do not perform any work to justify ourselves, sanctify ourselves nor to make ourselves "better" people, thus more pleasing to God. All he has placed in Christ are pleasing to Him, since Christ is the one in whom He is well pleased. (Matthew 3:17; Hebrews 11:6; Hebrews 12:2a)

This stands in sharp contrast to the earthly Jerusalem which Paul describes:

Galatians 4:
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.
24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.
25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
27 For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband."
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
30 But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman."
31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

The earthly Jerusalem is enslaved to the law/legalism, that is, works righteousness, and the citizenry are constantly laboring under the burden of this self-righteousness, to redeem themselves before God. The heavenly (New) Jerusalem, the free woman, is our mother and we are born again children, not by our choosing, but by the Father's sovereign will.
The earthly Jerusalem reflects the glory of man which is no glory at all (2 Cor 3:7-11)
The New Jerusalem displays the glory of God the Father, pointing to the glorified bridegroom, that is the Son.
The righteousness of the saints is His righteousness imputed to us, thus the bride is given her wedding garment by the Lord.
The garment which consists or man’s (self) righteousness is a soiled and stained rag, and no one gets into the wedding feast in such attire.

                               Isaiah64:                                                                                                                                             6  We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Matthew 22:

11  "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12  And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. 13  Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14  For many are called, but few are chosen."

Rev 21:

22  And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

23  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

24  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,

25  and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there.

26  They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

27  But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Christ Crucified; The Bread Of Life-Against The Leaven Of The Phariseess

Luke 12:1 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (hupokrisis i.e. pretension/pretending- hupokrite?s-literally an actor a stage player).

Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Note that Paul's use of the same statement in 1 Cor 5:1-8 deals specifically with a specific sin in a matter of sexual immorality)

The use of the word leaven as metaphor is found many times throughout scripture. Most commonly, the term "leaven" is thought to be used exclusively as a metaphor for sin. This is simply not so (See Luke 13:20-21)
As always, context determines meaning. In the above cited passages,both Jesus and Paul are using the term in conjunction with the same activity.The Lord says that the leaven of the pharisees/legalists is hypocrisy.Paul says that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. He is speaking of the leaven of the legalist/pharisees which permeates throughout that entire lump of dough.This dough representing both individual man and church,as well as the doctrines of grace, the gospel based in the scriptures, which is the Word of God.
The leaven written of by Paul is that very same hypocrisy spoken of by Christ. (Matthew 23)
The false doctrine of justification,sanctification,righteousness,i.e. salvation by works of the Law,any code, is the hypocritical leaven of the pharisees,or in today's church, the neo-pharisaical judaizers.
Salvation is a grace/faith issue, predicated upon God's sovereign (pre-creation) decree of election in Christ of all who will believe. Paul writes in Romans 14:23b; "For whatever (everything) does not proceed from faith is sin."
So then this hypocritical, man centered leaven is also sin, as it does not proceed from faith.
The "dough" is spoken of by Paul in several of his letters;

1Cor 1:
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God

1Cor 2:
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.
7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Galatians 2:
19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Paul also gives us an excellent description of those who would try and work the leaven into the lump;

Galatians 6:
12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
To this Paul proclaims the Lord's "recipe" for the making of the true unleavened bread;

Galatians 6:
14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.( 1Cor 10:17;John 6:50-51)

Today our admonition to the saints is the same as in Paul's day and must be spoken with the same urgency;

Galatians 3:
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

The gospel is defined as salvation wrought in and through the obedient work of Christ alone. The only work which saves. Any teaching that attempts to add man's participation into the mix is leaven,which has its' origins in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 3:5 and 3:22)
Salvation is God's sovereign domain, man has no say in the matter. That which produces doctrinal hot air,(the cause of the lump becoming "puffed up") is the hypocrisy of those who would pretend to perform the work of salvation, thus becoming their own god.

Genesis 3:
22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever--"

Man will never be allowed to touch the "tree of life" of his own volition.
Beware the leaven of the pharisees.
Soli Deo Gloria

Of Thieves And Shepherds

John 10:

1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Without a doubt John 10:10 is one of the most misinterpreted and wrongly taught scriptures in all the Bible.This passage is not referring to Satan as is commonly preached in modern evangelical churches, especially by the prosperity preachers. John 10 is a continuation of the events which began in chapter 9. Jesus is speaking both to, and of, the pharisees. This is the overall context;chapters 9 and 10 go together.

John chapter 10 contains three references by the Lord to the "thief".

Looking at 10:1,the thief is a MAN who sneaks into the sheep pen by another way other than through the door/gate. That man is declared to be a thief and a robber.

The gate is guarded by the gatekeeper. The gate keeper opens the way to the true shepherd alone, and the sheep will only follow the voice of the true shepherd (verses 2 and 3). The gatekeeper and the flock give recognition to the true shepherd only. This then leads to the conclusion that the thief is not the shepherd of these sheep and indeed never was.

In 10:8,the Lord declares that ALL who came before Him are thieves and robbers.

By His using the plural form,especially the use of the word "all", Jesus is now revealing that this is not restricted to merely one man, but that there were, and are many thieves and robbers. In fact he says all that came before Him ar thieves and robbers. Fortunately the sheep did not listen to them.

Verse 10 gets to the heart of the matter. The one who is a thief seeks only to plunder, murder, and pillage. Thieves desire the acquisition of everything they can get their hands on,wealth,fame,power over others, etc etc. They will wreak destruction and all forms of havoc to obtain their goal.

The words of Christ stand in stark opposition to these men;

"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."The true shepherd is the life giver. He leads the sheep to good pastures. (Psalm 23) The thieves seek only to gather the sheep to themselves. Recall that this monologue began immediately after the healing of the man blind from birth. The pharisees did everything they could to dismiss and detract from the miraculous restoration of sight to this man, and most especially the declaration of belief unto salvation by this man. (John 9:35-38)

The thief never speaks the truth of the Word which leads to Christ the true and good shepherd.
(John 5:39-40;Ezekiel 34)Since the thief does not speak the truth of the Word,he does not speak with the voice of the true shepherd. This is why the sheep do not follow them as they (the sheep) do not recognize them as having proceeded from the Lord, nor pointing the way to the Lord. The Lord's sheep recognize the shepherd who speaks with the Lord's voice.

The primary point here is that the reference to the thief in this chapter is dealing with a completely different issue other than confrontation with Satan. In fact, such a trite interpretation actually "dumbs down" what the Lord would reveal to us.

Sola Scriptura

Soli Deo Gloria

THE GIFT AND CALLING OF FELLOWSHIP

1Cor 1:9  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1.    We are called into fellowship in Christ (His body) by the Father. This is not an invitation to come join a church or any organization. As with all gifts and callings of God, only God's sovereign election applies, i.e. it is a permanent and irrevocable calling.. If he elects you to membership, you are a member whether you seek  to gather with others or not.                Romans 8:28-39; Romans 11:29; 1 Cor 12:12-18

1John 1:
1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life--
2  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us--
3  that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4  And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5  This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

2. God's call to fellowship is established in the accurate and true proclaiming of the Gospel and teaching of his Word. God is light and His Word is light.If we walk in the light that He is, (all else is darkness0 we have fellowship with Him and with one another; the blessing and fruit being forgiveness for all our sins, past, present, and future.

2Cor 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

3. Paul is in perfect agreement with John. Fellowship is the calling that reveals God's love; by the sufficiency of His grace, made effectual in and through His Son, and made actual in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.   1John 4:4-16; 1John 2:19

Hebrews 10:
24  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Acts 2:
42  And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

4. We are told not to forsake gathering together. From the first century church to this day there are those who choose not to meet with any of the saints. Of course true fellowship, as previously demonstrated here, is found only in the accurate and true teaching of Christ and His Word.
Therefore, attending a service in a building, consisting of pew and "altar", listening to the "degreed man of God" preach, meeting only on the seventh day, or the sixth day, or Wednesday etc. etc. cannot be defined as true fellowship.
Staying home and watching christian television and/or listening to Christian radio is not fellowship. The church is derelict in its; duty when the saints neglect to visit the elderly and the sick.

Fellowship, as with all callings of God, is a daily walk.

Hebrews 12:
22  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23  and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria