Salvation & God's Will

Do you aspire to be obedient to God's will of desire? The first step is to be saved. Salvation is the foundation of God’s will. He wills (commands) that men be saved.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

In the original Greek, the word translated “willing” mean purpose or intend. It conveys that God’s intention for mankind is a relationship with Him. God wants all men to be saved, so much so that he stays His judgment.

1 Timothy 2:3-4
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Here we also see that God desires that all people to come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. This is an aspect of God’s will of desire and not His sovereign will. We can deduce this because we know that the gate to life is narrow and few enter in (Mtt 7:13-14). God’s will of decree is immutable and cannot be thwarted. His will of desire, however, can be (and very often is) ignored, disregarded and disobeyed.

John 6:37-40
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

This passage illustrates an intersection between God’s will of decree and His will of desire. On one hand, God sovereignly chooses and draws some to salvation in Christ (John 6:44, Rom. 8:30). At the same time, He commands men to believe. This is the juxtaposition of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. God decrees the salvation of the elect, and He desires and commands all people to be saved.

Sunday School Lesson Outline

Here is the outline of the lessons from last week and for next week.

The Will of God

I. Intro

The Importance of God’s Will

Matt. 7:21

Matt. 12:46-50

Eph. 5:15—17

1 John 2:15-17

will – thelema (2307) – a determination, desire, pleasure, will

The Will of God is expressed in three ways.

1. God’s Will of Decree (Sovereign Will)

2. God’s Will of Desire (Will of Command)

3. God’s Will of Direction (Specific Will)

II. Will of Decree

God’s will of decree refers to what he has sovereignly ordained.

Eph. 1:11

Isaiah 46:9-10

All that God decrees will ultimately come to pass, and everything that comes to pass is according to His decree. His will of decree is immutable and fixed, and it cannot be thwarted.

Sovereignty and Providence

Matt. 10:29-30

Matt. 6:25-26

Prov. 16:1,9,33

Romans 8:28 (Gen. 50:2, Deut. 8:15-16)

Heb. 1:3

What should be our reaction to God’s Will of Decree?

James 4:13-15

Romans 8:28

We must have the correct perspective, realizing that God is sovereign and in control, and we must trust that His will of decree is good.

Deut. 29:29

Secret things = God’s inscrutable purposes and sovereign will

Revealed things = His commands and His Word

III. God’s Will of Desire

This refers to what God has commanded. If His will of decree is the way things are, then His will of desire is how things ought to be.

His will of decree cannot be thwarted; however, His will of desire can be ignored, disregarded, and disobeyed.

Psalm 40:18 correlates God’s will of desire to His law.

1John 2:15-17 teaches that God’s will of desire is the opposite of the lusts (desires) of the world.

God’s Will of Desire is that you be…

1. Saved – 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Tim. 2:3-4, John 6:37-40

2. Spirit-Filled – Eph. 5:18-21

3. Sanctified – 1 Thess. 4:3-7

4. Submissive – 1 Peter 2:13-15

5. Suffer – 1 Peter 4:14, 1 Peter 3:14-17

6. Prayerful, Rejoicing, & Thankful – 1 Thess. 5:16-18

These are God’s direct desires for our lives. Our response to these and to the other commands in Scripture should be faithful obedience.

Does God Really Love Everyone?

One of the most common adages in all of Christianese is “Jesus loves you.” You can find it on billboards, bumper stickers, water tower graffiti and t-shirts. We use it to reassure our hurting brothers and sisters and we proclaim it to the lost.

But does God really love everyone? Does God love the Hitlers, the Bin Ladens, and the Jeffery Dahmers of this world? The Bible clearly states that God hates the wicked (Lev. 20:23, psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5, Rom. 9:13). Scripture indicates that God hated whole nations as well as individuals.

The first objection would come from John 3:16. The debate in this verse is the extent of the word “world.” Is it all-encompassing, referring to every single person who has or ever will exist? Or is it more selective, referring to some but not all people from every tribe, nation and tongue?

The next proof text concerning God’s universal love comes from 1John 4:8. Indeed God is love, but this one attribute does not fully define His character. God is also just, faithful, and righteous (Deut. 3:4). Does God’s love negate His justice?

In light of these, I ask the question again, Does God love everyone?

In my opinion: Yes.

Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48, New King James Version)

As believers, we are called to the impossible high standard of perfection. We are to be perfect, just as God Himself is perfect. One aspect of this perfection is loving our enemies. This is absolutely contrary to our sinful human nature, yet Christ commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. When we do this we are suns of our Father in heaven. That means that we are most like God when we imitate Him by walking in love (Eph. 5:1), especially love for our enemies. In fact, God Himself causes his sun to rise on both the evil and the good alike, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. He gives undeserved blessings to the evil and the good, to unbelievers and believers alike. We are to love our enemies because God, in His perfection, loves those who hate Him.

In John 3:16, the word “world” probably isn’t an all-inclusive, universal term. It does, however, imply broadness to God’s love. To argue that the world Jesus is referring to is restricted and limited is fundamentally flawed based on the definition and usage of the word. It is an error to use this verse to imply that God only loves the elect. Also, God is love. His love does not override His purity and justice, but He is intrinsically loving. Therefore, from the transitive property of mathematics we can deduce that God is patient, kind, not envious, not rude, not irritable, eternal, and rejoices in truth and not in wrongdoing. (1Cor. 13:4-8). Therefore, God’s perfect love is not contradictory to His holy judgment.

Read the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-21. To summarize the rich young man asks Jesus what He must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told Him to keep the entire law, to which the man wrongly responded that he had.

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 11:21)

The man was sorrowful because of his great wealth and rejected Jesus. The phrase I want to focus on is in verse 21, “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” Here is an example of the Lord Jesus Christ loving an overt, open, non-repentant, non-submissive reprobate. He said “No Jesus, I will not follow you.” And yet Christ loved Him.

God does indeed love everyone. This is not to say that he loves everyone equally, or that He always enacts His love in the same manner. But that is another topic for another day.

In conclusion, Jesus loves you.

For His glory,
DJ

The Most Dangerous Game

What is the most dangerous sin? The most often cited sins include homosexuality, abortion, murder, stealing, and adultery. These sins seem to mark the frontline in the battle between the church and the secular world. This is not an incorrect list. These sins are certainly grievous and wicked. Hell is populated with all sorts of homosexuals and murderers and adulterers. However, there is a sin that is far more dangerous than any of these, hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is more subtle and deceitful than the flamboyant wickedness that is more easily seen. Hypocrisy is a veil that conceals the indwelling sin. Hypocrisy is the enabler of the flesh to continue in secret sin. It is a barrier to the gospel, and a retardant to spiritual growth. It has its roots in pride, and blossoms forth into the fruit of unbelief. Hypocrisy is a double edged sword of callousness and self-deception.

Some of Jesus’ harshest words were directed at the hypocritical Pharisees.

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
(Matthew 23:13-15, New King James Version)

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
(Matthew 23:25-28, New King James Version)

⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:50-51, New King James Version)


⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14, New King James Version)

My first response to Jesus’ powerful words is, “I sure am glad I’m not a hypocritical scoundrel like those Pharisees.”

That’s the next dangerous aspect of hypocrisy. We all have it to a certain degree, but some of us don’t even realize it. We are naturally good at finding the speck in our friend’s eye, but we have a much harder time with the log in our own.

The deceitfulness of sin has a hardening effect (Heb. 3:13). A particular sin, be it lust, lying, stealing, pornography, rebellion, or whatever, may start small, but due to our fallen sin-bent nature our lawlessness results in further lawlessness (Rom. 6:19). We become accustomed to our secret sin monster. It becomes a part of us, a element of our lifestyle and personality. Our hearts are hardened to the conviction of the Spirit, and our conscience is seared (1Tim. 4:2).

We continue to live our lives pretending to be righteous, so much so that we even fool ourselves. Our shame, fear, and pride inhibit us from openly confessing our sins, to others, to God, and to ourselves. Instead, we clean the outside of the cup, avoiding the painful introspection and examination of our heart. The longer we continue to put on this façade the more self-deceived we become.

Hypocrisy is a hindrance to the gospel. It creates an attitude of self-reliance and rejection of the necessity of a Savior. Hypocrisy creates empty shells just going through the motions of religion without any sincerity. These tares can be found sitting in the pews around us. They are deceived into believing they are saved when they are not. False assurance of salvation is a very dangerous game with eternally devastating results. We must continually test ourselves to ensure that our faith (and subsequent works) is genuine (2 Cor. 13:5).

Hypocrisy is also an obstacle to the spiritual growth of believers. We harbor secret sins, not wanting to face the shame and apparent consequences of open repentance. Or, we want to continue our sin because we enjoy it. We know the truth, but we choose to put ourselves back in bondage after we have already been made free. Our secret lusts and pride stunts our growth and impedes our walk.

The opposite of hypocrisy is transparency and accountability. Confess your sins to God and to your Christian brothers/sisters. Repent and turn away from your secret sin. Seek after God and His righteousness. Submit that area to Him and to the standards of His word. God will forgive (1John 1:9). He will replace the shame with righteousness and hope. God gives grace to the humble, but resists the proud hypocrite (James 4:6). Therefore, we must humble ourselves and own up to the sinful wretch that we truly are. We must examine ourselves and uproot the sin that is veiled by our hypocrisy. We must lay down our pride and submit every aspect of our lives, thoughts, actions, motives and attitudes to Christ. It won’t be a fun process and it ain’t going to be easy, but it is an essential step in our sanctification.

Hypocrisy is a dangerous game that none of us can afford to play.

for His glory,

DJ