In a previous article I mentioned how I heard a definition for the doctrine of election when I was much younger, that at the time made much sense to me. "Election is when God casts a vote for you to be saved, the devil casts a vote for you not to be saved, and you have the tie-breaking vote." By using some gentle mental, though, one can begin to see that there are more holes in that statement than there are in a donut shop. Not as a way to brandish a sword against someone, nor to show arrogant one-up-manship over someone, you can use that above statement to get that someone to use some gentle mental on his or her own.
You can begin by quoting the definition and then asking the person if he or she agrees with that statement, and then ask him or her, Why or why not. Then after you listen thoughtfully to the reply given, without any sort of interruption or dead giveaway body language, you can gently point out what would be the only conclusion if that statement were indeed true. Either the devil is on the same level as God (each one has the same number of votes), or worse yet, you are more powerful and influential than both God and the devil, since you have the tie-breaking vote.
What may be the hardest assignment today is to get professing Christians, who are active church goers, to use the mind that God gave them, especially in a day when spiritual showbiz or postmodern thought may await them each Sunday. It can be done, though, in a one-on-one encounter with gentleness and patience, without trying to play "gotcha." Here are some gentle mental questions that you can insert into a conversation with a friend:
1. Must God have our permission before He can do anything? I have heard people say something along these lines, "You must allow God. . .", or "Permit God to. . ."
2. Can you give me all the times where "free will" is used in the Bible to describe the essential feature of every sinful man?
3. Did and does Jesus Himself have a free will? (Free will means the equal ability to choose to sin or to choose not to sin, to choose God or not to choose God, to decide to repent or to decide not to repent, etc.)
4. If Jesus died for all the sin (which naturally would include the sin of unbelief) of everyone everywhere, then why aren't all people saved?
5. How much life is there in a dead person? (See Ephesians 2:1f to get my drift.)
6. Why is man commanded to repent of sin and believe in Christ, but there is no commandment for us to be born again?
7. What does a dead person need before he can do anything?
8. Why do so many Christians love to quote Romans 8:28 and very few of them it seems will refer to the rest of the verses that follow?
It is to this last question we now turn as we work our way through the five points of salvation: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement (or better yet, Successful atonement), and now we arrive at Irresistible Grace (or the effectual call).
When I was a boy playing outside with my friends down the street, toward supper time my mom would step out on our front porch (sorry, kids of today, but this was before we had cell phones) and say as loud as she could in her typical warm voice, "Chris, you need to come in now. It's time for supper." There might be an occasion or two (or more, but who's counting?) when I failed to hear my mother's simple request. I was having too much fun with my friends, or I was up to bat at the time. If I failed to "hear" my mother's call to me, a couple of minutes might pass, and my dad would step out on the front porch and yell something in a very manly tone of voice, "William Chris Humphreys. You come in right now. It's time to eat."
The call of my mother was a resistible call. The call of my dad was an irresistible call. (There is probably a good number of people reading this who knows exactly what I am talking about from their own personal experience!)
I could probably cite an even better illustration. A young bride sees her new husband go off to Afghanistan. He is at a location he can not disclose and communication back home is non-existent most of the time. One day this young bride gets a telephone call from an annoying telemarketer in the middle of the day. After midnight when she has already gone to bed and has been asleep for a couple of hours, she gets an unexpected, surprised call from the love of her life. Now which one of those calls do you think would be properly classified as a resistible call, and which one would be correctly identified as an irresistible call?
Here's the deal. The Bible mentions both kind of calls we get. There is the resistible call. Left in our natural state, every time we hear the outward call of the gospel, we consider it along the lines of an annoying telemarketer. God is bothering me, and I wish He would leave me alone. Or like in my case as a boy, I refuse to hear God speaking to me just like I refused to hear my mom on occasions. I am having too much fun in my sin to hear God speak to me. Such is the plight of every lost person.
All calls to a dead person go unheeded. I tried calling my mom one evening, to be exact, on February 8, 2001, and she did not answer the phone at her apartment. My sister called and got no response. A good friend called as well. None of us got any response when we tried to call her. My mom had died of a cardiac arrest, and she was sitting in her favorite chair in her apartment when we got there. No wonder she did not answer any of our phone calls; she was dead.
That's how it is with all of us who are dead in our sin (Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13). The phone could ring off the hook countless nights long, and my mom wouldn't hear them nor respond to them. All the screaming I could muster up in the ears of my deceased mom would do no good. All the outward calls we give to lost people will have the exact same effect, if all we have to go on are the outward calls of preaching, witnessing, the written Word, gospel tracts, testimonies or other good forms we have at our disposal.
All of us would resist God all the time if it were not for the second kind of call that God gives to many. It's the kind of call mentioned in Romans 8:28 and following. ". . .to those who are THE CALLED (literal Greek has "the called") according to His purpose." The Greek word for our English word "church" literally means "the called out ones." It is only those who love God who are the called out ones, according to Romans 8:28.
I know a lot of Christians read Romans 8:28 without thinking along these lines. I can relate, because I did that myself for a good number of years. We quote it in rapid-fire fashion, and we use it to console or encourage others or ourselves, but we fail to see that this promise is given to a very specific group of people that are specifically identified as "the called", those who have received an irresistible inward call of God which enables them to overcome their natural dead-in-sin-and-trespasses resistance to God so that now they love God. God is not some big annoyance that shows up in the middle of our lives; He has now become the adoring King over all areas of our lives.
Some people get the wrong notion when they hear the term, "irresistible grace." They imagine that there are people that are zapped into salvation, or that they go kicking and screaming against their wills into God's kingdom. They are saved when they don't want to be saved, because it is "irresistible", beyond their power to say "no." Nothing could be further from the truth. Do you think that the young bride who gets a call from her husband in Afghanistan has to be forced into talking to her husband, even if she wakes up with a splitting headache after a few hours sleep? Do you think she is kicking and screaming in protest in having to take this call from her love? Or is it more likely that a team of wild horses could not and would not keep her from talking to her husband?
This special kind of call from God is irresistible in the same sense, that when the new Love of our life calls us, nothing will stand in the way of our coming to Him. We are drawn to Christ just like a newborn is drawn to its mother. When a person is born again, or becomes a newborn spiritually (regeneration), God unilaterally and unconditionally gives life where there was death; He takes away the old "will" that would not and could not come to Christ (John 5:40, 6:44, 6:65), and He replaces it with a new "will" that will freely, readily, eagerly and lovingly come in faith and repentance to the new Love in his life (John 6:37). Whereas before God was nothing but like an annoying telemarketer or a disturbing figure who was intruding into the fun I was having in my life, now He has become my chief treasure and the One who instills me within life eternally and more abundantly. (I may not have liked it at the start, but I'm so glad I listened to my dad's irresistible calls at times, because my mom was a great cook, and I never left her table unsatisfied! I could live without an extra inning of baseball, but I could not live without my mom's cooking.)
This article has probably become too lengthy, such that some might find this piece too "resistible" by now. With that being so, I better wrap up things for now.
Just one final thought though--if a person will come to know the different calls mentioned in Scripture, so much of God's Word will fall into place now. For example, have you wondered what Jesus meant when He said on more than one occasion, "Many are called, but few are chosen"? (Matthew 20:16, 22:14) Many do receive the outward call of God through sermons, evangelism, missions, testimonies, written literature, etc., but only a few are chosen (the elect ones), who receive an additional type of call, an irresistible call, whereby one comes freely to Christ to be saved.
God commands us to do what we can do. We must call all sinners to come to Christ. We extend the outward call of the gospel to anyone and to everyone. But all of that is for naught if it were not for the inward effectual irresistible call of God. When and only when a person receives this special calling from God will that person call out to God to be saved. We find that in Acts 2 when in the same evangelistic sermon Peter said "whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (v.21) and later he said, "for the promise to unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call (v.39)." One can not level the charge that knowing and teaching all these truths will shut down our evangelistic efforts. It sure didn't stop Peter one bit. About three thousand were called by God that day, and that same three thousand called upon God.
"For our gospel came not to you in word only (the outward call of the gospel), but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance. . .(the inner, irresistible call) 1 Thessalonians 1:5
I do thank the Lord for those loving parents and other faithful Christians who extended the gospel call to me when I was a boy, but I praise my sovereign, good Lord for that sweet, regenerating call of God's Spirit which enabled me to respond to those cumulative outward calls.
Called by God's grace,
Chris
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
A Non-Typical "Dear John" Letter
Dear John,
I don't know why I am writing this to you, because I know it won't reach you. Since it is your birthday, I felt I had to do something to honor you. Five hundred years ago today, on July 10, 1509, the Lord blessed your parents with a little boy who was destined by God to become a great champion of the faith. Your legacy lives on today, although I am sad to report, many would deny your contributions, and others would love to rid your name altogether from the annals of history.
Much has changed since you walked on God's green earth. Sometimes I wish you were still around, but then again I am happy for you considering where you are. Then again, according to Methusaleh's calculations, if you were still alive today, you would have only reached mid-life by now.
I live in a new country that was not even born when you died. Our first President was a man by the name of George, and he is affectionately called the Father of our Country. While that is true, in reality you, John, deserve that title. Our country was birthed out of Europe, and in particular, the Protestant Reformation. Even many historians today see the direct link to what you espoused in your lifetime, such as a representative form of republic, free market capitalism, individual entrepreneurial spirit, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, among other things, and what we have enjoyed in our nation now for over two hundred years. (I must confess, though, that many of those cherished traditions are under attack from many corners.)
I read a book once on our nation's constitution, and the respected author freely admits that he was not a follower of all your ideas. In a footnote, though, he honestly acknowledges that most of what we find in our founding documents are borrowed from your understanding of Scripture. Of course, that understanding was not yours alone, but was shared by countless number of peoples who initially came to our country, namely the Pilgrims, Puritans, and Separatists, and other like-minded groups. For example, the biblical teaching on the total depravity of man had a huge role in our country's founding fathers when they drew up three branches of government with all the checks and balances that were needed to protect us against man's despotic sinful nature.
Sadly, our country went through a big cultural shift in the first half of the 1800s, and we have not recovered from it. Early in our nation's history we had two great awakenings from God, heaven-sent revivals with thousands of conversions that swept across our land and preserved it from internal spiritual and moral collapse. While there were many men who God used in those two great movements from God, the two most prominent men were Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, great preachers of the gospel that followed in your theological footsteps. Since our country has turned away from our doctrinal heritage as a nation, we have not seen a genuine mass movement of God in our country for over two hundred years now. What was generally held to be true by many at one time in our nation's history has been either swept under the rug or given the boot out the back door in most places of worship today.
What pains me more than anything is that those who profess the name of Christ do not know who you are, or what you stood for, or they don't care. We have moved on, and we are more into other things now. We have lots of religion, just like in your day, but as you wrote and preached about on so many occasions, many can have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. Tares grow up with wheat. Wolves don sheep's clothing. An outward profession does not mean an inward possession.
As you taught so well and so consistently, God truly is sovereign in everything in the universe, and that includes the salvation of man. Today, we may give lip service to your sovereignty, so long your sovereignty does not interfere with man's sovereignty over some things. Today man must increase, even if it causes God to decrease some.
There are many today who go way beyond of just ignoring you and your contributions. There are those who revile you, who will curl up their nose and upper lip at the mention of your name, who accuse you of the most vilest things imaginable. Some will say that you were harsh, stern, unloving, judgmental, overly strict, Pharisaical, unevangelistic, and other things I dare not mention. After all, it is supposed to be your birthday. Those who knew you best and up close know those things were simply untrue. You were a loving family man and a gentle humble shepherd of God's flock under your care. You had an enduring and endearing passion for souls, for the Word of God, and for God's glory.
We have a leader in our country whom some think would make a great leader over all our country. She was a governor of one of our fifty states, and many believe she has been unfairly targeted with the most baseless attacks on her character. Whether she would be a great national leader or not is debatable, and that is beside the point. I just wish that those who criticize you most will step back and see that they are doing the same things against you that many say are being done against this governor, or anybody else who is being slandered and falsely attacked.
I have heard in my lifetime that people don't want to be associated with you in any way, because "we should not follow any one man, and that we should only follow the Lord." You would be the first one to agree with that statement. I guess people are really scared or irked when they hear people who basically agree with you as being called by your last name with an -ist tucked on at the end. Knowing your high commitment to the name of Christ you would be horrified and disgusted yourself if you knew that people are identified by your last name. You would do your best to put a stop to it, but with that being said, in our day we don't follow one man; we follow many men, we adore many men, we worship many men, and those men sometimes have very little in common with the biblical gospel.
The nature of Christianity today in our country is that we will identify ourselves with the latest anything that comes along. Several days ago we saw a very popular man by the name of Michael die. I can't go over all his life story, John, because you wouldn't understand it, and you especially couldn't understand how millions of people could watch his funeral service all over the world. A lot has changed, John, like I said. But after hearing with my own ears and after seeing things with my own eyes what has said and done at this man's funeral, I almost became convinced that they needed to keep his dead body under heavy guard where they had his funeral service for at least three days, lest his followers come steal his body. And then on the third day, everyone could come back to the same place and watch this Michael guy dance his way out of his coffin. It is ironic and contradictory, to say the least, when people accuse us of following you, just because we believe you on some key doctrinal points, when today there are people who fall down and worship all sorts of individuals all the time. That is done all the time in religious circles too.
John, I don't agree with you on every single point you taught, and I don't follow you in the sense I should follow Christ and Him alone. At the same time, the Bible says we ought to obey our leaders who spoke the Word of God to us, submit to them, consider the outcome of their lives, and imitate their faith. So, John, while others may spurn you, deny you, ignore you, ridicule you, and attack you, I want to thank you on your birthday, or more especially I want to thank the good Lord for giving you to us. Even though you are dead, you still speak. I have many of your writings in my personal library. That's not a bad legacy for someone who was born 500 years ago.
I must end this "Dear John" letter on an encouraging note. Maybe we are seeing a reversal of trends in our country. Due to whole host of factors working together, more and more people are coming around to see and accept what you taught, preached and wrote during your lifetime. How shall I word it? There are many alternative ways of educating our young people today, and because of that, so many people are learning for the first time the glories of Reformation history. While at one time old books by these great saints of the past like the Puritans were buried under layers of dust in some remote library archives, they are now being printed and published the world over. People are reading what they have to say, and people's minds are being opened up to truths forgotten or buried under layers of dust in near and faraway pulpits.
Added to all that, numerous bold preachers have stepped forward to herald these great truths, and two of the most notable men carry your first name. One preacher John is from a state called California, and the other preacher John is from a state called Minnesota. Because we have ways of communication that are far numerous and superior than what you had in your day, John, these preachers, and others just like them, are getting the Word out to a massive worldwide audience. (You would be pleased to know a long time after you God raised up another John, this time in England, who wrote a book called Pilgrim's Progress. It is the most read and published religious book in the world, second only to the Bible.)
So maybe, just maybe, things are looking up, John, in our day. That is where we should be looking any way, since He is the author and finisher of our faith.
Happy birthday, John. I will see you one day in glory. I will know where to find you then. You will be at the feet of One who saved you by His grace, and that is where we all will be. Some or many may fight it now, but then at that time all must and will acknowledge that salvation was and is entirely from God. May that recognition come sooner, though, and not later. Thank you, dear Lord, for using your servant John for many to come to that recognition sooner, and may many more follow in those same paths.
Yours by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for God's glory alone,
Chris
I don't know why I am writing this to you, because I know it won't reach you. Since it is your birthday, I felt I had to do something to honor you. Five hundred years ago today, on July 10, 1509, the Lord blessed your parents with a little boy who was destined by God to become a great champion of the faith. Your legacy lives on today, although I am sad to report, many would deny your contributions, and others would love to rid your name altogether from the annals of history.
Much has changed since you walked on God's green earth. Sometimes I wish you were still around, but then again I am happy for you considering where you are. Then again, according to Methusaleh's calculations, if you were still alive today, you would have only reached mid-life by now.
I live in a new country that was not even born when you died. Our first President was a man by the name of George, and he is affectionately called the Father of our Country. While that is true, in reality you, John, deserve that title. Our country was birthed out of Europe, and in particular, the Protestant Reformation. Even many historians today see the direct link to what you espoused in your lifetime, such as a representative form of republic, free market capitalism, individual entrepreneurial spirit, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, among other things, and what we have enjoyed in our nation now for over two hundred years. (I must confess, though, that many of those cherished traditions are under attack from many corners.)
I read a book once on our nation's constitution, and the respected author freely admits that he was not a follower of all your ideas. In a footnote, though, he honestly acknowledges that most of what we find in our founding documents are borrowed from your understanding of Scripture. Of course, that understanding was not yours alone, but was shared by countless number of peoples who initially came to our country, namely the Pilgrims, Puritans, and Separatists, and other like-minded groups. For example, the biblical teaching on the total depravity of man had a huge role in our country's founding fathers when they drew up three branches of government with all the checks and balances that were needed to protect us against man's despotic sinful nature.
Sadly, our country went through a big cultural shift in the first half of the 1800s, and we have not recovered from it. Early in our nation's history we had two great awakenings from God, heaven-sent revivals with thousands of conversions that swept across our land and preserved it from internal spiritual and moral collapse. While there were many men who God used in those two great movements from God, the two most prominent men were Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, great preachers of the gospel that followed in your theological footsteps. Since our country has turned away from our doctrinal heritage as a nation, we have not seen a genuine mass movement of God in our country for over two hundred years now. What was generally held to be true by many at one time in our nation's history has been either swept under the rug or given the boot out the back door in most places of worship today.
What pains me more than anything is that those who profess the name of Christ do not know who you are, or what you stood for, or they don't care. We have moved on, and we are more into other things now. We have lots of religion, just like in your day, but as you wrote and preached about on so many occasions, many can have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. Tares grow up with wheat. Wolves don sheep's clothing. An outward profession does not mean an inward possession.
As you taught so well and so consistently, God truly is sovereign in everything in the universe, and that includes the salvation of man. Today, we may give lip service to your sovereignty, so long your sovereignty does not interfere with man's sovereignty over some things. Today man must increase, even if it causes God to decrease some.
There are many today who go way beyond of just ignoring you and your contributions. There are those who revile you, who will curl up their nose and upper lip at the mention of your name, who accuse you of the most vilest things imaginable. Some will say that you were harsh, stern, unloving, judgmental, overly strict, Pharisaical, unevangelistic, and other things I dare not mention. After all, it is supposed to be your birthday. Those who knew you best and up close know those things were simply untrue. You were a loving family man and a gentle humble shepherd of God's flock under your care. You had an enduring and endearing passion for souls, for the Word of God, and for God's glory.
We have a leader in our country whom some think would make a great leader over all our country. She was a governor of one of our fifty states, and many believe she has been unfairly targeted with the most baseless attacks on her character. Whether she would be a great national leader or not is debatable, and that is beside the point. I just wish that those who criticize you most will step back and see that they are doing the same things against you that many say are being done against this governor, or anybody else who is being slandered and falsely attacked.
I have heard in my lifetime that people don't want to be associated with you in any way, because "we should not follow any one man, and that we should only follow the Lord." You would be the first one to agree with that statement. I guess people are really scared or irked when they hear people who basically agree with you as being called by your last name with an -ist tucked on at the end. Knowing your high commitment to the name of Christ you would be horrified and disgusted yourself if you knew that people are identified by your last name. You would do your best to put a stop to it, but with that being said, in our day we don't follow one man; we follow many men, we adore many men, we worship many men, and those men sometimes have very little in common with the biblical gospel.
The nature of Christianity today in our country is that we will identify ourselves with the latest anything that comes along. Several days ago we saw a very popular man by the name of Michael die. I can't go over all his life story, John, because you wouldn't understand it, and you especially couldn't understand how millions of people could watch his funeral service all over the world. A lot has changed, John, like I said. But after hearing with my own ears and after seeing things with my own eyes what has said and done at this man's funeral, I almost became convinced that they needed to keep his dead body under heavy guard where they had his funeral service for at least three days, lest his followers come steal his body. And then on the third day, everyone could come back to the same place and watch this Michael guy dance his way out of his coffin. It is ironic and contradictory, to say the least, when people accuse us of following you, just because we believe you on some key doctrinal points, when today there are people who fall down and worship all sorts of individuals all the time. That is done all the time in religious circles too.
John, I don't agree with you on every single point you taught, and I don't follow you in the sense I should follow Christ and Him alone. At the same time, the Bible says we ought to obey our leaders who spoke the Word of God to us, submit to them, consider the outcome of their lives, and imitate their faith. So, John, while others may spurn you, deny you, ignore you, ridicule you, and attack you, I want to thank you on your birthday, or more especially I want to thank the good Lord for giving you to us. Even though you are dead, you still speak. I have many of your writings in my personal library. That's not a bad legacy for someone who was born 500 years ago.
I must end this "Dear John" letter on an encouraging note. Maybe we are seeing a reversal of trends in our country. Due to whole host of factors working together, more and more people are coming around to see and accept what you taught, preached and wrote during your lifetime. How shall I word it? There are many alternative ways of educating our young people today, and because of that, so many people are learning for the first time the glories of Reformation history. While at one time old books by these great saints of the past like the Puritans were buried under layers of dust in some remote library archives, they are now being printed and published the world over. People are reading what they have to say, and people's minds are being opened up to truths forgotten or buried under layers of dust in near and faraway pulpits.
Added to all that, numerous bold preachers have stepped forward to herald these great truths, and two of the most notable men carry your first name. One preacher John is from a state called California, and the other preacher John is from a state called Minnesota. Because we have ways of communication that are far numerous and superior than what you had in your day, John, these preachers, and others just like them, are getting the Word out to a massive worldwide audience. (You would be pleased to know a long time after you God raised up another John, this time in England, who wrote a book called Pilgrim's Progress. It is the most read and published religious book in the world, second only to the Bible.)
So maybe, just maybe, things are looking up, John, in our day. That is where we should be looking any way, since He is the author and finisher of our faith.
Happy birthday, John. I will see you one day in glory. I will know where to find you then. You will be at the feet of One who saved you by His grace, and that is where we all will be. Some or many may fight it now, but then at that time all must and will acknowledge that salvation was and is entirely from God. May that recognition come sooner, though, and not later. Thank you, dear Lord, for using your servant John for many to come to that recognition sooner, and may many more follow in those same paths.
Yours by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for God's glory alone,
Chris
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Michael Jackson & The Gospel
My sister sometimes thinks (and rightly so at times) that since I live way out in the sticks where I barely have indoor plumbing and electricity (so that I can watch my PC monitor without having to revert to candles), I am not able to keep up with the latest what is going on in the world.
Just tonight she emailed me informing me that, in case I hadn't heard yet, Michael Jackson had died. I replied that I had heard something along those lines. (Even the cavemen in the Geico commercials had surely heard about this bit of news.) I ended my email to my sister with this caption: "Death--Not Even Michael Jackson Could BEAT IT."
I must admit that she easily one upped me though. Her quick reply back was: "Yes. And it might not have been a Thriller."
We have had wall to wall coverage on Michael Jackson, so there is absolutely nothing I can add. He had incredible talent, but somewhere along the way, this little boy with a fantastic voice became a very unhappy camper. At the time of his death, his net worth was in the nine figures. But what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, be a worldwide celebrity, have number one hits, be universally recognized and adored, live in luxury every day of his life, be a king that would top king Elvis, but lose his own soul?
Is Michael Jackson's life now a thriller?
I read just tonight that the latest rumor circulating the internet is that Michael Jackson repented of his sin in his last days and "accepted Christ" as his Savior. Andre Crouch and his sister visited Michael Jackson just days before his death, and they had some interesting spiritual conversations, but according to Andre Crouch, there was nothing there to suspect that Michael Jackson turned to Christ in faith and repentance before his death.
Michael grew up a Jehovah's Witness, left that cult early in his career, and converted to Islam last year. Did Michael convert to Christ before his death? Did Michael repent of his sin? Did Michael put his sole trust in Christ alone? Where is Michael now? Who knows the answer to these questions?
God does.
We can wishfully speculate, and unlike John Lennon, imagine that Michael is in heaven now, but one thing is for sure--nothing man can do in this life impresses God. The Lord is not star-crazy, and He is not bowled over by man's successes. What "impressed" God was the death of His Son, who in the very nature of God, took man's sin upon his body on the cross and paid the full penalty of man's sin. It was that substitutionary death that averted and appeased the just wrath of God and appropriated the mercy and grace of God to every repentant, trusting heart. It is this gospel of Jesus Christ that makes an eternal impression upon God.
I grew up a big New York Yankees fan, because my dad was. The team of Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Bobby Richardson, Whitey Ford, Clete Boyer, Elston Howard, and others--now that was America's team. The Yankees of today are not the Yankees of yesteryear. I loved Mickey Mantle. I wore number 7 as a boy, and if I had a "hero", it would have been Mickey Mantle.
Mickey, though, lived a rough life. He made no pretensions of being a moral, upright individual, let alone a professing Christian. I was so delighted to read and hear that before Mickey Mantle died, Bobby Richardson witnessed to Mickey at length, and Mickey Mantle repented of his sin and became a believer in Jesus Christ. From all accounts, it was a genuine conversion experience.
Like everyone else, all those celebrities need the gospel. We need Jesus in this life, so that we can have Him in the life to come. That's the thriller, and nothing can beat it.
Yours in Christ,
Chris
Just tonight she emailed me informing me that, in case I hadn't heard yet, Michael Jackson had died. I replied that I had heard something along those lines. (Even the cavemen in the Geico commercials had surely heard about this bit of news.) I ended my email to my sister with this caption: "Death--Not Even Michael Jackson Could BEAT IT."
I must admit that she easily one upped me though. Her quick reply back was: "Yes. And it might not have been a Thriller."
We have had wall to wall coverage on Michael Jackson, so there is absolutely nothing I can add. He had incredible talent, but somewhere along the way, this little boy with a fantastic voice became a very unhappy camper. At the time of his death, his net worth was in the nine figures. But what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, be a worldwide celebrity, have number one hits, be universally recognized and adored, live in luxury every day of his life, be a king that would top king Elvis, but lose his own soul?
Is Michael Jackson's life now a thriller?
I read just tonight that the latest rumor circulating the internet is that Michael Jackson repented of his sin in his last days and "accepted Christ" as his Savior. Andre Crouch and his sister visited Michael Jackson just days before his death, and they had some interesting spiritual conversations, but according to Andre Crouch, there was nothing there to suspect that Michael Jackson turned to Christ in faith and repentance before his death.
Michael grew up a Jehovah's Witness, left that cult early in his career, and converted to Islam last year. Did Michael convert to Christ before his death? Did Michael repent of his sin? Did Michael put his sole trust in Christ alone? Where is Michael now? Who knows the answer to these questions?
God does.
We can wishfully speculate, and unlike John Lennon, imagine that Michael is in heaven now, but one thing is for sure--nothing man can do in this life impresses God. The Lord is not star-crazy, and He is not bowled over by man's successes. What "impressed" God was the death of His Son, who in the very nature of God, took man's sin upon his body on the cross and paid the full penalty of man's sin. It was that substitutionary death that averted and appeased the just wrath of God and appropriated the mercy and grace of God to every repentant, trusting heart. It is this gospel of Jesus Christ that makes an eternal impression upon God.
I grew up a big New York Yankees fan, because my dad was. The team of Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Bobby Richardson, Whitey Ford, Clete Boyer, Elston Howard, and others--now that was America's team. The Yankees of today are not the Yankees of yesteryear. I loved Mickey Mantle. I wore number 7 as a boy, and if I had a "hero", it would have been Mickey Mantle.
Mickey, though, lived a rough life. He made no pretensions of being a moral, upright individual, let alone a professing Christian. I was so delighted to read and hear that before Mickey Mantle died, Bobby Richardson witnessed to Mickey at length, and Mickey Mantle repented of his sin and became a believer in Jesus Christ. From all accounts, it was a genuine conversion experience.
If Michael called out to God for salvation like what Mickey did before his timely death (all deaths are timely from God's perspective, since the very days of our lives are all numbered), then Michael's life now is much more than a thriller, and he, through Christ, was able to beat death after all. Isn't that what Jesus told Martha in John 11:25-26 when Martha's brother had died?
We can romanticize all we want to that Farrah has gone from being Charlie's Angel to the Lord's Angel, that Michael is leading the heaven's choir, that Ed McMahon has won the Big Sweepstakes himself now, that Billy Mays is now the Lord's pitch man, but romanticism never got a soul in heaven.Like everyone else, all those celebrities need the gospel. We need Jesus in this life, so that we can have Him in the life to come. That's the thriller, and nothing can beat it.
Yours in Christ,
Chris
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Warren and Purpose-Driven Deaths
Young Iranians are taking to the streets to revolt against the mullahs that control every aspect of daily life in Iran. Maybe the winds of freedom blowing from Iraq have caused many brave Iranians to crave that same liberty which has been denied them for so long. Our President has been very slow and hesitant to speak strongly on behalf of those who are risking their lives. Former Presidents have quickly rallied behind those in different countries who wanted so much to whiff that same air of freedom that we breathe every day in our nation. (One, though, does wonder if that air of freedom we breathe is being more and more contaminated with each and every passing day.)
While all this is going on, what does America's self-appointed pastor decide to do? Rick Warren is scheduled to speak at the annual convention of The Islamic Society of North America, July 3-6, in our nation's capital. What kind of "mosque growth" tips will he give to the conference participants, which include Dr. Muzammil Hussain Siddiqi, an ardent Islamic fascist/terrorist who led a flag burning in Los Angeles where he spat on and cursed the American flag?
Rick Warren has already stated Muslims and Christians worship the same God, so it is hardly likely he will preach from John 14:6 at this upcoming conference.
What will Rick say? What can he say to keep up his image of being a world reconciler, a healer among all faiths, the promoter of his own P.E.A.C.E. program? Will he be like the apostle Paul who said, "We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth?" Will he be like our Savior when he faced the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate?
Whatever one wants to say about our President, at least he makes no claims of being a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But Rick Warren does make that claim about himself.
I remember very vividly some years ago a prominent Baptist pastor in our state, not far from where I live, came to Rick Warren's defense because Rick was beginning to get some criticism for his wayward beliefs. In the state Baptist paper, this pastor of a megachurch simply responded to a letter by saying that all the naysayers of Rick Warren can easily be discounted because God's hand of blessing was upon Rick due to his church's large growth and his wide influence around the world. The implication in this pastor's defense was that all the critics of Rick Warren were probably pastors of small churches, and therefore they simply were not of the caliber of a Rick Warren.
God was blessing Rick, so we should never question Rick, especially if you and I can't hold a candle to Rick's success.
Since Islam is growing faster around the world than all Purpose-Driven churches put together, then I guess we should conclude that God (or, Allah; it makes no difference, remember?) must be blessing Islam?
So while the Purpose Driven Life pastor is speaking at the annual convention of The Islamic Society of North America in some coming days, what shall we make of the deaths on the streets of Iran that are purposefully driven by a bloody ruthless regime whose "God" some say is no different than the Lord God whom Christians worship and serve?
While all this is going on, what does America's self-appointed pastor decide to do? Rick Warren is scheduled to speak at the annual convention of The Islamic Society of North America, July 3-6, in our nation's capital. What kind of "mosque growth" tips will he give to the conference participants, which include Dr. Muzammil Hussain Siddiqi, an ardent Islamic fascist/terrorist who led a flag burning in Los Angeles where he spat on and cursed the American flag?
Rick Warren has already stated Muslims and Christians worship the same God, so it is hardly likely he will preach from John 14:6 at this upcoming conference.
What will Rick say? What can he say to keep up his image of being a world reconciler, a healer among all faiths, the promoter of his own P.E.A.C.E. program? Will he be like the apostle Paul who said, "We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth?" Will he be like our Savior when he faced the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate?
Whatever one wants to say about our President, at least he makes no claims of being a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But Rick Warren does make that claim about himself.
I remember very vividly some years ago a prominent Baptist pastor in our state, not far from where I live, came to Rick Warren's defense because Rick was beginning to get some criticism for his wayward beliefs. In the state Baptist paper, this pastor of a megachurch simply responded to a letter by saying that all the naysayers of Rick Warren can easily be discounted because God's hand of blessing was upon Rick due to his church's large growth and his wide influence around the world. The implication in this pastor's defense was that all the critics of Rick Warren were probably pastors of small churches, and therefore they simply were not of the caliber of a Rick Warren.
God was blessing Rick, so we should never question Rick, especially if you and I can't hold a candle to Rick's success.
Since Islam is growing faster around the world than all Purpose-Driven churches put together, then I guess we should conclude that God (or, Allah; it makes no difference, remember?) must be blessing Islam?
So while the Purpose Driven Life pastor is speaking at the annual convention of The Islamic Society of North America in some coming days, what shall we make of the deaths on the streets of Iran that are purposefully driven by a bloody ruthless regime whose "God" some say is no different than the Lord God whom Christians worship and serve?
Friday, May 8, 2009
What is a Mommy After All?
I searched and searched for just the right poem to read on Mother's Day,
But all seemed so impersonal and just did not express what I really wanted to say.
I'm not that great a poet; rhyme is not my thing,
And to put it to music, everyone knows I can't sing.
So I've come up with my own prose, be it so small,
To answer the fundamental question, "What is a Mommy after all?"
A Mommy from my perspective is a 1001 different things--
Or is it rather a Mommy must do each day a 1001 different things?
Underneath her blouse is hidden a big letter "S"--
Now does that stand for SuperMom, SuperCaring, or SuperTired (or maybe all the above)?
A Mommy can leap over a pile of toys with a single bound,
Wipe a runny nose faster than a speedy toddler,
And with nerves of steel go toe-to-toe with anyone who messes with her kids.
A Mommy cooks, sews, irons, washes dishes, mops floors, changes diapers, dresses the kids,
Takes them to the doctor, shops until she drops, watches Barney for the umpteenth time,
Kisses and mends boo-boos, cleans house, picks up clothes, does the laundry,
Dusts and vacuums, and then by lunch time she's ready to go at it again.
A Mommy does that and more, and yet she finds time for Daddy.
A Mommy is a lighter sleeper than a Daddy,
That's why she always gets up at 2:00 a.m. with a sick child
While Daddy is still fast asleep or pretending to be.
A Mommy is smarter than a Daddy,
That's why a Daddy always tells his child to go ask Mommy.
A Mommy doesn't get paid by the hour,
She gets paid by looking with satisfaction into the eyes of a family God has given her.
A Mommy reads to her children from the most precious Book of all
And tells her children about the most precious Person of all.
A Mommy watches her child take her first step,
And before she can turn around,
She is watching that child take her first step down a wedding aisle. . .
A Mommy knows how to cry a lot.
What would this world be like if God did not give us Mommies?
Children grow up, leave home, start their own families,
Come back to visit for awhile, and always ask for advice.
Yes, children grow up, but Mommies never really do,
Because Mommies are always Mommies.
So I close this little prose with one more bit of rhyme.
To tell you all that a Mommy is I simply don't have the time.
And that's something else special about a Mommy--
She always seems to have the time or take the time,
And how she does it, I will never know!
But to see those little ones grow up full of the love of God, well,
That's worth all the having to get up and go.
So Mommy, I salute you--you really are one of a kind.
Don't worry about falling behind on your housework,
Because your homework is walking behind!
(written in dedication to my wife on Mother's Day, 1994)
But all seemed so impersonal and just did not express what I really wanted to say.
I'm not that great a poet; rhyme is not my thing,
And to put it to music, everyone knows I can't sing.
So I've come up with my own prose, be it so small,
To answer the fundamental question, "What is a Mommy after all?"
A Mommy from my perspective is a 1001 different things--
Or is it rather a Mommy must do each day a 1001 different things?
Underneath her blouse is hidden a big letter "S"--
Now does that stand for SuperMom, SuperCaring, or SuperTired (or maybe all the above)?
A Mommy can leap over a pile of toys with a single bound,
Wipe a runny nose faster than a speedy toddler,
And with nerves of steel go toe-to-toe with anyone who messes with her kids.
A Mommy cooks, sews, irons, washes dishes, mops floors, changes diapers, dresses the kids,
Takes them to the doctor, shops until she drops, watches Barney for the umpteenth time,
Kisses and mends boo-boos, cleans house, picks up clothes, does the laundry,
Dusts and vacuums, and then by lunch time she's ready to go at it again.
A Mommy does that and more, and yet she finds time for Daddy.
A Mommy is a lighter sleeper than a Daddy,
That's why she always gets up at 2:00 a.m. with a sick child
While Daddy is still fast asleep or pretending to be.
A Mommy is smarter than a Daddy,
That's why a Daddy always tells his child to go ask Mommy.
A Mommy doesn't get paid by the hour,
She gets paid by looking with satisfaction into the eyes of a family God has given her.
A Mommy reads to her children from the most precious Book of all
And tells her children about the most precious Person of all.
A Mommy watches her child take her first step,
And before she can turn around,
She is watching that child take her first step down a wedding aisle. . .
A Mommy knows how to cry a lot.
What would this world be like if God did not give us Mommies?
Children grow up, leave home, start their own families,
Come back to visit for awhile, and always ask for advice.
Yes, children grow up, but Mommies never really do,
Because Mommies are always Mommies.
So I close this little prose with one more bit of rhyme.
To tell you all that a Mommy is I simply don't have the time.
And that's something else special about a Mommy--
She always seems to have the time or take the time,
And how she does it, I will never know!
But to see those little ones grow up full of the love of God, well,
That's worth all the having to get up and go.
So Mommy, I salute you--you really are one of a kind.
Don't worry about falling behind on your housework,
Because your homework is walking behind!
(written in dedication to my wife on Mother's Day, 1994)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Scared Stiff?
The swine flu has come, and it must be on par with the bubonic plague to hear some people talk. I'm all for taking necessary precautions. We don't throw caution to the wind. I wash my hands frequently wherever I go somewhere, and that was before the swine flu hit, or whatever it is called by some initials, Hemi, H202, R2D2, or something along those lines. Before you know it, someone will come out with a book, or at least an article, that will identify the swine flu with one of the seven plagues in Revelation. Scaring people to death is a scary business in the U.S.A., but there is more money to be found there than in Chrysler these days.
I don't have the cold, hard data in front of me, but I will take a wild stab at the fact that the chances of one getting seriously hurt or killed in an automobile are 10,000 times greater than anyone contracting the swine flu. So hear me out! Stay out of your cars! If you feel inclined to walk everywhere then, the chances of your getting hurt or killed as a pedestrian, may be at least 5000 times greater than getting the swine flu. Stay off the streets! If you feel inclined to hunker down, stay home, and not go anywhere these days, then your chances of getting hurt or dying at home are probably at least 3000 times greater than getting the swine flu, since most accidents happen at home. In other words, you might as well end your life now. Are you scared enough yet?
All the hoopla over the swine flu has me thinking about Psalm 37, a psalm that our family is slowly (and I mean slooooowly) memorizing together now. We only have covered the first eight verses, but three times in those eight verses we are told not to fret. Once it says it only causes harm when we do. We should not fret even when evil people seem to be getting away with their wicked schemes. Being scared stiff is not exactly a God-fearing option.
Pressing, persistent panic paralyzes plentiful people. That is more than a tongue-twister; it is a mind-bender and soul-killer.
This coming Sunday is Mother's Day when many preachers feel like they ought to say something about the virtues of motherhood. I love mothers, but one of the best advices I ever got as a young preacher is never allow the calendar to dictate what you should preach.
Instead, this coming Sunday I feel it necessary to address this issue of being scared stiff as Christians. Much of the talk of the end times these days borders on scaring people to death and not giving them much comfort. The latest bad news often spells good profits for books that push the panic button. It is high time we end the talk about the end times being a monetary boondoggle that keeps people ever speculating and constantly scared over the latest big news item.
Are you securely saved, or are you scared stiff? Are you scared to death, or are you saved to eternal life? As I read Scripture, the future coming of our Lord is not a blistering hysteria, but it is a blessed hope.
Yours in Christ,
Chris
I don't have the cold, hard data in front of me, but I will take a wild stab at the fact that the chances of one getting seriously hurt or killed in an automobile are 10,000 times greater than anyone contracting the swine flu. So hear me out! Stay out of your cars! If you feel inclined to walk everywhere then, the chances of your getting hurt or killed as a pedestrian, may be at least 5000 times greater than getting the swine flu. Stay off the streets! If you feel inclined to hunker down, stay home, and not go anywhere these days, then your chances of getting hurt or dying at home are probably at least 3000 times greater than getting the swine flu, since most accidents happen at home. In other words, you might as well end your life now. Are you scared enough yet?
All the hoopla over the swine flu has me thinking about Psalm 37, a psalm that our family is slowly (and I mean slooooowly) memorizing together now. We only have covered the first eight verses, but three times in those eight verses we are told not to fret. Once it says it only causes harm when we do. We should not fret even when evil people seem to be getting away with their wicked schemes. Being scared stiff is not exactly a God-fearing option.
Pressing, persistent panic paralyzes plentiful people. That is more than a tongue-twister; it is a mind-bender and soul-killer.
This coming Sunday is Mother's Day when many preachers feel like they ought to say something about the virtues of motherhood. I love mothers, but one of the best advices I ever got as a young preacher is never allow the calendar to dictate what you should preach.
Instead, this coming Sunday I feel it necessary to address this issue of being scared stiff as Christians. Much of the talk of the end times these days borders on scaring people to death and not giving them much comfort. The latest bad news often spells good profits for books that push the panic button. It is high time we end the talk about the end times being a monetary boondoggle that keeps people ever speculating and constantly scared over the latest big news item.
Are you securely saved, or are you scared stiff? Are you scared to death, or are you saved to eternal life? As I read Scripture, the future coming of our Lord is not a blistering hysteria, but it is a blessed hope.
Yours in Christ,
Chris
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Atonement as a Resounding Success or a Dismal Flop
It is hard to believe that any of those who call upon Jesus as Lord of life would consider Him and His work on the cross as a disappointing failure. We have to remember that is exactly how Jesus' first followers felt, at least for three days when they were cowering in the corner for "fear of the Jews." A conquering Messiah who would free them from the shackles of Rome? Instead, all they got for their three years of devotion to this rabbi from Nazareth was their hoped-for messiah dying at the hands of Rome. That was not exactly what they had in mind for a deliverer. In their depressed, misguided mental state for three days, Jesus was a dismal flop. Maybe the taunting crowd got it right--He could save others, but He could not save Himself. How can one deliver us from Rome when that same one is delivered over to Rome to die, and the one did nothing to prevent it?
Sunday came, and how a resurrection can be a cure for so many ills! The first Christian sermon was preached on the Day of Pentecost by none other than the thrice-denying Peter. All of a sudden as one reads Acts 2 we get the immediate impression that Peter, the other apostles and the first believers thought of Jesus and His crucifixion as a resounding success story. It finally dawned on them that Jesus' cry from the cross was not "I am finished", but "It is finished." The atonement for man's sin was mission accomplished. Deliverance from the power and penalty of sin, and one day from the presence of sin, was and is far more earth-shattering and world-changing than a political deliverance from some mortal enemies.
When it comes to understanding the impact of the atonement, are we in the corner with the post-resurrection apostles, or are we more identifiable with the pre-resurrection apostles? Are we relishing in a success story, or are we pondering an event of colossal failure and massive disappointment?
No matter how one wants to slice it or parse it, either we are on the side of "It is finished", or "Well, really it is not quite yet finished."
Did Jesus' death on the cross actually procure the salvation of anyone? Or did Jesus' death merely make it possible for a person to be saved? Are people redeemed by Jesus' blood, or are people just made redeemable? Did Jesus' death accomplish anything, i.e. "It is finished", or was Jesus' death a necessary piece of the salvation puzzle, but something is needed from us to make it complete, i.e. "Well, really it is not quite yet finished?"
As indicated in John 17 by Jesus Himself, Jesus died for all those whom the Father had given Him. If Jesus died for no one in particular and everyone in general, then we are stuck with two equally bad options: either all people are saved as logic demands it, or Jesus' death is insufficient to save us from our sin, because something else must be supplied by man and his "free will", in order for salvation to be realized. Look at the obvious results if the latter is true. Most die and go to eternity apart from God. "Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." That means that Jesus' death was for the most part a dismal flop. Most of His blood was spilled in vain. Do we really want to believe we have a failure for a Savior?
We have much better news to share with the world than a "maybe so Savior and possible Lord with an iffy salvation offer." God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36)
Those whom God has chosen, those whom God's Spirit calls, and those for whom the Son dies, all belong to the same group of people. They are God's success story. Every person for whom Jesus died will be saved. Every drop of Jesus' blood was shed for a definite purpose and for a definite people. It is finished.
How does a person know beforehand if he is a person that God has chosen beforehand, and that Jesus' death was meant for him? Easy. Just repent from sin and trust solely in Jesus, and that person will know. God will never refuse a repentant sinner. The verse that ends with "and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" is preceded by "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." (John 6:37) He will always get His man, His woman, His boy, His girl. And the man, the woman, the boy and the girl that come to the Lord will always get Him.
None of the apostles or early Christians in the book of Acts ever looked into the eye of a lost person and said, "Jesus died for you, or Jesus died for everyone in the world." Not one sermon or witnessing activity in the book of Acts ever records anything like that. What we do find over and over again is the telling of God's success story. Jesus died, He rose from the grave, you must believe in Him, you must turn from your sin, and when you do, you will find forgiveness from your sin and eternal life in Him. "And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48)
There is not much good news in a dismal flop, if truly Jesus' death was weak and ineffective by itself. The ones who propose a really limited atonement are those who say that Jesus is severely limited in saving anyone, and truth be told, if Jesus died for no one in particular then it would be feasible that no one would ever be saved, since it relies upon the exercise of sinful man to complete what Jesus had done.
So either we believe that Jesus' death was a resounding success or a dismal flop. Either we belong in the camp of the post-resurrection apostles or the pre-resurrection apostles. During this most holy week of the year for all believers in Christ, I pray more and more will side with the victorious gospel, and let the world continue to traffic in all the stories of widespread disappointments and abject failures. That will only make God's success story stand out in sharper contrast.
Yours in Christ,
Chris
Sunday came, and how a resurrection can be a cure for so many ills! The first Christian sermon was preached on the Day of Pentecost by none other than the thrice-denying Peter. All of a sudden as one reads Acts 2 we get the immediate impression that Peter, the other apostles and the first believers thought of Jesus and His crucifixion as a resounding success story. It finally dawned on them that Jesus' cry from the cross was not "I am finished", but "It is finished." The atonement for man's sin was mission accomplished. Deliverance from the power and penalty of sin, and one day from the presence of sin, was and is far more earth-shattering and world-changing than a political deliverance from some mortal enemies.
When it comes to understanding the impact of the atonement, are we in the corner with the post-resurrection apostles, or are we more identifiable with the pre-resurrection apostles? Are we relishing in a success story, or are we pondering an event of colossal failure and massive disappointment?
No matter how one wants to slice it or parse it, either we are on the side of "It is finished", or "Well, really it is not quite yet finished."
Did Jesus' death on the cross actually procure the salvation of anyone? Or did Jesus' death merely make it possible for a person to be saved? Are people redeemed by Jesus' blood, or are people just made redeemable? Did Jesus' death accomplish anything, i.e. "It is finished", or was Jesus' death a necessary piece of the salvation puzzle, but something is needed from us to make it complete, i.e. "Well, really it is not quite yet finished?"
As indicated in John 17 by Jesus Himself, Jesus died for all those whom the Father had given Him. If Jesus died for no one in particular and everyone in general, then we are stuck with two equally bad options: either all people are saved as logic demands it, or Jesus' death is insufficient to save us from our sin, because something else must be supplied by man and his "free will", in order for salvation to be realized. Look at the obvious results if the latter is true. Most die and go to eternity apart from God. "Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." That means that Jesus' death was for the most part a dismal flop. Most of His blood was spilled in vain. Do we really want to believe we have a failure for a Savior?
We have much better news to share with the world than a "maybe so Savior and possible Lord with an iffy salvation offer." God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36)
Those whom God has chosen, those whom God's Spirit calls, and those for whom the Son dies, all belong to the same group of people. They are God's success story. Every person for whom Jesus died will be saved. Every drop of Jesus' blood was shed for a definite purpose and for a definite people. It is finished.
How does a person know beforehand if he is a person that God has chosen beforehand, and that Jesus' death was meant for him? Easy. Just repent from sin and trust solely in Jesus, and that person will know. God will never refuse a repentant sinner. The verse that ends with "and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" is preceded by "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." (John 6:37) He will always get His man, His woman, His boy, His girl. And the man, the woman, the boy and the girl that come to the Lord will always get Him.
None of the apostles or early Christians in the book of Acts ever looked into the eye of a lost person and said, "Jesus died for you, or Jesus died for everyone in the world." Not one sermon or witnessing activity in the book of Acts ever records anything like that. What we do find over and over again is the telling of God's success story. Jesus died, He rose from the grave, you must believe in Him, you must turn from your sin, and when you do, you will find forgiveness from your sin and eternal life in Him. "And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48)
There is not much good news in a dismal flop, if truly Jesus' death was weak and ineffective by itself. The ones who propose a really limited atonement are those who say that Jesus is severely limited in saving anyone, and truth be told, if Jesus died for no one in particular then it would be feasible that no one would ever be saved, since it relies upon the exercise of sinful man to complete what Jesus had done.
So either we believe that Jesus' death was a resounding success or a dismal flop. Either we belong in the camp of the post-resurrection apostles or the pre-resurrection apostles. During this most holy week of the year for all believers in Christ, I pray more and more will side with the victorious gospel, and let the world continue to traffic in all the stories of widespread disappointments and abject failures. That will only make God's success story stand out in sharper contrast.
Yours in Christ,
Chris
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