The Gospel Of Repentance

It’s important to remember that we’re dealing with two separate issues; our sins judicially and our sins in real time. Jesus Christ is our advocate, our defense attorney, our mediator. His blood sacrifice on the cross satisfied the Father’s holy wrath regarding our sins past, present, and future. Jesus’ suffering and death was a plea to the Father for our vindication and forgiveness. Jesus went to trial on our behalf before the Father and declared us “not guilty ”. The Lord accepted the Son’s sacrifice on our behalf. The devil who’s our accuser and prosecutor head was bruised (Genesis 3:15). This the bible says was done before the foundation of the world, (Ephesians 1:7). This is how our sins were dealt with judicially. This was pre-salvation. Once we believed in what Jesus did, we were saved. We’ll never be punished eternally for those sins and go to hell since the Father already punished Christ for them (Isaiah 53:1-5). But, because of the wickedness that still remains in

My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall any pluck them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one  - John 10:27-30 There are many in Christendom that believe that eternal salvation can be lost due to a pattern of unbroken, habitual sin in one’s life. It should raise the question if that person is actually saved in the first place; My answer is no. This type of thinking smashes against one’s liberty and confidence in God and his word. It also causes anxiety and promotes a joyless experience in Christ.  This type of theology also promotes a spirit of fear which does not come from God (II Timothy 1:7). One can never be sure if at some point God will pull the plug on their salvation and revoke it – nonsense!! It’s an entirely different matter and heresy to believe that one c

“You did not choose Me , but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                – John 15:16. There is a very clear line between how God and man make choices.  Man makes common choices everyday of his life; such as what to eat, what to wear, where to live, where to attend school, who to marry, what career path to choose, his belief system, what car to drive, how to raise their children, etc. These are normal choices that God obviously knows about, but he does not pre-determine them; these choices aren’t critical to his eternal plan, and were not made for man before the foundation of the world. These human choices are always made in real time . God allows us to make these choices whether they’re good or evil, u

                                             Chapter 1 – The prophet Haggai begins his prophecy in the second year of King Darius Hystapes which is in the Hebrew month of Elul , the sixth month, and the first day of the month. On our calendar today it translates to August, 19 th , 2012. The year then was 520 B.C. and the date was August 29 th . Haggai was a contemporary of the prophet Zechariah (Ezra 5:1). The prophet spoke to Zerubbabel the governor, and to Joshua the high priest along with the Hebrew refugees who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of the Lord. The work had begun in 536 B.C. but was halted by neighbors who did not want to see the temple built admittedly because they were afraid Israel's God. These enemies wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes stating to the king why the building project should be stopped. The king read the letter and demanded the work to cease. The Hebrews were forced to stop (Ezra 4:21-24). God’s house was delayed b

Chapter 1 – The prophet declares the day of the Lord is imminent. The Lord will destroy all things from the face of the earth, vs 1-3. Why? Because man has sinned against the Lord, vs. 17. Man’s wealth can not deliver him in the day of the Lord’s wrath. God will quickly wipe out his enemies, vs. 18. Chapter 2 – The prophet calls the nation (Israel) to repentance; especially those who have been faithful to the Lord (the meek of the earth). This the Lord commanded so that they could escape his wrath, vs. 1-3. Next, the prophet judges the nations such as the Philistines, longtime enemies of Israel. Their lands (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, Ashdod, Gath. Their five main coastal cities), will be dwellings for the Israelites and their flocks when the Lord dispossess the Philistines, vs 4-7. The prophet also condemns the nations of Moab and Ammon (descendants of Lot Genesis 19:36-38) for their threats and intimidation of Israel. God will make these two nations a wilderness, vs 8-9.

                                                                                                              Who limits the atonement?    Atonement by definition  in the Old Testament means to cover over, atone, propitiate, pacify. The Hebrew word is kāpar . In the Greek one of the words is hilasmos which means an expiation; meaning sin is covered and remitted. Knowing who limits the atonement is critical to our understanding of the sovereign election process. Those who subscribe to Arminianism or Universalism say that the atonement is unlimited; meaning that Jesus died for everyone for all time. Jesus paid for the sins of everyone who will ever live in this earth. Now very carefully think about this, if that were true, why isn’t everyone saved if their sins were paid for in full by Jesus on the cross? The reply that most Christians will give is that the sinner has to believe in what Jesus accomplished at the cross so that he/she can be saved (Romans 10:9-10).

The Oxford dictionary defines sovereign as: supreme ruler, a monarch. As an adjective means possessing  supreme or ultimate power.                                                                                                                       The word elect means to pick out, to be chosen. In regards to salvation we have the Supreme Ruler with absolute power, God Almighty choosing totally independent of any outside influence, those who would be recipients of his saving grace. Ephesians 1:4 tells us God chose us (the elect) before the foundation of the world. This was the predetermined plan of God. It must be understood that God’s choosing us was for his own good pleasure and intention (Ephesians 1:5). There is nothing inherently good in man that prompted God to choose him. God did this so that he will be glorified; man is a wholesale benefactor of the grace and mercy of the Father God and the Savior Jesus Christ.                  Now, we need to discuss in detail, who d