Could Lazarus Have Said 'No'?

By Justin Edwards

Dr. James White addresses this question in the following video.  The text in question is from John 11, where Jesus promises that He will raise Lazarus from the dead in verse 23:

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

In reference to the question posed then, could Lazarus have refused to come forth when Jesus commanded with a loud voice in John 11:43:

“Lazarus, come out.”?

Absolutely not, as this would necessarily imply that Jesus could have failed in His promise to raise Lazarus from the dead.

For a more detailed commentary on this issue as it relates to sinners who are dead in their sin being raised to spiritual life, please see the following article addressing John 5:25: The Dead Will Hear and Live

Now, from James White:

The Sovereignty of God Bible Test

By Justin Edwards

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. - Ephesians 1:3-6

Thanks to John Samson for posting the following "Sovereignty Bible Test", which cleverly emphasizes the sovereignty of God in all things, most especially our salvation.  The origins of this quiz is unclear, but I'm thankful it is making its rounds across the internet.  Enjoy!

Eph 1:11 – “him (God) who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”

1. If God works all things after the counsel of His will, how much does He work to the will of you, me, Satan, etc.?

A. None.

B. 20%

C. 50%

D. 85%

Isaiah 14:24 The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.”

2. How much of what He purposes to come to pass, doesn’t?

A. All of His purposes will come to pass

B. Some of His purposes will not come to pass

C. A few of His purposes will not come to pass

D. A lot of His purposes will not come to pass

Romans 8:29, 30 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. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

3. How many do you think have been called, justified, or glorified that He did not first foreknow or predestinate?

A. Write in your answer: ___________________

John 10:14, 15 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

4. Where does this scripture say that Jesus laid down his life for the sheep and the goats

A. It doesn’t

B. It doesn’t, but I just know He meant the goats, too

John 6:65 “no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

5. How many come to Jesus that were not first given to Him by the Father?

A. 0

B. 5,000

C. 5,000,000

D. 10,000,000

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me

6. How many that the Father gave Him will not come to Him?

A. Two

B. A couple of thousand

C. A couple of million

D. Trick question, it says they will all come to Him

John 10:28, 29 I (Jesus) give them (My true sheep) eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch 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 the Father’s hand.

7. How many sheep do you think have been snatched from either God’s or Jesus’ hands?

A. None

B. 50,000

C. 500,000

D. 1,000,000

Rev. 13:8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Rev. 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

8. Considering this, and other related scripture, God having to blot out a name from the book of life would mean:

A. God makes mistakes.

B. Some have been snatched from Jesus’ hands?

C. God didn’t know that some of His sheep were really goats.

D. None of the above.

Matt 13: 10, 11 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

9. Jesus himself declared that one of the reasons why He spoke in parables was that the truth might be concealed from whom it was not intended. Is this fair?

A. No.

B. Yes.

C. Who are we to question God?

D. I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that verse.

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

10. How many things do not work for the good of those who love God?

A. 10% of all things

B. 40% of all things

C. 85% of all things

D. Trick question, the Bible says all things work for the good of those who love Him

Mark 14:30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you (Peter), this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

11. (A) Could Peter not have denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed twice?

Answer here: ____________________________

11. (B) Did Jesus coerce Peter to deny him, or did Peter do it of his own heart and will?

Answer here: ____________________________

Exodus 4:11 [God Himself asks the rhetorical question] “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”

12. Is this fair?

A. Yes.

B. No.

C. Who are we to question God?

D. I’m going to pretend this isn’t in the Bible

OK. the test is over, but in truth, the whole of life is something of a test as we learn just how Sovereign God is in all things and we learn to trust in His loving care.

Did the test make you think about just how Sovereign God truly is? Hope so.

“In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

Speech Seasoned with Grace

By Justin Edwards

My wife, Jennifer, and I took our two children up to the neighborhood pool late yesterday afternoon to wear them out a bit before bedtime.  For some reason, Sundays are not conducive to nap times so a little time in the sun and water always does the trick.  After an hour so, I overheard two of the lifeguards mention God and Jesus, but couldn’t hear the specifics of the conversation.  I switched babies with Jen (the youngest is nine months old) and waded over to the lifeguard stand to see what the conversation was about.  When I arrived, I believe it was Morgan who said she was not about to have “that” conversation with Travis, so of course I cordially said with a smile, “well, I’d like to have that conversation, what are you talking about?”

Travis jumped in to say he thought Jesus was a conman and seemed to say He deceived people into believing the miracles He performed.  I asked Travis how he knew whether that was in fact true, and he told me he didn’t know for sure.  We ended up getting into a great conversation and I was able to share the Gospel with him.   At this point in Travis’ life, he admits to believing in God, but doesn’t really know who He is or what He has done, and most of all he says we can’t know for sure.  Essentially, Travis has broken the 2nd commandment to not form any graven images for he has created a god in his own mind to conform to himself.

Travis admitted to never reading the Bible and everything he thought he knew of Christianity was based on what he saw in professing Christians – hypocrites, corrupt preachers, and judgmental Pharisees.  I told Travis he could not base his understanding of Christianity on people but on the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word of God.  I also told him to never take a preacher’s word for truth simply because it comes from the mouth of a so-called preacher, but he must search the Scriptures for himself to discover the truth.  At the end of our conversation, I pointed Travis to our website here and told him I would bring him a Bible next time we go to the pool.  If everything I told Travis was indeed true about the afterlife, and it is I urged him, then he must do everything in his power to come to an understanding of the truth and avoid the lake of fire.  I pray the Lord uses this conversation to cause Travis to seek the Truth that he would find it.

Something that really struck me during our conversation was Travis’ comment that I was the first professing Christian he’d spoken with who had not gotten mad – that I was not angry toward Travis or getting heated in an argument.  Of course, I have no idea how many of these types of conversations Travis has had with professing Christians, and his perception of how a conversation goes is a subjective interpretation, but it served as a reminder that we must be careful with how we engage the lost with our speech.

1 Peter 3:15 tells us,

…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…

With gentleness and respect – every single conversation we have when engaging the lost with the Gospel must be centered on the Hope that is found in Jesus Christ alone.  We must do this in a manner that is not condemning of the person, for as Christ said, they are “condemned already” (John 3:18).  There is no reason why we should ever be coarse in our speech toward sinners, and we must always take heed to respect the individual to whom we are speaking.
In Colossians 4:6 we are commanded,

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

It is pointless and vain to engage the lost in spiritual conversations for the sake of argument or trying to prove a point.  This is not to say that argument (reasoning) doesn’t have it’s place (it most certainly does), but what good is it to seemingly win an argument for mere bragging rights?  What good is it to be overzealous toward people to leave sour tastes in their mouths and the impression that we are angry, judgmental, condemning, or self-righteous (although truth spoken, no matter how gracious, is sometimes perceived as such by some people)?  No, our speech must be gracious.  It must be seasoned with grace and truth, pertinent to the questions that are asked.  Be forthright in your speech, but do not lack grace so to disgruntle the listener.  We must not give our hearers any reason to find fault in our speech, but rather,

having a good conscience…when [we] are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. – 1 Peter 3:16

We are not responsible for the religious hypocrites who, in the name of God, blast sinners with condemnation.  Whether they are the Westboro Baptist types, Pelagian heretics who preach on the street, or the run-of-the-mill pew warmer blind by the planks in their own eyes, God will deal with them.  However in light of these hypocrites, we must all the more be sure that

no corrupting talk come out of [our] mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29

No matter the hearer, whether fellow Christian or non-believer, we must speak the truth in love.  After all, this is all part of our sanctification that we

…must rid [ourselves] of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from [our] lips. – Colossians 3:8

It was encouraging and a blessing to be told that my speech toward Travis was implied to be “seasoned with salt”.   I pray the Lord uses my testimony before Travis to draw Travis to Himself, and I pray this post might serve to remind and edify my brothers and sisters to be wise and mindful of your speech toward outsiders, holding fast to the following from 2 Timothy 2:24-26:

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

May the Lord continue to conform us to our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

This post was originally posted at The Speak:Truth Project

The Pearl of Great Price

By Justin Edwards

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. - Matthew 13:45-46

"I want this pearl. How much is it?" 

"Well," the seller says, "it's very expensive."

"But, how much?" we ask.

"Well, a very large amount."

"Do you think I could buy it?"

"Oh, of course, everyone can buy it."

"But, didn't you say it was very expensive?"

"Yes."

"Well, how much is it?"

"Everything you have," says the seller.

We make up our minds, "All right, I'll buy it," we say.

"Well, what do you have?" he wants to know. "Let's write it down."

"Well, I have ten thousand dollars in the bank."

"Good- -ten thousand dollars. What else?"

"That's all.. That's all I have." "Well, I have a few dollars here in my pocket."

"How much?"

We start digging. "Well, let's see--thirty, forty, sixty, eighty, a hundred, a hundred twenty dollars."

"That's fine. What else do you have?"

"Well, nothing. That's all."

"Where do you live?" He's still probing.

"In my house. Yes, I have a house."

"The house, too, then." He writes that down.

"You mean I have to live in my camper?"

"You have a camper? That, too. What else?"

"I'll have to sleep in my car!"

"You have a car?"

"Two of them."

"Both become mine, both cars. What else?"

"Well, you already have my money, my house, my camper, my cars. What more do you want?"

"Are you alone in this world?"

"No I have a wife and two children....."

"Oh, yes, your wife and children, too. What else?"

"I have nothing left! I am left alone now."

Suddenly the seller exclaims, "Oh, I almost forgot! You yourself, too! Everything becomes mine--wife, children, house, money, cars--and you too." Then he goes on. "Now listen--I will allow you to use all these things for the time being. But don't forget that they are mine, just as you are. And whenever I need any of them you must give them up, because now I am the owner."

(HT: Sermonindex)

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:33

Stories of Change - Christ Redeems!

By Justin Edwards

The one who has been saved by the grace of God through the Lord Jesus Christ experiences a real, tangible, inward change of the heart that leads to a life of sanctification.  Titus 2:12 tells us that grace

train[s] us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. 

We see in Galatians 5:22-23 that God manifests His character in us as we grow in grace:

the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

In Colossians 3:5-17, we see a contrast between the old man who was dead in his sins and facing the wrath of God yet to come, with the new man who has become a new creation in Christ to be a slave of His righteousness.  As we are conformed to the likeness of Jesus, the works of the flesh will no longer be manifest in us (see Galatians 5:19-21), and we are in fact commanded to crucify these things in our flesh and walk in newness of life:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

If we are no longer slaves to our sin but slaves to God (Romans 6:22), let us walk in this reality as sons and daughters who want nothing more but to honor our King by presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to Him (Romans 12:1-2).  Paul tells us in the third chapter of Colossians:

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Are these Scriptures a reality in your life?  Are you dwelling in the Word of God that it would dwell in you richly? Is grace teaching you to deny worldliness and ungodliness?  Are you learning to live a godly, self-controlled, righteous life in this present life?  Have the chains of sin been broken that you walk in newness of life, having crucified your flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24)?  

Jesus came to save His people from their sin.  He came to heal the sick.  Do you have yet to be saved, do you have yet to be healed from the disease of sin?  Do you wish to be made free?  The reality is that Jesus 

gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. - Titus 2:14  

Christ redeems and Christ purifies His people.  Do you want to be made pure?

The beauty of grace is not only that it saves us from God's wrath to come, but it saves us from the bondage of our sin.  The Hope of Christ is that we can be freed today, not just in the life to come.  God's grace not only saves us, but it changes us so that we experience the abundant life of Christ now. 

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. - John 8:34-36

The people in the following video know and remember a time when they were lost and hopeless.  Can you?  Can you identify with their stories?  All Christians can.  If you cannot, let's talk about it.

Proclaiming the Truth to Hecklers & Encouraging Believers to Witness

By Justin Edwards

These two videos from Tony Miano are very instructive. In the first video, Tony completes the reading from 1 John, calling for people to examine themselves in light of the Word of God. If one does not believe in the God of the Bible as defined by the God of the Bible, then one has created a god in their own image. If one does not believe in Jesus as defined through Holy Scripture but instead cherry picks particular verses to form their religious dogma, then they have created a false jesus - one that does not exist. I call such people to consider what has been presented in the following series: Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath

In the second video, Tony speaks with Oscar, a fellow believer who has struggled in openly sharing his faith with strangers.  Listen to Tony encourage Oscar, and if you find yourself in the same shoes as Oscar, pray that God would give you the courage and help you overcome your fears in witnessing to strangers.  You may find the resources at The Speak:Truth Project helpful.

Citylight Baptist Church - The Say Yes! Project

By Justin Edwards

My friend Brian Norris and his family are moving to Charlotte, NC to build a church that is Gospel-centered and Christ-focused, and he needs your help!  Beginning today, July 1st through July 3rd, Brian is launching a fundraiser for financial support to build the church that God has called him to pastor.  I'll let Brian tell you a bit more about the vision for Citylight Baptist Church:

I am so excited for what God has in store for Citylight.  As one who is on the streets of Charlotte weekly proclaiming the Gospel, I can tell you many people are open to hearing the truth of God's Word, and so often they ask about a local church to attend. Most of the people we speak with in Uptown Charlotte are poor or homeless and have no means of transportation other than the public transit system.  What Citylight will provide is a biblically grounded church, rooted and faithful to the essential truths of Scripture, located just outside the center city along major transit routes.

The Norris Family

As you learned in the short video above, Citylight will be a church whose primary purpose is building up the Body of Christ to go out and make disciples of all nations, whether they be found in one's own backyard or halfway around the world.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ will be faithfully proclaimed while practicing the life-changing implications of the Gospel through serving and ministering to the local community. Citylight will be a church that does not compromise its biblical convictions, and will shine brightly in the midst of darkness that has so corrupted many American churches today who aim to conform to the world instead of God's Word.

Brian has been commissioned by Eastside Baptist Church of Greeneville, Tennessee, where he served as youth pastor for seven years under the leadership of Pastor David Fox.  Citylight  is accountable to their sending church, Eastside, in addition to a board made up of three church pastors and their churches' leadership teams. These churches function in an advisory role and keep Citylight morally, financially, and doctrinally accountable.  Please see the following link to learn more about Citylight's statement of beliefs:  Beliefs.

The Say Yes! Project is asking you to prayerfully consider joining the Norris family in their pursuit to build a Christ-exalting, New Testament church in the heart of Charlotte, NC.  There are 6 ways you can partner with Citylight:

1. Consider giving monthly - no gift is too small.
2. If you are a blog-owner or social media user, write a post about the campaign.
3. Repost the following link on social media: www.citylightbaptist.org/yes .
4. Ask your friends to link to this post. (Please ask them to ask their friends to do the same.)
5. Make the “say YES!” image your facebook or twitter profile picture from July 1-3.
6. Share the vimeo video.

Citylight's goal is to partner with 200 donors giving $5, $10, $20, $30, or $40 a month for a period of three years.

Without further adieu, I'll let Brian tell you a bit more about the campaign July 1-3 in the video below.  If you are led to financially contribute to Citylight Baptist Church, the Say Yes! logo will be posted in the sidebar through July 3rd for you to click and donate.  I am honored with the privilege to share this new ministry with you and invite you to join my family as we support Citylight Baptist Church for the next 3 years.