A Tender Vine

A Tender Vine 

A Poem to the Beloved Remnant

(by Sean and Preethi Morris)

He made you, oh righteous Branch, plucked out from the fire, (John 15:6, Zech 3:2)
A noble seed, a tender vine, holiness unto GOD did He once inspire. (Ps 105:6, Ezek 17:4-5, Jer 2:3)
When all was lost, broken, dismayed, and self-decayed, (Phil 3:7-8, Luke 19:10, Rom 5:8)
Then He did raise you up a new creature to follow Christ upon this narrow way. (2 Cor 5:17, Matt 7:14)

Long you had stumbled the course of false religion, (2 Tim 3:5, 1 Cor 15:9)
Walking aisles and saying prayers, a strong delusion of a "saving decision". (Prov 15:8)
Yet saved you were when grace did unveil Holy Words, (2 Cor 3:16, 1 Pet 1:23)
Upon your face before just wrath, a single righteous act your strength could not afford. (Eph 3:4, Gen 6:5, Rom 3:10-12)

Thus He has shown you His irresistible grace, (Eph 2:8-9, Rom 9:16)
That you, Oh man, would walk closely with Him beholding His glory with open face. (2 Cor 3:18)
He called you to Himself and betrothed you in love, (Hos 2:20)
By the bond of His blood Covenant made by the living High Priest sent from above. (Heb 10:20, Matt 26:28)

And now, behold, salvation is told - God lives in thee! (John 17:23)
To make you "perfect in One" to proclaim the Son - Bride-n-Trinity! (John 17:23, Eph 4:13)
The world to see Christ's reign - now-to-infinity! (Ps 145:13)
The Church here below proclaiming the Word - no timidity! (Acts 4:31, Phil 1:28)

But hearts have turned astray; your love has waxed so cold, (2 Pet 2:15, Rev 2:4)
You have forsaken the freedom purchased of old and wandered from the Shepherd's fold. (John 8:34, Rom 6:16, Jer 2:20)
Now you lust and war for carnal things here and now, (James 4:1-3)
Your mind is earthly, your walk unworthy, you are enslaved by corrupt doctrine somehow! (Rom 8:6, Phil 3:19, Matt 25:30, Gal 4:9)

Strict lines are now blurred by words of atoning mercies, (Jude 1:4, 8)
With the lines of true conversion hazed you resort to mere religious courtesies. (Rev 3:17)
The very fruits which reveal a man is in Christ... (John 15:5, 1 John 2:10, 24, 29, 3:10, 14)
They're neglected, and for what? Mental assent to God's promises do now suffice. (Jer 7:4, Rev 3:1)

You do not mourn and weep over your soul’s tragic loss, (James 4:9, 2 Cor 7:11)
For you call Biblical "fear" a grace-less crime for which many are from "assurance" tossed. (Is 30:10)
The Person of Christ stands calling out lest you die! (Rev 2:16, 3:2, 19)
Your Lord is provoked but you, by outward shows of peace, His wrath disguise! (1 Cor 10:9, Ezek 13:16)

Christ reigns on High, His judgment throne is fiercely set! (Jam 4:12)
To render to every man according to the double-edged SWORD He will whet! (Rom 2:6, Rev 19:13-15)
Therefore did Paul fear to become a castaway reject! (1 Cor 9:27)
Cause God did not spare the Natural Branches, what will He do to a Last Days "Christian" Sect? (Rom 11:21)

He will come, degenerate Vine, for a pure and spotless Bride, (Jer 2:21, Rev 21:2)
Whose heart is one, whose eyes are single, whose feet do now onward with hearts upward stride. (Jer 31:22, 2 Cor 11:2)
A foolish virgin’s extinguished flame, He will not accept! (Matt 25:8-12)
She who presumes upon promises while a spiritual sloth, she is by false peace inept! (2 Pet 2:10, Heb 6:12)

Remember His saving voice that first came to you, dear Bride! (Ps 119:41, Eph 1:13)
He showed you the depths and heights of justice & love, undeserved grace, a Cleft in which you might hide! (Eph 3:18, Phil 3:9)
A new creature you were made and former things gone, (2 Cor 5:17)
Because decisionalism you then knew with pure certainty was damningly wrong. (John 15:16, Rom 9:16)

But now conversion, and the fruits it did wondrously contain,
Are presently far off, and yet, by unconditional security you do your state explain. (Jer. 7:4-8)
And you expect your face before Him to maintain? (Prov 6:17)
But no carnal mind, no double heart, or lukewarm devotee will before Christ's throne remain! (Rom 8:6, James 4:4, Rev 3:16)

If the righteous depart from right and do evil,
His past righteousness will not save him; he will die with faith dead and soul feeble. (Ezek 3:20, 33:13)
You will not live if you refuse what Heaven speaks, (Heb 12:25)
Not from Sinai's heights but from His throne above through prophets who do show your deceit. (Heb 3:7-8)

You must be known by Him to enter Heaven's Gate, (Matt 7:23)
You must by fervent love and holy fear with wise and ready soul awake! (1 Cor 15:34, Eph 5:14)
But you chose to practice "Free Grace Theology" above His way, (Is 28:15)
Arguing and murmuring over words and deeds, you have from His judgments been swayed. (1 Tim 1:6, 6:5, Jude 1:16)

Scheme after ploy, the former things you justify, (2 Pet 2:20-22)
Trusting in "promises", broken cisterns, you do of His light’s absence testify! (Jer. 2:13, 6:14, Is 8:20)
You do now the least of His ordinances defy, (Matt 5:19, Jam 2:10)
Brokenness and contrition --trembling at His WORD-- is where true hope lies. (Ps 51:17, Is 66:2)

Repent oh wretched daughter of my LORD's people! (Jer 6:26, 9:1, 14:17)
My eyes do run down with tears as I behold the strong turn into the feeble! (Lam 2:11, 3:48)
I lift up my hands again and cry in the night, (1 Tim 2:8)
For you His children who now faint and pine away at the head of all streets in sight! (Lam 2:19)

Turn, LORD, and remember Your Covenant by blood, (Ps 90:13, 135:14, Ps 106:45, Ezek 16:60, Luke 1:72, Heb 10:29)
Release from the chains those sentenced to the impending, fiery, and melting flood! (Ps 79:11, Jas. 5:20, 2 Pet 3:7)
Resurrect dry bones; make elect souls come alive! (Ezek 37:4-7, Luke 15:24, Rev 3:1)
Before You return with Sword and sickle in hand to judge all mankind from the skies! (Rev 14:14, 19:13-15)

My heart is torn, bound up in the life of her, (Rom 9:1-3, Lam 3:48)
For I cannot with their false promise of peace & security concur! (Ezek 13:10-16)
For they be far from Christ who first judges His House! (1 Pet 4:17)
Alas, if I be scarcely saved, what spiritual adultery can God's justice allow!? (Jer 11:15, Jas. 4:4, 1 Cor 16:22)

Aspects of Genuine Repentance

Aspects of Genuine Repentance

Dear Father,

    You are the Giver of every perfect gift, yes, even the gift of repentance that You grant to Your children again and again. When our affections have temporarily turned aside, we were weak and powerless, and yet You have caused us to see a glimpse of the coming judgment, a glimpse of the old man, and a glimpse of Your Son. And it has caused us to cling to You, to draw near to You, and to know that You have drawn near to us. Yes, the great serpent has flown from us and we have flown to Your Son. We could not repent. We could not repent. But what was impossible for men, You have accomplished by Your Spirit on the basis of the atoning blood of Your Son.

In Jesus Christ’s Name,

Amen

1.     Destruction of Self

     Genuine repentance includes the changing of the mind regarding self, that is, the old self. As the soul of the repentant prophet sees the righteousness of the Lord, he cries out “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Is 6:5). The inherent problem with the unsaved man is that he constantly seeks to justify his soul. Men are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them (Rom 2:14). They seek to justify self, to defend self, to acquit self, to make restitution for self, to exalt self, to give pleasure to self, to preserve self, to protect self, to glorify self…and all this is apart from Christ. But the role of God’s Law is to be the tutor that leads the chosen ones to Christ (Gal 3:24). Once the unsaved man was “alive” according to his own perception of the state of his soul. He thought there was worth and goodness in him for he was apart from the Law. But when the commandment came, sin became alive in him and he died for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived him and through it killed him. (Rom 7:9-11). But acknowledgement of one’s own wretchedness is not equivalent to the destruction of self that is an aspect of genuine repentance unless it includes the sorrow that is according to the will of God which produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation. For the sorrow of the world produces death. (2 Cor 7:10) But true repentance occurs when His people are united with Christ in the likeness of His death (Rom 6:5). Not only do they see their complete moral depravity, but they see the Savior as having borne that very depravity and the guilt, shame, and condemnation that is due it. This is the saving accompanier to the acknowledgement of self-depravity: the uniting with Christ in the likeness of His death. The repentant soul sees his sinful nature as crucified with Christ. At the same time that he cries out “I am lost!”, he sees his very depravity as borne by the perfect Lamb of God. He sanctifies the Name of the Holy One of Jacob and stands in awe of the God of Israel. Though he erred in mind, he will know the Truth. Though he criticized he will accept instruction. (Is 29:23-24) For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Is 30:15) In order to truly repent, the man must see his soul, all of his old nature, or with regard to the converted person, the remnant thereof, as worthy of condemnation. For Christ has not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32).

“Woe is me, for I am ruined”!

2.     Awareness of Blindness

     Likewise, another aspect of genuine repentance is the awareness of one’s own blindness apart from the enlightening by the Son. For though he is blind, the unrepentant lost man claims to have sight. Jesus said that if the people were blind, they would have no sin; but since they say that they see, their sin remains (John 9:41). All unregenerate men are not only blind, but they claim to their own souls and to the world around them that they can see. In their case the god of this world has blinded their minds so that they might not see the Light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor 4:4). To truly repent, one must call out, “I cannot see! Lord that I may receive sight!” Jesus said that for judgment He came into the world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind (Luke 9:39). For those who saw themselves to be worthy in their own eyes did not heed the invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb. And so He has told His slaves to go at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame (Luke 14:21).

Who is among you that fears the Lord,
That obeys the voice of His servant,
That walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Is 50:10

“Lord that I might see!”

3.     The Warning of Coming Wrath

     Another aspect of true repentance is a heeding of God’s warning concerning the coming judgment. For the Spirit has come and convicts the world concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged (John 16:8, 11). John the Baptist warned the people to flee from the wrath to come, and to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. For the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Luke 3:7-9) Similarly when Peter told the people to repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the promise for as many as the Lord would call to Himself, he used many other words to solemnly testify and exhort them saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation”. (Acts 2:38-40) This “fleeing from wrath” involves the fleeing from immorality, from idolatry, from the love of money, and from youthful lusts (1 Cor 6:18, 1 Cor 10:14, 1 Tim 6:11, 2 Tim 2:22). For because of these God’s wrath is coming. With regard to the regenerate man who has fallen into sin, the same warning of the coming judgment is effective to lead him forward on the straight way for he acknowledges that the very fleshly desires he faces are waging war against his soul and seek to destroy the very new life that he has been granted (1 Pet 2:11). His Father reminds him that there is a point of no return. For just as afterwards Esau desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears (Heb 12:17). And in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, received a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. (Heb 6:4-8) The fear of God does involve conviction of the coming judgment, and fleeing to take hold of Christ, the refuge and Anchor. But a fear of hell is not enough, the man must take hold of Christ. He must truly repent.

“I must escape the coming wrath!”

4.     Acknowledgment of Incompetency to Elicit One’s Own Repentance

     There comes a point in the lives of some unregenerate men when they sees that unless they repent they will perish. The rich young ruler wanted to earn eternal life through his good deeds, only to realize by Christ’s Words that in order to follow Christ he needed to have a complete reversal of his mindset and heart condition. He had to repent. His inability to sell all of his wealth and give it to the poor was due to his inherent unwillingness. He went away sad, knowing he required such a deep repentance, and yet knowing he was unable to elicit such repentance within himself. Often lost men come to the point of being condemned by the Law of God within their own souls, and yet find themselves unable to elicit true repentance. For true repentance is not a choice or decision of man. It is impossible for him to repent. But what is impossible for men is possible with God. God brings about repentance. And thus the repentant sinner acknowledges his incompetency to have repented without God’s enablement. He believes Christ’s Words that no one can come to Him unless it has been granted him from the Father (John 6:65). And yet he acknowledges the nature of the Son to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide their feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:79). And his response is to watch expectantly for the Lord, the God of his salvation. He knows that his God will hear him. He tells his enemy not to rejoice over him. For though he falls he will rise; though he dwells in darkness, the Lord is a light for him. He bears the indignation of the Lord because he had sinned against Him, until He pleads his case and executes justice for him. He knows that God will bring him out into the light of Christ, and he will again see His righteousness. (Mic 7:7-9). Even when a converted person falls into sin, he seeks the Lord and waits upon him to grant him the gift of repentance. He knows that his Good Shepherd will capture his heart and that if he did not he would be damned. He knows with his God there is forgiveness and restoration and thus he fears God (Ps 130:4).

“Only He can help me to repent!”

5.     The Allurement in the Desert

     Often there is a desert that the sinner finds himself in where he is parched and in which his soul draws near the grave. The sin that once enthralled his eyes and the objects of the desires of the flesh no longer bring him pleasure. His lovers have turned against him and he dwells in darkness. Even a straying Christian, as he keeps silent about his sin, his body wastes away through his groaning all day long. For day and night God’s hand was heavy upon him; his vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Finally the one who had sinned acknowledged his sin to God, and did not hide his iniquity. He says that he will confess his transgression to the Lord. And God forgives the guilt of his sin. (Ps 32:3-5) For in the desert, God allures His people. He brings her into the wilderness and speaks kindly to her. (Hos 2:14). He betroths her to Himself forever in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness, compassion, and faithfulness. Then they will know the Lord! (Hos 2:18-20) Thus the true sons do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when they are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore they strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for their feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed. (Heb 12:7-13) Yes, He Himself brings the one who has sinned into the desert. There in the desert He allures her and speaks kindly to her. This is the kindness that results in repentance (Rom 2:4).

⁶ Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You ^[g]in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
⁷ You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with ^[h]songs of deliverance. Ps 32

“I wasted away, but He came and spoke kindly to me!”

6.     The Inevitable Circumcision of the Heart by the Spirit

     True repentance is a result of the inevitable circumcision of the heart by the Spirit. It is inevitable because all those who God has chosen are objects of His effectual blood and the grace therein. For he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God (Rom 2:29). The changing of the mind and heart that are the essence of genuine repentance occurs not by man’s reasoning or striving, but by the supernatural work of the Spirit. And once He has accomplished the work of bringing about our repentance, our reasoning and striving has become, by His grace, well suited for His purposes. For His New Covenant is that we shall be His people, and He will be our God. He gives us one heart and one way, that we may fear Him always, for our own good and for the good of our children after us. He has made an everlasting covenant with us that He will not turn away from us, to do us good; and He will put the fear of Himself in our hearts so that we will not turn away from Him. (Jer 32:38-40). Once the people of God have repented at the time of conversion, their repentance has not ended, but rather, it grows and deepens. And when he falls into sin, the Spirit elicits the very same repentance through the transformation that occurs by the renewing of the mind with the Truth of the Gospel. For as we walk with the Spirit, we will not carry out the desire of the flesh. But the Spirit will gain the victory in the lives of God’s people. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are in opposition to one another, so that we do not do the desires of the flesh, that which is pleasing to the flesh. (Gal 5:16-17) And so He has enclosed us behind and before, and laid His hand upon us. Such knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is too high, we cannot attain to it. Where can we go from His Spirit? Or where can we flee from His presence? If we ascend to heaven, He is there; if we make our bed in Sheol, behold, He is there. If we take the wings of the dawn, if we dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there His hand will lead us, and His right hand will lay hold of us. If we say that surely the darkness will overwhelm us, and the light around us will be night, even the darkness is not dark to Him, and even night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Him. (Ps 139:5-12) Genuine repentance is inevitable for the true believer, for it is enabled by the Father whose desire is to conform him to the image of His Son through the indwelling Holy Spirit who powerfully opposes the sin of the flesh.

“He surely grants the gift of repentance to me!”

7.     The Casting of Hope, Gaze, and Confidence on Christ

     Genuine repentance always involves the casting of hope, gaze, and confidence on Christ, specifically on His finished work. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of man has been lifted up and His people behold Him as being the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Lord has created a new thing in the earth—a woman will encompass a man (Jer 31:22). The Bride of Christ willingly turns to Christ. The ends of the earth turn to the Lord and are saved (Is 45:22). Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:15-17) The Father’s will is that everyone who behold the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and Christ Himself will raise him up on the last day (John 6:40). In addition to the conviction of coming judgment, the genuine repentance is a willing turning and gazing upon the beauty and incomprehensible love of Christ.

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb 4

“Behold, the Lamb of God who took away my sin!”

8.     The Healing of Apostasy

     One evidence of genuine conversion is the curing of backsliding and faithlessness. When a person claims to have repented and yet keeps on sinning, it may be questioned whether his heart’s attitude towards his sin has truly changed. For if the heart’s affections have not changed, a man will not be able to maintain a lifestyle against his true heart’s affection. Thus, a man who has not truly repented cannot maintain a life of love and holiness. Similarly a converted man cannot live a life of sin because his heart’s affections have changed away from wickedness and towards Christ. The repentant man takes words with him and returns to the Lord. He asks God to take away all iniquity and receive him graciously, that he may present the fruit of his lips. He acknowledges that his previous idols cannot save him. For only in God the orphans find mercy. And thus God heals their apostasy, and loves them freely. For His anger has turned away from them. (Hos 14:1-4)

²¹ A voice is heard on the bare heights,
The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;
Because they have perverted their way,
They have forgotten the Lord their God.
²² “Return, O faithless sons,
I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;
For You are the Lord our God.
²³ “Surely, the hills are a deception,
A tumult on the mountains.
Surely in the Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel. Jer 3

“Where else can I go Lord, You have the Words of Eternal Life”

9.     Two Reasons to Include Repentance in the Core Gospel Message

-        Scripture teaches us to tell people to repent and believe the Gospel. God tells us to repent and live (Ez 18:32). John the Baptist told the people to repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand and to bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt 3:2,8). When Jesus preached He told people to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matt 4:17), and He came to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). When the disciples were sent out, they preached that men should repent (Mark 6:12). As Peter preached the Gospel on the day of Pentecost he told the people to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38) and later he preached that people should repent and return that their sins would be wiped out (Acts 3:19). As Paul preached to the men of Athens he said that God is calling all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) and kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance (Acts 26:20).

-        Telling the hearers to bear fruit in keeping with repentance is a gracious means of examining the genuineness of repentance. For an unconverted person cannot maintain the fruit of repentance. And thus if a person who professes to be repenting is unwilling or unable to give up sin to any significant degree, he must examine himself to see if he is in the faith, and if Christ has been formed in him (2 Cor 13:5, Gal 4:19). Though repentance is not perfect, it is genuine and results in the renouncing of known wickedness. It will surely deepen and grow over time resulting with greater measures of holiness and love in the believer.

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Rev 3:19

“Yes, it was His grace that my fellow man told me to repent and believe in the Gospel!”

10.  An Excellent Passage on Repentance

¹⁷ “There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
¹⁸ “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving,
‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained calf;
Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
¹⁹ ‘For after I turned back, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh;
I was ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
²⁰ “Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My ^[j]heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.

²¹ “Set up for yourself roadmarks,
Place for yourself guideposts;
Direct your ^[k]mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities. Jer 31

“He loves me so I will return to Him!”

Unity # 34: Released from the Power of Sin

Unity # 34: Released from the Power of Sin

Predestination, Effectual Grace, Suffering, and the Resurrection of Christ

Dear Father,

     We praise You for the hope of Your calling, the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in us, the surpassing greatness of Your power towards us who believe, the working of Your mighty strength which You brought about in Christ when You raised Him from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. You have put all things in subjection under the feet of Your Son, and given Him as head over all things to the church, Your body, the fullness of You who fills all in all. I commit this letter to You; may it flow by Your Spirit’s help to comfort the saints.

In Jesus Christ’s Name,

Amen

Dear Beloved,

      This letter is about our release from the power of sin. By the work of our Lord, death and its sting are swallowed up in victory. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:54-57) There are many things which may be written about our release from the power of sin; here I will be focusing on what God has been teaching me in the past week: the regenerate hearts’ understanding of predestination, the nature of God in the face of suffering, and the resurrection of Christ. I am trusting that God will help all that He has brought to my mind to fit together well in this letter.

The Regenerate Hearts’ Understanding of Predestination/Effectual Grace

     The Scriptures make it exceedingly clear that God has both foreknown and predestined the eternal outcome of all people: some are appointed for life, and some are doomed to destruction. However, many professing believers have a difficult time understanding and believing that this is so. The common reasons are that somehow justice is perverted or coercion has been enacted on God’s part if we are left with no choice of our own. All would agree that God is just, and that for all those who have trusted in Christ, they have done so willingly and wholeheartedly. Their surrender is indeed an outcry of acknowledgement of the great love of the Father. So for us who believe the Scriptures which teach us that God has predestined us, we agree that God is just in all that He does and that the people of God have a heart that loves Christ and all that He entails. But for those who do not believe in predestination, you must consider the passage from John 6:52-71 where Christ describes that He will give His flesh for the life of the world and that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood have eternal life, and He will raise them up on the last day. He tells us that if we eat His flesh and drink His blood we abide in Him and He in us. As the living Father sent Him, and He lives because of the Father, so if we eat of Christ, we will live forever because of Him. After Jesus taught about these things, many of His followers said that this was a difficult statement and asked who could listen to it. But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? When then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe”. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. He was saying. “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father”. As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. Dear saints, in view of the teaching of predestination, that is, that it is because of God’s will and power that anyone at all can come to Him, many people could no longer walk with Him. If you knew that God’s predestination of all people is true, then would you still walk with Him? Would you be as the disciples who said “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” Jesus had chosen all 12 of them, but he knew that Judas would betray Him. He has mercy and compassion on whom He has mercy and compassion. And He hardens whomever He desires. His purpose is that His Name will be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory? He has called people from both the Jews and the Gentiles; He has called those who were not His people and not beloved as His beloved people, sons of the living God. For though the number of the sons of Israel are like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant alone that will be saved; for the Lord will execute His Word on the earth thoroughly and quickly. So then, many of the Israelites pursued a law of righteousness, could not keep it, and rejected the righteousness that comes by faith. In Zion God lay a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and only those who believe in Him will not be disappointed. So then, our righteousness is by faith. (Rom 9)

    Dear saint, do you believe in the Scriptural truth of the total moral depravity of all unregenerate people, that is, that until we are raised to life by the Spirit, we are dead in trespasses and sin, possessing absolutely no goodness at all. Because we were dead, we could not hear, understand, or believe in the Gospel nor did we contain any inking of a leaning towards the Truth such that we could choose to believe in it even if we heard it? And because this is true, we require God’s effectual grace, the grace purchased through the blood of Christ for His chosen people that lifts us from our spiritual graves that we may hear, understand, and believe in the Gospel. Furthermore, effectual grace enables us to bear fruit, to be progressively sanctified, to persevere until the end, to remain faithful, to be glorified with and found in Christ on the last Day… To deny predestination is to claim that God has not chosen and caused us to trust in Christ, and if it was not effectual grace by God’s own predestination that caused us to believe, then you are saying that you had some inkling of goodness to choose him. And then you deny total depravity, and you are claiming to have some righteousness of your own; you are claiming that there was some inherent goodness in yourself that caused you to choose Him. Do you not see how such a belief, if continued in, could result in damnation if your heart has truly believed that you have some goodness apart from what God has chosen to grant to you though His regenerating work? Do you now understand why many turned away from Christ in the face of His teaching on predestination? Many were holding on to a righteousness of their own, to a false nobility of their human will apart from the Father’s enablement. We must surrender all.

     These principles can be applied to eternal security as well. Eternal security is the gift of grace granted to all those who are chosen for eternal life. Those who inherit God’s promises do so through faith and patience (Heb 6:12). God enables them to persevere until the end and works in them the “obedience of faith” that is present in all those who are truly justified. If it is not God who secures the souls of the elect and prevents them from falling away through His Spirit, Word, discipline, and love, then we are left to ourselves to remain in the faith, and we are again denying effectual grace, and claiming goodness apart from His predestining work. His act of predestination involves our calling, conversion, perseverance, and eternal life. And thus, we are determined to know nothing among us except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. We come in weakness, fear, and much trembling, and our message and preaching are not in persuasive words of worldly wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that the faith of our hearers will not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Cor 2:1-5)

     So then, this letter is to be about our release from the power of sin, and you may be wondering how God’s predestination is related to the power of sin. There are certain things which accompany the saints’ righteous belief in predestination: a deep conviction of total depravity prior to regeneration, a deep conviction that because God has secured our salvation, He will keep us holy and blameless, firm in faith, until the end, in the face of imminent temptations to turn aside and the surrounding deceitfulness of sin, a tremendous awe and fear at the incomprehensibility of God[1], and a total dependency on His hand of grace and righteousness. The heart of the saint cries, “Lord You alone have the Words of eternal life, where else can I go? You alone have caused me to trust in You and will enable me to persevere until the end because You have saved my soul” There is also a deep gratitude and thankfulness for God’s choosing, for it is apparent that MOST PEOPLE WILL DAMNED. Just as the generation of Noah was damned and only Noah and his family were saved, we also live in a crooked and perverse generation, and though many try to enter the narrow gate, few will find it, and many are called, but few are chosen (Matt 22:14). The majority of humans will be damned, but dear saint, do you still believe that He is good, that He is just, that He is unfathomable, that He is righteous in all His ways. These truths should bind Your heart in reverence to His.

     So then, if we have believed in His predestination of us, in His effectual grace, then we know that we are under His New Covenant by which He does not turn away from us to do us good (Jer 32:40). We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the Firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Rom 8:28-30)

The Regenerate Hearts’ Understanding of the Nature of God in the Face of Suffering

     Dear saints, suffering reveals what our hearts have believed about God. The fiery storms draw out from us the desires and beliefs regarding the nature of God. Just as the storm tested the foundation on which the house was built, rock or sand, so the troubles of this life reveal where we have placed our hope, our affections, and our labors. For as Christ told us, He spoke to us that in Him we may have peace. In the world we will have tribulation, but He tells us to take courage; He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) Those who doubt God’s goodness, those who do not long for the glory of God, will not stand under trials. For during suffering, they will doubt God’s goodness. They do not believe that all of the events of their lives are preordained by God out of His goodness and love. For the saint to truly believe that God never stops doing good to him will grant him overwhelming victory in the face of tremendous suffering, for he knows that each and every trial is an act of God’s goodness, though he may temporarily not know how or why. The saints consider Christ who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that they do not grow weary and lose heart. They do not forget the exhortation which is addressed to them as sons, “ My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He received”. It is for discipline that we endure; God deals with us as sons; and there is no son who is not disciplined by the heavenly Father. (Heb 12:3-7)

     We know that we have been justified by faith, and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Rom 5:1-5) Thus, the saints are able to consider it all joy when they encounter various trials, because they know that the testing of their faith produces endurance. Endurance has its perfect result, so that they are perfect and complete lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4) During suffering we do not fear, for God has redeemed us; He has called us by name and we are His. When we pass through the waters, He will be with us; and through the rivers, they will not overflow us. When we walk through the fire, we will not be scorched nor will the flame burn us, for He is the Lord our God, the Holy One of Israel, our Savior. (Is 43:1-3)

     The beloved are not to be surprised at the fiery ordeal among them, which comes upon them for their testing, as though some strange thing were happening to them; but to the degree that they share in the sufferings of Christ, they are to keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory they may rejoice with exaltation. Those who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. (I Pet 4:12, 13, 19) Indeed, all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12) and whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Christ cannot be His disciple (Luke 14:27). But the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18). God’s granting of perseverance and faith in the midst of our persecutions and afflictions which we endure is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that we will be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which indeed we are suffering (2 Thess 1:4-5). Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all (Ps 34:19).

The Regenerate Hearts’ Understanding of the Resurrection of Christ

     Again, how does the believer’s overcoming in suffering relate to the release from sin that this letter must concern? For one thing, in the resisting of temptation, there is a measure of suffering that we undergo. In many cases the desire for Christ that reigns in our regenerate hearts causes specific sins to lose their appeal and we may cheerfully and wholeheartedly obey our Savior without looking back or feeling any longings for these desires of the flesh. Ultimately, as a result of His progressive sanctification of our character, attitudes, behavior, and lifestyle, He is bringing us to that place of wholehearted obedience accompanied by great joy and comprehension of His love. But we know that many times, to resist sin, we must suffer, and we must obey in faith, not knowing how He will provide, but simply knowing that He is good, loving, strong, and has promised to do so. For we know that no temptation has overtaken us but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that we will be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13). With each and every temptation that comes our way, our hope is that as we put to death the misdeeds of the sinful flesh, the resurrection power and life of Christ has been granted to us. Thus, the feeling of suffocation, pain, emptiness, and turmoil that we experience in our resisting of sin will not prevail. For in our resistance we have simultaneous faith in God’s goodness and the indwelling Spirit to powerfully oppose and weaken the desire of sinful flesh (Gal 5).  Rather, we are promised that if we have died with Him, we will surely live with Him. For if Christ is in us, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of His righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in us. (Rom 8:10-11). For the righteousness based on faith is granted to the one whose hearts believes that God has raised Christ from the dead and that no one who believes in Him will be disappointed (Rom 10:9-11). Those who do not believe in the resurrection have a worthless faith and are still in their sin (1 Cor 15:16-17). But we believe that we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to died again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:4-11)

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; ⁸ we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor 4

     Thus, in our resisting of sin, we often feel death in our striving, and yet if our hearts have truly believed in the resurrection of Christ, we know that in due time, yes very soon in our earthly journey, He will again grant us the comprehension of freedom, peace, life, joy, and His unfailing love. With regard to all of the sin of the dead sinful nature, He has either completely removed the heart’s desire for that sin and replaced it with a desire for Christ, or He is commanding and causing us to resist sin in faith, while trusting in His goodness to His elect, and will soon grant us the joy of our salvation. The desires of the regenerate heart are realized through this work of His. As surely as we know that Christ is risen, as we put to death the misdeeds of the sinful flesh, the Spirit will grant us life moment-by-moment. The wisdom we speak of is God’s wisdom, a hidden and mysterious wisdom that among the unsaved, no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed it to us through His Spirit, yes through the mind of Christ that we have been granted. For just as our spirits know our thoughts, the Holy Spirit knows God’s thoughts. And we have this Spirit that we may know the things freely given to us by God. (1 Cor 2:6-12, 16)

Love in Christ,

Preethi

---

[1] ³³ Oh, the depth of the riches ^[l]both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! ³⁴ For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? ³⁵ Or who has first given to Him ^[m]that it might be paid back to him again? ³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory ^[n]forever. Amen. Rom 11