For By Grace You Have Been Saved Through Faith

by Mike Ratliff

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

What is it that causes God to justify believers? What is justification? I heard a definition a long time ago where the preacher said something like this, “Justification is what happens when we are born again, it is ‘Just as if I had never sinned’” Of course, those of us who are Reformed in our Theology believe that our regeneration, our quickening, our New Birth takes place prior to belief because that is what enables ungodly, spiritually dead people to repent and believe. Justification follows that. Let’s look at an example.

1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:1-3 ESV)

Our justification then is God counting us as righteousness. This is God declaring us righteous. Therefore, Justification is God imputing Righteousness to our account. It is Jesus Christ’s Righteousness that God imputes to us. Why does He do it? Abraham believed God. For this reason he is called the Father of Faith. Notice it doesn’t say that he believed in God, but that he believed God. God had covenanted with him, making several wonderful promises. Abraham believed Him and God justified him. This is justification by faith. Now let’s look at what God does to bring us to this point.

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in theheavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-7 ESV)

What is our condition before salvation? We are dead in our trespasses and sin. Dead is dead. It isn’t sick or weak. It is dead. All people before salvation are spiritually dead. They walk according to the ways of the world following the prince of the power of the air. This is Satan. All people who are not believers are in this state. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Salvation then involves becoming alive with Christ because God had mercy on us when we deserved none. When we are regenerated by God we are made spiritually alive with Christ. That means that we now have spiritual life likeJesus Christ.

What is missing from those 7 verses? Is there any mention of faith? No there isn’t. But in v8, which is at the top of this post and below, we see that we are saved by grace through faith. In other words, those verses prior to v8 are describing how wonderful our salvation is because of what we were like before we were saved. Then in vv8-9 we see that, like Abraham, we are saved through faith by believing God.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

In these verses we see that our salvation, our justification, comes to us by grace through faith. It is God’s grace that we are saved through the conduit of our faith, but that is all a gift of God. It is our regeneration which enables us to believe God and it is as we believe Him that we exhibit the same saving faith that Abraham had. As a result, we are saved.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

Verse 10 tells us that our salvation is God’s good work. We are newly born in Christ Jesus. Why? We are newly created for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. That means that Christians are new creations and not simply religious people who have made some decision to do religious things. NO! We who were formally dead in our trespasses and sins are now alive in Christ, reborn, remade, quickened, Born Again so that we can now obey our Lord in all things to walk according to His will for His glory alone.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Do Conversion And Regeneration Represent The Same Thing?

by Mike Ratliff

13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. ’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord? ’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles— to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:13-18 ESV)

A hypocrite is someone who implies he or she stands for one set of values, but actually lives out their life doing the opposite. Since few would disagree that the post-modern church is mired in hypocrisy, one might assume that Christianity was the problem. If Christianity really was the one and only true religion and Jesus’ disciples truly are changed by their new birth in Christ, the hypocrite label should not stick. Why? True Biblical Christianity professes that all in Christ not only have their sins forgiven them, but they are also new creations who are no longer under the power of their former sins. Something isn’t right. 

Sadly, the vast majority of post-modern professing Christians are in bondage to sin and are far more in love with this world than they are with their Saviour. This should not be! The problem is not with Christianity, but with a doctrinally unsound aberration of it. This “counterfeit Christianity” is rooted in Humanism. It places Man’s will equal with God’s will. Salvation is taught in such a way that people believe they “choose” salvation by accepting Jesus as Saviour by reciting a “sinner’s prayer.” As a result, these “Converts” believe their salvation came because they made the correct decision while the lost have not done so. After a short time, however, most of these conversions fail to “stick.” They fall away as soon as the going gets tough. Most of the remainder fall into the role of “hypocrite” while a small remnant live lives that grow in grace.

What makes the difference? That small remnant who do grow in grace is made up of those whose hearts have been regenerated by God causing them to become New Creations, having a faith that is alive rather than dead, and they believe the Gospel and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and are then Justified by the Father. They are Born Again. Conversion is not equal to regeneration. Conversion is a religious act while regeneration is a miracle wrought by our sovereign God as an act of grace. No matter how religious one becomes it will never result in the miracle of regeneration. No one earns salvation.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV)

How anyone could come up with a doctrine of salvation based on religion (works righteousness) after reading that passage is beyond me. Let’s look closely at this passage. Salvation is by grace through faith. One may say that the faith is our part and the grace is God’s part. If we left it at this point, that may make sense, but let’s go deeper. What does the second statement in that passage say? It says our salvation is not our own doing. Instead, it is a gift of God, not a result of works. How can that be if we must have faith? The last part of that statement says that our salvation is accomplished in such a way that none of us may boast about it. So, do we have a paradox? Let’s look at another passage.

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18 ESV)

What an ugly statement. Unfortunately, all unsaved people fit this description. Without God’s grace, we are all unrighteous. We do not understand God nor do we seek Him. We all turn aside from righteous behavior. We are spiritually worthless. No one does anything that pleases God. We do not fear God. This is a description of the spiritually dead. Unless there is a miracle to bring what is dead to life then there is no salvation because without that there is no faith or belief possible. Why? The spiritually dead cannot make spiritual decisions to choose God. What is the miracle and when does it happen? Regeneration is the miracle. When does it happen?

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 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. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30 ESV)

If we carefully read this passage, we see a progression. What happens first? The first statement speaks of God’s people living within God’s sovereign grace because of being called according to His purpose. The progression comes next. It is a description of those who are called according to God’s purpose. What is the first act and who does it? God foreknew them. To get a better understanding of this passage let’s compare it to another.

3 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. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-12 ESV)

The first statement in this passage tells us that God chose “us in Christ” before the foundation of the world. Who is the “us in Christ?” That is all believers. When did God choose them? He chose them before the foundation of the World. Now go back to Romans 8:28-30. The word “foreknew” in this verse means to know someone intimately. It does not mean to know what someone will do or not do. Therefore, before God created the World He looked into the future and foreknew those to place His affection and love upon. He chose them. He elected them. He set into motion a set of acts that would accomplish a specific result. We see that in Ephesians 1:3-12. In love, he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ. Why? Look back a few verses. God chose His elect and set His affection and attention on them so that they should be holy and blameless before Him. Now let’s go back to Romans 8:28-30. This passage gives another reason God predestined all true believers. 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.

Let’s summarize before jumping into regeneration. God chose all who would be saved before the foundation of the World according to His own sovereign will. It had nothing to do with any of our attributes. He set His purpose and affection on this select group of people. Why? So that in His timing they would be holy and blameless before Him so they would be Jesus siblings. With that purpose in mind, how does God save people who hate Him, want nothing to do with Him, and think that sin is just fine? As we said earlier, it takes the miracle of regeneration. Back in Romans 8:28-30 what is the next step after foreknowledge and predestination? God calls sinners to salvation. What does this entail? Let’s take a quick look at another passage.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44 ESV)

The word draw in this verse is the Greek word that is used to describe a fisherman drawing a net full of fish out of the water. The fish do not want to leave the water. They fight to get out of the net. However, they have no choice. They are “dragged” out of the water by the fisherman. Therefore, the Father “drags” all who are to be saved to Jesus. This is the effectual call of God that no one can resist. The general call of the gospel that preachers and teachers present to people is not the effectual call. In fact, people can and do resist that call all the time. The general call is able to produce “converts,” but it regenerates no one. The effectual call, the drawing, or dragging by God, from John 6:44 is the calling to salvation from Romans 8:28-30. This call is an act of God’s sovereign will and it comes through His grace. It regenerates the heart of the new believer. It takes what is spiritually dead and resurrects or quickens it. The new believer is Born Again.

Because of regeneration, the new believer no longer hates God. He or she sees their sin in the light of God’s regenerative power. They see how their sin separates them from God. In horror, they repent and turn to Jesus for salvation. They receive Him as Lord and Saviour by faith. This faith comes because of God’s regeneration of the heart. It is a gift from God. As the new believer exercises the faith God gave them He, in turn, justifies them. That means that God declares them righteous. He forgives all of their sins having imputed Christ’s perfect righteousness to their account. This is justification by faith. Unless God does this, there is no eternal salvation. However, because of this declaration, the new believer is truly saved. This salvation is eternal. It is God’s act, not the believer’s act. After God justifies the new believer, He adopts him or her into His family. This makes all believers Jesus’ brothers and sisters.

What is the next step after justification? The next thing listed in Romans 8:28-30 is glorification. However, there is another step. After salvation, no new believer is mature. At salvation, each believer is a spiritual baby. Each of us must grow and mature in Christ so that we will be ready for the glorification in God’s timing. This spiritual maturing has a name. It is called sanctification. It is a work by God in each believer’s life to mature him or her unto Christ-likeness. A good picture of it is found in the following passage.

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)

All regenerated believers must cooperate with God in their sanctification to “work our their salvation with fear and trembling.” That means God uses our everyday circumstances, stresses, test and trials so we will learn to walk by faith. With each act of obedience and submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives, we grow in Christ-likeness. There is no other way. If we will obediently do that then we will mature spiritually until God take us home.

The last step in salvation is glorification. The following passage gives us a hint of what that will be like. In addition, it gives us some motivation to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.”

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:1-3 ESV)

Conversion does not equal regeneration. Conversion is simply religious activity. Regeneration produces a new creation from what was a spiritually dead person. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Because of God’s foreknowing us, He predestined us for glorification. To accomplish this, God called, justified, adopted, and sanctified us. Salvation was not designed to save the whole World. God chose those who are His and He saves them according to His sovereign will.

Why are our churches full of hypocrites? Most are simply converts not the truly regenerate. Many of the regenerate are mired in spiritual immaturity because they don’t understand that they must submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ so they will mature unto Christ-likeness. Many believe their salvation was accomplished once and that was that, however, as we have seen, it is a process that continues until death.

Soli Deo Gloria

What Is Temptation?

by Mike Ratliff

41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spiritindeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41 ESV)

38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spiritindeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:38 ESV)

45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Luke 22:45-46 ESV)

Temptation: Temptation is any thing, state, way or condition that, upon any account whatsoever, has a force or power to seduce, to draw the mind and heart of a man or woman from his or her obedience, which God requires of them, into any sin, in any degree of it whatsoever.

As Jesus agonized in Gethsemane in the hours prior to His trial, torture, and crucifixion, His disciples had a hard time staying awake. He went off by Himselfto pray, but asked James, John and Peter to watch and pray. However, each time He came to them, He found them asleep. If we look closely at Mathew 26:41, Mark 14:38, and Luke 22:45-46, we will see the whole of our Lord’s caution to His disciples seems to have been, “Arise, watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation.” Our Lord knew that danger was near. He knew that His disciples would be scattered from Him when He was arrested. However, His concern seems to be on these men that they would not enter into temptation. Notice also that it is the flesh that is weak and it is the watching and praying that keeps them lined up with the spirit that they be one in spirit with Him. If they would do that then they would not enter into temptation.

It seems that these men, who knew that Jesus would be betrayed because He had told them earlier in the evening, were more concerned with their comfort, their sleep, than for their Lord. It is as if they had forsaken all of their love toward Jesus in lieu of caring for themselves. They fell fast asleep. On the other hand Jesus knew what was going to happen. He knew that He would go to His death to die to pay the penalty for their sin. Of course, these men were not aware of that yet. They would soon, but before the crucifixion of our Lord, they did not understand. As we see in Gethsemane, however, their flesh controlled them. All men and women, no matter how noble, when left to themselves, will quickly appear to be far less than nothing. All of our strength is weakness, and all our wisdom folly.

35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:35-41 ESV)

Peter proclaimed to our Lord that He would never deny Him. However, when Jesus asked, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?” He could very easily have added, “Are you he, Peter, who but now boasts of your resolution never to forsake me? Is it likely that you should hold out when you cannot watch with me one hour? Is this your dying for me, to be dead in security, when I am dying for you?” Of course, we know that Peter’s boast was flesh bound and not in any way based on being one in Spirit with our Lord. It was a careless promise. Let us not look too harshly at Peter, however, because this same treachery lives and works in our own hearts. It bears fruit that we see every day. We make great promises to our Lord to obey Him, but quickly find ourselves in a pit of sin.

18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:18 ESV)

What is our Saviour’s admonition to avoid this state of spiritual inconsistency? He said, “Arise, watch and pray!” What was the temptation(s) that our Lord was concerned about? One of the major ones would be the scandal of the cross. However, we must read our Lord’s words here as a warning to us as well. There are three things we must glean from this warning so we can also know how to not enter into temptation. The first is that our Lord is warning us about evil. This is real evil, for temptation has as its goal to bring evil to bear on us. The second is the means by which we succumb. That is, we enter into temptation. We don’t fall into it. We don’t accidentally encounter it. We enter into it. The third thing is that our Lord gives us the way of preventing it, to watch and pray.

The word tempt or temptation carries with it the idea of “testing” or “trying.” It may also mean to experiment or prove. God is said sometimes to tempt; and we are commanded as our duty to tempt, or try, or search ourselves, that we may know what is in us. We are then to pray to God that He would search us and try us as well. So in this sense temptation is not the evil form, but a way to know what is inside or the quality of something. However, outside of this context, temptation does denote evil as its special nature. It is considered either actively, as it leads to evil, or passively, as it has evil and suffering within it.

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, (James 1:2 ESV)

The “trials” in v2 are “temptations” that, in this sense, denote affliction. We can count it all joy when we meet these “temptations,” but do not enter into them.

Temptation denotes in the tempter a design for the bringing about of the purpose of it, which is to lead the one tempted into evil. In that sense we know that God is not the one tempting. (James 1:13) However, God will take His hand away at times to allow our enemy to bring temptation to bear. In that sense, in God’s eyes, it is a trial. Never forget that God allowed a deceiving spirit to cause false prophets to lie to Ahab the King of Israel to tempt him to go to a battle where he would be killed. So, in the sense that God does this we need to learn why He does it and the way whereby He does it.

God allows us to be tempted because it shows us what is within our hearts. It reveals our fallen nature to us in either how God’s grace has worked in us to overcome it or in how corrupt we really are outside of His grace. Both grace and corruption exist and work deep in our hearts. We often deceive ourselves into thinking our fallen nature has been abrogated by our regeneration and our good works. When we are in that state, we are setting ourselves up for a great fall. Also, when we try with our own abilities to be Christlike, corruption appears. On the other hand, when we examine ourselves deeply we often find God’s grace working within us to our amazement. We are kept in uncertainty in that we do fail in our trials. God’s trials, no matter of what nature, consist of Him examining what is deep within our hearts. He will then work things out so that we will be shown what is in us. We will know of what we are made at those moments.

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” 15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:1-18 ESV)

God tempted Abraham to show him his faith. Abraham did not know what power and vigor made up his faith until God drew it out through this trial that must have been heartrending for him.

12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Genesis 22:12 ESV)

When God said, “I know that you fear God,” He made Abraham know it as well.

25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 27 And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly vessels; 28 storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. 29 He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. 30 This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. 31 And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart. (2 Chronicles 32:25-31 ESV)

When God left Hezekiah it was that He might see what was in his heart. He tended to be proud and powerful, but when God tested him what came from his heart? It was nothing but pride. When God does this to us it is for our best. When we see what is really in us we should be thankful and humble.

God also tries people to show Himself to them in a way of Preventing Grace. What? We see that it is God alone who keeps us from all sin, not our will power or good intentions. Until we are tempted, we think we are the ones being pure by our own strength. Preventing Grace is a special grace that, when we are not trying to use our will power to not sin, protects us from further sinning. When Peter proclaimed that he would never deny Jesus he was relying on his own will power. When the trial came, and it came quickly, he saw that his preservation from sin was not in himself.

God tries people to show Himself to them in a way of Renewing Grace. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 Paul tells us of a thorn given to him, a messenger of Satan to harass him, to keep him from being too elated or proud. Then Paul pleaded with God to take the thorn away, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul then proclaimed that it was right that he be made weak so that the power of Christ might rest upon him. We have no idea the power and strength that our God puts forth on our behalf until we compare the temptation with our own weakness. Then we see it. Rattlesnake anti-venom works, but we really don’t know that until we need it because the viper has attacked and we are full of his poison. Our diseases make the preciousness of medicine known to us. We learn the strength of God’s grace when we see the strength there is in the temptation. We must be tried so that we may know of God’s preserving and renewing work in us.

One of the ways God tempts or tries is by giving us tasks or duties that are too great for us. They are beyond our strength. God calling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac is an example of this. It was beyond reason for God to command this. Abraham learned what was in him through this though. The tasks or duties that God gives us to do are not proportional to our strength. However, we are to acknowledge this and plead our case to our Lord for His grace that we may obey. How is God glorified in us if all we do is within our own abilities? When we obey God, fully relying on His grace to enable us to do it then we are in the midst of a trial or a temptation in the yoke of Christ.

Another way God tempts or tries is by allowing great suffering. Read Fox’s Book of Martyrs for example after example of people finding amazing strength to die at a stake, to suffer tortures for Christ! It was definitely a call to a trial for this to come upon them. According to 1 Peter 1:6-7 we learn that we are brought into fiery trials from our temptations that are trials of our faith.

These temptations are trials directly from God. He may indeed use our enemy in this, but God does do this. On the other hand there is the other form of temptation that is an active “drawing” toward sinning. It is evil with the intent of causing evil. How does our enemy tempt us? His temptations may be directly from him, or the world, or other men in the world, or from ourselves, or jointly from all or some of the above in any combination we can conceive.

Temptations directly from Satan take the form of an injection attack into our minds of evil and blasphemous thoughts of God. Sometimes he makes use of the world. This is how he tempted our Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness by showing him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Sometimes he has a willing participant in our temptation in ourselves. Yes, that is right. We are often the source of our own temptation to evil.

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.(James 1:14-15 ESV)

Judas was tempted this way. (Luke 22:3) Satan entered into him. I’m sure we could come up with innumerable example of all of the ways we can be tempted to do evil. Because of this, we must learn to watch and pray, to be vigilant in not entering into temptation.

Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is The Danger of Entering Temptation?

by Mike Ratliff

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:9-13 ESV)

Yesterday we looked at the nature of Temptation. Today we will look at the danger of “entering temptation.” There is no doubt that most believers walk in defeat in this battle much of the time. On top of the guilt and self-abhorrence that are natural products of Christians sinning, there is also the battle fatigue that comes upon them which results in more guilt simply for being “tempted” in the first place. Of course, much of this can be blamed on faulty theology and an extreme drought in the area of teaching the Biblical truth about sin and temptation from our pulpits and Bible studies. To understand the danger of “entering temptation” we must first understand what it is and what it is not.

First, to our great relief, it is not merely to be tempted. Temptation will be our lot as long as we live in this age. It is impossible that Christians can be insulated from being tempted. Satan is the god of this age. Within his power, the world is consumed with lust. Therefore, as long as we live in these bodies in this age, we will be tempted. Even our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted in every way that we are while in His earthly body. This made Him one like us except without sin. As hard as it is to grasp at times, the temptation we go through in this life is designed to make us unto Christ’s likeness. In Luke 22:28 our Saviour called His ministry a time of trials or temptation. The Word of God in no place gives us a promise of absolute freedom from temptation. The best we have is found in the Lord’s Prayerthat I placed at the top of this post. He commanded that we should pray for God to, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Instead of praying not to be tempted we are commanded to pray that we not “enter into temptation.”

Entering into temptation is something more than the ordinary work of Satan combined with our own lusts. We deal with this every day of our lives. No, entering into temptation is something out of the ordinary that is not in our every day walks before the Lord. It is something that comes upon us characteristically of being seduced unto sin, on one account or other, by the way of allurement or fear. I suppose those few sentences caused your spiritual ears and eyes to go wide open for this is not what we usually hear about the nature of this battle is it?

Entering into temptation is more than merely being conquered by a temptation or to commit sin. We may “enter into temptation” and yet not fall under temptation. Our great God can make a way of escape for us, when we are in it. He can break the snare as he makes Satan flee. He can build up our hearts to be more than conquerors even though we have entered into temptation. Our Lord Jesus Christ entered temptation, but was not in the least defeated by it. So what is the “danger of entering temptation? The danger comes when we are in it and become entangled.

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:9 ESV)

When we are “entering temptation” to the point of compromising our walk so as to get what we desire it as a man falling into a pit where there are traps and snares that entangle him. Think of an insect that is allured into a Pitcher Plant. The deeper it goes into the flower the more danger it is in. At some point it will reach a point of no return where the angle of the tube of the flower is too steep. It will then tumble into bottom of the plant where there is accumulated rain water where it will drown and be digested. It becomes entangled. In our case, when we fall into the pit full of traps and snares in trying to feed our desire we are not quickly killed or destroyed, but we will soon find that we are entangled and are no longer free. We will be clueless as to how to become free from what is holding us. We have become enslaved to our own flesh.

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV)

What a comfort this statement is! Even though we have become entangled and cannot find a way out in our own abilities, God knows how to deliver us. When we allow a temptation to enter us then we have entered into it. When it is alluring us we are still free from it. All temptations begin small. They may even appear benign, but are full of poison. When we partake of the allurement then the bargaining begins to go deeper. It may even continue small, just a small compromise, not a big deal…yet.

There are conditions for entering temptation. Our enemy must turn up the heat a bit from normal. We probably will not cave into our desires if it hits us full in the face, but if it comes at us in deceptively small pieces then we may indeed fall. In any case, Satan will turn up the heat and present us with a temptation that is, so to speak, a masterpiece of allurement. Also, the nature of the temptation or trial may be so entangled with us that even when we dispute and pray, God will not take it away. Think of Paul’s thorn in the flesh. This sort of entanglement will play itself out in one of two ways. The first is that Satan, by God taking His hand away for His own purposes, has an advantage against the one he is attacking. For instance, Satan demanded permission to sift Peter like wheat. (Luke 22:31-32). The second is when our lusts and corruptions meet up with whatever can provoke them to be exercised fully. Think of David seeing Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop and what happened because of David’s adultery and murder of her husband. In either case, the man or woman has entered into temptation.

10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:10 ESV)

In either state, the Christian has entered into temptation. According to Revelation 3:10 this is the “hour of temptation” or “hour of trial.” In this hour the temptation will grow like a boil into a head. When we are in the hour of temptation then we must also know that we have “entered into temptation.” This is nothing unusual. Every great and pressing temptation has its hour or season. During this “time” it grows into a head. It becomes vigorous, active, insidious, operative, and prevalent. It may take a long time to come to a head, however, when it does, it appears to take us over. Prior to “entering into temptation” we can easily scorn and resist it. We may even think that we will never fall for it again. However, when God allows the conditions to be met for our “entering into temptation” then we will find that we have no ability, in ourselves, to resist it. For whatever reason or cause, the temptation has become stronger and the Christian has become debilitated in the ability to resist it. The hour has come and he or she has entered into temptation.

Is there a way to know when temptation is in its hour? A temptation attains its hour several ways. One way is by long solicitations where the believer converses with the evil that is the subject of the temptation. This weakens the Christian’s resolve over time by causing his or her thoughts to make it less serious in their minds. If this succeeds then, like a house of cards, it is inevitable that the fall is coming as the temptation progresses to its hour. Interestingly, when this process first starts the Christian probably recoiled from the idea that they would consider this evil. They may even be indignant about it. The problem comes when they do not continually fight this battle by becoming more and more indignant. If they keep the status quo they will eventually be worn down as they converse with evil. Instead of fleeing from it, they become familiar with it. Once they become convinced that it is only a little sin, not a big one, then the temptation is at its “high noon.” Lust has then enticed and entangled, and it is ready to “conceive.” (James 1:15)

We can also know when temptation is at its hour when it has prevailed on others, and our soul is not filled with dislike and abhorrence of them and their ways, nor with pity and prayer for their deliverance. If this is our state then the temptation has a huge advantage over us. It is moving forward quickly at this point. Unless we move into complete dislike and abhorrence for those who have fallen and the evil itself then we are likely the temptation’s next victims.

Another thing that happens that we may know that a temptation is in its hour is that has morphed into a form where it has complicated itself with many considerations that, perhaps, are not evil at all. This is what happened to the Galatians. They had a zeal for the Gospel, which is good, but it caused them to fall under the spell of the Judiazers.

Is there a way to know when temptation has attained its “high noon?” If we are plagued by its incessant urgency and arguing with us then we must know that it is restless. It is ready to do battle with us; therefore, it gives us no rest whatsoever. Satan is shrewd. He knows that his victories come mostly by wearing us down. It is at these times that the temptation in our minds will be so severe that unless God does provide the way of escape, and we take it, then we will have entered into temptation.

Another way to know if a temptation has attained its “high noon” is when it combines fear with enticements. They come at the believer together in full force. The fear is that of being exposed for whatever reason and the allurement is made nearly irresistible. Think of David’s killing of Uriah so that he could possess Bathsheba. David feared for Bathsheba if Uriah found out about their affair. He may have even feared for himself. He probably feared the whole thing would be made public. Then, the allurement was to have Bathsheba to himself. David was dealing with a temptation that had reached its “high noon.”

It sounds pretty rugged and hopeless doesn’t it? However, as we saw in yesterday’s post, our Lord gave us what we need to withstand and prevent temptation ever reaching the stage where we are in it up to our necks before we know it. What was it? We are to “watch” and “pray.” What does it mean, “to watch?” It means to be on our guard, to take heed, to consider all of the ways and means so that we will be on our guard. We should proactively consider all of the ways and means whereby our enemy may make an approach to tempt.

13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV)

2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. (Revelation 3:2 ESV)

We must be careful and diligent by exercising all ways and means prescribed by God, over our hearts and ways. Then we must understand the methods of our enemy. How does Satan bait and trap his prey? What about the world and its ways? How does it entice us to sin?

Prayer should be self explanatory. What are we to pray for? We are to pray that we not be lead into temptation. We are to pray for a way of escape and, by faith, believe that God will give us one. When He does, then we must take it.

“To believe that He will preserve us is, indeed, a means of preservation. God will certainly preserve us, and make a way of escape for us out of the temptation, should we fall. We are to pray for what God has already promised. Our requests are to be regulated by His promises and commands. Faith embraces the promises and so finds relief.” – John Owen

Soli Deo Gloria!

Let All Bitterness And Wrath And Anger And Clamor And Slander Be Put Away From You Along With All Malice

by Mike Ratliff

29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:29-32 ESV)

Steel is made through the smelting of iron ore. Iron becomes steel as carbon is added while the iron is very hot. What makes steel much harder than iron was not really understood by the ancients who created it. All they knew was that at a certain point in the shaping of a sword they would lay the red hot blade into the coals for a few minutes then resume the process of hammering, cooling in water, re-heating, hammering, cooling in water, et cetera. The finished product was a sword that would not bend in battle and could be sharpened over and over. The blade was actually made up of many pieces of iron rods that were heated, flattened, and folded upon themselves over and over. It was hard work, but that was what it took to create a fine, usable steel sword.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

When we are born of the Spirit at regeneration we are new creations. However, that does not mean that we become instantly sinless. Nor does it mean that we are instantly mature and able to know the will of God in walking before Him for His glory alone. No, these attributes come over time and after much “smelting, hammering, cooling, re-heating of us in the fires of sanctification. When I was a young Christian I remember many times being on the verge of walking away from my faith. Why? It seemed that I was “in the fire” all the time. I am very glad that God preserved me, but I want to share with all of you reading this that God has not stopped this process in me. I have been a believer since 1986, but I am no where near complete and this is obvious as God has not relented in showing me how much I must suffer for the name of Christ.

Early in my walk I heard a sermon which was titled, “Are you picking fruit or pulling roots?” The fruit the preacher was talking about were things like anger, bitterness, cynicism, and many other negative things that our hearts produce. I sat in that pew struggling big time as it seemed he was talking about me. Before God saved me I was a cynical, bitter person much of the time. After I was saved I found that I was better, but there were times when that negativity seemed to rise up in me when my circumstances took a turn I did not want. The sermon I was listening to described the process of not reacting to the fruit, but going after the roots. What he didn’t tell me is that decades later I would still be doing this. What are the roots of bitterness and cynicism?

Bitterness and cynicism are born of broken gods; bitterness is an indication that somewhere in my life I have belittled the true God and made a god of human perfection. – Oswald Chambers from Not Knowing Whither, 913 L.

When we find ourselves reacting to our circumstances with bitterness and becoming more and more cynical we will also discover that we have moved our focus away from God and onto ourselves. Instead of walking through our day with our eyes on Christ we get our focus on ourselves which is idolatry. We have made of god of having our own way. It is as if there is a part of us that tries to make us believe that if God really loved and cared for us and we really belonged to Him then things would always go our way. That is a lie folks and it is born from a flesh focused heart.

Over the last several years I have become increasingly aware of this lie trying to take root in my heart. I keep pulling it up, but it seems that I am only picking fruit because the root remains. However, I have become convinced that God is working within me to educate and change me through this struggle to recognize this happening much earlier in the process than I have in the past. He has also been showing me that the circumstances in my life that seem to be provoking this to happen are being allowed by Him to exacerbate the problem. He is deliberately putting me in the fire, hammering me, cooling me, re-heating me, et cetera in order to shape me even further.

The difference now as opposed to my early days as a Christian is that bitterness does not lead to cynicism like it used to. I deal with it way before it comes to that. However, I do catch my heart at times dwelling on deliciously bitter thoughts. Yes, you see our flesh loves to try to justify itself this way, “Poor, pitiful me!,” or even entertaining thoughts of revenge or wrath. I have a very strong sense of justice so I am constantly being provoked  in areas where hot buttons reside. However, God is working in me to put this all to death and I am very grateful.

I have found over the last several years that the hotter the flames, the more patient and gentle I have been with people I work with, live with, and deal with online. It is as if God has taken me to a place of maturity where he is producing this in me despite me wanting to flee from the fire. I confess that I never thought it would be like this. I always imagined that the more I matured that the easier things would become. However, it seems that the opposite is true, at least for me. I know that God works through me for the benefit of those who read these posts. It isn’t me doing that. It is Him. It is as if He has given me a gift that must be shared with those who will hear.  That brings a great deal of responsibility which I am not so sure I am responsible enough to bear.

If you have got bitter and sour, you will probably find it is because God brought you a blessing and you clutched it for yourself; whereas if you had poured it out unto the Lord, you would have been the sweetest person out of heaven. If you are craving spiritual sponges, always taking these things to ourselves, we shall become a plague; other people will not get their horizon enlarged through us because we have never learned to pour out anything unto the Lord. – Oswald Chambers from The Place of Help, 1024 R.

Many times I have considered shutting down Possessing the Treasure so I could spend more time in this pursuit. However, this ministry is a huge part of what God is doing in me. Therefore, I have dedicated myself to remaining in this battle as long as God allows it.

There is a pine tree whose cones cannot open to release the seeds inside unless they are heated by fire. Therefore, forest fires are required for the tree to reproduce. What we view as deadly and wasteful and damaging, is actually the way God designed for the forest to be replenished. My brethren, while none of us enjoy the fires of sanctification, we should prayerfully look long and hard at our circumstances and look for God’s hand in them. He is allowing these things in order to put pressure on us, to squeeze us. This is how you see what liquid is in a sponge isn’t it? You squeeze it and the liquid comes out. When God squeezes us, putting us under pressure, He is revealing what is really in us. He already knows what is there. He is showing us. Therefore, when we are squeezed and we respond in bitterness, anger, wrath, or even cynicism, then He will reveal that to us. Our conscience will bother us. We will become convicted of our fleshly response. This is where we should go for the roots instead of picking the fruit.

For past several weeks I have been constantly pulled in every direction while at the same time I have some very serious work to finish that requires my full attention. It is so frustrating for me to have to stop working on what really needs to be done in order to appease the harpies who are surrounding me, demanding my attention. My patience is stretched. I want to scream, but then as the head harpy somehow gets into position demanding that I perform some task “right now” and I hear coming out of my now smiling mouth, “sure, I can take care of that,” I then find my heart bowed down to God in gratitude and awe for I know that I am not capable of that.

I have found that in midst of all of the frustration, that my heart has been full of joy and I have been worshipping my Lord with my attitude. What? How can we worship God with our attitude? Perhaps those are not the right words, but that is what it seems to me. It is a sacrifice of “my right” to have my way and if I don’t have my way then I will react negatively. I sacrifice that and respond gently with patience I didn’t know I had. My brethren, think with me here. What would Christians’ testimony in this world be like if this is how we were all the time?

I believe this is a huge deal my brethren. It is a huge deal because in it God is maturing us. It is also a huge deal because God is preparing us for what is coming. A large part of this is a sacrifice of my “rights” now knowing full well that in doing so that I build up my treasure in eternity. This is living here and now with our focus on the Eschaton. As this “concept” becomes a ruling part of how we interact with our circumstances and all those people God has put in our lives, it will become easier and easier to view the temporal as that which God is going to burn up. It is the eternal that is significant.

I pray that all this made sense. I pray that God will open the hearts of all reading this to draw them to live this life in total surrender to Him. This is how we take up our crosses daily and follow Christ my brethren.

Soli Deo Gloria!