A contradiction?

"I've put it like this each time, ‘that man is responsible for his damnation, but he is never responsible for his salvation’...The doctrine of election must never be supposed to teach that man is not responsible." – Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in the sermon (#3285), "Regrafting of the Jews" on Romans 11:23-24 preached on Friday evening, Feb. 26, 1965.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones never hesitated to deal with difficult doctrines.  If he was convinced it was Biblical, no matter the apparent difficulties, he went right on forward, teaching the matter so plainly, that at times, a statement taken apart from the whole might seem bombastic.  The above statement is one of those surprising and rather difficult issues.  Election and responsibility do not seem compatible in the first analysis.  So I wanted to offer another aspect to the teaching.

The Doctors statement, “Man is responsible for his damnation, but he is never responsible for his salvation” is hard to accept because it is an apparent incompatibility – that the Bible teaches both man’s responsibility, and yet his inability, all the while holding that God is just in his dealings with men! 

Lloyd-Jones calls it an antinomy.  We might call it paradoxical.  I suspect that this is one of the most significant reason’s men reject portions of election, for it grates against the soul of a man to be held responsible for something entirely out of his hands.  Yet it is not all that it seems.  And rather than to debate the issue ad nauseum, I would like to suggest a better way. 

It is the pride of man which is unable to take such a doctrinal position.  We are rather arrogant to suppose we could grasp the ways of God in their fullness.  I know some will likely check out now, complaining that I am capitulating with the old canard, that God’s ways are not man’s ways.  Well my friends, it is not a canard – but rather Scriptural teaching, found in Isaiah 45:9, 55:8-9; Deuteronomy 29:29, Romans 9:21 and many other places.  But I am not seeking to use these for an excuse not to deal with the riddle before us.

I would suggest that it will be easier to swallow, once we get over ourselves, to look to the very character of the one who is really under attack.  It is not man who is being assaulted when we choose not to believe the two positions of man’s responsibility, and yet his inability.  It is God’s just and righteous character which is under assault.  I contend that if we begin to view Him aright, though we do not grasp the fullness of the two teachings, we will be able to accept them nevertheless. 

God is good.  That is the clear truth of the matter.  Let God be true and every man a liar. (Rom. 3:4)  He is good, and he is patient toward ALL that all may come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) He takes no pleasure in punishing the wicked. (Eze. 18:23)  He wants all to come to repentance. (1 Tim. 2:4)  And of course – one only need look to the cross to see the extent of His love toward us.  I have to say, Romans 5:8 has become one of the most precious verses in the whole of Holy writ to me, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

An extended portion of John chapter 3 states it plainly:

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Let’s look at these apparent difficulties in light of the fact that God is good, and His love for mankind is shown in the sacrificial death of His one and only Son for a world of lost sinners.  James 1:21 tells us, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

The Lord's Anointed

I have been writing.  I really have! But this is a season of life which is rather full, and therefore, much less has been written, and even which is not worthy of publication.  But today I will venture to publish.  My studies these days have been in the early chapters of Luke, as I am studying this great book.  The passage which I would like to study is found in Luke 2:11-20: 

11.     For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12.     And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13.     And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14.     “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
15.     So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 
16.     And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 
17.     Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 
18.     And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 
19.     But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 
20.     Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Verse 11 does not directly quote Micah 5:2 as Matthew 2:6 does, but Luke does give us the plain particular details of how it came to be that Joseph & Mary were in Bethlehem when Christ was born. 

who is Christ the Lord – We could interpret like this, “who is the Lord’s Anointed” because the word Christ means anointed one.

This is interesting because it is the very phrase used by David of Saul while both were king.  David would not touch ‘the Lord’s anointed’ and many opportunities were given him to do just that. (see 1 Sam 26) But David knew better.  And for us today, it is fitting to take this and apply it to Christ, for He is the Lord’s anointed King who will sit upon David’s throne! In a sense He does already, but the day is coming when He will return in the clouds just as he left, and take his seat not in Heaven only, but as the rock made without human hands (Dan. 2:34) strikes the governments of men, Christ will reign here!

And this will be the sign to you – That God gives these shepherds such a particular set of circumstances to look for, tells us something of His condescending ways to such as we are, rough edged – hard hearted men who need a sign.  Even Thomas was given grace to ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ (John 20:27)

We are told that they conferred with one another and decided to ‘go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ They did not question at all, they took no pausing action (except for the brief conference) and made haste to come.  Did you notice they were not commanded to come – this they chose to do, though the angels clearly implied they would come by providing the information, ‘you will find a babe…’

Much has been made of the fact that it was shepherds to whom God made known this event first.  Shepherds were not looked upon positively as a people, but David the King was at first a shepherd, and writing in the Psalms number 23 the Lord is called a shepherd.  And though a shepherd, in another place, called the Lamb of God.  Deep waters…

when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them – There was no debate, ‘Is this the One we should be looking for?’ Though they had almost nothing to go on but the testimony of the angels, they believed in faith (surely they knew of Micah 5:2).  When John the Baptist asked that question, Christ’s response was to report to him the miracles – The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  John 20:29 reads, “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” 

We do struggle to believe apart from sight, don’t we?  But it is not by sight, but by faith that we live (2 Cor. 5:7).  Yet it is not a blind faith.  It is a faith informed by the message.  The shepherds did hear the angel’s message.  And we have the message in the words of the Bible.  May we keep to it and look into it with the eyes of faith.

Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. – This is a good practice.  We ought to study the Word of God that we might learn His ways in this world.  It may be that we get to know Him better for our struggling with the text.

The shepherds glorified & praised God for all that they had heard and seen.  It is always a proper response to worship Him.  Surely they did not grasp the fullness of Christ’s eventual death on their behalf – but they praised God for what they did see & hear, and that it was just as had been told them!  God is just & he loves to show us His plans.

May we – with eyes of faith, informed to His character, believe what the message in the Bible says – pondering what has come to pass, eagerly awaiting what is yet to come!

Amen.

Voddie Baucham!

Voddie Baucham (Voddie Baucham Ministries) reminds us that we need Christ more than our example but as our “federal head.” This allows sinners like us to be both forgiven and declared righteous.
Posted by The Gospel Coalition on Wednesday, 15 April 2015