SpokaneBibleChurch

SBC Family, Tonight we'll discuss 'how to win rewards.' It's very interesting to look at the different crowns and how these crowns relate to ruling function in the coming kingdom. Paul wanted every believer to train hard to win crowns. You're not competing against anyone else, but you are competing against the world, your flesh, and the devil. This is a spiritual battle that is being waged in the heavenlies. Are you entering the fight? Are you putting your armor on? There is a great temptation to be selfish all the time. That's why you have to train like an athlete to exercise self-discipline and sacrifice some of your rights for the sake of others. This is how to run the race so as to win eternal reward. See the attachment, and hopefully see you tonight! Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kIjlRqOyEKIjWDMBEfqHFUPcQrFkwXeF/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, Tomorrow we'll be looking at a doctrine that is entirely unique to Christianity. No other religion claims it's founder rose from the dead. This is a significant claim. Keep looking up for Christ's coming for His church. Iran has just attacked Israel via drones and missiles. Previously they were only attacking through proxy armies like Hezbollah. This appears to be creating more instability in the region. It could be momentous in light of Ezek 38-39, but we will have to watch and be cautious in our evaluation. The coming days and weeks will tell a story. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. See the attachment. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z96_Recw7sY5alwlyjOTtGdmW8MzH_7E/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, This week we'll continue Paul's discussion of sacrificing our freedoms/rights/privileges for the sake of others. In this chapter Paul uses himself as an illustration and shows that even though he's an apostle with special rights, he set aside some of those rights for the sake of the gospel. One of the things we have to train ourselves to do is not to abuse our rights. As Christians we all have rights, but that doesn't mean we should exercise them. It is wisdom to know when to exercise them and when to forfeit them. It takes training to forfeit one's rights for the sake of others, but this is part of operating like Christ operated. He too had all the rights of divinity and He gave up those rights to die for us. Think about that for a moment. Let that sink in. The agent of all creation and heir of the universe gave up His rights for us! How much more should we give up our rights for others? This is a take, take, get out of my way world, and yet the Christian life is exactly the opposite. It's a give, give, serve others world, and there is great reward to follow. Reward that lasts forever, while the rest who remain in unbelief will be in weeping and gnashing of teeth, cast in outer darkness in the lake of fire forever. Tis but a short time till our blessed hope returns for us. See the attached notes. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/125cen-UF5a_yE2VdF5dr4OekR1P4vhg2/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, I hope you’re doing well spiritually. This year our theme is prayer, and I’m really trying to focus on taking everything to Him in prayer. I hope you are too. Prayer is a discipline. Jesus’s disciples could not discipline themselves to pray for one hour. We are to pray without ceasing, which is a way of saying to pray intermittently throughout the day. Paul requested prayer for himself and told others he was praying for them and what he was praying for them, which can be an encouragement. We all need prayer and to pray for others. We don’t have because we don’t ask, and when we do ask we sometimes ask with wrong motives. When we are abiding in Him and He in us, ask whatever you wish and it will be given. Perseverance in prayer is another condition for answered prayer. There is a lot about prayer in the Bible, but at the heart of all prayer is DEPENDENCE. Every time we pray we are DEPENDING on HIM and not on ourselves. He must become MORE. I must become LESS. I pray that you will DEPEND on HIM MORE and MORE and on yourself less and less. Tomorrow we’re going to finish LEAVES, the acronym I developed to help remember the five counterpoints to Arminianism and Calvinism: Limited depravity Election status Accomplished atonement Veritable grace Eternal Security. You don’t have to be an Arminian or a Calvinist. These are positions that hardened up in the 17th century, particularly in various creeds and are still with us today in most denominations that line up on one side or the other. I’m usually discussing Calvinism, so that’s where I’m focusing my counterpoints tomorrow. Calvinist's repeat in many books that it is essentially another way of saying “biblical.” For example, in Steele and Thomas’s book The Five Points of Calvinism, they assert, “Calvinism is a whole worldview, stemming from a clear vision of God as the whole world’s Maker and King. Calvinism is the consistent endeavour (sic) to acknowledge the Creator as Lord, working all things after the counsel of His will. Calvinism is a theocentric way of thinking about all life under the direction and control of God’s own Word. Calvinism, in other words, is the theology of the Bible viewed from the perspective of the Bible—the God centered outlook which sees the Creator as the source, and means, and end, of everything that is, both in nature and in grace.” While there is nothing wrong and everything right with a theocentric outlook, statements like that can easily lead one to think they are saying things like; God is the author of evil If I’m not a Calvinist I’m not biblical They seem to be more careful at other times, but it is not wrong to conclude from their words these kind of things that are definitely not theocentric or biblical. Remember that Calvinism is a logical system. One of the most prized works among Calvinists is Loraine Boettner’s book, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. In that book he says of Perseverance of the Saints, “This doctrine does not stand alone but is a necessary part of the Calvinistic system of theology. The doctrines of Election and Efficacious Grace logically imply the certain salvation of those who receive these blessings.” This is just too highlight that it’s not possible to maintain the Calvinist’s definition of each point without holding to all five points. I was once a 4-point Calvinist, till I realized this after reading many of their authors. From their point of view I was not a Calvinist in any sense. It was then that I admitted I had already modified some of the other points already. Now that I know more Bible I have modified them much more. Tomorrow I will contrast Veritable (true) Grace with Irresistible Grace and Eternal Security with Perseverance of the Saints. Calvinism is saying that since man is Totally depraved he is unable and unwilling to believe, so God has elected certain individuals unconditionally. These are the individuals for whom Christ died in order to secure their salvation. The Spirit does an irresistible work of regenerating them so they are alive to God and can then exercise their freed will to believe in Him. Since God has started this work He will ensure that they persevere in good works to the end. It is these works that we are told we can evaluate to ensure that we are one of the elect. The rest of this description is an attachment. Love, Jeremy Attachments: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XnneOGY3amJN0CHyb5IuJwnukFP4SaLQ/view?usp=drive_link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xBslo8PH4ltDYJ-NGyjNgRf4BwaEyO_U/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, See you tonight! Interesting lesson. See attached notes. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1azhSTRfI0cL_leJLIEWiKIU0C74X7FTO/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, Happy belated Good Friday! At 3pm on Friday Jesus breathed His last (gave up His spirit). Before the Judean Passover His body was removed from the cross and placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. It remained in the tomb part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday. In Jewish thought any part of a day is reckoned as a full day (see Esther and other passages). He made many appearances that were indisputable (Acts 1:3). A cover up operation quickly ensued that the body had been stolen. No one ever found the body. The reason is because it was raised and lives forevermore, ascended to the right hand of the Father where that body is currently seated ready to come again to rule and reign on earth. I've put together a canonical study of resurrection which requires thinking through the Scriptures. Some are logically derived by combining scriptural ideas and others are explicit texts. This is the most powerful doctrine in the Bible because of it's repercussions. A resurrected human is all that needs to be said as far as the vindication of the plan of history Scripture presents. When He said "It is finished!" the sin penalty for the world had been paid. When He rose again it was the historical verification that the Father's justice had been vindicated and He was free to justify anyone who believes. Christianity is currently the one religion (I know it's not a religion, just saying this for statistics sakes) that is declining faster than any other. This aligns with Scripture. This is predicted that it will go to apostasy, so don't lose hope. You can feel all alone, but you're not alone. The one you believe in is alive and well and will return with great power and glory. Then He will be marveled at by all who have believed (2 Thess 1:10). See the attachment. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YiuwTKk7e4fItd4XVjAOo_mgpO0IZwAu/view?usp=drive_link

Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1njSg6eEdl-Vitvq9WajHGnPn-S0McKT7/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, Happy belated Good Friday! At 3pm on Friday Jesus breathed His last (gave up His spirit). Before the Judean Passover His body was removed from the cross and placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. It remained in the tomb part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday. In Jewish thought any part of a day is reckoned as a full day (see Esther and other passages). He made many appearances that were indisputable (Acts 1:3). A cover up operation quickly ensued that the body had been stolen. No one ever found the body. The reason is because it was raised and lives forevermore, ascended to the right hand of the Father where that body is currently seated ready to come again to rule and reign on earth. I've put together a canonical study of resurrection which requires thinking through the Scriptures. Some are logically derived by combining scriptural ideas and others are explicit texts. This is the most powerful doctrine in the Bible because of it's repercussions. A resurrected human is all that needs to be said as far as the vindication of the plan of history Scripture presents. When He said "It is finished!" the sin penalty for the world had been paid. When He rose again it was the historical verification that the Father's justice had been vindicated and He was free to justify anyone who believes. Christianity is currently the one religion (I know it's not a religion, just saying this for statistics sakes) that is declining faster than any other. This aligns with Scripture. This is predicted that it will go to apostasy, so don't lose hope. You can feel all alone, but you're not alone. The one you believe in is alive and well and will return with great power and glory. Then He will be marveled at by all who have believed (2 Thess 1:10). See the attachment. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YiuwTKk7e4fItd4XVjAOo_mgpO0IZwAu/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, Tomorrow I will talk about Election Status in the acronym LEAVES. This will follow our discussion on Limited Depravity, all along making sure to protect the gospel, which is precious. Limited Depravity Election Status Available Atonement Veritable Grace Eternal Security Hopefully we will get into some of the other points too. Don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have. You can always write a question down and put it in the box on the wall or hand it to me or ask me personally. My take on election is quite different than what is commonly taught. There are others who hold to the same ideas though, so nothing unique to me. It should be fun to see the Scriptures in a different way than has been viewed for the last 500 or 1600 years, depending on who you are tracing back too. I really think this doctrine is very confusing to people and it's not like there are only three options (unconditional election, foreknowledge election, corporate election). There are other ideas in the mix like service election, choice rather than elect, et. al., and a combination of these views relative to context is highly possible, and I think that is true. It is extremely rare to have a technical word that always refers to the same idea. Context should always prevail in determining word meanings. There is a lot of clarification that is needed in this area. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C7FtoqpNFuwunSqeZ0aWuStuiLil5zJG/view?usp=drive_link

Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aABZ0xvkw3_OKBVVnb38hQGHRkSSZUXq/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, Tonight we're backing away from the details so we can see how Paul thought (under inspiration) and made his argument. When he saw a sinful behavior he always traced it to a theological issue. This connection is very important to catch. Our sinful behaviors can always be traced back to theological errors, misconceptions, failures to truly understand, and perhaps other related concepts. This is why it is SO important to be in the word. It is the word that is the power of God that brings about His purposes in our lives. If it is not in us then we will sin. That is the way it is. His word goes forth to accomplish His purposes, but it has to be in our lives or nothing will change, nothing will happen, except sin, sin, sin...See the Corinthians... Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gi_vjGAQKNSVTMiwCdC-4ltiUoB-bwTC/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, Tomorrow I'm going to go through five counterpoints to Arminianism and Calvinism. Originally, I didn't know what any of these five points were. Then I studied and became a 4-point Calvinist (TU IP). That's how I was trained in the seminary under mostly Dallas Theological Seminary professors, though some were 5-point Calvinists. After seminary I spent time in this topic for a number of years discussing with others and debating within myself. Clarity started to come as I was working verse-by-verse in the original languages of the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles. Word studies and contextual indicators led me to a number of different ideas than the status quo. Some good books along the way were C. Gordon Olson, Beyond Calvinism and Arminiansm: A Mediate Theology of Salvation, Samuel Fisk, Calvinistic Paths Retraced, Samuel Fisk, Election & Predestination, but there were others that I read, usually of the Calvinist persuasion such as John Frame, The Doctrine of God, William G T Shedd Dogmatic Theology, Enns, Ryrie, Berkhof, Van Til, Kuyper, Bahnsen, Thiessen (mediate position), Barrett (Arminian), many others. Mostly what helped was the original language studies especially Greek words like election, predestination, foreknowledge. These are all really detailed studies. Then it was just time to keep exegeting and thinking and looking at the patterns in Scripture and the narratives as illustrations of the outworking of these ideas. I hope tomorrow is a blessing and accurate portrayal of God's Word's in it's internal harmony that brings glory to Him. See the attachment. It's different from last week because I added some more details and aside discussions in the endnotes for those who like to 'geek out'. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qbrhRwwfz36DwuRzFTUTPBcQxbugWZtJ/view?usp=drive_link

Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wNQIxJmqfmeKQ9NBdeXQmqC051VqPKci/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, Tonight we'll look at Paul's preference for singleness, and why. There are three phrases that have to be interpreted. The present distress, the time is short, and one other. It's interesting to get Paul's outlook on life due to various distresses and the any-moment-rapture. It literally should change the way we live and the decisions we make. Nevertheless, it's not wrong to marry, and most people do marry for a variety of proper reasons. Paul just preferred singleness for it's ministry advantages. See you tonight! Prayer after! Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o_GYqV_YHtjO7esL8ZpXTS77-gkNGeIx/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, Tomorrow we will look at the other side of the coin; Unlimited Atonement. This is historically the Arminian position, though Jacobus Arminius and Charles Wesley held slightly different views within the Arminian camp. Don't confuse the Arminians with the Armenians. Armenians are a country. Arminians are followers of a set of theological beliefs. Unlike Calvinists who hold that God's intention in Christ was to only die for the sins of the elect (which means God doesn't love the non-elect and He doesn't desire them to be saved and He intended from eternity past that they go to hell), Arminians hold that God in Christ provided salvation for the entire world (every person). This is true in some sense, but the way they state it is not exactly correct. As a result, I put together my own acronym. The Calvinists used the TULIP flower, some modern Free Grace people used the LOTUS flower. I guess I'll take the LEAVES (but bear in mind that to get flowers to blossom you first have to have leaves doing photosynthesis with the suns energy) 🙂. I've attached a document for your perusal. See you tomorrow! Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r8_eF_M_6nsHawriwCapr49_KrvFwl3T/view?usp=drive_link

Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1434oBCtp5pPVOD_fmyH2Tfhp86tNJW58/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, It's interesting how Paul addressed the marital situations at Corinth. Some of them were trending toward asceticism in light of the blatant sexual immorality in their midst. As a result they wanted to abstain from sex, get divorced, and leave their unbelieving spouses in order to be more holy. Paul says all that isn't going to make you more holy. Just obey the commandments of God. It is that simple. You don't have to do anything else like deprive the body or light candles or do yoga to be more spiritual. All of those are simply self-help programs designed to try to impress God. God is not impressed. He's impressed if you listen to His voice and obey His authority. We'll talk about these ideas tonight. Also, the Chafer conference has been going on since Monday. All the presentations have been good, but a few have been exceptional (IMHO). I'll summarize some of the presentations if we have time. Israel means Israel (not C-H-U-R-C-H). There are two regatherings prophesied for Israel (1 in unbelief; 1 in belief) Who owns the land? The impact of the holocaust on Jewish missions Ethics in reporting on the Arab-Israeli Conflict Heroes of the Holocaust: Vignettes of Messianic Jewish Martyrs The Interconnection and Interdependence of Christian and Jewish Zionism What is the cause of the Middle East Conflict (very good. I suggest listening to Randy Price on this one...https://www.deanbibleministries.org/presentations/message/08-the-truth-behind-the-headlines-2-what-is-the-cause-of-the-middle-east-conflict ) See the attached notes on 1 Cor 7:12-24 Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C8b3G4c-R2Qd3IvXoQ3CQwNWe7NC49Dy/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, We've been studying the Death of the King, and a big part of this involves the concept of God's justice and how that is satisfied so a man can be right with God. All this begs us to try to understand what happened on the cross. Everyone knows He died for our sin. Somehow the payment was made. But a question that has developed in church history is for whom did Christ die? Did He die for all men? If He did, then why are all men not saved? If it is because man must believe, then is salvation left up to man? Who is controlling salvation? This has been a sketchy area. Last week I showed you three systems, two of which have historically controlled the discussion; Arminianism and Calvinism. I went through five points of each because these points are logically interrelated. I also introduced Free Grace and the suggested acronym LOTUS as an alternative five points. I didn't mean to communicate that I believe LOTUS. I meant to communicate that there are other models to consider. Most people don't realize this. They think that if you are not a Calvinist you are an Arminian and vice versa. At any rate, there really was no way to "just" discuss the question, "for whom did Christ die?", but now that we have looked at those five points we can dive into it. I want to show you how Calvinists think and why they think God's intent for Christ's work on the cross is that He only die for the sins of the unconditionally elect and what verses they use to support it. Remember, this is a system, so all five points of their acronym TULIP stand or fall together. I think I'm going to introduce something new to the discussion that helps resolve their challenge. The strongest point of Calvinism's limited atonement is a logical construct: if Christ died for all men and all men are not saved, then the atonement doesn't save anyone (it's powerless). We want to take this apart and show why it's incorrect biblically and logically. We also want to show that the atonement did accomplish something. It's what it accomplished that is the key to the whole debate (IMHO). See the attached document. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HKSoHwxWZYPN2_PEE-9sgvuJFQtoItDA/view?usp=drive_link

I'd write more, but I'm out of time. Hi! Love you! Keep walking in the faith. He loves you. He is your strength and shield, a very present help in trouble! Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aTjnmbvnpsNbJa4qjzaKMA1123SWCkZL/view?usp=drive_link

SBC Family, As we get into the atonement further, we find ourselves in the midst of a historical debate that grew out of the Reformation. We'll look at the basics of that debate today. I didn't realize it would take this much to get into the extent of the atonement, but it's really necessary to understand the historical background to get a feel for what people are grappling with in terms of who Christ died for. See attachment. Grace to you, Jeremy Attachment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QBbU8Q9qkUT5hFC1-Dwl0FeObojVB8mV/view?usp=drive_link