A Few Directions

This post serves to clarify some aspects of the blog page. I will outline several things that may help the blog become more helpful to you:

#1. At the bottom of each post (in really tiny letters) is the word "comments". If you click on that you will be given the opportunity to read comments from others as well as respond yourself to a particular post.

#2. On the far right side of the blog page you will find a section entitled "Good Food for Good Thought". In this section you will find an array of prominent Bible preachers and commentators. I have classified each one in parenthesis with their theological persuasion (more on this in a later post). This is done for your sake. If you do not understand the terms don't worry about it. Simply click on the name, and their specific blog page, sermon audio, etc. will be opened. Simply search and learn!

#3. From time to time, I will recommend certain books on the far right side of the blog page. These are books that I have found helpful. If you click on the picture of the book, it should take you to a site where you can purchase that particular book. If you do not like the price (which is usually the case with me!), then let me know and I will find it cheaper for you. This feature is on the blog page for the simple reason that it gives you an opportunity to read what, for instance, amazon.com says about a book (reviews and such). It does not, necessarily, take you to the cheapest book provider.

#4. A helpful hint: Blog pages can sometimes be overwhelming. Most are designed to provide fresh and consistent information. This means there could be 3 or 4 posts in one day. It can be like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant- information overload! I try not to post too many in one day, however here is a helpful hint- read what you want to read and do not feel obligated to read everything. A blog is designed for your needs. Yes, this is one time that it is okay to be self indulgent. Pick what interests you, and focus on that.

#5. Check the blog daily. This is not because Mike or I believe we have the answers to everything. But for pragmatic reasons, it is wise to do so. As stated above, there could be 3 or 4 posts in one day. Also, let's say that Bob makes a comment on a particular post on Monday. On Tuesday, Mary posts a response to Bob's comment regarding the same post. If Bob only checks it every Monday, then he will not find out until a week later that Mary commented on his comment. If there is to be consistent, healthy, and polite interaction, then it is simply wise to check the blog daily. We might call this "blog etiquette". This is particularly true if you are one who likes to leave comments.

Just a few thoughts that will hopefully make this site better for you!

Love in Christ,
Andy

MacArthur on Discernment in the Life of a Believer

Click on the link below to read a short, but accurate article written by John MacArthur on discernment in the life of the believer. Discernement is a gift from God. MacArthur points out that God's "divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Pet. 1:3).

http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/

Why Parenting is not Considered "Cool"

Click on the link below to read an article written by one of my former professors at Southern Seminary. I read this article shortly after having a conversation with someone about the exact issue to which Dr. Moore touches upon. Let me hear your thougths if you get a chance to read it!

http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=19-08-014-v

Man's Fatal Reasoning Apart from God's Light Shining on the Glorious Worth of Christ

Several weeks ago I pulled out a brand new weed eater that has been in my basement for a year, but never used. I carefully mixed the gas and oil making sure that the proper ratio was followed (40:1), for I know by experience that a bad mixture can be detrimental to one’s trimming experience (indeed fatal!). After filling the tank, I proceeded to follow the curious and somewhat humorous steps attached directly to the shiny shaft. It did not start after the first attempt. “No problem”, I thought. So I tried a second time but had no success. I reasoned that this was a new weed eater that probably required three tries or so before it got warmed up. “Third time is a charm”, I said to myself, as I proceeded through the same steps again. The result: nothing. After several successive attempts I began to break a sweat. I found myself intensely angry with the weed eater in a manner that makes my little league coaches look like choir boys. After about twenty minutes of persistent, aggressive, and violent cracks to get the wicked, weed eater started I decided that it was not worth my time. I walked in the house and began venting to Corie with a sermonette that consisted of several arguments as to why the weed eater was somehow manufactured with defects. As I preached I became more convinced that I was right. I concluded that the weed eater was indeed faulty, and needed to be taken back to the store promptly. I had successfully convinced myself that this particular weed eater was not worth my time. It simply could not get the job done. I must take this one back, and look for another one- one that would meet my needs and get the job done. As I walked outside to load the weed eater into the car and head to the store, something told me to give it one more shot. Reluctantly, I picked the weed eater up (all the while focusing on the tremendous degree of grace that I was manifesting to an imperfect weed eater by my noble desire to give it another chance) and began following the required steps for starting it yet again. “This is your last chance, weed eater”, I thought to myself. I followed the steps as I did before. The result: it started! I trimmed for an hour or so with no problem. I concluded that it was not defective. Rather, I had probably flooded the machine in my insistent attempts earlier. The problem was not the weed eater, but me. I had protested the weed eater’s worthiness because I did not want to admit that I was doing something to prevent it from starting. In short, I did not want to admit that I was the real problem.

At the end of John 6 something sad occurs. Many of the disciples who had attached themselves to Jesus end up deserting Him. This comes only after our Lord’s provocative claim repeated over and over again, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day” (vs. 54). I have argued in previous posts that this robust declaration by Jesus did not lead most of His listeners to think that He was speaking literally. Christ was using a metaphor. As I have shown before, Jesus’ claim is a call of complete surrender. It is a call to acknowledge, believe, and trust that Jesus is your greatest need. Eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood is a figurative way to express the need for sinners to place their faith in Christ, trusting that His obedient sacrifice is the only thing worthy enough to pay the price of redemption. It is to recognize that sin is our greatest problem, and Jesus is the only remedy. It is to see that the void in our soul cannot be filled with water from broken cisterns, but must be filled with streams of living water (cf. Jeremiah 2:13). It is to see that Jesus is the true bread that gives true life- life that is both long and qualitative. It describes repenting of sin through the power of the Spirit, and following Jesus in complete dependence. Indeed, to eat and drink Christ is simply to recognize Him as King of King and Lord of Lords, repent of sin, take up one’s cross, and follow Him.

How do we know that Christ’s original listeners understood Christ’s message for the most part? Verse 60 helps us. Christ’s followers responded, “Therefore, many of His disciples, when they heard this said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’” Verse 61 continues, “But Jesus, conscious that his disciples grumbled at this, said to them, ‘Does this cause you to stumble?’” It is interesting to point out that the word “hear” in vs. 61 literally means “hear with appreciation” (The Gospel According to John, Leon Morris, 338). Certainly there were parts of Christ’s message that were difficult to grasp. However, there existed much that they understood all too well (and thus heard), but simply rejected (thus did not listen with appreciative attitudes). They thought it blasphemous for Christ to claim that he came from heaven. For (they reasoned) this is our fellow Galilean whose parents are Joseph and Mary (vss. 41-42). Furthermore, they were offended by the fact that Jesus was claiming to be the source of eternal life, even speaking in terms that made God His Father­. He even claimed that His Father would draw people to Himself and that He Himself would raise them up on the last day. They understood that Christ was subtly attacking their works salvation philosophy, calling for their complete dependence on Him to give life. Indeed, this was a hard pill for them to swallow! Therefore, they concluded that His claims were far too difficult to “hear with appreciation”. To be sure, these disciples heard, but not with appreciation. In short, they were marked by a lack of faith, refusing to appreciate who Christ claimed to be.

When Jesus asked them in vs. 61 if His words caused them to stumble, He highlighted the inward turmoil they were faced with. They understood as never before that they must either follow Christ permanently, or desert Him permanently. The word “stumble” was a Greek word used to refer to the bait stick in a trap that springs the trap shut (New Testament Commentary- John, William Hendriksen, 246). It literally means “cause to fall into a trap” (Morris, 339). Essentially, Jesus told them that they were caught between a rock and a hard place. They were trapped because they had witnessed His miracles, love, and convincing sermons, yet all of this could not convince them of His worth. They had witnessed the overwhelming evidence of His identity as Messiah. They knew of His worth by firsthand experience. Still they were simply not ready to trust Him in the manner Jesus was calling them to. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that their hardness of heart persuaded them to reject what they outwardly knew to be true about Christ. In a sense they knew of Christ's worth, but they were unwilling to follow Him. This is what birthed inner turmoil. Their inner turmoil no doubt led to an important question. Would they view this Jesus they had followed for months as worthy of His claims, or would they desert Him and discount Him permanently? They reasoned, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”

Thus, we find, as we keep reading, that many of these so called disciples did indeed desert Christ (vs. 66). We will never hear of these people again. To be sure, their problem was not Jesus, but their hard hearts. They did exactly what I did with my weed eater. I determined, contrary to any evidence, that I had an imperfect weed eater that was not worthy of my trust. In reality I possessed evidence which suggested the exact opposite (the weed eater was brand spanking new) . Nevertheless, I began convincing myself of its unworthiness. I had a high view of my ability and worth, but a low view of the weed eater’s. As I found out later, the weed eater was worthy of my trust. It did an excellent job trimming. The problem was that I had hardened my heart against the notion that it was worthy. Thus, the problem lied in my reasoning, not the adequacy of the weed eater. These disciples convinced themselves that Jesus was not worthy to place faith in. The One whom they had rigorously followed for months (discipleship in the first century was quite a committed process to say the least) they would now reject. They simply could not accept His claims. He had “gone too far” in His claims. This is not what they signed up for. So they convinced themselves that He simply was not worthy- “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” They lacked faith, which means they lacked eyes to see the glory and beauty and worth of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).

Jesus was clear to Nicodemus in John 3 that one must be born of the water and the Spirit in order to receive eternal life (cf. Titus 3:5). In 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, Paul tells us that the Spirit must open a sinner’s heart to see the value of Christ. Without this special enlightening by the Spirit, a person will always “stumble” at Christ. He will always stumble at the Gospel message. The reasoning will be the same as it was for these artificial disciples of Christ. Man, apart from the salvific work of the Spirit, will always resort to protests of unworthiness regarding the person of Jesus Christ. This is really nothing more than an active dulling of the conscience. It is the suppression of truth (Romans 1:18 ff.). And it ultimately results in eternal death. The implication of this passage is obvious. If eating and drinking Jesus (i.e. placing faith in Him) results in life, then not placing faith in Him results in death- eternal death. Man's reasoning will always be fatal apart from God's light shining on the glorious worth of Jesus Christ.

My weed eater experience is just one event that helped me stop and be thankful for the regenerating work of the Spirit. It reminded me that every sinner will reason against the worth of Christ regardless of compelling evidence. It is said that Erasmus would debate Martin Luther on this very point. Luther held very strongly to God's sovereign grace in salvation. On the other hand, Erasmus argued more strongly for man's free will in the process of salvation. Erasmus would illustrate by saying that God draws sinners to Himself like an owner of a donkey will get it to move by holding a handful of carrots before its nose. The owner draws, but obviously the will of the donkey is involved. However, Erasmus was wrong. Scripture calls us dead (Ephesians 2:1), helpless (Romans 5:6), slaves of unrighteousness (John 8:34; Romans 6:6), blind (2 Corinthians 4:4), and hostile to God (Romans 5:10) just to list a few ways in which God views our relationship to Him as sinners apart from Christ. The evidence in Scripture proves the exact opposite of what Erasmus argued. If Erasmus' argument is true, then it was those who lived during the time of Christ who were in the most privileged context to be persuaded by the "carrots" in Christ's hand. Yet the vast majority were unmoved in their hearts to follow Christ. Even Christ's own disciples (fake though they were) deserted Him. Were it not for the specific work of God through His Spirit (i.e. regeneration) in changing our hearts Godward, we would never see Him for who He is- the Bread of Life! We would never truly love Him if He had not first loved us. In other words, we would never see the worth of Christ, were it not for God showing us His worth. As wicked sinners, we are blind. God must open our eyes. The healthy realization of God’s work of regenerating grace lays the foundation for gratitude toward God, which ultimately motivates living obediently to our Lord and King. It works like this: realizing that salvation is a work of God’s complete grace prompts gratitude. And gratitude (i.e. a thankful heart) propels obedience. This realization also gives us confidence when we share Christ with others. It is ultimately and only the Spirit that will convince a wayward sinner of the beauty and worth of Christ. It is only God who can convince a depraved sinner of His worth, beauty, glory, and profound efficiency in providing ultimate joy, peace, and satisfaction (the Bread of Life!). In His grace, God uses His elect children to point people to Christ by our words and life. We, therefore, must not neglect this task. Nevertheless, we can rest with utter confidence that God has marked out His people. He will draw them to Himself, save them, and raise them on the last day.

“And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness’, is the One who has shown in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).

– Blessings, Andy

Mending the Heart
(excerpts from the book written by John Claypool)

In 1968, John’s daughter Laura Lue was diagnosed with ALL at age eight and died when she was ten. The quotes below are from the chapter, “The Wound of Grief.” These quotes are based on his experience in the loss of his daughter.
As he struggle with his grief, his pain, and his anger, he remembered a lesson his mother taught him. “When something belongs to you and it is taken away, you have a right to be angry. But when something is a gift and it is taken from you, you use that occasion to give thanks that it was ever given at all” (page 65).
“It came to me,” Claypool writes, “that Laura Lue had been a part of my life in exactly the same way. She was a gift, not a possession…”
“That was the moment I decided to take the road of gratitude out of the valley of the shadow of grief, rather than the road of resentment. To this day I believe that gratitude is the best of all the ways through the trauma of loss rather than a spirit of entitlement. It does not in any way eliminate the intense pain and frustration that always accompany the work of rebuilding one’s life in an entirely different context, but it does take away the feelings of anger and the conviction that a terrible injustice has been done, and it opens the way for thanksgiving. Gratitude also deepens our sense of trust, for we begin to believe that the One who gave us the good olds can be trusted to give us the good new days as well.” (page 66)
Earlier he wrote, “I realized at that moment a choice stood before me. I could spend the rest of my life in anger and resentment because she had lived so short a time and so much of her promise had been cut short, or I could spend the rest of my life in gratitude that she had ever lived at all and that I had the wonder of those ten grace-filled years.” (page 63_

Pastor Mike

Resolved Conference Live Stream

Just a quick post to give you the link for the Resolved Conference in California put on by Grace Community Church. I listened to C.J Mahaney preach from Philippians last night. Currently I am listening to Steve Lawson. This is really good stuff.

All you have to do is create your own personal account, which takes less than 3 minutes total. Then use your ID and password, and you can watch live video from the conference. Don't forget that the schedule on the website is according to Pacific Time (thus 3 hrs. behind). Its not too late to hear MacArthur tonight! Log on.

http://resolved.org/SiteLogin.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2flive.aspx

2009 Schedule

Friday, June 12
4pm - Registration
8pm - Session 1, Rick Holland

Saturday, June 13
11am - Session 2, Steve Lawson
5pm - Session 3, C.J. Mahaney
6pm - Session 4, Enfield Concert

Sunday, June 14
11am - Session 5, Steve Lawson
5pm - Session 6, John MacArthur
7pm - Session 7, John Piper

Monday, June 15
9am - Session 8, Rick Holland
11am - Session 9, John MacArthur
5pm - Session 10, C.J. Mahaney
7pm - Session 11, John Piper

Blessings- Andy

Using A "Blog Shout Out"

The following is a question that I just received on an old post regarding the Roman Catholic position on the Lord's Supper:

"Alright, now for my next question...WHY would the Roman Catholic church feel they need to literally eat and drink of Christ's body?"

I struggled some degree as to how I should answer such a question. As I pondered what my response should be I remembered from the TV show Cash Cab that the contestants get either a "mobile shout out" or "street shout out" to help answer their questions. So why can't a blogger get a "blog shout out"? Since I set up this blog I reserve the right to make the rules. Therefore, I opt to turn to Sam Storms teaching on the "sacramentalism" of the Roman Catholic Church to answer the above question. His comments are brief, yet accurate and understandable. No doubt, Storms explanations will raise more questions. However, Storms teaching is a good start. Just click on the links below to view his comments. His teaching on sacramentalism comes in three parts. The first part is the most important because it answers the above question directly. However, I would encourage you to read as much as you can, especially the section on "the Eucharist" (part 2). In this section Storms describes what happens in the mass according to the teaching of the Roman Catholic church. I will post the links below. However, if you opt not to read Storms in full, please do not refrain from reading the quote below. It is a stunning statement (and might I add- untrue).

"The Council of Trent (16th century) issued the following declarations concerning the sacrament of the Eucharist:
'If any one shall deny that the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and, therefore, entire Christ, are truly, really, and substantially contained in the Sacrament of the most holy Eucharist; and shall say that He is only in it as in a sign or in a figure, or virtually, let him be accursed. . . . If any one shall say that the substance of the bread and wine remains in the Sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; and shall deny that wonderful and singular conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood, the outward forms of the bread and wine still remaining, which conversion the Catholic Church most aptly calls Transubstantiation, let him be accursed' (Session 13, Canons 1-2)."

Part 1- http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/sacramentalism-part-i/

Part 2- http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/sacramentalism-part-i/

Part 3- http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/sacramentalism-part-iii/

Blessings- Andy

Setting Forth Christ to Our Children

I found these articles concerning evangelizing children on John MacArthur's blog. They are actually taken from documents describing Grace Community Church (where MacArthur pastors in California) and its distinctives. For those of you that do not know, MacArthur's church is essentially reformed baptist in its soteriology (doctrine concerning salvation).

Evangelizing Children, Part 1

http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/Posts.aspx?ID=4225

Evangelizing Children, Part 2

http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/Posts.aspx?ID=4228

John Bunyan on the Christian and the Law

John Bunyan wrote in a two page article just before he died, his understanding of the relationship of the Christian to the law, how Grace and Law are to be viewed by the Christian.
What follows is the quote I shared with you in last Sundays message.

“Wherefore whenever thou who believest Jesus, dost hear the law in its thundering and lighting fits, as if it would burn up heaven and earth; then say thou I am freed from this law, these thunderings have nothing to do with my soul; nay even this law, while it thus thunders and roareth, it doth both allow and approve of my righteousness, I know that Hagar would sometimes be domineering and high, even in Sarah’s house and against her;
But this she is not to be suffered to do, nay though Sarah herself be barren; wherefore served her, and expel out from thy house.
My meaning is, when this law with its thundering threatenings doth attempt to lay hold of thy conscience, shut it out with a promise of grace; cry, the inn is took up already, the Lord Jesus is here entertained, and there is no room for the law.”
Pastor Mike

Why could Paul quote Isa. 54:1 in Gal. 4:27

I don’t think that I was very clear on why Paul could connect Is. 54:1 with the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, Gal. 4:21-31. (Quoted in 4:27)
In the allegory, Paul is answering the false teachers, those who would pervert the gospel of free grace, by saying that to be truly a part of the children of God you had to be joined to the Israel of the Mosaic Law. It would appear that these Judaizers were claiming the authority of Jerusalem from Gal. 2:12 “For prior to the coming of certain men from James (from the Jerusalem that now is, earthly Jerusalem), he (Peter) used to eat with the Gentiles…” In Galatians Paul is identifying where spiritual authority rests; and those who are the true people of God.
What in the world does this verse in Isaiah have to do with the argument of where spiritual authority rests and who are the true people of God?
In Isa. 54 God is addressing the nation of Israel, which is pictured as a woman, first forsaken but then restored: Read Isa. 54:5-7
“For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.
For the LORD has called you, Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected, Says your God.
For a brief moment I forsook you, But with great compassion I will gather you.”
The simple answer is that Israel, before the Babylonian exile, would picture Hagar. That is, Israel in covenant with God (her husband) producing children, the Israelites under the Old Covenant. While Israel, in exile, pictures a wife with no husband. Israel forsaken for a while by God (barren Sarah), v.7 forsaken “for a brief moment.” Isaiah speaks of the hope that there is a coming time when God would once again restore Israel, a time of rejoicing and shouting for joy. Isaiah 54:1 “For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman, says the LORD.”
Remember that the prophets spoke in two directions, especially beginning with Isaiah. 1. They were addressing the physical nation of Israel under the Old Covenant, calling the nation back to obedience to that covenant; however, 2. The prophets were also speaking of a day when a glorious New Covenant - God’s ultimate purpose in fulfilling the Abrahamic promises through Jesus Christ (Justification by Grace through Faith) – would produce more numerous sons.
Sarah is mentioned by name in the OT, outside the book of Genesis, only in
Isa. 51:1-2. There, it is said of her, that she has given birth to those who “pursue righteousness” and who “seek God”. It has been said by some that in the whole book of Isaiah, the barrenness of Sarah transforms from a story of a child to the future story of a people. ( the True People of God)
It is this looking forward to a people – to a people who will seek and pursue righteousness - The righteousness that is provided by the Cross work of Jesus Christ - that form the True Israel ( the Church ) of which Old Covenant Israel was only a temporary, unbelieving, picture.
Would this True Israel simply be an extension of the physical nation of Israel which Paul has already connected to Mt. Sinai, Hagar, and the Old Covenant by means of obedience to the Mosaic Law? Absolutely not! The true people of God would come from something new…the New Covenant which is NOT LIKE the one God established with Israel when He took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt to Himself at Mt. Sinai. (Jeremiah. 31:31)
This is the work of God Ezekiel 36 and 37 speak of, (i.e. the Valley of Dry Bones) pointing to the return of Israel from captivity but more importantly pointing to a greater restoration not just physical but spiritual, not just of one nation Israel, but of nations – people from every nation, making up the True people of God, the Church. (Jeremiah 31:31; Heb. 8:7-13)
It would not be the Law which would produce freedom for Israel; it would be God’s Grace. It will not be the Law that will produce the True people of God - Hagar can not produce free sons, only slaves. Gal. 4:24
If this is what Paul had in mind, then it becomes clearer why and how he could use this verse from Isaiah.
Isa. 54:1 follows immediately after Isa. 53 the Suffering Servant Song. And the context of Isa. 53:12 to Isa. 54:3 speaks of Inheritance.
Isa. 53:12 “Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for transgressors.”
Isa. 54:3 “For you will spread abroad the right and the left. And your descendants (seed) will possess nations And will resettle the desolate cities.”
There would be a restoration of physical Israel back into the land. But this restoration is only a picture of the Great Restoration that the Suffering Servant will bring about in producing, through a Work of the Holy Spirit, a people of EVERY tongue, nation, kindred, and tribe by faith in the Work of the Suffering Servant of Isa. 53, Jesus Christ dying for “transgressors” on the Cross of Calvary
Sarah’s children include those who truly search and seek for God (as revealed in the Person and work of Christ) and His righteousness. Righteousness “IN CHRIST”.
If we have been made apart of “the Jerusalem that IS free; she IS our mother.” The Jerusalem from above. WHY would anyone be so foolish to want to return to a slavish Jerusalem that had been abandoned by God?
The Judaizer’s claimed spiritual authority from Jerusalem, Paul is simply saying… you have the wrong Jerusalem! Gal. 4:25 “Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the PRESENT Jerusalem, for she (present Jerusalem) is in slavery with her children. Present Jerusalem has no authority.
True Authority and the True People of God are birthed from above by a free woman. Grace not Law! Gal. 4:26 “But the Jerusalem above is free, she is our mother”
“OUR” in v. 26 speaks of the true sons of Sarah, Everyone, Jew or Gentile, who has come by the Sovereign work of the Spirit of God by Grace through Faith to rest and trust only in Jesus Christ for their acceptance before God.
WHO? after coming to know and experience the Freedom of the Gospel, would ever return to the slavery of the Law? And verse 30 truly sets forth that the two, Grace and Law can not be mixed. “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, For the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman”
v. 31 “So then, brethren, WE are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.”
REJOICE and live as free sons. Pastor Mike