Chapter 13.23
Martin Luther
and Free Will
Bondage of the Will – Systematic Theology – Calvinism
– Arminianism
God’s Will – Man’s Will – Limited Free Will – Common
& Special Grace
The Holy Spirit - The Heart – The Blood – The
Veil
Martin Luther
I
have read “THE BONDAGE OF THE WILL” by Martin Luther who takes the position that the definition of FREE WILL is works and man making a Free Will decision to follow Jesus Christ falls into the category of WORKS. Free Will is the dreams of men that are mad; it is a poison
poured forth into the world by a wonderful malice of the Devil himself,
the prince of demons.
Free Will under
its own power can’t do anything but fail, nor avail unto anything but to sin. Free Will is
nothing but the servant of sin, of death and of Satan.
Man’s
fallen nature renders him utterly incapable of doing any spiritual good. Every imagination of man’s heart is on evil
continually.[1]
The doctrine of Free
Will was not sent down from
heaven, but sprung from the earth below.
What can the smoke of man do against the thunder and lightning of God? Free Will can only be truly applied to God.
By its nature Free Will can only go downward, fall back
and grow worse and worse.
Martin
Luther says, it is impossible to know what Free Will is unless you know
what the “human
will does” and what “God does or foreknows”. Luther contends that the mercy of God alone
does all things and that our own will does nothing.
C.
H. Spurgeon said “The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness,
but my badness,
not my merit,
but my misery,
not my
riches, but my need”.
Billy
Graham said “No matter how generous
or how honest or how compassionate we are, it is never
enough. God is Holy and His standard is PERFECTION. If we think we are good enough, that thought
simply proves our pride”. The Book is clear; Salvation is found in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.[2]
The Apostle Paul says
that those
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the
spirit. That
which is born of
the flesh
is flesh,[3] and cannot please God, they must be born again; born of the SPIRIT to
receive the ability to understand the things of the Spirit. Any man that does not have
the spirit of Christ is none of His, so if any man is not of Christ, what else
is he but of Satan.
Whatever is not of Faith is Sin.
The question is whether our own
will does anything in those things which pertain unto eternal salvation, or
whether it is wholly passive under the work of grace. Without the mercy of God “the Will”
is ineffective, so how far does the mercy of God extend and how far does our own will
extend?[4]
THE HINGE; the very heart
of the subject matter is what can “Free Will” do as it
stands in reference to the grace
of God? It is important that we
understand the power and working of God and that of our own works.
The
Apostle Paul had studied God’s Word so much that Festus shouted that too much
knowledge had driven Paul CRAZY.[5] As I read “THE BONDAGE OF THE WILL”,
it’s like Luther is having a battle with his own mind who he has named “Erasmus”.
His
book has so paralyzed me that I have not written a word study in a month just
trying to wrap my mind around the thought that “deciding” to accept Jesus Christ
with my Free
Will is considered “WORKS”.
The Book says that BEFORE the Laws of
Moses existed, Abraham BELIEVED
God and God counted him RIGHTEOUS
because of HIS FAITH,[6]
so I must pose this; was Abraham’s decision to believe and have faith
considered to be works. The
Book “SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY”
argues Luther’s point well, but doesn’t tie the decision “to believe” as being an act of “Works”.
Limited Free Will
Our family including our grown children
is a family of dogs. Whenever
the gang of puppies visit us they have Free Will to roam
our house, however it is limited free will as they
cannot go out the front door into the streets. Like the Holy Spirit, I have enlightened the puppies as
to a Doggie Door where they can decide to go into the fenced back yard
if they choose. All the puppies by free will have decided to go in and out the doggie door except
for one. Even though he has been shown,
encouraged, demonstrated and coaxed, you cannot even push him through it; he
has by his FREE WILL chose to NOT use it.
I would argue that Free Will is
actually Limited Free Will which
works in accordance to a much larger plan by a Sovereign God which plan is not totally revealed to us. With as much Free Will as
Satan
has, it is LIMITED
by God.[7]
God foresees, purposes and does all things
according to His immutable, eternal, and infallible Will, which is just and
merciful; His character does not change.
He cannot be deceived nor His Will hindered. What He promises, He is able and willing to
perform and anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that He is, and is a
rewarder of those who place their hopes in Him. [8]
Holy
Spirit
Fallen
Man is the walking DEAD and is in such
of a condition that left to his own Free Will decisions,
is INCAPABLE
of desiring divine spiritual things. If he was treading water, he would not be
capable of reaching for a life preserver floating alongside to SAVE
himself.
Martin Luther says our will
does what it does; be it good or evil, not out of compulsion, but out of our
mere willingness
or desire, as
IF we were totally free. Our own depraved corrupt will CANNOT of itself do good. As a student of the Word, I would agree that
we are depraved and corrupt, but isn’t that why God sent the comforter,
the Paraclete,
the Holy
Spirit to make it “possible”
for us to do good?
The Holy
Spirit overcomes the holding power of sin and ENABLES the believer to become obedient and
answer to the higher spiritual purposes of God.[9] He causes the sinner to see the truth[10]
so that he comes under conviction and becomes conscious of his sin; this
knowledge of sin precedes the faith that yields to Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit
guides, maintains, strengthens, endows and develops the talents of those who have received the Gospel and leads
them to their destiny; doing what is right and outwardly good for others.
We are like a light BULB in huge electric
sign;
the HOLY
SPIRIT has repaired our filament
giving us the ability to light up; the Word of God has screwed us in and made our connection tight,
and the Power
of God has been made available to
us, and now with Free Will all we have to
do is “decide”
to flip
the switch and instead of darkness there will be light, but Marin Luther considers “deciding”
to flip the switch to be Works… and we cannot be saved by works.
Man’s
Will
Salvation is apart from our own
strength
– If Satan rules our spirit, then our will is directed by and through him, but
if God rules our spirit then our will is directed through the Holy Spirit. Man is captive, a slave or a servant to “THE WILL” of one or the
other.
The Book says Salvation
is extended to us only by the Grace of God and not by any work man has done, is doing or might
do.
Martin Luther says that all things
stand or fall by the will and authority of God.
He has promised His grace to the “humbled”; that is when a person
finally comes to know that his salvation is utterly beyond his own power and
works and it utterly depends on the will and pleasure of God alone.
God’s
Will
The model prayer of Jesus was
that “God’s will”
would be done on earth like it is in heaven.[11] That was the whole point, GOD’S WILL ON EARTH IS NOT BEING
DONE.
God’s will is that not even one person
should perish;[12]
but God’s will is being resisted;
people are perishing.
If Christ died on the cross to save
everyone from the Lake of Fire and separation from God then He was an utter FAILURE because some have not chosen Him, BUT if He died for ALL those who would believe in Him then he was 100%
successful. The blood of Jesus was shed
for sinners who would come to Him of their own FREE WILL as well as those who were PREDESTINED to come.[13]
The Book says God is not a
respecter of persons that the Word is to be preached to every person in the
whole world,[14]
not to just those who were predestined to hear. Free Will and
Predestination
are both taught in scripture; I learned a term from my grandson which I looked
up in Wikipedia, it’s called “Compatibilist” meaning you don’t have to pick or
choose between the two doctrines; they are both compatible with each other.
The Word of God and the
Traditions of Men are opposed to each other. Satan’s comes to steal our liberty, entangle
and bind our consciences, but God’s will cannot be resisted, changed or hindered.[15] His
will for us is to have Free Will; to be
obedient to Him out of our Free Will CHOICE and NOT out of Obligation or to use the Book’s term; NOT out of “Necessity”;[16] NOT being obedient because we
are COMPELLED to do so.
– It’s in the Book –
Matthew 22:14 –
Many are called to come by Free Will
14 For many are called (to come by
free will),
but few are chosen (predestined to
come).
(NLT)
Removing
the Veil
There are some things in scripture that are NOT quite plain, there are passages that are
obscure and abstruse and from our ignorance of certain terms, Satan has
discouraged us from reading the Bible so that his poison of philosophy can
prevail in the church.[17]
There
are also some things in scripture
that are NOT of obscurity or ambiguity, like the humanity
of Jesus and the Trinity of the God head, these are clear, but Satan works that
we might not see it, for no man can understand one iota of scripture unless the Holy Spirit resides in him.[18] It is the fool that has said in his heart
there is no God.[19]
God has many things veiled or hidden which we don’t know and no one doubts especially
the day of the return of Christ; He said “Of that day no
man knows but the father”.[20]
Reading the Book removes the VEIL over our
understanding mind, breaks
the seals and rolls away
the stone from the door of the tomb and reveals [21] that
God is not only Trinity,
but also Unity. Christ has opened
the door to our understanding.[22] The scriptures are inspired and written for
our instruction and good and IF His words REMAIN obscure it’s because of our own blindness and
lack of desire to understand. If the
Gospel is hid, it is hidden to those that are lost, whom Satan has blinded. [23]
Through the Laws of Moses, the knowledge
of the sin, we were born in, live in, move in, and exist in, was revealed to man of
which before we were ignorant.[24]
It is GOD’S GRACE that made us
righteous WITHOUT
THE LAW of works which avails
nothing.
Did
you see it? Works cannot SAVE. It’s in the Book
Common
& Special Grace
As I try to understand the
book “Systematic Theology”, I find that GRACE is actually an attribute
of our sovereign God, it is by His free un-deserved favor or love toward man
which resulted directly from the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the Cross; it
was not only foreseen by God, but was designed by Him as a blessing
for ALL people.
The Book says the LAW
came through Moses, but Grace came through Jesus Christ. For by Grace we have been saved through faith,
and that not of something we do.[25] It is the Gift of God; our salvation is not
dependent upon anything we have done, are doing or plan
to do, so as to give credit to ourselves.[26]
Grace means beauty or gracefulness, but in
general it means FAVOR OR
GOOD-WILL. In the NT it signifies
the unmerited operation of God in the heart of man. It illuminates the mind and acts directly on
the will as either “OPERATING” or “CO-OPERATING” grace.
The Grace of God prolongs and maintains
the natural life of man giving him time and opportunity to repent thereby
removing all his excuses and justifying God’s upcoming wrath.[27] The unregenerate man may do good, natural,
civil and outwardly religious works, but they do not spring from the right
motives or purpose; they cannot please God.[28]
God never blesses the reprobate although they may receive blessing because of a
Godly person or Godly people placed around them; the Egyptians were blessed
because Joseph
was of the Abrahamic
Covenant.[29]
There are two kinds of grace that are
dispensed by God.
1)
Common Grace is “communal”; given by the Holy Spirit to ALL men, sufficient to ENABLE
THEM to
repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ, however this Common Grace is resistible and more or less IT USUALLY IS. This is because “Common Grace” leaves the heart
unchanged. It works only on the natural
and not on the spiritual. Common Grace operates
only in the moral and rational ways of man, making them RECEPTIVE to the truth. Common Grace never
removes the guilt and pollution of sin, nor does it renew the human nature, nor
does it affect the salvation of the sinner; BUT if the human heart COOPERATES with the Holy Spirit they can be saved. (In
my BS, I call this action Free Will)
2)
Special Grace is given by the Holy Spirit to SOME; to the Elect and it cannot be resisted; although they are not
compelled, it makes the desire so great that they want God. It is a renewing of the whole nature of man,
not only ENABLING THEM to repent of
their sins, but causes them to be WILLING. It is the operation of God to remove the
guilt, penalty, condemnation and punishment of Sin, and gradually cleanses him
of the pollution of sin and ultimately provides the person Salvation through the operation
of the Holy
Spirit. (In my BS, I call this
action Pre-destination.)
The Book seems to bear
out that eleven of the Disciples had Special Grace. (Believers) and Judas had only Common Grace (He was a Make Believer). Is there a difference between someone who is
called a “Christian”
and someone who is called “a FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ”? SELAH,
ponder that
Side Bar
ü Calvinism – God’s grace and calling is irresistible and LIMITED to only some; the Elect. The irresistible grace does
not compel a man to come to Christ, but just makes him willing. This is the doctrine of Predestination and the Divine election of
saints.
ü Arminianism – God’s grace is resistible
and usually is. It is conditioned on the
faith of the believer. This is the
doctrine of Free Will;
of man co-operating with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
ü The
Book - Both
are taught in scripture and both are compatible; you do not have to choose. Those whose Belief
System embraces both doctrines are
called Compatibilist. Both doctrines acknowledge personal
spiritual bankruptcy’ both have a hunger and thirst for spiritual things
and both endeavor to obtain it. (In my BS I
am a compatibilist.)
The
Heart
Our hearts are desperately wicked and
deceitful and cannot approach God,[30]
so He must give us a new one.[31] Once we believe and accept Jesus Christ, our
debt becomes paid; our sincere hearts and guilty consciences become sprinkled
with His Blood[32]
that clears our conscience,[33]
and all our senses of guilt is removed;[34]
we have a new heart and Jesus as our High Priest confronts Satan’s accusations.[35]
The activity of CHOOSING Jesus Christ is always PRECEDED
by the previous activity of God through the Holy Spirit;
no man comes to the Father unless He draws them.
It is the internal calling that man becomes conscious that God is
working a conversion in him, it happens through a work of God’s strength, NOT the works of the Believer’s own strength. Where
ever there is true
faith there will be real repentance;
a turning away from sin in the direction of God.
Strictly speaking, saving Faith is an act of God rather than an
act of man.
– It’s in the Book –
The
Blood
The Blood of Christ is used in
connection with atonement for our sins.
It cleanses us from every type of sin, BIG and
BLACK, small as well as 50 shades of grey and those
which seem unforgivable. The Blood of
Christ totally and wholly satisfies God.
I don’t understand how, BUT God said it
did; the Blood is precious to God because God says so.[36]
It operates in
three ways; 1) toward Man,
2) toward God,
and 3) toward Satan.
Jesus was a substitute for us on the cross
giving His life’s blood for our sins.
Now when we sin, God overlooks the sin because He sees
“the
Blood” of His beloved Son; so although the Blood was
for MAN,
it was primarily for GOD and now SATAN can NO longer accuse
us because Jesus
is our High Priest sitting at the
right hand of the Father advocating for us[37]
and if God is for us, who can possibly be against us? – NO ONE! [38]
It is the
finished work of Jesus Christ that is the
basis of our ability to approach the presence of God.[39] We can never approach God on our own personal
attainment, we are brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ,[40]
God looks on His blood and is satisfied.[41] Every time we approach God it is on the very
same basis of the blood of His son, not on
something of our own works we have obtained.[42]
– It’s in the Book –
The Take Away
Martin Luther uses troupes; figurative and metaphorical
language to describe the
Gospel’s effect on man heart; I think it’s quite good and worth writing down.
Luther: As under the same SUN, mud is hardened
and wax is melted;
as by the same SHOWER, the cultivated
earth brings forth fruit, and the uncultivated earth thorns;
so by the same long suffering of God, some are hardened and some converted.
TROUPE - As under the
same GOSPEL, a HEART is hardened and another HEART is melted;
by the same GOSPEL, the cultivated
HEART brings forth fruit, and the uncultivated HEART brings forth thorns; so by the same long
suffering of God, some HEARTS are hardened;
some converted.
The work of redemption was accomplished
through Jesus Christ and there remains nothing else to do, it is a finished
work.
He accomplished the work through the Holy Spirit
and the co-operation of the
subjects of redemption.[43]
The work of Christ merited us salvation[44]
and the Holy Spirit applies and carries that creative work to completion as he
guides us into all truth. No one can come to Son of God unless the father who sent the
Son draws them through the Holy Spirit.
Faith is often regarded as an activity of
the intellect,
but True Faith will manifest
itself in Good Works;
Faith without works is a
non-existent dead faith.
In the
regenerated man the Holy Spirit gives
GIFTS of great illuminating
wisdom, abilities and intellectual insight and expertise in all kinds of crafts,[45]
and because of the regenerated man’s presence, the favor spills over, and those
around him get in on the blessings as well.
We give the
Holy Spirit such little thought,
but if the
Holy Spirit were to be removed,
we would all DIE.
The origin of life, its maintenance and development depend
on the operation of God the Holy Spirit; the third person of the
Trinity. What the Holy
Spirit has written on our hearts is more certain and firm than life itself.[46]
Every soul’s DESTINY is to receive the wrath of God and endure the lake of fire forever.
ü It was God’s Special
Grace that PREDESTINED some to be elected, to become part of His
plan of salvation.
ü But it was His Common Grace that made it POSSIBLE for everyone else to have the ABILITY to make a FREE WILL decision to escape His wrath.
The Book says we are saved by Faith and not by our
works, it is the gift of God. So is Martin
Luther right
… is FREE WILL or making the
choice to
believe in Christ’s finished work
on the cross considered WORKS? I guess it depends on your denomination’s
viewpoint; when I was just ten years of age, I was taught to recite John 3:16;
For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him will be saved.[47]
God gives us an
entire lifetime to find Him; to make a FREE
WILL decision
to come to Him, so we are without excuse. When the Believers are all gathered in heaven
and in the presence of the Angels, God and the Lamb, we will not care how we
got there; whether it was by our Free Will or we
were Predestined.
Your
words are the index of your heart. Jesus said
whoever confesses Me before men, I will confess before the Father.
To all that would CHOSE to
believe, He gave the right to become a child of God; forsaking the sinful life
and pursuing a Godly life. Becoming a
Believer does not mean that that the struggle between
your old life and your new life is at once ended; NO, the struggle will continue as
long as you live, but His grace is sufficient.
The change that takes place CANNOT BE REPEATED;
there may be ups and downs or seasons of estrangement from God, but the “True Believer”
will surely return.
Today
we have been given THE CHOICE between life and death, between
blessings
and curses.
Heaven and earth will WITNESS THE
CHOICE you
make. Oh, that you would choose life, so
that you and your descendants might have eternal life.[48]
Matthew 22:14 – Many are called to come by
Free Will
14 For
MANY ARE CALLED (to
come by free will),
but FEW ARE CHOSEN (predestined
to come).”
(NLT)
Deuteronomy
30:19 – We have a FREE WILL Choice
19 Today I have given you THE
CHOICE between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call
on heaven and earth to WITNESS THE
CHOICE you make.
Oh, that you would CHOOSE life,
so
that you and your descendants might live!
(NLT)
– It’s in the
Book –
In the multitude of counselors,
there
is wisdom.
Proverbs 11:14
I
am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information,
and scripture verses. Because of them I
can stand on their shoulders
and see further that I otherwise ever
could have.
Writings
outside of the Bible should be viewed as “informational”, but not
authoritative. They give insight to
customs, manners and thoughts of a particular culture at a particular time in
history.
Along with
the Apocrypha, I have also enjoyed
“The lost books
of the Bible” and “The forgotten books of Eden”.
Many of these
will include folklore, superstition and “embellishments”.
Prove scripture with
scripture, line upon line, and precept upon precept.
.American Standard Version Bible – ASV
.Amplified Bible – AMP
.Dake annotated Reference Bible – DAKE
.English Standard Version Bible – ESV
.King
James Version Bible - KJV
.Message Bible; The – MSG
.New International Version Bible – NIV
.New Living Translation Bible - NLT
101
Q&A on Demon Powers – Dr. Lester
Sumrall
90 Minutes in Heaven – Don Piper
A
Commentary – Critical, Experimental and Practical – Eerdmans
A Survey of Israel’s History - Wood
All the Women of the Bible – Edith Deen
An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words
– W.E. Vine
Angels A-Z – Lewis Oliver
Angels: Gods Secret Agents – Billy Graham
Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus
Apocrypha, the – Edgar J. Goodspeed – Grant R. Jeffrey
Arithmetic of God; The – Don Iistler
Armageddon-Appointment with Destiny – Grant R. Jeffrey
Bad Girls of the Bible - Higgs
Baker Commentary on the Bible – Elwell
Baptism Commentary – John Harvey
Bible Almanac; The - Nelson
Bible Almanac; The – Packer Tenney White
Bible Code, the – Michael Drosnin
Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row
Bible Hub.com
Bible on the life Hereafter; The – William Hendriksen
Biblical Ethics – Robertson McQuilkin
Bondage of the Will; The – Martin Luther
Can America Survive? – Bible on the life
Hereafter, The - John Hagee
CARM – Christian Apologetics & Research
Ministry – M .J. Slick
Commentary
on Calvinism – Mike Fowlkes
Commentary
on the Bible – Baker
Countdown to Armageddon, the 1980’s – Hal Lindsay
Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake
Dead Sea Scrolls Translated, the – Florentino Garcia Martinez
Dictionary
of Biblical Literacy – Oliver Nelson
Dictionary
of Pentecostal movements – Burgess –
McGee
Doctrine of Last Things – Dr. John Harvey
Does God Control Everything – R.C. Sproul
Don’t know much about the Bible – Kenneth C. Davis
Double Predestination Paper – Darryl Williams
Encounters with Angels – L. W. Northrup
Escape from Armageddon – Thomas Reed
Exposition of Genesis – H.C. Leupold
Expositor’s
Bible Commentary; The – Frank E.
Gaebelein
Final Battle; The – Hal Lindsey
Final Dawn over Jerusalem – John Hagee
Five
Points of Calvinism; The – WJ Seaton
Forgotten
Books of Eden; The – World
From Daniel to Doomsday – John Hagee
Girls
of the Bible- Harvey Albert Snyder
Gospels Interwoven; The – Karmit Zarley
Great Doctrines of the Bible 5 – Soteriology – W. A. Criswell
Great Doctrines of the Bible 6 – Christian Life – W. A. Criswell
Great Pyramid; The – George R. Riffert
Guide to Survival – Salem Kirban
Halley’s Bible Handbook – H.H. Halley
Harper’s Bible dictionary – Harper and row
Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow, the – Constance Cumbey
Historical Atlas of the Bible; The – Dr. Ian Barnes
Hope for each day – Billy Graham
Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale
Illustrated Manners and Customs of the
Bible – Packer-Tenny
In the beginning was the End – Wim Malgo
Influence; The – A novel – Matthew John Slick
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament - Baker
International Dictionary of the Bible; The
new – Douglas-Tenney
Invisible
War; The – Donald Grey Barnhouse
Islam and the Bible – David Goldmann
Jerusalem Countdown – John Hagee
Joined at the Hip – James Merritt; Touching Lives
Last Days collection, The – Pretty Good Publishing
Late Great Planet Earth; The – Hal Lindsey
Layman’s Overview of the Bible; The –
George W. Knight
Liberty
Commentary of the New Testament – J
Falwell
Lost
Books of the Bible; The - Bell
Lost Books of the Bible; The - World
Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan
Mere
Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Meredith’s Book of List; 1&2 –Bethany House Publishers
Missing
Books of the Bible; The – Halo Press
Mormon Mirage, the – Latayne Colvett Scott
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest
Mystery Mark of the New Age – Texe Mars
Mystery of the Ages – Herbert W. Armstrong
Nag Hammadi Library; The – James M. Robinson
Naked
Gospel; The – Andrew Farley
Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan
Neighboring
Faiths – Winfred Corduan
New
Evidence that demands a verdict; The –
Josh McDowell
New International Dictionary of the Bible;
The – Douglas - Tenney
New Millennium; The – Pat Robertson
New
World College Dictionary – Webster’s
Noah’s Family Tree – Stewart Trott
Normal Christian Life; The – Watchman Nee
Nostradamvs & the Millennivm – John Hogue
Now that’s a Good Question – R.C. Sproul
Old Testament Survey – Eerdmans
One Minute after you Die – Erwin W. Lutzer
Other
side of the Good News; The – Larry Dixon
Paradise Commentary – Dr. Karl McCallister
Person & Work of the Holy Spirit, the – R.A. Torrey
Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible - Zondervan
Respectable Sins – Jerry Bridges
Revelation of Jesus Christ, the – Walvoord
Revelation Seminar, the – 1975 - Hilton Sutton
Revelation Study, the - 1973 – Dr. Warren Wiersbe
Revelation; The – verse by verse – Oliver B. Green
Satan’s Underground – Lauren Stratford
Satanism – Ted Schwarz & Duane Empey
Secret Kingdom; The – Pat Robertson
Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Hugh J. Schonfield
Seven Deadly Sins – British Broadcasting Network
Shepherd’s Chapel – Arnold Murray
Systematic Theology – Berkhof/Erdmans
Systematic Theology – Stanley M. Horton
Systematic Theology – Wayne Grudem
Table Talk – R.C. Sproul
Theomatics – Jerry Lucas
There were two Trees in the Garden – Rick Joyner
There’s a war going on – Eldred Echols
Thru the Bible commentary – J. Vernon McGee
Today’s Dictionary of the Bible - Guideposts
Today’s Dictionary of the Bible - T.A. Bryant
Today’s Dictionary of the Bible - Readers Digest
Twelve Ordinary Men – John MacArthur
Unraveling the Big Questions about God – Kenneth Boa
Unseen Realm; The – Michael S. Heiser
Victor Journey through the Bible: The – V. Gilbert Beers
Vincent’s Word Studies of the New
Testament – Mac Donald
Webster’s New World College Dictionary – Webster
What in the World is going on? – David Jeremiah
What
is Reformed Theology? – RC Sproul
What the Bible is all about – Henrietta C. Mears
Where to find it in the Bible – Ken Anderson
Who’s Who and Where’s Where in the Bible – Stephen M. Miller
Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner
Whose Bible is it? – Jaroslav Pelikan
Why
I am a Christian – Michael A. Gorman
Wikipedia
Witchcraft,
puppets and Voodoo – Irene A. Park
Within Heaven’s Gates – Rebecca Springer
Wycliff Bible Commentary, The
Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E.
Gaebelein
Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Moody Press
Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Pfeiffer & Harrison
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the
Bible; The - Tenney
[1] Genesis 6:5 – The natural man’s mind is consistently evil
[2] Acts 4:12 – Salvation come by no other name but Jesus Christ -- Galatians 2:16 –
Salvation is by Faith in Jesus the Son of God not by obeying the law. -- Romans 4:16 – We are saved by our Faith
like Abraham
[3] John 3:6 – That which is born of the FLESH IS FLESH, and that which is born of the SPIRIT IS SPIRIT -- Romans 8:5 – The FLESH set their minds on the
things of the FLESH; and the SPIRIT set
their minds on the things of the SPIRIT
[4] 1 Corinthians 12:6 – God works in different ways in all of us
[5] Acts 26:24 – PAUL, YOU ARE INSANE. Too much study has made you CRAZY
[6] Genesis 15:6 – Abraham believed and it was
counted as righteous -- Romans 4:3 - Abraham believed
and it was counted as righteous -- Galatians
3:6 - Abraham believed and it was counted as righteous -- James 2:23 Abraham believed and it was
counted as righteous
[7] Job 1:12 - Do whatever you
want with everything Job possesses, but don’t harm him physically
[8] Hebrews 11:6 - Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that
God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him
[9] Romans 1:21-22 – Without the Holy Spirit our
minds are dark and confused
[10] John 14:26 – The Holy Spirit will teach you
[12] Matthew 18:14 – The Fathers will is that not even one would perish
[13] Romans 9:16-24 - Some people are predestined to be saved God chooses to show mercy to some, and he
chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen
[14] Mark 16:15 – Go Preach the Good News to EVERYONE in
the WHOLE WORLD
[15] 2 Timothy 2:9 – God’s word cannot be hindered or chained up
[16] Philemon 1:14 – Obedience should come from
our FREE WILL not from our obligation or necessity
[17] Colossians 1:23 – Continue to believe the Truth of the Good News --
Hebrews 11:6 – You must believe to be able to come to God;
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD WITHOUT
FAITH
[18] 2 Timothy 2:19– The Father knows who are His -- Mark 16:15 – Go into ALL
the world and preach the Gospel to everyone
[19] Psalm 14:1 – Only an unbelieving, corrupt, evil FOOL would say there is no God
[20] Matthew 24:36 – There are some things Jesus and Angels do not know
-- Acts 1:7– Some things we are not to
know; only the Father
[21] Luke 24:45 – The HOLY SPIRIT opens our mind to understanding the scriptures
[22] Isaiah 40:13 – No one can advise God
[23] 2 Corinthians 4:4 – Satan has BLINDED THE MINDS of those WHO DON’T
BELIEVE
[24] Romans 3:20 – The only thing the Law does is to show us how sinful we are
[25] Ephesians 2:8-9 – GOD SAVED YOU BY HIS GRACE WHEN YOU
BELIEVED it is a gift from God
[26] Romans 3:20-28 – We are made right
with God by PLACING our FAITH in Jesus Christ; can we boast then, that we
have done anything NO, It is based solely on FAITH
[27] Isaiah 48:9 – God is giving mankind TIME
to repent so there will be no excuses
[28] Jeremiah 7:23-25 – Free Will has stubborn desires from an evil heart; MY PEOPLE WOULD NOT LISTEN TO ME
[29] Genesis 39:5 – Potiphar household was blessed because of Joseph sake
[30] Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is desperately DECEITFUL and DESPERATELY WICKED.
[31] Ezekiel 36:26 – God will take out your stony, stubborn heart and will give you a new tender and responsive heart
[32] Hebrews 10:19-22 – By the sprinkling of Christs blood on our consciences
we can enter the God’s presence -- Hebrews 10:2 – His blood made our feelings
of guilt disappear
[33] Romans 4:8 – Blessed is the man whose sin the
Lord does not see
[34] Hebrews 9:14 – The perfect sacrifice of Jesus purified our consciences
[35] Revelation 12:10 - Satan can no longer accuse us; salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God has come
at last
[36] 1 Peter 1:18-19 – The Blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb
of God is precious to God
[37] Romans 8:33-34 – Who dares to accuse us who have been CHOSEN as God’s own. NO
ONE
[38] Romans 8:31 - If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
[39] Hebrews 9:11-12 – Jesus our High Priest with
His own blood entered the
Most Holy Place once for all time and secured forever our
redemption
[40] Ephesians 2:13 – We are brought near to God through the blood of Christ
[41] 1 John 1:7 – The blood of Jesus, God’s
son, cleanses us from all types of
sin
[42] Matthew 10:32-33 – Everyone
who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I
will also acknowledge before my father
[43] John 6:44 – The Holy Spirit draws men unto Jesus Christ
[44] Ephesians 2:9 – Salvation does not come from our works, past, present nor
future; it is totally HIS WORK on the cross.
[45] Job 32:8 – The Holy Spirit gives us understanding
-- Exodus 28:3 – The Holy Spirit gives Great Wisdom
-- Exodus 31:3 - The Holy Spirit gives Ability and
Expertise -- Exodus 35:31
- Holy Spirit gives Wisdom in all kind of crafts
[46] John 16:13-15 – We are guided by the Spirit of Truth; when the SPIRIT OF TRUTH comes,
HE WILL GUIDE YOU; The Spirit will tell
you whatever he receives from me
[47] John 3:16 – Everyone who believes will have eternal life
[48] John 1:12-13 – To all who believed him and
accepted him, he gave the right to become
children of god; they are born again.
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