"Will Those in Heaven Recognize Those in Hell"
This is a question that has haunted Christians since the beginning of time. “If my unbelieving brother is in hell, will I see him from heaven?” is a question that personalizes the issue even more. What is the answer?
As the spokes of a wheel converge on one axle at the center, so do many Scriptures come together to answer this question that is the center of our attention.
Consideration #1 –
Hebrews 9:15 “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are [the] called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
The writer to the Hebrews declares that Jesus is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of His death on the Cross. All of our transgressions (our sins) which were committed under the first covenant earned death – “For the wages of sin is death…” [Romans 6:23a]. Jesus set us free by the payment of His blood for our sins (this is redemption) when He took our place on the Cross (this is substitutionary atonement) to satisfy God’s holy wrath against the Elect for their breaking of His righteous law.
In this new covenant we do not find a simple refurbishing of the old – a remodeling of what we had. No, it is much more than that – infinitely more! It is in the new covenant established by Christ that we are declared to be a new creation in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
The verb parelthen( that is translated ‘passed away,’ can also be translated “come to an end” – as in “did pass away” or “disappear.” Too often is the deepest sense of the word not appreciated. In Biblical Greek there is what is called the ‘aktionsart’ of the verb-stem. It is a word descriptive of the “kind of action” rather than the “time of an action.” And in the text before us the emphasis should be placed on the fact of God’s removal of our sins, not merely the time in which He made them disappear. This glorious truth is declared in the following passage:
Psalm 103:10-12
10 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Consequently, the new covenant established by Christ, on behalf of His Elect, declares that in being “born again” [anothen = ‘from above’], a saved sinner is created as a new man:
Ephesians 4:24 “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
A saved sinner is created in Christ a new creation – a new man – that will receive “the promise of the eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15c). The “eternal inheritance” includes a new heaven and a new earth:”
2 Peter 3:13 “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
Consideration #2 –
In a glorified body (another part of the eternal inheritance promised to the Elect) we will enjoy the presence of God:
Isaiah 65:17-18
17 " “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy.”
According to the Scripture, “…the former shall not be remembered or come to mind” (v17b).
Look at the following supportive Scriptures:
Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”
Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
Hebrews 10:12-18
12 “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,"
17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.”
Just as God will not remember a saved sinner’s former life, former habits and former relationships that were of the flesh, so a saved sinner – in his glorified body – will not remember anything that relates to the flesh – our former ways, habits, sins and relationships that were made in the flesh.
Look at the following supportive Scriptures that refer to the things and people of this earthly existence:
Proverbs 10:7“The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.”
Ecclesiastes 9:55 “For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten.”
Isaiah 26:14 “They are dead, they will not live; They are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And made all their memory to perish.”
Isaiah 65:17-18
17“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy.”
1 John 2:17 “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
What a deliverance is this – what a mercy of God poured out upon His people! No more sins to plague us, no more memories of relationships gone bad, no more actions to regret – all are remembered no more! No wonder that the Scripture shows our heavenly Father wiping away the tears of His saints:
Isaiah 25:8“He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.”
Revelation 7:16-17
16 "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
17 "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Revelation 21:1-4
1 “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Consideration #3 –
We are given to understand that the relationships we have with others in eternity will be based upon the relationship we have with Christ. In Matthew 22: 23-33, the subject of eternal relationships was brought up by the Sadducees. What is interesting to note is that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection at all; nevertheless, Jesus answers the question about relationships in heaven in this manner:
Matthew 22:30 "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”
In another passage in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus spells out that eternal relationships with Him in Heaven are based upon obedience to Christ here on this earth:
Matthew 12:46-50
46 “While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
47 Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"
49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!
50 "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."
In the Gospel of Luke the following testimony by Christ is recorded:
Luke 8:19-21
19 ¶ “Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.
20 And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."
21 But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
Those relationships we have on this earth that are based upon our relationship with Jesus Christ, as displayed by our obedience to Him in our life, will be the relationships that we will have in heaven. We will know our believing parents, our believing siblings, our believing friends. Those outside of Christ – who have no relationship with Jesus – we will have no memory of them. They relate to our fleshly existence, as we live as citizens of this earth. But we, as Christians have dual citizenships: one earthly and one heavenly:
Ephesians 2:19-22
19 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Philippians 3:20-21
20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
Our citizenship in heaven will be enjoyed in a body “conformed to His glorious body” (v21a). We will know all the saints in heaven by name, we will recognize them and know them in Christ. What a tremendous time that will be, when Christ gathers in all His Elect to be with Him in the new heavens and the new earth.
Consideration #4 –
We are told in Scripture that those in Hell will remember the relationships they had while on earth. They will also be able to see into heaven and recognize those people they knew while they were on this earth. This insight is given by Jesus in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus:
Luke 16:19-31
19 " There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
25 "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house,
28 'for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'
29 "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
30 "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' "
The following insights are gleaned from the passage before us:
I. Concerning Lazarus – the saved sinner
A. v.22 – at the point of death, he was immediately taken into the presence of God.
B. v.22 – “Abraham’s bosom” is symbolic of the comfort and sweet fellowship a saint will have with God.
C. v.22 – the fact that he was carried is symbolic of the rapture of the saint to Heaven.
II. Concerning the rich man – the lost sinner
A. v.23a – When he died, he found himself in torment
B. v.23b – He found himself in torment for he was in Hell
C. v.23b – He was able to look into heaven
D. v.23c – He recognized Lazarus
E. v.24 – He cried out for mercy – not for his soul, but for the relief of his flesh
F. v.25 – He had full memory recall of his earthly lifetime
G. v.27 – He was aware of what was going on in earth relative to his father’s household, and in particular, his five brothers.
H. v.28 – His request for his brothers was fleshly in nature; he wanted his brothers to know of the horrors of hell rather than the glories of heaven.
III. Concerning Hell –
A. v.23 – Hell is not a state of mind, but a real place.
B. v.23 – Hell is a place of torment for the unrepentant sinner.
C. v.23 – From Hell the unrepentant sinner can see into Heaven.
D. v.24 – Hell is a place where no relief from torment can be found.
E. v.24 – Hell is a place of tormenting fire.
F. v.25 – Hell is a place filled with lifetime memories.
G. v.26 – Hell is separated from Heaven by a great gulf that no one can cross.
H. v.27-28 – People in Hell know what is happening to their families on earth.
Some Final Conclusions –
1. We should never presume that we know the spiritual condition of a person – albeit a family member or a friend. Only the Lord knows the heart.
2. We should encourage believers in the knowledge that they will know in Heaven all those saints who know the Lord as their personal Savior.
3. Saints in Heaven will not know any person in Hell – they will have no memory of the things of the flesh, and the things of the world. No relationship that did not bring glory to God will be remembered by the saints in Heaven.
4. There is no intermediate state where the soul goes when he dies; either he will go to heaven as a repentant sinner saved by grace, or go to hell as an unrepentant sinner who was unwilling to come to Christ – there is no third option.
5. While Hell is a horrific place of fire and torment, the greatest anguish that is experienced by a sinner is eternal separation from Jesus Christ.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Two Gates, The Two Roads
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made the following appeal:
Matthew 7:13-14
13 ¶ " Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Entering the wide gate a man will find a way that ultimately will lead to eternal destruction. This broad road is strewn with the broken pieces of man-made religions, that promises eternal life to a man if he works hard enough and lives a good enough life. These religions are broken because they fail to deliver eternal life; instead, they lead a man to destruction.
Entering the narrow gate a man finds what is often referred to as ‘The Roman Road.’ Along its path are the following signposts:
#1 Romans 3:10-11
10 “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.”
#2 Romans 3:23
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
#3 Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
#4 Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
#5 Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
#6 Romans 8:2
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
#7 Romans 8:5-6
5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
#8 Romans 8:14
14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
#9 Romans 8:28-30
28“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
29 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
#10 Romans 8:38-39
38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 “nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Which road are you on?
Matthew 7:13-14
13 ¶ " Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Entering the wide gate a man will find a way that ultimately will lead to eternal destruction. This broad road is strewn with the broken pieces of man-made religions, that promises eternal life to a man if he works hard enough and lives a good enough life. These religions are broken because they fail to deliver eternal life; instead, they lead a man to destruction.
Entering the narrow gate a man finds what is often referred to as ‘The Roman Road.’ Along its path are the following signposts:
#1 Romans 3:10-11
10 “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.”
#2 Romans 3:23
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
#3 Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
#4 Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
#5 Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
#6 Romans 8:2
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
#7 Romans 8:5-6
5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
#8 Romans 8:14
14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
#9 Romans 8:28-30
28“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
29 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
#10 Romans 8:38-39
38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 “nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Which road are you on?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The Exclusive Nature of Christianity
There is no apology given by Jesus concerning the message His Father had given to Him to preach. With no hesitation Jesus declared,
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me”
(John 14:6).
This message of Jesus runs contrary to the pluralistic spirit of today. Jesus does not allow a person to add anything to the Word of God. In Galatians 1:8, the Apostle Paul states that a person is accursed if they add anything to the Gospel that is declared through the Holy Scriptures. It is that serious. To add or subtract from the Holy Scriptures brings a holy curse upon the individual or the organization that does it.
When this plain teaching of Holy Writ is applied in today’s world, it shows that the cults of Mormonism and the Jehovah Witness and the Roman Catholic Church falls under the curse of God; for in every organization mentioned there is a concerted effort upon the leadership to add to the Holy Scriptures their own traditions and human dogma.
Just as the uniqueness of the Bible is not to be tampered with, so also is the declaration by Christ relative to how a person finds residence in Heaven. There are some very popular false teachers today who declare that there is more than one way to Heaven. This is a lie borne out of hell itself.
The Son of God declares that there is but one way a person can get to Heaven and that is through Him – Jesus Christ the Lord!
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me”
(John 14:6).
This message of Jesus runs contrary to the pluralistic spirit of today. Jesus does not allow a person to add anything to the Word of God. In Galatians 1:8, the Apostle Paul states that a person is accursed if they add anything to the Gospel that is declared through the Holy Scriptures. It is that serious. To add or subtract from the Holy Scriptures brings a holy curse upon the individual or the organization that does it.
When this plain teaching of Holy Writ is applied in today’s world, it shows that the cults of Mormonism and the Jehovah Witness and the Roman Catholic Church falls under the curse of God; for in every organization mentioned there is a concerted effort upon the leadership to add to the Holy Scriptures their own traditions and human dogma.
Just as the uniqueness of the Bible is not to be tampered with, so also is the declaration by Christ relative to how a person finds residence in Heaven. There are some very popular false teachers today who declare that there is more than one way to Heaven. This is a lie borne out of hell itself.
The Son of God declares that there is but one way a person can get to Heaven and that is through Him – Jesus Christ the Lord!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
How I Came to the Doctrines of Grace
I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church that taught the Holy Scriptures within the framework of the Baptist traditions of the day. Without being told, I was being taught the Holy Scriptures within a man-made framework called “Dispensationalism.” When it came to the Doctrine of Man, I was taught that while man was fallen in nature, he still had the capacity – yea, even the desire – to turn to Jesus Christ and be saved. When it came to the Doctrine of Salvation, I was taught that Jesus died for everyone – whoever was, is, or will be – and that man had a free will – unaffected by sin; consequently, while man had a fallen nature, he still could choose Christ – of his own free will. While hearing these teachings in sermons which were peppered with the mantra, “The Bible says,” I never questioned my pastor – for he was a good man. I never was taught to investigate the Scriptures for myself in order to discover what the “whole counsel of God” actually taught. Jesus had cast His vote for my salvation, Satan had cast his vote against my salvation, and that “I had to decide to follow Jesus” – I had to vote for my own salvation – with Jesus – in order to be saved. That is what I was taught.
My pastor never mentioned semi-Pelagianism or Arminianism. The positions which these two views held were foreign to me – neither did I ever hear of Calvinism. I knew nothing of the historical framework in which these views were taught. I just knew that I was a Baptist – and a Southern Baptist at that! While I was taught that the Bible had all the answers, I was never taught the importance of learning how to rightly divide the Word of Truth (II Timothy 2:15). If I wanted to know what Baptists believed, I was told to go to the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message – the Southern Baptist Convention Confession of Faith. It was in this state of mind and with these “Baptistic attitudes” that I grew into manhood.
After returning from the Vietnam War (in 1972) and being honorably discharged in 1974, I entered Criswell Center for Biblical Studies in Dallas, Texas for my seminary training. It was in courses on Church History, History of the Reformation and Baptist History that I first learned about the men: Pelagius, Jacobus Arminius and John Calvin, along with other men like Martin Luther, George Whitefield and Charles H. Spurgeon. I knew that I would like Charles Spurgeon when I discovered that he was a Baptist! It was when I began to take Systematic Theology that I learned what these men taught.
My professor for Systematic Theology I was a Briton by the name of John Pretlove. He was an excellent professor – but he was British! And I was an American! It was then that I discovered a latent prejudice against Britons that – because of history – I, along with a lot of Americans, have toward the British. When he began to introduce to the class the differences between Arminianism and Calvinism, I discovered that I had been raised by my pastor with one foot in the semi-Pelagian camp and the other foot in the Arminian camp. Each time the professor raised a Calvinistic point for discussion, I found myself rising in opposition to it – beginning my response to it with the phrase, “The Bible says!” Professor Pretlove listened patiently to my response and then would politely reply, “Brother Hopkins, where is your Scripture?” The following is one example of such a verbal exchange:
Professor Pretlove: “Calvinism teaches that Jesus came to save the Elect; that is, those sinners whom the Father gave to the Son before the foundation of the world.”
Me: “But the Bible says that Jesus came to save the world!”
Professor Pretlove: “Brother Hopkins, where is your Scripture?”
Me: “John 3:16 – ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’”
Professor Pretlove: “Brother Hopkins, what do you do with the following Scriptures:
KJV Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
And
KJV John 17:9 “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.”
And
KJV Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
I would sit down totally frustrated. I knew a lot of what the Bible said, but I knew very few Scriptural addresses. And, since I did not have the Scriptural reference in my head, I could not adequately answer the professor. The resultant feelings ran deep inside me:
1. I greatly resented Professor Pretlove for embarrassing me in front of the class.
2. I did not dig into the Scriptures to find out what the whole counsel of God actually said on these issues. I was too busy being a full-time student.
3. I didn’t like Calvinism. It was different than what I had been taught, and it didn’t have the name Baptist connected to it. You can imagine my shock when I later discovered that Charles Spurgeon, a Baptist pastor, was a Calvinist!
I passed the course, but I maintained a distain for the professor until after I graduated from CCBS (in 1976).
In 1977, I was called by the Lord to pastor an SBC Church in Euless, Texas. I was delighted and entered into the pastorate with great zeal. Everything was going great for the first six months. One morning, as I entered my Study, I was suddenly struck with an overwhelming sense of God’s Presence. I went to my knees in prayer as a tremendous heaviness came over me. For the first time, the gravity of preaching and teaching the Word of God to His people really hit me! As I was pondering this heaviness, the following Scripture came to my mind:
NKJ Hebrews 13:17 ¶ “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”
The phrase ‘as those who must give account’ really hit me hard. The fact that I would have to give an account of what I preached and taught the people of God suddenly gripped me. I became scared. The thought of my teaching something not consistent with the whole counsel of God terrified me. While in school, God had given me a great love for the Biblical languages: Hebrew and Greek. Now, I found myself being led of the Lord to begin searching the Scriptures in the languages it was originally written in, so that I could find out what the Holy Scripture truly said.
Over the next three days, I prayed and fasted while I studied the Holy Scriptures. I felt impressed by the Lord to call Professor Pretlove and ask his recommendation on some books that would assist me in honestly looking at the Doctrines of Grace. To be honest with you, I did not enjoy making that call – because of my dislike for the man. I was still sinning in that area of my life. I must also admit to you that I went into the study with a determination to tear apart Calvinism. Why God would bring Calvinism to my mind, I didn’t have a clue. In my humanity, I didn’t like it. But the thought of the souls of God’s people haunted me. I knew that I could not preach or teach until the Lord and me resolved this issue.
I would read a statement, and then I would dig into the Scriptures. I would translate every verse – I didn’t trust the English. I wanted to be sure I had it right! For three nights and three days I poured over the Scriptures, and as the Spirit of the Lord began to illumine my mind, the tears began to flow down my cheeks. I discovered many things – truths that were always there in the Scriptures, but I had never seen them before. And by the end of that period of prayer and fasting, I found myself to be a thorough going Calvinist in the same camp of Charles H. Spurgeon.
That was thirty-one years ago, and I am still learning more of the precious Doctrines of Grace. I will continue to strive to teach the whole counsel of God – The Doctrines of Grace – as long as there is breath in me. The souls of God’s people are precious.
My pastor never mentioned semi-Pelagianism or Arminianism. The positions which these two views held were foreign to me – neither did I ever hear of Calvinism. I knew nothing of the historical framework in which these views were taught. I just knew that I was a Baptist – and a Southern Baptist at that! While I was taught that the Bible had all the answers, I was never taught the importance of learning how to rightly divide the Word of Truth (II Timothy 2:15). If I wanted to know what Baptists believed, I was told to go to the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message – the Southern Baptist Convention Confession of Faith. It was in this state of mind and with these “Baptistic attitudes” that I grew into manhood.
After returning from the Vietnam War (in 1972) and being honorably discharged in 1974, I entered Criswell Center for Biblical Studies in Dallas, Texas for my seminary training. It was in courses on Church History, History of the Reformation and Baptist History that I first learned about the men: Pelagius, Jacobus Arminius and John Calvin, along with other men like Martin Luther, George Whitefield and Charles H. Spurgeon. I knew that I would like Charles Spurgeon when I discovered that he was a Baptist! It was when I began to take Systematic Theology that I learned what these men taught.
My professor for Systematic Theology I was a Briton by the name of John Pretlove. He was an excellent professor – but he was British! And I was an American! It was then that I discovered a latent prejudice against Britons that – because of history – I, along with a lot of Americans, have toward the British. When he began to introduce to the class the differences between Arminianism and Calvinism, I discovered that I had been raised by my pastor with one foot in the semi-Pelagian camp and the other foot in the Arminian camp. Each time the professor raised a Calvinistic point for discussion, I found myself rising in opposition to it – beginning my response to it with the phrase, “The Bible says!” Professor Pretlove listened patiently to my response and then would politely reply, “Brother Hopkins, where is your Scripture?” The following is one example of such a verbal exchange:
Professor Pretlove: “Calvinism teaches that Jesus came to save the Elect; that is, those sinners whom the Father gave to the Son before the foundation of the world.”
Me: “But the Bible says that Jesus came to save the world!”
Professor Pretlove: “Brother Hopkins, where is your Scripture?”
Me: “John 3:16 – ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’”
Professor Pretlove: “Brother Hopkins, what do you do with the following Scriptures:
KJV Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
And
KJV John 17:9 “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.”
And
KJV Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
I would sit down totally frustrated. I knew a lot of what the Bible said, but I knew very few Scriptural addresses. And, since I did not have the Scriptural reference in my head, I could not adequately answer the professor. The resultant feelings ran deep inside me:
1. I greatly resented Professor Pretlove for embarrassing me in front of the class.
2. I did not dig into the Scriptures to find out what the whole counsel of God actually said on these issues. I was too busy being a full-time student.
3. I didn’t like Calvinism. It was different than what I had been taught, and it didn’t have the name Baptist connected to it. You can imagine my shock when I later discovered that Charles Spurgeon, a Baptist pastor, was a Calvinist!
I passed the course, but I maintained a distain for the professor until after I graduated from CCBS (in 1976).
In 1977, I was called by the Lord to pastor an SBC Church in Euless, Texas. I was delighted and entered into the pastorate with great zeal. Everything was going great for the first six months. One morning, as I entered my Study, I was suddenly struck with an overwhelming sense of God’s Presence. I went to my knees in prayer as a tremendous heaviness came over me. For the first time, the gravity of preaching and teaching the Word of God to His people really hit me! As I was pondering this heaviness, the following Scripture came to my mind:
NKJ Hebrews 13:17 ¶ “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”
The phrase ‘as those who must give account’ really hit me hard. The fact that I would have to give an account of what I preached and taught the people of God suddenly gripped me. I became scared. The thought of my teaching something not consistent with the whole counsel of God terrified me. While in school, God had given me a great love for the Biblical languages: Hebrew and Greek. Now, I found myself being led of the Lord to begin searching the Scriptures in the languages it was originally written in, so that I could find out what the Holy Scripture truly said.
Over the next three days, I prayed and fasted while I studied the Holy Scriptures. I felt impressed by the Lord to call Professor Pretlove and ask his recommendation on some books that would assist me in honestly looking at the Doctrines of Grace. To be honest with you, I did not enjoy making that call – because of my dislike for the man. I was still sinning in that area of my life. I must also admit to you that I went into the study with a determination to tear apart Calvinism. Why God would bring Calvinism to my mind, I didn’t have a clue. In my humanity, I didn’t like it. But the thought of the souls of God’s people haunted me. I knew that I could not preach or teach until the Lord and me resolved this issue.
I would read a statement, and then I would dig into the Scriptures. I would translate every verse – I didn’t trust the English. I wanted to be sure I had it right! For three nights and three days I poured over the Scriptures, and as the Spirit of the Lord began to illumine my mind, the tears began to flow down my cheeks. I discovered many things – truths that were always there in the Scriptures, but I had never seen them before. And by the end of that period of prayer and fasting, I found myself to be a thorough going Calvinist in the same camp of Charles H. Spurgeon.
That was thirty-one years ago, and I am still learning more of the precious Doctrines of Grace. I will continue to strive to teach the whole counsel of God – The Doctrines of Grace – as long as there is breath in me. The souls of God’s people are precious.
Monday, August 25, 2008
When Revival Comes
First, let me begin by defining what is Evangelism and what is Revival.
Evangelism is introducing Jesus Christ to the lost. It is as simple as that. While there are a myriad of methods used to present the Gospel (the Good News) of Jesus Christ, evangelism is, nevertheless, the presentation of Jesus Christ and His message of repentance to lost souls.
Revival, in its simplest terms, is both the reclaiming of the regenerate who have become hardened with sin, as well as inspiring the redeemed to greater depths of holiness before a thrice-holy God. Revival is not something that man works up, but that God pours down from heaven. The agent of revival is not the machinations of man, but God Himself. An evangelistic overflow is a consequence of spiritual revival.
When Revival comes, the following observations can be made:
1. There is an unmistakable divine visitation of God Himself! Planning committees cannot plan it, cottage prayer meetings cannot make it happen – God in His sovereignty elects to come down upon a meeting, whose heartfelt purpose is to glorify God. I am not talking about a three-day meeting, a week-long meeting, or even a two-week meeting. I am talking about a movement of God upon a group of people where the message is repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This kind of divine visitation is not – cannot be – controlled by man. God takes over the services. And the effect of God’s sovereign power is so strong that the affect is felt not only by the person in the pew or the stadium seat, but it also moves into the community itself. Lost people sense the presence of God in the community; and this evangelistic overflow results in lost people getting saved.
2. Sin is seen in all of its awfulness. Saved people who have been living hypocritical lives see the awfulness of their lives as they have been grieving the Holy Spirit within them. Lost people see the sins in their lives and come to realize that they are damned for all eternity unless they seek Jesus for mercy. The lost man comes to understand that he is living under the wrath of God, and that only the blood of Jesus Christ can save him from such wrath.
3. The whole counsel of God, as perceived in the Doctrines of Grace, is lovingly embraced by those who love the Scriptures. Gone are the me-centered sermons that lift up man, and in their place are messages that preach the sovereignty of God in all His love, all His justice and all His mercy. God-sent revivals will always center on a holy God Who hates sin, a God Who covenanted with His Son, Jesus Christ, to save a people that the Father gave to Jesus before the foundation of the world, and a God Who purposes to save sinners for whom Christ died!
4. As repentance runs deep, there is a great sensitivity to sin in a person’s life. Confession of sin is common in God-sent revivals – not only between believers who have held grudges against one another for years, but also a searching out of lost people in the community where wrong has been done, but has never been dealt with. In true God-sent revival, the gray of compromise and rationalism dissolves. And all that a person is left with is “I have sinned against God and man.” This new awareness leads to the reconciliation of relationships and the restoration of lives.
5. Illumination into the Word of God grows quickly as the person is sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is showing them in the Word of God. Hunger for the Word of God becomes immense and the thirst for the Living Waters of the Scriptures cannot be quenched. Sensitivity to the clock goes out the window as people seek “Thus saith the Lord.” The preaching of the Word of God becomes paramount. Meetings will often last for hours – with no complaint from the people.
6. Churches are called back to the pattern of the Biblical Church as shown in the Bible. Traditions made by man fall by the wayside, as churches seek the Scriptures for what it means to be the church of God. There are no sectarian biases, there are no denominational agendas in a God-sent revival. God calls his churches back to Him and His Word. This is why a truly God-sent revival transcends denominational lines as the Holy Spirit moves among the churches of a community to bring about revival in God’s people.
7. There is a distinct evangelistic overflow – the community feels the impact of a God-sent revival. Business practices are changed as God get a hold of the heart of the owner; worldliness ceases to be promoted as men get right with God. And the people of the community see the differences. Churches who have split off from one another forgive one another, and the people of the community – who have known of the splits and the hard feelings, take note of the changes. All of this leads to an openness on the part of the community to the revival, for it was the churches hypocrisy, bitterness toward one another, and an unforgiving spirit that kept so many lost people out of the churches.
8. Satan and his forces rise up against such a God-sent revival. Satan cannot tolerate the people of God repenting of their sins and getting right with God and with one another. The Evil One will do anything in his power to undermine, subvert, malign, and cripple the affects of a God-sent revival. He will use other disgruntled churches, who are jealous and envious over what is happening, to attack the preacher of the Gospel and the people who listen to what God is saying through His man. Plainly put, many churches don’t want a God-sent revival, and Satan knows this. He is all too willing to encourage them to stand against a God-sent revival.
This is the kind of Revival our community needs. This is what America needs. Oh, may God grant, in His boundless mercy, another great pouring out of His Spirit upon the churches in our land – and may Revival come!
Evangelism is introducing Jesus Christ to the lost. It is as simple as that. While there are a myriad of methods used to present the Gospel (the Good News) of Jesus Christ, evangelism is, nevertheless, the presentation of Jesus Christ and His message of repentance to lost souls.
Revival, in its simplest terms, is both the reclaiming of the regenerate who have become hardened with sin, as well as inspiring the redeemed to greater depths of holiness before a thrice-holy God. Revival is not something that man works up, but that God pours down from heaven. The agent of revival is not the machinations of man, but God Himself. An evangelistic overflow is a consequence of spiritual revival.
When Revival comes, the following observations can be made:
1. There is an unmistakable divine visitation of God Himself! Planning committees cannot plan it, cottage prayer meetings cannot make it happen – God in His sovereignty elects to come down upon a meeting, whose heartfelt purpose is to glorify God. I am not talking about a three-day meeting, a week-long meeting, or even a two-week meeting. I am talking about a movement of God upon a group of people where the message is repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This kind of divine visitation is not – cannot be – controlled by man. God takes over the services. And the effect of God’s sovereign power is so strong that the affect is felt not only by the person in the pew or the stadium seat, but it also moves into the community itself. Lost people sense the presence of God in the community; and this evangelistic overflow results in lost people getting saved.
2. Sin is seen in all of its awfulness. Saved people who have been living hypocritical lives see the awfulness of their lives as they have been grieving the Holy Spirit within them. Lost people see the sins in their lives and come to realize that they are damned for all eternity unless they seek Jesus for mercy. The lost man comes to understand that he is living under the wrath of God, and that only the blood of Jesus Christ can save him from such wrath.
3. The whole counsel of God, as perceived in the Doctrines of Grace, is lovingly embraced by those who love the Scriptures. Gone are the me-centered sermons that lift up man, and in their place are messages that preach the sovereignty of God in all His love, all His justice and all His mercy. God-sent revivals will always center on a holy God Who hates sin, a God Who covenanted with His Son, Jesus Christ, to save a people that the Father gave to Jesus before the foundation of the world, and a God Who purposes to save sinners for whom Christ died!
4. As repentance runs deep, there is a great sensitivity to sin in a person’s life. Confession of sin is common in God-sent revivals – not only between believers who have held grudges against one another for years, but also a searching out of lost people in the community where wrong has been done, but has never been dealt with. In true God-sent revival, the gray of compromise and rationalism dissolves. And all that a person is left with is “I have sinned against God and man.” This new awareness leads to the reconciliation of relationships and the restoration of lives.
5. Illumination into the Word of God grows quickly as the person is sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is showing them in the Word of God. Hunger for the Word of God becomes immense and the thirst for the Living Waters of the Scriptures cannot be quenched. Sensitivity to the clock goes out the window as people seek “Thus saith the Lord.” The preaching of the Word of God becomes paramount. Meetings will often last for hours – with no complaint from the people.
6. Churches are called back to the pattern of the Biblical Church as shown in the Bible. Traditions made by man fall by the wayside, as churches seek the Scriptures for what it means to be the church of God. There are no sectarian biases, there are no denominational agendas in a God-sent revival. God calls his churches back to Him and His Word. This is why a truly God-sent revival transcends denominational lines as the Holy Spirit moves among the churches of a community to bring about revival in God’s people.
7. There is a distinct evangelistic overflow – the community feels the impact of a God-sent revival. Business practices are changed as God get a hold of the heart of the owner; worldliness ceases to be promoted as men get right with God. And the people of the community see the differences. Churches who have split off from one another forgive one another, and the people of the community – who have known of the splits and the hard feelings, take note of the changes. All of this leads to an openness on the part of the community to the revival, for it was the churches hypocrisy, bitterness toward one another, and an unforgiving spirit that kept so many lost people out of the churches.
8. Satan and his forces rise up against such a God-sent revival. Satan cannot tolerate the people of God repenting of their sins and getting right with God and with one another. The Evil One will do anything in his power to undermine, subvert, malign, and cripple the affects of a God-sent revival. He will use other disgruntled churches, who are jealous and envious over what is happening, to attack the preacher of the Gospel and the people who listen to what God is saying through His man. Plainly put, many churches don’t want a God-sent revival, and Satan knows this. He is all too willing to encourage them to stand against a God-sent revival.
This is the kind of Revival our community needs. This is what America needs. Oh, may God grant, in His boundless mercy, another great pouring out of His Spirit upon the churches in our land – and may Revival come!
Friday, August 22, 2008
We Need Revival!
You don’t need to read the newspapers to know that America is in trouble. Discipline in the schools continues to be a major issue, as the hands of the teachers are tied by the ropes of federal regulations. Illegal drug use continues to rise; the demons of drug trafficking are strong in Osage County. Marital problems plague our families as more and more physical and mental abuse in the home becomes the norm. Weak preaching of the Gospel from our pulpits is producing weak church members in the pews. Morals are lax, Christian ethics are thrown out of the schoolroom, and the average citizen knows not what they can do to change any of it.
We have tried throwing more money at our schools, mistakenly thinking that the problem with education is financial in nature. It is not! Preachers have filled the ears of their church members with sermons of love, goodness, prosperity and health – and still we have a continuing decline of attendance in our churches. Self-help courses and self-improvement classes are at an all time high, yet depression, despair and despondency rages on unhindered in the hearts of an ever increasing number of people. People are loosing hope in their churches, their schools and their government at the local, county, state and federal levels. Something must be done, but what? If we don’t change the status quo, we will lose our beloved America in a generation. If we are not careful, we will wake up one day in a Marxist regime that will strip us of our individual liberties for the sake of the State. Yet, we should not make the mistake of thinking that our problems are political in nature. They are not!
The problem we have in Osage County is the same problem we have in our Country as a whole – we have rebelled against the Sovereign God and have turned our backs on Him. Unless we repent of our sins, and cry out to God for mercy, God’s judgment on us and America will be strong and swift. God has told us in the Holy Scriptures what we need to do:
2 Chronicles 7:14 14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
This call to repentance is not to the lost, but to the people of God! Our churches have more of the world in them than they have Christ in them. Revival is only realized in the hearts of His people! And this is what we need – revival of the individual Christian and revival of the churches. Only when repentance is realized in the heart of the believer, will lost men see the difference and be drawn to Christ. We need to seek God’s face and cry out to God for His mercy. Only then will God forgive our sins and heal our land.
We have tried throwing more money at our schools, mistakenly thinking that the problem with education is financial in nature. It is not! Preachers have filled the ears of their church members with sermons of love, goodness, prosperity and health – and still we have a continuing decline of attendance in our churches. Self-help courses and self-improvement classes are at an all time high, yet depression, despair and despondency rages on unhindered in the hearts of an ever increasing number of people. People are loosing hope in their churches, their schools and their government at the local, county, state and federal levels. Something must be done, but what? If we don’t change the status quo, we will lose our beloved America in a generation. If we are not careful, we will wake up one day in a Marxist regime that will strip us of our individual liberties for the sake of the State. Yet, we should not make the mistake of thinking that our problems are political in nature. They are not!
The problem we have in Osage County is the same problem we have in our Country as a whole – we have rebelled against the Sovereign God and have turned our backs on Him. Unless we repent of our sins, and cry out to God for mercy, God’s judgment on us and America will be strong and swift. God has told us in the Holy Scriptures what we need to do:
2 Chronicles 7:14 14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
This call to repentance is not to the lost, but to the people of God! Our churches have more of the world in them than they have Christ in them. Revival is only realized in the hearts of His people! And this is what we need – revival of the individual Christian and revival of the churches. Only when repentance is realized in the heart of the believer, will lost men see the difference and be drawn to Christ. We need to seek God’s face and cry out to God for His mercy. Only then will God forgive our sins and heal our land.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Take a Vacation
I know the price of gas is through the roof - and it is not going to get better in the near future. But taking a vacation can take many forms, it doesn't necessarily cost an arm and a leg to take one with the family.
In a recent study concerning the benefits of taking a vacation, one point stood out to me. It has been found that time away from the everyday grind is a positive thing relative to easing the tension that builds up over time in a person's life. In fact, the survey stated that taking a vacation will actually peal off so much tension in a person's life, that the effect would actually lengthen a person's life. I like that.
Distance from home and work is not the critical factor, it is the total detachment form home and work that makes a vacation work. Don't bring work with you, turn your cell phones off, and refrain from checking into the office - these are some of the things that you must do if you are going to have a successful vacation with your family.
Another thing that makes a vacation work is to totally focus on the family. If that is accomplished, then you will definitely make a good memory for the entire family - and isn't that one of the major reasons for taking a vacation - making a memory.
So, take a vacation. It is worth it.
In a recent study concerning the benefits of taking a vacation, one point stood out to me. It has been found that time away from the everyday grind is a positive thing relative to easing the tension that builds up over time in a person's life. In fact, the survey stated that taking a vacation will actually peal off so much tension in a person's life, that the effect would actually lengthen a person's life. I like that.
Distance from home and work is not the critical factor, it is the total detachment form home and work that makes a vacation work. Don't bring work with you, turn your cell phones off, and refrain from checking into the office - these are some of the things that you must do if you are going to have a successful vacation with your family.
Another thing that makes a vacation work is to totally focus on the family. If that is accomplished, then you will definitely make a good memory for the entire family - and isn't that one of the major reasons for taking a vacation - making a memory.
So, take a vacation. It is worth it.
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