Free Will *is* God's Sovereignty Proved

Time to make good on my promise of a rich full treatment of this concept.  So that we are on the same page I'm going to define for you the meaning of the key words I'm going to use.

Sovereignty- The ability to carry out or affect all things desired.  God is sovereign over creation Rev 4:11, because of His power Phil 3:21 which He created alone for His pleasure Ps 135:6, Ps 115:3 and purposes Prov 16:4.  He is sovereign over the weather Gen 6:17, Ex 10:21, Ex 9:23-26,  Job 38:22, Mark 4:35, over the elements Ex 13:21, 2 Kings 2:8, events, Prov 16:33, John 1:7, Luke 13:4.  He is sovereign over animal creatures Ex 32:35, 1 Sam 6:4, Ps 104:21, 1 Kings 17:4-6. He is sovereign over Satan Job 1:12, Ps 103:20.  He is sovereign over nations Ps 47:7-9, Dan 2:20-21.  And yes, over men Ex 3:21, Ezekiel 7:27, Prov 16:33.  In fact in these select verses we have said nothing of God predestining nations and people, of choosing them by His grace alone.  All we have done is show that when God wants something He gets it.
Piper says it like this

God "works all things after the counsel of his will" (Eph 1:11) which includes the fall of sparrows Matt 10:29, the rolling of dice Prov 16:33, the slaughter of his people Ps 44:11, the decisions of kings Prov 21:1, the failing of sight Ex 4:11, the sickness of children 2 Sam 12:15, the loss and gain of money 1 Sam 2:7, the suffering of saints 1 Peter 4:19, the completion of travel plans James 4:15, the persecution of Christians Heb 12:4-7, the repentance of souls 2 Tim 2:25, the gift of faith Phil 1:29, the pursuit of holiness Phil 3:12-13, the growth of believers Heb 6:3, the giving of life and the taking in death 1 Sam 2:6, and the crucifixion of his Son Acts 4:27-28. 

 But I say it like this

Whatever God wants to do, He does. Dan 4:35

Agency- A person appointed to act on behalf of someone else. We are appointed to act as a ruler on behalf of God over the animals, rocks, plants, and created order.  Gen 1:28.  We are given charge to carry out the will of God.  We are His hands, as it were 1 Cor 12:27, Col 2:19.

Moral- an act or thought worthy of praise or condemnation, depending on how it squares with God's character.  Because God is worthy of praise 2 Sam 22:4, Ps 18:3 He is moral, and because we are made in His image Gen 1:26, we are moral, and our actions are worthy of praise Matt 25:21.

Free- uncoerced by sin.  John 8:36, 2 Peter 2:19.  Sin finds it's origin in our hearts Acts 5:4, Mark 7:21-23, never in God who is utterly pure and incapable of sin. Hab 1:13.  God is therefore the truest free being in existence. 

Will- the part of us that takes our volition and desires, and effects them. God often speaks to this part of us when demanding our perseverance, see 1 Sam 7:3 as an example.

From our definitions above we know that free will is that part of us that takes our desires and actualizes them and is untainted and uncorrupted by sin. But Scripture says unequivocally that we are by nature slaves to sin, so this is wrong, our will is by no means free John 3:19-20, 1 Cor 2:14, 1 Cor 12:3 to name a few.  Is that what the protest is over?  No.  What people most often mean when they speak of free will is the power to affect and accomplish what I please.  Notice what that is (look above)- it's sovereignty.  "How can Free Will and God's sovereignty coexist?" is therefore reduced to, "if God has unlimited power, how can He make us in His image and give us power to carry out His will for ourselves?" To ask it is to answer it. 
What you are seeing when you look at free will is actually an expression of God's sovereignty.  The problem has resolved itself because we are no longer seeing two different things in conflict, but the same thing from different perspectives.
Once we grasp that it is easy to put everything into a right perspective and draw the application.  Say for example, I want my daughter's room picked up, so I tell her to clean it.  Does she then have control over which toy goes in what box?  Yes, clearly. Does her freedom to do as she pleases in there mean that my sovereignty over her is fake? On the contrary, she has been given power and responsibility in order that she may do my will, and her freedoms are at that very moment proclaiming the supremacy of my sovereignty.  Does the fact that she is expressing my sovereignty in the form of cleaning as she pleases make her a robot?  Hardly.
God's working out his plan by giving sovereignty to His agents so they can act on His behalf is the truest and most complete expression of His sovereignty there can be.  In other words, our freedom is not only established and upheld by Him, it's Him expressing His sovereignty through us in an unparalleled, astonishingly magnificent fashion.  What does scripture say? Phil 2:12-13: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure"
Here His desire is to have us do a task for Him- to use our freedom over ourselves to work out our own salvation.  By His unfailing strength He will make us succeed, but because it's His power flowing into and through us to enable us to accomplish His desires.  He tells you to do it, gives you the enabling freedom, and then you do it. His will, His expression, His achievement, our action.  The thrust of the passage is His sovereignty, understood through the lens of our agency.

Therefore I conclude: our free will is

1. Better called our sovereignty, which is an image, or shadow of His own
2. Established and upheld by His sovereignty
3. The way He carries out His supremely sovereign plans

The unbeliever Arminian will argue further by saying that this arrangement of us freely doing what God wants is either not God retaining His sovereignty, or is not us retaining our freedoms.  He will insist that the two wills may not be one under the other, but must be equal. But this is to demand that the creature is as glorious as God Himself.  It's a hecklers veto- "if I cannot be God then no one shall be, for I shall be sovereign, I shall be like the most high."  Paul answered precisely this in Rom 9:20.  There is no real questioning at that point, it's simple rank rebellion. To deny that we are free is to deny that He could make us free and still retain control- it's to limit His power.  To deny that He is sovereign is to limit His power again.  To place them one under the other, and show that one is an expression of the other is the way out of the trap. 

Why then has God appointed this system to exist?  I submit because it makes Him more glorious. 
If His plan included rocks and water and hail and snow doing certain things at certain times and He was able to control them and use them for His purposes we would see that He is indeed great and glorious. 
If it included animals that act and have volition, pleasures and stimulus to do His bidding and carry out His plan it would be another, even greater thing. 
But God shows us how utterly huge and magnificent His mind is by using other sovereign agents to achieve His ends. It gives us a frame of reference to understand Him that would not be possible otherwise.  "Look man, you have this much power, which is a great deal, that allows you to reshape the world as you desire.  Think of the myriad of ways you do, think how you use the sand to make microchips, and quadrature amplitude phase modulation to manipulate microwaves to talk to each other over your wireless internet.  Consider that.  In the same way that you have power over the elements, I have power over you."

So there it is.  The question that asks how can there be free will and God's sovereignty is easy to answer: because God is sovereign and created us in His image.  For whatever reason it's a lot easier to think rightly about your sovereignty than your free will, perhaps because in the first case your mind is drawn upward, and in the second drawn inward. The trick to resolving the difficulty is to rid yourself of the sinful component in your mind that demands you be equal with God.
May God be praised as we meditate on the magnitude of His sovereignty. 

PS: The $9 each man pays already includes the bellhop's $2 fee.  To add it again is to double count it, which is wrong.
PPS: I understand the cavil that argues that God cannot will evil or evil to exist, therefore God cannot be sovereign in giving men the ability to rebel.  I will post about this in the future. It's a lot easier to answer than you might think.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader Review

Okay, so I know this isn't a normal post which has to do with theology thoughts and scriptural meditations, but I wanted to share this here anyway because I'm so upset at the watering down of the book. 

Last night the wife and I went to see the New Chronicles of Narnia movie.  I had just finish reading this article, which I find brilliant: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=23-06-030-f
which made the movie so much worse.   

Spoilers Below
After the first scene (which had no business being in the movie) of Edmund trying to slink into the military, VOTDT had a great 10 minutes of following the book closely, and the result was well done. Meeting Eustice, the crew, the ship, sailing to the Lone Islands nearly put you in the action. Unfortunately that's the end of following the book (I do recognize that it's very hard to gather momentum with this novel, it doesn't lend it self well to cinema, sure, but that's what we are paying them the big bucks to figure out isn't it?) and that's when the plot gives way like a Malibu house in a mudslide. Caspian decides to go alone into a hostile zone?  What? The pirates turned out to be slavers in the sway of a terrible green CG mist? Oh yes, you know, the killer mist of dead people from Lord of the Rings III the return of the King.  What was it gaining the people to sacrifice the people on the island, as opposed to selling them for profit? What would make the writers think that a cowed island would rise up against their oppressors? There's just so much that doesn't make sense here. It begs the question, "why did they not set out to save the world from the mist to begin with and forget going along with the book? Why the pretext of the lost lords?" Forget the lords, what's better than seven dudes?  Their seven swords by which we may fight and defeat the magic gas! 

The movie holds steady as we are introduced to life aboard the Dawn Treader, (although why they would pick up people on this voyage I have no idea). Eustice is a little monster every bit as unpleasant as the book, but alas, the noble mouse Reepeecheep has devolved into a smack talking fencing coach.  He has lost all of what made him so knightly, and it shows.

They reach the magicians island, which is not manicured and well groomed, but wild and unkempt looking.  Seeing this the crew decides to sleep the night on a hostile, unexplored territory without a guard. (What?! What kind of idiots are these Narnians anyway?)  The dufflepods then kidnap Lucy while the rest sleep. Why you ask? Because kidnapping is more action oriented, kids love kidnapping. She goes into the invisible house (why isn't the book invisible when the house is?) and rips out a page, reads the spell, makes everyone visible, but Aslan is chopped from this scene entirely. I mean, fair enough, who needs him? As it turns out the magician made all the hostile nuisance dufflepods invisible to protect them from the mist.  (If that was effective and they could rip pages from the book, why didn't they save the invisibility spell for when they encountered the mist?)

Back on board the ship the mist attacks Lucy who then prepares to read the beautifying spell she stole and is in for a rude surprise - she has become her sister.  I wish they would have implemented that back at the Island, because although it's clever, it really makes no sense. Aslan explains that the chief virtue is being yourself. (Hey Lucy, don't try to be beautiful, or virtuous, or who God made you, just have more self esteem.)

When they land on the deathwater island next, (yes, out of order from the book, it's annoying but easily forgivable) the movie sinks lower. Deathwater pond is underground, in a cave, and when the item touches the pool it becomes solid gold, as opposed to what the water touches becoming gold. Why did they need to change this? What motivation would the lord have to dive into it completely? It's not hot there, if he wanted to drink the water he would have dipped his cup in and freaked out, not dove in, and certainly not dove in in a kneeling down position. Why the mist again? 

The quarrel between Edmund and Caspian was at least well done.

Eustice then discovers the dragon horde and becomes a dragon by merely possessing the band. (They did well with every dragon scene in my opinion. Good size, good physics etc.) Now they have a dilemma, there is nothing on this island (why a dragon would inhabit a waterless, foodless island is senseless, as they are too big to reach the deathwater cave) so after a night he decides to fly along with the ship, and even tow the ship to Ramandus island. Yes skip the whole scene of Eustice meeting Aslan, skip his repentance, skip him changing back. Who needs it?  And it gets even more offensive for Christians. Lucy is sleeping on the island with the stow-away little girl who is troubled in her soul. Lucy comforts her by telling her that Aslan will make it right, and she asks in protest "But how can he, since he couldn't save her from getting kidnapped in the first place?"  Lucy is rightly stumped.  "Uh well I dunno, but I guess we should have faith anyway?"  This is such a thinly veiled dig at Christianity it makes me angry to think of even now. "Is God all loving? Is He all powerful?  Well there is suffering in the world and I don't have everything I want so God can't exist." 

On Ramandus island they lay down the 6 swords, talk briefly with Ramadu's daughter, eat from Aslans stone table, and prepare to sail to the Island that is going to destroy the world.  I might not be remembering this right, but I think they mentioned it's the stone table from the first movie that Aslan was sacrificed on.  Which just makes me more angry.

At last the climax of the movie, what every scene involving magic gas was building to- they must travel into Mordor to destroy the ring the dead island where the remaining Lord and sword lies. Caspian gives a rousing generic speech "Go think of something motivating someone once said to you and go win this thing for Aslan Narnia" And they are off. Once there they find the Lord Rhoop alone on a rock with no water, no food, no room to sit or lie down, who has been there for at least months, warning them all to turn around. They are then over come by mist, again, and we see even more White witch.  She ends up logging about 3x more face time then Aslan. I'll admit that the sailors facing their fears was interesting, but the whole point of the book was that their dreams became real. Not subjective, objective. 

Now what does every action movie need?  If you said a videogame esque boss fight to end the movie you guessed right. The Kracken from Pirates of the Caribbean Leviathan appears because during the trial they think their worst fears, so it takes on the form foreshadowed earlier.  Right then Caspian says "What did you do Ray is it?" and Edward responds "I thought of the most harmless thing possible- the Staypuff marshmallow man sea creature"

Who rescues the sailors but Eustice the fire breathing dragon, who is now full of courage and an awesome force for good?  Yep. In fact the fight was going well until the 70 year old, starved, and dehydrated Lord Rhoop grabs his magic sword and throws it, 100 yards, on a perfect dart, for no reason, through Eustices magic dragon scales (that even the Leviathan couldn't penetrate) sinking deep into his shoulder.  This causes Eustice to leave (although why is not clear, he could have flown onto the ship and begin breathing fire at the beast until it expires) and meet Aslan. This scene was forced and had no business being in the movie at this point.  As a reformed Christian who loved Lewis growing up I would have advised them to remove it, it adds no value to the plot. It was obviously a bone thrown to Christians (See stupids? We left your scene in for you, although it's just as out of place and senseless as real repentance.)  For no real reason Eustice tries to cut himself and Aslan helps him out. I suppose it was his reward for fighting, Aslan shows up and decides "Well you learned your lesson, I wanted you to come to Narnia to learn courage, so I will reward you here by restoring you, since you earned it through good deeds."

Flying into the air, exploding in fire, Eustice is not only transformed back but teleported to Aslans stone table (that everyone ate off of!!!) and does battle against the mist which seeks to restrain him, eventually placing the 7th sword with the rest and allowing the monster to become mortal.  Meanwhile, holding up the blue glowing magic sword Sam acquired from Frodo to keep the spider at bay err, sword of Griffendor acquired from the sorting hat, the basilisk serpent monster impales his own brain and dies this time for good. Harry Potter the crew is saved.

The kids, Reep and Caspian then sail to the end of the world and find Aslan on a narrow sandbar. Aslan invites everyone who wants to to go to heaven, but Caspian refuses, telling Aslan off more or less. (As opposed to the book where Caspian has a tantrum and Aslan sharply reproves him when Reep wasn't enough). Although Reep decides to go on, the kids decide against dying, and want to go home as well.  Aslan approves of all choices, as all choices are equally good in his eyes.  He doesn't make decisions anyway, he just affirms ones you make.  He tells them that they must learn to meet him by his human name--Buddah. Or Muhammid, or whatever, everything is equally valid, it's cool guys. As if the concept of a supreme sovereign deity who does as he pleases in heaven and on earth, and none can restrain him or ask what has he done is the stupidest thing the writers have ever heard. Reep goes, he has earned it at any rate, like everyone says.  Heaven is for those who have done well on this earth and choose to go on, which is really just as good as living out your ordinary life.   

Aslan has been completely stripped of his greatness, his glory, and his power.  Like Reep, he is reduced to an encouraging psychologist who wants everyone to do what pleases them. But on the bright side Aslan doesn't really tend to leave his country, so he won't bother you if you don't want him to. The end.

PS: I read an article about how Liam (the voice of Aslan) saw Aslan as a generic religious leader based on the script.  I mocked him for it, but now I'm sorry I did, because based on this movie he was perfectly right to think and say that.

Christ at the Center of History

I'd pretty well comfortably worked through the thought that the Bible is about Christ, who is the real One. He's so real in fact that the first Adam is overshadowed by the second Adam.  But I didn't realize how massive it is to have Christ at the center of all of it, including those obscure passages.

Consider Jesus and the holy family fleeing from Herod into Egypt. Hosea 11:1 is a strange verse, because it seems not to fit at all.
Kevin DeYoung posits the correct interpretation on this thought: that Christ is the new Israel. That in the same way the man Adam, or Moses, or Jonah foreshadowed Christ, the entire nation together foreshadows Christ. Israel came from Egypt, was baptized in the Sea and cloud under Moses, faced the trials in the wilderness, preached the law from Sinai, and came into the promised land.

Jesus came out of Egypt, was baptized, faced trials in the wilderness, preached the law, and entered the promised land of rest.  Therefore Israel the nation is the foreshadowing of Christ. It's the analogy, the weak mist, the ghost compared to Jesus, who is more than the fulfillment of scripture and history, He is the source of it's strength. It is what it is by mirroring and copying Him. 

That is a truly remarkable thought. Christ positively bends all of human history about Himself. All nations, peoples, languages, relationships, and world events are taken after Him and find Him their source. Not only is He at the center of all the Bible texts, stories, commands, songs, He is at the center of the created History. He is more than the consummation of the Old Testament, He is it's substance, it's reality. It in itself is the dimly lit history or analogy pointing to the truth found in Christ. He is the foundation for existence, the highest end. He is the one in which all things hold together, all the narratives and events.  
And not merely at the center of Scripture, but at the very core of the universe which orbits around Him, created after Him, in His likeness.

Paul would say it like this in Colossians 1:16-17 "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

But I confess I because of the size I had failed to apprehend the colossal statement that is, and it was not until I saw that the enormous history of the huge nation itself was foreshadowing Christ did I realize in some small part the magnitude of His anchoring presence in this world. 

It's one thing to bend all of scriptures about you, it's another again to bend all human history to you, and to have living nations existing for the sole purpose of reflecting your story.

Jesus as the center of the Scripture

 John 5:39-40,46 - You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life...For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
Matthew 21:42 - Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures (Ps118:22-23) : "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
Mark 14:27 - And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'(Zechariah 13:7)
Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
We see that the whole of the Bible is drawing us into the idea of Christ, for Christ is conscious that He is fulling and the fulfillment of all the Old Testament Scriptures.  We therefore know that every book in the Bible from the Old Testament is really a story about Him.  Sometimes this is perfectly clear Psalms 40:7-10 Then I said, "Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation, and sometimes not as much Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.  (I'll come back to this one in particular next post)

This is a foundational point in Reformed theology that the Bible is about Christ.  That the stories we read are foreshadowing Him. Song of Solomon isn't a holy "sex manual" it's a poetic message from Christ to His Church.  Ah, isn't it then wonderful to see the Scriptures open like a flower having understood that the Bible was written about Him, to Him, for His glory?  Makes so much more sense this way. See this well done video that makes the point for me.

John 19 notes

• The 6^th hour is about noon. 12PM. Pilate was trying to stall the trial out, but nearing noon they become ferocious, demanding action.
• Imputed as unrighteous before Pilate. Given the sentence due Barabbas the murderer and terrorist, who got His sentence. Pilate testifies to His innocence.
• Let us also mind that unity is produced between Herod and Pilate. To unite apart from Christ and His doctrines is possible too.
• The people cry a rash vow, for His blood to be on them, as if all the other rash vows were not warning enough (see Judges)

Jhn 19:16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,
Mar 15:20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross
Luk 23:26-31 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.  And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!'  Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
They thought nothing of compelling someone to this ignoble task.  Falling under the weight of it Jesus was utterly unable to carry the cross.  They carried it behind Him.
Christ does not rebuke the women so much as warn them that if they will kill Him the Lord of Glory, then they will certainly kill you.  Cursing your children is the lowest a person can go.  They need to wake up to the terrible reality of Divine Wrath coming.

Jhn 19:17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
Mar 15:23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
Mat 27:34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.
North and west of the city is the hill of the main road.  He was taken outside the camp Heb 13:12, Lev 16:27 as the scape goat carrying the sins of the people.  They offer wine before they lay Him down, but He refuses.

Jhn 19:18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
Mar 15:24-25,27 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.  And it was the third hour when they crucified him… And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left
Luk 23:34 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments.
By the Jewish time: the First Hour was 6AM-9AM.  The second was 9-12. The third hour was 12-3.  So this was sometime between 9 and 12, with the appropriate time much closer to 12 than 9.  Jesus then intercedes on behalf of the people and soldiers. Notice that in between was the worst spot. See Isaiah 53:12.

Jhn 19:19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
Mat 27:37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."
The total inscription would be: “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”

Jhn 19:20-22 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."
Pilate was preaching the Gospel here, in three languages, that Jesus was the King. From a definitive location, a real place in time, and was suffering as an innocent man.

Jhn 19:23-24 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." So the soldiers did these things,
Mat 27:36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there
The name card and the gambling are more or less simultaneous.  After they hung Him up they sit down and wait, having accomplished their duties.

Jhn 19:25-27 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
Jesus was asking John to take care of His mother, but even more, was making a statement about the family of the Kingdom.

Mar 15:29-32 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross.
So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe."
Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
Luk 23:36-37 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"
We see four groups now mocking Him.  Those traveling into Jerusalem, the high priests, the soldiers, and the criminals on the cross.

Luk 23:39-43 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."  And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Somewhere in these three hours the man was forced to come to grips with his own mortality, his impending death, and himself. Likely he heard from the Roman guards, and understood from the Chief priests that this was Him, although he didn’t understand perfectly.  Death itself is not enough to shake man loose from His evil.  Jesus though hanging on the cross, is still the Lord of the Universe.

Mar 15:33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
Darkness came upon the land at about noon and lasted until about 3PM. The amount of time Jesus was on the cross the sun was eclipsed.

Mar 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Very near His death now Jesus cries out in despair, having been turned away by His Father. It is unthinkable.

Jhn 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst."
As taken from Ps 22

Mar 15:36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down."
Jhn 19:29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
They thought He was calling for Elijah, but He was in His right mind, still fulfilling scripture, in life and death. They ridiculed Him, joking that Elijah will come down and rescue Him. They have continually made sport of Christ.

Jhn 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Tetalasti- paid in full.

Luk 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last.
As taken from Ps31:5 Jesus quoted scripture to the last. His confidence in the Father is unabated to the end.

Mar 15:38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
We see that the ceremonial law was done for, that ceremony had been subsumed.  That Christ was now the end of righteousness for all who believe.  We will skip the portion of the dead rising, sufficing it to say that Jesus died so that the dead would rise, and they rose immediately so that it should be immediately obvious.

Mar 15:39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
Luk 23:47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent!"
The centurion declares too that Jesus was innocent of any crime, that He suffered must have been for us.  He sees this and knows Jesus was divine, he goes away thinking on the innocence of Christ.

Luk 23:48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.

Mar 15:40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. Mar 15:41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
Women were nobodies.  It is interesting that John gives himself no credit, but says that only the women stood by Christ to the end.

Jhn 19:31-36 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. who saw it has borne witness--his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth--that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken."
To prove He had been dead for some time the soldiers pierced Him.  Water and blood flow out which symbolizes the water and blood that cleanses us. 

Jhn 19:37 And again another Scripture says, "They will look on him whom they have pierced."

Jhn 19:38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.

Mar 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the Council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Luk 23:51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God.
Joseph was secretly afraid no longer. Now with boldness he goes to embalm Christ before sundown. He was waiting for the Kingdom, which is high praise.

Mar 15:44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. Mar 15:45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.  Mar 15:46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
Jhn 19:39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.
Jhn 19:40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
Nicodemus and Joseph then wrap and anoint Jesus and bury Him in a new tomb.

Luk 23:55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Luk 23:56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
This explains why they will go later to the tomb, they saw the two guys do it in a hurried and sloppy fashion.

Jhn 19:41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
Jhn 19:42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

What scriptures were fulfilled in this event?
What images were foreshadowed in this event. Explain the significance in the details
What was the meaning of Christs death?
What did it accomplish?
Why were there so many testimony’s to Christ’s innocence? Would not one or two be enough?
Why did Jesus die so quickly?

Biblical Language and the Church of Christ - Grace & Gift

If you ask an ordinary Church of Christ person if they believe we're saved by grace through faith it's almost certain they'll say yes. To the ears of a Protestant this is good news, and indicates they should be accepted among the Protestant denominations. 
Unfortunately this is the same problem you face when talking to the Mormons. A well coached LDS will readily admit that "Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to heaven" but press them hard and you'll find out that to them the words mean "Jesus is a god, and I'll be a god one day too" not "the eternal second person of the trinity."
In the same way the Church of Christ affirms the Biblical account of salvation as a gift, but they'll likely have a heterodox meaning behind their words. 

To them salvation by grace may be likened to a son going out to work in his fathers field. After a hard day's work the father gives the gift he promised and the son is rewarded. In less analogical terms we're first obedient to baptism and keeping our salvation through holiness, and afterward God gives us the gift of eternal life.

The problem with this is that it's not a gift at that point but a wage which is due. The farmer owes his son for the work he put in. 
They might give the rejoinder: but the farmer could have chosen to abstain from giving any gift at the beginning of the negotiation and didn't. Therefore the gift is of grace because God was under no obligation to provide salvation in the first place. He could have demanded obedience but then not incentivized man with heaven and remained perfectly just. The incentive is grace.

But the problem is that this is beside the point, and amounts to a kind of slight-of-hand. In the same way God could have abstained from making the world. And so what? Does the mere act of creation make Him gracious? Clearly not. The offer of salvation doesn't change the fact that God already did freely offer eternal life; to assert that an offer to earn your salvation is the same thing as the Protestant assertion that God predestined, called, renewed the nature of a man, and keeps them safe is an error. What the Church of Christer is ultimately asserting is that God owes him for his good works because God is under contract. That they try and swap the word wage for grace does not diminish that in their system man is keeping himself, getting the glory for himself, and doing the work.

Grace then must mean the Protestant understanding of Grace. It cannot mean that God is good because He keeps His end of the bargain. It must mean that He gets credit for the whole show, from beginning to end. And that indicates that the problem with standard Church of Christ runs much deeper than it initially appears. 

John 18 notes

Jhn 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
They had been on the mount of olives during this discourse, particularly poignant that in the other gospels Jesus has discussed the end of Judaism from there, and now they come toward the city.  The kidron valley is so named for it’s darkness or shadiness. It’s due south from the temple between the temple and the mount of olives. Jesus goes there for a familiar garden to pray. In this He is the second Adam, not guilty and thrust out by righteousness, but innocent and thrust out by evil.

Jhn 18:2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.
Jesus goes to a place now where Judas could find Him.  He then submits to His own death, but prays the entire time that Judas would not come, specifically three times. Matthew 26

Jhn 18:3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
Band of Roman soldiers from the Temple Garrison were likely lied to to get them to come along, as if Jesus was going to start an uprising.  The chief priests instructed the soldiers to bring Jesus to them, which is why Jesus goes there first. The Pharisees joined this band because of religious reasons. Mark 14:45 indicates Judas walked forward just before this and said “rabbi!”

Jhn 18:4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?"
He was not surprised by the future, He went forward to face His death.  He also knew that the disciples had made an agreement to fight.

Jhn 18:5 They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.  

Jhn 18:6 When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
More accurately, Judas was leading them to the target, although the text indicates Judas was on their side against Jesus. This statement “I AM” and the knocking Judas to the ground was the last warning and at the same time His claim to deity once again.

Jhn 18:7 So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
So they resume as if nothing had happened. No amount of warning of the coming sin will stop them.

Jhn 18:8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go."
 
Jhn 18:9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: "Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one."
It refers to their souls not their bodies.  This is the final time Jesus will be with His disciples before the cross
At this point Judas kissed Christ Matthew 26:48.  They would not accept the word of Christ lest he be a plant or a fake. They only make a move when Judas had kissed Him, making Judas commit the act of sin under the guide of friendship.

Jhn 18:10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)
Confirming in the mind of the Romans the need to be here.  Peter had a sword from when Jesus told him to acquire one. Luke 22:36.  When they moved to seize Christ Peter attacks. Luke 22:49

Jhn 18:11 So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"
He then heals the man Luke 22:51 and lectures the mob of soldiers and fanatics. Luke 22:53.  Peter is rebuked specially because He is resisting the will of God by his violent actions.  The attached lecture for him is Matthew 26:52, he who lives by the sword will die by it, and a vigilante is a blight on the order created by God.

Jhn 18:12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.
He was bound so we could go free.  He blew them to the ground to show He had all His power, He submits to be bound so they would know it was voluntary.

Jhn 18:13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
All the other gospel writers omit this portion.  Nothing worthwhile happened at this location. Perhaps it was to buy a small amount of time for Caiaphas to get the council together to try Jesus.  Annas was a terrible man, but there is reason to think he is in the same house as Caiaphas.

who was high priest that year. Jhn 18:14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.
John makes mention of this that the Spirit of God had come upon Caiaphas earlier and this caused him to act against Jesus.  The high priest was appointed once for life, but if you bribed or pissed off the Romans they would appoint a new ruler. Caiaphas stole it from Annas, Annas had his son by birth Jonathan appointed in another 3 years.

Jhn 18:15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest,
Matthew 26:57; Mark 14:53; Luke 22:54;
Peter followed at a distance, but this disciple was let in immediately.   

Jhn 18:16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in.
This is likely John at this point who was the disciple who knew Annas, Annas was deposed by the Romans in 14AD. It could be another one who was well known to high society in Jerusalem who got Peter brought in such as Nicodemas.  John perhaps knew the high priest, but in any case somehow one of the disciples could get Peter in on a personal favor.

Jhn 18:17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, "You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not."
Jhn 18:18 Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
After passing through the archway he comes to the courtyard and warms himself standing around watching the action. The door girl points him out later, all John is doing is telling his reader who this was.

Jhn 18:19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
Annas is going to see what he can drum up against Christ.

Jhn 18:20 Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.
He was open and honest. Not that He never taught in private, but that He was always open and upright. He did not seek to hide any doctrine, He always confronted the rulers.

Jhn 18:21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said."
Likely He is indicating the people standing around, including the temple guards who were so hesitant to arrest Him before.  Jesus is appealing to due process, demanding the defense witnesses go first as it custom when charges are brought up.

Jhn 18:22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?"
Cruel and tyrannical, this was the state of religion in Judea.  Asking for your rights was off limits in this case. Annas was the former high priest before being deposed by the Romans. He was fighting a secret war for high priestship with his son in law.

Jhn 18:23 Jesus answered him, "If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?"
Jesus again appeals to a due process.  This was a sham court deciding the case before it was started.  His statement is that if He sinned, try Him for it, but if not, don’t punish Him unjustly.  This rebuke brings guilt on them for ignoring His request.

Jhn 18:24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Annas will turn it over to the larger council who try to find charges against Him. This is a disaster, as they call in false witnesses who can’t agree, Jesus refuses to speak, knowing this sham trial is a mockery to justice. The council was not allowed to decide at night, and capital offenses had to be done over 3 days, not one.  Judas refuses to testify, choosing to hang himself instead. That narrative is contained in Matthew 26:59-66; Mark 14:56-65
One thing I might add, the high priest was not allowed to rip his clothes, as prohibited in Leviticus 21:10. At the conclusion of the inquisition They beat Christ for sport Luke 22:63 ; Matthew 26:67-68.  You say you’re the Christ eh? Okay Christ lets see you prophecy!

Jhn 18:25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, "You also are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not."
Meanwhile to the sham trial Peter gets noticed and denies Christ. Mark 14:66-68.  First off the servant girl who let him in finally confronts him, although everyone was mentioning it.
Jhn 18:26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?"
Luke 22:58 is the parallel.  The next person starts to remember the fight scene and so asks Peter.
Jhn 18:27 Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.
Then a third time (Luke 22:59) they notice his accent (Matthew 26:73) and Peter denies Christ.
Christ looks at Peter Luke 22:61 and caused Peter to remember the rooster prophecy. 

Now Jesus is turned and led from the courtyard area to the assembled chambers of the Sanhedrin where they look to convict Him. It seems to me they have something that will hold up, having gotten a confession out of Him. They then prove it by getting a second confession of deity from Him.
Luke 22:66-71 ; Mark 15:1 ;  Matthew 27:1

Jhn 18:28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
It’s fine to crucify the Lord of Glory but let’s not become ceremonially impure here!
The headquarters was likely the Antonia fortress, located on the northwest corner of the temple mount overlooking the temple area and all Jerusalem.  The garrison was able to respond to Paul during the riots in acts because of their close location.
It is at this point Judas goes out and hangs Himself.

John 17 Notes

Prayer for Himself

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
So this is a prayer of Christ. He prays in the Jewish style, face and eyes lifted to heaven. He is soon to be crucified. His prayer is that God grant Him the ability to make God greater. 

Jhn 17:2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
Might look confusing at first, so let’s go backwards. God the Father has a people chosen for eternal life.  By His Son He created them.  (Col 1) He then secures them by giving them faith in Christ. He is enabled to do this by Christ’s death.  He has entrusted the Son to safely bring in the sheep to the pen because the Son perfectly obeys the Father.

Jhn 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Know God by knowing Christ is the way to eternal life. Knowing. Know. To see, to understand. To believe.  Unbelief keeps us from God and makes all the other sins effective against us.

Jhn 17:4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
Jesus brings glory by doing what the Father told Him to do. It’s no wonder then that He tells us to obey earlier in John, “if you love me…”

Jhn 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
The second person of the Trinity is now asking the first to be restored to glory.  You would think that if anyone could be restored by power it would be Jesus, but He asks, being emptied, taking the form of a servant, of a man.

Prayer for the Disciples
Jhn 17:6 "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
These people in the world belong to God. The Father wanted them, so He gave them to Christ for protection.  They then are required to believe in Jesus so that they  might have life, and they believe, or as the verse says ‘kept your word’

Jhn 17:7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.
Now they understand what Philip asked, ‘show us the Father’ because everything Jesus is is from the Father.  The body soul and spirit analogy might help, with Jesus as the body.  Everything Jesus knows in His earthly body is because of the Father, just as it is with us.

Jhn 17:8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
This is the mission of the Son: to pass along the message from the Father.  Notice that the thing The Father chooses to say is to believe and obey the Son. And the Son says to obey the Father.

Jhn 17:9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
The import here is that Jesus is praying for His sheepies. His people, His elect. He is now specifically excluding others.

Jhn 17:10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
To my knowledge anytime the Bible speaks of the Trinity it is always careful to follow up with a statement like this. Jesus is given a people to shepherd, a message to preach, a task to do.  He is given words to say, but at the same time we must recognize that there is one God and Jesus is Him.

Jhn 17:11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
When He ascended into heaven He went back to the Father.  He prays now for perseverance, which He prays for in Heaven, on our behalf. He does not make this request known for non-elect.  He also intercedes for us today, asking through us and our prayers for deliverance.

Jhn 17:12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
It was promised that Judas would fall away. It was predestined.  The rest Jesus has guarded (like a shepherd) successfully, for now He will hand everything over to the Holy Spirit. He has completed the work assigned to Him, by God.  He has shown God He loves Him by being obedient to the end.

Jhn 17:13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Without these words we would not have joy or peace or comfort. Without His prayer we would not receive, for God gives when asked, as He loves to be asked. We hear them and learn to ask the same, we hear Him and have joy in seeing Him.

Jhn 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
The world hates Christians because we condemn it as passing away. Because we refuse to participate with it in rebellion to God.  Because ultimately we are beyond the world and above it.

Jhn 17:15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
In the Lord’s prayer we are to ask that God put a hedge around us, to “deliver us from the evil one” to not expose us or test us to the powers of evil.  Those of us who are specially loved by God receive a prayer from God protecting us.

Jhn 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
In the same way Christ was not of the world, we are not of the world. We are separate from it, above it, beyond it. Though we are in the world we are not of it.

Jhn 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Or in other words, sanctify them with your scripture. Breathe understanding into them, let the knowledge of Your words permeate their lives.  Sanctify is to ‘set apart’ to make holy because typically holy means apart.  Sanctification is the process we experience. Father sends the Holy Spirit into us to answer this prayer.

Jhn 17:18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
Jesus is fulfilling the commission that God wants, just as He was sent so should He send. If His people are to be like Him then they must do as He does.

Jhn 17:19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
To consecrate is to set apart, to become sacred. Jesus is going to become the holy offering.  By dying on the cross and surrendering His holiness we may obtain it.

Prayer for all the believers
Jhn 17:20 "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
here the prayer extends to us as believers.

Jhn 17:21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
They will know we are Christians because of our special love, and they will believe that Jesus is real when they see how different we are.  We are adopted, we join the family of Jesus, and when we do the Spirit comes to live in us.

Jhn 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
there is a unity in Christ that connects us directly to God and makes Him our Father. That unity is present only in Christ who was the very first to call God His Father, and gives us that right by His death on the cross.

Jhn 17:23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
The difference here from 21 is that the world may know God, and we may be shown how much God loves us. He pours His special love upon us in such a way that it is evident to the world.

Jhn 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Jesus desires our salvation. That should be a shot in the arm for assurance of salvation

Jhn 17:25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
Even if we don’t know who the elect are, Jesus does.

Jhn 17:26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
I have and I will continue to save your people, that your love may be multiplied. 

Take-aways:
Jesus prayes and loves His people in a special way.
Jesus prays for our holiness, our endurance, and our faith.
Jesus wants to see us glorify God, enjoy Him, love one another

The Theology of Moody

Mr. MOODY–For whom, then, did Christ die?
Mr. RAINSFORD-For "THE UNGODLY."

Who is it that judges a man to be unworthy of eternal life?
Himself !! There is a verse in Acts 13 that is worth remembering : "Seeing ye put it [the Word of God] from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." God does not judge us unworthy. He has given His Son for our salvation. When a man puts away the Word of God from him and refuses to receive Christ into his heart, he judges himself unworthy of salvation.

Suppose a man say he is not "elected?
Do you remember the story of the woman of Canaan? Poor soul; she had come a long journey. She asked the Lord to have mercy on her afflicted child. He wanted to try her faith, and He said: "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." That looked as if He Himself told her that she was not one of the elect. But she came and worshipped Him, saying, " Lord, help me!" and He helped her there and then. No; there is no election separating between the sinner and Christ.

Say that again.
THERE IS NO ELECTION SEPARATING BETWEEN THE SINNER AND CHRIST.

Has a man the power to believe these things, if he will?
When God gives a command, it means that we are able by His grace to do it.

Mr. MOODY–Have these friends the power to believe?
Mr. RADSTOCK–They are commanded to believe. They can believe it just as well as they can believe any other fact, if they only listen to God's voice. But they must get rid of their own thoughts, and listen to God: Hearing His voice they will believe. "Faith cometh by hearing: and hearing by the Word of God."

What would you say to any one who thinks he has no power to believe?
He has the power to believe. Probably he is trying to believe something about himself, to feel something about himself instead of giving credit to God-He is not asked to realize this or that about himself, but to believe the faithful God.

 -This is interesting to me because because of how consumed Moody is with the idea of man as a sinner who needs to repent.  The idea of election and reprobation was secondary to the idea of man being sinful before God. Man as a man who owes God, rather than thinking in terms of election.

The Social Gospel

In response to http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/communitylife/evangelism/mightyriverslipperyslope.html?start=3 in general and the emergent movement in particular.

The social gospel seems to be two things:

1. Redistribution of power, government, authority, and money from the rich to the poor, or the moral to the immoral.  "The right ordering of power is called "justice." 
2. The theme of the entire Bible- a kingdom of heaven come to earth. "Justice then becomes not just the concern of the major or minor prophets, but of Matthew and Philippians and Corinthians and Philemon and 1 and 2 Peter and far more. Such preaching enables God's people to hear and see God's heart for justice.

The problem with the first one is the question: who can decide what is right and what is wrong, just and unjust? By what standard do we judge how much justice is acceptable?  How much rich is rich?  The term is undefined which allows everyone to have their own positive particular concept of justice at which point the advocates of social justice become invincible, for who is going to object to their own definition?
Certainly Christians in a republic are obligated to participate in reshaping the government at the appointed times, but what of a Christian in a communist or totalitarian country? How do we reconcile Romans 13 and our submission to the governments established by God, or of Jesus when He said "My Kingdom is not of this world?"
Which leads me to my problem with point 2- there is no scriptural support for this assertion. Richard Sterns in his book The Hole in Our Gospel made the best, most systematic effort I have read, and has several passages he uses to define social justice, but they are all taken out of context. (Kevin DeYoung does a good job pointed that out here)
Nor is justice the key concept of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus as the King bringing in the coming Kingdom is the theme of Matthew.  This is to say nothing of the rest of the books picked out.

Other generic thoughts:

The Social Gospel flattens the Ordo Salutis, and the concepts of Divine Wrath, Regeneration, Justification, and Sanctification.
Why is it that the social justice proponents are consumed with the concept to the exclusion of the other great truths of scripture?  Its proclaimers don't seem to understand the nature of total depravity and inability to please God.  Consider, are we transformed by doing good, or do the transformed do good?  From what truth do they get the idea a non-believer doing charitable deeds is pleasing to God?  Why does justification never appear in the demand of the social justice crowd?  To hear it you would think that the meta-narrative of scriptures is justice, but it only finds it's legitimate place in sanctification. If they understood the nature of fallen man and the need to be Holy they would push people to the new birth, and then charitable deeds second.  That we don't see the first concept is an indicator our theology is out of whack. 

None of the apostles engages in Social Justice.
When confronted with the need to distribute food to other Christians the apostles decided it was not good to give up their ministry to wait on tables.  When they had the chance to revolutionize the world they abstained, deciding instead to change the heart of the hearers.  Curious that we would take up a mandate they didn't.

The Social Gospel looks dreadfully like Liberalism.
http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/htallant/courses/his338/students/kpotter/ "Because the Kingdom of God has been dropped as the primary and comprehensive aim of Christianity, and personal salvation has been substituted for it, therefore men seek to save their own souls and are selfishly indifferent to the evangelization of the world."
How do we know that old time 19th century liberalism is not back and walking the Earth in the clothes of social justice?  Why if we accept this movement we won't end up in the same place they did, denying the inerrancy of scripture, or the person and work of the Holy Spirit? Why does social justice look like something Rob Bell would be into, trading doing earthly good for the virgin birth or substutionary atonement?  


The Social Gospel looks like Socialism
Jack London's People of the Abyss is the social gospel. That ought to make readers pause and think twice about supporting this as a Christian concept.  Personally, when people tell me that MLK is a great model I'm immediately suspicious that they understand the basics of the Bible.  He was not a Christian, therefore he's a terrible model, even though he was passionate about helping people, and did great things.  Yes, we may praise virtue that God places in non-Christians by His common grace, but why are Christians picking out non-Christians to admire?  Shouldn't we question a movement that ultimately concludes that man is the prime person and noble goal?  
Now there is no question in my mind that we can see virtues in atheists, because God has not taken the common grace out of them, but that's not what the social justice people are saying.   

The Social Gospel solves the problems of the world
Do we need to offer the people of this world a form of Christianity that address the same problems Capitalism does?  Is it not a little curious that Von Mises or George Reisman has a better and more lasting remedy to this problem than our Bible?  Is it not also strange that Karl Marx is offering something in his (proven false) writings that looks like the social gospel? That conclusion is that the best the Holy Spirit could do is less than the wisdom of the economists. Once we arrive at that conclusion it's time to re-examine our premises. 

Lastly, and most importantly, the Social Gospel eclipses the Glory of the real Gospel.
The social gospel has us not talking about Christ and His finished work on the cross, it has us talking about ourselves.  The most glorious thing we can do is have a relationship with God, and worship His revealed nature, but it makes it about us.  His gospel was in the past, ours is in the future.  His makes us message bearers, ambassadors, bringers of good news.  The other makes us builders, agents of action that causes change. It is to put the lesser things before the greater.  The idea of our works are fine, they are after all God's commandments which are in all ways good, but they aren't the gospel of our great Lord and Savior handed down once for all time. Our works are not equivalent to the atonement Christ offered the Father on the cross. Now I know the social justice advocates would say that this is not the case, but as a practical matter of theology, it is.  When Gods plans, views, and ideas come second they will ultimately not come at all.

Well there it is. I might have missed something, but I suspect that this encompasses most of the problems I have with this brand of ideology.
Update: there is a great analogy posted by Ryan Kelly on social justice and the gospel being compared to marriage.  Married people do things together after they have a covenant relationship, but not before. To ape the things seen in marriage without the ceremony and dedication is to miss the whole point. 
I think it's a spot on comparison and a great way to see the proper place of both good works and gospel message.

How did John know?

"So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them,"You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." (John 11:47-52)

How would John know about the secret machinations that happened in the council chamber? Why do the other gospels make no record of this? 
I suspect it's because a young Paul was in the chamber hearing everything, and later when he went on his first missionary journey he shared it with John in Crete.
If that is true, and it's just a guess, it makes the next verse hit so much harder.

So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.