Category: Romans

Posted in Romans

The Sovereignty of God and Salvation

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30

A mighty ship named Salvation is crossing the ocean; its Captain is Jesus and its destination is heaven. Two men tell Jesus they are going overboard because they resent the confinement of the ship. Each swims away from the ship in a different direction, and at some point, both will surely drown if not rescued. What will the Captain do?

There are two main Christian views of how and of who God saves as well as two different definitions of what predestination means. Both believe in God’s sovereignty but differ in how He chooses to exercise it.

In one view, the Captain sends out a professional swimmer (the Holy Spirit) with a life preserver (the gospel) to one of the two men. The professional swimmer wakes up (the call of God) the man who has passed out and informs him of the Captain’s great love and rescue. He then places him on the top of the life preserver while holding him on it. Jesus pulls the rope connected to the life preserver until this man is safely on the ship. This man had no part in his own salvation – Jesus did it all. 

In the other view, the Captain sends out a professional swimmer (the Holy Spirit) to both men and brings a life preserver (the gospel) to both. The professional swimmer has been instructed by the Captain to wake up (the call of God) both men and to inform them of the great danger they’re in as well as of the rescue the Captain has arranged for them both because of His great love. Each man is told by the swimmer that he must participate in his own salvation by grabbing the life preserver. The swimmer will assist them in holding onto the life preserver while the Captain pulls them to the ship, but if they don’t want to return to the ship, He will eventually have to leave them alone, and let them drown. In this scenario, the Captain once again knew before the ship sailed that both men would go overboard, but instead of predestining one to be saved, He predestined that salvation would be offered to both. 

I believe the latter is the true definition of predestination and the way God exercises His sovereignty in salvation. Only you can decide what you believe.

Posted in 1Thessalonians, Colossians, Romans

The Power of Your Calling

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” 1Thessalonians 5:24

The power to fulfill your calling lies in the One who called you. We can either live before God out of our calling, or live before men out of guilt, man-pleasing, or fear of rejection. Because we all naturally tend toward the latter, we need to remind ourselves to come back continually to the One who calls us.

Even though I have been given responsibility to provide accountability for our pastoral staff, I don’t want them working for me. If they do their work for a man then they will probably only do the minimum he requires, and the quality of their work will probably fluctuate proportionate to whether “the boss” is watching or not. It is too low a calling to work for any person.

Colossians 3:23 reads: “Whatever you do, do your work wholeheartedly for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward.” Everything you and I do can be holy if we do it for the right Person. It doesn’t matter whether we’re at church, school, work, or even at play – if we’re living for God we will find His energy, pleasure and reward. Paul tells us that it even applies to eating meals! “He who eats does so for the Lord for he gives thanks to God…” (Romans 14:6)

What has God called you to do? Not, “what do you want to do,” or “what do your parents want you to do,” but what has God called you to do? If you’re not sure, I think you should review your history and see if He hasn’t given some hints. Come back to that calling and to the One who gave it, and watch Him bring it to pass. There is power in our calling!

Posted in John, Psalms, Romans

Natural Disasters

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” Romans 8:20-22

As we witness earthquakes, volcanoes, and hurricanes around the world,  the age old question arises: Is this an act of God? Was this somehow God judging people for not responding to the gospel? Or maybe His way of preparing them for the gospel? We know God could have stopped the disaster, but did He intentionally plan it? Or was this an act of Satan? Do demonic forces somehow have the power to bring about disasters according to their mission statement of “kill, steal, and destroy?” (John 10:10)

I believe it’s neither God or the devil, but a result of the curse which came on this earth when Adam and Eve sinned. In nature we see evidence of the beauty of our God, but also evidence of the ravages of the fall. Very similar to what we see in mankind.

Although neither God nor Satan directly causes disasters, in my opinion, both kingdoms are very active in the aftermath. Darkness will use tragedy in human minds as proof that God doesn’t love them, or that God doesn’t exist at all. It will try to bring despair, survivor’s guilt, bitterness, etc., anything to lead precious people who Jesus died for away from the help only He can bring.

What is God doing? “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) Notice it doesn’t say, “Close to the brokenhearted if they’re Christians,” or “if they’re praying.” He is unconditionally close to the brokenhearted whether or not they even believe in Him. He is speaking gently to hearts about His love; He is bringing comfort beyond comprehension; He is raising up individuals and governments to help; and yes, He will use tragedy to show people that they can’t put their trust in anything man builds or guarantees.

One day soon Jesus will not only liberate the children of God from their sin nature, He will remove the curse from creation itself, and then the lion will lay with the lamb.

Posted in 2Chronicles, John, Romans

Let’s Talk about Politics

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36

“You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” John 19:11

In our texts above we see that there are two kingdoms – the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is from another place and that it does not advance with physical force at the present time. The kingdom of God isn’t here to overthrow governments; it’s here to change hearts. “The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) Only the kingdom of God can bring real hope and change to a human being.

But God is also over the kingdom of man, so Pilate is assured that he would have no authority to judge if it wasn’t given to him from above. Paul says: “The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently he who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong…For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:2-5) Because of the power and possibility of sin, God has appointed civil government to limit the evil man is able to do while on this earth.

The kingdom of God alone can redeem; the kingdom of man can only restrain. If we don’t believe in redemption, we tend to see government as the solution for all mankind’s problems. For Democrats the answer usually means more government involvement, and for the Republicans, less. When problems continue there is a lot of time spent blaming each other because “if there was only more”, or “if there was only less”, things would get better.

I don’t think God is looking at Democrats or Republicans to turn America around; He’s looking at His people, the church. “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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2Chronicles 7:14)