Water, water, everywhere

 HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A LONG HIKE UP A

MOUNTAIN AND HAVE THIRSTED IN SUCH A WAY

THAT THE WATER YOU DREW FROM THE STREAM

WAS SO SATIATING THAT YOU NEVER THOUGHT

YOU’D EVER TASTE SUCH ECSTACY AGAIN?

HAVE YOU EVER GONE WHITE WATER RAFTING

OR KAYAKING AND HAVE BEEN OVER TURNED

ONLY TO FEEL THE WEIGHT OF THAT SAME WATER

SWALLOW YOUR EVERY BREATH?

A DROP OF WATER IS LIFE SUSTAINING

100,000,000,000 DROPS OF WATER IS

LIFE THREATENING

THE SAME WATER THAT GIVES LIFE

CAN TAKE IT AWAY

THE SAME WATER THAT PROMISES TO

WASH AWY OUR SINS THRU FAITH

IS THE SAME WATER THAT THREATENS TO

WASH SINNERS AWAY WHO ARE W/O FAITH

THE SAME WATER THAT SAVED NOAH

AND HIS FAMILY

DESTROYED THE REBELLIOUS FROM THE EARTH

THE SAME WATER THAT PAVED A PATH

FOR THE ISRAELITES

CAME CRASHING DOWN ON THE EGYPTIANS

THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY

GOD’S

AND OURS

LIFE

AND DEATH

BAPTISM IS TWO SIDED

GOD’S SIDE IS HIS PROMISE TO BE OUR GOD

OUR SIDE IS OUR PROMISE TO BE HIS PEOPLE

BAPTISM IS A RITE BY WATER

INSTITUTED BY OUR KING JESUS;

IT IS AN ACT WHEREBY THE FAVOUR OF GOD

IS VISIBLY PORTRAYED

SIGNIFYING THIS CHILD’S [BELIEVER] RECEPTION

OF WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED

THROUGH HIS SON BY HIS SPIRIT

WHAT IS REPRESENTED BY THE WATER

IS MANY:

UNION TO CHIRST AS HIS BRIDE

THE RENEWING GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

BY THE WASHING OF REBIRTH

THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS

AND ADOPTION INTO GOD’S FAMILY

    WHEN WE SEE THIS DONE IN FAITH,

WE BELIEVERS ARE REMINDED

OF OUR OWN BAPTISMS AND THE PROMISE

OF GOD TO US THAT HE WILL BE OUR GOD

AND WE WILL BE HIS PEOPLE

HAVING BLOTTED OUT OUR OFFENCES

AND WE REJOICE TO SEE HIS GRACE

DISPLAYED THIS WAY AGAIN AND AGAIN

BUT BAPTISM NOT ONLY HAS A BLESSING

ATTACHED TO IT-SINS WASHED AWAY

IT ALSO HAS A CURSE

FOR THE SAME WATERS THAT

PROMISE LIFE BY GRACE

ALSO THREATEN DEATH UPON

THE ABSENCE OF THE COVENANTAL OBLIGATION-FAITH.

THIS WATER IS BY VIRTUE OF GOD’S GRACE

HIS PROMISE TO BLESS THOSE WHO LOVE HIM

TO THE THOUSANDTH GENERATION BY WASHING SINS AWAY

BUT THOSE WHO DO NOT LOVE HIM

WILL FIND THEMSELVES WASHED AWAY

TO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION

LET US REJOICE THAT WE HAVE SUCH A GREAT

SALVATION FROM SUCH A GREAT GOD

BECAUSE HE HAS BROUGH SALVATION

TO US AND TO OUR FAMILIES

THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

THROUGH WHOM

THE END OF THE AGES HAS COME

WORLD WITHOUT END, AMEN.

I can’t say…..really

 A credible profession of faith for admittance into the visible church? Ok.
As I listen to John W Robbins (www.trinityfoundation.org) in his lectures on AA theology (www.sermonaudio.com) I am constantly preaching to myself as I drive my 18 wheeler all over God’s blesses state of PA. Brothers, as I listen to these lectures I am constantly and consistently falling more and more in love with the healthier view of grace (ahem, the FV).
Robbins is a Clarkian and begins his series by condemning the AA/FV as Van Tillian heretics. He continues to espouse that we deny propositional truth for relational schmaltz.
John Robbins will critique the AA/FV for proclaiming that belonging to the church by virtue of profession and baptism across the board eliminates the possibility of talking appropriately to the flock. That is, if by baptism one is adopted, justified (sic), sanctified…..etc but can later fall away, how can one have any assurance? Surely, he concludes, there can be no true assurance of perseverance if in the future one can fall away.  We lose, he says, one of our beloved Calvinistic doctrines: definite atonement.  Do we?

But to the issue of able to talk or not talk.  Does this biblica doctrine of apostasy take away from a pastor’s ability to speak to his sheep?  I believe, rather, it establishes it.  Truly (this has already been said in previous FV publications) the Bible gives us the language with which to speak to our sheep.  I recall at my ordination exam falling for the “ol’ banana in the tail pipe.”  On my exam I was asked, “Why does WSC # 4 not include “love” as one of the attributes of God?”  I wished I would have said, I mean really, I wished I would have said, “B/c the nature of covenant and God’s relationship to man through it can change.  A man who is newly converted and baptised can be thoroughly assured of God’s love b/c of that man’s repentance unto life, faith in Christ, and endeavour to walk in newness of life.  But, were that man to apostasize (sic) later on, he could not be assured of God’s love.  So, insomuch as WSC #4 lists attributes of God that are immutable, I conclude therefore, yea and verily, that God’s love in this regard and in this fashion cannot be said to be immutable…..” But instead I said, “Heh! Got me there.”

Actually I did say the former.  U can imagine the hullaballoo.  I was reemed.  But on further discussion with the committee, I asked one of the venerated and esteemed T.E.s of our presbytery, “So you are saying that b/c you don’t know the eternal decree, you aren’t able to say to the person you just baptised, ‘God loves you.’?”  He looked me in the eye and (with much pre-Sonship-Jack-Miller-pharisaical-matter-of-factness) said, “No.”

Now, who has the speech impediment?

Pain, stop the pain

Faith is the determining factor in how baptism is applied. The signs of the OT & NT are different signs but their significance is the same. For Abraham, the sign given to him by God initially was not a sign of blessing but of cursing. Have you ever wondered what Abe understood from the ceremony in Gen 17. Moses does not tell us what the ceremony meant in each detail. But if we listen closely we can hear the whole story. When the skin of the male organ was removed from its source of life, it would die. God was giving a visual picture of what it would mean to Abraham were he to remove himself from the source of life found in YHWH: he would die. If you leave me Abraham, you are cut off alone to die. When applied to the recipient, the sign becomes a blessing/curse so that each subsequent generation is reminded that the recipient (CHILD) is placed into a saving relationship with God but also of the call to follow the LORD upon the pains of death.

Apostasy

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

The world is passing away, and its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

Here is the passage from I John where the proof text for perseverance of the saints appears.  GP Waters’ use of this text is to defend his view of perseverance.  He says that the ones who turned away from John in his ministry turned away b/c they were never a part of the eternally decreed covenant people.  Does this necessarily follow?  Let us consider possible interpretations for this text.

The text above shows the context to be that of the last hours and the presence of the AC.  John says that there are certain persons who left his sphere of ministry.  Who are these “they” of whom John speaks?  Previously, John has been contrasting the children of God and the world.  He condemns the world to death and then mentions the AC.  John mentions this apostasy in regards to the presence of AC.  He then says that certain persons went out from him and his troupe.  His reason for their departure is that those ones never “belonged”.  Now, what does this mean?  (Now notice what John has not said as well as what he has.)  Here are the options:

A)   These ones were not truly saved otherwise they would not have left.

B)   These ones were much like those in John 6 who left b/c of difficult things.

I truly think these are the only options.  Both make assumptions about those who left. 

“A” makes the assumption that these ones had professed Christ, were baptised and appeared to be Christians.  This says more than the text does. 

“B” assumes only that the reasons for leaving were personal difficulties (i.e. love of the world as is John’s previous warning).  There is no need to appeal to the decree or of eternal salvation here. 

Now, to be sure, both choices presuppose a doctrinal view.  It cannot be helped.  Both choices are interpreted according to the interpreter’s predisposition to the text.

GP Waters assumes these men have gone through a conversion experience and appear to be true branches but b/c they have left, they show they were never branches at all. 

The alternate view assumes only that these ones left the sphere of John’s ministry for love of the world.  That seems to be his point.  He says not to love the world for loving the world is hostility b4 God and then mentions certain men who left. The conclusion might be drawn that it was for love of cosmos rather than for God that these men left.