Romans: A Letter of Hope

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A Letter of Hope

Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Lesson 01: Romans 1:17

We live in a world abundantly supplied with broken things. We deal with broken appliances, cars, dishes, toys, air-conditioners, computers, and about everything else except the things we hope would break so we would have a good excuse to get rid of them. Our world is also filled with broken promises, broken trust, broken relationships, broken systems of education and health-care, broken dreams, and broken hearts.

In its brokenness, the world has become immoral, self-centered, impatient, violent, and cruel. The things that should stir people to action are lost in a deep bog of apathy. In man’s desperate search for hope and solutions he only ends up breaking things more.

The reason why we can’t simply patch things up is much deeper. Man can’t repair society, or his relationships with people, or his broken attitude toward himself, until first his relationship with God is repaired.

Here’s the problem: if our relationship with God is broken as seriously as the Bible tells us it is, how can we know how to go about the repair process?

With his broken understanding of himself, and of God, and of the universe he lives in, man turns to all sorts of inventive ideas to make the problem seem better for the time. He invents religions and rituals. He holds rallies and gets stirred up into emotional frenzies. He makes strict rules, and creates support groups. Or he just indulges his own urges, and blends into the crumbling mess around him hiding his head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich. Sometimes — he tries all these contradictory things at once.

There is a better way. God in his written word has given us a reasonable and sound accounting of what is true and of what is right. However, the Bible is a complex set of 66 books which can be misunderstood when we approach them with our preconceived notions and with a severely broken comprehension.

Wouldn’t it seem reasonable that God in his infinite wisdom, in his marvelous grace, and in his astounding desire to make himself known would give us a comprehensive book to summarize the basics for us, and help us build a structure for understanding? Wouldn’t it seem reasonable that God would tell us clearly how our relationship with him can be repaired? how our relationship with others, and with the world as a whole, can be fixed?

God has done just that. He has given us the book of Romans.

The great reformer Martin Luther called Romans “the chief book of the New Testament.” The Genevan Scholar John Calvin wrote, “When anyone understands this epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole of Scriptures.” A more recent writer, James I. Packer, said, “There is one book in the New Testament which links up with almost everything that the Bible contains: that is the Epistle to the Romans.”

The celebrated British scholar Robert Haldane wrote, “In the New Testament, the Epistle to the Romans is entitled to peculiar regard. It is the only part of Scripture which contains a detailed and systematic exhibition of the doctrines of Christianity.”

I consider Paul’s letter to the Romans to be the one book the mastery of which gives a solid framework for organizing God’s whole revelation. Romans comprehends and summarizes the basics of the Christian faith. Though Paul’s letter to the Romans has been studied many times, it is always helpful to sit at the feet of the Apostle Paul to study this epistle again. It is good to keep the basics fresh in our minds, and to review the answers to our common problems.

Make this studies in Romans a project for thought throughout the week after each study. Read the passage over several times. Think about the lesson it teaches. Pray that God will help you put its principles into practice in your own life every day.

This first lesson is an overview of the territory ahead. Before I go on a trip I like to sit down with a map and look over the route I’m going to take. I like to estimate how I’m going to divide the trip into sections so I can plan where to stop at night. I like to know what kinds of things we will be passing so I won’t miss things I wish I’d known about as I breezed by.

We know that the Apostle Paul traveled to many cities explaining to the Jews that the Messiah promised ages ago had come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He explained to the gentiles what that promise of Messiah was so that they too could understand his important message.

Paul had not been able to get to Rome just yet. So he wrote this letter to tell them what he would have taught if he had come in person. This is a letter summarizing the Apostolic message by the Apostle Paul himself!

Its main theme is found in Romans 1:14-17

“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ “

Paul took his text from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. This ancient prophet wanted an explanation for why things we so confusing to him as he tried to live in his broken world ages ago. God’s answer then, as it was to Paul hundreds of years later, and as it is to us today, is that the person who is right with God will live his life trusting in what God has made known. It is more important to know what to do and to believe, than to understand philosophically why things are as they are.

The old expression “the just shall live by faith” is one of the old translations of this verse. God was drawing a contrast for Habakkuk. Those who are self-important, the proud, have a sick soul that is guilty and condemned before God. Those who are right with God, those justified, show their trust in God by living “faithfully.”

They live by trusting in what God has made known. They know that if God has not spoken it, then we can’t know about it with certainty. The children of God will content themselves with what God has said in his word.

Living by faith does not mean living blindly or believing something without evidence. It means trusting without reservation in all that God has made known, and specifically in trusting in God’s provision for sin that makes us into his children.

Paul develops his theme in two parts.


The first part of the book shows how our broken relationship with God is repaired. Jesus is presented as the Messiah that God promised to his fallen race from the beginning. We will see in the study of Romans how that promise comes to individuals, how it sets them free from bondage to sin and its guilt. We will see that there is power in the risen Savior that enables God’s people to overcome the depressions and frustrations of living as broken people in a broken world.

The second part of the book shows how our broken relationship with others is repaired, and how we should therefore live with our neighbors on this fallen planet. By the principles revealed in God’s word redeemed people can learn how to repair their lives, their homes, their churches, their workplaces, and their communities.

This is wonderful good news for us broken people in this broken world. Though we may not be able to explain everything, we can be victorious, and turn things around. No matter how bad things are now, no matter what has gone on in the past, there is hope and assurance in the truth of a Sovereign Lord whose promises can not fail.

The teachings of the Apostle in Romans show us ….

  • how to personally overcome guilt and depression
  • how to appreciate the world around us in a healthy way
  • how to make real changes in our lives
  • how to improve our friendships, and our community
  • how to develop a God-based view of politics, work, evangelism and worship.
  • how to find a balance between tolerance and compromise

God has provided, through Christ, the remedy the world needs. With all the confusion, superstition and doubt that collide in the forum of public debate today, the message of this book is urgently needed.

A century ago Robert Haldane wrote of this world saying, “The spirit of speculation and of novelty which is now abroad, loudly calls upon Christians to give earnest heed to the truths inculcated in the Epistle to the Romans.” (p.3)

There are speculators and innovators today, many of whom even quote the Bible, who have little understanding of the basic principles of Scripture. They dare to guide us as experts, teach our children, and run our governments. People continue to follow this advice that has caused tragic confusion and pain.

Ideas that contradict God’s truth are not just personal opinions that ought to be equally considered. They are closing in on our society to strangle out its last breath.

A person does not need an academic degree in all the disciplines of knowledge to recognize the error and the dangers in the foolish advice that surrounds us, and to learn a far better way. All one needs is a solid grounding in God’s principles as revealed in Scripture. Falsehood is stripped of its mask when it is laid against the basic principles God has given us.

There is no better way to organize our obedience than to know well the book of Romans. We are wise to covenant together to learn this book. To study it carefully, to trust in its certainty, and to conform to its teachings.

Here in this book is the most complete presentation of what we need to know to repair our relationships with God, with one another, with the world we live in, and with ourselves.

(The Bible quotations in this lesson are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Back to the Index of Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans

Living Beacons

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Living Beacons

by Bob Burridge ©2011

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16,

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Notice Jesus didn’t say that his listeners should become light for the world. He told them that they, as citizens of God’s Kingdom, are in fact already the light of the world.

Light has many meanings in Scripture. It is used to symbolize God’s true knowledge, goodness, truth, righteousness, joy, gladness, blessing, and so on. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” Jn 8:12. John called Jesus “the true light … coming into the world” (Jn 1:9)

In this verse Jesus calls his followers the light of the world. We are not light all by ourselves. Our light comes from Jesus Christ. We have often been compared with the moon. The moon gives off a lot of light, but it is only reflecting the sun’s light. All by itself the moon would be very dark.

God made light and all the things that produce it in our universe. In recent history we have started to realize something of the amazingly mysterious mechanisms that cause light to be given off. For example, atoms can give off light when they are heated. According to the model we use to study this, the electrons absorb energy and “jump up” away from the nucleus into higher energy levels away from the nucleus. When they are in this “energized” state we say they are “excited”. Eventually an electron will drop back to its ground state and give up that extra energy by emitting a packet of light.

When we become energized by the power of the gospel at work in us, we become in a sense “excited” about what God by grace has done for us. Just as an excited electron must emit light, so must the citizens of God’s Kingdom emit the light that energizes his life. When we are truly his, and believe without reservation every promise God has given us, how can we not be excited to radiance by God’s indwelling grace? God put us here to promote his glory in the world. We do it by living the way he created us to live.

Lights are lit to be seen. We who are redeemed by Christ are like a city set on a hill. It will be clearly visible to everyone. God doesn’t save us to hide us away to live under-cover lives. He places us on a hill for all to see. We are redeemed to shine for Christ. The Bible says so. To refuse this calling is moral rebellion against the Lord.

Lamps are not lit to be hidden under a basket. That would not make sense. Lamps were put on a lampstand, a high pillar, beam, or shelf where they could light up a room at night.

We are to shine before men. They should see the good works God produces in us, and give him the glory for it. The fruits of Christ at work in us should be made visible.

For example: the characteristics of the beatitudes which Jesus had just finished listing (verses 3-12) should show our redeemed condition to all those observing our lives.

    Those transformed by grace by the work of the Savior …

  • are poor in spirit. They understand their spiritual need and dependence upon God.
  • mourn over their sin – for its offense against God.
  • have a gentle spirit.
  • hunger and thirst for righteousness above everything else in life.
  • are merciful – reflecting God’s mercy to others.
  • have purity of heart before God.
  • make peace among God’s people.
  • are willing to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

These characteristics demonstrate God at work in us. This is light that ought to shine from lives touched by grace. Romans 2:19 says that Christians are “a light to those who are in darkness.”

The light that shines from our lives should not direct people to our own abilities and accomplishments, but to our Creator and Redeemer. Our works are not for our own honor and glory. It would be the worst kind of thievery to take credit for God’s work.

We should shine our light to improve the world we live in. However we need to keep in mind that it’s not the behaviors that change the world. It’s what causes those behaviors, the work of our powerful God.

The darkness of sin has infected the world’s politics, economics, education, law enforcement, security and morality. These will only be improved when the hearts of individuals are changed by the gospel of grace.

Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote, “the great hope for society today is in an increasing number of individual Christians.”

One of the main themes of Scripture is the presence of God’s Kingdom. The presence of the Kingdom can make a difference in our world. Even imperfect Christians, when their faith is acted upon, can have a positive influence upon this corrupt world.

We are to work to maintain the world, and to use its resources to provide for our daily needs. We are to worship, honor, and obey God in all our thoughts, words, and works. We are to trust in him as our Creator, Redeemer, Provider, Father, and King. God also calls those redeemed by grace to represent him to others.

Our problem isn’t going to be solved by passing more laws. Things will only improve by changing the hearts of those who crave to do what is wrong. Our problem isn’t the abundance of guns, drugs, TV’s, video games, or rock stars. It’s too little hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and too much trying to satisfy our needs in ways God forbids.

The pessimism we see so prevalent today, both outside the church and within it, comes from a tragic failure to believe God’s promises. The gospel is the power of God to salvation (Romans 1:16). Our Savior can take a heart of stone and replace it with a new heart. The gospel can take haters of God, and transform them into his children.

The solution for dispelling the darkness in our world is not found by cursing the darkness, or by trying to push it out, or by passing laws against it. It is not found by setting out on a hopeless quest for the perfect leader, political party, or budget. It is found in letting the light of Christ show brightly in your life. We must be emitters of God’s light to the world in which we live.

The light that should be shining in us is more than just the words of the gospel message. It includes our actions, God-honoring lives that people can see.

Many of the good things we do are done privately, but others should see the evidence of our Christian faith in our lives. They should see a different attitude than the world has, different standards and goals. We should not measure success by how popular, good looking, smart, or rich we can be, but by how faithfully we value God and his ways.

Our friends aren’t chosen by how much fun we have with them, or by how they can benefit us, but by our concern for them in the Lord, and how we can together grow to be like Christ.

The purpose of godliness isn’t to make people envy you, or look up to you. It’s to direct them to the glory of God, your Heavenly Father. This means that good deeds done very humbly should be connected with a clear testimony to God’s love and power in your life. They should know by your conversation and obedience that the Lord is your strength, enabler, and hope.

In Matthew 6 we see the danger and hypocrisy of fasting done for personal glory. Our light that shines is not supposed to be a show of piety that exalts us, but a humility and dedication to our responsibilities that proves the power that Christ can have in the redeemed heart of a sinner.

When we behave in a way that is self-absorbed, rude, or greedy we are showing that our Christianity is just a set of beliefs which have no connection with a power able to transform us. We need to be thinking all through every day about how we might let our light direct people to Christ.

When we humbly serve God, take care of our responsibilities well, worship faithfully, do our best to show love and kindness to others, and give God all the glory, that’s when we shine with the gospel light and others will be shown the goodness of our Heavenly Father.

Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”

(The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

An Offer That Can’t Be Refused

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An Offer That Can’t Be Refused

a study in Ephesians 2:8-9
by Bob Burridge ©2011

People generally like to be commended for the good things they do. We live in a rewards based culture where praises and prizes are lavished upon the best movies, the best songs, the best dressed, the most likely to succeed, the fastest, the most popular, and the first to set some record.

When “good” is measured by popularity or majority preferences it’s easy for those to be good who we see meeting those standards. A good singer is one who gets the most votes on “American Idol”, sells the most music tracks, or charges the most for seats at concerts.

Good can easily become very subjective and divorced from any absolute standard to which we are all to conform. Moral good becomes giving to the poor, helping the handicapped, contributing to hospitals, or being kind to our neighbors. While these certainly can be good things, they can also be manipulative and self-serving if done with the wrong motives.

It’s generally agreed that we should do good things in life. It’s not as easy to define what things are really “good” by these mere appearance based standards. Even those who do what they admit is “bad” do it for some result they think is “good” by whatever standard they use for measuring things morally. A thief might think it’s good when he gets away with a robbery because he gets money.

People often believe that what they are doing is truly good. They even believe that the good they do is a great personal accomplishment. Individuals want to take credit for the things they do which they think are good. The problem is that in our fallen estate, the effects of our inherited sin nature distort our ability to see things as they really are. This disables us from understanding spiritual truths and from doing good as God sees it.

Even religion is distorted to where mere belief in some kind of God is thought to be a good thing. Religion is promoted where God has to wait for us to allow him to do good in our lives, and where we get the credit for doing it. The Bible is very clear that in our fallen condition, we can’t do any good thing. Our motives are stained with sin, and are not focused on giving God the glory he deserves.

Romans 3:10-12, “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

The greatest good is for us to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. We are here to honor our Creator, to promote his glory and to enjoy his blessings responsibly and thankfully.

The greatest good thing we can do is to be reconciled with our Creator by the grace that sent Jesus as the Messiah. Even that is a work of God, not of our own fallen nature.

Ephesians 2:8-9 are classic verses that explain God’s grace as the cause of our salvation.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

All people are challenged by the gospel to repent of sin, believe in Christ as Savior, and to do good. However, they can’t respond in these truly good ways because of their total inability to do what is really good in God’s sight.

The outward call of the gospel sometimes comes to those not enabled to believe. They will refuse God’s salvation because they aren’t able to understand it properly or to trust in it sincerely.

There is also God’s inward call described in the Bible. This is the call of the Holy Spirit which applies the work of Christ and regenerates the soul. This can’t be resisted because it inclines the heart to irresistibly come to Christ. It makes the redeemed grieve for their sins and repent. It makes them trust in the work of Jesus Christ alone as the way of forgiveness and salvation. and it makes them begin the process of sanctification, of growing in obedience to God. It is this offer, where the soul is transformed, that is an offer that can’t be refused.

Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this very clear. Being saved from our lost condition is by God’s grace through faith.

Grace is the undeserved favor of God to redeem the unworthy. That is the cause of salvation. It is that “by which” we are saved from our lost condition of separation from fellowship with the God who made us. The foundation of that grace toward the lost is the work of Jesus Christ who satisfied justice in the place of those he loved from all eternity. Earlier in this same Epistle (Ephesians 1:3-7) this foundation was laid out very clearly.

Faith is the means God uses by which grace works in the heart. He puts that certain knowledge, that trust, in our hearts which causes us to rely upon the gospel promise as our only hope. This work in us is done “by grace” but “through faith.” In our lost condition we are not able to trust what is true, or even to know what really is true. A true faith in God’s promises is impossible until the work of grace has already changed the lost heart to give it life.

Faith and the good works that flow from conversion to Christ are never initiated by us independently from God. They are God’s gifts. Until God gives that gift, there will be no true repentance, faith, or obedience.

When we come to Christ there is nothing to brag about. It is not our work, it is God’s work entirely. Even our faith is God’s gift. To put faith first and grace second turns this verse around. Faith is never the action of a fallen heart that then causes or allows God to work by grace. If grace is earned or deserved by us, it is not grace.

This is a very good message. Our salvation does not depend upon our doing enough, or of our doing something in the exact right way. There is no test or minimal standard for God’s work in saving us. It is by his love, not by our permission and human wisdom, that we are transformed into children of God.

What’s more, if we never deserved it to begin with, we can do nothing to lose it once we really have it. God’s forgiveness and perseverance with his children is our eternal hope and encouragement through all our stumbles and failures. We imperfect creatures, redeemed by grace through faith, are secure in the hands of our Sovereign God.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Loved By the Triune God

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Index of Lessons in the Westminster Shorter Catechism

Loved By the Triune God

Video presentation of this lesson
(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:5-6)
by Bob Burridge ©2014

One of the most comforting things God tells us in his word, is that he not only made and rules over all things, but also that he dearly loves those he gathers to himself as his eternal family. In contrast with that, the most troubling fact in God’s word is that some in the world he made became his enemies. There was a very ancient rebellion in heaven, and it moved to earth were humanity was infected.

Since that time man’s ideas about God have been horribly confused and distorted. Pagan deities range from vague cosmic forces to comic book super-hero gods. In Ancient Greece and Rome, new god’s were conceived by adulterous super-gods. There were battles for supremacy, jealousies, and divine deceit. They were modeled after the image of fallen humanity.

The God revealed in the Bible is totally different. Since the Creator is obviously totally different from his creation, and since he is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all his attributes as a Triune being, we should expect that our Heavenly Father would be difficult to describe. We are finite, temporal, and changeable in all our attributes. There is nothing in all of creation that is by its nature just like God.

One of the hardest concepts to grasp,
is that God exists eternally as a Trinity.

This is one of the teachings of the Bible that is admittedly not easy to understand. Attempts to compare the Trinity with things we’re familiar with will always confuse the issue. The Bible never gives us a direct comparison of the Trinity with created things. We should not do that either. We should not expect God’s basic nature to fit into our limited minds and human experience.

It s not that the truth of the Trinity is unclear in Scripture. It is one of the most universal doctrines of Christianity. Virtually all who call themselves Christian believe there is One God in Three Persons. It is the central issue in the Creeds that came from early church councils. There can’t be any doubt that the Bible teaches this basic fact. Not all understand it the same way though. Our fallen nature is inclined to confuse what God is by mixing it with non-biblical assumptions.

The idea of the Trinity was not invented by the early church councils. They met to correct serious errors about God’ nature, and to replace them with what the Bible actually teaches. The realty of the Trinity is drawn from Scripture only.

The Redeemed are saved by the work of Jesus Christ who is God the Son, and are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught us to pray to God our Father who lives eternally in heaven. We pray through Jesus to the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. We call upon God the Son to save us, and to intercede for us to the Father. We ask the Holy Spirit to fill us to make us able to do what God calls us to do. These are daily concerns so we ought to know the nature of the One to whom we’re praying, and in whom we are placing our trust.

Knowing what God is, is important not only to theologians, Elders and Pastors, but to every believer who prays, and rests in his faithfulness, forgiveness and promises. What’s more, it is exciting to learn about the One who made us and everything else, and to be assured that we are loved by this Triune Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it in very simple and plain language.

Question 5. Are there more Gods than one?
Answer. There is but one only, the living and true God.

Question 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
Answer. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

First, it’s clear that there is only one God.

One of the oldest and most basic creeds of the Bible is found in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”

Sometimes this verse is called the Shma’ because that’s the Hebrew word that begins this verse. Shma’ (שׁמע) means “hear what comes next”. It is like our modern expression, “Listen up!” This word draws our attention to what follows. It marks it as a very important fact. The word LORD in this verse is the Hebrew word for “Jehovah”, YHVH (יהוה) It says, “Jehovah is One”. He is singular, the only God who ever could be.

The First Commandment is found in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

There are many other places where this is directly stated in the Bible. It is hardly a truth that needs defense. No matter what people might personally believe, the Scriptures are clear that there is only one God. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is. He is the living and true God. Nothing could be more clear.

The idea of the Trinity does not teach that there are “three gods”.

Second, it’s clear that God eternally exists as three persons.

This doesn’t mean that God is three different people as if they meet as a committee. The word “person” has a very technical meaning here.

Also, it’s not that God just shows himself in three different ways at times, as if sometimes he acts like a Father, sometimes as a Son and other times as a Spirit. There is a separation that is different than anything else in the whole created universe.

There is no single verse in the Bible that states this fact of the Trinity. Some uninformed defenders of this doctrine sadly point to 1 John 5:7 as a proof text for the Trinity. The old King James Version has, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

This verse was never used as a proof text of the Trinity by the early church councils. The Trinitarian part of that verse was added much later when a note in the margin of a Latin Bible was copied and translated into the later Greek text. It is not there in any of our ancient Greek texts.

If the Bible is taken as one unified word of God, it becomes very plain and obvious. There is One God only, but the one called the Father, the one called the Son, and the one called the Holy Spirit are each described as having all the attributes of this one true God.

First, God eternally exists as the Father.

Not many have questioned that the title of “Father” is appropriate for God. The Bible often uses this word to describe his care for his children. God oversees all of his creation as a father does over his own household. God is Father over all as the Creator and as Sovereign Head, but he’s specially the Spiritual Father to all who are redeemed in Christ. We’re called his children because, by grace, he made us part of his covenant family. Jesus prayed to him as his Father in the prayers recorded for us in Scripture.

God also exists eternally as the Son.

It is tragic that many focus so much on the human side of Jesus that they lose the wonder of his eternal deity. Our Savior was fully a human, but he is always also fully God.

John 1 tells us that he is not a created being. He is the Creator, the one who made all things. He tells us that the Son is eternal, and has been with the Father forever. This means his sonship has nothing to do with his being fathered by God in the sense of having a beginning. It has to do only with the mysterious relationship the persons of the Trinity share. Colossians 1:16 says this about Jesus, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Jesus showed submission to the Father’s will, which was never different than his own desires. Submission doesn’t mean he’s inferior to the Father. This is true even in human families as God set them up. The wife may be subject to her husband, but is never said to be inferior to him. Husbands, wives and all Christians are to be in subjection one to another (Ephesians 5:21). And the children are to be in subjection to their parents, but they’re never inferior to them. Jesus as a human child was subject to his parents as Luke 2:51 tells us, but he was never inferior to them.

We sometimes get the distorted idea that just because someone is given the responsibility of leadership, he is better than those he leads. Nothing could be further from the Biblical picture of headship, even within the Trinity.

Not only is God the Son the eternal Creator, who is in every way truly and fully God, he is also directly identified with the covenant name of God, Jehovah ( יְהוָ֥ה ). Joel 2:32 tells us that whoever calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved. Acts 2:21 applies this verse directly to Jesus, and in Acts 4:12 it says that there is no other name by which we’re saved but Jesus.

In Isaiah 43:10 we’re told ” ‘you are my witnesses,’ declares Jehovah”, and in Acts 1:8 it says that we are to be witnesses of Jesus to all the world.

John the baptist is said in John 1:23 to fulfill Isaiah 40:3 as he prepared the way for Jesus. In that verse in Isaiah it says he (John) would prepare the way for Jehovah.

Isaiah 43:11 says there is no Savior besides Jehovah. In Acts 4:12 it says that salvation only comes by Jesus Christ who is often called our Savior.

There are many other references just like these. What is represented by the name Jehovah is also represented by the name Jesus. He is revealed in the Bible as the eternal God, the Creator, and the only Savior.

Jesus does things that only God can do. Many times during his earthly ministry, Jesus forgave individuals for their sins. He performed miracles and cast out demons by his own authority. We are told to pray to him and through him to God the Father.

Many verses directly tell us that Jesus Christ is the one true God. Jesus was called “Immanuel” in Matthew 1:23. The quote is from Isaiah 7:14. “Immanu-El” (עמנו אל) is a Hebrew expression which means, “God with us”.

John 1 refers to Jesus as the Word, and tells us that “the word was God.”

Jesus made it clear too, that he is nothing less than the Eternal God who made all things. Just before his arrest, He prayed to the Father in John 17:5 saying, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

There can be no doubt. The one we love as our Savior and Good Shepherd, is the one eternal God, the Sovereign Creator of all that is.

The Holy Spirit is also fully God.

Genesis 1 tells us that the Spirit of God moved upon the waters during the world’s creation. Several places in the New Testament refer to God the Holy Spirit having been active all through time.

When the Apostle Paul explained his mission in Rome, he quoted Isaiah 6 and said in Acts 28:25, “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers.” Since it was God who spoke through the prophets, the Holy Spirit is obviously God.

Lying to the Holy Spirit was called lying to God in Acts 5:3-4.

Titus 3:5 calls our regeneration to life the “renewing by the Holy Spirit.” In other passages he is also clearly the one who renews the fallen human heart.

Since the Holy Spirit does what only God can do, he is part of the eternal Trinity, and He lives within the heart of every believer as the eternal Creator and Lord.

There are many passages that bring all three persons
of the Trinity together as the One God.

In John 15:26 Jesus our great Savior promised, “… when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

Together the three persons share in: creation, preservation, regeneration, judgment, revelation, ancient miracles, and the divine ministry to the saints. They all receive worship, honor and glory. Individually they each communicate with one another and reveal one another to man. They all play an important part in restoring us to eternal life in the home of the Lord, and in encouraging us while we live here on the earth.

This high mystery of the Doctrine of the Trinity is a living encouragement
to all creation, and to us who are his children by grace.

The Savior who redeemed us, who intercedes for us, is actually God. The Holy Spirit who is sent to live in our hearts and to guide us in our beliefs and choices is not just a powerful angel or comforting concept. He is fully God. And of course we can each speak directly to God as our own Father.

In the vanity of human religion confused since Eden, God is little more than some far off ethereal concept, or a super-human deity confined to struggles on some Mount Olympus. But to we who are redeemed he is the Living God, Creator and Lord over all things. By his unfathomable love and grace, we are his children.

There’s no desire so strong in the heart of any creature, material or spiritual, that can hinder or change in any way the will of the Father. There’s no evil that can attack us which isn’t already conquered by the victory of Christ. There is no trouble, lie, or doubt that can infest our souls that isn’t overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts.

No power on all the earth or in the space of the universe around us is greater than or even equal with the infinite power of our Triune God.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

summary:
“There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.” (WSC 6)

What Is God?

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Index of Lessons in the Westminster Shorter Catechism

What Is God?

Video presentation of this lesson

(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:4)
by Bob Burridge ©2014

Atheism is not the greatest enemy of God’s Kingdom or of the church. It never was. It has never been promoted by more than a few, and hasn’t confused many people.

The greatest threat has always come from those who believe in imitations of God. It was devotedly religious people who attacked the Patriarchs, held the Israelites as captives, and tried to eliminate the early church. Even the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Emperors of Rome were firm believers in their gods. Some of them even promoted themselves as god’s, and came to believe their own claims.

Satan is very smart in his attacks. God is so obviously there, that the only effective way to deceive people about him is to offer substitutes that fit what fallen hearts want to believe and do. Today Millions of people are taken in by religions that promote ideas directly against what the Bible says.

According to current CIA world statistics, only about 2.01% of the world considers itself to be Atheist. That’s down from 2.32% from the previous report. 33.39% say they are Christians. 22.74% are Muslims. 13.8% are Hindus. 6.77% are Buddhists. There are many religions which represent less than 1% of the world’s population. They include 0.35% who are Sikhs, 0.22% are Jews, 0.11% are Baha’is. Other even smaller religions make up 10.95%. There are 9.66% who say they have no religion.

Ancient Israel was surrounded by nations which believed in some kind of god. The deity to which those nations were devoted, was not the God of Scripture.

The apostles and early Christians faced this same confusion in the Roman world. When Paul started to proclaim Christ to the Gentiles, and when he stood in Athens on Mars Hill, he had to go back to the basics about what God is. The god most believed in was not the true God.

Today, we also live in a world where belief in some kind of god is rampant. Belief in the True God of Scripture is an offense to many. Those who believe the Bible to be infallibly true are dismissed as ignorant, or even as dangerous. Bible believing Christans are often openly ridiculed, hated, and in some cases brutally persecuted.

Of the 33.39% who call themselves “Christian”, there are about 16.85% Roman Catholics, 6.15% Protestants, 3.96% Orthodox, and 1.26% Anglican.

These all claim to base their beliefs on the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Sadly, they don’t all accept some of the most basic statements and teachings of the Bible. There is a wide range of beliefs among them about the nature of God.

In both the Old and New Testaments the greatest threat to God’s people came from groups that claimed to believe the Inspired Scriptures, but who clearly did not. They had very unbiblical beliefs about God, his nature, and plan.

God sent Prophets from the time of Moses through to the time of John the Baptist to challenge and warn God’s people. They came to correct misunderstandings about what the Bible said. The ones who kept challenging Jesus the most were the Rabis and Jewish Elders. It was the popular but inaccurate beliefs about Jesus and the Bible that kept the Apostles busy writing and teaching. Those wrong beliefs about God led to immoral and irresponsible living.

It is not surprising that today there are many popular groups that claim to be Christian, while they imagine God to be very different than what he tells us about himself in his word. Some shrug it off as unimportant. As long as their beliefs make them happy and they get what they want, they don’t see why they should be concerned.

There are well-funded movements today which are actively trying to unify religions upon some imagined common ground. This Ecumenism has been a primary tool used to water down God’s truth for decades.

God isn’t just a general idea that fits many definitions. This is at the core of what we Christians need to deal with today: We’re not called to be champions of belief in just some kind of god. We are morally obligated to promote belief in the One True God who reveals himself in the Bible.

The God of the Bible is a certain kind of God.

He has very particular attributes that characterize him.

In 1647 the best Bible scholars of the English speaking world finished writing the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Their goal was to summarize in chatechal form what the Bible primarily taught. The Assembly was humbled when they started to work on the answer to question #4 which asks, “What is God?“.

The delegates were all brilliant Bible scholars, but they asked the youngest of them to lead in prayer. It was George Gillespie of Scotland. His prayer started with these words, “O God, Thou art a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in Thy being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth …”

His opening sentence amazed them all with it’s accuracy and completeness. It was written down and adopted as the answer to that important question. That answer, as it still stands in the Catechism today is this,

“God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable,
in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.”

God is eternally what we know as spirit.
He created the material universe, therefore he can’t be part of it. His essence is not physical. Before there was anything physical, God fully existed. Though he sometimes appeared in forms men could see, those forms were not his nature.

Even the birth of Jesus into human flesh did not change his nature as God. It added to the Second Person of the Trinity a second nature, a set of human attributes. He never stopped being eternally Spirit after being mysteriously united with a human nature.

The attributes of God summarized in the 4th Catechism answer fall into two categories.
First: some of his attributes are incommunicable.
God alone is “infinite, eternal and unchangeable.” These characteristics cannot be communicated to, or shared with, anything created. They are unique to the Creator.

  • Infinite means that God has no limits.
  • Eternal means that God had no beginning and has no end. He always exists.
  • Unchangeable means that God neither changes nor modifies what he is.

The remaining attributes of God are communicable.
We say a disease is communicable if it can be passed on. It is the same with these characteristics of God. God has “being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” These are observable things created into God’s universe to reveal his nature. They are communicated into God’s creation, and specially into us humans. This is why the Bible says humans are made in God’s image.

We share in these characteristics, but in us they are not infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. In humans our being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth are finite, temporal, and changeable. In God they are perfections. In us they are imperfect.

To each of the communicable attributes we attach the three incommunicable qualities. For example: God’s being is infinite, eternal and unchangeable.

  • His infinite being has no limits. We call that immensity.
    He fills all space all the time. God is always altogether everywhere.
  • His eternal being has had no beginning and will have no end.
  • His immutable being is never modified or changed in any way.
    He can’t improve since he is always perfect.

Similarly the three incommunicable qualities extend to the other communicable attributes. God is also infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

Our being has limits. We have a beginning, and we all change with time.
Also, unlike God, our wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth are limited, they had a beginning in time, and change with time. So while we represent God in our nature, we are not exactly like him in any way.

In us, the communicable attributes are like reflections in a mirror. They reveal the Creator and represent him here, but we are always just creatures, imperfect. Yet what we are represents what is true about God. Therefore, we are able to take in God’s truth when he makes it known. In our fallen condition we will not look at it honestly, and we will not, can not, understand it. It comes to us clearly from God. It is sufficiently plain and obvious so that we are held responsible for suppressing and distorting it. That is why Romans 1:20 can say, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”

The other teachings of the Bible about God all fit within that very helpful summary definition.

One of the most fundamental distinctives of God
is that he is the Creator of all things.

Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”

God’s creatorship makes him special, distinct from everything else in the universe. If God made all things, and he had a purpose in creating them all, then everything belongs to him, and has true meaning only as it fits into his divine plan.

It is a biblical fact that God is the Creator of everything that exists. John 1:3 says, ” All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Since God made all things, everything has a divine purpose. Violating his ways is always wrong. Fallen creatures do not like to hear that. It means we are all accountable to the Creator, and guilty for every failure to honor him as we should. Every descendant of Adam stands indicted before God for his rebellion. That’s why fallen man would rather imagine God to be something he isn’t.

Some try to imagine that God is not actually our Creator. They imagine the universe to be its own creator, and that all we see has evolved from the energy and matter that first appeared in our universe. They can measure and describe the universe within the limits of their finite abilities, but they cannot explain all the complexity we see around us, and the reality of human self-awareness. They imagine that it all must have come into being by some spontaneous cosmic event directed by probabilities.

Others imagine that the universe itself is eternal, that it had no real beginning. The rules we see operating in nature make this hard to believe. Even with the help of the emerging principles of chaos theory and quantum physics with all its counter-intuitive predictions of how things behave, the origin of the universe remains an unsolvable problem without a Supernatural Creator.

To restore a true understanding of God
we need information from him.

Our own ideas and theories are deeply infected by our fallen nature. Romans 3:11 quotes the Old Testament when it says, “There is none who understands …” 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

We need the Bible. God gave it to us as an objective source of truth about himself. As our Creator, God has a purpose for all that’s made, a purpose for us too. The good purpose of all of creation is that everything, every person, is made to promote the truth and glory of the One True God. 1 Peter 4:11 says, “…that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen”

Therefore it is vital to know the truth about the One True God. Only then can a person know that he is really glorifying the one true Creator instead of some idol of his own imagination.

There can be only one Creator and absolute standard of all that is right and true. The creed given in Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear O Israel, Yahveh our God, is one Yahveh” (שׁמע ישׂראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד׃)

There is no room in the Bible for multiple Gods or for different definitions of Him. There can only be one God, of one divine substance, who is the source of everything else. The Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is one true God. The three persons are the same in substance, and eternally equal in power and glory.

Since God is eternal and unchangeable he cannot depend upon anything outside of himself. Your behavior, beliefs, and choices change neither him nor his plan. However, he holds you responsible to trust him and to do what he says is right.

God is absolutely Sovereign over all he made, over us humans too. As Creator and Upholder of all that is, he is Lord over all. Psalm 135:6 says, “Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.”

God’s Sovereignty is fundamental to all truly Christian systems of belief. If it is rejected, the entire nature of the God of Scripture is rejected as well.

Sadly, many today try to re-define God
into something less threatening to lost sinners.

When God is redefined, he becomes a weakened deity that fits better with the life-style of the lost, and of immature Christians. The tendency is to bring in humanistic ideas which are blended into strained interpretations of selected Scripture passages. The god emerging from this approach allows for rejecting some of the Bible’s moral principles and gospel realities. That’s exactly what ancient Israel did, and what those who argued with Jesus did.

We live in a world where truth itself is losing it’s meaning. God is becoming a blurry idea too.

Sadly typical Hollywood movies often use words referring to God more than many sermons. Of course they use those holy words in blasphemous ways. They flood the minds of America with these accepted abuses of our Creator’s name. They make cursing and using the name Jesus and God into a linguistic habit. God is trivialized into a very fallible but lovable and powerful being who needs us to advise him about what he ought to be doing.

Cults snatch gullible people away from reality into a fantasy land designed to make them feel more important and wiser than others. Many political operatives insincerely cashe in on people’s beliefs or unbeliefs about God so they can win elections, get contributions, or pass legislation. Some educators want to either eliminate God from the class room, or bring in some undefined god that offends no one except those who believe the Bible. This imagined god is designed with the hope of fitting together all the world’s religions, and therefore it cannot fit with God as presented to us in his word.

Like King David, Jeremiah, and the Apostle Paul, we need to be aware of what God really is. This understanding needs to be constantly in our thoughts. Our awareness of him will clarify and influence everything we think, do, and perceive around us.

Knowing that God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable
is a great comfort.

God’s nature is what makes his promises certain. They aren’t just possibilities. It helps us deal with cults, recognize errors, and teach us how we should evangelize and live in ways that truly honor God.

Most importantly a true knowledge of God leads us to true worship. It makes the child of God respond with humble awe at everything he sees and experiences. It draws the believer above all the busy schedules and distractions of the world to come together with God’s covenant people on the Sabbath to join in Congregational Worship.

It makes the child of God live confidently and peacefully knowing that he is always in the presence of an infinite, eternal and unchangeable Savior and loving Father.

Revelation 4:11 reminds us, “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

God’s Sovereign Good Pleasure

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God’s Sovereign Good Pleasure

by Bob Burridge ©2011

Psalm 135:6, “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.”

This verse uses the word “Jehovah’ where translations have “LORD”. It’s the four-letter Hebrew word “yhvh” (יהוה), the covenant name of God.

This verse doesn’t only begin by assuming the fact that there is a God, it tells us that he is really in charge, and is able to do anything he pleases — and he does. He is infinite in his power and ability.

We are used to not getting our way all the time. We have the power to do some things we want. However, we don’t have the ability to always control things so that we always get what we intend or prefer, and we don’t always want what’s good.

We say a child is spoiled if he is trained to always expect to get what he wants. He becomes self-centered and inconsiderate of the needs of others. It is tragic when a child is so indulged that we create a selfish adult.

In contrast, God’s ability to do all he wants is joined with his perfect and infinite compassion and wisdom. His glory is shown in his love for those he purposed to redeem.

humans were not made to be slaves to carry out God’s plan like mindless robots. He created us to be the custodians of his creation, and bearers of his image with attributes that, though finite, reflect his ability to reason, and to make moral decisions. His pleasure included his coming as Savior to redeem unworthy sinners. He justly redeems us from out guilt by becoming the sin-bearer for those loved before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Our Redeemer never fails to care for his children.

Some don’t like this teaching of Scripture. They make up theories to get around it. Some say that God voluntarily gave up part of his Sovereignty to give us a free will. Some say that free will was the unknown factor in God’s creation. Such theories make no logical sense. They can not be made to agree with direct statements of the Bible. None of these ideas allow for a God who is really infinite in his power, and unchangeable in his perfections and judgments.

The idea of free will is very confusing to the unbeliever. We are free to will whatever we want. The problem is that our desires are blinded and bound by sin so we will never want what’s truly God-honoring. And we are finite, so we can not know enough to be sure that what we want is really best, and even if we did, we don’t have the power to make it happen. What we want is as much a part of God’s decree as is the final outcome of our decisions and actions.

God, on the other hand, does all his holy will (as the children’s catechism puts it), and he does it everywhere all the time.

This is not just taught in Psalm 135. It is a lesson which is the fiber of all the rest of what God makes know to us in his written word.

Psalm 115:3 says, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

In Job 42:2 Job learned to cry out to God saying, “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.” or as the NASB translates that last part. ” …no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.”

In Isaiah 14:24 God says, “… Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand.”

In verse 27 the prophet said, “For the Lord of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?”

We are very encouraged and comforted to know that God’s perfect plan will be carried out, and that the plan is perfectly good.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.)

God’s Love in John 3:16

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God’s Love in John 3:16

by Bob Burridge ©2011

We’ve all seen the Bible reference “John 3:16” written on signs at football games, and at all sorts of rallies. It appears on T-Shirts, calendars, hats, bumper stickers, pens, banners, and teddy bears.

Many who see those signs and stickers have no clue about what the verse really means. Many don’t know what the verse even says. Some may go home and look it up, and it may be used by God to stir confidence in the promises we have in the work of Christ. Sadly, many simply associate those who display that verse as deluded extremist radicals who bomb abortion clinics, want to take away our personal freedoms, and promote racism. Ignorance breeds that sort of dismissive bigotry. Those who understand and really believe that verse have nothing to do with those extremist views.

Part of the problem is that many who truly love the Savior, also misunderstand the meaning of those words spoken by Jesus. It makes a good biblical quotation, and is worthy of all the attention it gets, but it needs to be understood for what God actually intended in John 3:16.

The way the King James Version translates this verse is so well known that it needs to be the translation we use in examining what Jesus said here.

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.” (KJV)

It all begins with God’s love.

“For God so loved the world …”

Love always has an object. The object here is “the world.” The original Greek word for “world” in John 3:16 is “kosmos” (κοσμος). It doesn’t mean the planet earth. It means “the world order”. From that Greek word we get our English word, “cosmetology” which is the art of bringing order to the face by using cosmetics. It’s also the source of our word, “cosmology” which is the scientific study of the order of the universe.

Here the world “world” refers to the humans that live here as God’s creatures fallen in Adam. Humans were commissioned in Eden to bring order to creation by representing the Creator, and by honoring him in their lives. He made us to bear his image, and to care for all he made. Our purpose and goal is to promote his glory on earth and to enjoy his blessings as we do so.

Though Satan enticed Adam and brought the human race into sin and condemnation, there was more going on than even the Devil understood.

To demonstrate his love, God allowed his creatures to fall into such a lost condition that only an infinite love and an infinite power could save them. The Devil, like the rest of us finite creatures, can’t really understand the infinite. He thought he was messing up God’s plan. The reality was that he was an intended part of it.

God’s amazing plan was accomplished by very specific means.

“… that he gave his only begotten Son …”

Justice required that when sin entered through Adam, the fallen human race was alienated from God forever. The barrier erected by guilt and offense was a moral violation which God could not overlook without defying his own nature. Adam represented all his descendants, so there is no one who escapes by good behavior. We are born guilty, and live with a corrupted conscience and condemned soul (Romans 3:10-12).

An infinite price can’t be paid by finite creatures. A person could suffer for eternity, and still not pay off his infinite debt.

Satan figured that the human race was a lost cause after that first sin, and would never honor God again. However he didn’t understand the power and love he was dealing with. He assumed he had won a victory in Eden, but he was very wrong.

God himself took on a full human nature, body and soul, and represented his people just as Adam represented the human race. In those few moments on the cross Jesus paid the infinite debt for those he represented. Justice was fully satisfied by the only one who could represent another, the one appointed to that office by the Creator himself.

The value of the work of Jesus wasn’t just the physical suffering of his death. It was primarily that he took upon himself the sins of his people. It was that infinite guilt that produced a suffering beyond our comprehension.

The gospel becomes effective in a person’s life by a particular method.

“… that whosoever believeth in him …”

This is where some get confused and lose the whole point of this important Bible verse. The word “whosoever” sounds as if anybody in the whole world in all of history has the ability to believe in Jesus and to take advantage of the price he paid on the cross. That’s not at all what it says here. That would contradict what the Bible teaches in other passages.

The words “whosoever” or “whoever” are not good ways to translate the original inspired Greek text. It can be misleading. The phrase is centered on a participle of the word “believe” (to trust in something – in this case trusting in redemption by grace through the promised Savior). The Greek text reads, “hina pas ho pisteuon eis auton” (ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν). Very literally it says: “… in order that each – the one believing upon him …”

This verse says nothing about those who don’t believe. It doesn’t tell us who is actually made able to believe (that’s brought up elsewhere). One passage that directly addresses this issue is found just three chapters later in John 6:44. There Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” The ones who will believe are those given to the Son by the Father from all eternity. In John 6:39 Jesus said, “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”

John 3:16 is not a universal verse as if everybody is included. It’s a very narrow verse. Only the person who believes has the blessing promised.

If, as some interpret this verse, everybody is given to the Son to be redeemed, and some of them don’t believe but are lost, then Jesus was a horrible failure in his mission. That’s not what we’re taught here, or anywhere in the Bible. That was never God’s plan.

Jesus came to save the human race from failing in what God created it to do. He did exactly that. Not every person in that race was intended to benefit from that work of Jesus. In the end, we see that there will be humans there in glory, not every human, but the race of humans is there in those redeemed. It’s a redeemed race evidencing God’s infinite love, mercy, and power. In working this way, God also dramatically preserves justice in displaying his wrath upon those not redeemed.

John 3:16 promises that everyone who shows faith implanted into his heart by grace, a faith that trusts fully in the atonement of Jesus as the means of his salvation, that person will be saved. The result is the complete fulfillment of the gospel plan.

Those alienated become members of the family of God forever.

“… should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The attempt of Satan to destroy what God had in mind was a complete failure. Instead, by the work of Christ, God’s love, mercy, grace, and justice are made known dramatically.

You have a good opportunity to help people understand what this verse really means. You can and should offer salvation to every person you can. That’s your mission. Only God knows who will respond, but by your witness, and with verses like John 3:16, God will redeem more before Christ returns.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.)

What Does the Bible Mainly Teach Us?

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Index of Lessons in the Westminster Shorter Catechism

What Does the Bible Mainly Teach Us?

Video presentation of this lesson
(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:3)
by Bob Burridge ©2014

On most of our Florida beaches there are signs warning about the stingrays. They tell you to shuffle your feet in the water so you don’t step on one. They’re not aggressive creatures, but they don’t like to be stepped on, and they defend themselves instinctively.

Every summer I see people who ignore the signs go dashing out into the water. I often see them a little later in the day grimacing in pain while sitting with their foot in a bucket of warm soapy water at the life-guard’s station.

Warnings and helpful directions are there for a good reason. Those who choose to ignore them, or who just don’t take the time to read them, are most likely going to suffer the consequences.

God also warns us and gives us vital instructions in life. But like the tourists who just dash out into the surf, people dash out into life without a clue about what it’s really all about.

The Bible is available for us today in many forms. It’s amazing how few are familiar with what it says, or take its warnings seriously. When asked what the Bible mainly teaches, there are some shockingly ignorant answers.

We often hear people say that it simply teaches us to be good to everybody. Others say it teaches that there should be no distinctions among people. They insist that God wants no one to have more money, better homes, better jobs, and so on than anybody else. There are those who say it teaches that Jesus mainly taught us to respect and tolerate the teachings of all religions. There are some who say that the Bible guarantees that we’re all going to heaven when we die. Still others think that the only important message in the Bible is that you have to be “born-again” so you won’t end up in Hell. There are even some who would say that there is no main teaching in the Bible at all. They see the Bible as a collection of vague and often contradictory teachings mixed together from many different cultures and ancient traditions.

Some of these answers are plainly the opposite of what the Bible actually says. They lack any factual support. Others of these ideas have a little glimmer of truth in them, but are hardly sufficient summaries. Not one of them is a good answer. They all fall short of being a good and accurate summary of what God tells us in his word. None of them is in agreement with places where the Bible itself tells what is most important.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism deals with that in Question 3 which asks, “What do the Scriptures principally teach?”

It’s not just an academic question. The Bible isn’t just a book of information, or a collection of inspirational essays. It’s not the opinions of smart people, or the enlightened insights of sensitive humanitarians.

It’s God’s word, and it unravels the complicated issues that you deal with every day. It reveals the boundaries that separate what’s evil from what’s good. It tells what’s worth living for, and warns against the luring deceptions we face all the time. It explains what’s behind everything, and it pulls together things that seem to be disconnected.

It is helpful to organize what the Bible says so we can better remember and understand the details God gives about living in his world as his people.

You can’t really make sense out of life without knowing its main message. When you start with the wrong focus or with wrong expectations, you’ll draw wrong conclusions. Wrong beliefs effect the decisions you make about important choices in life and simple daily preferences. When you see how everything anchors in God’s basic principles you’re guided in a way that’s safe, good, and truly enjoyable.

The Answer the catechism gives is simple but profoundly accurate and helpful:

The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

This is a surprisingly excellent summary of the main purpose of God’s word. In the Bible God tells us what is true about himself, and how we therefore ought to live. These are the main things God communicates to us in his word. Belief and duty need to stay together. They can’t be separated. You have to know what to do, and do what you know.

People often degrade beliefs as if they are not all that important. They don’t realize that what we believe dictates what we do, why we do it, and whether or not we please God in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Without understanding who God is and his moral law, no one can be sure about what is sinful, and what is good.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:7, “I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ”

Our fallen human nature makes us refuse getting help or instructions about what we should do.

There are those who think it’s noble to avoid asking for directions to get somewhere when they’re lost. They would rather lose time wandering around trying to figure it out on their own. I know some say this is a typical male trait — they might be right. But it’s not smart. It’s as if the adamantly self-reliant would try to navigate a minefield without a map of where the land-mines are.

Then there are some who are just too busy to bother reading about warnings and instructions. They struggle to assemble new things for hours rather than read the directions that come with it.

Some are like those infamous lemmings who follow the crowd wherever it’s going, even over a cliff to their own death.

As it turns out, Lemmings aren’t really that stupid. However, they’ve become a metaphor for those who follow others to their own destruction. Rather than knowing God’s word on their own, some blindly follow trends and fads in worship, missions, and morality. Many popular pastors and writers have hijacked evangelical Christianity and made many segments of it into something that actually offends the God who reveals himself to us in his written word.

There’s a lot of expense put into warnings about storms and freezes here in Florida. Up in places more tothe north there are signs reminding drivers that bridges freeze before the roads do. Those who ignore those warnings are foolish and dangerous.

The same is true about what God warns us in his word. What he says is serious. God is real. He’s not just a figment of our own imaginations. He’s not an undefinable force of the universe that can be understood in contradictory ways. What we believe about him is the foundation of everything we do.

Psalm 19:7-8 explains the great value of the content and teachings of God’s word:

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes”

What God says to us in the Bible can’t be ignored or known only superficially. If we’re to see our souls transformed, if we’re to be truly wise, if our hearts want to truly learn to rejoice, and if we’re to be enlightened in our outlook on life, then we need to know that word very well.

It might be that Paul had that well known Psalm in mind when he wrote to encourage Timothy.

2 Timothy 3:15-17, “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This means that the wisdom we find in the Bible, God’s own word, is profitable for us because:

  • It teaches us what is true.
  • It reproves us when we do things that are wrong.
  • It corrects us about what we should believe and practice.
  • It trains us in how to live so that we please the God who made and saved us.

This verse links believing the right things with doing the right things. It’s not enough just to believe certain facts to be true. We need to live by them and see the duty they impose upon us.

Beyond teaching us what we should believe about God, the Bible makes it clear that our responsibilities as God’s people aren’t undefined either. It’s easy to say what you think your duties should be, but it’s quite a different thing to actually perform those duties consistently and seriously. We need to know and to do what God tells us is our duty.

In James 2:19-20 it says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”

It’s a dead faith that thinks it can just believe good things, but not be concerned to do them. It’s not a faith that really trusts in God’s warnings and advice. It hypocritically says it does, but obviously there’s really no trust there if it lives in ways that ignore those warnings and instructions for life.

How well do you know your Bible? Do you know what it principally teaches about God, and about our duties here on earth? Do you know the details of what the Bible says and promises about every area of life? It’s your text book and manual for living.

God’s word is not just something comforting to read when you need a lift. It’s what you need to know and understand to live as you should in God’s world. It’s how you learn about the work of the Savior who alone makes you able to understand and to do what God says. Some books are just written to entertain you. Some try to impress you. Some are published to inform you. The Bible will do all that, but it will also change you.

Since it’s God’s word and comes with his power and promises, it can transform your life. Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.”

Do you memorize parts of God’s word? Do you think about it throughout the day, and apply it as best you can?

The Scriptures tell what we need to know about God, and how he made things to be. It tells about our duties as we live here on earth as God’s people. The Psalmist says in Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path.”

Don’t be one of those sad people who thinks he can live without a serious commitment to read and to know personally what God advises. Don’t be so arrogant that you think you can live well by following popular trends and be only generally acquainted with the Scriptures.

Read it and think on it every day. Pray that God will help you to live consistently in the ways it teaches. At the end of each week, ask yourself what have you turned to that has informed you about life the most? Was it the daily news? TV shows? commercials? Movies? popular music? social media? or is it the Bible? Have you read it and thought about it for as long as you spend time with these other sources of influence?

The Bible is where you learn how to glorify God and to enjoy him both now and forever.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

The Meaning of “Amen”

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Saying “Amen”

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Christians across all denominational boundaries use the biblical word “amen” to end their prayers or to express their agreement and enthusiasm to the wonderful promises and works of God. The word appears 78 times in the King James Version of the Bible. It’s an ancient custom that continues today.

When David had the recaptured Ark of the Covenant brought back to the Tabernacle in Jerusalem, he wrote a dedication Psalm which is recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36. It ends this way, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.”

When true and good things were said about God, his people showed their agreement by saying “Amen”. But what does the word mean? It’s one of the few Hebrew words that have survived into almost every language where the Bible has had an influence on it’s people.

“Amen” is the Hebrew word ahmaen (אםן). It means “to confirm, to support, to be firm, to be sure, to be true.” The Greek New Testament writings used the the same word but written in the Greek alphabet as, ahmaen (αμην). We’ve even brought this Hebrew word into English unchanged except for the pronunciation. People have Anglicized it to “aymen” or “ahmen”.

Since God is truth, “Amen” is often used as a name for God. Deuteronomy 7:9 uses a form of amaen (אםן) when it says the “Faithful God” hael ha-neahman (האל הנאמן). Isaiah 65:16 twice speaks of the “God of Truth”, “the God of Amen.” elohae ahmaen (אלהי אמן). In Revelation 3:14 Jesus Christ is called “the Amen” ho ahmaen (ο αμην).

When you put “Amen” at the end of your prayers, it keeps this same basic meaning. It’s not a required way to conclude our words addressed to God. Not all prayers in the Bible end with an “Amen.” When it’s there, it wraps up the prayer by saying the word “truth.”

When you close your prayer that way, you’re saying that everything in your prayer is offered sincerely and is true. It’s all spoken from the honest hope and desire of your heart. It means you’re confident that the promises your prayers rest upon are true. They must be because God’s word is a solid and certain foundation, and God cannot lie.

The model prayer our Lord gave us in Matthew 6:9-13 ends with the word “amen”. It places the exclamation of “truth!” after all seven petitions. It confirms that the God to whom you pray is the all powerful and eternal King, and that in Christ he loves you and redeemed you with an infinitely great price. What an amazing set of truths are set forth in that prayer. Our God can deliver on all the things for which you are told to pray.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Courtesy: A Neglected Virtue

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Courtesy: A Neglected Virtue

Characteristics of the Christian
by Bob Burridge ©2001, 2011

Courtesy and manners have always been part
of how we get along with other people.

There is a handbook on the web for International students at one of our major universities. It has a whole chapter on the detailed rules that make our American culture unique. It is amazing to read the cultural differences foreign visitors face here. It warns students that though belching is a compliment after a meal in some countries, it is considered rude in the United States. It then advises that there are better ways to complement a host or hostess.

Another website gives advice to people on business trips in other countries. It advises that when in China a person may show he is enjoying a meal if he slurps his soup or belches. It warns you to cover your mouth with your hand when using a toothpick. Bones or seeds from food should be put on the table, never on your plate or in your bowl. If you eat everything on your plate, the host is obligated to give you another helping. Here if you don’t clean your plate it appears you didn’t like the food. When you point, extend your open hand, never point with a finger extended. Never let people see the bottoms of your shoes or the soles of your feet.

In Germany it warns never shake hands with the other hand in your pocket. In France one should never use a comb, nail clippers or toothpick in public.

Rules about manners and social etiquette are not always logical. For example, elbows are normally rested on arms of chairs, but if you rest them on a table it may be considered to be rude. In very formal settings, using the wrong fork can be a horrible mistake.

There are also manners relating to a visit in one of the virtual worlds that exist on the Internet. If you keep typing with all upper case letters, others might become upset. It’s considered offensive as if you were screaming at the other people.

Detailed rules for manners and etiquette
often have nothing to do with real courtesy.

Superficial rules of etiquette can be used to simulate courtesy. They can be the veneer that gives a civilized appearance to pride and condescension. They often belittle those who don’t know complex social regulations as if they are crude people.

Of course social customs can work both ways. One rather down home list of customs, certainly intended as humor, suggests the following set of “Rules for Culturally Accepted Behavior” for some of the more rural locations in the United States:

  • Trucks with bumpers uncovered with stickers are considered offensively naked.
  • Drinks must be served in their original cans.
  • Cans must be crushed on some part of the body before disposal. Smashing them against the forehead is the greatest complement to the host.
  • Front yards are most properly decorated with discarded tires and at least one disassembled vehicle preferably resting on cinder blocks.

While those were written for humor, the sad fact is that both the rules of the highly refined cultures of the educated, and what are commonly see as normal in very local neighborhoods, can become judgmental standards that degrade the worth of those who don’t conform.

Those taken in by these pretenses are easily offended when the most sincere person breaks the rules, even though the person was merely ignorant of the custom and didn’t intend to offend anyone.

However, not all manners are evidences of empty pride and arrogance. There is a true courtesy that is a characteristic of a mature child of God.

The 6th item in the list of characteristics in
1 Corinthians 13:5a involves courtesy

It says that love “does not act unbecomingly …” (translated … “unseemly” in the King James Version). The original Greek text has, ouκ askhaemonei (ουκ ασχημονει). Love is not without skhaema (σχημα). The word means “form, fashion, or a manner that is proper”. Those who love in a biblical manner should not behave in a way that is inconsiderate of, or crude toward, others.

Our fallen nature turns all the godly characteristics around. Self-advancement becomes the greatest goal. There is a rule of law which Jesus said was most important, In Matthew 22 Jesus was asked: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” His answer in verses 37 – 40 was this, ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

The fallen heart sees God as a means for personal advancement. It sees others either as there to help them get ahead, or as markers showing whom they have surpassed. Pride displaces humble service. Building up self takes the place of encouraging others to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24).

The conservative Lutheran, Dr. Lenski comments on this verse saying, “When pride puffs up the heart, unseemly bearing and conduct naturally follow. Tactlessness forgets its own place and fails to accord to others their proper dues of respect, honor or consideration.”

True manners come from inner respect
and concern for persons, and is sincere.

True courtesy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit at work in the heart of a person who is redeemed by grace. A godly person is humble. He looks to avoid anything that would cause offense to others. He tries to learn good etiquette, not to show off or to impress others with himself, and certainly not to out-do others, but to show respect and honor to those around them in every situation and culture. He works hard to show courtesy and care toward everyone in every level of society. He honors those who have authority over him, even when he disagrees. He earns the respect of those over whom he has authority.

Love therefore tries to show good manners. It is polite to others. It approaches personal differences and immaturity in others with tact. Rudeness betrays the absence of godly love.

A humble and loving person who doesn’t know the detailed rules may look ignorant, but by his conduct he will not give the impression that he doesn’t respect others. Therefore he doesn’t offend in his social errors. At the most he lets himself appear foolish rather than crude.

Commenting on 1 Corinthians 13:5a, Matthew Henry said, “love is careful not to pass the bounds of decency.” It does nothing “indecorous, nothing that in the common account of men is base or vile”

Calvin commented that love “does not exult in a foolish ostentation, or does not bluster, but observes moderation and propriety.” He reminds us of the problems in Corinth that motivated the epistle our present text is taken from. There was division and pride in the church there. One group criticized the other. While they worked toward settling their differences, they needed this characteristic of love — to maintain decorum and courtesy.

One commentator directs us to the character of Paul. In the Apostle’s imprisonments and trials, he was respected even by the Romans who had authority over him. Besser writes, “Who taught this tentmaker such noble and beautiful manners, such perfect tact in all his bearing, that even the great in this world were compelled to respect him?”

Godly love is thoughtful of others
and remembers to show respect for them.

No one is better than another. No one ought to be treated with less honor than is due to any creature of God who was made to bear his image. No brother or sister in Christ should be treated with less honor than was shown by the love of the Savior who died for him or her on the painful cross.

We should make sure that our manners, our courtesy, is put into practice. We can do simple things by saying “please” or “thank you”, by sending thank you notes or get well cards, by young people remembering to show cheerful respect to adults, by holding doors for others, by passing food at tables, by yielding in conversations, by never engaging in gossip or ridicule, by not interrupting, by greeting visitors at church, by making sure others get their share, by not saving the best for self, and by many similar courtesies.

There is a group called Messies Anonymous. It has a newsletter in which its founder, Sandra Felton of Miami, printed her recommendations for getting control of your home. It’s just a list of mannerly behaviors showing consideration for others who live there or visit:

Rules of the House
If you open it, close it.
If you get it out, put it away.
If you sleep in it, make it up.
If you drink out of it, wash it up.
If you take it off, hang it up.
If you turn it on, turn it off.
If you drop it, pick it up.
If you clip it, file it.
If it hurts, comfort it.
If it cries, love it.

Christ-like behavior doesn’t cut ahead in line, doesn’t elbow into crowds, doesn’t fight over the last hamburger, or push to get the last item on the sale rack. It doesn’t nose ahead in traffic to avoid cars merging in from side roads.

It tries to know what people see as respect, and avoids offenses. Love does not act in an unseemly manner. It tries to always be polite.

Note: The verses in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.