All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way

"Freed From Barbed Wire"

Barry Newton recently reported how a woman “recounted how she had been walking along a fence line when she came upon a sheep hopelessly ensnared by barbed wire.  As she approached the pitiful creature and began assisting it, the ewe frantically thrashed, kicked and pulled in every direction.”

“The barbed wire held fast as she worked to release the snagged sheep.  Suddenly the violent movements of the sheep knocked her to the ground as the ewe lunged free to happily scamper off.”

“Watching that sheep joyfully run free, some thoughts entered her mind: ‘That sheep probably thinks it freed itself from the barbed wire.  In fact, it will probably still be skittish of me in the future.’”

Then Newton commented:  “As vivid as this story can be in our minds, what I found most insightful were her next thoughts.  WE can be just like that sheep!  At times we might think our strength resolved our problems in spite of God’s graciousness.  We too might scamper off ungrateful for what God has done.” *

Indeed, “we can be just like that sheep.”  As Isaiah the prophet stated: “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6a).  That way has led us to the “barbed-wire” bondage of sin and death (John 8:34; Romans 6:23), in which we are hopelessly trapped unless someone comes to our rescue.

But Isaiah also prophesied concerning God’s solution to our dilemma: “And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6b).  The “Him” is the Suffering Servant who would be the promised Messiah: Jesus, the Son of God.  This is what Jesus would do (and did!) to free us from the bondage of sin:  “Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Jesus accomplished this when He died on the cross for our sins.  “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

In order to receive the benefits of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we must place our faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).  Then, as we continue to walk in the light of His Word, the blood of Jesus will continue to cleanse us from sin (1 John 1:7).

Newton observed, “I suspect that the more accurately we realize the horrific nature of all sin and the more we acknowledge our complete dependence on God to set us free, the more likely we are to love and to be prepared to fall down before him in worship.”  We won’t “scamper off ungrateful for what God has done.”  Instead, we’ll gladly follow Jesus, ever-so-thankful for the price that He paid to free us from sin!

Won’t YOU allow Jesus to free you from the bondage of sin by trusting and obeying Him? 

David A. Sargent

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love”—Ephesians 1:4

Having answered the call of Jesus, “Come Unto Me”, By believing in him, repenting of our sins, confessing his name and being baptized into him, (Matt. 11:28, John 20:31, Lk. 13:3, Matt. 10:10, Mk. 16:16, Gal. 3:27)  we became part of the chosen generation (1 Peter 2:9) and as  part of that chosen people our lives must be lived in a manner that will be a song of praise to our Lord. “Sing the sweet story—redemption’s sweet song; Over and over the chorus prolong; Shout the glad message and join with the throng, Ever we’ll sing praise to the King, Singing redemption’s song” (T.S.T). The words of David from Psalms 34:1 should reside in our hearts: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth”. At all times, publicly, privately, when all is well, when adversity besets, when happy or sad, in success or in failure unceasing praise should be flowing from our hearts.

We have a lively hope within us because Jesus Christ lived, died and was buried but did not stay in that grave (1 Cor. 15:1-4). We have an inheritance that is so marvelous it defies human description (1 Pet. 1:3-4, John 14:1-3, 1 Cor. 2:9). Now, in view of all of this, Paul tells us that we should be holy.  How do you define the word “holy”? I think of it in terms of having a pure heart, being free from sinful affections because the heart is set on things above, having a heart that is regulated by divine precepts that set us apart to the service of God (Matt. 5:8, 2 Tim. 2:22, Matt. 6:19-21, Ps. 31:1, Prov. 3:5, 2 Tim. 1:12) . Being holy we walk in the name of the Lord our God each and every day of our lives (Micah 4:1-5). We mold our character in accord with his will for us as we strive to rise higher and higher so as to stand on a much higher plane that the world that besets us.

Holiness begins in our heart and then it erupts into our lives molding our thoughts and guiding us as we slowly but surely move toward the day of our departure from this earthly life (Psalms 48:14). We need to speak often with our Lord seeking his blessings. We never encounter a difficulty that is too great for the Lord to handle (1 Thess. 5:17, Phil. 4:6-7, 1 Pet. 5:7). We need to feed on his word because in those words we have eternal life (John 6:66, James 1:21, 1 Pet. 2:2, 2 Tim. 2:15, Heb. 5:11-14). Being nourished by his word we will let him be our guide every step of the way (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Pet. 1:3). We are weak, frail human beings but we serve a living God who is our strength, our defender, our shield and so long as we are holy, he will hear us when we call out to him and at his throne of grace we will find mercy and all the help we need (1 Pet. 3:12, Heb. 4:16).

There is an appealing beauty to a life of holiness, a life that is dedicated, disciplined and distinctive to and for God. The world desperately needs to see Christians who are holy!

Charles Hicks

Why the doctrine of hereditary total depravity is false

 

* Sin is a violation of one's conscience. "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin"(Romans 14:23). How is it possible for an infant to sin against his conscience when he has yet to have developed one?

* The Bible teaches that each individual himself is responsible for committing sin. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6a; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10).

* If each of us is born in a totally depraved condition, then why did the apostle Paul say that, "Evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13)? How can a person become more depraved than totally depraved?

* If each of us is born in a totally depraved condition, then how could Luke describe some as "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort" (cf. Acts

17:5 KJV)?  How it is possible to be "baser" than totally depraved?

* If the doctrine of hereditary total depravity is true, then how can any of us condemn sinful behavior of any kind? A man who rapes, murders, or steals could honestly say, "I just can't help it — it's my nature!"

If not, why not?

* If Ephesians 2:3 teaches that infants are born in a totally depraved condition, would that not then logically imply that babies who die in that condition are therefore lost since the text obviously describes them as "children of wrath?" Again, if not, why not?

Are our friends who endorse who endorse total hereditary depravity who endorse total hereditary depravity prepared for the consequences of their dogma?

So since we are not born in sin as Calvinism falsely asserts, exactly what did Paul mean when he said that the Ephesians were by "nature children of wrath"?

The Greek word for nature, "phusis," in this context refers to something that is habitual and gradually developed over time. Think of an action, for example-like typing, that a person performs repetitively until it becomes, as we sometimes say, "second nature."

Therefore, when the apostle taught that the Ephesians had been "by nature children of wrath," he was saying that prior to their conversion they had willfully yielded to sin until it had become an established custom or practice (cf. Romans 2:14; Galatians 4:8) in their lives (Colossians 3:6-7).

Illicit thinking had become rooted and ingrained within their hearts:

* They had "walked" (e.g., lived) "according to the

  course of [the] world" v. 2a

* They had "followed the prince of the power of the

  air" (e.g., the devil).  v. 2b

* They had "conducted [themselves] in the lusts of

  [their] flesh" v. 3a

* They had "fulfilled the desires of [their] flesh and

  mind" v. 3b

By emulating Satan and systematically adopting his carnal mindset, the Ephesians lived as his children (cf. John 8:44) and therefore deserved the wrath of God (Romans 1:18; 2:5).

Neither Ephesians 2:3, nor any other passage in Scripture, teaches that people are born in sin. They are born with the capacity to commit sin, but they in no way inherit a sinful nature from Adam.

--by Mike Benson