Grace in James, John, & Jude

Ever wonder if you're really saved. Stay tuned. Renewing Your Mind is next. Many questions asked the question. After all, we sin every day. Sometimes we feel like we sin way too much and wonder if God will abandon today on Renewing Your Mind, Dr. Steven Morrison want to see the books of James John in June to explore what we call the doctrines of grace.

Together we will see that Jesus not only saves us he preserves us no matter what.

In this session. Our focus will be on the doctrines of grace, as recorded by three authors in the New Testament, James, John, and Jude Phyllis talk about James first James was the half-brother of Jesus. Probably the older half brother. He was the leader of the church in Jerusalem during the book of acts, and in fact was the one who headed up the Jerusalem Council in acts chapter 15 and Peter referred to James and Galatians 2 as a pillar in the church so this is a very substantial man who was well grounded in the truth and was used by God in a leadership position in the early church in James chapter 1 and verses 17 and 18. I want us to focus on this text. First, we read every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow and we would ask specifically what are these good things that have come down from God above what is this perfect gift, and the reference is to salvation, and in the next verse he will define and describe for us how this salvation comes to be our experience and it speaks to the doctrine of regeneration. It speaks to sovereign regeneration monitor just stick regeneration and monitor just take regeneration. There is only one agent synergistic would mean their two agents God and man working together but with the minor. Just take regeneration. It means there is only mono one active agent who brings about the new birth, which is to say we are passive and God alone is active and so in verse 18 we read in the exercise of his will, he brought us forth. And please note what it does not say does not say an exercise of our wills as though it takes to for this to come to pass and that either God or man has power of veto to cancel out the other one that's not what this says this clearly says in the exercise of his will is singular sovereign will he not we he brought us forth by the word of truth in this verb, to bring us forth means to bring about the birth of to to beget. It is God and God alone who, by the exercise of his will upon our spiritually dead condition. He birthed us, brought us forth by the word of truth, and again here we see how indispensable the word of God is in the salvation of any law center that Romans 10 verse 17. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. First Peter one verse 23 says we have been born again of an incorruptible seed and so it is always the word of God. That has to be sewn into the heart of the person who is to be born again, and God must cultivate the soil break up the hardened soil and then God sovereignly causes the burst of the seed, the generation of the seed to bring forth life God germinates that seed and so that is the imagery in the picture here so we read it again in the exercise of his will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, and nothing could be more clear is not a joint venture in the new birth between God and us. It is a singular work of grace. And here's the result so that we would be a kind of firstfruits among his creatures.

So this text is a strong statement for sovereign regeneration now in James chapter 2 and verse five.

Standing behind the doctrine of regeneration. We would trace it all the way back to eternity past to the doctrine of election and it's those whom God has chosen are those who, by the exercise of his will, he brings forth in the new birth, but in James chapter 2 and verse five we read this lesson, my beloved brother.

That's a very emphatic way. Do you need to pay attention to that. You need to listen up. This is important so is like saying, truly, truly, I say and do you listen, my beloved brethren did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him. What this says is that God has chosen to be his elect mini mini who are poor in this world. He has chosen them to be rich in faith.

We've already studied this truth, we look at first Corinthians 1 verses 26 to 28. Not many mighty, not many noble God's chosen the base things of the world to confound the wise and the wicked.

Here's this very same truth reiterated and what should be so encouraging to us here is that the poor are those who are rejected by the world, the poor are those who appear to have no value to the world, the poor are left to go their own way.

Those who are rejected by the world are the very ones whom God has chosen for his own and what an encouragement that must've been to the poor and because as they come into church. There used to always being in the shadows in the corners on the back pew, etc. and we read here in this early church about the sin of partiality.

How when the rich man comes to church. They parade him all the way down to the front and and put him on the front pew as if to show him off and try to draw him in. Certainly with ulterior motives in order to receive the giving from him, and it builds the status of the church and so the poor were left in the back of the building and of course no church should operate this way. And so in order to rebuke the proud who were doing that in the church in order to encourage the poor James reminds them of how God operates that those whom the world highly esteems are most often the ones that God is passed over in those whom the world despises those whom the world takes no notice of so often these are the very ones that God has sovereignly chosen from before the foundation of the world to be his own people, and they become trophies of grace says that the greatness of their lives lies not in their bank account. It lies not in their place in society, but instead it lies in their God how God has chosen them and redeem them in and has chosen to use them in this world to confound the wise and the wicked. This is how God operates and so in James two verse five.

This is a very practical verse by which James reminds us that God's choice is often so opposite our choice will come with me. The book of first John first John is one of my favorite books in the Bible. I'm sure you have a great affinity and affection for the book of first John, I want to begin with.

First John five verse one, which makes a very strong statement about the relationship between faith and regeneration and regeneration and faith. So we read in first John five verse one whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.

Nausea stop there. Everyone who is born of God believes in Jesus Christ. And no one believes in Jesus Christ who is not born of God.

Now the two verbs here believes and born are in two different verb tenses and is worth the noting believes is in the present tense speaks of a habitual action and this is good news because it indicates that the one who believes will always believe he he will or she will always be believing it in the present tense. It speaks of the pattern and the direction and the habitual practice of this person, this believer will always be believing is what we draw from this verb tense. The word born one who is born of God is in a different verb tense and we would expect that because no one is being continually being born every mother can give thanks that that birthing process does not take place during the entire duration of her life that it is an isolated moment in time and born is not in the present tense. Here's used in the perfect tense in the perfect tense just to remind you, is an action that occurred in the past with a continuing result.

The birthing took place in the past and there is an ongoing result from that birth and what this is saying is that the one who is born again has been born from above. At a point in time in the past and you can look at a drivers license and say your birthday is just one day okay is not an entire year. It took place at a point time in the past and the ongoing result is that you're a believer you believe on an ongoing basis not to be even more precise, we would ask the question which comes first. Does someone believe and then there born again or are they born again and then they believe the average evangelical would say it's the former that first you believe, and then your born-again but according to the technical precision in this text.

Notice the other way around, which is a reformed view of theology which is a biblical view of theology that first you are born again and then you believe we can put it this way, the new birth precedes faith in the new birth produces faith and yet even at that it all takes place in a moment in time. It takes place simultaneously and they are not people who are born again we were walking around who are not believers. It all happens at the same time. Yet there nevertheless is a cause and effect and the causes the new birth. The effect is that you're a believer and the faith that the new birth produces is a faith that will always continue to believe on an ongoing basis.

Hence, the present tense, and what we need to know is this faith at times make her a week at other times it may be extremely strong, but it will never come to an end, it will never be such that it is no longer faith. So the new birth is that which produces this belief in Jesus Christ. Now come back to first John two and verses one and 201 address two verses here that are often saying to contradict definite atonement beginning in verse one my little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, and of course even as believers, we still continue to sin right if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he himself is the propitiation which means the satisfaction of the righteous anger of God the appeasement of the wrath of God upon us in our sin, he himself is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins. Only but also for those of the whole world and initial reading of this might seem to indicate that Jesus died for every person in the history of the world, but a couple things we need understand number one the word world because Moss issues, 10 different ways in the writings of John. Sometimes it refers to the universe. Sometimes it refers to the planet Earth and sometimes it refers to the human race. Sometimes it refers to a large group of people. The whole world went after him. Sometimes it refers to Jews and Greeks meaning, including both categories. Sometimes it refers to the elect. Sometimes refers to the non-elect sometimes refers to nonbelievers.

Sometimes it refers to the evil world system that is anti-God antichrist anti-truth so you can never go into any one passage and automatically say aha see it says world, therefore, that automatically means every person in every generation. On every continent, from the beginning of time, and as we come to this. First of all, we know that the whole world. John does not use the whole world to refer to every single person in the book of first John Numa show you this at the end of first John and first John five in verse 19 the whole world refers to only believers and it has nothing to do with believers. So it only refers to a part of the entire human race in first John five verse 19 we read we know that we are of God and at the whole world lies in the power of the evil one that's not true believers. That's only true unbelievers, and even within the book of first John we see that whole world doesn't always mean what automatically comes to your mind when you first hear whole world, and in this case I think that the best interpretation is is that it refers to both Jews and Gentiles, that previous to this, the gospel first came to the Jews, and only in acts chapter 13 did it proceed from the Jew to Gentiles and even as Paul writes the epistle of Romans. He says to the Jew first and also to the Greek. I think that that's what's going on here. Now this was the only verse in the entire Bible, then we would give pause for further thought about this but because the rest of the Bible clearly states that he purchased the church with his own blood he lay down his life for the sheep.

When we take the whole of Scripture into account in what is known as the analogy of faith. The loggia Scripture.

I think that this simply refers to the realms of Jews and Gentiles, that Christ died not only for the elect among Jews, but he also died for the elect. Among all of the Gentile nations as well will have more to say about that here shortly. Now, throughout this book there is an emphasis upon being born of God and what a work of grace.

The new birth is in first John two in verse 29 we read, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of God. So you you will know them by their fruit and those who practice righteousness, not perfectly, but progressively this is because the perfection of their life is speaks of the direction of their life. They will be practicing righteousness. That's the one who is born of God and then at first John three verse five he says you know that he referred to Jesus appeared in order to take away sins is what Jesus did at the cross. He took away sins. Neither he did or he didn't entity took away the sins of what we would say the whole world that I promise you the whole world is saved but the reality is, is he took away the sins of everyone for whom he died, and the language here speaks very definitely that those sins have been removed and I believe that the straightforwardness of the language clearly argues for a definite atonement. This cannot be said of universal atonement without embracing universal is him and in verse eight it says that Jesus appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Either he did or he did not and destroy the works of the devil means that he broke the stranglehold that the devil had upon certain unbelievers to release them from the realm of darkness in his kingdom again. The language here would only make sense with a definite particular atonement in verse nine he says no one who is born of God practices sin is a very strong statement. Is it not will come to the book of Jude and will wrap this up by looking at the book of Jude. There's many more verses. I would love to delve into with you in first John and on your way there I just stop at second John on your way to Jude and second John verse one the elder to the chosen lady as some people try to Alick arise that are spiritualized that is being a picture of the church. The broader cry. She's a chosen lady.

No, I think this is actually a lady.

This is this is actually a real person, not an institution, and John simply identifies her as the chosen lady and verse 13 the children of your chosen sister preaching Jesus sister. She's a lady.

She is chosen by God. Now to the book of Jude Jude chapter 1 to those who are the called, beloved in God the father and kept for Jesus Christ. Once again in the very first verse of the book of Jude.

There it is, sovereign grace, doctors of grace effectual calling and you see what a commonplace understanding. There was in the first century of the purity of sound doctrine and all who are called according to this verse are kept for the Lord Jesus Christ. None are lost none who are called fall away every single one, who are called are kept. That's good news, and then finally at the end of this letter in verses 24 and 25 of this closing doxology. One of my favorite doxologies in the entire Bible we read now to him and never refers to God the father who is able to keep you from stumbling into make you stand in the presence of his glory blameless with great joy to the only God our Savior.

That's God the father through Jesus Christ. Jesus is distinct from God, and distinct from him.

In verse 24 Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and majesty, dominion, authority, before all time now and forever. Amen we read very clearly here. He's able to keep you from stumbling. You'll never fall away from grace. Not because it knew, but because of him and he is able to make you stand that's a strong stance.

In other words, he's pouring concrete into our faith and pouring concrete into our feet and he makes us stand and one day we will stand in the presence of his glory in heaven.

If this is the only verse in the entire Bible that we had on the eternal security of the believer.

This would be enough for it to be a slamdunk case, but we have hundreds of other verses. It's an overwhelming case and so the doctrines of grace run all the way through these last epistles in the New Testament, even through James in first and second and third John now here in June. What we see is that these truths are taught throughout the whole Bible. And they are taught throughout the whole test and that will leave us with only one more book to go the book of Revelation Christ Jesus makes us able to stand with the glorious truth the doctrines of grace remind us that salvation is from start to finish.

Rooted in God's eternal and unchanging plan of salvation we been looking at these doctrines of God's gracious work in salvation.

Every Saturday here on Renewing Your Mind, looking her teaching fellow Dr. Steven Lawson is been showing us how these glorious doctrines of God's grace are woven throughout the pages of Scripture and they provide us with great encouragement. That's why we like to offer Dr. Lawson's entire series is titled foundations of grace.

New Testament for your gift of any amount will be glad to sit at your way. You can call us at 800-435-4343 but you can also make your request online at Renewing Your Mind.work will be apostle John wrote the book of Revelation in exile on the island of Patmos. What does this mysterious book have to teach us about God's gracious work and salvation. We hope you'll join us next Saturday as we complete Dr. Lawson's series on the doctrines of grace in the New Testament