What key events led up to Biblical Authority being challenged and compromised in the modern era?

While the Reformation was gaining strength, so was the Enlightenment. The Reformers sought liberty from sin in Christ, while those enraptured by the Enlightenment sought liberty to sin by denying sin itself. The atheistic ideals began to charge ahead, but they were unable to gain much ground because Biblical Authority was held so strongly. The great creation scientists who came out of the Reformation held to a Biblical worldview for understanding the natural world, yet those with evolutionary ideas began to push back against a Biblical worldview. It was their direct intent to discredit the book of Genesis, especially the early chapters.

It was clear that attacking Genesis would demolish the foundations of Christianity. If God is no longer Creator and Genesis is but a fairy tale, then God as Redeemer is both absurd and unsubstantiated. Secular geologists like Lyell and Hutton hated the Scripture and began to press eons of time into the Earth's Geologic Record with great veracity. Evolution in the sense of goo-to-you now had the hypothetical time by which to occur.

These atheistic ideas spread like wildfire, and naturalistic philosophies of life now had an alleged leg to stand on. The Church was afraid of scorn and ridicule in light of the Galileo incident (which never disproved the Scripture in anyway ironically), and so the Church quickly compromised in attempt to preserve her reputation amongst the secular elite. The Day-Age Theory, Gap Theory, Theistic Evolution, and a Local Flood quickly sprang up as quick band-aids to these gaping wounds. The naturalists quickly exposed the holes in these arguments, and the Church began to question Biblical Authority on a broader scale until the Resurrection was denied and everything else with it.

When Biblical Authority was Compromised in Roman Catholicism and How it was Regained thru the Reformation

When did the Church compromise Biblical Authority in an unprecedented way before the Reformation?

• When the Roman Empire collapsed, the Roman Catholic Church rose in power, but, horrifically, it began to leave Biblical authority and various human philosophies and Church traditions took over as authoritative. Eventually, Scripture was no longer considered the supreme authority, so various unBiblical teachings crept in and questioned justification by faith alone. The Roman Catholic Church even taught that people could buy salvation, which is clearly blasphemous, for justification by faith alone is declared unequivocally in the Scriptures. Paul specifically singles out Abraham to prove this point in Romans 4. Ultimately, true worship diminished because men began to boast in their own works apart from God's grace. In the process, joy and peace fled Europe and an era of Roman Catholic Tyranny prevailed instead.

How did the Church reassert Biblical Authority during the Reformation?

• Through much sacrifice and even martyrdom when necessary, Biblical Authority was reclaimed during the Reformation because men like Wycliffe, Huss, Tyndale, Zwingli, Luther, and Calvin refused to yield to anything except the Scriptures alone. In doing so, they reclaimed the truth of the gospel: Salvation comes by grace through faith alone so that no man should boast (Eph 2:8-10)! Amen!

How did asserting Biblical Authority affect the world during and after the Reformation?

• When Biblical Authority was reasserted, God's Sovereign grace was preached everywhere, and an unprecedented evangelism explosion occurred! Amen! In his timeless hymn, Martin Luther penned, "A Mighty Fortress is our God!" What started in a few monasteries enveloped 
Europe and quickly spread throughout the world. There was no hope in a system of works-based self-righteousness because all fall short of God's glory (Rom 3:23), but the hope of the gospel of grace shines brilliantly to even the most destitute and vile of sinners when it is based on the righteousness of Christ. Worship once again rose from Europe and then to the uttermost as the Good News of Jesus Christ raced to the four corners of the world! Glory to God in the Highest! Amen!

ESL/Northchase English Bible Study 4-28-09

All went well tonight. The Lord continues to bless this outreach, and we are on our knees in prayer asking him to change the hearts of these people. We had between 30-35 people again for the ESL. We went through directions and transportation tonight, and, after we broke down into smaller groups, we conducted the market again.

We had 3-4 people stay for the Bible Study, and it was incredible. The Lord blessed immensely, and one lady from Nepal seemed to truly be understanding what we were teaching about Christ. By God's grace, we were able to communicate the gospel clearly, simply, and accurately through both handouts and pictorially through drawings. To give the gospel to someone who had never heard the true gospel before and to see her eyes open up wide was incredible. She just lit up when we spoke of Jesus being able to clean our hearts, and she asked us if He really did raise from the dead as we had said! Oh God, open the eyes of this woman's heart and the hearts of her people. We worship you O King of kings and Lord of lords! Amen!


I have also attached some some exterior photos of the building along with some snapshots of the surrounding area near it. As you can see, this facility is in desperate need of repair, especially the electrical work and the flooding of the main room we use. The only way we can bring lit pictures to you is through the flash on the camera; otherwise it is dark, except for lights from some lamps and whatever we get from the sun. May the Lord provide for these needs as He prompts people to use their gifts in this Life-changing ministry.

Broken Left Side Rail

The 'Pit': Abandoned Pool

Broken Glass With Cardboard Fillers

Recent Damage Near 'Pit' From Fallen Tree

To Him be the glory forever! Bow down and fall at His feet in worship! Wretches we were; now children of God we are! Blessed is our King who saved His beloved sheep by His grace! Amen!

How does someone come to accept Biblical Authority?

The underlying question here is ultimately, "How does someone become a Christian?"  This is tied in with irresistible grace .  Unless the Holy Spirit radically transforms the heart (John 3:6-8), a man will never believe the gospel and therefore accept it as the absolute authority in his life.  For this reason, our evangelistic approach must always be one that asserts the authority of the Bible, for this is the means by which the elect will come to know God (Rom 10-14-15). 

We reason through the text, but we do not try to prove its validity based on terms set by the non-believer.  One who presupposes a world without God is only going to be convinced that He exists through a radical work of the Spirit through the preached Word and not through evidences about God.  These evidences have their place, but they must be used in the way they were intended. There is a difference; take special notice of what Paul is doing here in Acts 17 and look at the reaction of the people listening.  We will look at his handling of the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles first.

¹Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ²And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ." ⁴And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.  ⁵But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. ⁶When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have upset the world have come here also; ⁷and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus." ⁸They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. ⁹And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them. Acts 17:1-9

Paul reasoned with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles through the Scriptures, and He did so with them at a deeper level because of the knowledge they already had of the Scriptures.  Nonetheless, he did not appeal to human philosophic reasoning but to Revealed Scripture.  There were those who believed and then those who did not, but their belief did not come from Paul trying to use human philosophic reasoning.

Likewise, Paul does the same thing with the Gentiles on Mars Hill.

²²So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. ²³"For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD ' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; ²⁵nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; ²⁶ and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.' ²⁹"Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. ³⁰"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.  ³¹because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." ³²Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." ³³So Paul went out of their midst. ³⁴But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. Acts 17:22-34

Though his audience is probably all Pagan Gentiles here, Paul still uses the Scriptures to make his case, for he is constantly alluding to who God is and our need to repent, and He does so on the basis of Revealed Scripture.  The difference in approach is the depth at which he goes.  He does not water down the gospel; rather, he explains it a clear level by meeting them where they are at in regard to their knowledge of the One True God, which is discovered through the Scriptures.  

Therefore, presupposing the authority of the Scripture is the right way to evangelize and disciple.  Extra biblical evidences show how the Bible corresponds to reality perfectly, yet is the Holy Spirit working through the Preached Scripture that will ultimately cause someone to be born again, thus enabling them to repent and believe in Christ for salvation.  It is then that they will see how it is the Scripture alone that makes sense of all these evidences.  This is why our theology of conversion is important; because we believe that conversion is an act of grace and cannot be conjured up by the will of man, then we must appeal to God's ordained means in order to achieve His ordained ends.  His means is through preaching the Scriptures while presupposing Biblical Authority, and this achieves His ends, which is the electing those whom He chooses unto salvation. This is clear in Acts 13:48,  "⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed."

To Him be the glory! Amen!

Northchase Visitation

Yesterday, Paul and I did some visitation with folks from Nepal as well as with some Latinos.  It was an incredible blessing to us.  There is an interest for a Church plant with the Latinos, and this would give them a Church to go to within walking distance.  The Nepali people have some great needs, and we hope to be getting a list from them on Tuesday regarding furniture needs; when we get that, we can hopefully distribute some basic furniture to them like beds, sofas, tables, etc.  Let us also pray for their safety, for this is a rough neighborhood with gangs, drugs, etc.  At the same time, may we lift up our Holy God who reigns in the Heavens! He who is King of Kings and Lord of lords! May His Name be glorified! Amen!  

What happened when Biblical Authority was first rejected?

We continue in Genesis 3.  Adam and Eve were faced with a decision, and they bombed out big time.  Instead of bowing before a Holy God and keeping the One Commandment they were given, they rebelled instead.  They believed the lie pitched by Satan that God was a big ogre who was not looking out for their best interest.  In reality, God gave them that command to protect them and to protect their glorious innocence.  

Man wanted the glory, but he could not handle the immense burden required to uphold the world around him, so it was sinfully wicked for him to try and steal the glory that he did not deserve.  That would be like me taking credit for the Mona Lisa; not only is it absurd, but it is also deceitful because I did not paint this renowned portrait. With God, the bar is raised far higher and the stakes are much greater.  God does not and will never give His glory to another! Amen!  

"I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images." (Is 42:8) "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another." (Is 48:11)

Therefore, man was chastised severely because he rebelled against a Good Just Glorious and Holy God who would not allow wickedness to prevail; otherwise, God would be just as wicked if he had not judged Adam and Eve.  Man would die, and he brought death (Rom 5:12-14) upon all of his offspring; he died spiritually and would die physically.  The ground was cursed, man would have to toil in his labor, and the woman would have go through great pain in childbirth (Gen 3:16-19).  In Romans 8:18-23, Paul writes at length describing how all of creation is bound under the gravity of sin that God put it under because of Adam's rebellion.  One cannot imagine a world where animals did not eat other, where cancer did not exist, and where violence did not reign among men, yet that is how it was before the Fall: a pristine world.

In his Commentary on Genesis, the great Reformed pastor and theologian John Calvin had some insightful comments on the devastation wrought by man's sin upon himself and all of creation. 

Calvin wrote, "After God had briefly spoken of Adam's sin, he announced that the ground would be cursed because of him.  Now, as the blessing of the earth means, in the language of the Scripture, that fertility that God infuses by his secret power, so the curse is nothing other than the opposite privation, when God withdraws his favor. ... The earth would not be as it had been before, producing perfect fruits, for God declared that the earth would degenerate from its fertility and bring forth briers and noxious plants. Therefore we know that whatever unwholesome things may be produced are not natural fruits of the earth but are corruptions that are the result of sin. ...  Truly, God pronounced, as from his judgment-seat, that man's life would from now on be miserable, because Adam had proved himself unworthy of that tranquil, happy, and joyful state for which he had been created," (Calvin, Genesis Commentary, of verses 3:17-19), p49).

In a similar vein, two hundred years later, John Wesley wrote, "… none of these [animals] then attempted to devour, or in anyway hurt one another. All were peaceful and quiet, as were the water fields wherein they ranged at pleasure … there were no birds or beasts of prey; none that destroyed or molested one another; but all creatures breathed, in their several kinds, the benevolence of their great Creator," (In Jonathan Sarfati's book  Refuting Compromise p 206, quoting John Wesley's Sermon "God's Approbation of His Work").  As an added note, in the full context of what Wesley was saying, he did not deny that birds of prey existed; rather, he was alluding to the fact they were not acting as predators to other creatures before the Fall.

Such words and commentary are devastating to listen to, yet just before that in Genesis 3:15, the glory of His grace shines through all the more! One would come from the seed of the woman and crush the head of the Serpent! He who is King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16)! Amen!

Romans 4:1-8 Abraham Justified By Faith

Abraham Justified by Faith not by Works (4:1-3)

• After declaring that none are justified through the works of the Law, Paul immediately addresses the anticipated question about Abraham. These people did descend from Abraham, and they believed He was justified before God, yet he came before the Law, so how was he justified? (4:1)
  
• Paul continues by focusing in on a key concept: boasting.  At the center of this is the glory of God, and Paul makes it clear that Abraham cannot and did not boast before God based on works of the flesh.  One should also note that Paul does not appeal to philosophic reasoning to make his case; rather, he quotes the Scriptures to make His point.  Man’s ideas are fallible, but the Scriptures are not. (4:2)
  
• Genesis 15:6 explicitly states that faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.  Abraham was justified by faith and not by works.  Abraham was a sinful man, and knew that He could not justify himself apart from God.  He worshipped and placed all of his faith in the One True Holy God who reigns over all things! Amen! (4:3)
  

Due Wages for Works Vs. Favor by Faith in God (4:4-5)

• Paul makes a logical conclusion about works here. If someone is working for something, their reward is not by grace but is entitled to them.  If a man works at any paid job, then he has the right go before for his boss and demand wages for what was agreed upon beforehand.  However, no man born into sin can ever demand such a reward from God, for all men have miserably fallen short of God’s demands for right living and thus his glory (Rom 3:23).  Only Christ was able to do that, for He accomplished what the first Adam could not.  (4:4)
  
• On the contrary, those who who put their faith in Christ and what He accomplished on the Cross, their faith is credited as righteousness.  We cannot be justified by our works, because our best works done in the flesh are as filthy rags (Is 64:6) before a Holy and Just Judge! Amen! (4:5)
  

King David: Blessings on Those Justified by Faith (4:6-8)

• Not only does Paul appeal to Abraham, but He also magnified his point by quoting King David.  David was a sinful man, and his sin has been laid bare for all the world to see, and he knew that he would never be justified by his good deeds! (4:6)
  
• David writes in Ps 32:1-2 that it is blessed to have sins forgiven, and it is only the Lord who can forgive sins. Because only God can forgive sins, man sits in horror because he cannot save himself. Sinful man stands before a Righteous Judge without hope if God does not show grace. This passage magnifies the greatness of God’s Grace and man’s necessity to depend on God through faith in Christ. (4:7-8)
  
• David was not merely writing some nice words for an new song; rather, He was pointing to the Christ, by whom none can be saved without faith in Him. This ought to drive us to our knees as we acknowledge our total dependence on God for all things: from election to justification to sanctification to glorification (Rom 8:28-30)!  We thirst and hunger for righteousness in our quest to be like Christ; we desire to worship our Triune God all the more; something we cannot do apart from Christ! Amen!
  

Last Home Bible Study for a while

Because we have been so busy in other ministries, we have decided as a family to hold off on our home Bible study for a while.  Because I work Thurs-Mon from 2:30-11:00, my only days off in the evenings are going to be Tuesday and Wednesday for several months if not more.  

Tuesday is jam-packed with the booming ESL ministry at Northchase, so I have become consumed with that to say the least, not to mention having resumed ICR (Institute for Creation Research) Online Graduate School classes.  Between my new job, more school, and the Northchase Apartment ministry (visitations soon to begin), I have decided to make Wednesday my Sabbath for now to rest and focus on family matters.  

However, we will still be doing the Romans Bible study regularly as a family (mostly when our small children are asleep), and I will continue posting my notes for each section as we study Romans.

ESL/Bible Study Northchase Apartments 4-21-09

The Lord blessed tremendously tonight as we had 43 people show up for the ESL and 12 for the Bible Study.  This was the 6th week, and we continue to become more organized each week.  We offered refreshments for the first time today, which went great.  Hopefully, that helped to give them something to eat, so they could be more focused on the class rather than being consumed with hunger and thirst.  The same people are consistently coming, and we continue to add new folks as well, yet I am still praying about when to start the intermediate ESL class. The mock market continues to go well each week, and we introduced clothing this week, of which Sally brought in a whole slew of items for that.  We always break the large group into seven or eight smaller groups for more focused study, so that went well also.  Lutfi was back, so we decided to give him a pass for being out :)  Chris came out tonight as well, and we are always appreciative of any help we can get.

We had both a strong Latino and Nepali turnout, and we were thrilled that a good number of folks stayed for the Bible Study, which I decided to teach in English.  They want to know English, and doing the Bible Study in English seems to help attendance.  I am still working on my ability to communicate the gospel to them in a clear yet simple manner as we go through the book of Romans, so I appreciate prayers for that especially; it was evident tonight that I have a long way to go on that.  We did pass out several more New Testaments in English & Spanish, and we even passed out several copies of Romans in Nepali (hats of to Roberto for that).

When was Biblical Authority first Questioned?

In Genesis 3, Satan blatantly questioned the authority of God's Word by asking whether or not God said that death would come through eating the forbidden fruit.  He then raised the bar by deliberately denying the consequence of death for eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Satan not only denied the Word of God, but He also made the assertion that God was intentionally withholding knowledge from them to keep them from threatening His Sovereignty. The Devil flat out lied!

Satan knew that questioning the Word of God would be central in his effort to convince man to rebel against God.  If he could get man to question the Word of God as authoritative, then he knew man would be one step away from compromise and ultimate rebellion.  Truly, if God's Word is not authoritative, then it is certainly not sufficient either.  Why would anyone submit to the commandments of something that they do not believe is authoritative? They wouldn't; it's just that simple. 

Nevertheless, even in the midst of tremendous pressure and temptation, Adam and Eve still had the free choice of either obedience or rebellion, and God had already made it clear that disobedience would result in death.  What would they do: worship the creation or the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen? (Rom 1:25)

What is Biblical Authority & Why is it Important?

What is Biblical Authority?

• Biblical Authority is when we use the Bible as our foundational source by which to understand all of reality.  Though the Bible may not go in detail in various areas of study, it does give us a framework or 'lens' by which to interpret the world around us.  The Bible was written to reveal knowledge of God and of man (John Calvin), so its emphasis is on matters of worship, salvation, etc.  For this reason, it does not go into great detail in the hard sciences like geology. However, where it does speak of geologic events, like the Genesis Flood, it is absolutely accurate and therefore gives us a basic lens by which to understand aspects of earth's geologic history.

Why is Biblical Authority so important?

• Psalm 11:3 (ESV) states, "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" If we fail to assert Biblical Authority, then we fail in our ability to communicate the truth of the gospel because the gospel is based on real historical events.  Essentially, if the Bible is not authoritative in its historical accuracy, then it inevitably falls apart.  For example, in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul argues at length for the criticality of the Resurrection because Christianity hinges on the historical fact of Christ's bodily resurrection.  To deny the historical event of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ would therefore also deny Christ's victory over death. The enemies of the faith know this, which is why they attack the historicity of the Bible so much.

Perseverance of the Saints

"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory." (Eph 2:13-14). Those who are in Christ cannot lose their salvation as this text is very clear to point out. Another well known passage is in John 10:28-29 where Christ declares that none can snatch us out of His hand nor the Father's hand. This is not because of our work but because of what God has done through Christ, for we did not choose Him but He chose us, that is His sheep.

In light of these marvelous passages, some have hijacked and distorted this great doctrine. This does not mean that someone can make a flippant confession of faith and then totally dismiss the commands of Christ. Truly, a changed born-again heart will be made evident by a transformed life. Those who have the Spirit of God indwelling them will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). Some will bear more fruit than others (Matt 13:23), but all believers will bear fruit. Not only will His sheep bear fruit, but they also despise their sin. Christ came to set men free from the power of sin and death (Rom 6), and He is not merely Hell insurance. He came to empower men to do what they were created to do, and that is to worship God in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24). When that is understood rightly, then any notions of flippant confessions without true heart change are thrown out the window! Amen!

To know that we are sealed by the Spirit and empowered by Him to live a godly life is without doubt one of the greatest assurances a believer can ever have. Oh what grace God has shown to His Elect! "Unworthy! Unworthy!" we cry out. God was not obligated to bestow such blessings upon anyone, yet by His grace He has poured out such unending grace to mere men. We are so vile compared to Him, yet we who believe in Christ, "He who was delivered over because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification," (Rom 4:25) are set free from this bondage to sin and death! Amen!

Irresistible Grace

What do we mean by irresistible grace?  This needs to be qualified.  Men reject the grace of God all the time.  Those who are set on the flesh are hostile to God, and such men are not even able to submit to the Law of God (Rom 8:5-8), so it is very clear that men do resist God's grace.  One must remember that men reject the grace of God because they are blind to the gospel and are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1).  Men inherently desire sin and are not seeking after God (Rom 3:11).  For this reason, God must intervene; otherwise, men will never seek God, much less be saved.

In the context of speaking to His disciples, Christ is explicit in that they did not choose Him, but rather He chose them, and He did so in order that they would bear fruit for God; even more so, He made this statement after Judas left to betray Him, so Judas is not considered among the chosen sheep of God (Jn 15:16).  Remember, Satan entered Judas (Lk 22:3), and Satan desired to sift Peter like wheat, yet Jesus prayed for Peter (Lk 22:31). Jesus prayed for Peter because he was His sheep and not because there was something better about Peter than Judas. If this does not speak of God's Sovereignty in Election, then one is totally denying the plain teaching of Christ here.  Therefore, we can say dogmatically that God chooses, and none resist His will (Rom 9:19). 

When the eyes of men are opened to believe the gospel, this is not done through kicking and screaming.  May it never be! Amen!  On the contrary, when a man is born of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit gives the man power to repent and put his faith in Christ because such a man, for the first time, now possesses both the desire and will to repent (Jn 3:3-8).  The man whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit is confronted with an incredible conviction of sin as he sees clearly, for the first time, just how wretched of a man he is against the infinite backdrop of God's Perfect Holiness.  This grace is then irresistible because the man now no longer attempts to justify himself based on his own vile self-righteousness (Is 64:6). Rather, he weeps at His sin and flees to Christ.  The Apostle Paul is a vivid illustration of this in Act 9:1-19. Paul went from an incessant desire to kill Christians to fleeing to Christ for salvation!  The Spirit made Paul born anew by the will of God, and the same thing happens to each of God's sheep, though not necessarily in the same fashion as Paul (i.e. a visible bright light and such).  

Let us be thankful for such irresistible grace when our eyes were opened by the Spirit of God.  When a man's eyes are opened to the light of the gospel, he is never the same again; he is changed forever as he now despises his sin and hungers and thirsts for righteousness (Matt 5:6).  To Him be the glory forever! Amen!

Bible Study: Romans 3:27-31

Romans 3:27-31 Boasting In God Alone: The Law of Faith

Vanity of Boasting in Works (3:27-28)

• Paul anticipates the question about boasting in good works and assertively rejects any such misconceptions about the gospel. (3:27a)
  
• Boasting is excluded because it is not by a law of works that a man is saved but only by the law of faith in Jesus Christ. In this way, God is made the both the Just and the Justifier to His glory and not to man (3:27b).
  
• Paul maintains that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law because all have fallen short of the glory of God. (3:28)
  

One God Who Justifies both Jews & Gentiles by Faith (3:29-30)

• In order to quell any ideas about there being two different gods who govern Jews and Gentiles or even One God who operates differently between the two, Paul brings up an important anticipated question regarding the this reality. (3:29a)
  
• Paul then dogmatically states that the One True God is the God of both Jews and Gentiles. (3:29b)
  
• Not only is there One God over all, but He justifies both by faith--(the different prepositions here do not connote a difference in how they are justified, by vs through; rather, it is just another way of saying the same thing--William MacDonald Believer’s Bible Commentary, 1995, p1691).  Both are just as sinful as the other and stand condemned without Christ. (3:30)
  

Law Established Through Faith (3:31)

• Paul now brings up the anticipated question about the value of the Law.  Some would try to charge the gospel as nullifying the Law if it is all of faith. (3:31a)
  
• Paul emphatically declares that by faith the Law is established. The purpose of the Law was to magnify man’s sin against the backdrop of God’s Holiness. (3:31b) This then immediately leads man to the need for salvation outside of himself which comes By God’s Grace Through Faith In Jesus Christ Alone. (Eph 2:8-9) 
  
• We must be thankful for the Law, for it leads us to Christ, and Christ takes the burden that we could not bear on our own. (Matt 11:28-20)  
  
• Because He takes the burden that we could not, He therefore deserves all the glory that we do not!  Praise Him that we are not left in sin!  Amen!
  

ESL Tonight

The ESL was quite interesting tonight. We had abut 30 people again with over half being from Nepal!   We pray for the Nepalese as most are probably here as refugees, and they have probably heard little or no gospel, so we have a tremendous opportunity with them.  As the numbers from this people group have increased in our ESL, we are at a crossroads regarding strategy, so we welcome all prayers and suggestions in this.  

There were less Latinos tonight, though the same ones who were there originally in the first two weeks have been consistent in coming. I do intend on, Lord willing, beginning the Intermediate class next week, so that should help regarding the Latinos interested.  I have had to slow things down the last couple of weeks because of the large number of Nepalese, so, hopefully, an intermediate class will help to prevent the Hispanics from dropping out.

The Bible study was a bit nil tonight, but we are still pressing on.  Ultimately, the Lord is sovereign in all of this, and the Lord will open hearts as he sees fit.  "So then He has mercy on whom He desires and He hardens whom He desires." (Romans 9:18)  That's a tough verse to stomach, but He is in control of all things and does as He sees fit according to His purpose (Romans 9:11).  We must submit to His authority and Divine will in all things.  May He be praised and not us!  "For from Him and through Him to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen." (Rom 11:36)