Wright: Nothing is hypothetical or potential in Paul’s thinking.

"The New Testament Epistles everywhere assume that those who are in the church are true believers. The Epistles address church members as “saints” or holy ones, and they point to clear objective realities that God has accomplished among them. In Ephesians, for example, they have been elected by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sealed by the Spirit (Eph 1:3–14). Even in 1 Corinthians, surely written to one of the most dysfunctional churches of the apostolic era, Paul speaks of the church in objective categories that can only be applied to true believers.

Nothing is hypothetical or potential in Paul’s thinking. He addressed the letter to saints who are called by God and sanctified by Christ (1 Cor 1:2). He thanked God for the work he has already done in the people’s lives (1:4). He implored them to live set-apart, holy lives because of the work God has done for them in Christ (1:10). And he directed them to excommunicate from the church a person who refuses to repent of known, flagrant sin (5:5). The New Testament speaks of the church as a redeemed community, set apart by God’s sovereign will, to be his own peculiar people. They are not a mixed community."

Dever, M., Leeman, J., Davis, A. M., Hammett, J., Haykin, M. A. G., Merkle, B. L., … Wright, S. (2015). Baptist foundations: church government for an anti-institutional age. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic.

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Repackaging the gospel? It's more like obscuring the gospel!

Preface : I recognize this post may make me unpopular with some, but I think it is an important issue to blog about here. I’ve had time to reflect on this video and in my opinion, I think what is in this video raises some questions. This gentleman featured below is slotted to speak at the SBC's 2020 Pastors' Conference and it prompted me to think more about this illustration. I want to note that I don't know him and I have no personal issue with him. I assume he is a brother in the LORD. Having said that, I see some significant issues here that relate to this type of preaching being clear on the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it appears to be obscuring it in my observation. Concern: Should the SBC or churches, in general, be in the habit of holding this up as a good and healthy example? Let's think about it some together. (Watch this clip below here first.) Context: The clip was posted to stand on its own as if it were wise and sound on it

Smith: "Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back...".

Jonah 2:9 “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” God’s dramatic intervention in the life of Jonah is full of hope—not only for those who seek God, but also for those who, like Jonah, have determined to shut him out. Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back, leaving it up to us to decide if we want to come in. But if God made salvation possible and then stepped back, refusing to interfere with our choice, then the entire life of believers would be about us—our believing, our serving, our following, and our choices to live a good life. In the case of Jonah, imprisoned in the whale’s belly, God was claiming someone who was quite incapable of performing any redeeming work to compensate for his sin. God was not relying on Jonah to save Jonah. The message remains the same for each of us today: if you have trusted God for salvation, he has done more than simply make salvation possible; he has actually saved you. Colin Smith, “Jonah,” in Gospel Transformation B

Men stirred, boys exhorted, and Jesus exalted!

Neh 8 v 13 (CSB) 13 On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law. Notice the feel of the scene. After that long day in the Word, it appears that the women and children were, understandably, exhausted and urged to stay home on this occasion. And, among the men, there is a growing interest of “What else are we missing right now as it pertains to obeying God's Word?”. So clear is the fact that the family heads, the men, came back to get more. The real sense of enthusiasm starts with the men here. If you were an able-bodied man here, you stayed behind to get instructions so that you might be a good instructor at home. The text says these men came together to study the words of the law . That means to give attention to and ponder. This is the process of thinking through complex things, resulting in wise dealing and the use of good practical common sense. Here in

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