DAVID WAS NOT SINFUL FROM THE WOMB

Calvinists believe in the doctrine of Total Depravity, meaning that from conception each person inherits Adam's sins. A primary verse used to support this doctrine is Psalm 51 which says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." What does this mean? What is David saying? In this prayer of repentance is David saying that from birth he was sinful? Well that's one interpretation. But such an interpretation condemns the souls of men to eternal hell without them personally committing a single sin. Surely there must be a better explanation for the verse than one that makes God unjust. He is the Potter, but not an unjust one.

There are a couple of verse that should be considered which shed some light here.

Psalm 22:9-10 says "9 Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. 10 Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb." If taken literally, this passage is a direct contradiction to the literal interpretation of Psalm 51.

The other passage in Job 31:18 says, "But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her." In this chapter Job is asserting his righteousness. He wants to weighed by God but he is confident that he has lived according to God's will. In this verse he is asserting that from the womb he has been under the influence of God. Doesn't sound like Job things the child is depraved from birth.

The point is that the Psalm 51 passage can't be taken to me that David and all men are born with Adam's sin. It could mean several things, but not that. Considering the context of David's sin and repentant state, it's not likely that he is turning to blame his mother or Adam or the Devil for committing adultery and murder. He is more likely using hyperbole to exaggerate just how sinful he has been.

David was no more sinful from the womb than were his enemies liars from the womb (Psalm 58:3). It's called exaggerated speech and we use such language all of the time. The Scriptures do not allow for man to be conceived into a fallen state which Augustine and Calvin taught. Ezekiel 18 reminds us never to say the Proverb: "the father eats sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge." That sentiment in the people of Israel was unjust and did not reflect the justice of God. God does not permit for sons to be condemned for their father - not even for father Adam. The iniquity of the man shall be upon himself alone. Adam's iniquity was upon himself alone. The sons of Adam didn't inherit a single sin of Adam. Each child begins this life with a clean slate and God will hold them accountable for the sins they commit when they reach an age of accountability. David was not sinful from the womb. Such a doctrine is evil and ought to be finally done away with.
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Brought Forth in Iniquity - Psalm 51

WHOSE NAME DO WE WEAR?

Driving through a town the other night in the UK, we saw a little sports car pass us by and the license plate caught our attention. We decided to keep up with the car in time for me to snap a photo. Trying to be stealthy and capture the image without being detected by the driver I forgot to turn off the flash. I got the photo but certainly not without the driver seeing the blinding light from the car in his rear view mirror.

We thought about the plate for a while and decided it wouldn't be a coincidence that the automobile would get just such a combination of letters and numbers. It must have been purposeful. It could be that a naive but attention seeking soul is the owner. Or it could that the owner sees it as harmless fun to mock a warning in the Bible. Who knows.

We don't need to know about the car and its owner but we do need to know that the Scriptures let us know that we either wear God's name or we wear the name of the Beast. Let's see two sets of Scripture from the Book of Revelation. The first is a reminder that unrighteous and evil people of the world have marked themselves to be against God:

"16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six." (Rev. 13:16-18)

The number of the the Beast, who gets his authority from the DeViL (DVL on the car's plate?) is 666. God wants the Christians to remain faithful and refuse to wear such a name or to do anything that would identify themselves with evil.

The other passage in the Revelation letter says,

"1 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads." (Rev. 14:1)

This passage is following the theme laid out in the previous chapter but this time to show that Christians are marked with the name of God. It's symbolic - no literal tattoo or UPC code required - and is a reminder that God knows who are His. He has their names written in the "Lamb's book of life". If we are a believer in Jesus Christ and have been Baptized for the remission of ours sins, then we are washed in the blood and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

The reality is that God knows those who are His and those who are not His. The church of Christ is comprised of those who are. The world - unbelievers in the world who mock and persecute Christians - are also known by God as not belonging to Him. He invites them to be, but they have chosen the broad path leading to destruction. The person driving the sports car in Cambridge, UK might want a new tag for His car.

GOD KNOWS YOUR TROUBLES

Among the seven seals being broken by Jesus in Revelation 6 is the fifth which reveals an important message that God hears and answers the prayers of His saints. In verse 9 it says, "When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?". This is God's way of telling the Christians reading John's Book that their prayers were heard. Some Christians have been martyred and their prayers have been heard. The breaking of the seals is the beginning of the promise that judgment is coming on the unrighteous peoples who have harmed the children of God. Following the seals will come 7 trumpets and 7 bowls showing the unfolding and advancement of that judgment. The Christians in the 7 churches and those spread about the Roman empire and beyond would understand that God is not unaware of their troubles.

Sometimes we have troubles that seem to be more than our fair share. Jesus could have said that too. But He did remind us that the straight and narrow way would be difficult. "If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you." It's always this way that evil people will hate and attempt to silence those who shine the light of truth on them. Until Christ completes His divine plan and calls us home, there will be conflict between evil and good. So expect that there will be troubles. But also know with a knowledge that comfort the soul that God hears your prayers and He is sending help your way. God knows your troubles.

WHAT WE PROCLAIM IN THE LORD'S SUPPER

When a Christian partakes of the Lord's Supper, I imagine the thoughts and emotions that go through his mind run the gamut from deep sadness and regret to intense joy and thankfulness for what God has done. In that time of worship, his mind will go all the way back to the cross and all the way forward in joyful expectation of eternal redemption. So that we stay on track in our faith, is there any one thing on which we ought to be focusing our mind?

There seems to be some debate concerning what should be the church's focus when partaking of the Lord's Supper. Paul says, "the death of the Lord you are proclaiming until He comes" (1 Cor. 11:26b). The question I have concerns whether the communion is a memorial or a celebration? Is the focus of the participant to be solemn as he or she looks back to the death of Christ, or is the focus to be celebratory as he or she looks forward to the second coming of Christ? Which are we doing:
a. Proclaiming the Lord's death?, or are we...,
b. Proclaiming the Lord's coming?

The construction of the 1 Corinthians passage is pretty clear on this matter. And it is a matter that needs some extra attention. When we assemble on the Lord's Day to partake of the Lord's Supper, we understand that it is important that we know what we are doing and that we "do it" right. Get it wrong, and we could be eating and drinking judgment to ourselves. To make sure that we follow the Lord's wish, let's look at the text a little closer. The following look is only slightly technical, but it is important. The verse says,

"....THE DEATH OF THE LORD YOU ARE PROCLAIMING UNTIL HE SHOULD COME." - 1 Cor. 11:26

Here the words I have emboldened and underlined show that the DIRECT OBJECT (D.O.) is His death. The word THANATON, translated death, is a noun in the accusative case (the case of the D.O.) The accusative case usually is related to a verb as it is here. Thus "the death" is directly related to the verb "ye are proclaiming". If we are partaking of the Lord's Supper according to the New Testament teaching, then we are proclaiming the death. That message, that Jesus died and shed His blood for us, is what we are proclaiming in the Lord's Supper. Again, look at the text:

"....THE DEATH OF THE LORD YOU ARE PROCLAIMING UNTIL WHICH HE SHOULD COME." - 1 Cor. 11:26

The part I have now underlined is two prepositional phrases in the genitive case. The genitive is telling WHOSE death is being proclaimed, and it is telling UNTIL WHICH TIME the death is to be proclaimed. The “genitive of time” tells you that the pre-flood people were doing various things until (genitive of time) the flood came (Mt. 24:38). Paul’s “until He should come” does NOT tell you what you are doing in the Lord's Supper, it only indicates how long you should do what you are doing in the Lord’s Supper: that is, how long you proclaim His death. Just remember that the second coming is not the Direct Object of the verb “proclaiming.”

If this misconception continues, our attention in the Lord's Supper is shifted from the Death of Jesus to the second coming. It is the error of proclaiming the wrong thing. It is the error of turning the sentence’s genitive into the direct object. Stated another way, it's like rewriting the text to say "THE COMING YOU ARE PROCLAIMING until He comes."

Let me illustrate this point in a different way. Imagine the following text: “the Gospel of Jesus we are proclaiming until He comes.” What we are proclaiming is the Gospel, which is the D.O. and not the second coming. To focus on the Gospel does not mean that we are denying the second coming, but the force of the statement also requires that we are proclaiming more than the second coming. If we are asked what it is that we are proclaiming, the answer is that we are proclaiming His Gospel. Let me give another example. Consider the following: “We will worship God until He comes.” Because “God” is the D.O. object, we worship Him. The prepositional phrase (in the genitive of time) “until He comes” is not indicating WHAT is worshipped. The fact that He is coming is important, but it is not what is worshipped. This prepositional phrase is only indicating how long we will worship God (this is an example, and does not mean to suggest that we won’t worship God in heaven). So it is in the 1 Corinthian passage that the thing being proclaimed or remembered is not the coming of Jesus (though it is an important fact); but what is proclaimed is the DEATH of Jesus.

To commemorate, gratefully acknowledge, and proclaim what Jesus did is not to celebrate it. We don't need to get into a grammatical discussion to understand what the Bible says is to be our focus as we partake. I'll illustrate this way: you have a different attitude when you go to a funeral than you have at a birthday party. The Lord's Supper is not a birthday party, not a celebration, not a banquet feast. It is not a looking forward to and proclamation of a future event. Instead, it is a solemn reminder of what took place at the cross. It is a looking back. Those who teach on the Lord's Supper have the duty of taking us back to that solemn event. That should be the Believer’s focus until He comes.

In closing, I truly believe that our hearts are in the right place. So I am not impugning the motive or spirituality of anyone with this examination. All I’m asking is that we remember that Jesus gave us the emblems of unleavened bread and the cup so that we would remember His sacrifice. Let’s keep the focus there.

DO WHAT GOD SPECIFICALLY SAYS

We can only do what God says. To suggest something else is not faith. Paul said to the Romans, "and whatever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). A Biblical command or approved example is easy to do in faith. From the pulpit I can encourage Christians to participate in the Lord's Supper. I am very confident, it is a matter of faith. But I could not in good faith tell the Christians that God is happy if we include in the communion a roasted lamb. To say that would be winging it, to be presumptuous and not faith.

When God speaks, people of faith listen to Him. God means what He says and Christian know it is presumptuous to think otherwise. If God says Jesus is the only way to heaven, He is not saying that there are many acceptable religious options. When God says we must worship Him in spirit and truth, He is not saying do what makes you feel good. When God is specific, His words exclude other options. When Jesus says to be immersed into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, He is not merely saying to "get wet".

Doing the will of God means doing what He says. When someone in authority tells you to "run, don't walk", do you walk? If a judge says you must not drink, do you think "stay under the 'legal' limit"? When a teacher says "20 page report", do you think 10 is acceptable? God is not like an equal that we can barter or argue with the terms of our relationship. He is the Almighty and the question is do we trust Him or not? If we trust in Him, then we do what He says. His specific words necessarily exclude everything else. Doing what "feels good" to us doesn't come to the attitude of faith we must have.