Why Are We Saved?

From A.W. Pink's The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross (BakerBooks, 2005, p. 53).

"In fellowship we reach the climax of grace and the sum of Christian privilege.  Higher than fellowship we cannot go.  God has called us 'unto the fellowship of his Son' (1 Cor. 1:9).  We are often told that we are 'saved to serve,' and this is true, but it is only a part of the truth and by no means the most wondrous and blessed part of it. We are saved for fellowship.  God had innumerable "servants" before Christ came here to die--the angels ever do His bidding.  Christ came not primarily to secure servants but those who should enter into fellowship with Himself."

Christian, are you availing yourself of this supreme privilege?  Our service is meant to spring from our fellowship, so make that the priority and the other will follow.  

Deathbed Conversions?

From A.W. Pink's The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross (BakerBooks, 2005, p. 51).

"Even those who reach the dying hour yet in their sins are not beyond hope.  Personally I believe that very, very few are saved on a deathbed, and it is the height of folly for any man to postpone his salvation till then, for there is no guarantee that any man will have a deathbed.  Many are cut off suddenly, without any opportunity to lay down and die.  Yet even one on a deathbed is not beyond the reach of divine mercy.  As said one of the Puritans, 'There is one such case recorded that none need despair, but only one, in Scripture, that none might presume.'"

The Vine is a Tree (Ezek. 15)

In this minute chapter in Ezekiel (the shortest in the book), we learn a great truth: the vine is not just a plant, but an actual tree.  Note vv. 2 and 6, where the vine is explicitly called a tree.  Other cross references to support this are Num. 6:4 and Judg. 9:12-13.  So what?  Well, maybe the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the vine tree.  Tradition says that Adam and his wife ate an apple, but what is the scriptural support for that?  Think about this: Noah was naked when he sinned, and his sin had to do with grapes (Gen. 9:20-21).  Also, he was a progenitor of the human race like Adam was: both men were told to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth..." (Gen. 1:28; 9:1). Since Noah was told this after the flood, and Adam seems to be his antitype, maybe there was a flood before Adam too (Gen. 1:2; 2 Peter 3:5-6)...?  One reason that "the gap" is so important is that it shows why God had to recreate the heavens and earth in Gen. 1:3-31 (cf. Gen. 2:1): Lucifer ruled the original earth (the one created in Gen. 1:1 and which no one but God and perhaps the angels know the exact age of; cf. Job 38:6-7), and when he rebelled against God, the Lord destroyed the original earth with a flood and started over with Adam, a picture of what he would do with Noah.  The earth was full of wickedness and rebellion before Noah's flood, so we may safely assume that something like that precipitated the flood of Gen. 1:2 and 2 Peter 3:5-6.  Amazing what a tiny chapter in Ezekiel sheds light on, amen?  "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men..." (1 Cor. 1:25a)

The Big Four? (Sword, Famine, Pestilence, and...)

Reading further into Ezekiel than I did for my previous post on "The Big Three," I found an interesting reference in Ezek. 14:21, "For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?" So another category of judgment that might be added to the previous three is the noisome or harmful (noisome = grievous in Rev. 16:2) beast. Even though pestilence typically comes from pests (living creatures; hence its name) as I mentioned in "The Big Three," its context is disease, whereas that of the noisome beast is animal aggression (cf. 2 Kings 17:25).  In light of this, maybe there's a Big Three at the core of God's types of judgments, with a fourth added sometimes depending on the circumstances. "...how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33b)

Did Noah Really "Save" His Family?

According to 1 Peter 3:20, eight souls (i.e. Noah's family) were indeed "saved" from the flood. I would assert, however, that seven of them were saved on Noah's behalf, not because they too were just, perfect in their generations, and walking with God (Gen. 6:9) like Noah, "a preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5) was.  Note God's command to Noah in Gen. 7:1, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation."  Note "thee"--singular, not "ye"--plural.  Noah's righteousness is credited or imputed to his wife, his three sons, and his three daughters-in-law.  I would like to think that he converted his family, but I really think that he's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only truly righteous man in the world (Rom. 3:10-12).  For a more thorough discussion of typology surrounding Noah, please see A.W. Pink's excellent work, Gleanings in Genesis.  

The Big Three: Sword, Famine,and Pestilence

This frightful trio of judgments appear together numerous times in scripture, mostly in the old testament (references are provided at the bottom of this post).  If you think about it, these are perhaps the three primary ways that God judges men in this life:

1. Sword (trouble from other men)

2. Famine (trouble from the elements)

3. Pestilence (trouble from other creatures, "pests")

In other words, I'm saying that these three judgments represent full judgment, since they cover the three primary sources of trouble we face in this life (other men, the elements, and other creatures). Something to think about AND....comment on if you wish. 

Remember when David foolishly numbered the children of Israel in 2 Sam. 24:10-14 and 1 Chron. 21:9-13?  How did the LORD respond?  He sent the prophet Gad to David and let him choose his own judgment.  Remember what the three choices were?  You guessed it--the three judgments listed above.   David said that the LORD's mercies were "very great" (2 Sam. 24:14; 1 Chron. 21:13), and that is proven not only by the limited losses in the subsequent pestilence, but also in God only inflicting one of these three judgments on Israel.  God could have hit David with all three of these things, couldn't he have?!  Ps. 116:5, "...yea, our God is merciful."

References:

Lev. 26:25-26

2 Sam. 24:13

1 Kings 8:37

1 Chron. 21:12

2 Chron. 6:28; 20:9

Jer. 14:12; 21:7, 9; 24:10; 27:8, 13; 29:17-18; 32:24, 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17, 22; 44:13 [most--15!]

Ezek. 5:12, 17; 6:11-12; 7:15; 12:16; 14:21; 

Amos 4:6-10

Mt. 24:7

Luke 21:10-11

But whom say YE that I am? Affirmations of Christ's Deity and Identity in the Gospels

Two apostolic confessions of Christ's deity that stood out in my mind this week were Peter's in Mt. 16:16 ("Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God") and Thomas' in John 20:28 ("My Lord and my God").  Then another came to mind: Nathanael's in John 1:49 ("Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel").  Finally, I decided to check the gospels for all the affirmations of Christ's deity or identity while he was still upon earth. Here is what I've come up with so far and the specific titles given to Jesus.  If you have any others to add, please let me know and I will credit you accordingly.

Wise men from the east
Mt. 2:2; King of the Jews

John the Baptist
John 1:29, 36; the Lamb of God
John 1:34; the Son of God

Devils
Mt. 8:29; thou Son of God
Mark 1:24; the Holy One of God
Mark 3:11; the Son of God
Mark 5:7; Jesus, thou Son of the most high God
Luke 8:28; Jesus, thou Son of God most high

Samaritan woman
John 4:29; the Christ

Samaritans
John 4:42; the Christ, the Saviour of the world

Galilean multitude
John 6:14; that prophet that should come into the world

Peter
Mt. 16:16; the Christ, the Son of the living God
Mark 8:29; the Christ
Luke 9:20; the Christ of God
John 6:69; that Christ, the Son of the living God

Andrew
John 1:41; the Messias...the Christ

Philip
John 1:45; him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph

Nathanael
John 1:49; the Son of God..the King of Israel

Thomas
John 20:28; My Lord and my God

Apostolic company
Mt. 14:33; the Son of God

Judean multitude
Mt. 21:9-11; the son of David...Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee

Pilate's wife
Mt. 27:19; that just man

Pontius Pilate
Mt. 27:37; Jesus the King of the Jews
Mark 15:26; The King of the Jews
Luke 23:38; The King of the Jews
John 19:19; Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews

Centurion at Calvary
Mt. 27:54; the Son of God
Mark 15:39; the Son of God
Luke 23:47; a righteous man