DISCIPLESHIP
Irreducible Complexity
Safety in God's Sovereignty
The
only place of perfect safety in this imperfect world dominated by the adversary
is living at the center of God’s will.
Since the fall of Satan and millions of other fallen angels with him,
every person must understand the essential of perfectly knowing God’s will and
being fully consumed with not be “drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed”
into defilement before God. There is not
one moment of our existence where a human’s enticement and intended spiritual
destruction is not being orchestrated in some way by the satanic “mystery of
inequity” existing in this world. This
fact is foundational to the purpose of the book of Genesis (Beginnings).
Although
the home, the church, and the fellowship of those of like precious faith are
all supposed to provide places of safety and security for believers, there
really is no safe place. We all have
been infected with pride and carnal lusts.
If our propensity for rebellion and carnality is not constantly checked,
maintained, and kept in the center of God’s well every single person will
innately become part of the “mystery of inequity” to some degree. Doing all we can to live in the center of
God’s will is that which defines the epitome of the servant model. The servant model is more concerned
with the well-being of others than a person’s own selfish pursuits and carnal
pride.
“13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am
tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any
man: 14 But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin:
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err,
my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will
begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of
firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:13-18).
God enlightens. Satan obfuscates. God clarifies. Satan confuses. Therefore, Satan is called the adversary. Satan is the adversary of enlightenment and
clarity. The terms “the faith” and
“Christian” have become so corrupted, so diverse, and indefinitive that they
have little meaning to most people. Indefinitive
terms with broad meaning have no real meaning.
This is the outcome of satanic obfuscation. The term “the faith” has been reduced to
something merely called faith with incredible lack of definition and
pluralistic meaning. This happens
primarily because those who have clarity and enlightenment from God’s Word do
not ensure that what they know with surety is known by the next generation with
equal surety. If you look up antonyms
for dogmatism in a dictionary you would find words like broad-mindedness, liberalism,
open-mindedness, and tolerance. These antonyms are the
tools of the adversary to doctrinal clarity and true enlightenment to
truth.
When
God declares that “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not” (II Corinthians 4:4), he is talking about Satan taking truth that comes
from God in clarity and taking that clarity out of focus in the minds of
men. It is like having a perfectly
detailed marble statute. Satan first
breaks off the hands, then the arms, and then the nose. Then he slowly erodes away at its details
until everything is a blur and that which was originally created can barely be recognized
any longer.
This constant obfuscation is what
happens with God’s revelations of Scripture. The greatest
complexity of discipleship is the constant need to keep main things the main
thing and clear things clear. God must
constantly give knew revelations to clarify the confusion and dissolution of
clarity by theological obfuscation. God
must constantly raise up new preachers that will teach the old truths to
clarify satanic obfuscations. Satan has
more obfuscators than those God that has raised up to clarify and purifying. Unfortunately, even within the Church today,
there are more people resisting edification than there are people fighting
against obfuscation. Resisting
obfuscation MUST become the goal of EVERY Christian of EVERY generation. This growing and ever-increasing disinterest
in the truths of God’s revelations has been the continuing problem since the
beginning of time.
It is the nature of fallen beings (sinners) to project fault and transfer
guilt and accusation to others. Adam did
this and Eve did this. Sinners do not like to be
responsible for their sins or for the damage those sins cause. However, because this is the pattern of the
fallen nature of all humans, we fail to teach our children to take
responsibility for their failures because they fear the consequences and shame
of those failures. To admit failure and
accept the consequences for failure is the first step towards recovery and one
of the first manifestations of genuine repentance.
This characteristic aspect of denial
and transference of guilt/fault in the fallen nature of all humans is a core
descriptor of Satan – the “accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). Projecting, transference, and accusation are
also a central satanic evidence that humans have become children of the evil
because Satan “is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). To blame others for what you have done is a
lie. Adam and Eve blaming others for
their failures is where passing the buck began. It is the sin of accusation committed by the
one who knows his/her own failure but is unwilling to take moral responsibility
for that failure and its eternal consequences.
Satan gets humans to blame God for consequences Satan causes.
Satan accused God of being selfish because God was keeping
good things from Adam and Eve. Satan
accused God of not wanting Adam and Eve to have their “eyes. . . opened, and ye
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Satan’s corruption
of their thinking was that “knowing good and evil” was a good outcome, not a
bad outcome. All sinners know we have
learned and seen many things we wish we could unlearn and unsee. Grace of God means these things can be
forgiven.
Servant Models
This choice provides the potential to succeed
where angels failed
“20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s
children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of
him. 21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him,
Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other
on the left, in thy kingdom. 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know
not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to
be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are
able. 23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup,
and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my
right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to
them for whom it is prepared of my Father. 24 And when the
ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the
princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great
exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you:
but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even
as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:20-28).
The
ultimate objective of salvation and discipleship is the voluntary submission of
one’s self to become the servant of another. This was the objective of Christ in all His
disciples to the place they would be willing to die for the benefit of those
they chose to serve. This is also
the greatest difficulty in making true disciples for herein defines being a
true disciple (follower of Jesus). The
ultimate free will choice after choosing to receive the gift of being “born
again” of the Spirit of God is the choice to benevolently and lovingly serve
others. This is the restoration of the
way things ought to be.
“11
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And
whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself
shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12).
Total Depravity: what is it really?
Everything coming from a poisoned well is
poisoned. When Adam fell into sin, all that is born of
his seed is born “in sin” and is cursed of God. Everything that God does within His creation
from the point of Adam’s failure and fall into sin is undeserved. Herein enters the doctrine of God’s grace and
longsuffering. Total depravity simply
means God-kind righteousness (holiness) cannot be produced by a sinner.
“6 For when we were yet without strength,
in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a
righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being
now justified by his blood {justification is the impartation of
Godkind righteous as a gift to the believing sinner}, we shall be saved
from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled {katallássō, i.e., changed due to a new creation in a new
birth; regeneration} to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled{katallássō, i.e., changed due to a new creation in a new
birth; regeneration}, we shall be saved by his life {referring to
the glorification of Jesus as the ‘last Adam’ and the ‘firstborn’ of the New
Genesis}. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement
{katallagḗ,
i.e, ‘the change’, noun form of the verb reconciled as used in
verse 10; the New Birth}. 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in
the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless
death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the
similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure {type} of him {the
‘last Adam’ and ‘firstborn of the New Genesis} that was to come. 15 But
not as the offence, so also is the free gift {justification
and New Birth}. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more
the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus
Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one
that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to
condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17
For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore {picking up where verse
12 ends} as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be
made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might
abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That
as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:6-21).
Is the fall total? Yes, the fall into sin was total. However, total depravity does not mean what
extremists say it means. Humanity was
corrupted the moment its progenitor’s nature was corrupted. Adam became a sinner and began to produce
“after his kind” (Genesis 1:21-25). Adam
could choose to live righteously, in other words, LIKE righteousness. Yet, Adam could never BE righteous. Just as a maid who has committed fornication
may abstain from fornication for the rest of her life, she will never again be
a virgin. The best any sinner can ever
be is a saved sinner. Becoming a saved
sinner requires a miracle from God.
We would think we would find mankind’s history riddle
with accounts of men pleading with God to be saved. Instead, we find God pleading with man to
receive His gift of salvation. This defines God’s love and models the
epitome of servanthood. This is true because,
as a result of our depravity, we are blind to our condition before God. We are blind to the holiness of God and the
perfect righteousness of God. Only God
truly understands the totality and depth of our fall into sin and
condemnation. Only God understands what
is necessary to our rescue from that fallen state. God requires a supernatural solution. Only God can supernaturally provide that
solution.
The Protoevangelium: The Redemption of
Lost Dominion and Lost Souls
God lovingly clothed His fallen sinners
with skins from slain animals. However,
the dispensation of innocence ended. The
first creation was cursed, and Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of
Eden. To ensure that mankind did not
live forever in a body of sin and under the curse of death, God’s grace drove
them out while maintaining His commitment to the seeming impossibility of
humanity’s whole salvation; “body, soul, and spirit” (I Thessalonians 5:23).
“14 And the LORD God said unto the
serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle,
and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust
shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed {the seed, or sin nature,
of satanically corrupted man; Romans 5:12} and her seed {here
begins what is commonly called ‘the highway of the seed’ to the New Genesis;
Galatians 3:16}; it {Eve’s Seed} shall bruise thy {Satan’s}
head {dominion of death}, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis
3:14-15).
“22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know
good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree
of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the
LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence
he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east
of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to
keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24; Adam’s sin was that he
ate what God forbade and failed to lead his wife in righteousness).
After
the fall of humanity into sin and God speaking to Satan in Genesis 3:15, it is
almost as if Satan disappears from human view. We do not find him mentioned again until the
book of Job. Nonetheless, his constantly
effort is the destruction of humanity and to keep humans from reconciliation
with God and living in constant enmity with God. This is the “mystery of iniquity” (II
Thessalonians 2:7).
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Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at: http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/
Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 50 years.
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