Decision Theology - Why are We Here?
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The Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Trinity
November 18, 2007
Decision Theology - Why Are We Here?
When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden paradise of Eden—He allowed them
the free will to decide to obey Him or not to obey Him
NKJ Genesis 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of
Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of
every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it
you shall surely die." 18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should
be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."
And we know that man and woman did not obey God—but ate the forbidden fruit—and
now sin is introduced into man—and man remains the only animal in God’s creation
to have a will to obey or disobey God—and when we obey we bring glory to
God—that is why God created us—to obey Him and bring glory upon Him
NKJ Philippians 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the
name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father. 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in
my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to
do for His good pleasure.
Man is never coerced to sin—but he sins against God of his own free will
NKJ James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is
tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death.
We are surrounded by the devil and his workers while we live in this world—this
is the devil’s world—we are here for God’s glory—every time we choose to follow
the teachings of God and ignore or turn our backs against the devil and the many
workers the devil has in this world—natural man wants to do the things that
bring joy and glory to the devil—consider the discussion Jesus had with the Jews
who taunted Him—they were being driven by the devil—and they were the devil’s
workers—perhaps not knowingly—but the devil’s workers just the same
NKJ John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father
you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from
his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Now we have to be careful when we use this term “free will”—as we have just seen
from Scripture—we have the choice to disobey God—but we must also recognize that
we cannot choose to be a Christian—that is, we cannot with our human
understanding choose to go in the way of the Lord—God shows us that way in a
Spiritual manner—and we need the help of God to interpret or understand our
salvation—the Scriptures tell us that God chooses us—we know from Scripture that
God chooses us and teaches us
NKJ John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 "It is written in the prophets, 'And
they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned
from the Father comes to Me.
Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit dwells in those that belong to
God—without the Holy Spirit we are not His
NKJ Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is
not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in
the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead
because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the
Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ
from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who
dwells in you.
If the Spirit dwells in you—it is because God sent Him—it is nothing you did to
attract the Spirit—it is a gift of God by His grace and mercy
NKJ Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2
in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by
nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in
Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of
His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Can man decide to understand the things of God?—I am amused when someone is
introduced as a Biblical scholar—an expert on the subject of the Bible—and then
this person begins to tell us their interpretation of what God says—they usually
speak to an agenda—not paying much attention to what God really says—but
speaking with an assumed authority—a true “Biblical scholar” would know that
this in not possible—Paul knew that—and he teaches us through his inspired words
NKJ 1 Corinthians 2:11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit
of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the
Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely
given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's
wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things
with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he
himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD
that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
We have considered the thought of witnessing to others through our daily lives—I
have told you that you are the only Bible some people will ever see—Paul states
this a bit more eloquently
NKJ 2 Corinthians 3:2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read
by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on
tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 4 And we have such trust through Christ
toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as
being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us
sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the
Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
We ask ourselves “Why are we here?”—if our citizenship is in heaven—why wouldn’t
we be in heaven?—because God wants us to walk this earth as if we belonged in
heaven—setting an example for the unbelievers to witness and follow
NKJ Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also
eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our
lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the
working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
God wants us here to reflect the glory of Christ upon the world—God wants all
people to be saved
NKJ 1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who
are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
That’s why we are here—to preach—teach—and live the Gospel—it is through the
work of the Word that God saves sinners—if we don’t preach—if we don’t teach—the
Word cannot be brought to those that are God’s—lost to the devil—it is the Word
that has power
NKJ Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not
return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper
in the thing for which I sent it.
Paul recognized this—he knew the importance of preaching the Word—gathering
God’s flock
NKJ Romans 10:13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." 14
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring
glad tidings of good things!"
And as we read earlier—it is by grace that we are saved—not anything that we
do—it is a gift—Paul taught Timothy how to approach the unbeliever with the
truth of Christ—knowing that the devil will not let go easily of the soul of a
man—explain—be patient—give them time to understand the things of the Holy
Spirit who works within them—often we try to argue men into heaven—it is the job
of Christians to present the message—it is the job of the Holy Spirit to work
understanding—consider these words from Paul’s preacher training manual
NKJ 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this
seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name
of Christ depart from iniquity." 20 But in a great house there are not only
vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some
for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will
be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every
good work. 22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love,
peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish
and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of
the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in
humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them
repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their
senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do
his will.
No man can earn heaven—no man can decide to go to heaven—every man must receive
the Holy Spirit who brings them to understanding—the Holy Spirit comes by
baptism or by hearing the Word—none of us can understand the things of God
without the Holy Spirit
NKJ 1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the
Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except
by the Holy Spirit.
That’s why we’re here—to share the message of the Gospel—to allow the Holy
Spirit to work in man’s heart
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!