Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday April 17, 2015
ISA 46:8 "Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,
ISA 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure';
ISA 46:11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.
2. "To finish the transgression" which not only refers to the payment for sin but also deals with the problem of the entire OSN, including "the good" that mankind can and does produce.
"to bring an end to sin" meaning to bring the major problem of sin which is the sin of unbelief to its major conclusion, which is the sin of unbelief.
"to finish the transgression" which not only refers to the payment for sin but also deals with the entire OSN, including the good that the old sin nature can and does produce.
When our Lord fulfilled the prophecy in DAN 9:24, He also dealt with our problem concerning the human good that we also produce which most believers have no idea about.
There's nothing really wrong with having confidence in the spiritual life and in your calling providing that you do not truly forget the reason and the source of your confidence which is God Himself!
The writer is addressing those under the influence of human good and legalism, and therefore they are very difficult to teach.
Relying upon human good and entering into legalism produces pride and remember pride makes one stupid, PSA 94:8 "Listen, you senseless among the people; And when will you understand, stupid ones?"
JER 4:22 "For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children, And they have no understanding."
HEB 5:11 Concerning Him we have many doctrines to communicate [is the corrected translation] and hard to explain because you have become dull of hearing.
Good is the Greek adjective kalou, καλου = the believer with PVTD producing and recognizing divine good. Evil is the Greek adjective kakou, κακου = the function of a person being carnality, or intrinsically worthless with evil motivation.
Solid food or advanced doctrine produces the ability to discern between being involved in grace and truth or being involved in legalism, human good and self-righteousness.
Only the believer with positive volition toward doctrine can distinguish between grace and legalism or divine good and human good.
Human good is often a reaction, e.g., helping someone because you dislike a person that should have been helping them.
Because you want to show someone how much better you are by your Christian production.
People often even give because they are unhappy or they're trying to make themselves look good.
"The value and delusion of a counterfeit are increased by the nearness of its likeness to the real."
This same principle is stated in 2CO 11:13-15, which also has a warning about that which appears to be good overtly but in reality is nothing more than the production of human good.
Vs 13 - "false apostles, deceitful workers, are transforming or disguising themselves into the apostles of Christ."
Vs 15, they are "servants or ministers of righteousness."
Purpose = to imitate the real ministers of Christ and to blind people from the true righteousness of God which is imputed as a gift from
God's grace and cannot be earned or deserved by man.
They are promoters of "human good works and righteousness" and they will be very attractive and deceptive since Satan controls them.
He does this because he wants to promote creature credit over creator credit.
ROM 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
These servants or ministers of righteousness will be very well respected in society and their lives will undoubtedly be free from the great scrutiny and temptations that come from the kingdom of darkness toward those who communicate truth.
Many times these false ministers do not necessarily know the real mission they have.
They can be sincere, preaching and teaching the best things the angel of light, their energizing power, is pleased to reveal unto them.
1CO 2:14 A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
They are ministers of righteousness, which message should never be confused with the doctrine of grace.
One is directed only at the reformation of the natural man, while the other aims at regeneration through the power of God.
Any counterfeit system of doctrine which would omit the power of God and the grace and knowledge which accompanies that power, is used by the strategy of Satan to force some secondary truth which blinds one from the real truth.
2CO 7:10, For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation,
It is saying that recognition of your need can lead to repentance toward the person of Christ.
Point 2. The Source of Human Good is the Area of Strength of the Old Sin Nature.
We were crucified with Christ, GAL 2:20, - though we were crucified with Christ on the cross through positional truth, human good was not judged on the cross so that it could continue along with evil as the issue in the angelic conflict.
Human good will have a day when it stands before God and is judged and evaluated by the perfect holiness and integrity of God, for the believers of the Church-age, 1CO 3:11-15 2CO 5:10;
It will be judged or evaluated for OT saints and Tribulational martyrs, at the end of the Tribulation and the Second Advent, DAN 12:3; Joh
5:29; REV 20:4; and then the Millennial saints at the end of the Millennium, sometime before the Great White Judgment, REV 20:15.
DAN 12:3 "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
JOH 5:29, and shall come forth; those who did the good {deeds} to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil {deeds} to a resurrection of judgment.
Human good will continue in the Millennium to prove that its source is the old sin nature and not the presence of Satan.
Human good is totally divorced from the integrity of God. Therefore, it never accomplishes what it seeks to accomplish.
Man had relationship with the integrity of God in the garden through creation and divine provisions not through good deeds.
There were trees which were for stimulation of the soul and the eyes.....every tree that is pleasing to the sight = provisions for the soul.
Every tree that is good for food = provisions for the body.
The tree related to the human spirit and spiritual sustenance which was the tree of live(s) = that tree was capacity to appreciate what God has provided in grace.
The test = the tree of knowledge of good and evil was a test. Good and evil are Satan's policy.
Evil is the thinking of Satan whereas good is the application of that thinking.
After the fall, man's relationship with God is based on regeneration.
The first sin was a sin of negative volition toward the plan of God.
At this time, man immediately understood good and evil, was immediately under the rulership of Satan, and immediately performs human good: operation fig leaves.
The point is human good could never and will never improve perfect environment.
The first test was: Since you cannot improve perfect environment, if you learn good by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will attempt to perform good.
Human good is the worst enemy of humanity because it gives a false confidence and assurance.
Some people say that respectability means having a relationship with God.
Respectability is a means of higher hypocrisy in the human race.
You can be respectable if you live in the new nature for a long period of time, but not the old sin nature.
The first evil man ever performed was his first attempt to become respectable by putting on clothes, operation fig leaves in the, GEN 3:7.
Point 3. Because human good originates inside the cosmic system, it becomes dead to God, HEB 6:1.
Metanoia - the people being addressed were Jewish believers who had already laid the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. Metanoia (repentance) literally means a change of mind or perspective.