SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/27/2017
9:07 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 The Death of Christ
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 2:23
Message of the
verse: “23 this Man, delivered over
by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by
the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
I mentioned that I was having some trouble with the last
quote that I wrote in our last SD that quote written by L. Berkhof, and then
after that MacArthur quotes him again in a very short paragraph that was also
troubling to me. As I asked the Lord to
make this more clear to me and began to study it this morning I have come to
the conclusion that this word translated “foreknowledge” means much more than
just knowing what is going to happen as both of these quotes speak of. “The idea that God saw in advance that Israel
would reject and crucify Christ and worked that into His eternal plan is an
implicit denial both of His sovereignty and omniscience (cf. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 68).” The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was
determined to happen by God in eternity past thus it had to take place. Perhaps you remember when we were looking at
what Judas did in turning Christ over to the Pharisees to be crucified and we
stated that this was prophesied that this would happen, but Judas did it on his
own free will because that is what he desired to do. Judas did this to fulfill prophecy, and
because he wanted to do it.
John MacArthur writes “Peter strongly emphasizes the
point that Jesus was delivered to death by God’s eternal plan. That being the case, His death in no way
contradicted His messianic claims.
“That Jesus Christ was delivered to death by God
predetermined plan, however, does not absolve those who put Him to death of
their guilt. Peter goes on to indict
them because they nailed Jesus ‘to a cross…and put Him to death.’ They were instigators of Jesus’ execution,
which ‘by the hands of godless’ (literally, ‘lawless’) Romans was carried out.”
“God used evil men to accomplish His purpose, yet never
violated their will or removed their culpability by doing so. Peter thus presents the total sovereignty of
God alongside the complete responsibility of man. That apparently paradoxical truth is affirmed
throughout Scripture and is illustrated in Luke 22:22. Speaking of His betrayer there, our Lord said
‘The Son of Man is going as if has been determined; but woe to that man through
whom He is betrayed!’ Men are responsible not for God’s
plans but for their own sins.
“The heinous sin of rejecting Jesus Christ was the
blackest moment in Israel’s history. Far
from casting doubt on His messianic credentials however, that betrayal was part
of God’s eternal plan. And though Peter
does not develop the thought here, the Old Testament clearly teaches that
Messiah had to die (cf. Ps. 22; Isa. 53).
The death of Jesus Christ, no less than His life, confirmed that He was
the Messiah.”
In order to understand what we have been talking about
here we have to understand that while in our bodies on this earth we will never
have the capability of understanding all about these difficult truths. We have a choice to make and this do we bring
God down to our level as human beings or do we by faith trust that even though
we don’t understand it all that God truly had all of this planned out in
eternity past. He planned for the second
person of the godhead to come to earth to die for the sins of those whom He
chose before the foundation of the world.
This is the truth that the Bible teaches and it also teaches that all of
those whom He chose in eternity past must receive Jesus Christ as their
personal Savior and Lord. Confused? “29 The secret things are the Lord our God’s:
but the things which have been made clear are ours and our children’s forever,
so that we may do all the words of this law (BBE).” Now here is my way of saying Deuteronomy
29:29 “I [God] have some secret things that I don’t have to tell you, none the
less are true, for I am
God and I don’t have to tell you everything, however the things that I
have told you I want you to follow them, things that I have written in my Law.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: Trust the Lord to
continue to give me the faith that I need to live my life in obedience to Him.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord for some things that are
happening at this time that I need answers for.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Jerusalem” (Isaiah 1:1).
Today’s Bible
question: “Who hid the two spies that
Joshua sent to Jericho?”
Answer in our next SD.
7/27/2017 9:52 AM
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