How many classes of people does the Bible present to us?

The Bible only present two spiritual classes of people in this world: dead or alive, dark or light, blind or seeing, deaf or hearing, in satan or in Christ.

Not three: wicked, moral and godly.

O, how the moral man hate total depravity.

Class 1. Those rescued by sovereign grace from their total depravity, unwillingness and inability to love Christ and understand the gospel. This class has been rescued and liberated from themselves by rebirth to love Christ - given a new heart with new passions and desires. The new heart is empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey the gospel and trust in Christ alone.

Class 2: Those in a state of total depravity, unwillingness and inability to love Christ and understand the gospel. People are born children of the devil and under his control and their own passions and evil desires. They hate God even in being moral. This class stil sits with the old heart which controls their lives and they are unable to respond to the gospel - being governed by their own heart. This is all they know and now spiritual good can proceed from their own evil heart to enable them to make godly choices for the gospel.

Class 3: (???) The morally good class. Those who are able to assess themselves and make spiritual good choices towards God. There is no third morally good class who are able to hear and understand the gospel from with their own ability. This is refuted by the Bible. "No one can come to me." No one seeks God." No one fears God." No one understands God." “Together all have become worthless." "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing."

The Bible present the person outside of Christ like this: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

People are rescued from total depravity by rebirth (sovereign grace) - being given a new heart to respond to the gospel.

“Very truly I tell you, no one can SEE the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3). “Very truly I tell you, no one can ENTER the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:5). "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and CAUSE you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." (Ez. 26:24-27). "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jer. 31:33). "It is God who works in you to WILL and to ACT in order to fulfill his good PURPOSES." (Pil. 2:13).

A Testimony about God's amazing grace to save homosexuals and restore them to a Godly marriage!

A facebook friend whom I befriended a couple of months ago got married this weekend. She was a "Christian" lesbian until the Lord saved her four years. Please read this wonderful testimony she wrote 7 hours before her marriage. I share this with her permission.

You can read more about her on her Facebook page: Emily (Sutterfield) Thomes

Emily Thomes writes: "Two years ago today I woke up with no idea what the day had in store for me. I was slave to my sins, dead in my trespasses; I had no desire for the God of the Bible, only the one I had created in my head who didn't mind if I lived in constant sin while professing to know Him. But God, rich in mercy, intervened on this day and brought me to life and into His light by His grace alone. He gave me eyes to see my sin for what it was- a barrier between Him and me, enslaving me to it and causing me nothing but turmoil and pain. The sin I had cherished in my heart- homosexuality, drugs, drunkenness, pride, unrighteous anger, lying, etc etc- was all I cared I about. I pretended to love God but my life showed I didn't care for Him at all. In a moment, He allowed me to see there was a massive disconnect between my head and my heart. I realized I was a fake Christian and that my profession of faith would not save me. He also granted me eyes to see Him for who He was- a holy, just, loving, righteous King who was worthy of all of my heart and life, not only the parts that I chose to spare. This began my journey of walking with the Lord. Its been a painful, stressful, beautiful, wonderful ride. I've seen people come to the faith alongside me. I've seen people I had such confidence in fall away showing they weren't of us at all. I've lost loved ones that I'll never forget. I've met people that have forever changed my life. One of the many people that I've met in the last two years, the most impactful relationship I've had or am sure to ever have, is that of Benjamin Benjamin Thomes. I was Facebook friends with his mom, Trish Trish Parker, and loved her posts and the comments she would leave on mine. One day she messaged me and told me about her son. Never did I imagine that he would be the Ben I know and love today. She was right; he loves the Lord, we are really like minded, and he is a sweetheart. smile emoticon From the moment we met, we both knew this was going to be something. Ben's best man, Caden, told me last night about the conversation he had with Ben after our first date; Caden said, "I didn't know he was interested in anyone. Then he was like, 'This is the most godly girl I've ever met. She's amazing'." The first thing I told my mom about Ben is that I was going to marry him. He was the most special, 'different,' godly, handsome man I had ever seen in my life. Only a perfectly wise and sovereign God could've orchestrated this love. Today, two years free from the chains of sin and death, I'm being granted to marry the love of my life. Beginning today, I will be Mrs. Benjamin Thomes, wife to the most godly and sincere man I know. May God be glorified through our union. None of this would exist, not our marriage but better, not us at all, if not for His hand. I can look back and see clearly that He's been here all along, working all things to the counsel of His will; I don't deserve to have such a place in that will. Both Ben and myself would consider ourselves some of the worst of sinners and yet, today, because of His love for broken people, He has us joining together in covenant marriage before all of our family and friends. What an amazing God we serve!

We're getting married in just over 7 hours!"

Racism versus the law of God

I just want to put this here and make it very clear. I hate racism in any form. It is a detestable sin. It is murder. It violates the laws of God. Every human being of any race or colour is created in the image of God and is image bearers of the Creator. Therefore, we should love and respect each other, irrespective of colour and language. There is no race that is superior than the other. In the church of God, there is one race; the body of Christ, the Israel of God.

The church is one body that is made up of every person who is bought by the sacrifice of Christ. The laws of God stand over all nations, colours and races. God said we should love and respect our neighbour, which is every tribe, colour, language and group. The laws of God judge every person, party group and nation equally. Any person, party, group or government who breaks the laws of God is punishable with eternal judgement.

Every person must repent to Christ for forgiveness of sin and obey the laws of God. The law of God condemns all forms of hate speech, murder and discrimination. The foundation of the laws of God is love for Him and love for your neighbour. Jesus said if you think evil of your brother you have committed murder. He also said if you lust after a woman in your mind, you committed adultery.

Jesus showed that the laws of God is about the heart and not only the external behavior. Every single person, irrespective of their color, is judged by God. The law of God also does not condone revenge. It commands unconditional forgiveness. If we say we are Christians, whatever color, we should obey God's laws and teach it to others. To many Christians speaks freely and does not consider the laws and the Word of God. This includes MYSELF!!

For very good teaching on this topic, please read these articles.

One Race One Blood
One Race
Racism
How Many Races Did God Create?

Charles Spurgeon quotes on reformed theology

Charles Spurgeon was an outspoken reformer. He preached many sermons, covering all 5 points of TULIP. He preached one sermon where he openly defended Calvinism under the theme "A Defence of Calvinism." In this sermon he said, "The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again."

Here follows some of his quotes on reformed theology from various sermons.

"It is no novelty, then, that I am preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines that are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are truly and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. By this truth I make my pilgrimage into the past, and as I go, I see father after father, confessor after confessor, martyr after martyr, standing up to shake hands with me . . . Taking these things to be the standard of my faith, I see the land of the ancients peopled with my brethren; I behold multitudes who confess the same as I do, and acknowledge that this is the religion of God's own church." (Spurgeon's Sovereign Grace Sermons, Still Waters Revival Books, p. 170).

"I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel if we do not preach justification by faith without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing unchangeable eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross." (Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 1, 1856).

"... and I will go as far as Martin Luther, in that strong assertion of his, where he says, ‘If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.’ It may seem a harsh sentiment; but he who in his soul believes that man does of his own free will turn to God, cannot have been taught of God, for that is one of the first principles taught us when God begins with us, that we have neither will nor power, but that He gives both; that he is ‘Alpha and Omega’ in the salvation of men." (C.H. Spurgeon from the sermon "Free Will A Slave", 1855).

"You must first deny the authenticity and full inspiration of the Holy Scripture before you can legitimately and truly deny election." (Charles Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 3, p.130).

"When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this. I can recall the very day and hour when first I received those truths in my own soul - when they were as John Bunyan says, burnt into my heart as with a hot iron; and I can recollect how I felt that I had grown all of a sudden from a babe into a man - that I had made progress in scriptural knowledge, through having found, once for all, the clue to the truth of God ... I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, I ascribe my change wholly to God." (Charles Spurgeon, Autobiography: 1, The Early Years, Banner of Truth, pp. 164-165).

"George Whitefield said, "We are all born Arminians." It is grace that turns us into Calvinists." (Charles Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 2, p. 124).

"Calvinism did not spring from Calvin. We believe that it sprang from the great Founder of all truth." (Charles Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 7, p. 298).

"We declare on scriptural authority that the human will is so desperately set on mischief, so depraved, so inclined to everything that is evil, and so disinclined to everything that is good, that without the powerful, supernatural, irresistible influence of the Holy Spirit, no human will ever be constrained toward Christ." (Charles Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 4, p.139).

"I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, 'You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself.' My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will."

"I believe that Christ came into the world not to put men into a salvable state, but into a saved state. Not to put them where they could save themselves, but to do the work in them and for them, from first to last. If I did not believe that there was might going forth with the word of Jesus which makes men willing, and which turns them from the error of their ways by the mighty, overwhelming, constraining force of divine influence, I should cease to glory in the cross of Christ." (C.H. Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 3, p. 34).

"A man is not saved against his will, but he is made willing by the operation of the Holy Ghost. A mighty grace which he does not wish to resist enters into the man, disarms him, makes a new creature of him, and he is saved." (C.H. Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 10, p. 309).

"I question whether we have preached the whole counsel of God, unless predestination with all its solemnity and sureness be continually declared." (Charles Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 6, p. 26).

CHARLES SPURGEON QUOTES ON LIMITED ATONEMENT

"If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in Hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins. . . That seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption. To think that my Savior died for men who were or are in Hell, seems a supposition too horrible for me to entertain." (Charles Spurgeon, Autobiography: 1, The Early Years, p. 172)

"We are often told that we limit the atonement of Christ, because we say that Christ has not made satisfaction for all men, or all men would be saved. Now, our reply to this is that, on the other hand, our opponents limit it, we do not. The Arminians say, Christ died for all men. Ask them what they mean by it. Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of all men? They say, "No, certainly not." We ask them the next question-Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of any man in particular? They say, "No." They are obliged to admit this if they are consistent. They say, "No; Christ has died so that any man may be saved if"-and then follow certain conditions of salvation. We say then, we will just go back to the old statement-Christ did not die so as beyond a doubt to secure the salvation of anybody, did He? You must say "No;" you are obliged to say so, for you believe that even after a man has been pardoned, he may yet fall from grace and perish. Now, who is it that limits the death of Christ? Why you... We say Christ so died that He infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who through Christ's death not only may be saved, but are saved, must be saved, and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved. You are welcome to your atonement; you may keep it. We will never renounce ours for the sake of it." (Charles Spurgeon, Sermon 181, New Park Street Pulpit, IV, p. 135)

"I would rather believe a limited atonement that is efficacious for all men for whom it was intended, than a universal atonement that is not efficacious for anybody, except the will of men be added to it." (Charles Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 4, p. 70)

"A redemption which pays a price, but does not ensure that which is purchased -- a redemption which calls Christ a substitute for the sinner, but yet which allows the person to suffer - is altogether unworthy of our apprehensions of Almighty God. It offers no homage to his wisdom, and does despite to his covenant faithfulness. We could not and would not receive such a travesty of divine truth as that would be. There is no ground for any comfort whatever in it." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Sermons, Vol. 49, p. 39)