The Lord's Day Bible Message Outlines
February 28,
2010
Pastor Dana Johnson
"Of His own will He
brought us forth...."
-James
1:18
Of His own will He brought us forth
by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits
of His creatures.
1. Our salvation
includes God's supernatural work of regeneration whereby He
gives us His life and brings about our new birth as His
children.
a. God's
gracious regeneration is so different from our own "life"
cycle of sin and death.
James
1:15 - Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to
sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth
death.
b. The new birth is
an example of the goodness of God.
James
1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with
whom there is no variation or shadow of
turning.
2. The Lord brought us
forth to be His children by His own will.
a. The
grammatical structure indicates that His will was a
definite action of purpose and determination.
b. Here is another
scripturally frequent reminder of the doctrine of the
sovereignty of God. "Sovereignty" meaning: the supreme
authority of God.
c. If regeneration
were a random experience decided only by human
will:
1) At
first our mind might imagine the potential inequities;
that some people seem to have an advantage over
others.
2) On second
thought, we realize that, as with evolution, there
would be no life at all.
d. God's will and
purpose to make us His children is not a reward for your
goodness, but is a gift based in His own goodness.
James
1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with
whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Romans 9:16 - So then it is not of him who wills, nor of
him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
1 Corinthians 1:29-31 - That no flesh should glory in His
presence. 30But of Him you are in Christ
Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God; and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption;
31that, as it is written, "He who glories, let
him glory in the LORD."
3. The Lord gave us
regenerating life by the word of truth.
a. The truth
is revealed to us in the words of Scripture; not in
subjective feelings, inspirations, hunches, impressions,
voices, etc.
b. The word of
truth is the instrument God uses to regenerate us. No one
is saved without it.
4. Those who are
regenerated by God's will are like the first fruits of God's
creation. Two possible explanations:
a. The first
century believers were the first fruits of many future
believers.
Romans
16:5 - Likewise greet the church that is in their house.
Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of
Achaia to Christ.
b. Like the Old
Testament first fruits were separated from the rest of
the harvest and given to God, so God's regenerated
children are separated from the rest of humanity to be
His own people.
Deuteronomy
16:1-2, 10-11 - "And it shall be, when you come into the
land which the LORD your God is giving you as an
inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it,
2that you shall take some of the first of all
the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from
your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put
it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your
God chooses to make His name abide." 10"'and
now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land
which you, O LORD, have given me.' Then you shall set it
before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD
your God. 11So you shall rejoice in every good
thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your
house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among
you."
(All
Scripture quoted is from the New King James
Version)
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