Dear Pastor Jackson,
I have been seeking Bible passages that describe the will of God the Father toward us sinners. Soon I am at the Garden of Gethsemane hearing Christ my Lord earnestly praying to God His Father saying:
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:42
As we ponder this passage we understand it is God the Father's will for His only begotten Son to bear our sins. Carefully ponder Gethsemane. Ponder the merciful will of God the Father toward you:
39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. Luke 22:39-46
Isaiah 53 reveals God the Father's merciful will toward us sinners.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:10-12
Christ always did the will of His Father. Psalm 40 is prophecy of Christ:
6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. Psalm 40:6-7
Hebrews 10 explains that the prophecy in Psalm 40 is Christ:
But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:3-10
John 6 describes God's merciful will toward us sinners:
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:37-40
Luther reveals that God our Heavenly Father has REMOVED us and our salvation from being under our own will, and has put us and our salvation under His own merciful will. Carefully ponder this most precious passage from Luther's Bondage Of The Will:
"As to myself, I openly confess, that I should not wish "Free-will" to be granted me, even if it could be so, nor anything else to be left in my own hands, whereby I might endeavour something towards my own salvation. And that, not merely because in so many opposing dangers, and so many assaulting devils, I could not stand and hold it fast, (in which state no man could be saved, seeing that one devil is stronger than all men;) but because, even though there were no dangers, no conflicts, no devils, I should be compelled to labor under a continual uncertainty, and to beat the air only. Nor would my conscience, even if I should live and work to all eternity, ever come to a settled certainty, how much it ought to do in order to satisfy God. For whatever work should be done, there would still remain a scrupling, whether or not it pleased God, or whether He required anything more; as is proved in the experience of all judiciaries, and as I myself learned to my bitter cost, through so many years of my own experience.
But now, since God has put my salvation out of the way of my will, and has taken it under His own, and has promised to save me, not according to my working or manner of life, but according to His own grace and mercy, I rest fully assured and persuaded that He is faithful, and will not lie, and moreover great and powerful, so that no devils, no adversities can destroy Him, or pluck me out of His hand. "No one (saith He) shall pluck them out of my hand, because My Father which gave them me is greater than all." (John 10:27-28). Hence it is certain, that in this way, if all are not saved, yet some, yea, many shall be saved; whereas by the power of "Free-will," no one whatever could be saved, but all must perish together. And moreover, we are certain and persuaded, that in this way, we please God, not from the merit of our own works, but from the favor of His mercy promised unto us; and that, if we work less, or work badly, He does not impute it unto us, but, as a Father, pardons us and makes us better. This is the glorying which all the saints have in their God!" (Martin Luther, Bondage of The Will, Associated Publishers and Authors, Grand Rapids Michigan, 1971, pages 148-149)
If you truly believe God your Heavenly Father has put your salvation under His own will, then why would you as a true Lutheran Christian follow Protestant churches that put your salvation under your own will? Perhaps your Protestant relatives insist you MUST 'ask Jesus into your heart', or 'make a decision for Christ', or 'receive Jesus into your heart', or 'put Christ first', or 'dedicate your life to Christ', or DECIDE to follow Jesus' or DECIDE to accept the (LCMS, WELS, ELS, ELCA) lie of universal justification PRIOR TO AND WITHOUT TRUE FAITH AND HOLY BAPTISM. Perhaps your Baptist, Calvinists, Pentecostal, and Objective Justification Lutheran relatives need to be reminded that they have FALLEN FROM GRACE by putting their salvation under their own will.
Lent is repenting of and DESPAIRING of putting our salvation under our own will instead of leaving our salvation entirely under God's MERCIFUL WILL AND GRACE.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Romans 9:14-16
In Christ,
Tom Fisher
