Calvinist or Reformed thinkers, theologians, and believers are accused of stealing man's free will and making us puppets, automatons, robots, even pets of God. Election is a kind of determinism, but it's not determination or coercion. We are free agents, but free will is not a biblical doctrine but a Romanist one; it's nowhere mentioned in Scripture. What I mean by free will is not the power to make choices, but the independent power to receive faith and salvation apart from God's grace and influence. Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" [evidently not even believe].
He also said that believing in Him is the work of God (cf. John 6:29). Why election, that He chose us from the beginning, is so important is that it's the overture to our salvation--the first step in our salvation. What Calvinists believe is that our salvation is not our wills ultimately to decide, but God working on our wills.
When we say that God knows who will be saved and elects those He foreknows, it's not referring to the prescient view that God elects us because we will have faith--leading to the narrative of merit in our salvation, but that God elects us unto faith--He decides in whom He will work the miracle of regeneration in. Some people say that this is unfair that everyone should have an equal chance, but if we were all left alone to ourselves by God, none of us would come to Him in faith and repent. If God is to save anyone it must be by election according to His purpose and will. Indeed He regards the salvation of the elect more important than not interfering with their wills, and His glory more important than the salvation of everyone.
The result of God's holiness and justice, which require punishment for sin and evil, eternal damnation in hell must exist. If God knows our destiny, it must be determined; and if determined, we must ask by whom? God doesn't play dice with the universe of souls and also isn't pleased in the death of the wicked nor rejoice in their punishment, it is justice meted out in mercy but due justice not more than required without any cruelty
This is the crux of the matter: human choice doesn't mean without any influence from God to be free. No one can say they came to God entirely on their own initiative without any grace leading them to God known to some as the wooing of the Holy Spirit--those who claimed they did, probably left Jesus without His grace too. NB: God determines our nature and nurture, circumstances, and events, or character and innate righteousness, our contribution to God is nothing--that's why we must be saved by grace--that means very little of our decisions ultimately depends upon our wills and choices. But God does promise to give us a choice and even the non-elect have made choices against God, not for Him.
But God has determined to save His sheep or the elect, just like he chose the elect angels, He chooses us, we don't choose Him. "The elect obtained unto it..." (Cf. Rom. 11:7). We are elect according to His purpose and grace, since God will have mercy on whom He will and no one can resist God's will, being more powerful than ours (cf. Rom. 9:19). God is totally able to influence our wills to do something of His will voluntarily--He can make the unwilling willing! But at no time are we forced to do something we don't want to against our wills. We cooperate all the way with God's sovereign will willingly and voluntarily and not by compulsion or impulsion. Remember: "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (cf. Acts 13:48).
The questions posed are: Why are some saved and others not? Does God woo all equally? If so, why do some respond and others don't? Does man need free will? If it's determined, do we have a choice?
If God woos all equally, and some do respond; therefore, it must be by human merit or inherent goodness and wouldn't be unconditional, and if God doesn't woo all equally, as He doesn't, then that means the ultimate destiny of man is in God's hands, meaning God decides who gets wooed and by how much. It's a fact though that some are saved and others not because God cannot save all and salvage His justice and maintain holiness and the purity of heaven--He must judge sin and has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But God is unjust to no one, salvation is not justice, but a form of non-justice known as grace and mercy. If God had to save anyone at all, it would be justice!
We are not born free but in bondage and slavery to sin. We don't need free wills to be saved but wills made free! Our wills are stubborn and need saving too, they are not righteous and able to make free choices: Augustine of Hippo said, we are "free but not freed," meaning that we've lost our liberty like a man in prison who is still human with a will. If God left it up to us, no one would be saved because we're all stubborn. God gives us a choice to make and no one has an excuse or can charge God with wrong for how His Maker made him or Potter molded him; however, we're all culpable for the choices (cf. Josh. 24:15) we make throughout our adult life after the age of accountability (cf. Deut. 1:39; Isa. 7:15).
In sum, we must all give God the glory in our salvation, which is "of the LORD," not mankind, and the only plan giving Him all the glory (Soli Deo Gloria!) is for it to be unconditional election by grace through faith. No one will have any basis of boasting in God's presence. Soli Deo Gloria!
About Me
- Karl Broberg
- I am a born-again Christian, who is Reformed, but also charismatic, spiritually speaking. (I do not speak in tongues, but I believe glossalalia is a bona fide gift not given to all, and not as great as prophecy, for example.) I have several years of college education but only completed a two-year degree. I was raised Lutheran and confirmed, but I didn't "find Christ" until I was in the Army and responded to a Billy Graham crusade in 1973. I was mentored or discipled by the Navigators in the army and upon discharge joined several evangelical, Bible-teaching churches. I was baptized as an infant, but believe in believer baptism, of which I was a partaker after my conversion experience. I believe in the "5 Onlys" of the reformation: sola fide (faith alone); sola Scriptura (Scripture alone); soli Christo (Christ alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (to God alone be the glory). I affirm TULIP as defended in the Reformation.. I affirm most of The Westminster Confession of Faith, especially pertaining to Providence.
Showing posts with label reformed theology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reformed theology. Show all posts
Monday, November 25, 2019
Sunday, July 28, 2019
The Great Exchange
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21, NIV).
"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance..." (Luke 3:*, NIV).
"By faith Abraham... obeyed" (cf. Hebrews 11:8).
"... [T]o advance the obedience of faith among all nations" (Rom. 16:26, HCSB).
"The best measure of a spiritual life is not its ecstasies but its obedience." --Oswald Chambers
"True faith manifests itself in obedience only." --John MacArthur
"Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Faith is not believing in spite of the evidence, but obeying despite the consequences." --source unknown
"Faith is not how much we believe, but how well we obey." --source unknown
Religion is defined as tit for tat: good works in exchange for salvation! You must earn it by good deeds outweighing bad ones. But you can never know where you stand! Legalism is defined as works plus faith in exchange for salvation. While antinomianism or libertinism is defined as faith in exchange for salvation minus works; (in other words, works are not a part of the fruit nor authenticate salvation) in contrast to orthodox Reformed doctrine that faith is given in exchange for salvation plus works (works will always be the fruit and evidence!).
The only way of assurance is for everything to be grace! It's not a matter of us, nor of God and us in any combination, but of God alone ("Salvation is of the LORD," Jonah 2:9). The rub is that if we had to do anything, we'd fail. There's nothing we can do! For those hoping their good works will amount to anything, they are never good enough in God's estimation.
This is an important nuance because the correct Reformed formula for salvation is that "we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone!" The "Five Only's" include by grace alone and by faith alone! Faith and faithfulness (making good on our faith) cannot be divorced! These two can be distinguished but not separated more than you can distinguish your body and soul but if you separate them you're dead! Paul and James both saw the two flip sides of the spiritual equation: Paul would say that he would show you his works by his faith; while James (cf. James 2:16) would counter that he would show you his faith by his works; the point is that they are not contrary nor contradictory statements but just two ways at looking at the one truth of our salvation by a faith that produces evidence in good deeds as fruit.
Salvation is not an imagined or figurative righteousness but actually forensic and totally by grace from beginning till end. Our contribution to the cross was our sin and God exchanged that for the righteousness of Christ on our behalf to our account to use business jargon. It was credited Christ's deeds to our account and that's why they say justification is "just-as-if-I'd-done-it!" When God looks at us in our sinful nature all He sees is Christ's righteousness as it's imputed to our new nature in Christ--the new man. It's not a new suit on the man, but a new man in the suit!
The point about this great exchange is that we must see our need for it. The necessary condition for salvation is to realize we aren't worthy of it. You could say it goes to the lowest bidder! We don't realize how sinful we are till we've tried to be good and we cannot be good without realizing our sin! Sort of like quitting to smoke. This is the catch-22 of salvation that is solved only by the mystery of how grace works in our hearts to kindle faith and awaken repentance and regenerate us into new creatures in Christ.
In coming to Christ, we must come in penitent faith or believing repentance which is granted by a work of grace--we exercise this making Christ real to us. We cannot come of our own power but must be wooed or actually drawn by Christ (elko used here in Greek doesn't mean to woo but to drag, but Arminians don't want to make God out to be forceful and they are trying to protect His honor or reputation). John 6:44 says "no man can come to [Christ] unless the Father who sent [Him] draws him, and verse 65 says similarly that it must be "granted of the Father."
Many see salvation is something that God owes them for their faith or repentance in a tit for tat arrangement or exchange. However, if that were true, it wouldn't be by grace but justice; the point is that God owes no one salvation and didn't have to save anyone to remain holy! We don't earn our salvation by our faith because faith is not a work, as the Roman Catholics believe, and a meritorious one at that-- but don't think grace is enough but add merit to grace, works to faith, the Church to Scripture, and the Pope to Christ.
Faith must be in the right object (we aren't saved by faith in faith--it must be directed in Christ), Christ saves--not faith! It isn't how much faith we have in the church or in the priest or pastor! If faith is a work, then we are saved by works! But we are saved from beginning to end by grace--grace is not only necessary but sufficient (it's all we need). He saved us by grace (cf. Eph. 2:8-9), He keeps us by grace (cf. Jude 21), and He's coming for us and gives us victory by grace (cf. Phil. 2:13). We must become totally grace-oriented to appreciate our salvation in its totality.
Now our "righteousness is as filthy rags" in God's eyes and only what's done in Christ is worthy of God's stamp of approval, imprimatur, and reward in heaven. Paul counted all his deeds in the flesh as "dung." We must see our faith as God's gift to us, not our gift to God. We must never attain the mindset that God owes us and we're doing Him a favor! We are simply vessels of honor that God is using for His glory and purpose. For this is the "chief end of man," according to The Westminster Shorter Catechism, "is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." John Piper adds that it should really read "by enjoying Him forever." Our righteousness is God's gift to us and is the grand exchange for our sin.
That's grace: we are forever in God's debt and will never be able to reimburse or pay Him back, and we never can earn it nor did we, and we certainly didn't deserve it and never will, much less we cannot add anything (nada!) to grace (not Jesus plus "churchmanship," Jesus plus "Churchianity," Jesus plus emotion (emotionalism or sentimentality); Jesus plus knowledge (Gnosticism or intellectualism); Jesus plus knowing the rules (legalism); nor Jesus plus being a do-gooder (moralism). We must realize that grace means just that--the free gift of God we cannot even give back! And God certainly won't ever take back His gift to us, for gifts are given and God will not repent concerning them: "For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29, NIV).
In sum, we may think we are not that bad but God doesn't grade on a scale or curve and the closer we get to salvation and to God, the more we realize our own unworthiness and sinfulness. Paul called himself the "chief of sinners" and William Jay of Bath said that he was a great sinner, but he had a great Savior. No one is too far gone for God's grace and, in effect, we are all hopeless (cf. Eph. 2:12) without it, no one cuts the mustard or meets the standards because Christ raised the bar to perfection, fulfilling the Law.
A word to the wise is sufficient: We're predestined by grace, called by grace, saved and justified by grace, kept by grace, sanctified by grace, glorified by grace! By grace, no one is lost in the shuffle. Soli Deo Gloria!
"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance..." (Luke 3:*, NIV).
"By faith Abraham... obeyed" (cf. Hebrews 11:8).
"... [T]o advance the obedience of faith among all nations" (Rom. 16:26, HCSB).
"The best measure of a spiritual life is not its ecstasies but its obedience." --Oswald Chambers
"True faith manifests itself in obedience only." --John MacArthur
"Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Faith is not believing in spite of the evidence, but obeying despite the consequences." --source unknown
"Faith is not how much we believe, but how well we obey." --source unknown
Religion is defined as tit for tat: good works in exchange for salvation! You must earn it by good deeds outweighing bad ones. But you can never know where you stand! Legalism is defined as works plus faith in exchange for salvation. While antinomianism or libertinism is defined as faith in exchange for salvation minus works; (in other words, works are not a part of the fruit nor authenticate salvation) in contrast to orthodox Reformed doctrine that faith is given in exchange for salvation plus works (works will always be the fruit and evidence!).
The only way of assurance is for everything to be grace! It's not a matter of us, nor of God and us in any combination, but of God alone ("Salvation is of the LORD," Jonah 2:9). The rub is that if we had to do anything, we'd fail. There's nothing we can do! For those hoping their good works will amount to anything, they are never good enough in God's estimation.
This is an important nuance because the correct Reformed formula for salvation is that "we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone!" The "Five Only's" include by grace alone and by faith alone! Faith and faithfulness (making good on our faith) cannot be divorced! These two can be distinguished but not separated more than you can distinguish your body and soul but if you separate them you're dead! Paul and James both saw the two flip sides of the spiritual equation: Paul would say that he would show you his works by his faith; while James (cf. James 2:16) would counter that he would show you his faith by his works; the point is that they are not contrary nor contradictory statements but just two ways at looking at the one truth of our salvation by a faith that produces evidence in good deeds as fruit.
Salvation is not an imagined or figurative righteousness but actually forensic and totally by grace from beginning till end. Our contribution to the cross was our sin and God exchanged that for the righteousness of Christ on our behalf to our account to use business jargon. It was credited Christ's deeds to our account and that's why they say justification is "just-as-if-I'd-done-it!" When God looks at us in our sinful nature all He sees is Christ's righteousness as it's imputed to our new nature in Christ--the new man. It's not a new suit on the man, but a new man in the suit!
The point about this great exchange is that we must see our need for it. The necessary condition for salvation is to realize we aren't worthy of it. You could say it goes to the lowest bidder! We don't realize how sinful we are till we've tried to be good and we cannot be good without realizing our sin! Sort of like quitting to smoke. This is the catch-22 of salvation that is solved only by the mystery of how grace works in our hearts to kindle faith and awaken repentance and regenerate us into new creatures in Christ.
In coming to Christ, we must come in penitent faith or believing repentance which is granted by a work of grace--we exercise this making Christ real to us. We cannot come of our own power but must be wooed or actually drawn by Christ (elko used here in Greek doesn't mean to woo but to drag, but Arminians don't want to make God out to be forceful and they are trying to protect His honor or reputation). John 6:44 says "no man can come to [Christ] unless the Father who sent [Him] draws him, and verse 65 says similarly that it must be "granted of the Father."
Many see salvation is something that God owes them for their faith or repentance in a tit for tat arrangement or exchange. However, if that were true, it wouldn't be by grace but justice; the point is that God owes no one salvation and didn't have to save anyone to remain holy! We don't earn our salvation by our faith because faith is not a work, as the Roman Catholics believe, and a meritorious one at that-- but don't think grace is enough but add merit to grace, works to faith, the Church to Scripture, and the Pope to Christ.
Faith must be in the right object (we aren't saved by faith in faith--it must be directed in Christ), Christ saves--not faith! It isn't how much faith we have in the church or in the priest or pastor! If faith is a work, then we are saved by works! But we are saved from beginning to end by grace--grace is not only necessary but sufficient (it's all we need). He saved us by grace (cf. Eph. 2:8-9), He keeps us by grace (cf. Jude 21), and He's coming for us and gives us victory by grace (cf. Phil. 2:13). We must become totally grace-oriented to appreciate our salvation in its totality.
Now our "righteousness is as filthy rags" in God's eyes and only what's done in Christ is worthy of God's stamp of approval, imprimatur, and reward in heaven. Paul counted all his deeds in the flesh as "dung." We must see our faith as God's gift to us, not our gift to God. We must never attain the mindset that God owes us and we're doing Him a favor! We are simply vessels of honor that God is using for His glory and purpose. For this is the "chief end of man," according to The Westminster Shorter Catechism, "is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." John Piper adds that it should really read "by enjoying Him forever." Our righteousness is God's gift to us and is the grand exchange for our sin.
That's grace: we are forever in God's debt and will never be able to reimburse or pay Him back, and we never can earn it nor did we, and we certainly didn't deserve it and never will, much less we cannot add anything (nada!) to grace (not Jesus plus "churchmanship," Jesus plus "Churchianity," Jesus plus emotion (emotionalism or sentimentality); Jesus plus knowledge (Gnosticism or intellectualism); Jesus plus knowing the rules (legalism); nor Jesus plus being a do-gooder (moralism). We must realize that grace means just that--the free gift of God we cannot even give back! And God certainly won't ever take back His gift to us, for gifts are given and God will not repent concerning them: "For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29, NIV).
In sum, we may think we are not that bad but God doesn't grade on a scale or curve and the closer we get to salvation and to God, the more we realize our own unworthiness and sinfulness. Paul called himself the "chief of sinners" and William Jay of Bath said that he was a great sinner, but he had a great Savior. No one is too far gone for God's grace and, in effect, we are all hopeless (cf. Eph. 2:12) without it, no one cuts the mustard or meets the standards because Christ raised the bar to perfection, fulfilling the Law.
A word to the wise is sufficient: We're predestined by grace, called by grace, saved and justified by grace, kept by grace, sanctified by grace, glorified by grace! By grace, no one is lost in the shuffle. Soli Deo Gloria!
Friday, July 19, 2019
What Is Saving Faith?
Everyone has faith; in what is the question. We are a religious creature made to worship and will worship someone or something if not God, which is idolatry. Dostoevsky said that "man cannot live without worshiping something." We are made for God and can only find our fulfillment in living for Him. But why is man opposed to God when He offers Himself to them? Man is a slave to sin and doesn't want to change his way of life, doing his own thing his way. He doesn't want to submit to authority and grant the ownership of his life to the One who made it. A person of no organized religion may have their faith in the scientific method, that science can solve all our problems--but he is nevertheless a person of faith. And so everyone is a person of faith! We have sound reasons to believe and need not commit intellectual suicide.
Real faith in God is when we go a step beyond so-called story-book faith or head belief and it registers in the heart and we desire to live it out in trust and commitment. We must be obedient to the gospel and to the faith. Saving faith is always accompanied by genuine repentance--they go hand in hand! And we must never divorce faith and faithfulness, for we live by faith and it must grow, not being dead. Dead faith produces no works and that kind of faith cannot save. Good soil produces fruit and saving faith produces the fruit of good works. As the Reformers said, "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone." If we have no works, our faith is suspect. James says that faith without works is dead! James also says, "I'll show you my faith by my works!" But we are not saved by works, but not without them either. We don't have faith in ourselves or our ability in trying to save ourselves, because it's the object that matters. We must realize that genuine faith expresses itself!
God opens our eyes to have faith, for we are blinded by Satan. He quickens or kindles faith within us by grace and it's not a meritorious work as Rome would have you believe--for then we would be saved by merit or works. We will have nothing to boast of in God's presence. Faith is the work of God but our act. We must put our faith in the right object to be saved, for we don't have faith in faith, but faith in Christ--faith doesn't save, Christ does! But this faith must be penitent as we turn from sin to God and believe in Christ. That's why it may be termed penitent faith or believing repentance that saves. We have believed through grace, a supernatural act of God regenerating us. God grants both repentance and faith as a privilege of being the elect (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18). He opens the door to faith and repentance (cf. Acts 14:27).
There is a profession of faith and reality of faith, whereas bogus faith is misplaced and insincere. God doesn't ask for perfect faith, only sincere, unfeigned faith (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:5). Without faith, we cannot please God (cf. Heb. 11:6). There are people of great faith but it's misplaced--sincerity matters but it's not everything (you can be sincerely wrong). There are believers in name only or nominal Christians who go through the motions and have memorized the Dance of the Pious. Saving faith is obedient as Bonhoeffer says, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." They shall know we are Christians by our love--the ultimate obedience. That is the litmus test! Faith and obedience are correlated in Heb. 3:17-18, HCSB, as follows: "And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." We desire to obey, even if we fall short of perfection.
The faith you have is the faith you show! The rallying cry of the Reformation was that we are saved by faith alone and Rome pronounced anyone anathema that adhered to this doctrine at the Council of Trent (the Counter-Reformation). We are not saved by good works, and faith is not a work, but we are saved unto good works, that we may accomplish the will of God. Works are no substitute for faith, but only evidence of it. In fact, God foreordains good works for us to do for His purposes. We must be saved by grace, for this is the only way to have assurance. And "salvation is of the LORD," as Jonah found out (cf. Jonah 2:9) which means it's God's accomplishment, not man's achievement. We receive faith, we don't achieve it, i.e., we don't conjure it up by ourselves, but it's totally a gift of grace. But we must put our faith to work and turn our creed into deeds, for faith is knowledge in action. Keeping the faith only works if it's in Christ!
Rome reduces faith to assent or acquiescence or acknowledgment with the church dogma. Just realizing Christ is God and rose from the dead, if one doesn't put the faith into action, will not save. Believing Christ rose from the dead is history; believing He died for you and rose for you and personalizing this is salvation. By faith Abraham obeyed! True saving faith is a surrendered, substituted, inhabited, relinquished, and even yielded life to the will of God, whereas Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit's residence--in other words, He owns us because He bought us and redeemed us! We must take a spiritual checkup or spiritual inventory to find out whether we have the Spirit or not and if Christ is living in us--if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His and he is reprobate. In sum, if we love Jesus we will obey Him (cf. John 14:15) and there is a curse on anyone who doesn't love the Lord (cf. Rom. 16:22)--true faith trusts in Christ as Savior and submits to Him as Lord, as Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey My commands." Soli Deo Gloria!
Friday, July 12, 2019
Pre-salvation Works?
"I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD, and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart" (Jer. 24:7, NASB).
"I will give you a new heart and put anew spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36:26, HCSB).
"For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn't receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn't received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7, HCSB).
"Jesus replied, 'This is the work of God--that you believe in the One He has sent" (John 6:29, HCSB).
"For it is God who is working in you, enabling you desire and to work out HIs good purpose" (Phil. 2:13, HCSB).
NB: If our salvation depended on us or our works, we'd find a way to blow it!
I have heard that the outsider or infidel thinks we are saved by submitting to the Lordship of Christ as some kind of tit for tat arrangement! There are no, and I repeat no, pre-salvation works we must do to inherit salvation! God does all the work and also gets all the glory! We contribute naught and get no glory or credit--we cannot pat ourselves on the back and give ourselves congrats for a job well done; i.e., being proud of our virtue, wisdom, or even intellect. Salvation is not by works, but by faith received from God. We don't achieve faith, we receive it ("[we have ] received a precious faith," cf. 2 Pet. 1:1; cf. Phil. 1:29). It's grace all the way: We cannot earn it, nor pay it back, nor do we deserve it, nor even can we add to it! If faith were a work that we do, we'd have something to boast of because ours salvation would be a work, and we are not saved by works (cf. Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6)!
This tit for tat (quid pro quo) is the totally wrong way to view salvation, because God turns our heart of stone into a heart of flesh and removes all our wrinkles and blemishes in His sight to make us acceptable and justified, even though we are still sinners, we are just in His eyes--He declares us just, He doesn't make us just. We must look upon salvation as going from Point A to Point Z, whereas Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith and works in us to do according to His good pleasure (cf. Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:29; Heb. 13:21), completing what He began, our salvation accomplished by the power of God, not in the energy of the flesh. What happened to Saul on the road to Damascus? Jesus changed his rebellious heart and told him he was "kicking against the goads [fighting God's will]."
God is able, because He's the Almighty, to overcome our weak wills and change our hearts (cf. Jer. 24:7), totally transforming us into new creatures in Christ. Our destiny is in God's hands, not ours (cf. Rom. 9:16). When we realize that it was God at work, and we that turned over a new leaf, made an AA pledge, or a New Year's resolution, then we are becoming grace-oriented and giving God His due glory.
NB: There is nothing we can do to make ourselves "acceptable" in God's eyes; we are totally depraved and unable not to sin in His estimation. As theologians say, "We are not sinners because we sin, but sin because we are sinners." We cannot not sin! We are dead in trespasses and sin before salvation and a dead man can do nothing but await the grace of God like Lazarus did, whom Jesus rose from the dead. What He does is quicken faith (cf. Acts 16:14) within us and make us alive in Christ to respond to the gospel message; i.e., we are regenerated unto faith. "He opened the door of faith. [cf. Acts 14:27]" A good rule of thumb for sound Bible doctrine is that the one that gives the glory to God, not man, is the right one! For example, the sinner who claims he came to Christ of his own free will, probably left of his own too, un-regenerated, that is. We must be wooed or drawn (cf. John 6:44, 65) and transformed all by grace. If we merited our salvation because we believed, it wouldn't be grace, but justice!
In summation, let me point out that salvation is wholly a work of God (it's monergistic, not synergistic or cooperative) and Jonah 2:9 summed it up with one utterance: "Salvation is of the LORD!" It's not Jesus plus anything: not plus going to church, plus witnessing, plus giving alms, et cetera! This means it's not of us and God, nor of us, but of the Lord--He did it all! Soli Deo Gloria!
"I will give you a new heart and put anew spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36:26, HCSB).
"For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn't receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn't received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7, HCSB).
"Jesus replied, 'This is the work of God--that you believe in the One He has sent" (John 6:29, HCSB).
"For it is God who is working in you, enabling you desire and to work out HIs good purpose" (Phil. 2:13, HCSB).
NB: If our salvation depended on us or our works, we'd find a way to blow it!
I have heard that the outsider or infidel thinks we are saved by submitting to the Lordship of Christ as some kind of tit for tat arrangement! There are no, and I repeat no, pre-salvation works we must do to inherit salvation! God does all the work and also gets all the glory! We contribute naught and get no glory or credit--we cannot pat ourselves on the back and give ourselves congrats for a job well done; i.e., being proud of our virtue, wisdom, or even intellect. Salvation is not by works, but by faith received from God. We don't achieve faith, we receive it ("[we have ] received a precious faith," cf. 2 Pet. 1:1; cf. Phil. 1:29). It's grace all the way: We cannot earn it, nor pay it back, nor do we deserve it, nor even can we add to it! If faith were a work that we do, we'd have something to boast of because ours salvation would be a work, and we are not saved by works (cf. Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6)!
This tit for tat (quid pro quo) is the totally wrong way to view salvation, because God turns our heart of stone into a heart of flesh and removes all our wrinkles and blemishes in His sight to make us acceptable and justified, even though we are still sinners, we are just in His eyes--He declares us just, He doesn't make us just. We must look upon salvation as going from Point A to Point Z, whereas Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith and works in us to do according to His good pleasure (cf. Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:29; Heb. 13:21), completing what He began, our salvation accomplished by the power of God, not in the energy of the flesh. What happened to Saul on the road to Damascus? Jesus changed his rebellious heart and told him he was "kicking against the goads [fighting God's will]."
God is able, because He's the Almighty, to overcome our weak wills and change our hearts (cf. Jer. 24:7), totally transforming us into new creatures in Christ. Our destiny is in God's hands, not ours (cf. Rom. 9:16). When we realize that it was God at work, and we that turned over a new leaf, made an AA pledge, or a New Year's resolution, then we are becoming grace-oriented and giving God His due glory.
NB: There is nothing we can do to make ourselves "acceptable" in God's eyes; we are totally depraved and unable not to sin in His estimation. As theologians say, "We are not sinners because we sin, but sin because we are sinners." We cannot not sin! We are dead in trespasses and sin before salvation and a dead man can do nothing but await the grace of God like Lazarus did, whom Jesus rose from the dead. What He does is quicken faith (cf. Acts 16:14) within us and make us alive in Christ to respond to the gospel message; i.e., we are regenerated unto faith. "He opened the door of faith. [cf. Acts 14:27]" A good rule of thumb for sound Bible doctrine is that the one that gives the glory to God, not man, is the right one! For example, the sinner who claims he came to Christ of his own free will, probably left of his own too, un-regenerated, that is. We must be wooed or drawn (cf. John 6:44, 65) and transformed all by grace. If we merited our salvation because we believed, it wouldn't be grace, but justice!
In summation, let me point out that salvation is wholly a work of God (it's monergistic, not synergistic or cooperative) and Jonah 2:9 summed it up with one utterance: "Salvation is of the LORD!" It's not Jesus plus anything: not plus going to church, plus witnessing, plus giving alms, et cetera! This means it's not of us and God, nor of us, but of the Lord--He did it all! Soli Deo Gloria!
Monday, April 15, 2019
Assurance And Security Part 3
The best Bible verse I've seen for eternal security is Rom. 8:29-30, which says that all who are predestined are justified--none are lost ("For whom He foreknew, He predestined, and whom He predestined, He called, and whom He called He justified"). Jesus also said none are lost except the son of perdition and we are "kept" (See Jude vv. 1-4 for the promise). Without eternal security, there is no assurance of salvation like Romanists maintain. If our salvation depends on our behavior or conduct we might blow it in the end. Who would know that he would endure to the end unless God promised it in His Word? "He who endures to the end shall be saved." (This is not a proviso of salvation, but a promise that we will be saved.) (Matt. 10:22; 24:13) God doesn't quit on us, but finishes what He starts (He doesn't teach us to swim to let us drown): "For He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion" (Phil. 1:6). "Tetelestai!" (It is finished, PAID IN FULL!.) Soli Deo Gloria.
Assurance And Security Part 2
The doctrines of eternal security and assurance of salvation are interconnected. The truth or falsity of one bears on the credibility of the other. Romanists deny any sure doctrine of assurance, though they say assurance is possible for some by divine revelation to that effect, and say that one who is born-again cannot say for sure that he is numbered among the predestined--that would be presumption. St. Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, said that this is not arrogant stoutness (presumption), but faith. Wesleyans believe in present assurance, but deny any perseverance is guaranteed. They believe they can lose their salvation and deny the ditty, "Once saved, always saved." Most Lutherans believe that if you lose your faith, you will lose your salvation, even though Martin Luther was orthodox in his belief of the perseverance of the saints. Security is a fact, assurance is an acknowledgment of a fact and the two can be distinguished or differentiated, but not separated. You cannot logically affirm one without the other! Soli Deo Gloria!
Notes From Lecture Of Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, Jr.
Dr. Johnson (predecessor of Norman L. Geisler and my first teacher of sound doctrine,) mentioned three assurances of salvation: The evidential (works of righteousness, love of the brethren, overcoming sin per 1 John 3:7); the internal witness of the Holy Spirit per (Rom. 8:16 as the Spirit bears witness with our spirit); and the external witness of the reliable Word of God itself. Trusting in the Word cannot be more reliable, so we should cling to our favorite verse of assurance, e.g., John 6:37 which says, "He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." This is like having a "spiritual birth certificate."
Salvation brings life, but assurance brings joy. "Do we have faith to die by or just one we can live with?" says Dr. Johnson.
He made it clear that one can be saved and have no assurance or a weak faith with doubts. It is God's will for us to know for sure absolutely. Not just out of curiosity, but as a boon to our faith and a duty to God to have a strong faith. Augustine of Hippo said that assurance is no "arrogant stoutness," but faith, and no presumption at all. What shall we trust: God's infallible Word or our experience? Soli Deo Gloria!
Note: Dr. Johnson baptized me and was criticized at DTS (Dallas Theological Seminary) for his strict Reformed theology. He was the pastor at Believers Chapel in Dallas, Texas. He also was one of Charles Swindoll's professors at DTS.
Salvation brings life, but assurance brings joy. "Do we have faith to die by or just one we can live with?" says Dr. Johnson.
He made it clear that one can be saved and have no assurance or a weak faith with doubts. It is God's will for us to know for sure absolutely. Not just out of curiosity, but as a boon to our faith and a duty to God to have a strong faith. Augustine of Hippo said that assurance is no "arrogant stoutness," but faith, and no presumption at all. What shall we trust: God's infallible Word or our experience? Soli Deo Gloria!
Note: Dr. Johnson baptized me and was criticized at DTS (Dallas Theological Seminary) for his strict Reformed theology. He was the pastor at Believers Chapel in Dallas, Texas. He also was one of Charles Swindoll's professors at DTS.
Basic Assurance
I have seen stats and data that support the conclusion that most Christians are not sure of their salvation. At least 50 percent of Christians claim to be unsure. In some churches, 95 percent of the members are unsure (mostly Roman Catholic). Assurance of salvation does not belong to the essence of faith and doesn't always exist with saving faith. God is more interested in whether our faith is sincere and unfeigned and not hypocritical than being unwavering. Everyone's faith is tested at times because it is more precious as gold and silver in God's eyes. Someone whose faith has never been tested has weak faith. It isn't the amount of faith, but the object of the faith.
We don't need divine intervention or a revelation to the effect that we are saved, like hearing voices or seeing visions, to know we are saved. God's Word is true and He cannot lie. If we have done our part of the promise of salvation and God's Word says we're saved, then God has more to lose than we do by not saving us, we would lose our soul, but God would lose His deity. Some claim to have experiences, but we should still base our assurance on the Word of God and stand on the promises of God, relying on His Word, not walking in the "glow" of some experience, or clinging to the memory of some emotional encounter. Soli Deo Gloria!
We don't need divine intervention or a revelation to the effect that we are saved, like hearing voices or seeing visions, to know we are saved. God's Word is true and He cannot lie. If we have done our part of the promise of salvation and God's Word says we're saved, then God has more to lose than we do by not saving us, we would lose our soul, but God would lose His deity. Some claim to have experiences, but we should still base our assurance on the Word of God and stand on the promises of God, relying on His Word, not walking in the "glow" of some experience, or clinging to the memory of some emotional encounter. Soli Deo Gloria!
Assurance And Security
"Our assurance is not based on our feelings, behavior...but on the character of God...." We may have a question of semantics here, but it seems to me that we are reassured by our subjective experience and objective faith in God's Word. Our ultimate "security" is in God's hands as we are inscribed on the palms of His hands (cf. Isaiah 49:16). We are sealed and a down payment has been paid to guarantee His promise. We are given assurance and security as a GIFT.
One cannot be "unborn" nor "unjustified" and so our salvation is as permanent as adoption can be. God's judgment of our justification is permanent. Christ is interceding for us, so who can be against us?
Do I understand you, that you don't believe in the final perseverance of the saints? Do you believe that it doesn't matter how you live as long as you know you are saved (antinomianism which is libertinism)? False security and presumption are wrong. Do you dichotomize (split into two factions) Christians into spiritual spheres? I don't believe some Christians can sin and say that it's alright because they are "carnal" Christians, but Christians can be carnal at times. (Look at the reality of Rom. 7--"Oh, wretched man that I am.") This is not a "Christian experience," but it is, nevertheless, the experience of many. This seems to be the anticlimax of the book of Romans but it is really the starting point--our END IS GOD'S BEGINNING according to Watchman Nee.
I believe you can fall away, but not absolutely, and finally. I do not believe that apostasy is a "clear and present danger" for the believer. I have heard it said that you should not believe in "eternal security" but perseverance. That means that we cooperate with God in our final security. I disagree with this, partly out of a personal experience where I can say I have strayed from the Lord and He has brought me back out of grace, and partly out of scripture.
The difference is not that we can say, "Now that I am a Christian I can go see a for fun and not worry about my salvation." I do not think any real genuine believer would ever say that it is only hypothetical. You can do what you want to if you love Jesus, but the things you want to do are different and are changed. We are held and kept in His hands and He has a tight grip on us. We do persevere in the end, though we may have our ups and downs and backslide, God, will heal us.
No Christian ever truly presumes on the grace of God or purposely goes astray; it usually happens slowly (he drifts away), by not being in fellowship or not going to church and waking up one day and realizing what you did, as God grants you repentance like the prodigal son. The Christian may go into sin, but he doesn't want to deep inside, he is just succumbing to temptation--it's not a temptation to some, who have no right to judge. God can cure him of his weakness and bring him back to the fold. If God allows it to happen, He has a purpose, because no one can thwart God's plan or resist His will.
One must understand that perseverance does not mean we will not sin frequently, or fall into it, but that our faith will not fail (David never lost faith, though he was out of fellowship for about one year). We should really give God the glory and stress the preservation that He does on our behalf. A word to the wise is sufficient: The Scriptural caveat is, "Let him who thinks he stands to take heed lest he falls" (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12). There, but for the grace of God go I. NB: Security and assurance can be distinguished but not separated--they go hand in hand and cannot exist independently. Soli Deo Gloria!
One cannot be "unborn" nor "unjustified" and so our salvation is as permanent as adoption can be. God's judgment of our justification is permanent. Christ is interceding for us, so who can be against us?
Do I understand you, that you don't believe in the final perseverance of the saints? Do you believe that it doesn't matter how you live as long as you know you are saved (antinomianism which is libertinism)? False security and presumption are wrong. Do you dichotomize (split into two factions) Christians into spiritual spheres? I don't believe some Christians can sin and say that it's alright because they are "carnal" Christians, but Christians can be carnal at times. (Look at the reality of Rom. 7--"Oh, wretched man that I am.") This is not a "Christian experience," but it is, nevertheless, the experience of many. This seems to be the anticlimax of the book of Romans but it is really the starting point--our END IS GOD'S BEGINNING according to Watchman Nee.
I believe you can fall away, but not absolutely, and finally. I do not believe that apostasy is a "clear and present danger" for the believer. I have heard it said that you should not believe in "eternal security" but perseverance. That means that we cooperate with God in our final security. I disagree with this, partly out of a personal experience where I can say I have strayed from the Lord and He has brought me back out of grace, and partly out of scripture.
The difference is not that we can say, "Now that I am a Christian I can go see a for fun and not worry about my salvation." I do not think any real genuine believer would ever say that it is only hypothetical. You can do what you want to if you love Jesus, but the things you want to do are different and are changed. We are held and kept in His hands and He has a tight grip on us. We do persevere in the end, though we may have our ups and downs and backslide, God, will heal us.
No Christian ever truly presumes on the grace of God or purposely goes astray; it usually happens slowly (he drifts away), by not being in fellowship or not going to church and waking up one day and realizing what you did, as God grants you repentance like the prodigal son. The Christian may go into sin, but he doesn't want to deep inside, he is just succumbing to temptation--it's not a temptation to some, who have no right to judge. God can cure him of his weakness and bring him back to the fold. If God allows it to happen, He has a purpose, because no one can thwart God's plan or resist His will.
One must understand that perseverance does not mean we will not sin frequently, or fall into it, but that our faith will not fail (David never lost faith, though he was out of fellowship for about one year). We should really give God the glory and stress the preservation that He does on our behalf. A word to the wise is sufficient: The Scriptural caveat is, "Let him who thinks he stands to take heed lest he falls" (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12). There, but for the grace of God go I. NB: Security and assurance can be distinguished but not separated--they go hand in hand and cannot exist independently. Soli Deo Gloria!
Assurance Of Salvation Part 5
First of all, it must be recognized that there is no assurance without eternal security, for one would never know if he were to persevere. Apostasy is never the final lot for the Christian--it is not a "clear and present danger," so to speak, even though one can temporarily be led astray by false teachers, Christ is watching out for His sheep. (We can fall from grace, but not absolutely.) "You have fallen from grace..." does not mean you've lost your salvation.
Faith in Christ is faith in His Word. Leaning on the everlasting promises. "Not one of them has failed." Good advice is to take a favorite salvation verse like John 1:13 and call it your spiritual birth certificate. God says it in His Word; I believe it in my heart; that settles it in my mind.
The entire book of First John was written primarily to give assurance of salvation and offers 7 tests that would be impossible without salvation to follow: Loving the brethren (1 John 3:9); Overcoming the world (5:4); Having the inner witness (5:10); Doing righteousness (2:3); Confessing the Lordship of Christ (4:15); Keeping His commands.
There are pseudo assurances such as spiritual interest, Bible knowledge, experiences, and moral behavior.
Some people have spurious faith and fall away and repudiate the faith. They were never true believers according to 1 John 2:19 which says that the went away that it would be manifest that they were not of us. They were enamored with some of the ideas of the faith or philosophies or: "converted" to the program, but not converted to Christ. They are "spiritual dropouts."
Jonathan Edwards wrote an entire book to give assurance as he studied the so-called "holy affections," which were impossible without conversion. (Having fellowship, sensitivity to sin, obeying God, rejecting the world, expecting the return of Christ, decreasing sin, love of the brethren, answered prayer, and experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit). His book was written in 1748 and is called A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections. He wrote it because of the Great Awakening, [which began about 1741] and so many people were being converted he wanted to bring some perspective to the converts.
To remain uncertain is to paralyze our walk and it is God's will for us to "know" that we have eternal life, not just "hope so" (cf. 1 John 5:13). Paul says, "...I KNOW whom I have believed and am confident that He is able to KEEP that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:9--Emphasis added). Soli Deo Gloria
Faith in Christ is faith in His Word. Leaning on the everlasting promises. "Not one of them has failed." Good advice is to take a favorite salvation verse like John 1:13 and call it your spiritual birth certificate. God says it in His Word; I believe it in my heart; that settles it in my mind.
The entire book of First John was written primarily to give assurance of salvation and offers 7 tests that would be impossible without salvation to follow: Loving the brethren (1 John 3:9); Overcoming the world (5:4); Having the inner witness (5:10); Doing righteousness (2:3); Confessing the Lordship of Christ (4:15); Keeping His commands.
There are pseudo assurances such as spiritual interest, Bible knowledge, experiences, and moral behavior.
Some people have spurious faith and fall away and repudiate the faith. They were never true believers according to 1 John 2:19 which says that the went away that it would be manifest that they were not of us. They were enamored with some of the ideas of the faith or philosophies or: "converted" to the program, but not converted to Christ. They are "spiritual dropouts."
Jonathan Edwards wrote an entire book to give assurance as he studied the so-called "holy affections," which were impossible without conversion. (Having fellowship, sensitivity to sin, obeying God, rejecting the world, expecting the return of Christ, decreasing sin, love of the brethren, answered prayer, and experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit). His book was written in 1748 and is called A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections. He wrote it because of the Great Awakening, [which began about 1741] and so many people were being converted he wanted to bring some perspective to the converts.
To remain uncertain is to paralyze our walk and it is God's will for us to "know" that we have eternal life, not just "hope so" (cf. 1 John 5:13). Paul says, "...I KNOW whom I have believed and am confident that He is able to KEEP that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:9--Emphasis added). Soli Deo Gloria
Assurance Of Salvation Part 4
I agree in theory that one must rest on the promises of God! We are fruit inspectors, but not of each other's fruit, but of our own--only we know if we are experiencing the joy of the Lord, etc. R. C. Sproul says that we "must search our OWN hearts." If we have come to a true love of the Lord, it is added assurance, because this is impossible without saving faith. (Cf. 1 Pet. 1:2-10)
Assurance can be intermittent and immediate assurance is not of the essence but of the well-being of our faith according to The Westminster Confession (ca. 1646). The Christian that says he knows he is saved because he feels it in his heart will be silenced when one of another religion can duplicate his feelings if they are not based on objective historical fact and the Word of God. Without the historical fact of the resurrection, all the feelings in the world would be useless and meaningless and in vain.
The best way to be sure is to have faith in God's Word--holding Him to His promises as the Supreme Promise Keeper: 1 John 5:13, John 1:12, Rom. 10:9-10, et alia. But note well that our faith is not perfect but God only requires UNFEIGNED faith, we are not to be hypocrites but to be sincere and honest with God.
The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints as the Reformed theology calls it or better known as "eternal security" should be called the doctrine of the "Preservation of the Saints" according to R. C. Sproul because it is really God's keeping power and not our ability. If our salvation depended upon us we would blow it. God does make us responsible for "Keep [yourselves] in the love of God."
Two verses that might be problematic are Mat. 24:13 and James 5:11 which say, "He that endures to the end shall be saved." and "Blessed is he who endures." These can be seen as "provisos" or requirements, but also as promises! I believe that we can fall, but not ultimately, we can fail the Lord, but not ultimately. We can even embrace heresy, but God will rescue us in the end. God will never lead us beyond that we are able, so there is to be no fear that we will be burned at the stake and lose our faith. We can backslide, but we will not despair. As far away from the Lord that I have gone, but God never gave up on me, even though I couldn't believe how far I had gone after I had come back to him. Soli Deo Gloria!
Assurance can be intermittent and immediate assurance is not of the essence but of the well-being of our faith according to The Westminster Confession (ca. 1646). The Christian that says he knows he is saved because he feels it in his heart will be silenced when one of another religion can duplicate his feelings if they are not based on objective historical fact and the Word of God. Without the historical fact of the resurrection, all the feelings in the world would be useless and meaningless and in vain.
The best way to be sure is to have faith in God's Word--holding Him to His promises as the Supreme Promise Keeper: 1 John 5:13, John 1:12, Rom. 10:9-10, et alia. But note well that our faith is not perfect but God only requires UNFEIGNED faith, we are not to be hypocrites but to be sincere and honest with God.
The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints as the Reformed theology calls it or better known as "eternal security" should be called the doctrine of the "Preservation of the Saints" according to R. C. Sproul because it is really God's keeping power and not our ability. If our salvation depended upon us we would blow it. God does make us responsible for "Keep [yourselves] in the love of God."
Two verses that might be problematic are Mat. 24:13 and James 5:11 which say, "He that endures to the end shall be saved." and "Blessed is he who endures." These can be seen as "provisos" or requirements, but also as promises! I believe that we can fall, but not ultimately, we can fail the Lord, but not ultimately. We can even embrace heresy, but God will rescue us in the end. God will never lead us beyond that we are able, so there is to be no fear that we will be burned at the stake and lose our faith. We can backslide, but we will not despair. As far away from the Lord that I have gone, but God never gave up on me, even though I couldn't believe how far I had gone after I had come back to him. Soli Deo Gloria!
Assurance Of Salvation Part 3
I hope you see the IRONY in my claiming (in a humble manner) that I am an expert on the subject of salvation assurance. I have studied it for a very long time, but it is my experience that I have learned the lessons through the school of hard knocks. No one really wants to be an expert on this subject, because it is embarrassing that one has struggled in this area. Why do we feel ashamed of our doubts? Doubt is an element of faith, not the opposite of it. I believe, help thou mine unbelief it says, right? \
What I have found out is that without the doctrine of eternal security there is no assurance, and that is why Catholics deny it, even present assurance of salvation. Lutherans are split, some thinking that if you lose your faith, you can lose it, but Martin Luther believed in the security of the believer like Calvin. The point is, is that we won't lose our faith. We can fall, but not absolutely.
There is no experience that you can claim that means your "in." God doesn't want you to base your assurance on experience (re attestation, e.g., tongues)--I don't care if you have prophesied in Christ's name, or have cast out demons. One must have faith in Christ alone for one's salvation, not in experiences, Like Christ said that he is blessed who believes and hasn't seen, so is he blessed who haven't had experiences of wonderment or awe. I am not trying to brag of my knowledge per se, but this is one area where I really believe I have a grip on and a solid take.
God wants us to be sure and the apostle John says in 1 John 5:13 that he wrote the letter that they might "know." Michael Faraday, the great scientist, was asked on his death bed what his speculations were now. He said, "I don't have any speculations, I have certainties!" "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:9). Tongues isn't the only attestation experience (cf. Rom. 8:16). Soli Deo Gloria!
What I have found out is that without the doctrine of eternal security there is no assurance, and that is why Catholics deny it, even present assurance of salvation. Lutherans are split, some thinking that if you lose your faith, you can lose it, but Martin Luther believed in the security of the believer like Calvin. The point is, is that we won't lose our faith. We can fall, but not absolutely.
There is no experience that you can claim that means your "in." God doesn't want you to base your assurance on experience (re attestation, e.g., tongues)--I don't care if you have prophesied in Christ's name, or have cast out demons. One must have faith in Christ alone for one's salvation, not in experiences, Like Christ said that he is blessed who believes and hasn't seen, so is he blessed who haven't had experiences of wonderment or awe. I am not trying to brag of my knowledge per se, but this is one area where I really believe I have a grip on and a solid take.
God wants us to be sure and the apostle John says in 1 John 5:13 that he wrote the letter that they might "know." Michael Faraday, the great scientist, was asked on his death bed what his speculations were now. He said, "I don't have any speculations, I have certainties!" "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:9). Tongues isn't the only attestation experience (cf. Rom. 8:16). Soli Deo Gloria!
Assurance Of Salvation Part 2
I am sort of an expert on this subject and would like to share some lessons I've learned in my spiritual journey.
Assurance is not presumption as the Catholics would have you believe, for Augustine said it was faith, even though Catholics say you must have a divine revelation to the effect to be sure of one's numbering in the elect; otherwise one is sinning unto presumption. There are four possibilities of assurance (according to R. C. Sproul): One can be sure of salvation and not be saved; one can be unsaved and know it; one can be saved and know it, or one can be saved and not know it. Assurance doesn't belong to the essence of faith (according to The Westminster Confession).
Some people have syllogistic (a major premise, followed by a minor premise, leading to a conclusion) assurance (As John MacArthur would say.): All Americans are saved, I am an American, ergo I am saved! They can be very ridiculous and there are many people talking about Heaven that are not going there, as the spiritual says. This is the phenomenon of false assurance.
True assurance comes from tried and proven faith through trials and tribulations and tests. One may or may not have an emotional reaction at salvation, but one shouldn't cling to the memory of some experience in the past as assurance, but only to present obedience and fruit. "Only he who is obedient believes, and only he believes who is obedient," said Dietrich Bonhoeffer. (Obedience is the true test of faith--Abraham obeyed God.) God is not impressed with feelings but with faith. A relationship based on feelings is shallow. The person that says he knows he is saved because of a warm feeling will be silenced when someone of another religion can duplicate his experience. One must base his assurance on the Word of God and stand on His promises and take God at His Word.
Assurance is commanded and enhances our sanctification and if one is or a backslider his assurance may be taken away. "Be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure ..." (2 Pet. 1:10). "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith, test yourselves..." (2 Cor. 13:5 cf. 1 Cor. 11:28).
We are guaranteed by God to endure to the end and not to lose our faith. Hab. 3:18 says that "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord" through the crops fail, etc. Only when one loses the Lord has he lost all, and a Christian cannot lose the Lord. However, it is a synergistic effort or you could say we persevere as God preserves. Soli Deo Gloria!
Assurance is not presumption as the Catholics would have you believe, for Augustine said it was faith, even though Catholics say you must have a divine revelation to the effect to be sure of one's numbering in the elect; otherwise one is sinning unto presumption. There are four possibilities of assurance (according to R. C. Sproul): One can be sure of salvation and not be saved; one can be unsaved and know it; one can be saved and know it, or one can be saved and not know it. Assurance doesn't belong to the essence of faith (according to The Westminster Confession).
Some people have syllogistic (a major premise, followed by a minor premise, leading to a conclusion) assurance (As John MacArthur would say.): All Americans are saved, I am an American, ergo I am saved! They can be very ridiculous and there are many people talking about Heaven that are not going there, as the spiritual says. This is the phenomenon of false assurance.
True assurance comes from tried and proven faith through trials and tribulations and tests. One may or may not have an emotional reaction at salvation, but one shouldn't cling to the memory of some experience in the past as assurance, but only to present obedience and fruit. "Only he who is obedient believes, and only he believes who is obedient," said Dietrich Bonhoeffer. (Obedience is the true test of faith--Abraham obeyed God.) God is not impressed with feelings but with faith. A relationship based on feelings is shallow. The person that says he knows he is saved because of a warm feeling will be silenced when someone of another religion can duplicate his experience. One must base his assurance on the Word of God and stand on His promises and take God at His Word.
Assurance is commanded and enhances our sanctification and if one is or a backslider his assurance may be taken away. "Be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure ..." (2 Pet. 1:10). "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith, test yourselves..." (2 Cor. 13:5 cf. 1 Cor. 11:28).
We are guaranteed by God to endure to the end and not to lose our faith. Hab. 3:18 says that "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord" through the crops fail, etc. Only when one loses the Lord has he lost all, and a Christian cannot lose the Lord. However, it is a synergistic effort or you could say we persevere as God preserves. Soli Deo Gloria!
Is Assurance Automatic?
Assurance belongs to the well-being of faith, but not to the being of faith (the bene esse, not the esse). It is not an automatic fruit, but, like all fruit, must be grown. Obedience and sanctification bring about the testimony of the Spirit within. Now, when I am talking of assurance, I am not talking about objective assurance or the knowledge that Christ died and rose again according to Scripture, but the subjective reality that it applies to you personally--like maybe you wonder if you have repented enough, etc.
The church of Rome has a pernicious doctrine that denies any assurance or ultimate security, except by divine revelation to that effect. The Canons of Dort (ca. 1618) condemned this position. They affirmed that it arises from good works, a good conscience, measure of faith (it can be intermittent or in degree), and from the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit ("The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God").
Christians can struggle with assurance and have carnal doubts, but usually, this is in the state of backsliding and maybe God's way of warning him. Martin Luther called this attack the "Anfectung" of Satan, whereby he wants to take away our security in Christ. The Westminster Confession asserts that infallible assurance does not belong to the essence of salvation.
We can feel abandoned by God, but we aren't, for He has promised us he "will never leave us nor forsake us." Sproul says we do not have to know we are saved to be saved, and I agree from personal experience. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints (which really means God preserves as we persevere) affirms not only our present security but also our continuity in the state of grace and in the end we will not fall from it.
In sum, we are exhorted to "make our calling and election sure," and it a tremendous benefit or boon to our well-being to have this knowledge which leads to higher levels of sanctification. Remember, it's not an automatic fruit, and we can be saved without assurance, but the more pressing concern is those who have false assurance and think they are saved when not. Soli Deo Gloria!
The church of Rome has a pernicious doctrine that denies any assurance or ultimate security, except by divine revelation to that effect. The Canons of Dort (ca. 1618) condemned this position. They affirmed that it arises from good works, a good conscience, measure of faith (it can be intermittent or in degree), and from the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit ("The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God").
Christians can struggle with assurance and have carnal doubts, but usually, this is in the state of backsliding and maybe God's way of warning him. Martin Luther called this attack the "Anfectung" of Satan, whereby he wants to take away our security in Christ. The Westminster Confession asserts that infallible assurance does not belong to the essence of salvation.
We can feel abandoned by God, but we aren't, for He has promised us he "will never leave us nor forsake us." Sproul says we do not have to know we are saved to be saved, and I agree from personal experience. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints (which really means God preserves as we persevere) affirms not only our present security but also our continuity in the state of grace and in the end we will not fall from it.
In sum, we are exhorted to "make our calling and election sure," and it a tremendous benefit or boon to our well-being to have this knowledge which leads to higher levels of sanctification. Remember, it's not an automatic fruit, and we can be saved without assurance, but the more pressing concern is those who have false assurance and think they are saved when not. Soli Deo Gloria!
On The Enslaved Will
The bondage of the will or what Martin Luther called the enslaved will was the subject of his book "De Servo Arbitrio." A diatribe was written against the scholar Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam a well-known prototype "Arminian" and protagonist of "free will" as the Romanists defined it. The Remonstrants objected to Reformed theology and were answered by the Canons of Dort in 1618, which delineated the so-called five points of Calvinism. Jacobus Arminius was the architect of the Arminian heresy, which deviated from orthodox theology stemming from the days of Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
Martin Luther said that the freedom of the will is a grandiose term and fit only for God. Our wills are enslaved to the old sin nature and inclined to evil. They are biased and prone to evil, not good. Luther said that man has not ceased to be man, but ceased to be good. We are only free in the sense that God doesn't force us to do evil--we do it on our own volition.
Augustine of Hippo said that we are free but not freed. This is not a mind game, but only stressing that we don't have liberty, though we are responsible moral agents. We concur with our evil and no one forces us to do evil, which would be determinism or coercion. We are voluntary slaves to evil. God doesn't force anyone to do something he doesn't want to do.
There are many Bible verses that stress the lack of freedom to respond to Christ on our own without the wooing of the Spirit. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God who showeth mercy." "Who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. " "The way of man is not in himself."
The freedom of the will so to speak is a curse, since we are free to do evil. Augustine said that we are non posse non peccare, which means we can only do evil. Luther said the will can only do evil, too. Augustine said we are "free, but not freed;" we have a free will in a sense, but not liberty. Soli Deo Gloria!
Martin Luther said that the freedom of the will is a grandiose term and fit only for God. Our wills are enslaved to the old sin nature and inclined to evil. They are biased and prone to evil, not good. Luther said that man has not ceased to be man, but ceased to be good. We are only free in the sense that God doesn't force us to do evil--we do it on our own volition.
Augustine of Hippo said that we are free but not freed. This is not a mind game, but only stressing that we don't have liberty, though we are responsible moral agents. We concur with our evil and no one forces us to do evil, which would be determinism or coercion. We are voluntary slaves to evil. God doesn't force anyone to do something he doesn't want to do.
There are many Bible verses that stress the lack of freedom to respond to Christ on our own without the wooing of the Spirit. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God who showeth mercy." "Who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. " "The way of man is not in himself."
The freedom of the will so to speak is a curse, since we are free to do evil. Augustine said that we are non posse non peccare, which means we can only do evil. Luther said the will can only do evil, too. Augustine said we are "free, but not freed;" we have a free will in a sense, but not liberty. Soli Deo Gloria!
The Bondage Of The Will
Did you get set freed by Christ or not, that is the question.
According to Martin Luther (cf., The Bondage of the Will), the will is enslaved or in bondage to the old sin nature and not free. Augustine of Hippo said that the will is "free but not freed." He wasn't playing mind games but saying that we are responsible agents to God for our choices, but don't have liberty. He doesn't force us to do evil, because we do it on our own initiative. The freedom of the will is a curse because we can only do evil according to Luther. Where did free will help Esau?
There are many Bible verses that show that man doesn't have free will as far as the ability to choose and come to Christ apart from grace and the wooing of the Spirit. "For who can resist His will?" (Rom. 9:19). "It is not of him that willeth ..." (Rom. 9:16). "Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). "For the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23; cf. Psalm 37:37).
We are biased or prone to evil, not good. Martin Luther said we have not ceased to be man, but have ceased to be good. The whole matter can be summed up in the phrase: "We don't need free will--we need wills made free!" We are inclined to evil, not good--the ability lost at the fall. We are biased. We are still human but not good-natured. The doctrine of total depravity ensures that we are not inherently good, but spoiled throughout with evil.
This is one of the oldest debates in Christendom. Heretic British monk Pelagius and Augustine debated it and so did Luther and Erasmus of Rotterdam. The prevalence of the doctrine of freedom of the will in today's church is due to the influence of the Wesleyan Arminians (founded by patron saint Jacob Hermann, better known as Jacobus Arminius). Don't let anyone make you think that the enslavement of the will is a new doctrine or that it is not orthodox, because it is the original doctrine defended by the church fathers and the reformers.
In the final analysis, we don't need free will to be saved, but wills made free! Soli Deo Gloria!
According to Martin Luther (cf., The Bondage of the Will), the will is enslaved or in bondage to the old sin nature and not free. Augustine of Hippo said that the will is "free but not freed." He wasn't playing mind games but saying that we are responsible agents to God for our choices, but don't have liberty. He doesn't force us to do evil, because we do it on our own initiative. The freedom of the will is a curse because we can only do evil according to Luther. Where did free will help Esau?
There are many Bible verses that show that man doesn't have free will as far as the ability to choose and come to Christ apart from grace and the wooing of the Spirit. "For who can resist His will?" (Rom. 9:19). "It is not of him that willeth ..." (Rom. 9:16). "Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). "For the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23; cf. Psalm 37:37).
We are biased or prone to evil, not good. Martin Luther said we have not ceased to be man, but have ceased to be good. The whole matter can be summed up in the phrase: "We don't need free will--we need wills made free!" We are inclined to evil, not good--the ability lost at the fall. We are biased. We are still human but not good-natured. The doctrine of total depravity ensures that we are not inherently good, but spoiled throughout with evil.
This is one of the oldest debates in Christendom. Heretic British monk Pelagius and Augustine debated it and so did Luther and Erasmus of Rotterdam. The prevalence of the doctrine of freedom of the will in today's church is due to the influence of the Wesleyan Arminians (founded by patron saint Jacob Hermann, better known as Jacobus Arminius). Don't let anyone make you think that the enslavement of the will is a new doctrine or that it is not orthodox, because it is the original doctrine defended by the church fathers and the reformers.
In the final analysis, we don't need free will to be saved, but wills made free! Soli Deo Gloria!
What Is Theology?
Theology is literally the study of God or Theos using the Greek. It is like a "God-talk." Theology has a bad connotation for some but I hope to clear this up.
I'm writing this because every believer ought to know his way around the block theologically and not be an ignoramus, but have a working knowledge of basic doctrine or credo.
I'm writing this because every believer ought to know his way around the block theologically and not be an ignoramus, but have a working knowledge of basic doctrine or credo.
Theology is not an abstract science like economics with many conflicting schools of thought and interpretation. It is the "Queen of Sciences" because it deals with the truth of Jesus who is the embodiment of truth. It is not a fool's errand of speculation but a revealed knowledge from divine revelation. We could not know God apart from revelation because the finite cannot penetrate the infinite--God must take the initiative because no man can see God and live.
Great preachers are those who have honed their theology to perfection and can then deliver the goods. Every Christian is a theologian, what kind of theologian is open to question. We all have a theology; the question is whether we have sound theology. You can have a sound theology and an unsound life, but you cannot have a sound life without a sound theology.
In sum, everyone has a theology and you cannot avoid it. The question is how good and sound it is because we cannot have a sound life without sound theology, though sound theology doesn't guarantee sound life and spirituality.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Is Faith A Gift?
Is faith a gift or a work? "Who makes you to differ? What do you have that you didn't receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7). Are we not clay in the hands of the potter? "For it has been granted unto you...to believe..." (Phil. 1:29). Jesus is the "author and finisher of our faith;" hence He originated it. Let us live according to "the faith God has distributed to each [of us]..." (Rom. 12:3).
Some believe it is a meritorious work because they believe in merit plus grace and not sola gratia or grace alone as the reformers championed. "This is the work of God [not our work] that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29). "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God [antecedent is faith as the gift], lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). If faith were a work then we would be saved by works.
Faith is not our salvation and faith is not reckoned as righteousness but unto righteousness (cf. Rom. 4:3 translation of dia meaning unto). Faith is the instrumental cause of salvation (cf. Acts 18:27; 16:14), and we don't put faith in faith but in God. Faith doesn't' save, Christ does! God opened the door of faith to the Gentiles in Acts 14:27, and He opened Lydia's heart to believe in Acts 16:14. It might be interpreted as God quickening faith within us (cf. Acts 18:27). The Spirit kindles faith in a dead person.
Why is this important? 1 John 5:1 says that "Everyone who believes that Christ is the Christ has been born of God [ESV]." That means that regeneration precedes faith--we don't conjure up faith and then get saved. If we could believe without regeneration, we don't need it to be saved and we would get some merit in our salvation. God gives us faith and expects us to use it. It is our faith but it is the gift of God. "Who believed through grace" means that we're enabled by God to believe as 2 Pet. 1:1 says, we have "received a precious faith like theirs." "... [B]ecause God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thess. 2:13, KJV). [NB: sanctification precedes belief.]
Thus we are given faith. This doctrine is important so that we don't have a merit-based rather than grace-based salvation. God wants all the glory (Soli Deo Gloria). To sum up, "Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).ail This Soli Deo Gloria!
Some believe it is a meritorious work because they believe in merit plus grace and not sola gratia or grace alone as the reformers championed. "This is the work of God [not our work] that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29). "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God [antecedent is faith as the gift], lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). If faith were a work then we would be saved by works.
Faith is not our salvation and faith is not reckoned as righteousness but unto righteousness (cf. Rom. 4:3 translation of dia meaning unto). Faith is the instrumental cause of salvation (cf. Acts 18:27; 16:14), and we don't put faith in faith but in God. Faith doesn't' save, Christ does! God opened the door of faith to the Gentiles in Acts 14:27, and He opened Lydia's heart to believe in Acts 16:14. It might be interpreted as God quickening faith within us (cf. Acts 18:27). The Spirit kindles faith in a dead person.
Why is this important? 1 John 5:1 says that "Everyone who believes that Christ is the Christ has been born of God [ESV]." That means that regeneration precedes faith--we don't conjure up faith and then get saved. If we could believe without regeneration, we don't need it to be saved and we would get some merit in our salvation. God gives us faith and expects us to use it. It is our faith but it is the gift of God. "Who believed through grace" means that we're enabled by God to believe as 2 Pet. 1:1 says, we have "received a precious faith like theirs." "... [B]ecause God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thess. 2:13, KJV). [NB: sanctification precedes belief.]
Thus we are given faith. This doctrine is important so that we don't have a merit-based rather than grace-based salvation. God wants all the glory (Soli Deo Gloria). To sum up, "Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).ail This Soli Deo Gloria!
The Gift Of Faith
This is an issue that separates theologians and some call it a doctrine that divides. If you believe faith is a work, then you are saved by works. If you believe faith is a gift, then you are saved by the grace of God. Titus 3:5,7 says we are "saved by grace." Faith is not something we conjure up, but it is bestowed on us through the preaching of the Word. "Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). Regeneration actually precedes faith according to John Piper and John Orr. If we could believe without regeneration, what good is it? The Spirit is like the wind that blows where it wills. "For by grace are you saved by faith, and that (the complete deal) not of yourselves, it is the gift of God..." (Eph. 2:8-9).
We don't psych ourselves up for faith, and we don't catch it like an illness from others, we don't conjure it up--it comes directly from the Holy Spirit who quickens faith within us. He overcomes our hardened heart and reluctance to believe. God has the ability to cause us to do something willingly in His omnipotence. Some, on the other hand, have made faith into a meritorious work, and denies that there is any such "gift." What else could it be, a work? Are we saved by grace or works, then?
Some pertinent verses are as follows for meditation:
"For you have believed through grace..." (Acts 18:27). "...To those who have obtained like precious faith..." (2 Pet. 1:1). "For it has been granted unto you ... to believe in Him..." (Phil. 1:29). "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ HAS BEEN born of God..." (1 John 5:1 ESV). Nota bene that this is the past tense indicating that regeneration precedes faith. "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him..." (John 6:29). "God ... opened the door of faith to the Gentiles..." (Acts 14:27). "God opened Lydia's heart to pay attention to Paul..." (Acts 16:14). "What do you have that you didn't receive?"
(1 Cor. 4:7).
Faith is our act (God doesn't have faith), but it is God's work. Soli Deo Gloria. God gets all the glory, and we have nothing to boast of. It isn't our virtue nor our wisdom, but God's. God is no man's debtor and isn't obligated to save anyone. It is grace that He saves anyone. God works all things "according to the pleasure of His will." "We are the clay, He is the potter" (See Isaiah 64:8).lSoli Deo Gloria!
We don't psych ourselves up for faith, and we don't catch it like an illness from others, we don't conjure it up--it comes directly from the Holy Spirit who quickens faith within us. He overcomes our hardened heart and reluctance to believe. God has the ability to cause us to do something willingly in His omnipotence. Some, on the other hand, have made faith into a meritorious work, and denies that there is any such "gift." What else could it be, a work? Are we saved by grace or works, then?
Some pertinent verses are as follows for meditation:
"For you have believed through grace..." (Acts 18:27). "...To those who have obtained like precious faith..." (2 Pet. 1:1). "For it has been granted unto you ... to believe in Him..." (Phil. 1:29). "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ HAS BEEN born of God..." (1 John 5:1 ESV). Nota bene that this is the past tense indicating that regeneration precedes faith. "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him..." (John 6:29). "God ... opened the door of faith to the Gentiles..." (Acts 14:27). "God opened Lydia's heart to pay attention to Paul..." (Acts 16:14). "What do you have that you didn't receive?"
(1 Cor. 4:7).
Faith is our act (God doesn't have faith), but it is God's work. Soli Deo Gloria. God gets all the glory, and we have nothing to boast of. It isn't our virtue nor our wisdom, but God's. God is no man's debtor and isn't obligated to save anyone. It is grace that He saves anyone. God works all things "according to the pleasure of His will." "We are the clay, He is the potter" (See Isaiah 64:8).lSoli Deo Gloria!
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