"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." Ephesians 1:3-4
"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." Romans 5:10
"Incomprehensible and immutable is the love of God. For it was not after we were reconciled to him by the blood of his Son that he began to love us, but he loved us before the foundation of the world, that with his only begotten Son we too might be sons of God before we were any thing at all. Our being reconciled by the death of Christ must not be understood as if the Son reconciled us, in order that the Father, then hating, might begin to love us, but that we were reconciled to him already, loving, though at enmity with us because of sin. To the truth of both propositions we have the attestation of the Apostle, 'God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,' (Rom. 5: 8.) Therefore he had this love towards us even when, exercising enmity towards him, we were the workers of iniquity. Accordingly in a manner wondrous and divine, he loved even when he hated us. For he hated us when we were such as he had not made us, and yet because our iniquity had not destroyed his work in every respect, he knew in regard to each one of us, both to hate what we had made, and love what he had made." -Augustine (From John Calvin's Institutes, Book II 16:4)
Duty Or Love What is your motive for Christian living?
"Love to Christ is the mainspring of work for Christ. There is little done for His cause on earth from sense of duty, or from knowledge of what is right and proper. The heart must be interested before the hands will move and continue moving. Excitement may galvanize the Christian’s hands into a fitful and spasmodic activity. But there will be no patient continuance in well–doing, no unwearied labor in missionary work at home or abroad, without love. The nurse in a hospital may do her duty properly and well, may give the sick man his medicine at the right time, may feed him, minister to him and attend to all his wants. But there is a vast difference between that nurse and a wife tending the sick–bed of a beloved husband, or a mother watching over a dying child. The one acts from a sense of duty; the other from affection and love. The one does her duty because she is paid for it; the other is what she is because of her heart. It is just the same in the matter of the service of Christ. The great workers of the church, the men who have led forlorn hopes in the mission–field, and turned the world upside down, have all been eminently lovers of Christ." -J.C. Ryle, Holiness
There's a cure for the SIN virus! We are given the responsibility to disseminate the cure. That's the only reason we're here.
If we were saved purely for fellowship--we might as well go to heaven now, because the fellowship here on earth is imperfect.
If we were saved to have triumph over sin—then we might as well go to heaven because the triumph here is severely checkered and we all live somewhere in Romans 7—wanting to do what we don't do, and not wanting to do what we find ourselves doing.
God left you here to share the Gospel with the people around you. Most people have some idea of what the Gospel is, but they don't have a good enough grasp to share the good news.
There's one thing we can do here that we can't do in heaven, and that is the ministry of reconciliation. That term defines the heart and soul of our responsibility as believers in the world.
God will forgive ALL your sins FOREVER—are you interested?
This is what we live for, preach for, this is what we die for—that people will be reconciled to God.
An excerpt from the book Holiness by J.C. Ryle that I want to brand on my heart!
"I am afraid that many who profess Christ in our day have lost sight of our Lord’s person. They talk more about salvation than about their only Savior, and more about redemption than the one true Redeemer, and more about Christ’s work than Christ Himself. This is a great fault, one that accounts for the dry and shriveled spirit that infuses the religious lives of many who profess faith.
As ever you would grow in grace, and have joy and peace in believing, beware of falling into this error. Cease to regard the Gospel as a mere collection of dry doctrines. Look at it rather as the revelation of a mighty living Being in whose sight you are daily to live. Cease to regard it as a mere set of abstract propositions and abstruse principles and rules. Look at it as the introduction to a glorious personal Friend. This is the kind of Gospel that the apostles preached. They did not go about the world telling men of love and mercy and pardon in the abstract. The leading subject of all their sermons was the loving heart of an actual living Christ. This is the kind of Gospel which is most calculated to promote sanctification and fitness for glory. Nothing, surely, is so likely to prepare us for that heaven where Christ’s personal presence will be all, and that glory where we shall meet Christ face to face, as to realize communion with Christ, as an actual living Person here on earth. There is all the difference in the world between an idea and a person."
"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:3-7
Two Questions To Ask Yourself-
If faith is a righteous act able to be performed prior to regeneration, then how do you explain Titus 3:3-7?
If it is not a righteous act then what basis would God have for accepting it?
This article is taken from Spencer's incredible two-volume book, A Pastor's Sketches. [1853].
By Ichabod S. Spencer
Ichabod Smith Spencer was born in 1798 in Rupert, VT. He was unconverted until just after his 18th birthday. The previous year his father died and this left him utterly devastated. "It is highly probable that his father's death so deeply felt, and so great a trial, was sanctified to his soul, and overruled to lead his mind and heart, so dark and trembling, to the only true ‘Rock of hope and support.’ It was more than a year, however, after this event occurred, before the grace of God changed his heart, and turned his feet into the way of life."
He was converted in Granville, NY and was educated at schools in the upstate NY region. He became a school teacher, and his fame grew to the place that he was in great demand. In fact, in 1830 he was called to be President of the University of Alabama, and in 1832 the President of Hamilton College of NY. He refused these both as the Lord had by this time called him to preach. He was called to serve as colleague-pastor of the Congregational Church in Northampton, MA in 1828, the church made famous by Jonathan Edwards.
He refused a call to Park Street Church, Boston, the largest in New England at this time because of his tender health. Later in 1832 he accepted the call to the Second Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, NY. This was a church planting effort with no building and about 40 people. He remained at this post the rest of his life, thus spending 22 years at this church. By the time of his death the church had grown to be one of the largest and most influential in all of NY State. His biographer states that he was one of the greatest preachers the American Pulpit produced during that era. At the same time, his greatest gift and legacy was in the pastoral ministry. He was a true shepherd.
He was a man fully committed to the doctrines of grace, and he constantly preached upon the themes of total depravity, sovereign grace, free justification by faith in Christ alone, the certainty of the judgment to come, the greatness of the mercy and love of God. He preached these themes both publicly and from house to house. As great and gifted a preacher as he was, and as effective as his sermons were to awaken sinners, it was his personal ministry that was most mightily blessed by God as he dealt with anxious inquirers.
ONE of the most solemn assemblies that I have ever seen, was convened on the evening of the Sabbath, in a private house. It was an inquiry meeting; at which more than a hundred persons were present, the most of them young or in middle life. The structure of the house was rather peculiar. There was a spacious hail, about ten feet wide and about forty feet long, extending from the front door along the side of three parlors which opened into it, as well as into each other; and at the rear part of this hail was a staircase extending to the second story of the house. Moveable benches were introduced into this hail, and placed along each side of it, to afford seats for those who attended this meeting, and who could not all be accommodated in the parlors. After the meetings had been continued in this place for a few weeks; it became manifest, that the hail was the preferred place. As the different persons came in and took their seats ‘where they pleased, the seats in the hail would be filled, and then the stairs would be used as seats entirely to the top, and then the upper hail would be occupied, and finally the parlors I was accustomed to stand, while addressing the assembly, in one of the doors opening from the hail into the parlor, where my eye had a full view of all those in the hail, on the stairs and in one of the parlors. Besides a general exhortation, it was my ordinary custom to speak to each individual, passing from one to another. And all those in the hail and on the stairs could hear every word, which I uttered in this conversation, and the most of what any one said to me. And for these reasons, as I supposed, the persons who resorted there would choose the hall or the stairs. This listening of others, to what passed in conversation betwixt any one individual and myself, was never very pleasant to me. I should greatly have preferred to converse with each one alone; as there would have been less restraint on their part, and on my own, more certainty, that what I was saying would be truly applicable and would not be applied by any one, for whom it was not intended. And besides this, individuals would sometimes make expressions to me so erroneous, that I was unwilling others should hear them, lest they might be injured by it. To avoid this, I used to speak in a low tone of voice; and if the expressions of any individual were becoming such, as I feared might be injurious; I usually broke off the conversation suddenly, by saying, I will call and see you to-morrow.
On the evening, to which I now allude; all the seats were filled, and three persons were seated on each stair entirely to the top, and many had found their place in the hail above. It was a calm and mild summer evening; and perfect stillness reigned over the crowd assembled there, unbroken except by the long breathing or the deep sigh of some pensive soul. I thought I had never seen so still, so solemn, and thoughtful an assembly. I closed the front door, after all had entered, and took my stand in my accustomed place. I hesitated to speak. I was afraid to utter a word. It seemed to me, that anything I could say would be less solemn, impressive, instructive, than that tomb-like silence in an assembly of so many immortal souls, each visited by the Holy Spirit. I stood, for some time, in perfect silence. The power of that silence was painful. The people sat before me, like statues of marble, — not a movement, — not a sound. It appeared as if they had all ceased to breathe. I broke the silence by saying slowly and in a low voice: — "Each one of you is thinking of his own immortal soul and of his God." Again I paused for the space of an entire minute; for I was overawed, and knew not what to say. Then falling on my knees, I commenced prayer. They all spontaneously knelt. After a short prayer, I proposed to speak a few words to each one of them, as far as it was possible; and requested all of them, except the individual with whom I should be conversing, to be engaged in reflection or in silent prayer to God. Passing rapidly from one to another, I had spoken to all those in the parlors and in the hall, till I had reached about the middle of it, where every word spoken could be heard, by the whole assembly. Coming to a man, about thirty years of age, whom I had seen there three times before, I said to him: — "I did not expect to see you here to-night. I thought you would have come to repentance, before this time; and would have no occasion any longer to ask, what shall I do to be saved?"
"I can’t repent," said he, (with a sort of determined and despairing accent, and so loudly as to startle us all.) Instantly, I felt sorry for this expression. But I thought it would not do to avoid noticing it, and leave it sounding in the ears of so many impenitent sinners. I immediately answered, as I stood before him, as gently and yet solemnly as I could: —"What an awfully wicked heart you must have! You can’t repent! You love sin so well; that you cannot be sorry for it — you cannot forsake it — you cannot hate it! — You must be in an awful condition indeed! You are so much the enemy of God; that you cannot be sorry for having offended him — you cannot cease to contend against him — and even now, while you are sensible of the impropriety and unhappiness of it, you cannot cease to resist the Holy Spirit, who strives with you to bring you to repentance! — You must have an awfully depraved heart!"
"I can’t repent," said he again, (with an accent of grief and intolerable vexation) — "I can’t repent, with such a heart!"
"That means," said I, "that you have become too wicked to desire to become any better; for nothing but wickedness makes repentance difficult. And then, you just plead one sin, as an excuse for another — the sin of your heart, as an excuse for the continued sin of your heart!"
Still he insisted. "I can’t repent! I should if I could!" — (and the tears rolled down his cheeks, of which he seemed to ho utterly unconscious, as well as unconscious of the presence of any one but myself.)
"You would if you could," said I, "is only a self-righteous and self-justifying excuse. Your deceitful heart means by it, that you are not so wicked as to continue in your impenitence willingly. It means that you are willing to repent, but you cannot. You are deceived. You are not willing. You think you are, but you are in an error. You never will be willing, unless God shall verify in you the promise, ‘My people shall be willing in the day of my power.’ In that power lies your only hope, as I have told you before, when I urged you to pray. If you are willing to repent, what hinders you? I am willing you should repent. All of us here are willing. Every angel in heaven is willing you should repent. Christ who died to redeem you is willing. God the Father is willing. The Holy Spirit is willing, who, at this moment strives with you to bring you to repentance. What hinders you, then? Yourself only! And when you say you can’t repent, you mean that you are not to be blamed for coming here to-night with an impenitent heart. You are woefully deceived! God blames you! The whole Bible blames you! Your own conscience, though you strive to silence it, blames you! — This excuse will not stand!"
"I can’t repent!" said he again, (in a harsh, vociferating voice, as if in anger.)
"Then God can’t save you," said I; "for he cannot lie, and he has said the impenitent shall be destroyed! You say you cannot repent. He has not said so. He commands you to repent."
He replied, with much agitation, but in a subdued tone: — "I am sure I have tried long; and my mind has been greatly tormented. All has done no good. I do not see as I can repent!"
"Other people have repented," said I. "There are a great many penitents in the world. I find there are some here to-night, who think they have come to repentance, since they were here last Sabbath evening. One of them told me then, very much the same thing you tell me now, that it did not seem to him he ever could turn from sin; but he has found out he can. As to your having tried so long, the length of time will not save you if a man has got his face turned the wrong way, the longer he goes on, the worse off he becomes. He would do well to stop, and turn about. Such is the call of the Bible: ‘Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die? Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord.’ Other people have turned to God, and you ought to. But your mind has seized on the idea of your trying and your trouble, and you make an excuse and a self-righteousness of them."
"Do you think I am self-righteous?" said he.
"I know you are. That is your grand difficulty. You have been trying to save yourself. You are trying now. When you tried to repent, your heart aimed after repentance, as something to recommend you to God, and constitute a reason why he should forgive and save you. It was just an operation of a self-righteous spirit. It was just an attempt to save yourself, to have your religion save you, instead of relying by faith upon Jesus Christ, to be saved from wrath through him. This is precisely the case with every impenitent sinner. The error is one. The forms of it may be various; but in all cases it is substantially the same thing. St. Paul has given a perfect description of it: ‘going about,’ (from one thing to another, from one device or attempt to another,) ‘going about to establish a righteousness of their own, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God; for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.’ One man tries to establish a righteousness of his own, out of his reformations; another one, out of his duties; another, out of his painful attempts or painful convictions; as you just now mentioned your own torments of mind. It is evident, that you are trying to be righteous before God, through your pain — and your attempted penitence. And if you should find any peace of mind in that way; it would only be a deception, not an item of religion in it. You ought to betake yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ, a poor, guilty, undone sinner, to be saved by him alone — saved by grace. You ought to go to him, just as you are, to be washed in his blood, to be clothed in his righteousness, to be sheltered from the thunders of God’s eternal law, in the security of his all-sufficient atonement. You ought to flee to Christ, like the man-slayer to the city of refuge, before he is cut down by the sword of the avenger of blood. You ought to go instantly, like the prodigal to his father, in all his poverty, starvation, and rags, as well as guilt. You ought to cry, like Peter sinking in the waves, "Lord, save me." But instead of this, you are just looking to yourself, striving to find something, or make something in your own heart, which shall recommend you to God. And in this miserable way, you are making salvation a far more difficult matter, than God has made it. You have forgotten the free grace of the gospel, the full atonement of Jesus Christ, by the sacrifice of himself."
"But," said he, "I can’t repent and come to Christ, of myself."
"I certainly never said you could; and never wished you to think you could. In my opinion, God does not wish you to think so. And if you have found out, that you cannot repent of yourself, aside from divine aid, I am glad of it — you have found out an important truth. Most certainly God does not tell you to repent of yourself. He tells you, that ‘Christ is exalted to give repentance.’ He says to every sinner, ‘Thou hast destroyed thyself, in me is thy help: let him take hold on my strength that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me.’ On the ground that they need it, he has promised ‘the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.’ God never expects you to repent, without divine aid, but with it. He knows you are too wicked to do it, that you are without strength, helpless, undone, a lost sinner! — And here lies the very heart of your error. You have been trying to repent, in a way that God never told you, just by your own powers, instead of trying to get God to have mercy upon you, and save you by his help. You have been looking to the powers within you, instead of looking to the aid above you. You have trusted to yourself, instead of trusting yourself to the grace of Christ. And that is the very reason why you have failed; and now you complain, that you cannot repent; while, in reality, you have exactly the same sufficiency, as the penitent all around you. What has been their help, may be your help. And the sooner you are driven off from all that self-seeking and self-reliance, the better it will be for you. You are in the double error of undervaluing the character of God, and over-valuing your own. God is more merciful and more gracious, than you think him to be. He is more ready to save you. And when he commands you to repent, he does not wish you to forget, that all your hope lies in the immediate aid of his Holy Spirit. Nor does he wish you to attempt to dispense with that proffered assistance, by your not believing, that you are as utterly helpless as you really are. He does not tell you to rely upon your own shattered strength; but you have done so. And when you have failed, you then turn round and complain, that you ‘can’t repent.’ You reject his offered help — the help of the omnipotent Spirit. And for this reason, you will be the more criminal, if you do not repent. That Divine Spirit is your only hope. If he leaves you to yourself, you are lost — eternally lost! Tread softly, my dear friend! The ground whereon thou standest is holy ground! Let not the Holy Spirit, who presides over the souls here this evening, bear witness against you in the day of the final judgment, — ‘because I have called and ye refused!’ You can repent; just in the way that others repent; just because God is your help. Trust him; and rely upon yourself no longer."
As I was saying these things, he appeared to become much less affected, but much more thoughtful. His tears and his agitations ceased; and he seemed to hang upon my lips, as if he was listening to some new wonder. When I had done, all was hushed as death; and in a deliberate, subdued, and solemn tone, he broke that expressive silence, saying: — "I hope, my God will help me."
"Let us pray," said I; — and a short prayer, pleading for God’s help, closed the exercises of the evening.
I afterwards found numerous reasons for believing, that that was one of the most profitable religious exercises, that I ever attended. Among others was the case of my friend, whose expression had drawn me somewhat out of my proposed mode of conducting the exercises of the evening. He became, as he hoped, a true believer. He stated to me the exercises of his mind, his repentance, his faith in Christ, his peace and hope, and his reliance upon the Holy Spirit. His mind appeared to seize upon the great truths of the gospel, almost without emotion. He had no ecstacy, no exultation, no joy. He had only peace and hope. lie told me, that his agitations had all been useless to him; that they were not faith and did not lead to faith; and that he thought "sinners ought to attend to the calls of God, in a believing and business manner." And when I asked him what had kept him from Christ so long, he replied: "I was trying to make myself better — to have a religion instead of trusting in Christ. What you said to me that night, showed me my mistake; and I went home with a deeper sense of my dependence, and a clear view of the free grace of God to sinners, through the redemption of Christ."
About six months after this he united with the church, and has continued to manifest an established and uniform faith.
To cut off the sinner from all reliance upon himself, his merits and his powers; and throw him, naked and helpless, into the hands of the Holy Spirit to lead him to Christ in faith; should be the one great aim of the ministry.
Sinners certainly ought to repent, for God commands them to repent. But in my opinion, he does not design to have them understand his command, as having respect only to their own ability to repent, and not having respect to the proffered aids of the Holy Spirit. Such aids constitute one grand ground on which his command is obligatory, and sweep away every possible excuse. No man ever did repent without the Holy Spirit, or ever will; and this is no small amount of proof that no man ever can. Nothing seems to be gained by making a sinner believe that he is able to repent without divine assistance. Such a belief will be very likely to mislead him to a reliance upon his own shattered strength And as to his conviction of criminality for not coming to repentance, surely there is strong ground for such conviction, since God offers him all the ability he needs, — in me is thy help, — let him take hold on my strength that he may make peace with me.
Read each scripture at least three times and really feel the weight of what it is saying before moving on.
John 1:12 "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all [it profits/benefits/yields nothing; not a little something]..."
Romans 8:7-8 "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot [ability, not permission]. Those who are in the fleshcannot [ability, not permission] please God."
Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible [ability, not permission] to please him..."
A few questions in light of these texts (think hard):
1. Do the scriptures above teach that we have a.) 100% inability, 0% ability b.) 99% inability, 1% ability c.) 0% inability, 100% ability to "choose Christ" or "have faith" in Christ while in the flesh (i.e. unsaved, unregenerate, enemies of God)?
2. If "the flesh" were an ocean, would there be an "island" of righteousness where faith resides?
3. Is faith something that is righteous and accomplishable while in the flesh and acceptable in the sight of God?
4. God commands His creation to obey the ten commandments. Many would instantly say we don't have the ability. God commands His creation to repent and believe the gospel. Many would instantly say we have the ability. Is there a contradiction here?
5. If it is true that humanity has 100% inability and 0% ability, how would this impact your gospel proclamation?
I recently had a talk with someone I used to do evangelism with (no longer now for one of the reasons mentioned below) who believed that we as creatures dead in sin have a libertarian free will to choose Jesus and we have the faith within ourselves to believe, etc.
Of course, I don't believe so. Scripture teaches contrary to that.
One of his arguments was that if people can't choose Jesus by their own free will then what is the point in evangelism.
I found these verses recently and remember our conversation.
Matthew 11:25-28 - At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, allwho labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Red - In the proclamation of the truth to all people, God specifically chose to hide truth from some and reveal it to others (see previous verses 20-24). Why? Because it was pleasing to God to do so.
Green - Jesus says no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. John 17:3 says to know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent is eternal life. So this is pretty plain that Jesus chooses who to reveal the Father to, resulting in salvation.
Blue - Here is the astonishing part. Immediately after Jesus speaks about no one knowing the Father except the Son and whom he chooses to reavel him to, without pausing, he give a universal invitation for all to come to him.
Orange - Notice the character of the person called. One who recognizes their heavy burden of trying to keep the law for righteousness. In other words, it is those who have a sense of their sin and guilt before God (which is God given).
Now, according to many, and my friend from the conversation mentioned above, Jesus has some really bad theology....or.....there is something being said here that many are missing.
It is the principle of the universal outward call of the gospel to all and the special call of the Holy Spirit making the Father know to all the elect. When those whom have been predestined to eternal life from the foundation of the world hear the gospel of their salvation, they come. No more, no less.
Don't miss this point people. Election is at the very core of the gospel. Without it you don't have a gospel at all.
February 14, 2010 @ 8:24 PM EST | Category: Gospel Theology
"Evangelism and theology for the most part go separate ways, and the result is great loss for both. When theology is not held on course by the demands of evangelistic communication, it grows abstract and speculative, wayward in method, theoretical in interest and irresponsible in stance. When evangelism is not fertilized, fed and controlled by theology, it becomes a stylized performance seeking its effect through manipulative skills rather than the power of vision and the force of truth. Both theology and evangelism are then, in one important sense, unreal, false to their own God-given nature; for all true theology has an evangelistic thrust, and all true evangelism is theology in action." -J.I. Packer
"If you don't have anything good to say about someone, don't say it at all."
Would that be a Biblical statement? In other words, whether implicitly or explicitly could you, in context, back that phrase up with scripture?
Most of us at one point or another have either been on the giving end or receiving end of that statement. I recently heard one Christian instruct other Christians in this manner and wondered whether or not they had really thought this through.
I believe that this kind of advice is just one more tell-tale sign of how worldly philosophy has crept into the church. Sticking close to the scriptures will prevent this. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,"
For an example of how the above phrase is unbiblical here is 10,000 ft overview of Matthew 23:1-36. And this is without much digging. (Nevermind mentioning whole books of the OT prophets who constantly proclaimed dreadful things.)
In Matthew 23:1-6 Jesus pronounces woes and judgments on the Scribes and Pharisees. He calls the hypocrites, sons of Hell, blind guides, blind fools, greedy, self-indulgent, unclean, full of death, lawless, sons of murderers, serpents, brood of vipers, condemned to hell, and murderers themselves.
Now, if the above principle applies that we shouldn't say anything at all if it's not nice then Jesus is WAY out of line here.
But, as Christians we should be more concerned about speaking truth, in love, (Ephesians 4:15) rather than speaking only so-called "good" about someone. I would imagine Joel Osteen could market the above phrase to his congregation as bona-fide biblical truth. That phrase, to me, is borderline word-faith, Robert Schuller, positivism.
Furthermore, if the above phrase is true then you would literally have to trim the gospel down to nothing. You could not speak of sin, lawlessness, rebellion, hatred of God, judgment to come, eternal hell, etc. with a lost person AT ALL because, although those things are true, they are not in line with being "good." Your gospel would be so lop-sided that it would probably fall off the table.
...just a quick post to possibly wake you up to some worldly philosophy that you might still be held captive to and promoting rather than the truth of scripture....
November 30, 2009 @ 10:56 AM EST | Category: Gospel Theology
"The brilliance of the gospel light is dimmed by error. The clearness of the testimony is spoiled when doubtful voices are scattered among the people, and those who ought to preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, are telling out for doctrines the imaginations of men, and the inventions of the age.
Instead of revelation, we have philosophy, falsely so-called; instead of divine infallibility, we have surmises and larger hopes. The gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, is taught as the production of progress, a growth, a thing to be amended and corrected year by year. It is an ill day, both for the church and the world, when the trumpet does not give a certain sound; for who shall prepare himself for the battle?"
November 20, 2009 @ 10:50 AM EST | Category: Gospel Theology
Colossians 2:8 says, "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."
I have listed here, for anyone interested in the ministry, things you will never hear us say when sharing/preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I wrote that list because of the fact that I have heard so many people describe a "summary" of the gospel as asking Jesus to do things, or accepting Jesus into your heart (at this point I interject, "Well, why not into my liver?"), or giving Jesus something. All are concepts that stem from a lack of understanding of the true message and nature of the gospel. All are concepts that I will not use because it is clear from scripture, not from my feeble-brained reasoning, that those concepts, which use words and have theology behind them -although it may not be accurate theology- are unbiblical.
How you speak about something shows what you know about something. The words that you use are important. If someone uses unbiblical terminology when sharing the gospel then I would have to assume one of two things. One, the person really doesn't know the gospel intimately or two, they have something up their sleeve (producing numbers for church growth etc).
I once heard a great analogy of the difference between accurate gospel preaching and quick short-hand unbiblical preaching that try's to get it done in a succinct, quick way and "dumbs it down" (as mentioned above). This is a paraphrase, as much as I can remember, of that analogy.
There was once a parachute making factory. They made the best parachutes out there. Every time a soldier yanked the rip cord the parachute opened like a charm. They took their time with every fold of the parachute making sure the folds were precise and there was no slack. When they packed the parachute, they made sure that every part of the parachute went into the backpack nice and neat so that when the soldier pulled the cord there would be no snags or rips. There numbers were low, but so were the number of deaths from failed parachutes. That number was almost non-existent.
Well someone came in and demanded that the parachute factory pick up the pace of production because there were more parachutes needed and the factory on the west coast is making twice as many parachutes in a month as they are. So, the factory picked up the pace, sacrificing quality and reliability for volume and raw dollars. Each fold of the parachute was glazed over and packing it into the backpack was done in a sloppy manner. As the soldiers deployed the parachutes many were not opening correctly, hanging and ripping. Soldier's were falling to their death. Their parachute numbers were high, but so were the number of deaths associated with their lack of care for the job.
Their negligence lost them the war.
On that note, I wanted to share a message with you from the church Stephanie and I attend.
As you listen to the message, think to yourself about whether or not you have been taken captive by worldly philosophy and ask yourself exactly how are you packing the parachute?
Well, I had a very interesting Saturday (July 18th). I started out the day by changing the battery in my Jeep around 10:30-11:00 AM. I noticed two people in very nice clothes walking around my neighborhood door-to-door (**smiles very big**). Eventually they made their way over to my drive way and walked up and introduced themselves as witnesses of Jehovah. I introduced myself as a Christian and they said, "Oh, OK. So are we." So, the conversation began and lasted for about 30 minutes.
We talked about the Trinity and how they don't believe that Jesus is God. We also talked about eternal punishment for the wicked in hell and how they don't believe in a literal hell (Charles Taze Russell, the Jehovah's Witness founder, who by the way originally were called Russellites, abhorred the doctrine of eternal punishment and thus began propagating his own lies and false gospel). I don't think they were ready for the conversation. I think they thought they had walked up on another unassuming American boy who needed to be indoctrinated by their cult. Needless to say, by the end of the conversation they were totally disagreeing with orthodox Christian doctrine and I explained to them that there is a huge divide in the Jehovah's Witness doctrine and Christian doctrine. The flat out laughed at me. I did get to share the gospel with them. So they tried to scurry off and I encouraged them to come back and we would sit down over scripture and talk about the Son of God and how he is God. They said they would. Only time will tell.
Another interesting thing happened to me later that afternoon. For the first time in my life, no exaggeration, I met a self-described "Pagan Wiccan Gnostic Christian"....Yeah, you figure that one out.
We had a doozie of a time talking about everything from the canon of scripture to the way he thinks God is "in" everything, a view called pantheism (which by the way, Rick Warren ascribed to this belief also in one of his books). We talked about true faith, heaven, hell, and how he also doesn't believe that Jesus is God. I did share the gospel with him and that seemed to sober him up. I left him with a gospel tract.
The thing that hit me right between the eyes that day was this. Both people denied the deity of Christ. It was as if God was giving me a workout in defending the trinity that day. To be honest, there are a lot of people out there who believe in God, but do not believe that Jesus was God the Son.
I said all of that to say this. This day got me really thinking about professing Christians and how they view God and the gospel. I began to wonder if they really have a grip on the trinity. Here's why.
Most Christians will say that Jesus Christ died on the cross for every single individual human being that has ever lived or will ever live. The will also affirm the election of God in salvation and the calling of the Holy Spirit in salvation, but here is the kicker. They don't realize that the formula above has no scriptural support and totally destroys the doctrine of the trinity (meaning God's triune nature, totally one in essence and purpose between Father, Son and Spirit). You basically come to the logical conclusion that the Son and the Father have disagreement in purpose and intent of the atonement, justification, propitiation and election.
There is no disagreement in the Godhead! Of course, if you have never really studied the trinity and understood it, then you probably could come to the conclusions above. So, here is your chance to get it right.
This is an article that I think will help clear up any logical fallacies in the minds of anyone who might be struggling with understanding how God operates in salvation. I would encourage you to print this and study it.
"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."Galatians 4:4-6
The Bible, because it is the word of the eternal, righteous, and immutable God, never contradicts itself. When properly understood, there is an amazing symmetry and consistency in the historical facts it cites, the ethical standards it upholds, and the theological truths it champions. Whenever an apparent contradiction occurs, the disharmony is not in God’s book, but in man’s mind. The interpreter’s challenge, consequently, is essentially a matter of synthesizing each verse with its immediate context, then with the particular book in which it appears, then with the other inspired writing of that same human author, and finally, with the many other claims the Bible makes as a whole. He does this by comparing scripture with scripture. When a level of consistency is achieved so that the truths fit together in a unified way, like the many pieces of jigsaw puzzle go together to form a big picture, then he can be reasonably certain that his view is correct.
Admittedly, accurate interpretation is not easy. But neither is it impossible. Divine help notwithstanding, the more you know- the better grasp you have of the big picture-the easier it will be to understand how all the theological pieces fit together. Remember, the goal is to understand every truth in the light of every other truth so that a kind of theological unity, consistency, harmony, and symmetry prevails.
With that premise, I proceed to state a hypothesis which I will then endeavor to prove: The Biblical doctrine of the Trinity makes the doctrines of unconditional election, particular redemption, irresistible grace, and eternal security a necessity. In other words, "the doctrine of grace" is the only theology of salvation that is consistent with the revealed truth that God is triune. That’s my hypothesis. Let’s attempt to establish it Scripturally.
God is Tripersonal
Scripture teaches unequivocally that God is triune. The Godhead is composed of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (I Jn. 5:7). Few tenets of the Christian faith have come under greater attack than the doctrine of the Trinity, and few verses of Scripture have been the subject of greater technical scrutiny that I John 5:7, no doubt because it is so unmistakably clear.
I John 5:7 define the Trinity in terms of "three Persons within the unity of one God:" "There are three that bear record in heaven… and these three are one." God is, therefore, triune, for "trinity" means "tri-unity." This doctrine is, in Pauline language, a Divine mystery. There is more to it than finite minds can comprehend. From passages like Matthew 28:19, however, where the Lord commissions the church to baptize " in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," a formula for expressing this mysterious doctrine emerges. Note the distinction between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost implied by the use of the conjunction "and”: "…in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The language implies that there is a distinction of persons in the Godhead. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. They are distinct, the one from the other. Now note that the word "name" is singular. Jesus did not say "in the names of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit," but "in the name…", singular. This suggests that there is a unity of essence within the Godhead. From this verse, the Christian faith derives the formula expressing the doctrine of the Trinity in terms of "a distinction of Persons but a unity of essence." In other words, there is within the Godhead three Divine Persons - the Father, the Son, and the Spirit - who are one in mind, in attribute, in design, in purpose, in ability, and in glory. The Father is 100% God; the Son is 100% God; and the Spirit is100% God. Yes, that is a mystery, not unlike the mystery of the two natures of Christ who was at the same time God of very God and man of very man, not half God and half man. Formulae like this are not intended to explain everything so that no mystery remains, but to safeguard the mystery so that God is not misrepresented by those who speak in His name.
Both oneness and threeness are basic to the being of God. When Christians say they believe in the Trinity, they are not saying that there is one Person in the Godhead who wears three masks, like comedian Red Skelton playing his three famous characters - Klemm Kididdlehopper, Freddie the Freeloader, and The Mean Little Kid - all in the same skit. It is not that God sometimes plays the role of the Father, then decides to be the Son, and then puts on the mask of the Spirit. That’s unitarianism! The unitarian model fails to explain how there could be interaction within the Godhead as expressed in John14:16: "I [the Son] will pray the Father and He will send the Comforter, that He may abide with you forever;" and Psalm110:1: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make the enemies thy footstool." God is not a unit, but a unity. Neither are they saying that they worship three Gods. That’s tritheism! But they are saying that there are three Persons in the Godhead, but one God (I Cor. 8:4-7; cf. Deut. 6:4; Jon. 10:30; 2 Cor. 3:17). Biblical and Historical Christianity is unquestionably trinitarian (Lk. 1:35; Jon. 14:16; Jon. 15:26; Eph. 2:18; Mt.28:19; 2Cor. 13:14; I Jon. 5:7; Rev. 1:4-5).
Salvation is the Work of God
So, God is a trinity. That’s premise one. Now let’s establish a second premise from Scripture, namely, that salvation is God’s work, not man’s: "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jon. 2:9); "so then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" (Rom. 9:16); "[God] who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9).
What does it mean to say that salvation is God’s work? It means that God works alone, apart from man’s assistance in the salvation of sinners; therefore, all glory goes to God: "But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is make unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (I Cor. 1:30-31). It also means that the three Persons of the Godhead work together in the salvation of sinners. "Salvation is of the Lord" means that salvation is the work of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, for God is Tripersonal.
Theologians employ a special phrase ("the economy of the Godhead") to describe the united operation of the three Persons. In whatever activity God engages, the three Divine Persons move in perfect unity, harmony, and cooperation. For example, Creation was the work of the Father (Gen. 1:1) by the Son (Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2) through the agency of the Spirit (Gen. 1:2). Compare also Genesis 1:26-27. There was no conflict, difference of opinion, or disunity within the Godhead in the work of Creation. The combined operation of the Godhead is also displayed in the resurrection of Jesus. Scripture attributes Christ’s resurrection to the Father (Acts 2:24; Acts 13:30), the Son (Jon. 2:19; Jon. 10:18), and the Spirit (Rom. 1:4; Rom. 8:11; I Per. 3:18). Although the three Persons of the Godhead have their respective offices and distinct identities, yet a marvelous oneness and unanimity prevails.
The economy of the Godhead shines most brilliantly in the work of salvation. Note the Divine cooperation expressed in verses like Isaiah 48:16, "The Lord God and His Spirit hath sent Me…", and 2 Corinthians 5:19, "…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself…" Nowhere is this scene more vivid than in rich theological passages like Ephesians 1 and Romans 8, where Father, Son, and Spirit are pictured as a Divine Team in their respective covenant activities. The covenant of grace was planned by the Father (Eph. 1:4-5; Rom. 8:28-29,33; 2Tim. 1:9), executed by the Son (Eph. 1:7; Rom.8:3-4,34; Jno. 6:37), and applied by the Spirit(Rom. 8:2,9,15). From start to finish, salvation is of the Lord, without the slightest hint of inconsistency or incongruity within the Godhead.
Three New Testament passages express the economy of the Godhead in salvation concisely. By comparing them with one another, we can sharpen the focus on the respective roles of each Divine Person in the Work of salvation. The first, Galatians 4:4-6, heads this essay. The second is I Peter 1:2; "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…" The third is Jude 1: "Jude…to them that are sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Jesus Christ, and called…" Do you see the references to Father, Son, and Spirit in each of the above verses? By putting these verses together, a composite picture of Trinitarian cooperation in salvation emerges.
(1) The Work of the Father - The passages in Peter and Jude present the Father as the Orchestrator of salvation in the covenant. Election, Foreknowledge (I Pet. 1:2a), and Sanctification (Jude 1a) refer to the initial act of God whereby He chose those whom He loved and set them apart to salvation before the foundation of the world. Each term refers to God’s covenant activity. Contrary to popular interpretation, "foreknowledge" is not synonymous with the attribute of God’s omniscience, but a relational term expressing the idea of covenant love (Cf. Gen. 4:25; Mt. 7:23; Jon. 10:27b). In other words, the word does not refer to rational knowledge, but relational knowledge, not to information but to intimacy. In this sense, God foreknew people, not events: "For whom He did foreknow…" (Rom. 8:29a). God’s choice of a people before the world began was based on His own initiative to establish a covenant relationship with those whom He loved: "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God…" Those whom He loved and chose, He also set apart for Himself, that is, He sanctified them (Jude 1a). Again, the reference to sanctification as a work of the Father must be understood in terms of the covenant of redemption before the world began. In the same way that the Father "sanctified" the Son (i.e. set Him apart in the covenant of grace) and sent Him into the world (Jon. 10:36, He also sanctified His people (again, He set them apart in the covenant as His own special people) and "sent redemption" to them: "He sent redemption to His people: He hath commanded His covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name " (Ps. 111:9). It was precisely this group of people, i.e., those set apart in the covenant, who were redeemed by Jesus Christ: "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). The Galatians passage presents God the Father as the great Choreographer of salvation, dispatching (sending) the Son (v.4) and the Spirit (v.6) at the precise and appropriate time, in order to bring us into his family as His adopted sons. The Father who initiated the covenant also orchestrates and deploys the covenant requirements for salvation (cf. Eph. 1:5).
(2) The Work of the Son - Galatians 4:4-5 presents the Son as the Redeemer. The verb "to redeem" means to buy back by paying a price. It presupposes prior ownership, for one cannot "buy back" what one never owned. By definition, then, the doctrine of redemption is inseparably connected to the doctrine of election. Are you beginning to see a kind of continuity in the plan of salvation? The Father sent redemption to His people, and the Son carried out the Father’s plan completely, securing redemption for them all. The Son did not merely make men redeemable, savable, or reconcilable. He actually redeemed (I Pet. 1:18). He accomplished salvation (Jon. 19:30). He reconciled (Col. 1:21)! When he ascended back to the Father’s right hand, He had "obtained eternal redemption for us" (Heb. 9:12). In Christ, all the elect "have redemption through His blood" (Eph.1:7). I Peter 1:2c presents the Son as the Purifier, the One who by the sprinkling of His blood cleansed "His own People" from their sins (Heb. 13:12; Rev. 1:5). This is definitive sanctification (Heb. 2:11; I Cor. 1:2). Jude 1b presents Him as the Warden, who guards the souls He has redeemed. Tereo, the Greek word translated "preserved" means "to keep an eye on; to guard like a warden guards a prisoner." Because they are guarded by the Good Shepherd, no man is able to pluck the sheep from Christ’s hand (Jon. 10:27).
(3) The Work of the Spirit - Galatians 4:6 presents the Holy Spirit as the Divine Resident of the soul. The Father sends the Spirit to indwell the same people for whom the Son was sent in redemption: "Because you are sons [that is, by adoption] God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal. 4:6). When he takes up residence in the soul, the Holy Visitor promotes spiritual desire for God comparable to a child’s intuitive desire for its parent. Through this "Spirit of adoption" we cry "Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:9). I Peter 1:2 pictures the Spirit as the Sanctifier, the One who personally applies the blood of Christ to the soul, individually and vitally cleansing the heart from personal sin. In contrast to the Father’s sanctifying work, which we called "covenant sanctification," and the Son’s sanctifying work, which we called "definitive sanctification," the Spirit’s work of sanctification in respect to eternal salvation might be expressed by the term "vital sanctification." When a person is born again, he is cleansed and washed within by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:24; Titus 3:5; Jon. 13:10). Jude presents the Spirit as the Voice, the One who calls the chosen and redeemed individual, though personally dead in sins, into new life by His sovereign, life-giving voice (Jon. 5:25). The Spirit only calls those whom the Father elected: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28). But, He calls them everyone: "For whom He did foreknow, them He also did predestinate…moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called…" (Rom. 8:29-30). Do you see the unity and consistency that prevails in God’s plan of salvation? Interestingly, the word kletos, translated "called" in these texts speaks of the power, force, and Divine greatness of the call. The word does not speak of an invitation, like "the call of the wild," but of a creative fiat, a Divine imperative. The call of God in regeneration is an effectual call, accomplishing God’s intended objective every time.
Application
My hypothesis states that the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity makes the doctrines of unconditional election, particular redemption, irresistible grace, and preservation of the saints a necessity. There is no other school of soteriological thought that is consistent with the revelation of the Godhead. If one accepts what the Bible says about the Being of God, he is forced to the conclusion of sovereign grace, if he will be consistent. On what basis can I make such bold (and some may say, dogmatic) claim? On the basis of this fact:
Every other position regarding how sinners are saved disrupts the unity of the Godhead. Take, for instance, the idea of general atonement (i.e. Christ died for all men without exception and offers salvation freely to all who will repent, believe, accept, etc.). I ask, will all for whom Christ died ultimately be saved? General atonement says, "No, for only those who accept His offer will be born again by the Spirit." This position disrupts the unity of the Trinity, for it teaches that the Son died for all, but the Spirit will only call some. What about the popular belief that God chose those He foreknew would believe in Him, although He loved the entire human race and made salvation available to them all at the cross? By defining election in terms of the foreseen faith of the believer, a consistency is reached between the work of the Father and the work of the Spirit, but what about the work of the Son? This position says that the Father chose some, the Son died for all, and the Spirit will call some. Again, there is disunity. Many Christians, I venture to say, believe that God the Father loves all people equally, that God the Son died for all people equally, but that the Spirit will only call those who respond in faith to the gospel. Again, this position introduces an element of inconsistency into the Trinity. The idea that some who have been redeemed can backslide to the point that they lose their salvation also interjects an element of uncertainty and incongruity into the Godhead. Whatever form it takes - the Father chose all, the Son died for all, but the Spirit will only call some; the Father chose some, the Son died for all, but the Spirit will only call some - the interjection of a human element into the work of salvation contradicts the Biblical testimony concerning the harmony and unity of the Trinity and makes the outcome of salvation vague and uncertain. The old adage puts it succinctly: A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.
Is salvation uncertain? 2 Timothy 2:19 says, "The foundation of God standeth sure having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His…." 2 Samuel 23:5 says that God’s covenant is "ordered in all things and sure…." Matthew 1:21 says that Jesus "shall save His people from their sins." Language of certainty like this is unintelligible so long as salvation depends on man at any level.
The "doctrine of grace" is the only model of salvation that preserves the unity of the Trinity by maintaining consistency and harmony from start to finish. God the Father chose a people. God the Son redeemed that precise people. God the Holy Spirit calls that same people from death in sin to life in Christ. Not one shall be lost. Everyone the Father intended to have with Him will be with Him. One day Jesus will say, "Behold I and the children that Thou hast given me" (Heb. 2:13), not some of the children or most of the children, but every one the Father loved, the Son redeemed, and the Spirit called. From start to finish, Salvation is of the Lord, by His free and sovereign grace.
Few verses more plainly demonstrate the consistency and continuity of the work of salvation than Romans 8:29-31. Trace the "whom’s" and the "them’s" in the passage: "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Because salvation is God’s work, the "glorified" at the end of verse thirty are precisely the same people designated as the "foreknown" at the beginning of verse twenty-nine. Salvation is of the Lord, by free and sovereign grace! No other school of thought harmonizes with the other Bible doctrines. No other missing piece fits the puzzle. The doctrine of the Trinity makes belief in the doctrine of grace the only option for those who would be true to the word of God.
Are you an orator or a herald? Is your pastor an orator or a herald? What's the difference? Is there a difference? How would you know? What does this have to do with whether or not the sermon or your own preaching has anything to do with it being "Junk Food" or "Solid Meal" preaching?
Not only is the exegetical preaching of the word of God crucial to Christian growth, it is also crucial in defining how one is to communicate the truth of scripture to the unregenerate.
We must get our feet firmly planted as to what our role is as Christian communicators of the gospel of Christ. We think this will help.
Take some time to listen to Steve Lawson of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama define and describe for you exactly what your role is as a Christian communicator; whether behind the pulpit or on a soapbox in the middle of park.
"Except a man be born again1, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Our Lord Jesus Christ taught that the new birth is so important that no one can see heaven without it. Mistakes concerning this doctrine have been very destructive to the Church of Christ. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God. It is not a work of man. It is not something that man does but something that God does. The new birth is a change wrought in us, not an act performed by us. This is stated so beautifully by the Apostle John when in the first chapter of his Gospel he speaks of the children of God as those "which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (v. 13).
What is "Decisional Regeneration"?
The history of the Christian Church has seen many errors concerning the new birth. These teachings depart from Scripture by attributing to man the ability to regenerate himself. When these false concepts of man and the new birth are adopted, churches soon become corrupted with false practices. The Roman Catholic church, the Anglican church, the Lutheran church and many other churches have all been corrupted at different times and to different degrees with the teaching of Baptismal Regeneration. Because of this erroneous teaching on regeneration, these churches have embraced false practices.
In the nineteenth century few controversies were so heated as the one over Baptismal Regeneration. It is interesting to note that C. H. Spurgeon (1836-1892), the most prolific preacher of that century, had printed in 1864 more copies of his sermon denouncing Baptismal Regeneration than of any other sermon. Baptismal Regeneration teaches that the new birth is conveyed by the waters of baptism. The sacrament is performed by man and is in his control.
But the twentieth century Church has, in "Decisional Regeneration," a more subtle falsehood to combat. "Decisional Regeneration" differs from Baptismal Regeneration only in the fact that it attaches the certainty of the new birth to a different act. This doctrine, just as Baptismal Regeneration, sees the new birth as the result of a mechanical process that can be performed by man. What is here called "Decisional Regeneration" has in its deceptive way permeated much of the Christian Church.
Our Purpose
The methods and theology of those that practice "Decisional Regeneration" need to be examined — not with a malicious spirit, but with a fervent desire that all of God's people may be one in doctrine and practice for the glory of God. We love all that are in Christ. But we agree wholeheartedly with Charles Spurgeon that:
"The best way to promote union is to promote truth. It will not do for us to be all united together by yielding to one another's mistakes. We are to love each other in Christ; but we are not to be so united that we are not able to see each other's faults, and especially not able to see our own. No purge the house of God, and then shall grand and blessed times dawn on us,"2.
So then our purpose is not to question the sincerity of some Christians or to malign them, but to unite Christians in the truth as it is in our Lord. This alone is true Christian unity.
As we earnestly seek to bring unity to the Church of Christ let us turn from falsehood unto God's truth. The practice of "Decisional Regeneration" in the Church must be exposed in order to save men from the damning delusion that because they have "decided" or "signed a card," they are going to heaven and are no longer under the wrath of God. The purity of the gospel is of extreme importance because it alone is the power of God unto salvation and the true basis of Christian unity.
Decisional Regeneration and Counseling
Some may still not understand exactly what is here meant by this term "Decisional Regeneration." Perhaps some are unfamiliar with the counseling courses that are being taught by many organizations in this country and abroad, and with the numerous "Soul Winning Conferences" that are taking place. In these meetings counselors are instructed that successful counseling must conclude with an individual's absolute assurance of salvation. Counselors are often instructed to assure an individual that his salvation is certain because he has prayed the prescribed prayer, and he has said "yes" to all the right questions.
We have an illustration of "Decisional Regeneration" when a popular present-day preacher prescribes a counseling procedure. He directs "Mr. Soul Winner" to ask an unconverted "Mr. Blank" a series of questions. If "Mr. Blank" says "yes" to all the questions, he is asked to pray a prescribed prayer and is then pronounced saved3. For the most part this counseling results in an individual being "regenerated" through a decision. This is essentially the same counseling method used in large evangelistic crusades across the world. These campaigns are like huge factories turning out as many as ten thousand "decisions" in a week.
Mr. Iain Murray, in his timely book The Forgotten Spurgeon, points out that this same type of counseling is used in youth work:
For example, a booklet, which is much circulated in student evangelism at the present time, lays down 'Three simple steps' to becoming a Christian: first, personal acknowledgment of sin, and second, personal belief in Christ's substitutionary work. These two are described as preliminary, but 'the third so final that to take it will make me a Christian. . .I must come to Christ and claim my personal share in what He did for everybody.' This all-decisive third step rests with me; Christ 'waits patiently until I open the door. Then He will come in....' Once I have done this I may immediately regard myself as a Christian. The advice follows: 'Tell somebody today what you have done.'4
There are many variations of this type of counseling, but they all have in common a mechanical element such as the repeating of a prayer or signing of a card upon the performance of which the individual is assured of his salvation. Regeneration has thereby been reduced to a procedure which man performs. How differently did Jesus Christ deal with sinners. He did not have any instant salvation process. He did not speak to people with a stereotyped presentation. He dealt with every individual on a personal basis. Never in the New Testament do we find Christ dealing with any two persons in the same manner. It is enlightening to compare how differently He dealt with Nicodemus in John 3, and then with the woman at the well in John 4. Counseling needs to be personal.
There are a number of other problems with a mechanical counseling. Mr. Murray has pointed out the fact that on the basis of this counseling ?
A man may make a profession without ever having his confidence in his own ability shattered; he has been told absolutely nothing of his need of a change of nature which is not within his own power, and consequently, if he does not experience such a radical change, he is not dismayed. He was never told it was essential so he sees no reason to doubt whether he is a Christian. Indeed, the teaching he has come under consistently militates against such doubts arising. It is frequently said that a man who has made a decision with little evidence of a change of life may be a 'carnal' Christian who needs instruction in holiness, or if the same individual should gradually lose his new-found interests, the fault is frequently attributed to lack of 'follow-up,' or prayer, or some other deficiency on the part of the Church. The possibility that these marks of worldliness and falling away are due to the absence of a saving experience at the outset is rarely considered; if this point were faced, then the whole system of appeals, decisions and counseling would collapse, because it would bring to the fore the fact that change of nature is not in man's power, and that it takes much longer than a few hours or days to establish whether a professed response to the gospel is genuine. But instead of facing this, it is protested that to doubt whether a man who has 'accepted Christ' is a Christian is tantamount to doubting the Word of God, and that to abandon 'appeals' and their adjuncts is to give up evangelism altogether."5
The counseling of "Decisional Regeneration" produces statistics that would encourage any Christian-until he follows up the so-called converts. In one heartbreaking experience forty "converts" of such counseling were contacted and only one person of these forty was found who appeared to be a Christian. One lady may have been reached, but what were the effects of the encounter on the other thirty-nine? Some of them may believe their eternal destinies were determined by their decisions, which is a fatal confidence if no change was wrought in their hearts and lives. The others may have concluded that they had experienced all that Christianity has to offer. Failing to feel or see any promised change in themselves, they have become convinced that Christianity is a fake and that those who hold it are either self-deluded fanatics or miserable hypocrites.
Robert Dabney, one of the great theologians of the nineteenth century, made some very penetrating observations concerning the disillusionment of people that have been counseled for a decision., he said:
Some of these individuals feel that a cruel trick has been played upon their inexperience by the ministers and friends of Christianity in thus thrusting them, in the hour of their confusion, into false positions, whose duties they do not and cannot perform, and into sacred professions which they have been compelled shamefully to repudiate. Their self respect is therefore galled to the quick, and pride is indignant at the humiliating exposure. No wonder that they look on religion and its advocates henceforward with suspicion and anger. Often their feelings do not stop here. They are conscious that they were thoroughly in earnest in their religious anxieties and resolves at the time, and that they felt strange and profound exercises. Yet bitter and mortifying experience has taught them that their new birth and experimental religion at least was a delusion. How natural to conclude that those of all others are delusions also? They say: 'the only difference between myself and these earnest Christians is, that they have not yet detected the cheat as I have. They are now not a whit more convinced of their sincerity and of the reality of their exercises than I once was of mine. Yet I know there was no change in my soul; I do not believe that there is in theirs.' Such is the fatal process of thought through which thousands have passed; until the country is sprinkled all over with infidels, who have been made such by their own experience of spurious religious excitements. They may keep their hostility to themselves in the main; because Christianity now 'walks in her silver slippers'; but they are not the less steeled against all saving impressions of the truth."6
Dabney penned these words a hundred years ago, long before the days of the "mass evangelism" and highly organized campaigns. If a hundred years ago the country was "sprinkled all over with infidels, who had been made such by their own experience of spurious religious excitements," what must be the situation today? This is a serious question for every Christian. To have led men, even sincerely, into false hope will be an awful condemnation for a Christian when he stands before Almighty God.
Decisional Regeneration and Altar Calls
One may read thousands of pages of the history of the Christian Church without finding a single reference to the "old-fashioned altar call" before the last century. Most Christians are surprised to learn that history before the time of Charles G. Finney (1792-1875) knows nothing of this type of "invitation." The practice of urging men and women to make a physical movement at the conclusion of a meeting was introduced by Mr. Finney in the second decade of the nineteenth century. Dr. Albert B. Dod, a professor of theology at Princeton Seminary at the time of Mr. Finney's ministry, pointed out the newness of the practice and showed that this method was without historical precedent. In his review of Finney's Lectures on Revival, Professor Dod stated that one will search the volumes of church history in vain for a single example of this practice before the 1820's.7 Instead, history tells us that whenever the gospel was preached men were invited to Christ-not to decide at the end of a sermon whether or not to perform some physical action.
The Apostle Paul, the great evangelist, never heard of an altar call, yet today some consider the altar call to be a necessary mark of an evangelical church. In fact, churches which do not practice it are often accused of having no concern for the lost. Neither Paul nor Peter ever climaxed his preaching with forcing upon his hearers the decision to walk or not to walk. It is not only with church history, then, but with Scriptural history as well that the altar call is in conflict.
One may ask, "How did preachers of the gospel for the previous eighteen hundred years invite men to Christ without the use of the altar call?" They did so in much the same way as did the apostles and the other witnesses of the early Church. Their messages were filled with invitations for all men everywhere to come to Christ.
Surely it will be admitted that the first sermon of the Christian Church was not climaxed by an altar call. Peter on the Day of Pentecost concluded his sermon with these words: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Peter stopped. Then the divinely inspired record tells us: "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' " (Acts 2:36-37). This response was the result of the work of the Spirit of God, not of clever appeals or psychological pressure. That day the apostles witnessed the conversion of three thousand people.
C. H. Spurgeon invited men to come to Christ, not to an altar. Listen to him invite men to Jesus Christ:
Before you leave this place breathe an earnest prayer to God, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner. Lord, I need to be saved. Save me. I call upon Thy name....Lord, I am guilty, I deserve Thy wrath. Lord, I cannot save myself. Lord, I would have a new heart and a right spirit, but what can I do? Lord, I can do nothing, come and work in me to do of Thy good pleasure.
Thou alone hast power, I know
To save a wretch like me;
To whom, or whither should I go
If I should run from Thee?
But I now do from my very soul call upon Thy name. Trembling, yet believing, I cast myself wholly upon Thee, O Lord. I trust the blood and righteousness of Thy dear Son.... Lord, save me tonight, for Jesus' sake.' " "Go home alone trusting in Jesus. 'I should like to go into the enquiry-room.' I dare say you would, but we are not willing to pander to popular superstition. We fear that in those rooms men are warmed into a fictitious confidence. Very few of the supposed converts of enquiry-rooms turn out well. Go to your God at once, even where you now are. Cast yourself on Christ, at once, ere you stir an inch!8
Invitations such as Spurgeon gave directing men to Christ and not to aisles are needed today. George Whitefield's sermons were long invitations to men to come to Christ, not to an altar. The same may be said of the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, of the Reformers and of others in the past who were blessed with a harvest of many souls using Scriptural means of inviting men to Christ.
Today the altar call has become the climax and culmination of the entire meeting. Many stanzas of a hymn are usually sung, during which time all kinds of appeals are made to the sinner to walk the aisle, and the clear impression is given to the sinner that his eternal destiny hangs on this movement of his feet.
"Just As I Am," the precious hymn perhaps most frequently sung for the altar call, was written in 1836 by Charlotte Elliott:
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
The phrase, "O Lamb of God, I come, I come," has been widely used to encourage people to "come" down the aisle. But it is significant that Miss Elliott wrote the hymn for the infirm and that it first appeared in a hymnal prepared especially for invalids.9 To Miss Elliott, coming to Christ was not walking an aisle.
Although most who use the altar call realize that coming to Christ is not synonymous with coming to the altar, they do give the impression to sinners that the first step in coming to Christ is walking the aisle. I am purposefully being very careful not to misstate the case. I understand the sincerity of those who practice the altar call, it having been a part of every service from my earliest memory until college. In fact, I grew up in Christian circles unaware that evangelical Christianity existed without the altar call. In many services during this time my mind was centered on the glorious person of Christ and His suffering on the cross only to find the whole focus of the worship service suddenly changed at the conclusion from seeing the glories and sufferings of Christ to walking an aisle. Many others have spoken of the same experience — that the altar call and the clever appeals at the conclusion of meetings, the decision to walk or not to walk and the wondering how many will respond, have distracted them from seeking Christ and from worshipping God in spirit and truth.
Do you remember how the crowds physically followed our Lord Christ until He began to preach some unpopular truths? Then the crowds turned back (John 6:66). Why? Had they not come to Jesus with their feet? Yes, but this is not the coming to Him that is necessary for salvation. Christ said, "All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). And again He said, "No man can come to me except the Father draw him" (John 6:44). In neither of these instances was Jesus speaking of the physical movement of the feet.
Men today need to be reminded that coming to Christ is not walking an aisle, but is casting oneself on Christ for life or death. May God cause the Church to return to the Scriptures for its methods of winning men to Christ. May sinners be charged not to come forward in a meeting but to come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Decisional Regeneration and Preaching
The false teaching of "Decisional Regeneration" has polluted even the structure of the sermon. Jack Hyles, considered by many to be an authority on preaching, gives the following advice to his fellow-ministers:
Many of us in our preaching will make such statements as, 'Now, in conclusion'; 'Finally, may I say'; 'My last point is . . .'. These statements are sometimes dangerous. The sinner knows five minutes before you finish; hence he digs in and prepares himself for the invitation so that he does not respond. However, if your closing is abrupt and a lost person does not suspect that you are about finished, you have crept up on him and he will not have time to prepare himself for the invitation. Many people may be reached, using this method.10
At the first reading of such a teaching one might believe, or at least hope, that he misread Mr. Hyles. The second, third and fourth readings, however, confirm that Mr. Hyles actually teaches that men may be converted to Christ as a result of some clever method a minister uses in his sermon, and that one's eternal destiny may be determined by the impulse of an unguarded moment. This idea that a man's salvation may depend upon his being "crept up on" and giving his unwilling consent is in direct conflict with what the Scriptures teach concerning the receiving of Jesus Christ. In reality the kind of Preaching that tries to creep up on sinners results for the most part in bringing people to religion, not to Christ. Can there be any more terrible result of a sermon than the bringing of people to something other than our Lord Jesus Christ?
True preaching is not a clever device of man, but a demonstration of the Spirit of God as the truth of God is proclaimed. I can never forget hearing Dr. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones illustrate what true preaching is with an account of George Whitefield preaching in the church of Jonathan Edwards:
There was this genius Jonathan Edwards listening to Whitefield, who wasn't in the same field, of course, from the standpoint of genius and ability and so on. But as he was listening to Whitefield, his face, says Whitefield, was shining. Edwards' face was shining and tears were streaming down his face. Edwards was recognizing this authentic, authoritative note — this preaching. Whitefield was in the Spirit. Edwards was in the Spirit, and the two were blended together. The whole congregation and the preacher were one in the hand of God. That is preaching. May God enable us to practice it and experience it.11
The preaching of which Dr. Lloyd-Jones is speaking of and which the New Testament speaks is far removed from the trickery used in much modern preaching. Biblical preaching declares that men are not born again by the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13).
"Decisional Regeneration" does not bring men to Christ any more than does Baptismal Regeneration. It is true that some are converted under such preaching, but this is in spite of the false methods used, not because of them. The Bible is clear in its declaration that only by the Spirit of God can men be born again. True repentance and saving faith come as the result of the new birth and are never the cause of the great change. Repentance and faith are the acts of regenerated men, not of men dead in sins (Eph. 2:1, 5). However, God does not act for us; He does not believe for us; and He surely cannot repent for us — He has no sin for which to repent. We must personally, knowingly and willingly trust in Christ for salvation. Nor are we saying that preachers should not urge, yea, plead with men to repent and believe. Any preaching which merely rehearses the facts of the gospel without calling men to repentance and faith in Christ as a merciful and mighty Saviour of sinners is not biblical preaching.
The apostles taught that God saves His elect through the foolishness of preaching. All new methods devised by man can only fall far short of this ordained means of converting the sinner. The Church must forsake its carnal inventions and once again be guided by the teaching of Scripture if it is to expect God to bless its efforts and multiply its harvest. The Scriptural means of evangelizing is to "preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (I Cor. 1:23-24).
Decisional Regeneration and Theology
Whether it is openly recognized or not, there are always certain doctrinal presuppositions which underlie the methods used in evangelism. What kind of teaching, then, has allowed the Church to depart from historic Christianity and to take up these new devices?
The new birth according to our Lord Jesus Christ is sovereign work of the Spirit of God in the heart of man (John 3:8). Yet in conflict with Christ's teaching, one of the forefathers of this new evangelism states that "Religion is the work of man." This is a shocking statement, especially since it is found on the very first page of Lectures on Revivals of Religion, the most influential of all of Charles G. Finney's writings.12 The great theological difference between modern evangelism and biblical evangelism hinges on this basic question whether true religion is the work of God or of man. At best, the doctrine of "Decisional Regeneration" attributes the new birth partly to man and partly to God.
J. H. Merle d'Aubigne (1794-1872) in his The History of the Reformation in England states that
To believe in the power of man in the work of regeneration is the great heresy of Rome, and from that error has come the ruin of the Church. Conversion proceeds from the grace of God alone, and the system which ascribes it partly to man and partly to God is worse than Pelagianism.13
One of the greatest American theologians, Charles Hodge (1797-1878), also points out the danger of this teaching:
No more soul-destroying doctrine could well be devised than the doctrine that sinners can regenerate themselves, and repent and believe just when they please . . . As it is a truth both of Scripture and of experience that the unrenewed man can do nothing of himself to secure his salvation, it is essential that he should be brought to a practical conviction of that truth. When thus convicted, and not before, he seeks help from the only source whence it can be obtained.14
In both the above statements stress is put upon man's helplessness to be born anew, and the necessity for God to create life. It is especially in these two areas that the doctrine of "Decisional Regeneration" deviates from the biblical doctrine of regeneration. This brings us to the foundational issue of "Decisional Regeneration": What is the spiritual condition of man?
Can a man be born again by answering "yes" to a certain group of questions? Can a man be born from "above" by walking to the front of a building? Can a man become a true Christian by responding to an invitation as a result of being "crept up on" unawares? Your answers to these questions will be determined by your view of man's spiritual condition. What is man's spiritual state?
The grand old Scottish theologian Thomas Boston (1676-1732) very vividly illustrated man's spiritual condition by comparing the unconverted person to a man in a pit. He can only get out of the pit in one of two ways: he may through much toil and difficulty scale the sides of the pit to the top, which is the way of works; or, he may grab hold of the rope of grace let down by Christ and be pulled out of his misery. Yes, he may decide to pull himself up by the rope of the gospel, "but, alas! the unconverted man is dead in the pit, and cannot help himself either of these ways.15
Man is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins and cannot please God (Eph. 2:1; Rom. 8:8). Our Saviour Himself portrayed man's condition as one of utter helplessness: "No man can come to me except the Father who has sent me draw him"; "No man can come to me except it were given to him of my Father" (John 6:44, 65).
This state of death and bondage to sin cannot be changed by making a decision or by walking an aisle. A man cannot make himself a Christian. Only the Spirit of God can create a new man in Christ. God in His grace gives men new hearts. Only then can they willingly repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God Himself has stated this truth by saying: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes..." (Ezek. 36:26, 27). Jesus Christ also clearly said, "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he wishes" (John 5:21).
The greatness of God's power in saving sinners can only be seen against the background of man's desperate condition. What a glorious doctrine is the new birth to the helpless sinner! May the Church return to biblical doctrine so that it may evangelize again to the glory of God.
How helpless guilty nature lies,
Unconscious of its load!
The heart, unchanged can never rise
To happiness and God.
The will perverse, the passions blind,
In paths of ruin stray;
Reason, debased, can never find
The safe, the narrow way.
Can aught, beneath a power divine,
The stubborn will subdue?
Tis Thine, almighty Saviour, Thine,
To form the heart anew.
O change these wretched hearts of ours,
And give them life divine!
Then shall our passions and our powers,
Almighty Lord, be Thine!
– Isaac Watts
What Must We Do?
It is not a time to be silent; it is time to speak out. We have kept quiet too long, somehow feeling that if we opposed these unbiblical practices we might be hindering the good work of evangelism, believing that among the multitudes of "decisions" there are some genuine conversions. But with every passing week thousands are being counseled into a false hope! Men are directed to walk aisles when they should be pointed to Christ alone. The high calling of preaching has degenerated into a series of gimmicks and tricks. These false practices have resulted from the perversion of biblical doctrine. In the midst of this darkness let us pray that God may be pleased to revive His Church again. This revival can come only through Christ. Men must turn afresh to His directions for counseling, to His free invitations to sinners and to the preaching of His gospel. Only then will our labors bring glory to God; and if God grants, many sinners will be converted for His glory.
The word "again" is better rendered "from above." It points to the ultimate source of the new birth, the Triune God.
C. H. Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit (London, 1964), Vol. 6, p. 171.
Jack Hyles, How To Boost Your Church Attendance (Grand Rapids, 1958), pp. 32-35.
Iain H. Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon (London, 1966), p. 110.
Ibid, p. 111.
Robert L. Dabney, Discussions: Evangelical and Theological (London, 1967), Vol. 2, p. 13.
Albert B. Dod, "The Origin of the Call for Decisions," The Banner of Truth Magazine (London, Dec., 1963), Vol. 32, p. 9.
Murray, op. cit., pp. 107-109.
John Julian, A Dictionary of Hymnology (London, 1907) p. 609.
Hyles, op. cit., pp. 43-44.
Recorded in shorthand from a sermon, "The Responsibility of Evangelism," preached at Grace Baptist Church, Carlisle, Pa., in June, 1969.
For the clearest statement of Finney's theory of regeneration read his sermon, "Sinners Bound To Change their Own Hearts," Sermons on Various Subjects (New York, 1835). For a detailed examination of Finney's theology see "Review of Lectures on Systematic Theology," The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review (Philadelphia, 1847), Vol. 19, pp. 237-Z77; also Benjamin B. Warfield, "The Theology of Charles C. Finney," Perfectionism (Philadelphia, 1967), pp. 166-215.
J. H. Merle d'Aubigne, The Reformation in England (London, 1962), Vol. 1, p. 98.
Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, 1970), Vol. 2, p. 277.
Thomas Boston, Human Nature in Its Fourfold State (London, 1964), p. 183.
May this move you to compassion for your own children and for the lost multitiudes around you.
This is why it's good to read theology from a bunch of "dead guys."
The first way to hell, discovered.
From - The Works of John Flavel Volume 3 - Pneumatologia: A Treatise of the Soul of Man (Continued) Section 4 - Of the Human Soul More Valuable than the Whole World: Its Blessedness when Saved, it’s Irreparable Ruin when lost:
Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall I man give an exchange for his soul?
[This is the first paragraph introducing this section on page 153_ ed]
DIFFICULT duties need to be enforced with powerful arguments. In the 24th verse of this chapter, our Lord presseth upon his disciples the deepest and hardest duties of self-denial, acquaints them upon what terms they must be admitted into his service: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me."
[This is the first of 12 ways to hell and remedies thereof by Mr. Flavel as found on pages 183 through 225 _ ed]
The first way to hell, discovered.
1. And to begin where, indeed, the ruin of very many doth began, it will be found, that ill education is the highway to destruction; Vice need not be planted; if the gardener neglects to dress, sow, and manure his garden, he need not give the weeds a greater advantage; but if he also scatter the seeds of hemlock, docks, and nettles into it, he spoils it, and makes it fit for nothing. Many parents, and those godly too, are guilty of too many neglects, through carelessness, worldly encumbrances, or fond indulgence; and whilst they neglect the season of sowing better seed, the Devil takes hold of it; if they will not improve it, he will: if they teach him not to pray, he will teach them to curse, sware, and lie; if they put not the Bible, or catechism in their hands, he will put obscene ballads into them: and thus, the offspring of many godly parents turn into degenerate plants, and prove a generation that does not know the God of their fathers. Unchaste debauch stage can furnish us with too many said instances here of. Thus, they are spoiled in the bud; simple ignorance in youth, becomes affected and willful ignorance in age; blushing sins in children become impudent in age; and all this for want of a timely, and prudent preventing care. Others there are of the rude and ignorant multitude, who are bred themselves much like the beasts they daily converse withal; and so they are fairly described, Job 30:6, 7. Go into their houses, and you may sooner find in the window, or upon the shelf a pack of cards, than a Bible or catechism; their beds and tables differ little, or not at all, from the stalls and cribs where beasts lie down and feed, in respect of any worship of God among them; or if, for fashion-sake, a few words be huddled over in the evening, when their bodies are tired, the man saith something, he scarce knows what, the wife is a sleep in one corner, the children in another, and the servants in a third. This is the education multitudes of parents give their children all the week, and when the Sabbath comes, the most they learn to know at church, is, where their own seat stands, and that it is necessary to speed with such a neighbor after prayers about such or such a bargain, or business for the next week.
And others there are, who breed their children so profanely, as these do sottishly;[foolishly, as in a stupor] teaching them, by their examples, the newest oaths that were last minted in hell, and revile and scoff all serious godliness, and the sincere professors of it, smiling to here with what an emphasis they can talk in the dialect of devils, and how wittily they can droll upon godly ministers and Christians.
Such families are nurseries for hell; and though God, by an extraordinary hand of providence, now and then snatches the sole by conversion from among them, as a brand out of the fire; yet generally, they die as they live, going "to the generation of their fathers, where they shall never see light," Psalm 49:19. I know education and regeneration are two things; but I also know one is frequently made the instrument of working the other, and that the favor of what first seasons our youth generally abides to old age, Proverbs 22:6. We may observe, all the world over, how tenacious men are of that which is delivered to them by their parents. " what a cut must it be to the heart of that father whose son's life shall tell his conscience what a profane son's lips once told his father to his face! If I have done evil, I have learned to it of you. Had they felt more of your reproof or correction, it might of prevented their destruction. Proverbs 23:14. "Thou shalt beat him with a rod, and shall deliver his soul from hell." That this is a common beaten path to hell, is beyond all question; but how to bar it up, and stop the multitudes that are engaged in it to their own ruin, this is the labour, this is the work. I cannot be large, but I will offer a few weighty considerations.
The first way to hell barred.
1. Let all parents consider, what a fearful thing it is to be the instruments of ruining for ever, those that receive their beings instrumentally from them, and to seek whose good they stand obliged, by all the laws of God and nature.
In vain are all your cares and studies for their bodies, whilst their souls perish for want of knowledge. You rejoiced at their birth, but they will have cause to curse the day they were born of you and say, you were solicitous for their bodies, but careless of their souls; earnest to see them rich, but indifferent whether there were gracious; you neglected to teach them the way of salvation, but the devil did not neglect teach them the way of sin. You will one day wish you had never been parents, when the doleful cries of your damned children shall bring such notes as these in your ears: "0 cursed Father! Oh cruel, merciless mother! Whose examples have drawn me after you, into all this. You had time enough, and motives enough to have warned me of this place and misery whilst my heart was tender, and my affections pliable: Had it not been as easy to have put a Bible as a play-book before me? To have chastised me when I provoked God by sin, as when I provoke you about a trifle? One word spoken in season might have saved my soul; one reproof wisely given and set on by your example, might have preserved me. Had it not been the same pains to have asked me, child, what wilt thou do to be saved? As, what wilt thou do to live in this world? Or, had I but observed any serious religion in you, had I but found or heard my father or mother upon their knees in prayer, it might have awakened me to a consideration of my condition. In my youth I was shame-faced, fearful, credulous, and apt to imitate; had you but had wisdom as other parents have, to have taken hold of any of these handles in time, you had rescued my soul from hell. Nay, so cruel have you been to your own child, that you allowed me no time (if I had had a disposition) for any exercise of religion; yea, you had quenched and stifled the sparks of convictions and better inclinations that sometimes were in my heart. O happy had it been if I had never been born of you, or seen your faces." This must be the result and issue of your negligence, except God, by some other hand (which is no thanks to you) rescue them from their impending ruin.
2. Let all children, whose unhappy lot it is to be born of, and educated by, carnal and irreligious parents, consider, God hath endued them with the reason, and a conscience of their own, to enable them to make a better choice than their parents did, and that there is no taking sanctuary from the wrath of God in their parents examples. We read in 1 Kings 14:13. of a good Abijah, "in whom was found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel, in the House of Jeroboam." Here was a child that would not follow his wicked father to hell, though he had both the authority of the father, and of the king over him. "You must honor your parents, but still you must prefer your God before them." God will never lay it to your account as your sin, but place it to the account of your duty, and comfort, that you refused to follow them in the paths of sin and destruction. No law of God, no tie of nature binds you to obey their commands, or tread in their steps, farther than they command in God's authority and Name, and walk in his ways. Your temptations, indeed, are strong, and disadvantage is great; but the greater will the mercy of your deliverance be: it will be no plea for you, at the judgment seat, to say, Lord my father and mother did so and so, before me, and I thought I might safely follow them; or thus and thus, they commanded me, and I thought I was bound, by thy command, to obey them. Therefore look to your own souls, if they are so desperate as to cast away their own. If some children had not minded their own salvation more than their parents minded it they had never been saved.
3. Let this consideration work upon the hearts, and bowels of all serious Christians, to pity, and help those that are like to perish under this temptation; and if their parents be so ignorant, that they cannot, or so negligent, that they do not instruct and warn their children; you that at anytime have an opportunity to help them, have compassion on them, and do it. It is true, they are none of your children by nature; but would it not be a singular honor, and comfort to you, if God should make them so by grace? Thousands of children (and, it may be some of you) are more indebted to mere strangers, upon this account, then to their nearest relations; you know not how much good an occasional word may do them: all have not the ability to be so publicly useful this way, as a late worthy minister of our own nation hath been, who, in compassion to the dark and barbarous corners in Wales, where ignorance and poverty shut up the way of salvation to them, at a vast expense procured the translation, and printing of the Bible in their own tongue, and freely sent it among them. Oh you that have the bowels of Christians in you, pity, and help them! What is it, for the saving of a precious soul, to drop the serious exhortation, as you have opportunity, and to them, to bestow a Bible, or suitable book upon them? Believe it, these little sums of shillings, and pence, so bestowed will stand for more, in the audit-day, then all the hundreds, and thousands, other ways expended.
I remember growing up as a kid never being really heavily exposed to Biblical theology. I never really attended church much but I could tell a little from the culture that people were “religious” and had a sense of the creator God. Although I was never exposed to theology (in retrospect as a born-again believer) I can look back on the culture that I lived in here in the south and see very heavy presuppositions in the lives of the “religious folk” I lived around. There were presuppositions about God that they were living out that I would find later are in direct contrast to His word.
One might say that growing up with a non-Christian background would be a curse. God’s common grace (as differentiated from his special grace in salvation) is for all of His creation (it rains on the just and the unjust) and Christians normally see living outside of the covenant blessings of a Christian home or church family as a curse or “bad thing” for lack of a better word. I agree completely, but I want to put something into perspective.
Living outside of the special grace of God allowed me to, after being truly born-again, approach the scriptures with no theological presuppositions. I had no “special glasses” that I was wearing when reading God’s word that would filter out certain doctrines. I had not equipped myself with any particular church’s thoughts and viewpoints, nor armed myself as it were with certain barriers and blockades to fight against and resist competing exegetical thoughts on God’s word. I simply read God's word as it was. I faced God and wrestled through His word line by line and bowed before His holy word with fear, reverence and awe. I wanted to understand the mind of God in whatever capacity the Spirit would give me and continue to give. I approached God with my mind as a clean slate for Him to write on it as He wishes. With all of that came battles through historically controversial passages and more than one restless night of reading and prayer.
With all of that said, I wanted you all to take some time to listen to an exegesis, or drawing out of the meaning, of Romans 9. Before listening, please go get your Bible, sit down and pray that God strip away all of your presuppositions and ask Him to help you understand His word in truth. The reason for this post is the fear that there are many, many professing Christians living out a cultural distinctive that have no real grasp on God’s word. That scares me.
Now, open your Bible to Romans 9, click play below and read along. Pause it anytime you need to and think, pray and think again.
So, some of you might be asking after listening to that, "How in the world does this have anything to do with evangelism?" Well, I believe if you are asking that question you never truly understood the passages at hand.
A quick note:
I am in no way suggesting that if you come to a different conclusion that your presuppositions are the sole reason why. Nor am I suggesting that the culture that you grew up in is the sole reason why. I am suggesting, however, that these play a huge part into many faulty, shallow, eisegetical (or forcing into the scriptures your own meaning and interpretation), man-centered interpretations of scripture. There are many applications of scripture, but only one true interpretation.
Latin, "the order of salvation." The ordo salutis is the theological doctrine that deals with the logical sequencing of the benefits of Salvation worked by Christ which are applied to us by the Spirit. This first thing to remember is that we must never seperate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration, etc.) is the work of God in Christ and is by grace alone. Election is the superstructure of our ordo salutis, but not itself the application of redemption. Regeneration, the work of the Holy Spirit which brings us into a living union with Christ, has a causal priority over the other aspects of the process of salvation. God opens our eyes, we see. God circumcises/ unplugs our ears, we hear. Jesus calls a dead and buried Lazarus out of the grave, he comes; In the same way, the Holy Spirit applies regeneration, (opening our spiritual eyes and renewing our affections), infallibly resulting in faith. All the benefits of redemption such as conversion (faith & repentance), justification, sanctification and perseverance presuppose the existence of spiritual life. The work of applying God's grace is a unitary process given to the elect simultaneously. This is instantaneous, but there is definitely a causal order (regeneration giving rise to all the rest). Though these benefits cannot be separated, it is helpful to distinguish them. Therefore, instead of imposing a chronological order we should view these as a unitary work of God to bring us into union with Christ. We must always keep in mind that the orders expressed in the following articles occur together or happen simultaneously like the turning on of a light switch or a faucet. But God turns on the light/faucet, so to speak. All aspects of the work of God continue together throughout the life of a Christian.
Historically in the Church there has been disagreement about the order of salvation, especially between those in the Reformed and Arminian camps. The following two perspectives of God's order in carrying out His redemptive work reveals the stark contrast between these two main historic views. Keep in mind that both viewpoints are based on the redemptive work which Christ accomplished for His people in history:
In the Reformed camp, the ordo salutis is 1) election, 2) predestination, 3) gospel call 4) inward call 5) regeneration, 6) conversion (faith & repentance), 7) justification, 8) sanctification, and 9) glorification. (Rom 8:29-30)
In the Arminian camp, the ordo salutis is 1) outward call 2) faith/election, 3) repentance, 4) regeneration, 5) justification, 6) perseverance, 7) glorification.
Notice the crucial difference in the orders of regeneration and faith. While the Reformed position believes spiritual life is a prerequisite for the existence of the other aspects of salvation, the Arminians believe that fallen, natural man retains the moral capacity to receive or reject the gospel of his own power. Even with the help of grace he still must find it within himself to believe or reject Christ. This has broad implications and raises questions like why does one man believe and not another? You might also notice that, according to Arminians, election is dependent on faith, not the other way around. This is no small matter ...understanding the biblical order, while keeping in mind its unitary process, is crucial and has a profound impact on how one views God, the gospel, and the Bible as a whole.
Propitiation - Propitiation means satisfaction or appeasment, specifically towards God. Propitiation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross by which He appeases the wrath of God who would otherwise be offended by our sin and demand that we pay the penalty for it. The concept of propitiation is often associated with the idea of a substitutionary atonement.
On a side note:
Romans 9:11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
There is a popular view of the grace of God called prescience. Prescience derives from two greeek words: pre meaning before and science meaning knowledge. So, this view basically holds to this truth that God flung the universe into existence and with foreknowledge, or prescience, He knew who would "choose" Him for salvation and who would reject Him and based on that He chooses those for salvation.
So in other words, God chooses those who first choose Him through His foreknowledge.
Let me ask you a very practical and legitimate question. Why in the world would Paul pose the question "Is there unrighteousness with God?" in Romans 9 if prescience were the true way in which God operated. Meaning; How in the world could someone fathom unrighteousness in God (in which Paul anticipates by his question) if God simply chooses because of His foreknowledge of someones choice to choose Him. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
