RBF: The brief study on the order of salvation as mentioned above shows that reformed teaching on the order of salvation is neither in any way “inconsistent and deficient”, nor does it contradict the teaching of the 1689 Confession. In fact, with Reformed teaching on the subject, we can preach the gospel with confidence, that it is the power of God for salvation for those who believe. We can actually appeal to the lost souls to repent and believe in Christ Jesus that they might be saved. We can also preach that sinners are justified by faith alone with no hesitation and assure the believers that there will be no more condemnation when they are justified.
SF: Let me say with due respect, whether the view espoused and defended by your Paper is the ‘reformed teaching on the order of salvation’ or not, I believe I have adequately shown that your order of salvation is in plain contradiction with the Scripture teachings summarized in 1689 CoF. You have liberty to believe what you want, but please don’t insist that it is the view of the 1689 CoF. There is more honour to disagree than to make a false claim.
With such theological views, you actually have no gospel to preach. The simple definition of the gospel is that it is good news of what God has accomplished in Jesus Christ and applies through His Son and Spirit. News is about what has happened, not what will happen. Good news about Jesus Christ is the message of what God has done to save His elect in Christ Jesus and the Spirit of God who applies this salvation to Christ’s redeemed. Such are called to believe in Jesus Christ.
Good news means that the preacher can confidently and boldly appeal to the hearers to repent, urging them the absolute necessity to repent, fully conscious that God’s elect in the audience who have been effectually called to eternal life will be blessed to hear and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Good news means that if there are those in the audience whom God has already bestowed with eternal life, they will believe the gospel of their salvation. Good news means God has acted so that there are spiritual men who will receive the things of the Spirit of God, 1Cor 2:14. Good news is good news only to those whom God has worked the work of salvation in their effectual calling to life, 1Cor 1:18 – and such persons will be brought to faith, thus evidencing they have been given eternal life to believe. Such a preacher can preach with full confidence in the gospel, in the good news. He is preaching the good news of what God has done for His people, thus outwardly calling out such people in the audience with the gospel and to gather them into the local churches of Jesus Christ.
It is necessary to believe. Faith in Christ is necessary. But what is faith necessary for? Is it necessary to make good news? But believing does not make the good news. Believing is to evidence the good news – the good news that God has bestowed salvation by His free grace. Believing is necessary because it is proof that I have been bestowed salvation by God’s free grace. The good news is not the news that some wonderful things will happen to me if only I would do something. That is good news [read ‘temptation’] promoted by worldly and godless commercialism!!!
When you preach to sinners that they are to secure their justification, their right standing before God, by their faith, then that is NO good news at all. It is no good saying that faith is the gift of God. It is I who must exercise faith. It is I who must believe. It is you who must preach the gospel to bring me to faith! If my justification before God is by my own faith, through your preaching, then everything becomes so uncertain. Did I exercise the right faith? Did I exercise enough of the right faith? Did you preach faithful enough so that your hearer heard enough truth to exercise enough of the right faith to secure their justification before God? How much faith must I have to maintain my state of justification before God? If I become faithless, as God’s children are so apt to do sometimes (2Tim 2:13) will I become de-justified, revert back to a condemned state? What frightening questions. But the Lord has delivered me from these unnerving and ‘assurance-destroying’ questions.
However, the good news is ‘whoever believes has eternal life.’ The good news is that God has effectually called His elect to eternal life. And when such effectually called hear the gospel, they will be brought to belief in the truth. Their believing is demonstration that they have been bestowed eternal life, i.e., justified, regenerated and adopted, and believed through the gift of faith bestowed to him by God. “But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles’ 2Tim 1:9-10
This is not just a matter of semantics. There is a vast difference in saying ‘breath is evidence of life’ and ‘breath is necessary to secure life.’ If breath is the evidence of life, then the slightest breath is indication of the presence of life, even though that life may be very weak. Life must be nurtured and nourished into robust life through the ministry of the word. When we say ‘breath is necessary to secure life’ then all sort of uncertainties and doubts arise.
I understand you, you ‘understand’ me, let us live and let live, and by whatever light that each of us have received. I have reciprocated to your Response. You have no need to respond to my comments. You can continue to disagree if you so desire. That’s fine with me. By God’s grace, when you begin to be unsettled by the glaring inconsistencies and deficiencies of your theological ideas on the order of salvation, we can search the Scriptures again.
“Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another:
and the LORD hearkened, and heard it,
and a book of remembrance was written before him
for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.”
Mal 3:16
and the LORD hearkened, and heard it,
and a book of remembrance was written before him
for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.”
Mal 3:16
What a blessed thought that the Lord hears our conversation. I thank you all for your Theological Paper that states clearly for all to see what you do believe and defend, and which gave me an opportunity to speak with brothers who fear the Lord and speak their minds. And do forgive me for my inability to write in a gentler and sweeter manner. No offence is intended anywhere in all that is written. Like you, I am only interested in theological principles.
No comments:
Post a Comment