faithful to preserve

Our competency comes from God. He begins and will complete His good work in us. Here is Richard Phillips on God's faithfulness to preserve His own.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Philippians 1:6 develops the theme of God’s preserving grace—which ensures the perseverance of His own—in three points.

First, Paul reminds us that since God has begun our salvation, we can rely on Him to complete it: “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” God always finishes what He starts, especially the salvation of His people.

It is in this way that God’s preserving grace fits with the other doctrines of grace. God the Father chose us in eternity past, and the Bible says that God’s purpose in election must prevail (Rom. 9:11). God the Son offered an atoning sacrifice for these same elect people. Should they fall into condemnation, then His blood would have been shed for them in vain. But He insists that not one of them shall perish and none shall be plucked from His hand (John 10:28). Likewise, the Holy Spirit brought these same elect sheep to eternal life by the irresistible working of His grace. Should eternal life be lost, the Spirit’s work would prove ineffective. Therefore, as faith is the gift of God’s grace, the Christian’s perseverance is the work of God’s continuing grace.

Second, Paul says that God, having begun His work in our lives, “will bring it” to completion. This indicates that God not only guarantees the completion of our salvation, but is actively involved in the believer’s life to bring this to pass. God works in our lives in the way a craftsman works to finish a product he has created. He smooths out the lines, sands the rough places, and puts its pieces together in proper proportion. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes:

God does not merely initiate the work and then leave it, he continues with it; he leads us on, directing and manipulating our circumstances, restraining us at one time and urging us on at another. Paul’s whole conception of the Church is that it is a place where God is working in the hearts of men and women.

God’s work is manifested in His will playing out in our lives. This is what Paul says a bit later in Philippians: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:1–213). Being a Christian is not easy. Persevering in faith requires warfare with sin, labor in prayer, plowing in God’s Word, and performing His will in the world. We are God’s workmanship, Paul says, and this means we are called to “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). God will see to it that His work for each of us is carried to completion. By His preserving grace, He will carry us to our destination in heaven. We are called to work this out, but, Paul insists, God is all the while working it in us (Phil. 2:13).

Third, we can see in Philippians 1:6 our certainty of successful “completion” if God’s saving work truly has begun in us. Far from dreading the future, as we must if we look for signs of hope within ourselves, every believer possesses a hope that is certain for the most joyful, glorious, and holy destiny through faith in Jesus.

One of the reasons I love Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress is the portrait he paints of the eternity God has secured for every believer. Speaking of the believer’s entry into heaven, he writes:

I saw in my dream the two men enter the gate. As they did, they were transfigured. They had garments that shined like gold. Harps and crowns were given them. The harps for praise and the crowns for honor. Then I heard in my dream all the bells in the city rang again for joy. It was said to them, “Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

This may be a fanciful rendering from the Bible’s promises, but still it is our future history and not fantasy. For as Paul insists, God brings us to completion. One of the meanings of the Greek word translated as “bring to completion” is “bring to perfection.” That is what God has promised to do for every sheep who hears Christ’s voice and who shows the reality of his or her faith by following after Him through life. Whatever hardships, disappointments, or failures await us in this world, a Christian can anticipate the certain fulfillment of David’s exultant words in Psalm 16:11: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Terribly flawed though we all are now, God will bring our journey to completion and us to perfection, so that arrayed in perfect holiness we will live forever in His love.

This excerpt is adapted from What’s So Great about the Doctrines of Grace? by Richard Phillips.

the romans 7 man

I'll admit it, I'm a John Piper fan-boy; and while it's rare, I find I have disagreed with him. Adrian Warnock just posted on one of those. The below is Warnock's post with a lot of great links worth following.

The three sessions in Romans with John Piper yesterday were food for the soul. They were enjoyable, engaging, and illuminating. In fact they were life-changing. Nothing I am going to say in this article should in an way take away from that. And I would urge everyone reading this article to take the time to watch the entire series of five talks from this conference online. Three of them are available already:

• Scripture: The Kindling of Christian Hedonism
• Free from Judgment, Fighting Sin, Full Assurance
• Groaning Creation, Groaning Saints, Groaning Spirit

What is crucial about these talks is that Piper opens the lid on how he approaches the text. These will not only teach you doctrine, they will teach you how to learn doctrine direct from the Bible. And crucially you don’t have to agree with him on every point to benefit from listening. I have already spoken about the strong impact that the first talk had on me.

The fact that I am not sure I agree on who the man of Romans 7 is doesn’t detract from the value of these talks one iota. When it comes to considering whether Paul is talking about his past, a hypothetical person, or himself as a mature Christian there are two dangers in my view. And they centre on the wretchedness of the man, crying out for deliverance. The key phrase reads as follows

“Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God!”

The question is at its core, is has this deliverance already happened? Or is Paul still in a state of wretchedness waiting for it?

There are some who do not think Paul is speaking of his current self, like me and heroes of mine like Terry Virgo and Lloyd-Jones. Our risk that we run is that we so want to focus on the deliverance, the new identity of the believer, and the victory against sin that Jesus has achieved, that we might neglect to mention that believers still do have a battle against sin.

Fellow Patheosian Theology in the raw also recently posted an article arguing for the position that I do tend to hold, that Romans 7 cannot be describing a mature believer.

The risk for those, like Piper, who think Romans 7 is as good as it gets, is that it can lead to the sense that even mature Christians can only expect to know defeat in their battle against sin.

However, Piper did not fall into that trap this weekend. In his talk Free from Judgment, Fighting Sin, Full Assurance, just as when he spoke previously about Romans 7 he made it very clear that he believes the Christian has been given a victory against sin. So he said, for example, ““Christ took my condemnation to set me free so that I might walk by his Spirit.” and ““Our victory in Christ is not a deliverance from the battle, but an assurance that we will win.””

So whilst I do disagree with Piper, it is mainly because I want to ensure Christians do not think being defeated by sin is the best they can hope for. And Piper does not believe that. He does believe that at conversion there is both a legal chance “there is therefore now no condemnation” (Romans 8:1) AND a genuine transformation, “set you free” (Romans 8:2).

This conversation about Romans 7 is worth having, mostly because of the errors we can be at risk of falling into on both sides. The conclusions you come to on this matter need not themselves lead to either error. And as I said when I first wrote about this matter,

Romans 7 and Romans 8 seem to be setting forth two different life styles that are mutually inconsistent. The man who knows no freedom in Romans 7 has been set free from the law in Romans 8. While it is true that without the Spirit we can have the will to do good, but lack the ability to do it, with the Spirit it is no longer true that we cannot carry out good. Paul seems to almost yell at us in Romans 8—you CAN do it! I am no believer in Christians becoming perfect, but I do so hope that your view of Romans 7 doesn’t lead you to a feeling of despair against ever enjoying living a victorious Christian life. READ THE REST

I hope you will follow the links in this article and enjoy studying this. Theology is not merely of academic interest, but it can help us in our walk with Christ.

electing grace

Jonathan Edwards"Christians a Chosen Generation" in Sermons and Discourses, 1730-1733:

Make God the peculiar object of your praises. The doctrine of electing grace shows what great reason you have to do so. If God so values you, set so much by you, has bestowed greater mercies upon you than on all the ungodly in the world, is it too little a requital for you to make God the peculiar object of your praise and thankfulness? If God so distinguishes you with his mercies, you ought to distinguish yourself in his praises. You should make it your great care and study how to glorify that God who has been so peculiarly merciful to you.

And this, rather, because there was nothing peculiar in you differing you from any other person that moved God to deal thus peculiarly by you: you were as unworthy to be set by as thousands of others that are not regarded of God, and are cast away by him forever as worthless and filthy. 

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election and evangelism

John Stott in The Message of Ephesians:

Let no one say that the doctrine of election by the sovereign will and mercy of God, mysterious as it is, makes either evangelism or faith unnecessary. The opposite is the case. It is only because of God’s gracious will to save that evangelism has any hope of success and faith becomes possible. The preaching of the gospel is the very means that God has appointed by which he delivers from blindness and bondage those whom he chose in Christ before the foundation of the world, sets them free to believe in Jesus, and so causes his will to be done.

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resurrection status

Sinclair Ferguson in Children of the Living God:

We are adopted into God’s family through the resurrection of Christ from the dead in which he paid all our obligations to sin, the law, and the devil, in whose family we once lived. Our old status lies in his tomb. A new status is ours through his resurrection. 

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feelings

Martyn Lloyd-Jones in Spiritual Depression:

Do you want to know supreme joy, do you want to experience a happiness that eludes description? There is only one thing to do, really seek Him, seek Him Himself, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

If you find that your feelings are depressed do not sit down and commiserate with yourself, do not try to work something up but go directly to Him and seek His face, as the little child who is miserable and unhappy because somebody else has taken or broken his toy, runs to its father or its mother. So if you and I find ourselves afflicted by this condition, there is only one thing to do, it is to go to Him.

If you seek the Lord Jesus Christ and find him there is no need to worry about your happiness and your joy. He is our joy and our happiness, even as He is our peace. He is life, He is everything. So avoid the incitements and the temptations of Satan to give feelings this great prominence at the centre. Put at the centre the only One who has a right to be there, the Lord of Glory, Who so loved you that He went to the Cross and bore the punishment and the shame of your sins and died for you. 

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goo-rot

Doug Wilson on goo-rot:

It has now started. The ubiquitous goo-rot of modern thought has advanced far enough that folks are now openly calling for a new sexual ethic among evangelicals. These new advances promise to be entirely exegesis-free, which in some quarters is quite a plus.

For example, see Tony Jones here. And Rachel Held Evans sobs out the “you go, girl” approach to these issues here. And then Barton Gingerich talks some sense here.

I would like to offer a couple comments, if I may. And I would like to do so without coming off like a dwarf shooting at the Calormenes and the horses both.

First, the fact that we are sexual beings, which nobody is denying, does not mean that we get to fornicate. The prohibitions and boundaries found in Scripture are given precisely because we are sexual beings. Scriptural morality knows that lust is a loaded gun, and even has to tell teenaged boys to stay away from the livestock. These commandments, and the high state of caution among those who respect such commandments as the Word of God, show a healthy respect for human sexuality. Wise men on a shooting range know that every gun is always loaded, and this approach is a respectful one. The same kind of mentality is necessary when it comes to our sexual desires and actions.

That said, those who want us to loosen up in this area do have one point, which I will get to in a minute. But it has to be said bluntly that they don’t have a point when it comes to what the sexual standard actually is. That is set by God, and it is set for His glory and our good. It is better to go into a marriage as two virgins than not. It is better not to have had a abortion, or to have a kid growing up somewhere else in the country, because you were pretty horny when you were fifteen. We can say this even while we recognize that the human race is sinful enough to be able even to screw virginity up, which we have done lots of ways, lots of times. Fine. But the scriptural standard for sexual expression still stands. Start with that as the baseline, and make sure that you don’t turn into Mrs. Grundy while you are at it. That would be fine too.

So where do they have a point? The point is that cheesiness does not really protect anyone from ravenous lust in any significant way. Campaigns about true love waiting, purity rings, etc. are a thin defense against what everybody wants to do as soon as they can. Sons and daughters are actually protected from immorality by having the right kind of relationship with the grace of God in the first place, and with the grace of their father and mother in the second place. This kind of thing can be communicated and taught, but it cannot be mass-produced and marketed with trinkets.

Only the grace of Jesus Christ can keep the pine sap of immorality off us in the first place, and only the grace of Jesus Christ can get it off us after the fact. Some sin is like dirt that washes right off. Other sins are more complicated than that, and sexual sin is in that category. But Oprah-sobs won’t do the job. That pine pitch comes off, but not by pretending it never got on.

Change the metaphor. This grace from Jesus Christ is not a little dollop of cream that we add to the top of our latte of traditional Victorianism — it is much more thoroughgoing than that. This thoroughgoing Jesus has a lot to say to all of us. The liberals need to listen to Him explain what sin is. The conservatives need to listen to Him explain what can actually keep us out of it.

kindness through christ

Martin Luther on never tiring of the gospel of God’s grace:

People don’t earn God’s approval or receive life and salvation because of anything they’ve done. Rather, the only reason they receive life and salvation is because of God’s kindness through Christ. There is no other way.

Many Christians are tired of hearing this teaching over and over. They think that they learned it all long ago. However, they barely understand how important it really is. If it continues to be taught as truth, the Christian church will remain united and pure — free from decay. This truth alone makes and sustains Christianity. You might hear an immature Christian brag about how well he knows that we receive God’s approval through God’s kindness and not because of anything we do to earn it. But if he goes on to say that this is easy to put into practice, then have no doubt he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and he probably never will. We can never learn this truth completely or brag that we understand it fully. Learning this truth is an art. We will always remain students of it, and it will always be our teacher.

The people who truly understand that they receive God’s approval by faith and put this into practice don’t brag that they have fully mastered it. Rather, they think of it as a pleasant taste or aroma that they are always pursuing. These people are astonished that they can’t comprehend it as fully as they would like. They hunger and thirst for it. They yearn for it more and more. They never get tired of hearing about this truth.

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propitiation

Martin Luther in Commentary on Romans:

The very fact that Christ suffered for us, and through His suffering became a propitiation for us, proves that we are (by nature) unrighteous, and that we for whom He became a propitiation, must obtain our righteousness solely from God, now that forgiveness for our sins has been secured by Christ’s atonement. By the fact that God forgives our sins (only) through Christ’s propitiation and so justifieth us by faith, He shows how necessary is His righteousness (for all). There is no one whose sins are not forgiven (in Christ). 

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death and resurrection

John Calvin, quoted by Adrian Warnock in Raised with Christ:

By his death sin was taken away, by his resurrection righteousness was renewed and restored.

For how could he by dying have freed us from death, if he had yielded to its power? How could he have obtained the victory for us, if he had fallen in the contest?

Our salvation may be thus divided between the death and the resurrection of Christ: by the former sin was abolished and death annihilated; by the latter righteousness was restored and life revived, the power and efficacy of the former being still bestowed upon us by means of the latter.

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predestined and happy with that

Daniel Hyde articulates why I don't mind being predestined ...

Christians must talk about predestination, and the Bible provides us with certain ground rules to do so. In addition, we’ve also considered how predestination relates to why some believe in Jesus Christ and some don’t.

But how often have you heard from pious and well-meaning brothers and sisters that predestination is like a cold shower on Christian enthusiasm? How many of you have heard that it is like a dry sponge that soaks up all spiritual zeal? It’s too intellectual, too lifeless, too philosophical, and too sterile of a “doctrine,” they say.

Predestination is a truth given to us in Scripture, therefore we are to adore God for it, be comforted by it, and inspired by it to pray for and desire the salvation of the lost. But what makes election so glorious? Let’s consider five characteristics from Paul’s words in Ephesians 1 that reveal the glory of the triune God in predestination.

1. It Is Unchangeable

What makes the doctrine of election so glorious? It is unchangeable. Nowhere in Ephesians 1 or any other biblical passage do we ever get the idea that what God has determined can be changed by us. Election is “the unchangeable purpose of God” (Canons of Dort 1.7). God’s eternal plans are always described as certain, fixed, and immovable: “the unchangeable character of [God’s] purpose” (Heb. 6:17–18).

But who would ever say that God changes what He planned? In the seventeenth century, the followers of James Arminius taught that there were various kinds of election. Listen to how the divines at the Synod of Dort (1618–19) described and rejected this:

That there are various kinds of election of God unto eternal life: the one general and indefinite, the other particular and definite; and that the latter in turn is either incomplete, revocable, non-decisive and conditional, or complete, irrevocable, decisive and absolute. Likewise: That there is one election unto faith and another unto salvation, so that election can be unto justifying faith, without being a decisive election unto salvation. (Canons of Dort 1. Rejection of Errors 2)

We need to be aware that it is easy for us to judge God on the basis of our personal experience. Dad would make promises and dad would break promises. God is a Father, therefore He, too, changes. We may see people in church and then not, and think that somehow they were genuinely saved but then lost their salvation.

Election is glorious because it is unchangeable.

2. It Is Eternal

What makes the doctrine of election so glorious? It is eternal. Predestination happened “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). We are used to going into the polling station or sending in an absentee ballot. We are used to having a say in things. Yet Scripture reveals to us that before anything was, there was only God. And before He actually made anything, He had a plan. Since He is eternal, so are His plans. His eternal plan for us was a gracious plan, saving us according to “his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Tim. 1:9).

This is not only glorious but it should be inspiring. Have you come to realize that the eternal and glorious God had a plan for you in particular from all of eternity and for all of eternity?

3. It Is Gracious

What makes the doctrine of election so glorious? It is gracious. Paul says that at the heart of our praise to God the Father is His love for us. His love is an eternal love “as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). His love for us is the cause of His predestining us (Eph. 1:5). His eternal love for us was that we would know His love in time, as His predestining love was “for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:5). And His love for us was rooted in His prior love for His Son, “the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6). This is why the Canons of Dort say God elected us “out of mere grace, according to the sovereign good pleasure of His own will” (Canons of Dort 1.7).

This eternal grace was initiated, executed, and purposed in God himself, and not in us. “He chose us” (Eph. 1:4), “he predestined” us (Eph. 1:5) and this was “according to the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:5). That word “purpose” (eudokian) can also be translated as “good pleasure” (NIV; NKJV) or “kind intention” (NASB). The cause of election is God’s love. It is not arbitrary or capricious, but rooted in a deep love for us. As Moses revealed to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 7, it was not because they were more in number or greater than anyone else that He chose them, but it was merely because the Lord loved them.

So why did God choose one person and not another? More personally, why did God choose you and not another? He did not do so because there were prerequisites in you, such as “foreseen faith and the obedience of faith, holiness, or any other good quality or disposition” (Canons of Dort 1.9). As Ephesians 1:4 says, God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world.” And then we read why: “that we should be holy and blameless before him.” In other words, it was not because we were holy and blameless. Again, we read that “in love [the Father] predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace” (Eph. 1:5–6). His predestining us made us sons; we were not predestined because He saw us becoming sons.

Have you ever heard a preacher use the illustration of a parade, where God, as it were, was in the broadcast booth watching the entire parade. From that vantage point He could see all humanity pass before Him, believing or not, and then He reacts to this with His choice. Ephesians 1 says otherwise, that it was according to the riches of grace in God before time began that He chose you, not because of your faith in time. So the graciousness of God’s electing work is particularly glorious when we realize that He chose “us” as sinners. And because He chose us of all people, we sing at the top of our lungs and from the bottom of our hearts, “O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be!”

4. It Is Definite

What makes the doctrine of election so glorious? It is definite. The doxology of Ephesians 1 is that “we” bless God because He has blessed “us” (Eph. 1:4). This is not an indefinite mass, but real people like you and me. Some believe that predestination is of an indefinite class of people, “those who would believe and would persevere in faith and in the obedience of faith” (Canons of Dort 1.Rejection of Errors 1). But note well that the definitiveness of predestination is personal. Why is this so important to debate over? If predestination were indefinite and impersonal we would ever be in doubt as to our participation in it. On the contrary, because it is definitely of particular persons, John Calvin said Paul’s intention in Ephesians 1 was “to rouse [our] hearts to gratitude, to set [us] all on flame, to fill [us] even to overflowing with this thought.”

5. It Is Christ-centered

Finally, what makes the doctrine of election so glorious? It is Christ-centered. This is one of the areas we as Reformed believers need to grow in appreciation for. We can so often speak abstractly of “predestination,” forgetting that this doctrine is Christ-centered. In Ephesians 1, before he even says a word about predestination, in chapters 1–3 before he even says a word about our doctrine, in chapters 4–6 before he even says a word about how we are live, Paul roots everything in Jesus Christ. How so? We bless “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” who has “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing” (v. 3). He continues, God “chose us in him,” that is, Jesus Christ (v. 4) and “blessed us in the Beloved” (v. 6).

The Canons of Dort summarize the above when it says,

God hath decreed to give to Christ to be saved by Him, and effectually to call and draw them to His communion by His Word and Spirit; to bestow upon them true faith, justification and sanctification; and having powerfully preserved them in the fellowship of His Son” (Canons of Dort 1.7).

In practical terms, this means that Jesus Christ is like the mirror of our election. If the knowledge of God’s good pleasure and powerful love before the foundation of the world still leaves you in doubt, then the only remedy is to gaze upon Christ, as in a mirror. Look at Him and you will see reflected back yourself, being renewed in His image and chosen to be so.

What a glorious doctrine, for it reveals the glory of our wonderful God. As it does, it leads us to respond in praise and in holiness. When we mediate on His glory we burst forth in praise: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:3) and “to the praise of his glorious grace!” (Eph. 1:6) When we meditate on His glory we respond in seeking to be holy. Out of the mass of sinners deserving punishment we were called forth “that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4). What a God, and what a life He has called us to.

5 phases of grace

Justin Taylor posts an interview with Daniel Montgomery and Timothy Paul Jones, authors of PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace. Here is how the authors re-envision TULIP:

What do you see as the five phases of grace?

DANIEL: The five facets of grace described in PROOF are a biblical and theological re-framing and re-envisioning of TULIP. TULIP is a nifty mnemonic device but hasn’t proven to be the most helpful tool, in our estimation, in magnifying the glorious gospel of God’s grace:

• Planned Grace re-envisions limited atonement and we begin here because the story of grace begins with a perfect plan in eternity past. Before time began, God mapped out the plan of salvation from first to last. It’s a loving plan made by the Father for a particular people. It’s a victorious plan achieved by the Son for a definite people. It’s an effective and guaranteed plan sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit. God planned to adopt a particular people as his own children; Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for these people’s sins and as a substitute who satisfied God’s righteous requirements in their place. When God makes a plan, he can always pay the price and he never lacks the power to make it happen.
• Resurrecting Grace re-envisions total depravity. Everyone is born spiritually dead—we’re the walking dead. And spiritual zombies don’t choose life for the same reason prison escapees don’t show up voluntarily at police stations. Left to ourselves, we will never choose God’s way. God enables people to respond freely to his grace by giving them spiritual life through the power of Christ’s resurrection.
• Outrageous Grace re-envisions unconditional election. God saves us not because we’ve earned it or deserve it, but because He freely chooses us at Christ’s expense. God chooses people to be saved on the basis of his own sovereign will. He doesn’t base his choice to give us grace on anything that we did or might do. God’s outrageous grace leaves us with nothing to prove because, in Christ, everything that needs to be proven has already been provided.
• Overcoming Grace re-envisions irresistible grace. God works in the lives of his chosen people to transform their rebellion into surrender so that they freely repent and recognize Christ as the risen King. God changes his chosen people one by one so that they abandon rebellion, long for holiness, and freely surrender to Jesus. His plan all along was to call a diverse people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, and then empower them as a community of overcomers.
• Forever Grace re-envisions perseverance of the saints. God seals his people with his Holy Spirit so that they are preserved and persevere in faith until the final restoration of God’s kingdom on the earth. As long as we are in Christ, the Father cannot reject his covenant with us without rejecting his beloved Son.

This reframing puts God and his grace at the center. Good theology requires both defense and offense. In our estimation, TULIP is mostly defense, and the mission of grace is far bigger and more beautiful than that.

perfect righteousness

Edward Fisher The Marrow of Modern Divinity:

This is perfect righteousness, to hear nothing, to know nothing, to do nothing of the law of works; but only to know and believe that Jesus Christ is now gone to the Father, and sitteth at his right hand, not as a judge, but is made unto you of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 

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mercy

John Miller in Repentance: A Daring Call to Real Surrender:

What we all desperately need to see is that the love of a holy God is manifested covenantally at the cross. In the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the Father promises to receive contrite sinners on a daily — no, hourly — basis. The cross says, ‘No matter what your sins, unlimited mercy is available to those who turn to God through Jesus’ merits.’

Having satisfied the demands of His own holy law, the Father must open His mighty arms and embrace every returning son. And he must do it every day. He has promised to do it (Luke 15:11–32, 1 John 1:8–10), and God cannot lie (Heb 6:13–20).

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the alter call

Some have written recently about the downside to an "alter call".

In George Hunter's, The Celtic Way of Evangelism, the overall model for gatherings and the seeker's experience within that is discussed. The Roman Model is first presentation, then decision, followed by fellowship. The Celtic model is fellowship, then ministry and conversations, followed by belief and and invitation to commitment. In this Celtic model, I would want to be careful not to confuse the fellowship with the unbeliever as the fellowship we enjoy as the body of Christ but certainly in the sense of us going out and living among the world and then inviting them to come and live within our community, this is good.

The goal here is to put disciple-making and a Christian life over the oft too valued "decision for Christ". Hunter emphasized that "Christianity is more caught than taught." I would argue that it is both. But his point here is that we focus on the moment in time that a decision is made rather than the real goal of a life changed for Christ - living for Him every moment of every day. With the right approach, it is not a, "let's think about how to make the alter call easy", it is more, "hey, come see that a life in Christ costs everything and when you are ready to die to yourself, then you are ready to live for Him."

The following is from Jared Wellman on a case for the invitation:

I was raised in a church in which there was no "invitation," a moment at the end of service designed to allow people to respond to God's Word. To be clear, in light of the contextual mood of this post, this isn't to say that this church is evil. I deeply appreciate my experience there. But, because of the lack of an invitation, I resultantly found myself wondering where I stood with Jesus. I remember feeling like I knew about him, but also feeling like I didn't really know him.

When I was 16 I started attending a church that did offer an invitation. I'll never forget how much it impacted me. Like my home church, the church sang songs and preached a sermon, but afterwards the pastor walked down to the front and said something like, "If God is speaking to you through this message, I invite you to come and respond." It was exhilarating. Suddenly, God's Word became more than a disconnected set of rules, but a personal story in which I could take part. It was also challenging because it meant that I was somewhat responsible for what I just heard.

Ultimately, at the age of 17, I did feel led to respond to the Lord and did so by going down during the invitation. Everything that I had spent my entire life learning became real. It wasn't about how much I knew about Jesus, or even what I could do for Jesus, it was about what Jesus had done for me.

My life has never been the same.

ALTERING THE ALTAR

Most pastors invite the congregation to respond by coming to the "altar." I remember once hearing a pastor say, "Don't call it an altar. It's a platform. An altar is something entirely different." At the time I remember thinking, "That makes perfect sense. I'm going to start calling it a platform." And so, for the better part of my ministry, I've invited people down to a platform, downplaying the idea of it being called an "altar."

That is, until I read Leonard Ravenhill's description of the church altar as, "something to die on."

"We must alter the altar, for the altar is a place to die on." -Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries

Ravenhill's comment changes the way I view the invitation. I've always supported having an invitation at the end of service, mainly because I remember how important it was to me personally. But I viewed it as a way to publicly respond to the Lord, sort of like claiming that you aren't embarrassed about what he is doing in your life. Now my understanding goes deeper. You see, I no longer want to invite people to make a decision on a "raised platform." I want to invite people to make a decision on an "altar," even if it is somewhat metaphorical. This is because an altar, as Ravenhill describes, is something on which to die, and that is exactly what should happen during an invitation. People should sacrifice something. We should, as Jesus says, lose our lives, whether it be in an initial decision to trust in him by allowing the old man to die and the new man to be born, or in some kind of rededication, where we lay down the things that have been ensnaring us.

Regardless the decision, it's a place on which to make a sacrifice, a place on which to die.

To be sure, I think it is entirely possible for people to respond to God's Word without an official invitation. It's possible, for example, to make an appointment with the pastor after service, or later in the week, to discuss the way God spoke to you in the service. It's even possible to go home to meditate on the message, and then make some kind of decision in the comfort of your own home. At the same time, however, I think there is something special about having a church altar that becomes open during the invitation. It becomes a metaphorically literal way to kill whatever it is that needs to be killed in order to find peace with God.

I know that for me it made all of the difference, and so as often as possible, I'll offer an invitation, asking people to come to the altar and die, because in doing so, I believe they can live.

" ... and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it" (Matt 10:39).

rope

Doug Wilson wrote:

The common assumption is that God drops a rope from heaven, and then the theological debates begin. Pelagians want to shinny up the rope, Arminians want to hang on while God pulls, Calvinists say that God ties the rope to us with one of His knots, and some of our more severe brethren think He ties it around our necks before He hauls us up. (Against the Church, pp. 103-104)

food of faith

Herman Bavinck in Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation:

The new life in Christ, just like all natural life, must be nourished and strengthened. This is possible only in communion with Christ in the Holy Spirit and through the word of Scripture. Enlightened by the Spirit, believers gain a new knowledge of faith. The gospel is the food of faith and must be known to be nourishment. Salvation that is not known and enjoyed is no salvation. God saves by causing himself to be known and enjoyed in Christ.

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imputation

A word from Charles Hodge on imputation of righteousness:

It seems unnecessary to remark that this does not, and cannot mean that the righteousness of Christ is infused into the believer, or in any way so imparted to him as to change, or constitute his moral character. Imputation never changes the inward, subjective state of the person to whom the imputation is made. When sin is imputed to a man he is not made sinful; when the zeal of Phinehas was imputed to him, he was not made zealous. When you impute theft to a man, you do not make him a thief. When you impute goodness to a man, you do not make him good. So when righteousness is imputed to the believer, he does not thereby become subjectively righteous. If the righteousness be adequate, and if the imputation be made on adequate grounds and by competent authority, the person to whom the imputation is made has the right to be treated as righteous. And, therefore, in the forensic, although not in the moral or subjective sense, the imputation of the righteousness of Christ does make the sinner righteous. That is, it gives him a right to the full pardon of all his sins and a claim in justice to eternal life.

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what must i do to be saved

Jared Toten posts this excellent piece answering "what must I do to be saved?":

This was the question of the Philippian jailer, and it seems like the simplest question. Ask any child in your average Sunday School class and they'll probably get the answer right.

Yet there are also a lot of people out there who would confuse and complicate the answer (some intentionally, others not so). But with lives literally hanging in the balance, clarity on answering this question cannot be overemphasized. 

Recently I received this very question in response to a video I recorded last year for my church addressing the question, "How were people saved before Jesus died for our sins?" 

He asked,

What exactly does the Bible say that a person absolutely must do in order to achieve salvation. And could you cite the verses that confirm this?

( I can't figure out if a person needs to be baptized, or if he must believe that God in the body of a man was executed as payment for our sins, or of you just have to believe in God, or if you just have to try to be a good person.)

This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but these are the most explicit verses I've found declaring what you must do to be saved. (Feel free to comment below with any I've missed!)

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 1:12-13 ESV) 

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13 ESV) 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 ESV) 

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:37-38 ESV) 

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36 ESV) 

And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:29-31 ESV)

It seems to me the harmony of these verses is this: 

Believe Jesus was who he said he was and is (God) and receive (or trust in, which means you repent and turn from trusting in yourself) what he said he would do (die for your sins, rise again, give us his Spirit) to be saved, and consequently some of your first acts of obedience should be baptism and professing (confessing) with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord".

Or to be less wordy: Believe Jesus was who he said he was (God) and receive what he said he would do (die for our sins, rise again, give us His Spirit) to be saved. 

Feedback: How would you answer this question? What words or phrases would you add or omit to my answer? What verses might you add to my list?

SSA and the wait

The following is a wonderful piece written by Nick Roen:

Few concepts are more foreign to our culture than waiting. Now you can take a picture of a check with your phone and deposit it instantly into your bank account without even leaving your Lay-Z-Boy. “Instant,” it seems, has become the new “relatively quick.”

This has been highlighted in my own life as I have wrestled with the issue of change in regard to my same-sex attraction (SSA). When I began counseling several years ago, I thought that if I followed a set of prescribed steps, then my attractions would switch from males to females. However, after seven months of hard work, I began to become disillusioned and depressed because that didn’t happen. Why wasn’t change happening like I thought it would?

Then one day it hit me. I realized that heterosexuality is not my ultimate goal — holiness is. And my holiness is not ultimately contingent on the reversal of my attractions. Once this became clear, I began to view change differently.

Change Not Promised

The reversal of my orientation is a type of change that is not guaranteed in this life. God never promised me that he would remove my SSA. I am reminded of Paul praying three times to the Lord in 2 Corinthians 12 that the thorn in his flesh would be taken away. And what did God say? “My grace is enough” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God decides which thorns stay and which thorns he will remove, for his glory. Even though SSA is a particularly painful thorn to bear, I have no guarantee one way or the other.

In fact, promising orientation change can be quite harmful. In reality, there is no set of prescribed steps that will definitively lead to a reversal in attraction, and this type of thinking can make orientation change into an idol that must be achieved or all is lost. If my hope rested in becoming straight, then I would have no ground for hope at all.

This Change Guaranteed

However, make no mistake, change is guaranteed. What happens when I dethrone heterosexuality as my ultimate goal and replace it with holiness? What happens when I cling to Jesus, trust the promises in his word, and fight the fight of faith by his Spirit? I change! This (often painfully) slow process is called sanctification, and sanctification is a type of change that is inevitable for all true Christians.

And here’s the thing: my sanctification here on earth may or may not include a change in my attractions. In conforming me into the image of Christ, God may see fit to leave my orientation unchanged until the day I die, for the purpose of my ultimate holiness. My SSA might be one of the “thorns” that he leaves to increase my faith and display his power and grace in my life.

Groaning, Waiting, Hoping

This is where waiting comes in. I want to be “fixed” now, to stop warring against my flesh and become like Christ. The waiting is so hard! Thankfully, the Bible tells me how to deal with the waiting. As I experience the groanings in this body, I have great grounds for hope.

I hope in my full, final, ultimate adoption as a son of God, which will include the redemption of my body (Romans 8:23). And I need to hope because it isn’t here yet. After all, “hope that is seen [present right now, immediately, instantly) is no hope at all. For who hopes for what he sees?” (Romans 8:24).

Indeed, instead of “fix me now,” the Bible gives me this: “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25). No matter how acutely I feel the brokenness of my body, and my already-but-not-yet adoption as a son of God through Christ, I must wait for my full redemption with patience — even when I can deposit a check from my La-Z-Boy.

In discussing the hollow promise of orientation change, Wesley Hill, who experiences SSA, says this: “Suffice it to say, I think the real spiritual and theological danger of this kind of ‘victorious Christian living’ talk is an avoidance of the ‘state of being on the way.’ It’s an expectation that the kingdom of God should be here fully now, without our having to endure its slow, mysterious, paradoxical unfolding until the return of Christ.”

So instead of snapping a picture of my check, I need to be content with being in the car “on the way” to the bank.

Worth the Wait

Believe me, it is really hard. But the reality is that “on the way” is where I experience God. For now, it’s in the pain and the groaning and the fighting for contentment that God reveals himself, and changes me, and strips away my idols, and gives me more of him, and prepares me for an eternity of enjoying him without the pain.

It’s on the ride in the car that I see the beautiful countryside, and the majestic mountains, and the stunning sunset that I wouldn’t have seen if I were magically transported to my final destination, breathtaking as that final destination will be. The waiting is where I am sanctified, conformed into the image of Jesus, and readied for delighting in him when I see him face to face (2 Corinthians 3:18).

My orientation may not change in this life, but complete sanctification is coming (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24). It isn’t here yet. But that, I think, I can wait for.