FreeTruth

Today's post is my last comment (expanded) from yesterday's conversation. I want to make sure that those who may have missed the comments interact with these thoughts.

I think that it is commendable to have strong faith and trust in the healing grace of God and I would even commend making prayer for healing a matter of first resort (yes I wrote "first" so that we show by our actions that we trust God more than doctors, or whatever our own traditional or alternative treatment of choice may be).

But the great concern I am expressing is over the very bad theology that treats medicine as if it is bad or healing by miracle in this life as if it is an absolute birthright of every believer. To treat medicine as bad is to deny both the goodness of God's creation (which provides cures for disease) as well as the creation mandate of Genesis 1 (which commands us to have dominion over the earth--which includes dominion over disease through whatever ethical means we may discover). Those who despise medicine unwittingly disobey that mandate.

And to treat healing by miracle in this life as an absolute birthright in this life is to confuse the "not yet" (what is a birthright to be given us when heaven dawns) as a "now" (something we can name and claim for here and now all the time). This confusion has led countless sincere but misguided Christians into grave disillusionment and doubt when their namings and claimings have not materialized.

Such teachings are usually what is behind the tragedies such as we're talking about here. The ideas that we can name and claim such things, that we can create miracles by "word-faith", that to go to a doctor when prayers for direct healing have not rendered healing is an evidence of unbelief--are all ideas that are serious distortions of the Word. And they have led to untold grief.

I saw a short video recently by John Piper--(google John Piper, prosperity gospel video)--in which he expresses his very strong feelings against the prosperity gospel (which is part of what we're talking about here). He despises these false teachings because they are misleading and destroying souls. Evangelists and missionaries are promising health and wealth to get converts. In so doing they are not offering people God, the Giver of Life and Savior of souls. They simply are offering people an idol: good health and wealth. This destroys souls in the name of faith.

In this particular case it destroyed a body too.

I admire the faith and the apparent sincerity of this man; I simply grieve the error, ignorance, and irresponsible shepherds that lead people to pursue folly in the name of faith. The costs are catastrophic, both for this life and the next.

Tim

Any more thoughts?

Labels: Dependance on God, Doctrine, Faith, Healing, Persecution

I was encouraged by a book review I came across yesterday. "Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvanists" (Crossway Publishing, 2008). Collin Hansen is the author.

Apparently, when "the emerging church was all the rage" Hansen couldn't understand why "he didn't know anyone who was emerging." He decided to travel, and interview. What he discovered was a resurgence in reformed theology among young evangelicals. Apparently, the search is on for deeper historic roots. Postmodernism and cultural relativism have failed to produce satisfaction, and there is a growing desire for a Christianity that requires deep committment. The Puritan writers are filling a need here.

Hansen writes: "Firsthand experience with pain and brokenness has deeply ingrained disillusionment in many young Americans." The young people he interviewed say that "a culture about nothing" is not a fulfilling one to live in. One 25 year old said: "Self-focus isn't feeding our hearts." The antidote for this? Systematic theology, and a foundational understanding of the Sovereignty of God. We have become a culture "starved for transcendence." (Timothy George) And reformed theology is meeting that need.

The concluding observation of Young, Restless, Reformed is that this new interest in reformed theology is producing a new zeal for holiness and a passion for evangelism, and, "that is not a revival of Calvanism. That's a revival."

This book was reviewed in Touchstone Magazine, May 2009, by Jocelyn Mathewes.

Labels: Doctrine, Guest Post, Reformed Theology

In Acts 17:11 and 2 Timothy 2:15, God indicates His standard for nobility and approval: diligent and daily examination of His Word of truth. I know the Timothy passage is written to a pastor, but that really doesn’t let any non-pastors off the hook. After all, we’re all pastors to someone; we've been called to shepherd at least one or two in the way of truth. Noble and approved men and women of God are those who spend much time in God’s Word, examining, studying, applying, and then teaching it to others.

To this end we will need to:
1. Redeem our time. Time seems scarce for us all; let’s use it well by scheduling it diligently. We’ll need to plan devotional and study time. It’ll surprise us how much time we have when we strategize its use (e.g.-we can redeem even commute time by listening to selected sermons or Scripture on tape).

2. Read more, and read more selectively. Based on your reading skills, plan out the books you’ll read for the next year (six per year for those just getting started, perhaps twelve for those further along, then go from there.) Ask a good theologian in your church for how-and-where-to-get-started advice.

3. Resource technology. Those who struggle hard with reading need not despair. Technology is God’s gift, providing audio resources galore for truth-hungry men. In today’s world, inability to read well is hardly an excuse for being a poor theologian. Start by listening to your pastor’s recorded weekly sermon at least one or two times each week. Then ask your pastors for recommended audio series.

4. Strive for theological accuracy and consistency. Don’t read and study smorgasbord style. Too many American Christians are listening and reading based on what’s hot on the Christian scene, what appeals to their tastes, or how a writer/speaker tells stories or makes them feel. Remember II Tim. 4:3, 4, and be warned. Friends, truth and time are too precious to be spending hours reading what may be appealing, but is less than fully nourishing. Seek theological accuracy and consistency in your reading. Read books and listen to series that reflect consistently sound doctrine and application. In our church, our bookstore selections and all recommended materials and ministries provide a consistent, balanced and carefully applied theology for life. There’s enough spiritual pastureland in these resources to feed men and their families for the rest of their lives.

5. Create a library and study area. Again, ask your pastors what basic book and audio resources would be valuable for you to collect into a theological library for you and your family. If possible create a study area set apart for you and the Word.


Well friends, this gets you pointed in a right direction. There's no time like the present to go hard after God and truth. Enjoy.

Labels: Doctrine, Spiritual disciplines, Study, Theology

Some of the better theologians I know are not career pastors or seminary professors. One is an engineer, one a social worker, one a teacher, one an insurance guy, one a phone system operator, one a banker, one a computer geek, one a broker, one a musician, one a mechanic. There are more, but I hope you get the point. Theology is for everyone.

Looked at one way, we could say that all believers are, in fact, theologians. There’s no question that everyone has a view, or theology of God, life, sin, and salvation. That makes each one a theologian. The only real question is whether one is a good theologian or a bad one. The real concern is whether or not each one has developed a lifestyle of learning to ensure that his/her theology is true, Biblical, and pleasing to God. So what kind of theologian are you?

Before you beg off by copping an “I’m not the bookish type” attitude, you need to understand that whether that is true or not is irrelevant. A love of theology is not determined by bookishness; it’s determined by a love of God.

Friends, this isn’t hard to figure out. Theology is the study of God’s revealed truth, character, works, grace, salvation and glory. So if we love God we will love theology, since it is a study of who He is, what He is like, and what He does. It really is that simple. So, on to the question: how do we become better theologians?

Here are two initial suggestions:

1. Be grateful for grace. If you're reading this blog (which is an attempt at theological reflection on God’s truth, glory and love revealed to us), it means that you want to learn, and that God’s theology-teaching grace is already functioning in your life. Praise the Lord!

2. Redefine your relationship with Christ. The most common New Testament word for a Christian is disciple. A disciple is a student or learner in the school of Christ. That idea needs to be near the center of your self-understanding as a Christian. Get it there and you’ll be on your way to becoming the studying and learning theologian God wants you to be.

Labels: Doctrine, Spiritual disciplines, Study, Theology

Please read: Romans 9:1-26; 11:33-36; Ephesians 1:1-14.

In wrapping up this series of posts wherein hopefully something spiritually profitable was conveyed regarding the practical implications of the Biblical doctrine of God’s sovereign electing grace, that it is not a cold, abstract, ivory tower theory, but rather that which is manifold in its life affecting significance, I leave you in this concluding post an excerpt from the exceptional When Grace Comes Home: How the Doctrines of Grace Change Your Life, by Terry L. Johnson (I highly commend the entire book for your reading and strengthening in God):

Where does a true comprehension of the doctrines of grace lead us? To our knees in worship. Perhaps one reason why so few are motivated to worship God with fervor is that we have reduced God to a slightly larger version of ourselves. He can be comprehended by our logic. He works within the bounds of our rules and reasons. He is so much like us that we see no real reason to worship Him. It is pathetic but true. What is the antidote? A God who is sovereign over the souls of wicked, undeserving sinners, including me.

This is the insight that was for me so life transforming. It inaugurated a Copernican revolution in my perspective--I realized I was displaced from the center of my universe and that God was enthroned there. It is a revolution which goes on.

What practical difference does Calvinism make?... It will make you into a worshipper. When you come to realize that the God who is there is not subject to your desires, that He is sovereign over your eternity, and when you realize the greatness of His mercy and grace, you will begin to long for genuine worship, worship that prostrates you and exalts God.

Moreover, you will begin to experience a divinely given discontent with worship that is not worship. Entertainment that poses as worship will become distasteful to you. Revival meetings that pose as worship will leave your soul unsatisfied. Superficial song services, preaching services, and fellowship services which fail to finally get around to worship will leave the soul longing for worship that worships. Your soul will crave and demand worship that is God-centered, that is filled with high praise and lowly confession, and characterized by a spirit of reverence and awe for the almighty Trinity. When once you grasp the greatness of the sovereign God, your worship will be transformed because you will be transformed, hereafter to have the perspective of one who lives on his knees. (pgs 27-28)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Labels: Doctrine, Election, Guest Post, Sanctification, Worship

In this next to last entry on the practical, heart affecting applications of the truth of God’s sovereign electing grace, I would like to share with you once again an excerpt from my reading in the very excellent book: Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, by Joel R. Beeke. In the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism we are asked: “What is the chief end of man?”, to which we are given the succinct Biblical answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” Joy in God is an essential part of what it means to glorify Him. And glorifying Him is our primary purpose for existing at all. And God’s electing grace in salvation is meant to elicit overflowing joy in response to this great sovereign, saving God. Here’s the way Living for God’s Glory puts it:

J.I. Packer calls the joy election brings to believers their "family secret." Believers have a joyful security that is incomprehensible to the world. For true believers, John Piper says, election is not "a doctrine to be argued about, but a doctrine to be enjoyed. It’s not designed for disputes; it’s designed for missions. It’s not meant to divide people (though it will); it’s meant to make them compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and forgiving," and to fill them with joy (Eph. 1:3-14).

Election glorifies God (Eph. 1:6,12). "The end of our election is that we might show forth the glory of God in every way," Calvin says. According to the Canons of Dort, the final glorification of the elect is for the demonstration of God’s mercy and for the praise of His glorious grace (I, 7). Election makes us praise God for our salvation. As Sinclair Ferguson writes, "Until we have come to the place where we can sing about election with a full heart, we have not grasped the spirit of the New Testament teaching." [italics mine] Election assures us that God is the seeker rather than the sought; thus, all the praise belongs to Him. As C.S. Lewis says: "Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about man’s search for God. For me, they might as well talk about the mouse’s search for a cat... God closed in on me." As Josiah Conder wrote in 1836:

"Tis not that I did choose thee, for, Lord, that could not be;
This heart would still refuse thee, hadst thou not chosen me.

Thou from the sin that stained me hast cleansed and set me free;
Of old thou hast ordained me, that I should live to thee.

Twas sov’reign mercy called me and taught my op’ning mind;
The world had else enthralled me, to heav’nly glories blind.
My own heart owns none before thee, for thy rich grace I thirst;
This knowing, if I love thee, thou must have loved me first."

Election is the Bible’s teaching, not man’s. It promotes humility, not pride; encouragement, not depression; confidence in evangelism, not paralyzing fear; holiness, not license; assurance, not presumption; God’s glory, not our own. Oh, that election would make us cry out with the apostle Paul, "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever" (Rom. 11:36). (pgs. 71-72)

Have we come to the place where we can sing about election with a full heart, grasping the spirit of the New Testament teaching? The Bible must be our guide here, and we must bring our thinking and our affections under it’s authority as God’s very word. As we reflect on these things, may we do so in preparation for corporate worship tomorrow, and so come into God’s awesome presence with hearts overflowing with joy for His totally undeserved sovereign mercy toward us--chosen in Christ before the worlds began!

Labels: Doctrine, Election, Guest Post, Joy, Sanctification

Another way that the Biblical doctrine of election has very practical implications for our lives and should deeply affect us, is in the strong encouragement and comfort we can draw from it as those who belong to Jesus Christ, even when we sin. Again, from Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, Joel R. Beeke, pg.70:

Election is profoundly encouraging and comforting for believers. It tells us that God chose us rather than that we chose Him (John 15:16), and that He chose us even when He knew all about our sin. He knew our personalities, our flaws, our hypocrisy, our depression, and our coldness, and yet He loved us and determined to make us like Christ.

Think of Peter, whom Christ knew so intimately. Jesus knew that one night Peter would warm his hands by a fire and swear that he had never known Christ. He knew that one day Peter would stumble again in trying to compromise the gospel in Paul’s presence. He knew Peter would struggle with hypocrisy all his life. Yet Christ still chose Peter, setting His love on such a sinner.

Dear believer, Christ continues to choose sinners. That is good news. But the greatest news of all is that Christ chose you and me, knowing our entire life ahead of time and knowing how disobedient we would be. How encouraging this electing love is to help us press on and to be "steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58b). Election does not discourage us from well-doing, writes Calvin, but makes us "devote ourselves to the pursuit of good as the appointed goal of election" (Eph. 1:4).

I don’t know about you, but for me, the greatest sinner that I know-- though sin no longer reigns over me, it nevertheless does remain in me-- the fact that the infinite/personal God, fully knowing from eternity every one of my sins (even those I would commit after trusting the Savior) and all the ways that I (still) fall short of His glory, nevertheless set His love upon me to rescue me in Christ from my deserved doom and does not, indeed will not, give up on me--well, in the words of the apostle: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

How great is the encouragement and comfort that the implications of this great doctrine brings to us--and what an impetus to holy living!

Labels: Doctrine, Election, Encouragement, Guest Post

What are the practical implications of Calvinism, particularly the doctrine of election? God’s sovereign electing grace, like all Biblical truth properly understood and responded to, should and will have powerful applicatory sanctifying effects upon the heart and mind. The end of all Biblical instruction is the transformation of our lives, to the supreme end that God Himself is glorified. And one of the effects of unconditional election upon the life of those who have experienced it and realize its significance, is humility--it should humble us to the dust.

The following quote speaks pointedly to this:

Rather than promoting pride and elitism, election is a profoundly humbling doctrine for believers. It keeps us from trying to reverse roles with God (Rom. 9:6-23). It persuades us to let God be God by teaching us there are some things that God has not revealed to us because they are not good for us to know, such as who is elect and who is reprobate (Deut. 29:29) or what tomorrow might bring (James 4:14). Election teaches us not to occupy ourselves with matters too difficult for us (Ps. 131).

Election also humbles us by making us realize that we owe everything to God’s grace. If our eyes have been opened, we see that our salvation is entirely due to the sovereign love and pity of our God, and not to any merit of our own. Electing grace initiates our salvation, accomplishes it, and preserves it. Peter says in (1 Pet. 1) verse 5 that we are “kept by the power of God.” Thus, we can boast of nothing. "A proud Calvinist is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms," Robert Peterson notes.

Dear believer, in electing you, God has given you everything. He has given you His Son, and through Him a new heart, a new status, and a new life. Humble yourself quietly before your electing God, remembering that you owe everything to Him. (Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, pgs. 69-70)

Is humility a grace that we are genuinely pursuing, and in some real way exhibiting, both in response to God and in relation to each other? I don’t mean merely that we recognize it as a good idea. But rather, is the reality and awareness of God’s absolute and comprehensive sovereignty, a sovereignty that extends even to our personal destiny--both in this life and for eternity--having its prostrating, dust encountering effects in how we live each day? In what specific ways should this posture of humility be increasingly evident in our lives?

And remember, a proud Calvinist is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms.

Labels: Doctrine, Election, Guest Post, Humility

In continuing my focus on the theme of God’s sovereign and gracious election, and it’s warm, pastoral application to our lives, I think it will serve us well to reflect on the individual, personal nature of this expression of the love of God. An expression of love, I might add, to sinful people who are utterly undeserving of this mercy; in fact quite to the contrary, it is expressed to those who are positively deserving of nothing except perishing in the eternal burning as eternal monuments of God’s holy wrath (Eph. 2:1-3).

So, to help us think about this very individual, personal dimension of God’s electing love, here is an excerpt from my reading for our blessing and edification:

The personal nature of God’s election is warm, paternal, and relational. God treats His millions of children as if each were His only child. The minuteness of His loving, fatherly concern is staggering. The hairs of our heads are all numbered. Our names are engraved on the palms of Jehovah’s hands and carried in the heart of the Savior, the Lord Jesus. He whispers our blood-bought names into the ears of His Father in heaven as He makes intercession for us.

Personal election is an incredible comfort in today’s impersonal, computerized society. Many people feel lonely and insignificant, like creatures clinging desperately to a little planet in a vast universe. But the believing Calvinist finds his identity in the infinite God of this vast universe. He confesses with the psalmist, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Ps. 23:1). He who has chosen us graciously will never abandon us. All things will work out for our good (Rom. 8:28-39).

No Calvinist who has a personal relationship with the God of unconditional election ever need say, "No one cares; I do not matter." Rather, God grants him to say, "God cares for me so much that He has given me His own Son. He loves me and gave Himself for me" (Gal.2:20). How wondrous to confess that "Christ gave Himself for me, meeting all the conditions of God’s justice for me. He obeyed the law perfectly on my behalf in active obedience, loving God above all and His neighbor as Himself for thirty-three years in this world; for me, He suffered immense agony and cruel rejection; for me, He did not come down from the cruel tree, because I was on His heart as He hung under the curse of God. He fully paid the penalty of my sin, even to death, in passive obedience. For me, He declared that salvation is complete (John 19:30). Now He who rose for me lives to make intercession for me" (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25).

How intensely personal is God’s election. It involves the great heart of the living God. (Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, Joel R. Beeke, Reformation Trust, 2008, pgs. 66-67).

How comforting to know that in this increasingly impersonal and cruel world we do not relate to the infinite-personal God as part of a nameless faceless mass of humanity. No, instead, the living God of the Bible has set His love upon us from eternity-- individually, personally, by name.

Labels: Doctrine, Election, Guest Post

Sometimes the Biblical doctrine of election is viewed as something austere, cold, capricious, or impersonal. In fact, this could not be further from the truth. The Bible teaches us that we are elect “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (I Pet. 1:1-2), and it is very important for us to see that for God to foreknow involves more than His bare intellect, omniscience, knowledge of the future, or awareness of who will believe; rather, it is a term speaking of knowledge, yes--but knowledge that involves deep, intimate affection--essentially, to fore love. It is God loving His people, knowing them affectionately before time, indeed from eternity--setting His love upon them and choosing them to belong to Him and to rescue them from their sin. In an excellent book I have been reading and enjoying, it is put this way:

God’s election of His people is His seal that He loves them. Because He elects them, He will cherish them in their Savior, Jesus Christ, who is so in love with them that He calls them His bride. Moreover, having gone to the cross to die for His bride, Jesus takes all of their liabilities upon Himself. God’s foreknowledge of His people, then, is like a man’s love for his wife. God’s foreknowledge means that He is so passionately and intimately in love with His people that He offers His own Son to go to Calvary for them.

Thus, God the Father elects His people on the basis of His eternal, overwhelming, sovereign affection for them. Why did He love them? Because He chose to do so. Sovereign, unchangeable love is the ultimate joy and reality of the universe. It is the rock of God’s redeeming grace. We cannot get beyond that sovereign love to something else. Love is the ultimate reality of God Himself. God is love.

God’s foreknowledge means that God has always been in love with His people. He has loved the elect from all eternity. Just as a Bible-believing Christian cannot conceive of God not existing, not being eternal, or not being triune, so he cannot conceive of God not being in love with His people and not exercising that love through His gracious plan of salvation. Henry Law says, ‘Eternal love devised the plan; eternal wisdom drew the model; eternal grace comes down to build it’.

God’s love is voluntary, discriminatory, and gracious. But oh, what glory to realize that this is the way God has always been! He has always loved His bride, the church, and has always been intensely passionate about her salvation. Dear believer, let this amazing truth sink deeply into your soul: God chose us because He has always foreknown us, meaning He has always loved us. (Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, Joel R. Beeke, Reformation Trust, 2008, pgs. 63-64)

In subsequent posts I would like us to see several specific ways in which the Biblical teaching concerning God’s gracious and sovereign electing of His people should affect our hearts and lives. In the meantime, I’d love to hear how this truth is affecting your heart even now. It is truly breathtaking, is it not? Should it not truly sweep us off our feet?

Labels: Doctrine, Election, Guest Post

In this final post on the theme of justification by faith alone I would like to do a little historical and confessional reconnaissance, and leave you with a selection of statements to reflect on, affect your heart, preach the gospel to yourself, and shout for joy over concerning the importance, meaning and significance of this glorious provision from God for our salvation:

“And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (The Holy Spirit through Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ)

“We, therefore, who have been called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, neither by our wisdom or understanding or piety, nor by the works we have wrought in holiness of heart, but by the faith by which almighty God has justified all men from the beginning, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Clement of Rome)

“God has decreed that a person who believes in Christ can be saved without works. By faith alone he receives the forgiveness of sins” (Ambrosiaster)

“This doctrine is the head and the cornerstone. It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the church of God; and without it the church of God cannot exist for one hour. . . .Whoever departs from the article of justification does not know God and is an idolater.... If the article of justification is lost, all Christian doctrine is lost at the same time. . . . When the article of justification has fallen, everything has fallen.... Of this article nothing may be yielded or conceded” (Martin Luther).

“The article of justification is the master and prince, the lord and ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises up our conscience before God. Without this article the world is utter death and darkness. No error is so mean, so clumsy, and so outworn as not to be supremely pleasing to human reason and to seduce us if we are without the knowledge and the contemplation of this article” (Martin Luther).

"…if this article stands, the Church stands; if it falls, the Church falls" (Martin Luther).

Justification is “the main hinge on which religion turns” (John Calvin).

“Justification is the very hinge and pillar of Christianity. An error about justification is dangerous, like a defect in a foundation. Justification by Christ is a spring of the water of life” (Thomas Watson).

“Justification by faith is like an Atlas: it bears a world on its shoulders, the entire evangelical knowledge of saving grace” (J.I. Packer).

“There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live……. It is always on His ‘blood and righteousness’ alone that we can rest” (B.B. Warfield).

“Those whom God effectually calleth, he also freely justifieth: not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone; nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness, by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God”.

“Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love”. (Westminster Confession of Faith)

Q. How are you right with God?

A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.

Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need do is to accept this gift of God with a believing heart. (Heidelberg Catechism)

“The glory of the gospel is that God has declared Christians to be rightly related to Him in spite of their sin. But our greatest temptation and mistake is to try to smuggle character into His work of grace. How easily we fall into the trap of assuming that we only remain justified so long as there are grounds in our character for justification. But Paul’s’ teaching is that nothing we do ever contributes to our justification” (Sinclair Ferguson)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (The Holy Spirit through Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Labels: Doctrine, Guest Post, Justification

When we think about the doctrine of justification by faith alone apart from obedience or works of law as the meritorious ground of our acceptance before God, it would be unbalanced and unfaithful to the full-orbed historic Biblical teaching if we neglected to stress the necessity of obedience or works as a neccesary evidence of the possession of saving faith. When we talk about works we tend to confuse necessary works (i.e. works that are the fruit or evidence of true faith in the Savior) with meritorious works (i.e. works that serve as the basis, or ground of acceptance before God). To be sure, there are meritorious works that serve as the basis or ground of our acceptance before God; the only thing is that they are never, never, never our works--rather they are Christ’s, in our place, on our behalf. But, just because our works are never meritorious so as to earn our salvation, it does not Biblically follow that obedience and a changed life are optional. The reality is we cannot genuinely claim to truly believe in Jesus Christ as He is offered to us in the gospel, and at the same time not seek to follow Him as Lord.

In the book, Redemption Accomplished and Applied that I mentioned in my previous post, Professor Murray has this to say regarding objections that justification by faith alone teaches or implies that we can theoretically live any way we want and still claim to be right with God, with heaven as our destiny:

It is an old and time-worn objection that this doctrine ministers to license and looseness. Only those who know not the power of the gospel will plead such misconception. Justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Justification is not all that is embraced in the gospel of redeeming grace. Christ is a complete Savior and it is not justification alone that the believing sinner possesses in him. And faith is not the only response in the heart of him who has entrusted himself to Christ for salvation. Faith alone justifies but a justified person with faith alone would be a monstrosity which never exists in the kingdom of grace. Faith works itself out through love (c.f. Gal. 5:6). And faith without works is dead (c.f. James 2:17-20). It is living faith that justifies and living faith unites to Christ both in the virtue of his death and in the power of his resurrection. No one has entrusted himself to Christ for deliverance from the guilt of sin who has not also entrusted himself to him for deliverance from the power of sin. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

It is not the mere profession of faith that saves, but rather the possession of genuine faith--a faith that works--and this faith itself is the gift of God, the out-flowing of new spiritual life given by the sovereign and gracious work of God in the new birth. Yes, faith alone justifies, but as Professor Murray so powerfully states--“a justified person with faith alone would be a monstrosity which never exists in the kingdom of grace.”

Labels: Doctrine, Justification

Tim has graciously invited me to contribute to his blog on a weekly basis, and I thought that what I would like to generally do with my contributions is allow you to "look over my shoulder" so to speak and view along me some of what is affecting my mind and heart in my reading. And so I would like to share with you particular excerpts that have impacted me, and hopefully will serve to impact you as well.

This past weekend I attended the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology at Tenth Presbyterian Church, in Philadelphia. I have participated in this conference every year, save one, since 1978. It would be difficult to find adequate words to express the formative influence and effect that this conference, along with the ministry of Tenth Presbyterian Church, has had on my theological convictions and spiritual growth in the Faith over the years. The conference theme this year was "Right With God: The Doctrine of Justification", and having been taught well at the conference concerning the meaning of this vital area of Biblical truth, and having been reminded again of it's crucial foundational importance regarding our relationship to God, and having it press upon my heart afresh, it seemed good to me to share with you some helpful comments on this glorious reality that flows to us from the work of Christ.

In the classic book Redemption Accomplished and Applied, by professor John Murray, the following observations are made concerning the free forgiveness of our sins through the justifying work of the Savior, received by faith alone. Hear them well--

...justification by faith and faith alone exemplifies the freeness and richness of the gospel of grace. If we were to be justified by works, in any degree or to any extent, then there would be no gospel at all. For what works of righteousness can a condemned , guilty, and depraved sinner offer to God? That we are justified by faith advertises the grand article of the gospel of grace that we are not justified by works of law. Faith stands in antithesis to works; there can be no amalgam of these two (cf. Gal. 5:4). That we are justified by faith is what engenders hope in a convicted sinner's heart. He knows he has nothing to offer. And this truth assures him that he needs nothing to offer, yea, it assures him that it is an abomination to God to presume to offer. We are justified by faith and therefore simply by entrustment of ourselves, in all our dismal hopelessness, to the Savior whose righteousness is undefiled and undefilable. Justification by faith alone lies at the heart of the gospel and it is the article that makes the lame man leap as an hart and the tongue of the dumb sing. Justification is that by which grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life; it is for the believer alone and it is for the believer by faith alone. It is the righteousness of God from faith to faith (Rom. 1:17; c.f. 3:22)

In subsequent weeks I would like to follow-up with some additional thoughts on this great doctrinal truth. But for now, as we prepare our hearts for corporate worship tomorrow, I would like encourage us all to reflect on the staggering reality of what Christ has done for His people in justification--our sin imputed to him, and His righteousness imputed to us--all of it--and with the result that we are now forgiven before the holy God! There is not a single moment in this life when our fellowship with God is not dependent utterly upon this free forgiveness of sins grounded in the work of justification. Only upon this basis may we come before God with a truly pacified conscience. So, as we worship tomorrow may this affect us to the core, and may we find ourselves looking away from ourselves, and gazing upon Christ. May we cry out in praise with Zinzendorf--"Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress.... this shall be all my plea--Jesus has lived, has died for me!"

Labels: Doctrine, Justification