Who is saved by keeping God's Law?

CHAPTER 19: Of the LAW OF GOD
(Parts Four and Five)

According to Jesus (Mark 12:28-31) the Ten Commandments and the whole of God’s Law can be summarized in the two greatest commandments.  Number One: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and Number Two: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  Note the following about these two commandments that capture God’s Law:

The first and greatest commandment is to love God with every fiber of one’s being.  Therefore the greatest sin is to fail to love God with every fiber of one’s being.  Who among us has always loved God above all?  None.

The second commandment is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  Please note that there are two commandments, not three.  It is a complete misreading of the Bible to adopt the modern psychological interpretation that says: (a) we must learn to love ourselves so that we can love others; (b) therefore the second commandment is to love ourselves and the third is to love others.  Jesus said there are two commandments, not three.  He said we must learn to love others as we already naturally love ourselves.  The essence of sin is to love ourselves ahead of God and others. 

The person who loves God will worship and obey Him.  The person who loves his neighbor will honor his parents and refrain from doing harm to his neighbor, will be faithful to his marriage vows, will not take his neighbor’s goods, lie to or about him, and he will not even desire his neighbor’s possessions in his heart.

(Part Five)

In addition to the moral law (that is timeless and binding on all people), God gave Israel ceremonial and civil laws to direct them religiously and nationally.  When Christ fulfilled the ceremonial laws in His life, death, and resurrection, and when Israel ceased to exist as a nation (ultimately in 70 AD), those ceremonial and civil laws became obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).

That those laws are obsolete does not mean they have no significance.  They still contain many moral principles.  The moral law and the moral principles in the ceremonial and civil law are valuable and binding for all people at all times.  Breaking those laws or the moral principles in those laws is the essence of sin, as stated in 1 John 3:4.  “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

Keeping the Law was never a means of salvation, since no one (excepting Jesus) ever has, or even can, keep God’s Law perfectly.  Even if one could successfully keep all the Law starting today, that would not undo that person’s guilt for having broken the Law before today.

The good news is that Jesus has kept and fulfilled the Law for those He came to save.

Be careful about dismissing God's Law

CHAPTER 19: Of the Law of God
(Parts One through Three)

God gave Adam and Eve laws in Genesis 1:28 while they were in the Garden of Eden, before the Fall.  The first was a command to be fruitful and multiply.  The second was to take dominion over the creation (not as owners, but as managers over what was God’s.)

God gave another command in Genesis 2:16-17 which included a positive and a negative.  The positive was His provision of everything they needed to eat (and that it was good!).  The negative was a prohibition not to eat the fruit of one particular tree in the garden.  To add teeth to the prohibition, God wrapped the command, not to eat, in a consequential threat.  “In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die!” (v.17)

There was nothing about the fruit of that tree that was poisonous.  The issue was not unsafe food.  The issue was about how unsafe it is to disobey God!

Adam and Eve broke the law regarding consumption of the prohibited fruit (Genesis 3:6).  As a result, though they did not physically die on the day they ate, they began to die.  (God graciously allowed them to live, giving them opportunity to repent.)  They did die spiritually on that day.  All of their posterity died along with them and has been doing so ever since (Romans 5:12).  Every time anyone dies, God is reminding us about the penalty for breaking His law.

This law regarding obedience to God was placed in the heart of every man after the fall.  It still is.

(Part Two)

God first wrote His Law on the hearts of all mankind (Romans 2:15), and He continues to do so to this day.

Later, God wrote His Law in stone at Mount Sinai in the form of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).

The Ten Commandments are not different, but expanded.

The first four of the Ten Commandments are about our relationship with God, namely, worshiping God acceptably: (1) There is only one true and living God and He is the only One to worship.  (2) We must not worship idols, or use idols to worship the true and living God.  (3) We must not take the Lord’s name in vain—which is far more than a prohibition against using God’s name as a swear word.  It means we must not worship God in a vain manner, or dare to claim to be His if we are not following Him.  (4) Honoring the Sabbath means that in addition to worshiping God every day, we are to set one day in seven aside specifically to worship God.

Why does God begin with these four?  Because our relationship with God is the basis of everything else in our lives.  We were created to worship God.  Those who refuse to worship God worship something else.  Who or what are you worshiping—and how?

(Part Three)

The next six of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12-17) are about our relationships with fellow human beings.  (5) Honoring one’s parents is first because it is the only human relationship that every human being has.  Everyone has biological parents, regardless of what kind of parents they were, or if one ever even knew one’s parents.  (6) The prohibition against murder is a reminder of the sanctity of human life, since humans beings are created in the image of God.  Murder is a sin against the One in whose image we are created.  (7) The prohibition against adultery is a reminder of the importance of faithfulness in marriage and sexual purity—not to mention that believers are the Bride of Christ.  (8) The prohibition against stealing affirms respect for other people’s property, just as we would have others respect ours.  (9) The prohibition against bearing false witness, or lying, in any matter is a reminder of the importance of truth.  After all, God is not merely truthful, He is truth.  (10) The prohibition against coveting zeros in on the fact that sins originate in the heart long before they are acted upon.  God not only legislates morality, but even morality in our hearts.

We must begin with our relationship with God, but we must not end there.  Being right with God demands that we be right with one another.  God’s moral law found in the Ten Commandments covers all the necessary bases.  Perfectly.

You really can't have assurance unless and until...

CHAPTER 18: Of the Assurance of Grace and of Salvation
(Parts Six and Seven)

This doctrine is often wrongly caricaturized by the phrase “once saved always saved.”  The literal meaning of that phrase is altogether biblical.  When God saves a person, He gives that person eternal life (John 10:27-29).  Eternal, not temporary or provisional.  God adopts that person as His child (Romans 8:14-17).  He does not disown His children.  Those He saves are the objects of His affection and nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39).  And while opponents of this wonderful biblical doctrine admit that God will not abandon His people, they insist that we can abandon Him. 

But doesn’t Romans 8:39 say that “no other created thing” can separate us from the love of God”?  Are we not “created things”?  Then we cannot separate ourselves from His love either. 

The unbiblical understanding of the phrase “once saved always saved,” is that if a person recites some sort of “sinner’s prayer” he is guaranteed entry into Heaven even if he lives like Hell until he dies while he presumes he will go to Heaven.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Salvation is not merely a ticket to Heaven.  It is a new heart and new affections for the Lord Jesus Christ.  Though Christians still sin, we cannot adopt a lifestyle of sin (1 John 3:6) without confession and repentance.  Rather, when we sin we experience godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10) leading to confession and repentance.

 (Part Seven)

One last point on the subject of the Perseverance of the Saints.  While God wants all His children to have assurance of their salvation (1 John 5:11-13), new believers and those walking in disobedience cannot enjoy assurance, as does a seasoned saint who is walking with the Lord and has done so for some time.

Do not be confused.  Salvation and assurance of salvation, though related, are two different things.  True believers experience doubts from time to time, but the longer we walk with the Lord, the greater the assurance that our faith is lasting and therefore genuine.  The longer one walks with the Lord, the fewer and farther between doubts become.

True believers can (and sometimes ought to) lack assurance, since living in sin is no way to enjoy the joy of one’s salvation.  But when we have confessed our sins and sought diligently to repent of them, the joy of salvation found in assurance is ours once again.

But even in periods of doubt, the redeemed are no less redeemed, since our salvation was won on the cross by Jesus Christ.  Our salvation is not based on our longevity in Christ, on our performance, or on either our confidence or our doubts.

Peter charges believers (2 Peter 1:10) to “make your calling and election sure.”  How?  By diligently adding to your faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (v.5-7).  Only then can a child of God enjoy the fullest joy associated with the assurance of his salvation.

Is the doctrine of assurance clearly defined in scripture, or is it arrogance?

CHAPTER 18: Of the assurance of grace and salvation
(Parts Four and Five)

Assurance is routinely communicated wrongly by well-intentioned Christians who tell every person who recites “the sinner’s prayer” that they must have assurance of their salvation because they “prayed the prayer.”  Listen, the only assurance a person has, based on the fact that they repeated a prayer, is that they repeated a prayer.  That is not the same as assurance of salvation.

While salvation is by God’s grace alone, received through faith alone, the grace and faith that saves is not alone.  It is necessarily followed and validated by a changed life (1 John 3:4-10*).  Granted, no Christian is sinlessly perfect, either instantly or even after a lifetime of devotion to the Savior; but if there is no fundamental shift in a person’s affections away from self and the world, toward Christ and His kingdom, there is no basis for assurance. “Now by this we know we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3)  Again John is not demanding sinless perfection as the standard, because a few verses earlier, speaking to Christians he writes, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)  Assurance is not for the sinless, but it is for those who find themselves growing in grace and sinning less.

* The sins that reveal that a person is not saved are not isolated acts of sin,
but a continuing life-style of sin.

(Part Five)

The doctrine of assurance of salvation is summed up perfectly in 1 John 5:11-13.  It begins by claiming to be a testimony given under apostolic authority.  In other words, you can count on it.

What is the testimony?  The testimony is that God has given believers eternal life.  Eternal life is in the Son, Jesus Christ.  Those who have Christ as their Savior have eternal life.  To make it clear that only those who have Christ as their Savior have eternal life, John writes, “he who does not have the Son of God does not have [eternal] life.”

Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John then explains to whom he wrote and why.  He wrote these words to believers, and he wrote them so that believers would “know” that we have eternal life.  God wants us to know this!

During and after the Reformation in the 1500s, one of the many conflicts between Protestants and the Roman Catholic church was over the doctrine of assurance.  Protestants, armed with these verses and others, championed the doctrine of assurance.  The Roman church—built largely on keeping her people away from scripture and imprisoned in fear—condemned the doctrine of assurance, declaring it to be arrogance, since they believed and taught “no one can ever know for sure in this life.”

So which is it?  Is the doctrine of assurance clearly defined in scripture, or is it arrogance?

Something God really wants His children to know

CHAPTER 18: Of the Assurance of Grace and of Salvation
(Parts One - Three)

There has never been a shortage of people who have believed they are saved, but are not.  Jesus warned that on Judgment Day “Many will come to Me and say, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not…’” to which He will respond, “Depart from Me… I never knew you.”  (Matthew 7:22-23)  Those must be the worst words to hear on Judgment Day, especially if one truly believed he was a Christian.  How do we account for this?

Human beings are terminally religious.  Look at how many religions there are.  One of them is Christianity, and Christianity is often a default for those who were born and raised in a time and place where Christianity has a major influence.  So many assume they are Christians because of their nationality or culture.  Many of these (and others) enjoy the outward benefits of Christianity, especially in a place in which the faith is socially acceptable.  Add to that the fact that most Christians, while by no means perfect, are decent folks, and often civil, if not kind.  That is attractive.  The Church provides a place and people with whom others can enjoy healthy social interaction.  The Church is generally very pro family.  That is attractive.  Others like Christianity because believers often tend to be conservative morally, economically, and politically.  That too is attractive to others who are by no means Christian.

So there are many who are attracted to and embrace Christianity for all of the outward trappings, but who have little or no use for Christ.

(Part Two)

There are four kinds of people when it comes to assurance regarding the Christian faith.

1. There are those who are saved and know it.  This is by far the best category to be in, for what I hope are obvious reasons.  They are saved and they have joy knowing they are saved.

2. There are those who are saved but they are not sure they are saved.  These have the benefit of salvation, but lack the joy that one possesses when one is confident of their standing with God. 

3. There are those who are not saved and know they are not saved.  They are not saved (which is not good) but at least they know it, so they might one day respond to the gospel.

4. There are those who are not saved and are “sure” they are saved.  These are of all people in the worst possible position.  They are not saved and have the wrath of God in their future, but since they believe they are saved, they have no reason whatsoever to respond to the gospel message.  They think they already have.

God wants you to be saved.  Acknowledge your sin, trust solely in Jesus as the only way to be forgiven.  And God wants those who are saved to know they are His!  

(Part Three)

Why does God want His people to posses assurance of salvation? (1 John 5:11-13)  Because He is a Father.  And not only a good father, but the best Father!  What kind of a father wants his children to wonder who their father is?  What kind of a father has children and keeps his identity, as their father, a secret from them?  I’ll tell you: a really bad father.

Friends, God is a good Father.  He wants His children to know that He is their Father.  He wants His children to enjoy their “sonship” with all the privileges, and responsibilities.  Privileges?  How about the fact that the children of God are not born to fear but to love, and are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ? (Romans 8:15-17)

Responsibilities?  Yes indeed.  As the children of God, our lives are a reflection of our Father—whether a good and accurate reflection given by loving and obedient children, or a bad and misleading reflection given by rebellious children.  He wants us to know He is our Father, and we have the responsibility to represent our Father correctly.

We persevere only because the Lord preserves

CHAPTER 17: OF THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS
(Parts One and Two)

The people God has purposed to save since before time began, who He has called, to whom He has given the gifts of faith and repentance, and who are being sanctified, will be saved, completely and forever (Romans 8:29-30).  They cannot be removed from God’s gracious hand, nor can they remove themselves from His hand (John 10:28-29).

While believers are responsible to persevere in the faith (Galatians 6:9, Matthew 24:13), the elect will persevere in the faith to the end, not because of their grip on Him, but because of His grip on them (Isaiah 41:13).  The perseverance of the saints may, therefore, also be understood as the patient and faithful perseverance of God with those He loves.

The perseverance of the saints does not mean they will not face adversity, trials, or tribulations (Acts 14:22).  The elect are often beset by sin (1 John 1:8).  Their sin may at times even be gross and scandalous, resulting from the hardness of their hearts.  They will, however, repent from such backsliding, and persevere to the end, and thereby prove that they are the elect of God unto salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10). 

(Part Two)

The perseverance of the saints is unfairly caricaturized by the phrase “once saved always saved.”  The literal meaning of that phrase could not be more true.  Those who are saved by God’s grace cannot be lost, but all too often, the “once-saved-always-saved” slogan is used of people who are not saved, but who claim to have had some kind of religious experience, or who have “accepted Jesus into their hearts” by reciting a rote prayer that was rather meaningless to them.  These who were never actually saved, thinking they can live like Hell before they die and go to Heaven, are deceived (Galatians 6:7-8).

The Bible teaches the eternal security of the believer (John 10:27-29, Romans 8:32-39).  Conversely, the Bible also teaches the eternal insecurity of the make-believer (1 John 2:19).

The perseverance of the saints is not about our ability to remain faithful to God.  It is about God’s faithfulness to those He justifies and, more importantly, His faithfulness to Christ.  He saves all for whom Christ died—to the end.  And between now and the end, we have a Great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for His own (Hebrews 7:27), guaranteeing that He will save them to the uttermost.

Must we persevere?  Yes.  But we persevere only because the Lord preserves.

Saved by works—but not by our own!

CHAPTER 16 Of Good Works
(Parts Four and Five)

Here is a fantastic thought from the Confession regarding “good works”: Though our good works cannot save us, and cannot gain favor with God—beyond that which we have through faith in Christ and in what He has done to save us—yet God is pleased to reward His people for good works (Matthew 25:21).

That God would reward us for doing anything, since our best is less than He demands is fantastic enough.  But in the same way that an earthly father might reward a child for doing a less-than-stellar job on a given task, God is pleased to reward His children for our less-than-perfect performance if we were motivated and directed by Him, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and do what we do for His glory (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

But to bring the subject full circle—back to the glory of God, what are His children seen doing with our rewards [crowns] in Heaven?  (Revelation 4:9-11)  Casting them at His feet.  What a picture!  Once in Heaven, those who are rewarded will see God and will immediately think, “What is this crown doing on my head?  All glory belongs to Him.”  And at that moment the crowns on our heads will be placed rightly at His feet, since our best is still below even His feet.

What an incredible God! 

(Part Five)

Most people have no difficulty with the concept that our bad deeds count against us. Of course most people also routinely believe that their bad deeds are not all that bad, that they are certainly not as bad as others (you know, the really bad people), and that their good deeds will outweigh their bad deeds.

The fact is, anything less than the infinite holiness of God is infinitely short of His required standard of sinless perfection (see Matthew 5:48).  The fact is, God doesn’t grade on a curve.  The fact is, all the good deeds in the world cannot outweigh our bad deeds. (How many good things can a person do for you to outweigh a bad deed against you if that one bad deed was murdering your son?)

As stated, most people have no difficulty with the concept that our bad deeds count against us, but try this one on: our good deeds count against us too.  Isaiah 64:6 states: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.…”  Not only does our worst condemn us, so does our best.  Why?  Because it is not equal to God’s best, and that is the standard by which we are judged.

Good news for the Christian: Jesus took all our deeds and gave us all His, so that those who are “in Him” stand before God as though we are as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself.

So then, we are saved by works—just not by our works, but by Christ’s!

Saved by works--but not our own!

CHAPTER 16: Of Good Works
(Parts One through Three)

Good works and the Christian faith are strange bedfellows—misunderstood more often than not.  Consider the following statements: 

1. God is good and He works, so all of His works are good (Mark 10:13). 

2. God commands people to be good and to work, so good works are required of man, by God (Matthew 5:48). 

3. The only human being to perform only good works is Jesus Christ.  All others have sinned, and since the wages of sin is death, all human beings are in big trouble with God (Romans 3:23 & 6:23). 

4. No amount of good works performed by any mere human can atone for, or reverse the effects of one bad work [sin] (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

5. Even the best works sinful people can perform are unacceptable in God’s sight since they are not flawless, nor motivated solely for the glory of God (Isaiah 64:4).  Our situation, if left to ourselves, is hopeless.  That is the bad news of the gospel.

But God… 

6.The saved are forgiven and declared righteous on the basis of good works.  WHAT?!  It’s true, but the good works that save us are not ours.  They are Jesus’ good [no wait, perfect] works.  Jesus lived the sinless life of good works God requires of all of us, that none of us have performed.  Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins we have committed (1 Corinthians 15:3).  By faith we receive the reward of righteousness due Him for His good works, and He takes the penalty for our bad works. 

That is the good news of the gospel.

(Part Two)

The message of the gospel is clear: our good works are not required for, nor do they contribute to salvation.  Salvation is based on Christ’s good works on our behalf (both His sinless life and His death on the cross in our place.)  But as Paul makes clear in the following passages, good works are an essential part of the life of those who are saved by God’s grace alone, received through faith alone in Christ alone.

Ephesians 2:8-10  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  9  not of works, lest anyone should boast.  10  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Verses 8-9—We are not saved by our good works; but verse 10—we are saved for good works.

Titus 3:3-5, 8  For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  4  But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,  5  not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…  8  This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Verses 3-5, & 8—Our good works do not save us; but as verse 8 clearly states, those who believe must be careful to maintain good works.

(Part Three)

We have no natural ability to perform “good works” (Romans 5:6).  Even our best efforts are short of perfect (Isaiah 64:6), and God does not grade on a curve.  Even the things we do that might be considered good are never done solely for the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  Yet as believers we are to “be careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:8), not to gain God’s love or approval, but in grateful obedience to the Lord who has already given us His love and approval in Christ.

How then are believers to perform good works in grateful obedience to God for saving us?  Here are a few pointers:

• Do what God in His Word says is good, not what we may think is good.

• Do good prayerfully, asking for the right motives.

• Do good in the power of the Holy Spirit, for whatever is done in the strength of the flesh, is not truly good.

• Do what is done for God’s glory—alone.

And consider this: If no one can do all that God requires, it is even more clear that no one can do more than God requires.  Why?  Because God requires perfection.  “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

Repentance is not works, it is grace!

CHAPTER 15: Of Repentance Unto Life and Salvation
(Parts One through Three)

When any person is converted, he or she is given the gift, not only of faith to believe (Ephesians 2:8-9), but also the gift of repentance to turn from sin to follow Christ (Acts 11:18, 2 Timothy 2:25).  Whether a child (who has committed no great sins) is converted, or an older person (who has lived riotously) is converted, both are given the gift of repentance.  Repentance is every bit as important to salvation as is faith.  Faith and repentance are like two sides of the same coin.  If either side is blank, the coin is altogether counterfeit, no matter how perfect the one may appear. 

Repentance is not a meritorious work by which one earns or contributes anything to his salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Repentance, like faith, is a gracious gift from God.  Both are gifts that are given with the change of heart when one is born again by the Holy Spirit.  The gift of faith is not merely the ability to believe, but a change of affection to want to believe.  Likewise, the gift of repentance is not only the ability to repent, but a change of affection to want to repent.

Those who are truly born again desire not only what Christ can do for them, but they likewise desire Christ Himself.  Those who are truly born again desire not only deliverance from the consequence of sin, they likewise desire deliverance from sin itself.

(Part Two)

We would not make the mistake of thinking that God’s grace is reason to sin, or that sin does not matter (Romans 6:1).  Nevertheless, we do affirm that when a child of God sins, no matter how grievously, the gracious forgiveness of God, purchased by the shed blood of the Son of God, is more than sufficient to cover any and all sins committed by every child of God (Ephesians 1:7).

We are forgiven because of what Christ has done.  The passion of our confession and the determination of our repentance add nothing to what Christ has done.  Sincerity in confession and repentance do not persuade the Father to forgive us.  Jesus secured our Father’s forgiveness while on the cross. 

Nevertheless, we do affirm that the Bible teaches that we must confess our sins (1 John 1:8-9) and repent of them (Proverbs 28:13, Matthew 3:8) if we are to experience the fullest benefit and joy of God’s forgiveness.

How odd that God is more willing to forgive our sins than we are to confess and repent of them. 

(Part Three)

Believers repent when we sin because the Holy Spirit moves us to repent, working godly sorrow into our hearts (2 Corinthians 7:10).  Godly sorrow is not a worldly sorrow that is merely sorry for having been caught, or for the consequences of sin.  Rather, it is sorrow for having sinned against God.  Godly sorrow produces repentance as the saint, convicted of his sin, is humbled, hates his sin and himself for having sinned.  He prays not only for pardon but for grace to turn from sin and to resist temptation, that he may live to please God in all things (Proverbs 28:13).

While repentance is an essential component of initial conversion, believers live lives of continuing repentance whenever beset by sin.  The life of repentance is not merely a general desire to turn from sin generally, but to turn from particular known sins particularly.

Although there is no sin so small that it does not deserve damnation, neither is there any sin so great that it will result in the damnation of those who truly repent.  This makes constant preaching of repentance necessary to believers and non-believers alike.

Let us rejoice that God grants saving faith to we who were dead in sin, and let us take full advantage of the teaching on repentance found in God’s Word that we may grow in grace.

Is "believing" really enough?

CHAPTER 14: Of Saving Faith
(Parts One & Two)

That anyone believes in Christ, savingly, is a gift from God by the grace of God.  Why?  Because while God commands all men to believe and repent, (because all men are dead in sin), no one has the desire or the ability to do either.  How does God grant the gift of saving faith?

The natural means by which people come to the knowledge of the gospel is as the gospel is explained, whether by a preacher or a person just speaking with a friend.  That outward call of the gospel becomes effective when the Holy Spirit issues the inward call that causes the person to understand the gospel, and desire Christ.  This is part of the Spirit’s work of regeneration.  Unless a person is born again by the Holy Spirit, that person will neither believe nor repent.  Conversely, when a person is born again by the Holy Spirit, that person definitely will believe and repent.

Saving faith may be either weak or strong at first.  No two born again people grow at exactly the same pace; some slower, some faster, but all who have saving faith are commanded to “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)  And the means by which we grow in faith is by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

So let us rejoice that God grants saving faith to we who were dead in sin, and let us take full advantage of the Word of God that we may grow in our faith.

 (Part Two)

Saving faith includes believing the Bible.  While a brand new believer does not know everything the Bible teaches, and therefore not necessarily believes all the Bible teaches, when he is made aware of these truths, if he rejects them, saving faith becomes suspect.  What truths regarding scripture must believers believe?  Regarding the Bible the redeemed believe: (a) that all of the Bible is inspired (the very words of God, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).  (b) Since the Bible is inspired, it is inerrant (because God is inerrant).  (c) Because the Bible is inspired and inerrant, it is supremely authoritative (because God is supremely authoritative).

This is why Peter writes that we are “born again by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).  Any person who rejects the written Word of God can scarcely claim to be saved by the Incarnate Word of God.  How can anyone claim to know Jesus Christ apart from the Word of God, since the Bible is the only inspired, inerrant, and supremely authoritative record about Him?

Believing in the Word of God necessitates obeying the Word of God.  Though none of the redeemed this side of Heaven obeys God’s Word perfectly, as we grow in our knowledge and in our faith in the Word, or God our obedience to that Word grows also.  Those who have no heart to obey God’s Word, including godly sorrow when they do not obey, ought not be so bold as to assume that they are children of God.

Justification: All God. Sanctification: God and?

CHAPTER 13: Of Sanctification
(Parts One-Three)

Sanctification is the life-long process by which believers are made increasingly holy.  Remember, when we are justified we are declared holy, even though we are not holy in practice (Romans 3:23-24).  Christ’s righteousness is imputed into our spiritual accounts so that we are deemed righteous by God; again, even though we are not holy in practice (Romans 4:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

All who are effectually called are regenerated (born again) by the Holy Spirit.  All who are regenerated are given the gifts of faith (1 Timothy 1:14) and repentance (Acts 11:18), which they willingly exercise.  Believing in Christ, they are justified.  All who are justified are sanctified and are being sanctified throughout their lives (Romans 6:18). 

They are sanctified, because God has pledged to sanctify His people, so while the process is still ongoing, from God’s perspective it is as good as done.  They are being sanctified because it is a life-long process (Philippians 1:6).

 (Part Two)

Sanctification is the life-long process by which believers grow in holiness.  While regeneration is monergistic (completed by only one party: God), sanctification is synergistic (completed by two parties working together: God and the believer).  Let us be quick to say that though sanctification is synergistic, there could be no progress in sanctification apart from the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.  However, the believer must cooperate, which he can do only because he is filled with the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:2-8).

God supplies believers with both the desire and the ability to cooperate in the sanctification process, but cooperate we must (Philippians 2:12-13).  We cooperate by applying the means of grace that God supplies such as attending to the scriptures, prayer, fellowship in Christ’s Church, and by receiving the sacraments (Acts 2:42-47).  We cooperate by denying the flesh, and saying “No” to the world (Matthew 16:24-26).  We cooperate by confessing our sins when we fail (1 John 1:8-9) and by sharing our faith (Acts 1:8), among other disciplines of the faith.  These are biblical examples of how believers must cooperate with the Holy Spirit in sanctification.

 (Part Three)

Though we are responsible to cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification in our lives, in the end, all progress and any success in one’s growth in holiness will be by the grace of God and for the glory of God.  It is for this reason that we must be guarded not to become prideful over any progress we may enjoy, or unduly discouraged over the failures we must endure (Matthew 5:16).

Our sanctification affects the entire person, body, and soul. 

There are times, because of the sinful corruption that remains in us even after being saved, that the remaining corruption may seem to be prevailing.  The good news is that God will see that there is progress in the process of sanctification—even when it seems imperceptibly slow.  We have God’s Word that all who are justified are being sanctified, and will be glorified (Romans 8:30, Philippians 1:6).

Jesus is not God's "one and only son."

CHAPTER 12: Of Adoption

In one of the shortest chapters in the Confession, we read of the doctrine of adoption.  We learn that all who have been justified are adopted into the family of God.  As adopted children of God, believers enjoy all the rights and privileges of sonship.

As children of God we do not relate to God based on fear that He will harm us (Romans 8:15).  Rather, having the spirit of adoption we cry out to God as Father with terms of tenderness (Romans 8:15).  Why?  Because as our Father, God is pledged to pity us, protect us, provide for us, discipline us, never and forsake we who are His children (Hebrews 13:5).

And even though Jesus is the “only begotten Son of God” and we are merely adopted children of God, we are “heirs of God” (Romans 8:17).  In addition to being the “only begotten Son,” Jesus is also the eldest, which would mean that His inheritance is at least double ours.  But God in His incredible kindness declares us to be “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).  This means we the adopted children of God receive equal inheritance with Jesus.  Remembering that the Father has “appointed [Jesus] heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2), as joint heirs with Christ, we too are heirs with Christ Jesus of all that belongs to the Father.  Incredible!

Stop trying to justify yourself!

CHAPTER 11 Of Justification
Parts One-Three

In the “golden chain” of salvation, found in Romans 8:29-30, we are instructed “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”  God knew a group of people from all eternity past, even before they existed.  He knew these people, not merely what decisions they would make regarding Christ. 

God predestined all of these people, not merely to believe, but to be conformed into the image of Christ.  These people are the people God effectually calls.  All of the effectually called are justified.  All of the justified are glorified.  This golden chain starts in eternity past and ends in eternity yet future.

Note that all of God’s actions in the passage are written in the past tense, as though they have already happened, even though “in time” they have not all yet happened.  This testifies to the fact that when God says a thing will happen, it is as sure as if it already has happened.

The topic of this 11th chapter of the Confession is justification.  What does it mean to be justified?  Next time…

(Part Two)

What does it mean to be justified?  Justification is judicial, or forensic action on God’s part to declare His people righteous even though we are not righteous, and will not be righteous until we are glorified in Heaven.

What is the basis of this justification?  God justifies “freely,” (Romans 3:24) meaning that there is no reason in us for this gracious act.  The reason resides only in God.  Justification is not based on our performance or good works, but solely on the performance and finished work of Christ on our behalf.

What has Jesus done to justify those He came to save? 

(1)     He lived a sinless life (active obedience). 

(2)  He died a sinner’s death on the cross that He did not deserve (passive obedience). 

(3)  And He physically rose from the dead on the third day, conquering sin, death, Hell, and the devil. 

We are justified not because of anything we have done, are doing, or will do, but “for Christ’s sake alone.”

 (Part Three)

The Bible clearly declares that we are justified by faith (Romans 3:28, 5:1).  That does not mean that our faith earns God’s justification.  Christ earned our justification.  We merely receive justification by faith, or by trusting solely in Christ.  And our faith, like everything else associated with our salvation, is not naturally ours or generated by us.  It too is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

Though justification is by faith alone in Christ alone, saving faith is not alone in those God justifies.  Along with the gift of faith, God gives the gift of a new heart, new affections (for Christ, for His Word, and for His people), and of repentance (Acts 11:18, 2 Timothy 2:25).  While human works contribute nothing whatsoever to salvation, motivated by loving obedient gratitude, the hearts of those justified by God’s grace “work out” the grace that God “works in” (Philippians 2:12-13).  Justified people still sin, but unlike in their previous unregenerate state, they experience godly sorrow for sin and possess a genuine desire to turn from it
(2 Corinthians 7:9-10).

While justification is explained more fully in the New Testament, it is not exclusively a New Testament concept.  All people since Adam, up to and including the last person who will be saved before Christ returns, are justified in the same way (Genesis 15:6, Romans 3:20).

Why are any saved?

CHAPTER 10: OF EFFECTUAL CALLING
(Parts Three & Four)

So what about those who do not receive the effectual call, or are, using other terms, not elected to salvation?

First, if the concept of God electing some to salvation and allowing others to continue on their natural path of sin offends you as “unfair,” let me ask you to consider the following:  “Fair” means every person is lost because “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  And because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), all are lost for eternity.  No one who understands the holiness of God, and therefore, the sinfulness of man, wants justice for all!  But if in His providence God chooses to save some, is He therefore obligated to save all to be fair?  I hope you can see that the answer is no.

Second, God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:3).  Those who do not, do not because they are free to do as they please.  Those who repent and trust in Jesus do so because God has elected them to salvation (based on nothing whatsoever in them).  Those who repent and trust in Jesus do so because God has graciously extended an effectual call, coupled with the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, resulting in a new heart, faith, repentance, and subsequently conversion.

(Part Four)

There are many who hear the outward, or general, call of the Gospel, but reject it outright.  There are many others who, hearing only the outward call, respond with religious activity, but because they have not received the effectual call of God’s Spirit, they are not truly converted. 

These people’s spiritual state is confirmed by 1 John 2:19 which says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

But even if they persevere in their spiritually dead religion, they shall not be saved but will be like those of whom Jesus spoke in Matthew 7:21-23, not denying their good works, but saying “Depart from Me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”

Those who hear the effectual call not only respond; but they persevere in the faith, even in the midst of the most difficult of life’s trials.  Nothing or no one can remove them from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). 

If no one can come to Christ, how can anyone be saved?

CHAPTER 10: OF EFFECTUAL CALLING
Parts One & Two

Since all men are born dead in sin (our sin, not God’s, so charge cannot be laid on Him!); and since spiritual deadness renders all people disinterested and unwilling to look to Christ for salvation, if left to ourselves, no one would be saved.  No one.

In His mercy, God has therefore, appointed some to be saved.  This salvation takes place because the Holy Spirit regenerates (brings to life) the spiritually dead, who He has appointed to eternal life (Acts 13:48).  When this happens, the spiritually regenerated person “hears” the gospel message, not only with his ears (as he may have repeatedly in the past, yet with no effect), but effectually (meaning it accomplishes God’s desired effect) with his heart.  Regeneration causes the gospel to make sense and become compelling.  It becomes all-important to the extent that the previously disinterested person wants to surrender to Christ and longs to follow Him.

This effectual calling does not save anyone against his will.  Rather, God graciously changes the person’s will so that he comes freely, willingly, and eagerly.  This effectual calling is by God’s grace alone, not being based on anything foreseen in those God is pleased to effectually call to salvation.  All glory for salvation, therefore, belongs to God alone.

(Part Two)

The effectual calling of God, whereby individuals are saved, depends on nothing whatsoever in the individual.  It is a sovereign work of God.  The individual is not even a partner with God in salvation.  As Jonah 2:9 succinctly says: “Salvation is of the Lord.”

Not only do saved individuals do nothing to cause their faith, they do not even contribute to their faith.  Spiritually dead people have no faith to contribute.  So, even one’s saving faith is God’s sovereign and gracious gift.  It is for this reason that regeneration must precede faith—though most Christians get that order wrong, insisting that one is born again because one believes.  Apart from the effectual call of God, no matter how religious a person may be, he cannot be saved.  As Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father draws Him” (John 6:44 emphasis added).  And drawing is not wooing until a person decides to come to Christ.  It is a unilateral action taken by God like a man drawing a sword out of his sheath (John 18:10), or like dragging a person to court (Acts 16:19, James 2:6).

God’s effectual call is so effectual, that saved infants and the redeemed that are incapable of understanding the outward call of the gospel (preaching) do, nevertheless, receive the effectual call and are saved.

Remember this: no one who is lost is lost because God kept him from believing.  Personal sin keeps people from believing.  But by the effectual call of God, He graciously overcomes that inability.

The truth about one of the biggest myths believed even in the Church

CHAPTER 9: Of Free Will
Parts One and Two

God has given human beings the natural liberty and power of acting upon choice.  In their state of innocence (before sin and the fall), the first humans had freedom and power to will and to do what was pleasing to God.  But they also had the freedom and power to do what displeased God.

When they chose to do what was displeasing to God (disobey and sin)
(Genesis 3), they, and all their descendants after them ever since, lost the ability to desire what is truly pleasing to God, and instead were left with an innate desire to please themselves above God (Romans 5:12-21).  The Bible refers to this state as being “dead in trespasses and sin” (Ephesians 2:4-5). 

In this state of spiritual deadness, no human being seeks God (Romans 3:10-18).  Those who are spiritually dead have neither the desire nor the ability to do anything to make themselves acceptable to God (John 6:44), who demands perfect holiness from those He created in His image (Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, Matthew 5:48, 1 Peter 1:16).  This is why we need God’s grace, or unmerited favor, to be forgiven of our sins, to receive a heart for God,  and to be reconciled to Him.  God gives this grace by regenerating, or giving new birth to His people.  As Jesus put it, “You must be born again” (John 3:3-8).

 (Part Two)

Being “spiritually dead,” human beings are incapable of not sinning.  Thankfully, that does not mean that we are as sinful as we could be.  It does mean, however, that we are (a) incapable of doing anything that cannot be improved upon, and (b) that we never do anything solely for the glory of God.

Beyond what people do or do not do, our greater problem is that of the will.  Sinful people act sinfully because we want to.  Our affections are not inclined toward perfect righteousness.  It is, therefore, our wills and our affections that are at the core of our sin problem.  We are slaves to sin because we are bound by our own prevailing sinful desires and affections.

We must choose to believe and repent; but no one who, dead in sin, ever will.  Why?  Because being dead in sin we have neither the will nor or the desire to believe in Christ, or to repent of sin. 

How then can one be saved?  We must choose to believe and repent; and God does neither for us.  But to the praise of His benevolence, without violating our wills, God sovereignly and most graciously changes His people’s wills and captures His people’s affections so that we believe and repent most willingly and even eagerly. 

One Mediator Two Natures

CHAPTER 8: Of Christ the Mediator
(Parts Seven & Eight)

The strength of our Mediator is incredibly great.  He not only atoned for the sins of and redeemed all those who would ever believe in Him after His work on the cross was finished, but the benefit of that same work was applied and communicated to the elect of all ages—including those who lived and died before His work on the cross.  All who were ever saved, are saved, or will be saved, are saved by the finished work of Jesus Christ and by no other means whatsoever.

How is this possible?  Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), and He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

No one at any time has been or will be saved except by faith in what Christ has done to redeem His elect.  The elect who lived before Christ trusted in what God would do for them—even though they had no knowledge of the details of how He would do it.  All of the elect who have lived, or will live after Christ, trust in what God has already done in Christ.  Because of where we live on the timeline, we have greater knowledge of Christ and of what He has accomplished on behalf of those He came to save, than those who lived and died before Jesus accomplished salvation for His people.

 (Part Eight)

To be our Mediator Jesus had to be fully God and fully man.  From eternity past He was fully God and not man, but when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, while not becoming any less than fully God, He also became fully man.  He continues to be fully God and fully man ever since, and He will continue as fully God and fully man forever.

Both natures (divine and human) are resident in one Person.  Sometimes Jesus’ humanity is in clearer view in the scriptures (John 1:14; Luke 23 46).  At other times His deity is more in view (John 1:1, 5:18; Colossians 2:9).  This is no problem because He is fully God and fully man.  That is why He is the perfect (only) Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5); the Prophet, Priest and King of the Church of God.

We need His prophetic office, since without His Word, we remain in darkness (John 6:67-68; Luke 4:24).  We need His priestly office because if He had not offered Himself as the sinless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of those He came to save, we would remain enemies of God, deserving only of His wrath.  He continues as our Priest by constantly interceding for us (Hebrews 7:25).  We need His kingly office to convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us to His heavenly kingdom (John 12:15, 18:37; 1 Timothy 6:15).

The Mediator solves our TWO big problems

CHAPTER 8: Of Christ the Mediator
(Parts Five & Six)

Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was, and is, both God and man; having both natures in One Person.  He was like no other man who ever lived (Matthew 8:27).  Besides having a divine nature, He was filled with the Holy Spirit as no other man ever was or will be: “holy, harmless, undefiled” (Hebrews 7:26), and “full of grace and truth” (John 1:17).  When it was time to execute the office of Mediator, He did so willingly, not of His own accord alone, but in obedience to the will of His Father (John 5:19).

As the Mediator, He fulfilled the Law for those He represents (Matthew 5:17).  He underwent the punishment due those He came to save (Romans 4:25, Matthew 1:21).  Though He “knew no sin,” He was “made sin” and was a “accursed” for His elect (2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:13).  He endured not only the hatred of the Jewish religious elite, but also the wrath of Rome as He was beaten, mocked, and scorned.  Yet these were nothing compared to His death on the cross where He received the unbridled wrath of His Father for the sin and guilt of His people.

While dead for three days, He experienced no corruption and on the third day He arose from the dead with the same body in which He suffered (John 2:19-21), with which He also ascended into Heaven (Luke 24:51, Acts 1:9-11), where he continues as Mediator, ever interceding for His own (Hebrews 7:25).

 (Part Six)

We were all born with two BIG problems.  The first is that our sin condemns us (Romans 3:23, 6:23).  The second is that even if our sins were forgiven, we lack righteousness (Romans 3:10).  Jesus, our perfect Mediator, has addressed and overcome both of those problems.  How?

First, by His active obedience to do the Father’s will throughout His sinless life, Jesus earned the reward that He would give to the righteous, if there were any righteous—which there are not.  Second, by His passive obedience Jesus subjected Himself to death on the cross, by which He purchased complete forgiveness for all sins of those He came to save. 

By these two acts of obedience, our Mediator made His people “not guilty” and altogether “righteous” in the eyes of God.  God’s justice regarding our sins has been satisfied, and His requirement of righteousness has been met—not by us, but by Jesus on our behalf.

Our Mediator will one day return to earth as Judge of all people.  Those who have sinned (all men) and who have rejected God’s one and only Mediator, will be assigned their place in the eternal lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).  Those who have sinned (all men) but who have received God’s one and only Mediator as Savior and Lord, will be gathered by Christ and will be delivered safely into Heaven for eternity as both “not guilty,” and as “righteous as Christ is righteous.”

Jesus, who is God, is the only Mediator. To have any others is blasphemy.

Chapter 8: Of Christ the Mediator (Parts Three & Four)

It pleased God from all eternity past to ordain Jesus, the eternally Begotten Son of God, to be the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).  As Mediator, Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King. 

As the Prophet, He represents God to man, not only declaring God’s Word (Mark 1:14, 38), but by being the Incarnate Word of God (John 1:1). 

As our Great High Priest, He represents man to God, not only offering a sacrifice for man’s sin, but offering Himself as the once-for-all, never-to-be-repeated Sacrifice for man’s sin (Hebrews 7:27, 10:11-12).  He continues as our Great High Priest, ever living to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). 

As our King, He rules over all things (Ephesians 1:22, Revelation 19:16).

Christ is the Head of His Body, the Church (Colossians 1:18).  He is the Savior of His Church (Ephesians 5:23).  He is the Heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2).  He is the Judge of all the world (John 5:22; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

(Part Four)

The Son of God is the second Person in the Holy Trinity.  He is eternal God, equal in every way with the Father and the Holy Spirit—including in His substance, essence, and being.  He is the physical expression of the brightness of the Father's glory (Hebrews 1:3).  Everything that is made was made through Christ (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16).  He also sustains and governs all He has created (Colossians 1:16).

In the fullness of time, Christ assumed a human nature (Philippians  2:7), was conceived by a supernatural act of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:20) and born of the virgin, Mary (Matthew 1:23; Luke 2:4-7).  While never being any less God, He became a man in every way except that He was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). 

From that time forward and on into eternity, Christ has two natures, divine and human, that are inseparably joined in one Person.  His two natures are distinct, yet never separated, never confused, or co-mingled as one nature.  This God Man is the one and only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).

There is only one fit to be our Mediator

CHAPTER 8: Of Christ the Mediator 
(Parts One & Two)

God’s plan to save sinners, which is actually about His grace more than it is about our salvation, begins with His decision from all eternity past that the eternally begotten Son of God be the Savior of His people (Matthew 1:21).  He alone is the perfect Mediator between God who is holy and man who is sinful (1 Timothy 2:5).

He is the perfect Prophet who represents God to man and gives man God’s Word (Matthew 7:28-29, John 4:19).  He is the perfect Priest who represents man to God, interceding on man’s behalf (Hebrews 4:14-15, 7:25-26).  He is the perfect King who rules over all with perfect justice and who teaches by His example that the way to rule is to serve (John 12:14-15, 1 Timothy 6:13-15, Revelation 19:16).  He is the perfect Head over the company of those He saves, which we call the Church (Ephesians 1:22, Colossians 1:18).

He is the Heir of all things—all things are His because He is God (Hebrews 1:2). 
He is the perfect Judge of all the world because as God, He knows all things and is righteous in all His ways (Matthew 25:31-46).  The Father has given to Him from all eternity an elect people who He has graciously redeemed from sin (John 18:9), called to Himself, justified (declared righteous because of what He has done for them), is sanctifying (making holy), and will glorify (one day removing them from all sin and delivering them safely into the presence of God in Heaven for eternity.)

(Part Two)

The Confession rightly points out that the Bible teaches that Jesus, the Son of God, is God (John1:1).  He is the second Person of the Trinity.  (We dealt more specifically with the Trinity when we covered Chapter 2 of the Confession.)  What is pertinent in this chapter is that Jesus, the Son of God, is God.  He is one in essence and being with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit.  The Son is the co-Creator of all things; He sustains and governs all things that He has created.

At a specific point in time, the Son became a Man in every way (except without sin).  In so doing He never ceased, even for an instant, to be less than God in every way.  He is the only Person ever to have both a human and divine nature.  His two distinct natures are inseparably joined together in one Person and cannot be co-mingled into one hybrid nature, or separated into two persons.  While His deity is from eternity past, His humanity began when He was conceived in the womb of the virgin, Mary.  He is the God-Man forever into eternity future.  As the God-Man, Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). 

Our Mediator lived for us (sinlessly), died for us (vicariously), rose for us (victoriously), intercedes for us (ceaselessly), and will return again for us (triumphantly).