Posts Tagged ‘Reformed Theology’
Can Salvation Be Lost?
Is it true that once saved you can still lose your salvation and go to hell? Some people will say that this true, and it depends on the one given salvation.
However, numerous Scripture verses teach otherwise, and we are going to look at just a few of them; especially ones that Jesus stated. Read them for yourself and then decide if Jesus is right or if man’s religion is right. Then we will finish with a quote by Charles H. Spurgeon from his book, “All of Grace.”
All of the following verses are taken from the Gospel of John.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 1:12, 13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
We see in these verses that they lay out God’s plan for salvation and why once someone is forgiven for their sins, because of the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf, they can never die spiritually and be sent to hell.
Jesus tells us that one must be born again not only to be able to see Heaven but also to enter into Heaven. This act of being born again, as seen in John 1:13 is not done by being born into a Christian family (not of blood), nor of being born by our good works (of the will of the flesh) or of our own free will (of the will of man), but of God.
The act of being “born again”, which provides our salvation, is “All” of God and man adds nothing to his salvation.
As for whom will receive this gift of salvation it is explained quite clearly by Jesus in saying that “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:” Not only does God draws whom He wills but Jesus also said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me”.
In addition, all whom the Father draws to Jesus not only will come and be saved but, be kept saved as Jesus says, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”
As we have seen, God saves whom He wills, draws whom He wills to Jesus, makes them alive in their spirit and guarantees their salvation will never be lost and will keep them unto the end. Not because of anything that man has done or deserves, but because of what Jesus has done for them on their behalf.
The great British Preacher, C. H. Spurgeon, says this about salvation in his book, “All of Grace”…
“If you will have Jesus, He has you already, If you believe on Him, I tell you that you cannot go to hell, for that would make the sacrifice of Christ of none effect. It cannot be that a sacrifice would be accepted and yet the soul should die for whom that sacrifice has been received. If the believing soul could be condemned, then why a sacrifice? If Jesus died in my stead, why should I die also? Every believer can claim that the sacrifice was actually made for him. The Lord would not receive this offering on our behalf and then condemn us to die.”
Many other scripture verses will back up this statement that once a person is given salvation by Jesus Himself he is saved for all eternity. The true “born again” disciple of Jesus will never lose their salvation.
Salvation is provided by God, given by God as He wills, and saves for all eternity everyone for whom Jesus was sacrificed. Salvation, true God given salvation, can never be lost.
I pray that God will open your heart and your spiritual eyes to see this marvelous promise of God and receive it as your own, and have true peace in the security of your salvation. For it truly is all of God.
Does Jesus Love Everybody?
If someone were to ask you, “Does Jesus love everybody?” Most likely, you would say, “Yes.” Then if I were to ask you, “On what verse do you base that?” I know that you would say, “On John 3: 16.”
Now we have gone over this verse in other posts to show that this verse is not talking about people everywhere specifically, but in people everywhere in general. In addition, the sentence in this verse that qualifies about whom Jesus was talking is the one that says, “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Salvation is not just for the Jews but for Gentiles believers also.
You might be surprised to know there are no verses in the Bible that says Jesus loves everyone. However, many verses specifically say whom Jesus does love. We are going to look at a few of these verses, and I will let you read them, study them, and let the Holy Spirit speak to you, and pray that He will open your heart to understand about what they are saying.
Here is the first verse for you to read:
John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Now here is the second of the verses that you should read and study, just like the first verse:
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? (Note: Jesus is only showing Himself to those whom He loves.)
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
These are the last of the scripture verses that you should look at, study and pray for insight into what they are saying:
John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; (Note: Jesus prays for future believers.)
John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
In these few Scripture verses, you can see that Jesus loves those who will be believers, believers chosen by the Father for salvation. Nothing can be clearer than what you have just read. Even in all of the Letters written by Paul, John, and Peter etc. that when they speak of God loving them they are talking about they who have become believers, true disciples of Jesus.
Please read these Scripture verses over several times and let them sink into your heart, and I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you understanding in these verses to God’s glory and for your own good; that you may know the truth about the love of Jesus.
A Most Misunderstood Verse
There are many verses in the Scriptures that a number of well-meaning Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers will take completely out of context when preaching on them. It seems they do this to support their version of theology that they were taught in studying for the ministry.
The one verse we are looking at today is a good example. This verse needs to be read completely in context to understand fully what it is saying.
Here is that verse… John 1:12
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name
At first glance, this looks like it means that anyone who believes on the name of Jesus and receives Him into their life then Jesus will give them the power to become sons of God. Well, how can this be when we are all spiritually dead in our sins and are unable to respond to God in this manor?
Here is the answer. When John 1:12 is read in context of verses 11 and 13, we can easily see that it means something completely different.
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
The first thing we see is that when Jesus came to His own people they did not believe on Him nor did anyone receive Him. However, we know there were many who did believe on Him and receive Him into their life. So, what changed some people who did not at first receive Him?
Easy, the reason they believed on Him and received Him is this. Jesus “first” had to give them the power to become sons of God.
Verse 13 supports this and explains it perfectly.
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
We read here that they were “first” born again “before” believing and receiving Jesus. Being born into a believing family did not give them the right, doing good works did not give them the right, nor choosing of their own will to be born again gave them the right. The only thing that gives anyone the right to become sons of God is by God’s own will, and His alone.
When the Spirit of God makes one alive, they have been given the right to become sons of God and once they are born again they then believe on Jesus and receive Him into their life and confess Him to be Lord. So, lets read all three verses together and you should then be able to see what is being said as God opens up your understanding to receive His Word.
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Here is what we see. Jesus came to His own but no one would believe on Him. However, Jesus did give the right to some to believe on Him and to receive Him.
The only reason the “many” believed on Him and received Him into their life was that they were first given the right to become the sons of God. In other words, they were first born again by the Spirit of God and not by anything that man did to deserve that right. Only God gives this right as He chooses.
This is what these verses are saying. Therefore, you can see that when most verses are read out of context they can be made to say one thing, but when read in the context of what was being said you would see that there is a completely different meaning.
Therefore, what should we all be doing? Trust only in the Holy Spirit to teach you as you read the bible instead of letting someone else read the bible and then tell you what they think; and that goes for what I am saying as well.
There is no better teacher than the Great Teacher Himself.
What Is The Primary Purpose Of Prayer?
Everyone prays at some time or another, but not all prayers receive answers or results in the way that the person who prayed wanted.
Let us get this out of the way before we go one-step further. Unless you are a Christian, a true disciple of Jesus, God does not hear your prayer and it will not receive an answer. The bible teaches that God does not hear the prayers of a sinner. That is a topic for another post.
Now, since that is out of the way we can proceed.
Most Christians, who repent of their sins and receive forgiveness, in one way or another, will always worry when they pray. Maybe it is about how they prayed, was it good enough. On the other hand, it could be they will worry that their prayer will not receive an answer or, if it is, the answer is not what they want.
Do you have peace when you pray? If not, why not? It is because you are not sure if the answer to your prayer will be what you are wanting it to be, even if you receive an answer at all.
The secret to having peace when you pray is simple. Read the following verses:
Eph_1:5 (KJV) according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph_1:9 (KJV) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
Eph_1:11 (KJV) according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
1Jn_5:14 (KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
God is in charge. There is nothing done outside His will. We have an imperfect will. God has a perfect will. Unless we realize that “God’s will” will always be done we will always pray for what we want expecting to get our own way, and be upset if we do not. However, in God’s perfect will, what He wants He will always accomplish.
We cannot change God’s will, never could and we will never be able to do so. Imagine an imperfect, sin infested human, telling God what He should do because it was you who asked Him.
You see, the secret to prayer is just telling God about why you are praying and what it is that you would like to see because of your prayer; there is nothing wrong with that, as long as we trust in Him no matter how He responds to your prayers, and accept His will.
God may not answer right away because it is not time to answer. He already knows what the proper time will be to respond. In addition, the answer may not be what you want, but it will be what God wants, and God only wants you to trust in Him for the response that He gives.
We must realize that God’s timing is always the right time. In addition, the answer that He gives is always the right answer. God always knows what is best as He always does according to His will.
When we finally realize that God always works all things according to His will is when we can start having peace in our prayers. God knows why we pray and what we would like, but our will is not always the best response. God wants us to trust in Him fully, completely and lovingly in His answer to our prayer.
No matter what we pray or what we would like for the answer to be, when we trust in the Lord for His response, no matter what it is, then we can have true peace in our prayers for we know that they will “always” be answered according to God’s will.
Just pray and then trust in the Lord for the right answer. For the primary purpose of prayer is just learning to know God’s will in all things and then trusting in Him for the answer that He gives.
Good People Do Not Go To Heaven…
If God were to ask, “Why should I allow you into Heaven?” I would imagine that each one of you would give many and varied answers. In the end, however, you would all be saying that it is because you have been a good person.
In saying that, how good is good enough? At what level of being good do you think God would allow you into heaven? What if God were to reply by saying that no one is good, what reason would you then give?
Mar_10:18 (KJV) And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.
Rom_3:12 (KJV) there is none that doeth good, no not one.
So, God says that no one is good. How then does He perceive all of the good things that we have done?
Isa_64:6 (KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
How can that be? What makes God see our good works as “filthy rags”?
Rom_3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities(sin) have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Psa 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
Psa 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity(sin).
When you know how God views you and your sins then you will be able to understand why God hates what you do in committing those sins. I know that is harsh to say and it is not what you hear in Christian circles these days even though God says so in His Word. All you will hear is that God loves you. However, there is a little catch.
1Co_2:14 (KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
In your sinful state no matter what anyone says, even in reading this, if God does not give you understanding into His Word so that you can receive and believe them, you will never act upon them. Worse you will not enter into the Kingdom of God. In other words, you will not go to Heaven no matter how good you think you are.
There is only one way, and through one person, that anyone will enter into Heaven.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
You see, in your sinful state you are dead to God. You do not want God nor do you feel that you need Him. Like Jesus said in this quote:
Luk_19:14 (KJV) But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
That is exactly how you feel about Jesus in your dead sinful state. You say it in words and in ways that you do not understand. That is why Jesus tells us that we must be born again. Being born again is God making us alive in the spirit so that we can see Him, hear Him and respond to Him in the way that not only is as He wants but also in a way that we will desire to come to Him as He wills.
When we come to God the Father, it is only by one person through which that can be done.
Joh_14:6 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
I hope that now you can see, or soon will be able to see, and understand why good people do not go to Heaven; because in your sinfulness you can never be good enough. The only way to Heaven is by being born again by the Spirit of God and in believing Jesus to be the only true Lord and Savior; the One to whom you must submit your whole being – mind, body and soul(self will).
Act_4:12 (KJV) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Good people do not go to Heaven. Only they who have been “born again” will God allow into His Kingdom. In His Word God has given you a simple and straightforward explanation of the only way, and through whom, you will be allowed into Heaven. The question you now face is this. Have you been “born again”?
Being Truly Set Free
On July 4, 1776, a country, consisting of thirteen states, began the task of becoming a free and sovereign Nation after declaring its independence. It happened because men wanted to be free and were willing to fight for that freedom. They did and the United States was born.
Ever since time began, man has wanted freedom and to get that freedom he was willing to do whatever it took to secure that freedom. Was there a time when man did not know there was a freedom that he needed; one to which his own self-righteousness made him blind? The answer is yes.
Since man sinned in the Garden of Eden, and fell from grace with God, he has needed to be set free from being a slave to his own sin and self-righteousness. In Romans, we read the following:
Rom 6:20 For when you were the slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.
Therein is the problem. As slaves to sin, we know it not, and since we do not know we need to be set free from this enslavement, we do not seek this freedom. We trust in our own self-righteousness not knowing that we have none of our own. That is where Jesus comes in.
In the Gospel of John Jesus tells us this:
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the slave of sin.”
Not only does He tell us our problem but He also gives us the answer as to how we are set free from being slaves to sin. Especially since we do not know, we are such slaves. Only Jesus can set us free.
Joh 8:36 Jesus says, “ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Freedom from sin comes not from our own will to be free. No, it comes from the desire and will of Jesus to set us free, and all those whom the Father draws to Him will be set free and saved from our own self-righteousness (sin’s slavery).
Only until Jesus sets us free we will ever know the truth of our sins enslavement.
Man loves his freedom, but this is one freedom, being a slave to sin, about which man knows nothing. Thank God, that Jesus knows and that in Him only, will we be set free.
The question that you now face is this. Have you been set free from being a slave to sin, from your own self-righteousness?
Whoever will confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead will have been set free by the Son of God, and they will know that they are free indeed.
Simplistic Christianity
What does it mean to become a Christian? Simply put, it means to become a disciple of Jesus. So, how does one become a Christian?
That is a good question. Let us see what the Bible says about becoming a Christian in a very simplistic way.
In the Gospel of Mark 1: 14, 15 we read the following quote by Jesus:
Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Here Jesus simply says, “You repent and believe the gospel.” The word repent means “to think differently, that is, reconsider morally to feel compunction.” We are to admit our sinfulness, have a desire to change morally, and to ask for forgiveness for having lived our lives as we want instead of what God wants; to want to live for God and not for ourselves.
The second thing that Jesus said was to believe the gospel. What is the gospel? In First Corinthians chapter one and beginning with the first verse, the Apostle Paul states very clearly what is the gospel:
1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Now we have the simple basics of how to become a Christian; repent and believe the gospel. You have seen what it means to repent and you now know what the gospel is in a very simplistic way. So, how does this all work together?
When God draws someone to Jesus, in doing so, He also gives them the power to repent and to believe the gospel, giving them the ability to do the following as we read in Romans 10: 8 – 10:
8. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9. That if thou you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So now, you know what it means to “repent and believe the gospel”. In doing so you will receive forgiveness for your sins, have everlasting life with Jesus in Heaven, and you will know what it is truly like to feel the love of God.
The alternative? Read this from the Gospel of John 3: 36:
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
When you compare the two choices, and you have “only two” from which to choose, Simplistic Christianity does not seem like a bad choice after all.
Not Planted By My Father
Mat 15:10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
My Dad was born on a farm in 1908 that lay in a wonderful valley next to a mountain in the hills of West Virginia. The farm was about a mile across the valley over a dusty and bumpy road from the little town of Lost City. Most of the folks, in and around Lost City, had a garden of their own in varying sizes depending on their ability and family size.
Being the middle brother of three, he learned early what farm life was all about. They grew their own food and had livestock for their meat, poultry and fish from the river that flowed through the valley. They learned how to hunt for game and wildlife for eating as well.
When he was old enough for school he had already learned the basics of farming; one of them being growing the crops, and when and how to bring in the harvest. This was very important as when the crops were brought in they were canned and stored away for winter food.
The most important thing was not to remove improperly the good crops so that nothing bad was included in the canning process. You see, as the crops that they had planted were sprouting and growing to full potential, other non-eatable plants, that they had not sown, would sprout and grown along with them.
If the plants that they had not planted were pulled to soon it may have been possible for them to pull up the good plants as well, which is not what was wanted; for the roots between the two may have been intertwined as they began to grow. So, to keep the good ones they would let the un-wanted plants that could not be pulled grow along with them.
At harvest time, as they were pulling up the good plants, my Dad along with the rest of the family, knew what they had planted and separated them from the bad plants, and took the bad plants and set them aside in a pile of their own for burning later on.
Only what the family planted would be kept for eating through the winter months, and they knew what these plants were for they had planted them. They knew their own plants and what the plants were that they did not plant. The crops that they did not plant they uprooted up and burned them; for these plants had not been sown by them.
In the same way God has planted a garden as well. He knows who are His whom He has planted and they whom He has not planted. Just as Jesus said in the verses quoted above.
– For another good explanation of how God plants and what he does at harvest time, read the Parable of the Weeds found in Mathew 13: 24-30.
How about you, which one are you – a good plant or bad? Here is how you can tell.
If you can do as these verses say, and say it from a changed heart, then as these verse claim you will have been found to be a good plant…
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
My prayer for you is that you can do as these verses say and are able to do so right now. Call upon Jesus and proclaim Him to be Lord, and find you to have been saved by Him all along.
God’s Valentine
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us,”
1 John 3: 1
Do you know this love? What a gift this is that God has given to His people. For the verse, quoted above, continues this way:
“that we should be called children of God!“
They who belong to God are His children. Would you not like to be a child of God?
When we were not seeking God, He was seeking us and He found us. When we could not come to Christ on our own, God drew us to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we were not willing to come to Jesus, the Father worked in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.
When our heart was cold and not able to believe the Word that we heard, God removed that cold dead heart and provided us with a new heart; a warm living heart that was able to receive the things of the Spirit of God, so that we would understand our sinfulness and our need for a Savior.
When we were dead in our sins and unable to respond to the call to “come forth”, God made us alive and broke the chains that bound us. He then set us free from being a slave to Satan and from being a slave to our sins so that we could “come forth” and cry out to Jesus to “save me or I shall perish.”
The work of salvation is all of God. He seeks us, we do not seek Him. He draws us when we do not want Him. He makes us alive when we are dead. He sets us free as we are chained. He gives us a new heart as we have a heart of stone. He makes us willing when our will is not free. He places within us the Word of life when we are devoid of ability. He receives us as we call out to Jesus to save us.
Truly it is a wonderful thing to know what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us. He has done so because we are His children. He has known us since the beginning of time. He keeps us safe until it is our time to join His family. He then calls us to come to Him when the time is right and He gives us the ability to respond according to His will.
We all love Valentine’s day as it is a day of love. We give our loved ones gifts from our heart to show our love for them. How much more does our Father love us? When we are saved and forgiven for our sins, when we know how the work of salvation is all of God, when we realize that we are called children of God, how much more can we praise our Father for His love for us than by saying:
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God!”
No greater Valentine can be received than the love which the Father has given to us so that we can be called the children of God. How about you? Can you make that claim? Only if you have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus and have believed on Him to be your Savior can you be called a child of God. There is no other Name given among men by which we can be saved. There is no other way that we can receive the gift of God’s love; God’s Valentine.
How Were You Saved?
Who gets the credit for your salvation? When you answer that question then you will know the answer to “How Were You Saved?”
__________________
We know that no one can come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father, and that it is by His grace that we are saved. However, we argue over how man receives this grace.
One man says that even though God, by His grace, draws us to Jesus, we must still choose, by our own “free” will, to accept or reject Jesus as our Savior.
Another man says that God saves us by making us willing to receive Jesus, and that we do not have the power nor ability to make this decision for ourselves; that is, of our own “free” will.
The first man says that man is to determine whether or not he is to be saved. Thus he can say, “I know that it was by God’s grace that I was saved but, I had to choose whether or not I wanted to be saved. After all, I could have rejected Jesus, and I would have been condemned if I had done so, but I chose to trust Jesus instead. God didn’t save me until I accepted Jesus as my Savior. Besides, God won’t make me do anything against my will. He won’t do anything until I give in.”
Now the second man says that he was saved because it was by God’s will and not his that he was saved. He says, “When I was dead in my sins I did not see my need for a Savior. I did not see myself as a sinner, so there was no need for me to be willing to be saved. However, God gave me ears to hear His word, and He took away my heart of stone and gave me a new heart, a soft heart, where His word would take deep root and grow into understanding so that I would believe in Jesus.
Then He placed within me a new spirit, His Spirit, to free me from bondage to Satan and to make me alive so that I could respond to His calling. When these things happened I saw myself as the detestable sinner I was, and I was filled with a great sorrow. I knew I was destined for Hell.
Finally, I understood why Jesus died for me, to set me from sin. He saved me from God’s wrath, and that if it had not been for God’s divine influence in me, to show me all these things, I would never, of my own “free” will, have believed in Jesus. Whereas, I had been unwilling, God came in and made me willing. I had no choice because where I once was a slave to Satan, and unwilling to be saved, I was now a child of God and willing only to obey Him. It was by God’s will that I was born again, not mine.
Now, who gets the credit for your salvation?
In the case of the first man, man gets the glory because, in effect, he saved himself. His salvation came to him because of “his” actions. This is salvation by grace “plus works”, man’s works, because of his actions, for he (man) can say that he contributed to his salvation.
In the second man, God gets the glory for man was saved because of what “God” did. It is God who “wills” for man. It is by the faith that is given to him that he believes. It is God who gives an understanding to man. It is God who gives faith to man. Salvation in man is all of God. Man does not tell God what man will do.
So, who gets the credit for you salvation? When you answer that question truthfully, then you will know how you were saved. I pray that it was by God’s will and not yours…
For further study:
John 6:37, 39, 40, 44, 45, 65… Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23… Mark 4:3-9, 11-12, 13-20… Luke 8:5-8, 10-15… Jeremiah 31:31-34… Ezekiel 36:21-28, 31, 32…
Riff's Christian Journal 