For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. [1 Corinthians 13:12]

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. [Matthew 5:8]

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. [1 John 3:2]

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. [2 Corinthians 3:18]

The above verses seem to stress the inescapable connection between knowledge of God, the culmination of which is seeing Him face to face, and our sanctification with its ultimate manifestation: glorification.

The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. [Numbers 6:24-26]

For a Hebrew, the ultimate state of blessedness comes from being able to stand so near to God as to see His face. The hope of Israel—the final and highest benediction—was the hope of seeing God face to face. For the Christian, our ultimate state of glory is expressed in terms of the beatific vision, the vision of God face to face.

In the enjoyment of the beatific vision the soul finally reaches the goal of its supreme quest. At last we enter into that haven where we find our peace and rest. The end of restlessness is reached; the warfare between flesh and spirit ends. Peace that transcends anything in this world fills the heart. We reach the heights of excellency and sweetness only dreamed of in this mortal flesh. We shall see him as he is. No veil, no shield will hide his face. The immediate and direct vision will flood the soul from the wellspring on high. The highest joy, the greatest pleasure, the purest delight will be ours without mixture and without end.

One taste of this felicity will erase all painful memories and heal each dreadful wound incurred in this vale of tears. No scar will remain. The Pilgrim’s progress will be complete. The body of death, the burden of sin, will vaporize the moment we behold his face.  R.C. Sproul

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. [Romans 12: 1-2]

Thus, I conclude, the more we renew our minds of the mercies of God: Christ’s person and atoning work on the cross, the more we are motivated to offer ourselves sacrificially (presenting our bodies as holy: sanctification). The better we know Jesus, the more we will be like Him. So I ask, “What is the most basic principle of Scripture?”

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. [John 5:39-40]

A focus on knowing Christ.

So this is what God put on my heart recently: to know what child lay in the manger that night. To know who Jesus is. And not in some dumb way like some preach “You need to open up the doors of your heart and let Jesus in” as they misquote Revelation. But that in order to understand anything that goes on in my life I need to trust Him, draw close to Him, learn who He is. So as I read through Jude’s letter last week here’s what hit me:

We need to understand this: Jesus is not a sweetheart. Nor is He a senile Santa Claus, a magical sky fairy, just a really good man, a limp-wristed hippie or worst of all: your buddy. Jesus is God. Jesus is the God we are told to fear throughout the Old Testament. What have we done? We’ve taken this man and castrated Him.

“Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that He, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” [Jude 5-7]

Who did this? “God.” No, but who did this? Who, after rescuing a nation from slavery, swore that the unfaithful would be left to die in the wilderness? Who cast angels, beings much higher than ourselves, into the lowest realms to await damnation without hope? Who slew men, women and children by the thousands when He poured holy fire out upon their shameless cities? “Well that’s the Old Testament God, God the Father, Yahweh. But you see then Jesus came and now God’s chilled out a bit.”

Let’s read what Jude really wrote: “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus. . . ” No! Are we embarrassed of God? Is that why we obscurely label the God portrayed by the Old Testament? Jesus did this! Jesus, after saving the Hebrews from the hand of pharaoh, abandoned those who constantly, continually disobeyed. Jesus bound those spiritual beings who sought to overthrow His rule and will condemn them to an eternity under the wrath of God. It was Jesus who rained fire and sulfur from the heavens to consume Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, JESUS. He is the destroyer of nations, the One who will watch over the torment of all those who deny Him for all eternity.  Merry Christmas.

But here’s what’s unthinkable: then this Jesus decided to reconcile a people to Himself. This Jesus, all powerful God, Creator of heaven and earth, whom fiery six-winged angels whose voices shake the heavens and fill it with smoke fear to even glance at, the slightest hint of whose glory would break you, the One who was praised from all eternity in perfect sinless bliss “Holy, Holy, Holy”, surrounded by all the riches of heaven; this Jesus became a man, adding humanity to His divinity, giving up every right He had. This Jesus, God, was born with filthy animals in a cave to a ~14 year old girl, a whore in society’s eyes. His step-father was a dirt poor carpenter with nothing to offer. This Jesus, disowned from his family, wandered the earth with no source of food or shelter for 3 years, during which He was persecuted day and night by religious professionals who claimed to know more of God than He did. This Jesus was betrayed by one of the twelve men closest to Him, He was falsely accused and convicted. He who was surrounded by perfect sinless angels singing incessantly “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE WHOLE EARTH IS FULL OF HIS GLORY” was then surrounded by worthless sinful humans, each one He created specially with His own hands, shouting “CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY HIM!” And He remained perfect, sinless, throughout it all. Then His Father, His only source of strength through this, whom He was faithful to every second of His life, deserted Him. As Jesus hung on that cross, His Father, who He was in perfect relationship with since forever as one perfect God, would not even look at Him in sheer disgust. Because in that moment He became our sins, that we might be healed.

Some people say that in any second He could have commanded thousands upon thousands of angels to rescue Him, even that they could destroy the earth in fire to protect Him. That would be unnecessary. In actuality, during any point of this suffering He could have undone the chains restraining His majesty, and the sheer weight of His glory would have crushed the created universe. But it was in perfect joy that Jesus endured the cross and all its shame. He rose three days later, destroying death for those who would believe. Glorified, He reigns and intercedes for us.

This is the God who is, the Jesus born of a virgin.

What child is this, who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.

Hallelujah, God is with us. God became a man.

The above is the amalgamation of a very long conversation I had with a good friend. The questions are in the order I received them as well as I can remember. Without a doubt I have forgotten some, but if nothing else the gist of the conversation should be grasped without difficulty.

Before I attempt to answer any of these questions (and I will not succeed in this work alone), I will challenge anyone who is reading this. If the presence of evil in the world has convinced that there could be no God, examine yourself. We, as human beings, have the awful inclination to believe that our way is always the best. Let us not accuse the LORD. (Job 40:2, 8-9) Verily, we are the fallible creatures. May I suggest, and support will follow as always, that we are incapable of understanding the mind of God. Already you begin to assume a backdoor ruse, ‘he’s copping out’; silence your doubts for a second and pay attention because I will not make excuses for my God. On one level, do you really think that you can comprehend the thoughts of an infinite and almighty God? You struggled through high school physics, yet you can stand on par intellectually with the One who determined the measurements of the earth? You pretentious fool, have you an answer for any question in Job 38-41? So in dealing with these issues, namely, the origination and sustentation of sin in the presence of a God thrice holy, I entreat you brothers, humble yourselves.

Now, I am guilty of charging God with far more than my friend has. But understand this if nothing else: every time, just as I stop questioning Him [Philippians 2:14] and start trusting His will above mine, I receive not merely an answer but the peace of God shatters my anxiety and guards my heart still. It surpasses all understanding. In my life, the more I have come to know the LORD and speak with Him about His will for me, the more I recognize that His purposes are perfect. All I go through leads me to Him. My Father reassures me, teaches me more about Himself, brings me closer to Jesus when I humble myself before Him. (Psalm 51:17) It starts like this: ‘God I know I have done wrong and I have been trying to live my own way. I haven’t trusted Your will for me. Please forgive me.’ That’s repentance. And then you realize something. That Jesus is God, comes into history, lives the life I cannot live, the life without sin, died the death I deserved, the death for sin, is risen on the third day to give the grace of salvation that we could not afford. The result being: Jesus takes our sin and gives us His righteousness; that we can stand before God for eternity, without shame. That’s belief. The two things that matter most to God: a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Repentance and belief. We all have questions, believe me. But brothers, let us not abuse our privilege of coming to the Father with grumbling hearts. Take faith. God invites us all to “taste and see that He is good” [Psalm 34:8].

The root of all questioning (note the distinction between having questions) is pride. The a priori rejecting of God’s sovereign plans for ours. (Isaiah 14:12-14) Such is the lie humanity bought since the beginning of time, that if we ran things, the world would be a better place. Realize this: we do run things. When Satan is tempting Jesus in the desert, he reveals this: (Luke 4:6) God’s judgment is seen even now by the removal of divine restraints on man’s actions. (Romans 1:22-32) The end result is frightening. (Proverbs 1:24-31) That God laughs at the destruction of the wicked. Is He starting to look a bit less like a senile Santa Claus who winks at sin? I’ll end with the most terrifying words in all of Scripture. (Hosea 4:17) Even in the New Testament, when God has ‘mellowed out a bit’ after His high school bullying days: (Matthew 15:14) There will be a time when God has completely removed His grace from the world. In the absence of that mercy, Christ cries out: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” So no, we would not fix everything if we had the power. Look at those in our world, in our government, in our workplace, in our school, who have been given even a bit of power. And you say we would do what with God’s power? But I digress.

What of this lie? “Such is the lie humanity bought since the beginning of time, that if we ran things, the world would be a better place.” On the beginning, the same friend speaks starkly: “I kind of think that Adam and Eve were the dumbest people ever to exist. Everything was perfect and they could do anything but eat the apple. God told them they would die if they did. What a bunch of f***ing ***holes. I think anyone else would’ve never touched the apple. Why are we paying for their mistake?”

Here’s the thing: we taste of the fruit every time we sin. We say “I know what I’m doing, my way is better than Yours’, God. My knowledge of good and evil is more established than Yours.” The fruit was not an apple. In Latin the words ‘apple’ and ‘bad’ are both mal. So in poor translations the ‘bad’ fruit became ‘apple’. Then what was the fruit? (Genesis 3:4-6) It was desired by Adam and Eve because even at that time man did not trust that God was in control. The temptation was always to place oneself above the Most High. Pride. Satan’s infectious sin.

Now to the matter at hand. Consider the ancient rendition of the questioning posed above: the Epicurean Paradox (300 B.C.) as translated by David Hume in the Dialogues concerning Natural Religion:

If God is willing to prevent evil, but is not able to
Then He is not omnipotent.

If He is able, but not willing
Then He is malevolent.

If He is both able and willing
Then whence cometh evil?

If He is neither able nor willing
Then why call Him God?

What unbridled audacity is this? But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Such a facetious tone is deserving of no less than a counter by the highest degree of mordant rhetoric. Yet, I feel the questions posed by my friend are of a slightly different nature and I’ll withhold.

The crux of the issue: “If He is both able and willing, then whence cometh evil.” Or “If God exists, why is there suffering?” (Romans 6:23a) Death, suffering, evil are all results of sin (or lawlessness). James embellishes on Paul’s dissertation. (James 1:14-15) God is not suffering’s origin, however, our turning from Him is. Hold this in mind; suffering was not intended for earth’s original state. However, this begs the question: even if God did not initiate evil, why does He not engage it? (Romans 6:23b) The problem is our salary. We sin, we owe. Our wage, our income; we pay through death. God’s riposte is grace, His free gift of eternal life. Notice the disparity here: we rack up this debt of sin, the result of which is death, suffering, a fallen world, Hell. But God, not us, paid the price, taking our sin upon Himself, He died the death we deserve: the death for sin and now He offers this free gift: a relationship with Him for all eternity where there will be no more tears, no death, no evil, no suffering.

Mark Driscoll stresses the absurdity of Romans 6:23 this way:

You have been told that God is a loving, gracious, merciful, kind, compassionate, wonderful, and good sky fairy who runs a day care in the sky and has a bucket of suckers for everyone because we’re all good people. That is a lie. . . . God looks down and says “I hate you, you are my enemy, and I will crush you,” and we say that is deserved, right and just, and then God says “Because of Jesus I will love you and forgive you.” This is a miracle.

There is evil: Jesus comes. (Philippians 2:6-8) The problem with the Epicurean Paradox is that it assumes God would have to abolish evil instantaneously. “If God is able and willing, why doesn’t He stop evil?” But do you not recognize, you foolish person, He already did.

By this time in the conversation I had answered everything sufficiently enough to come to the point where we know why there is evil and we know what God did with it. The final question went unanswered, ending our conversation: “Why did God have come down as a man to destroy evil; why doesn’t He snap his fingers and fix everything in an instant?”

As a caveat, not a copout: all too often God withholds why He does things. On one level we probably wouldn’t be able to understand anyway. (Isaiah 55:8-9) On another, if we were shown everything, what would faith mean? (Romans 8:24-25)

There are three paths I know of in answering the question “Why did the destruction of evil have to be through Jesus’ death?”: God’s justice, God’s self-disclosure and God’s sovereignty.

God’s Justice: First of all, because God is just. Remember that the wages of sin is death; someone needed to die. To satisfy His justice: Hell exists; it’s hot and forever and full of people already. And then they protest: “I just don’t think that I’m that evil.” But you see, the problem isn’t that you don’t know how evil you are, it’s that you don’t know how good God is. So good that He demands retribution for even the ‘slightest’ offense. We don’t have a problem with rapists in Hell because we’re good citizens. Likewise, God doesn’t have a problem with us in Hell because He’s a good God.

Not to delve too deeply into total depravity, but everything you (when I say you, I mean collectively, the human race, apart from Jesus) have ever done has been done with hostility towards God. You are His enemy. Tremble. All your righteousness, all your good deeds, in the eyes of God are as literally: filthy rags used to wipe menstrual fluids away. That image burned into your mind yet? That is how unapproachable God is. This level that God is on is called holiness. He’s holy³, the trisagion. You will understand on the day when you see God face to face and the sheer terror of His glory, the shekinah, seems to crush your soul. He does not even say a word; believe me. I say this not out of boastful pride, but to snatch some of you out of the fire: not one is able to stand under the presence of God.  (Hebrews 12:18-21)

Death is the penalty for all sin. Someone had to pay the price. It’s either you or Jesus. Either you pay eternally in Hell or you repent; and believe that Jesus Christ died for sin and was raised on the third day. Jesus became a man, suffered under the Father’s wrath, to save some. And God’s justice was able to be satisfied. We could not pay the price, but are saved because He hung on that cross and said: “It is finished.” A Greek term referring to business transactions meaning: “Paid in full.”

God’s Self-Disclosure: Here’s another way to look at it: The purpose of creation is God’s glory. Not ours. (Romans 9:22-23) God’s glory is shown through the condemnation of the wicked and the salvation of the just. But none are just (remember in Isaiah: your ‘filthy rags’). And we hate that. So in foolish pride we compare ourselves to others worse than us and with a popish self-righteousness consecrate ourselves as just. Compare instead yourself to Jesus and you will realize . . . (Romans 3:23) “Well of course we aren’t perfect, silly, we’re human!” So was Jesus. You see here’s the thing, we were made perfect and fell short of it. We missed the mark. God set the bar and we missed. But here’s the really exciting thing: Jesus didn’t. And so . . . (Romans 3:24) Sound familiar? “We sinned; we received grace as a gift through Jesus; we are justified (made just) and have eternal life.” This is Romans 6:23 all over again. This is ‘good news’ and if you’ve taken a ‘Bible as Lit.’ class, here’s what they didn’t tell you: everything in the Bible points to Jesus. The Word of God, believe it or not, is about . . . God! And God has a name . . . Jesus! Are we all following, or did some of us go to public school? So the Word of God is about . . . Jesus! Awesome. So these verses in Romans 3 stress the gospel: that we have sinned and need Jesus to have peace with God. (Romans 3:25a) So God sent Jesus as a propitiation (big word for appeasement or satisfaction) by His death. Jesus came, and satisfied God’s justice by His death for sin. You should recognize this from the ‘God’s Justice’ section. And now we receive this free gift by . . . works! We have to work really hard for God to love us, so make sure you go to church every Sunday and learn how to speak in KJV (thou-belovedism) and start tithing out of your spice rack and only wear three-piece suits and don’t do anything fun because that’s what God wants to see. No—what does Paul say? “To be received by faith.” We receive God’s gift by faith, we believe in Jesus and if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive them and make us righteous. No one earns salvation, it’s a free gift.

Anyway, to continue: (Romans 3:25, Romans 3:26) Here is the point. God became man, suffered and died to show Himself to us. “This was to show God’s righteousness”, what was to show God’s righteousness? Jesus’ death. Jesus’ cruel and undeserving torture. To show how far God would go for us. We’re worthless compared to Him. I know we don’t like this, but think about it: He’s perfect. He created the heavens. Beings more spectacular than we could ever imagine worship Him day and night; when these ‘burning ones’ speak, the very foundation of heaven shakes and is filled with the smoke which pours from their mouths; yet these do not dare to even glance upon the Lord’s face. And that same Lord chose to become a man?—to lower Himself in to His own creation? And be tempted in every way by His own angels? To be mocked by us?—tortured by us? For us? These are things too wonderful to speak of. That we might know Him? Have peace with Him in His kingdom forever? We have always hated God and opposed Him in everything we do. And He died this death for us? Whatever you say, it cannot be: “God hasn’t done enough for me.” (I encourage you all to read Nick’s post: God is Love?)

God’s Sovereignty: This is by far the hardest point to swallow, even among people who love Jesus. The purpose of this post is not an exegetical defense of Calvinism, so do not presume such. Instead, as Spurgeon once said, I will let the lion defend Himself: (Romans 9:11-23) God has His own ways and I refuse to apologize for them. He has certainly done enough for all of us. “Why am I the wrong one? Why didn’t God choose me?” I do not know. What I do know is that Jesus’ death is enough to cover your sins if you would repent and believe in Him. And if you do, then you were chosen. The Westminister Shorter Catechism puts it this way:

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, [a] and to enjoy him forever. [b]
[a]. Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 6:20; I Cor. 10:31; Rev. 4:11
[b]. Ps. 16:5-11; Ps. 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil. 4:4; Rev. 21:3-4

Again, God will be glorified through the condemnation of the wicked and the salvation of the just. Praise God.

Those are the three ways I would engage this conversation. I’ll end with this: there was no other way. (Matthew 26:39) “If it be possible.” One might be inclined to assume that given the perfect nature of Jesus Christ, He was rightly deserving of such a request. Do you expect if God could have granted that prayer, if there were to be another way, He wouldn’t? Verily, I submit to you, there was none. And take into account that (Luke 18:27)

Whatever suffering you have experienced, whatever evil has been done against you, I assure you brother, Jesus has had more. Our God is not unfamiliar to suffering. Remember Paul’s words in Philippians on His humility. Jesus was a man of sorrows. (Isaiah 53:2-12) He underwent every temptation common to man. (Hebrews 4:15) Even before the cross he endured a breed of suffering we will never experience on this earth. (Luke 22:43-44)

Did you ever think that God, who has the appointments of the heavens laid out before Him, might have a purpose in all of this? All too often we imagine the world as a warzone, with the forces of evil doing battle to undermine the work of God. We imagine Satan foiling the plans of God, who looks down from heaven in shock at what’s happening and scrambles to reverse it. (Job 1:6-12) It blew my mind when I first heard this. God allows temptations, trials and suffering, but uses them to bring us closer to Him. The LORD is sovereign. He is in control and knows what we can handle. This is not meant to be a practical guide to suffering. Still, I want everyone to know, anyone who has been hurt, betrayed, mistreated, abused, shamed, feeling lost, confused, in constant pain; we have a God who loves. He loves so much He sent His only Son to die for us. And that it doesn’t end there, but that He ministers to the distressed. He is near to the brokenhearted. The apostle Paul was someone accustomed to suffering. Read his testimony. (2 Corinthians 11:23-28) Now look carefully at what Paul has to say about the God who allowed it all: (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) ‘Blessed be God, the Father of mercies, God of all comfort.’ Paul recognized something. That through the evil in this world God is working miracles.

I recently heard a testimony from a young woman at one of my Bible studies. She never knew her father, was abandoned by her mother as a child, shipped constantly between orphanages. Hurt and lonely, rightfully feeling discarded, neglected, lost, with no one to comfort her. You would weep to hear what she has suffered, even one so young. And then she met Jesus. You’ll never meet a more joyful girl. She forgave her mother. The one who cast her aside, as worthless. After all those years of anguish and misery, she restored their relationship. Don’t you see what Jesus is doing? Can you even comprehend that level of love? I know I said a lot of hard things in this post, but I’m begging you, seek after that man. This isn’t some theo-philosophical game. Jesus saves. Period. Love is Here. It’s an awesome song we’ve been singing at my church a lot lately.  Listen to the whole thing, but the bridge always hits me:

And to the bruised and fallen,
Captives bound and broken hearted,
He is the Lord,
He is the Lord.

By His stripes He’s paid our ransom,
From His wounds we drink salvation.
He is the Lord,
He is the Lord.

In writing to a company of the saints an Apostle was inspired to declare, “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform (or “finish”) it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). That is what distinguishes the regenerate children of God from empty professors, from those who while having a “name to live” are really spiritually dead (Rev. 3:1). This is what differentiates true Christians from deluded ones. And in what does this “good work” which is “begun” within the saved consist? It is variously described in different Scriptures. It is the heart being purified by faith (Acts 15:9). It is the love of God being shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). It is the Law of God being written in their hearts (Heb. 8:10). Thus, the nature of Christian assurance is a well-founded knowledge that I am a child of God. The basis of this assurance is an unmistakable agreement between my character, experience, and life, and the description which Holy Writ furnishes of the characters, experiences and lives of God’s children. Therefore, the attainment of assurance is by an impartial scrutiny of myself and an honest comparing of myself with the Scriptural marks of God’s children.

A reliable and satisfactory assurance can only be attained or reached by means of a thorough self-examination. “O therefore, Christians, rest not till you can call this rest your own. Sit not down without assurance. Get alone, and bring thy heart to the bar of trial: force it to answer the interrogatories put to it to set the qualifications of the saints on one side, and the qualifications of thyself on the other side, and then judge what resemblance there is between them. Thou hast the same Word before thee, by which to judge thyself now, as thou shalt be judged by at the great day. Thou mayest there read the very articles upon which thou shalt be tried; try thyself by these articles now. Thou mayest there know beforehand on what terms men shall then be acquitted or condemned. Try now whether thou art possessed of that which will acquit thee, or whether thou be in the condition of those that will be condemned; and accordingly acquit or condemn thyself. Yet be sure thou judge by a true touchstone, and mistake not the Scripture description of a saint, that thou neither acquit nor condemn thyself by mistake” (The Saint’s Everlasting Rest, Richard Baxter, 1680).

The need for such self-examination is indeed great, for multitudes are deceived; quite sure that they are Christians, yet without the marks of one. “They say they are saved, and they stick to it they are, and think it wicked to doubt it; but yet they have no reason to warrant their confidence. There is a great difference between presumption and full assurance. Full assurance is reasonable: it is based on solid ground. Presumption takes for granted, and with brazen face pronounces that to be its own to which it has no right whatever. Beware, I pray thee, of presuming that thou art saved. If thy heart be renewed, if thou shalt hate the things that thou didst once love, and love the things that thou didst once hate; if thou hast really repented; if there be a thorough change of mind in thee; if thou be born again, then hast thou reason to rejoice: but if there be no vital change, no inward godliness; if there be no love to God, no prayer, no work of the Holy Spirit, then thy saying ‘I am saved’ is but thine own assertion, and it may delude, but it will not deliver thee” (C. H. Spurgeon on 1 Chron. 4:10).

O what efforts Satan puts forth to keep people from this vitally important and allnecessary work of self-examination. He knows full well that if many of his deceived victims set about the task in earnest, they would soon discover that no miracle of Divine grace has been wrought in them, and that this would cause them to seek the Lord with all their hearts. He knows, too, that real Christians would gain much advantage against the power of indwelling sin would they but thoroughly search their own hearts. Many are diverted from this wholesome work by the evil example set by so many who now bear the name of Christ. Not a few argue, If he or she (that claims to have been a Christian so much longer and appears to know the Bible so much better), who is so worldly, so governed by “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” is sure he is bound for Heaven, why should I be concerned?

But the state of men’s hearts is what holds so many back from the discharge of this duty. Some are so ignorant that they know not what self-examination is, nor what a servant of God means when he seeks to persuade them to “prove your own selves” (2 Cor. 13:5). Others are so much in love with sin and have such a dislike for the holy ways of God, they dare not venture on the trial of their state, lest they should be forced from the course they so much relish, to one which they hate. Others are so taken up with their worldly affairs, and are so busy providing for themselves and their families they say, “I pray Thee have me excused” (Luke 14:18). Others are so slothful that they cannot be induced on any consideration to be at those pains which are necessary in order to know their own hearts.

Pride holds many back. They think highly of themselves. They are so sure of their salvation, so thoroughly convinced that all is right between their souls and God, they deem any search after proof, and testing of themselves by Scripture to see if they have the marks of those who are “new creatures in Christ Jesus,” as quite unnecessary and superfluous. They have been brought up in a religious atmosphere where none of those professing the name of Christ expressed any doubts about their state. They have been taught that such doubtings are of the Devil, a calling into question the veracity of God’s Word. They have heard so many affirm, “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” they felt it their duty to echo the same, forgetting that he who first uttered those words (Job 19:25) was one of whom God said, “There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Job 1:8).

Tens of thousands have been taught that it is wrong for the Christian to look within himself, and they have blindly followed the advice of such physicians “of no value.” How can it be wrong for me to examine my heart to see whether or not God has written His laws upon it (Heb. 8:10)? How can it be wrong for me to look and see whether or not God has begun a “good work” in me (Phil. 1:6)? How can it be wrong for me to test myself by the Parable of the Sower to see which of its four soils represents my heart? How can it be wrong to measure myself by the Parable of the Virgins, and ascertain whether or not the “oil” of regenerating and sanctifying grace is within the “vessel” of my soul (Matt. 25:4)? Since God Himself declares, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9), how can it be wrong for me to make sure that I am indwelt by Him?

Rightly did an eminent Puritan say, “The Scripture abounds in commands and cautions for our utmost diligence in our search and inquiry as to whether we are made partakers of Christ or not, or whether His Spirit dwells in us or not—which argue both the difficulty of attaining an assured confidence herein, as also the danger of our being mistaken, and yet the certainty of a good issue upon the diligent and regular use of means to that purpose” (John Owen, 1670, on Heb. 3:14). Alas, this is what has been so strenuously opposed by many during the last two or three generations. An easy-going religion, well calculated to be acceptable unto the slothful, has been zealously propagated, representing the salvation of the soul and assurance of the same as a very simple matter.

It is very evident to one who has been taught of God that the vast majority of presentday evangelists, tract-writers and “personal workers,” do not believe one-half of what Holy Writ declares concerning the spiritual impotency of the natural man, or the absolute necessity of a miracle of grace being wrought within him before he can savingly turn to Christ. Instead, they erroneously imagine that fallen man is a “free moral agent,” possessing equal power to accept Christ as to reject Him. They suppose all that is needed is information and coercion: to preach the Gospel and persuade men to believe it. But have they never heard of the Holy Spirit? O yes, and say they believe that only He can effectually convict of sin and regenerate. But do their actions agree with this? They certainly do not, for not only is there practically no definite waiting upon God and an earnest seeking from Him the power of His Spirit, but they sally forth and speak and write to the unsaved as if the Holy Spirit had no existence.

Now just as it is plainly implied by such “novices” that lost sinners can receive Christ anytime they make up their minds to do so, just as they are constantly told that nothing more is needed than to believe that Christ died for them and rest on John 3:16 and salvation is theirs, so the idea has been inculcated that the professing Christian may enjoy the full assurance of faith anytime he wishes and that nothing more is required for this than to “rest on John 5:24” etc. One verse of Holy Scripture is sufficient to give the lie to this popular delusion: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16). If the written promises of God were sufficient of themselves to produce assurance, then what need is there for the Third Person of the Godhead to “bear witness” with the spirit of the Christian that he is a child of God?

As this verse is virtually given no place at all in modern ministry, let us ponder its terms: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” The clear implication of these words is that the actual existence of the saint’s sonship is, at times at least, a matter of painful uncertainty, and that the supernatural agency of the Spirit is required to authenticate the fact, and thus allay all fear. To be fully assured of the amazing fact that God is my spiritual Father, demands something more than the testimony of our own feelings or the opinion of men; and, let us reverently add, something more than resting upon a Divine promise. Millions have “rested on” the words, “this is My body,” and no argument could persuade them that the bread upon the Lord’s table was not actually changed into Christ’s literal flesh.

Who so competent to authenticate the work of the Spirit in the heart as the Spirit Himself? What, then, is the merit of His testimony? Not by visions and voices, nor by any direct inspiration of new revelation of truth. Not by bringing some verse of Scripture (of which I was not thinking) vividly before the mind, that my heart is made to leap for joy. If the Christian had no surer grounds that that to stand upon, he might with despair. Satan can bring a verse of Scripture before the mind (Matt. 4:6), and produce in his victims strong emotions of joy, and impart a false peace to his soul. Therefore the witness of the Spirit to be decisive and conclusive, must be something which the Devil cannot duplicate. And what is that? This: Satan cannot beget Divine grace and impart real holiness to the heart.

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit.” To “bear witness with” is a legal term, and signifies to produce valid and convincing evidence. “Our spirit” here has reference to the renewed conscience. Concerning natural men it is said, “which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness” (Rom. 2:15). But the conscience of the natural man is partial, dim-sighted, stupid. Grace makes it tender, pliant, and more able to do its office. The desire of the regenerate man, and unto which he exercises himself, is “to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and men” (Acts 24:16). Where such a conscience is (by grace) maintained, we can say with the Apostle, “This is our rejoicing (what? resting on John 3:16? No, but) the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity . . . we have had our conversation in the world” (2 Cor. 1:12).

Was the beloved Paul off the right track when he found something in himself which afforded ground for “rejoicing”? According to many present-day teachers (?) he was. It is a great pity that these men do not give less attention to human writings, and more to the Holy Scriptures, for then they would read “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways; and a good man shall be satisfied from himself” (Prov. 14:14). If that text be despised because it is in the Old Testament, then we also read in the New Testament, “but let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another” (Gal. 6:4). Once more, “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth: And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him” (1 John 3:18, 19). What is the method which God here sets before His children for assuring their hearts before Him? Not in telling them to appropriate one of His promises, but to walk in the Truth, and then their own spirit will bear witness to their Divine sonship.

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” In addition to the testimony of a renewed conscience which is enjoyed by the Christian when he (by grace) is walking in the Truth, the Spirit adds His confirmation. How? First, He has laid down clear marks in the Scriptures by which we may settle the question: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14)—why tell us this, if “resting on John 5:24” be all that is necessary? Second, by working such graces in the saints as are peculiar to God’s children: in Galatians 5:22 these graces are expressly designated “the fruit of the Spirit.” Third, by His spiritual consolation: “Walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:31 and cf. Rom. 15:13). Fourth, by producing in the Christian the affections which dutiful children bear to a wise and loving Parent (Rom. 8:15).

To sum up: the blessed Spirit witnesses along with our spirit that we are the children of God by enabling us to discern (in the light of Scripture) the effects and fruits of His supernatural operation within us. The breathings of the renewed heart after holiness, the pantings after a fuller conformity to the image of Christ, the strivings against sin, are all inspired by Him. Thus, by begetting in us the Divine nature, by teaching us to deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts,” and to “live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12), the Spirit conducts us to the sure conclusion that we are the children of God. Thereby He shows us there is a real correspondency between our experience and revealed truth. “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13).

Let us now briefly consider the character of those persons to whom the privilege of Christian assurance rightfully belongs. Here again there are two extremes to be guarded against. On the one hand is that class who have been deceived by the slogan “believe you are saved, and you are saved,” which is best met by pointing out that genuine assurance is never any greater than is our evidence of the same. On the other hand are those who are fearful that such evidence is unattainable while the body of sin indwells them. To such we would ask, Is it impossible to ascertain whether or not the health of your body is sound? Are there not certain symptoms and signs which are a clear index? If I were doubtful, and feared that some fatal disease was beginning to grip me, I would seek a physician. Were he to merely look at me and then lightly say, Your health is good, I would leave him and seek another more competent. I would request a thorough overhauling: the taking of my blood-pressure, the sounding of my heart, the testing of my other vital organs. So it should be with the soul.

In seeking to determine from God’s Word who are entitled to Christian assurance, let us ask and answer a number of questions. Who are they with whom the great God dwells?—“with him also that is of (not an haughty and boastful, but) a contrite and humble spirit” (Isa. 57:15); “to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word” (Isa. 66:2)—do you? or do you joke over or argue about its sacred contents? Whom does God really forgive? They who “repent” and are “converted” (Acts 3:19), that is, they who turn their backs upon the world and sinful practices, and yield to Him; those in whose hearts God puts His “laws” and writes them in their minds, in consequence of which they love, meditate upon, and keep His commandments: note how Hebrews 10:16 precedes 10:17!

Who is the man whom Christ likened unto one who built his house upon the rock? Not merely him who “believes,” but “whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them” (Matt. 7:24). Who are truly born again? “Everyone that doeth righteousness” (1 John 2:29); they who “love the brethren” with such a love as is described in 1 John 3:17, 18. To whom does God experimentally reveal the eternal purpose of His grace? “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Psa. 25:14). “To him that ordereth his conservation aright will I show the salvation of God” (Psa. 50:23). What are the identifying marks of a saving faith? One which “purifies the heart” (Acts 15:9), “worketh by love” (Gal. 5:6), “overcometh the world” (1 John 5:4): only thus may I know that my faith is a living and spiritual one.

The birth of the Spirit can only be known from its effects (John 3:8). Thus, it is by comparing what God in His Word, has promised to do in His elect with what His Spirit has, or has not, wrought in my heart, that I can ascertain whether assurance of salvation be my legitimate portion. This is “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:13). Wondrous things has God prepared “for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9); how important then for me to make sure that I love Him. Many suppose that because they have (or had) a dread of eternal punishment, that therefore they love God. Not so: true love of God is neither begotten by fears of Hell nor hopes of Heaven: if I do not love God for what He is in Himself, then I do not love Him at all. And if I love Him, my desire, my purpose, my aim, will be to please Him in all things. Much might be added to this section of our subject, but we trust that sufficient has been said to enable exercised and honest souls to learn how to identify those whom Scripture teaches are entitled to the assurance of salvation.

The task set before us is by no means easily executed. On the one hand, we wish to be kept from taking the “children’s” bread and casting it to the “dogs”; on the other, it is our earnest prayer that we may be delivered from casting a stumbling block before any of God’s “little ones.” That which occasions our difficulty is the desire to expose an empty profession and to be used of God in writing that which, under His free Spirit, may be used in removing the scales from the eyes of those who, though unregenerate, are resting with carnal confidence on some of the Divine promises given to those who are in Christ—for while a sinner is out of Christ, none of the promises belong to him: see 2 Corinthians 1:20. Notwithstanding, it behooves us to seek wisdom from above so that we may write in such a way that any of Christ’s who are yet unestablished in the faith may not draw the conclusion they are still dead in trespasses and sins.

Having before us the twofold object named above, let us ask the question, Is a simple faith in Christ sufficient to save a soul for time and eternity? At the risk of some readers turning away from this article and refusing to read further, we unhesitatingly answer, No, it is not. The Lord Jesus Himself declared, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). Repentance is just as essential to salvation as is believing. Again, we read that, “wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). A “simple faith” which remains alone, a faith which does not purify the heart (Acts 15:9), work by love (Gal. 5:6), and overcome the world (1 John 5:4), will save nobody. Much confusion has been caused in many quarters through failure to define clearly what it is from which the sinner needs saving. Only too often the thought of many minds is restricted to Hell. But that is a very inadequate conception, and often proves most misleading. The only thing which can ever take any creature to Hell is unrepented and unforgiven sin. Now on the very first page of the New Testament the Holy Spirit has particularly recorded that the incarnate Son of God was named “Jesus” because “He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Why is it that that which God has placed at the forefront, is relegated to the rear by most modern evangelists? To ask a person if he has been saved from Hell, is much more ambiguous than to inquire if he has been saved from his sins.

Let us attempt to enlarge on this a little, for thousands of professing Christians in these days have but the vaguest idea of what it means to be saved from sin. First, it signifies to be saved from the love of sin. The heart of the natural man is wedded to everything which is opposed to God. He may not acknowledge it, he may not be conscious of it, yet such is the fact nevertheless. Having been shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin (Psa. 51:5), man cannot but be enamoured with that which is now part and parcel of his very being. When the Lord Jesus explained why condemnation rests upon the unsaved, He declared, “men loved darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19). Nothing but a supernatural change of heart can deliver any from this dreadful state. Only an omnipotent Redeemer can bring us to “abhor” (Job 42:6) ourselves and loathe iniquity. This He does when He saves a soul, for “the fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13).

Second, to be saved from our sins is to be delivered from the allowance of them. It is the unvarying tendency of the natural heart to excuse evildoing, to extenuate and gloss it over. At the beginning, Adam declined to acknowledge his guilt, and sought to throw the blame upon his wife. It was the same with Eve: instead of honestly acknowledging her wickedness, she attempted to place the onus on the serpent. But how different is the regenerated person’s attitude toward sin! “For that which I do, I allow not” (Rom. 7:15): Paul committed sin, but he did not approve, still less did he seek to vindicate it. Nay more—the real Christian repents of his wrongdoing, confesses it to God, mourns over it, and prays earnestly to be kept from a repetition of the same. Pride, coldness, slothfulness, he hates, yet day by day he finds them re-asserting their power over him; yet nightly he returns to the Fountain which has been opened “for sin and for uncleanness” (Zech. 13:1), that he may be cleansed. The true Christian desires to render perfect obedience to God, and cannot rest satisfied with anything short of it; and instead of palliating his failures, he mourns over them.

Third, to be saved from our sins is to be delivered from the reigning power or mastery of them. Sin still indwells the Christian, tempts, annoys, wounds, and daily trips him up: “in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). Nevertheless, sin is not the complete master of the Christian, for he resists and fights against it. While far from being completely successful in his fight, yet, on the other hand, there is a vast difference between him and the helpless slaves of Satan. His repentings, his prayers, his aspirations after holiness, his pressing forward unto the mark set before him, all witness to the fact that sin does not have “dominion” over (Rom. 6:14) him. Undoubtedly there are great differences of attainment among God’s children: in His high sovereignty, God grants more grace unto one than to another. Some of His children are far more plagued by constitutional sins, than others. Some who are very largely delivered from outward transgressions, are yet made to groan over inward ones. Some who are largely kept from sins of commission, have yet to bewail sins of omission. Yet sin is no longer complete master over any who belong to the Household of Faith.

The last sentence may perhaps discourage some who have a sensitive conscience. He who is really honest with himself and has had his eyes opened in some degree to see the awful sinfulness of self, and who is becoming more and more acquainted with that sink of iniquity, that mass of corruption which still indwells him, often feels that sin more completely rules him now than ever it did before. When he longs to trust God with all his heart, unbelief seems to paralyze him. When he wishes to be completely surrendered to God’s blessed will, murmurings and rebellion argue within him. When he would spend an hour in mediation on the things of God, evil imaginations harass him. When he desires to be more humble, pride seeks to fill him. When he would pray, his mind wanders. The more he fights against these sins, the farther off victory seems to be. To him it appears that sin is very much the master of him, and Satan tells him that his profession is vain. What shall we say to such a dear soul who is deeply exercised over this problem? Two things.

First, the very fact that you are conscious of these sins and are so much concerned over your failure to overcome them, is a healthy sign. It is the blind who cannot see; it is the dead who feel not—true alike naturally and spiritually. Only they who have been quickened into newness of life are capable of real sorrow for sin. Moreover, such experiences as we have mentioned above, evidence a spiritual growth: a growth in the knowledge of self. As the wise man tells us, “he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow” (Eccl. 1:18). In God’s light we see light (Psa. 36:9). The more the Holy Spirit reveals to me the high claims of God’s holiness, the more I discover how far short I come of meeting them. Let the midday sun shine into a darkened room, and dust and dirt which before was invisible is now plainly seen. So with the Christian: the more the light of God enters his heart, the more he discovers the spiritual filth which dwells there. Beloved brother, or sister, it is not that you are becoming more sinful, but that God is now giving you a clearer and fuller sight of your sinfulness. Praise Him for it, for the eyes of the vast majority of your fellows (religionists included) are blind, and cannot see what so distresses you! Second, side by side with sin in your heart, is grace. There is a new and holy nature

within the Christian as well as the old and unholy one. Grace is active within you, as well as sin. The new nature is influencing your conduct as well as the old. Why is it that you so desire to be conformed to the image of Christ, to trust Him fully, love Him fervently, and serve Him diligently? These longings proceed not from the flesh, No, my distressed brother or sister, sin is not your complete master; if it were, all aspirations, prayers, and strivings after holiness would be banished from your heart. There are “as it were the company of two armies” (Song. 6:13) fighting to gain control of the Christian. As it was with our mother Rebekah—“the children struggled together within her” (Gen. 25:22)—so it is with us. But the very “struggle” shows that the issue is not yet decided: had sin conquered, the soul would no longer be able to resist. The conqueror disarms his enemy so that he can no longer fight back. The very fact that you are still “fighting,” proves that sin has not vanquished you! It may seem to you that it soon will: but the issue is not in doubt—Christ will yet save you from the very presence of sin.

Having sought in the above paragraphs to heed the injunction found in Hebrews 12:13, 14 to “lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,” and to make “straight paths” for the feet of God’s little ones, “lest that which is lame be turned out of the way,” let us again direct our attention unto those who “have not a doubt” of their acceptance in Christ, and perhaps feel in no personal need for what has been said above.

The Lord declared that a tree is known by its fruits, so there cannot be anything wrong in examining the tree of our hearts, to ascertain what kind of “fruit” it is now bringing forth, and discover whether it be such as may proceed from mere nature, or that which can only issue from indwelling grace. It may at once be objected, But nothing spiritual can issue from ourselves. From our natural selves, Yes. But how can an evil tree ever be any different? Christ said, “Make the tree good, and his fruit is good” (Matt. 12:32). This is typed out by engrafting a new slip on an old stock.

All pretentions unto the present enjoyment of the assurance of faith by those whose daily lives are unbecoming the Gospel, are groundless. They who are confident of entering that Eternal Happiness which consists very much in a perfect freedom from all sin, but who now allow themselves in the practice of sin (persuading themselves that Christ has fully atoned for the same), are deceived. None truly desire to be free from sin in the future, who do not sincerely long to forsake it in the present. He who does not pant after holiness here, is dreadfully mistaken if he imagines he desires holiness hereafter. Glory is but grace consummated; the heavenly life is but the full development of the regenerated life on earth. Neither death nor the second coming of Christ will effect any radical change in the Christian: it will only perfect what he already has and is. Any, then, who pretend unto the assurance of salvation, boast of their pardon and present possession of eternal life, but who have not an experience of deep sorrow for sin, real indignation against it, and hatred of themselves because of transgressions, know nothing at all of what holy assurance is.

In considering the basis of the Christian’s assurance we must distinguish sharply between the ground of his acceptance before God, and his own knowledge that he is accepted by Him. Nothing but the righteousness of Christ—wrought out by Him in His virtuous life and vicarious death—can give any sinner a perfect legal standing before the thrice holy God. And nothing but the communication of a new nature, a supernatural work of grace within, can furnish proof that the righteousness of Christ has been placed to my account. Whom God legally saves, He experimentally saves; whom He justifies, them He also sanctifies. Where the righteousness of Christ is imputed to an individual, a principle of holiness is imparted to him; the former can only be ascertained by the latter. It is impossible to obtain a Scriptural knowledge that the merits of Christ’s finished work are reckoned to my account, except by proving that the efficacy of the Holy Spirit’s work is evident in my soul.

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). Why that order of “calling” before “election”? Here it is the converse of what we find in Romans 8:29, 30, “whom He did (1) predestinate, them he also (2) called”; but here in Peter the Christian is bidden to make sure (1) his “calling” and (2) his “election.” Why this variation of order? The answer is simple: in Romans 8:29, 30 it is the execution of God’s eternal counsels; but in 2 Peter 1 it is the Christian’s obtaining an experimental knowledge of the same. I have to work back from effect to cause, to examine the fruit so as to discover the nature of the tree. I have no immediate access to the Lamb’s Book of Life, but if I obtain clear proof that I have been effectually called by God out of the darkness of sin’s enmity into the light of reconciliation, then I know that my name is written there.

And how am I to make my “calling and election sure”? The context of this passage tells me very plainly. In verses 5-7 we read, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly—kindness, and to brotherly—kindness love.” There we have a summary of those graces which make up the Christian character. The word “add” signifies “supply in connection with,” just as in a choir a number of parts and voices unite together in making harmony; or, as in a rainbow the various colors, side by side, blend into one beautiful whole. In the previous verses the Apostle had spoken of the grace of God manifested toward His elect: by regeneration they had “escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Now he adds, Rest not satisfied with a negative salvation, but press forward unto perfection: be in thorough earnest to “add to your faith” these virtues. Faith is not to be alone, but the other spiritual graces must supplement and adorn it.

In verses 8, 9 the Spirit moved the Apostle to set before us the consequences of a compliance or a non-compliance with the duties specified in verses 5-7. The “these things” in verse 8 are the seven graces of the previous verses. If “all diligence” be devoted to the acquiring and cultivating of those lovely virtues, then a certain consequence is sure to follow: as cause stands to effect, so is fruitfulness dependent on Christian diligence. Just as the neglect of our daily food will lead to leanness and feebleness, just as lack of exercise means flabby muscles, so a disregard of the Divine injunction of verse 5 issues in soul-barrenness, lack of vision, and loss of holy assurance. This brings us now to verse 10.

The “Wherefore the rather, brethren,” of verse 10 points a contrast from the sad tragedy presented in verse 9. There we see the pitiful results of being in a backslidden state of soul. There is no remaining stationary in the Christian life: he who does not progress, retrogrades. He who does not diligently heed the Divine precepts, soon loses the good of the Divine promises. He who does not add or conjoin with his “faith” the graces mentioned in verses 5-7, will soon fall under the power of unbelief. He who does not cultivate the garden of his soul, will quickly find it grown over with weeds. He who neglects God’s exhortations will lose the joy of His salvation, and will lapse into such a state of doubting that he will seriously question his Divine sonship. To prevent this the Apostle says, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.” The obvious meaning, then, of this exhortation in 2 Peter 1:10 is, Bestir yourselves, take pains to secure satisfactory evidence that you are among the effectually called and elect of God. Let there be no doubt or uncertainty about it: you profess to be a child of God, then justify your profession by cultivating the character and displaying the conduct of one. Sure proof is this that something more than a mere resting upon John 5:24 or Acts 16:31 is demanded of us! It is only in proportion as the Christian manifests the fruit of a genuine conversion that he is entitled to regard himself and be regarded by others as one of the called and elect of God. It is just in proportion as we add to our faith the other Christian graces that we have solid ground on which to rest in the assurance we belong to the family of Christ. It is not those who are governed by self-will, but “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).

“In times so critical to the interests of vital religion, and amidst such awful departures from the faith as we are daily called upon to behold, it becomes a very anxious inquiry in the breasts of the humble—Is there no method under Divine grace by which the believer may arrive to a well-grounded assurance, concerning the great truths of the Gospel? Is it not possible for him to be so firmly settled in those great truths, as that he shall not only be ready ‘to give answer to everyone that asketh him a reason of the hope that is in him,’ but to find the comfort of it in his own mind, that his faith ‘doth not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God’? To this inquiry I answer, Yes, blessed be God, there is. An infallible method is discovered, at once to secure from the possibility of apostasy, and to afford comfort and satisfaction to the believer’s own mind, concerning the great truths of God; namely, from the Spirit’s work in the heart; by the sweet influences of which he may find ‘joy and peace in believing, and abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit’” (Robert Hawker, 1803).

Christian assurance, then, is a Scripturally—grounded knowledge that I am in the Narrow Way which leads unto life. Thus, it is based upon the Word of God, yet consists of the Holy Spirit enabling me to discern in myself a character to which the Divine promises are addressed. We have the same Word to measure ourselves by now as God will judge us by in the Day to Come. Therefore it behooves every serious soul to prayerfully and carefully set down the Scriptural marks of God’s children on the one side, and the characteristics of his own soul and life on the other, and determine if there be any real resemblance between them. We will close this section by quoting from the saintly Samuel Rutherford (1637):

“You may put a difference betwixt you and reprobates if you have these marks: If ye prize Christ and His truth so as you will sell all and buy Him, and suffer for it. If the love of Christ keep you back from sinning more than the law or fear of Hell does. If you be humble and deny your own will, wit, credit, ease, honour, the world, and the vanity and glory of it. Your profession must not be barren and void of good works. You must in all things aim at God’s honour; you must eat, sleep, buy, sell, sit, stand, speak, pray, read, and hear the Word with a heart purpose that God may be honoured. Acquaint yourself with daily praying, commit all your ways and actions to God by prayer, supplication and thanksgiving and count not much for being mocked, for Christ Jesus was mocked before you.”

“Can true believers be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace and that they shall persevere therein unto salvation? Answer: Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavour to walk in all good conscience before Him (1 John 2:3) may, without extraordinary revelation, by faith grounded upon the Truth of God’s promises, and by the Spirit enabling them to discern in themselves those graces to which the promises of life are made (1 John 3:14, 18, 19, 21, 24, etc.), and bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God (Rom. 8:16), be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace and shall persevere therein unto salvation (1 John 5:13; 2 Tim. 1:12).”

“Assurance is the believer’s full conviction that, through the work of Christ alone, received by faith, he is in possession of a salvation in which he will be eternally kept. And this assurance rests only upon the Scripture promises to him who believe.”

The careful reader will perceive a considerable difference of doctrine in the two quotations given above. The former is the product of the Puritans, the latter is a fair sample of what the boasted enlightenment of the 20th Century has brought forth. The one is extracted from the Westminster Catechism of Faith (the doctrinal standard of the Presbyterians), the other is taken from the “Scofield Bible.” In the first, the balance of Truth is helpfully preserved: in the second, the work and witness of the Holy Spirit is altogether ignored. This example is only one out of scores we could cite which sadly illustrates how far we have gone backwards. The answer given by the Puritans is calculated to lead to heart searching; the definition (if such it may be called) of the popular dispensationalist is likely to bolster up the deluded. This brings us to consider, more definitely, in regard to assurance, its nature.

Let as begin by asking the question, Assurance of what? That the holy Scriptures are the inspired and infallible Word of God? No, that is not our subject. Assured that salvation is by grace alone? No, for neither is that our immediate theme. Rather, the assurance that I am no longer in a state of nature, but in a state of grace: and this, not as a mere conjectural persuasion, but as resting on sure evidence. It is a well authenticated realization that not only has my mind been enlightened concerning the great truths of God’s Word, but that a supernatural work has been wrought in my soul which has made me a new creature in Christ Jesus. A Scriptural assurance of Salvation in that knowledge which the Holy Spirit imparts to the heart through the Scriptures—that my faith is not a natural one, but “the faith of God’s elect” (Titus 1:1)—that my love for Christ is sincere and not fictitious and that my daily walk is that of a regenerated man.

The assurance of the saints is, as the Westminster divines said, “by the Spirit enabling them to discern in themselves those graces to which the promises of life are made.” Let us seek to amplify that statement. At the commencement of Matthew 5 we find the Lord Jesus pronouncing blessed a certain class of people. They are not named as “believers” or “saints,” but instead are described by their characters. And it is only by comparing ourselves and others with the description that the Lord Jesus there gave that we are enabled to identify such. First, He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” To be “poor in spirit” is to have a feeling sense that in me, that is, in my flesh, “there dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18). It is the realization that I am utterly destitute of anything and everything which could commend me favourably to God. It is to recognize that I am a spiritual bankrupt. It is the consciousness, even now (not years ago, when I was first awakened), that I am without strength and wisdom that I am a helpless creature, completely dependent upon the grace and mercy of God. To be “poor in spirit” is the opposite of Laodiceanism, which consists of self-complacency and self-sufficiency, imagining I am “rich, and in need of nothing.”

“Blessed are they that mourn.” It is one thing to believe the theory that I am spiritually a poverty-stricken pauper. It is quite another to have an acute sense of it in my soul. Where the latter exists, there are deep exercises of heart which evoke the bitter cry, “my leanness, my leanness, woe unto me!” (Isa. 24:16). There is deep anguish that there is so little growth in grace, so little fruit to God’s glory, such a wretched return made for his abounding goodness unto me. This is accompanied by an ever-deepening discovery of the depths of corruption which is still within me. The soul finds that when it would do good, evil is present with him (Rom. 7:21). It is grieved by the motions of unbelief, the swelling of pride, the surging of rebellion against God. Instead of peace, there is war within: instead of realizing his holy aspirations, the blessed one is daily defeated—until the stricken heart cries out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24).

“Blessed are the meek.” Meekness is yieldedness. It is the opposite of self-will. Meekness is pliability and meltedness of heart, which makes me submissive and responsive to God’s will. Now observe, dear reader, these first three marks of the “Blessed” consist not in outward actions, but of inward graces; not in showy deeds, but in the state of our soul. Note, too, that they are far from being characteristics which will render their possessor pleasing and popular to the world. He who feels himself to be a spiritual pauper will not be welcomed by the wealthy Laodiceans. He who daily mourns for his leanness, his barrenness, his sinfulness, will not be courted by the self-righteous. He who is truly meek will not be sought after by the self-assertive. No, he will be scorned by the Pharisees and looked upon with contempt by those who boast they are “out of Romans 7 and living in Romans 8.” These lovely graces, which are of great price in the sight of God, are despised by the bloated professors of the day.

We must not now review the additional marks of the “Blessed” named by the Redeemer at the beginning of His precious Sermon on the Mount, but at one other we will just glance. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake . . . Blessed are ye when men shall revile you . . . for My sake” (Matt. 5:10, 11). Observe that this antagonism is not evoked by wrong-doing or by a well-grounded offense. They who are morose, selfish, haughty, evil-speakers, cruel—have no right to shelter behind this beatitude when people retaliate against them. No, it is when Christlikeness of character and conduct is assailed; where practical godliness condemns the worldly ways of empty professors, that fires their enmity— where humble but vital piety cannot be tolerated by those who are destitute of the same. Blessed, said Christ, are the spiritual whom the carnal hate—the gentle sheep whom the dogs snap at.

Now, dear reader, seek grace to honestly measure yourself by these criteria. Do such heavenly graces adorn your soul? Are these marks of those whom the Son of God pronounces “Blessed” stamped upon your character? Are you truly “poor in spirit”? We say “truly,” for it is easy to adopt expressions and call ourselves names—if you are offended when someone else applies them to you, it shows you do not mean what you say. Do you “mourn” over your lack of conformity to Christ, the feebleness of your faith; the coldness of your love? Are you “meek”? Has your will been broken and your heart made submissive to God? Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness?—do you use the means of grace, your searchings of the Scriptures, your prayers? Are you “merciful,” or censorious and harsh? Are you “pure in heart”?—grieved when an impure imagination assails? If not, you have no right to regard yourself as “Blessed”; instead, you are under the curse of a holy and sin-hating God.

It is not, Are these spiritual graces fully developed within you—they never are in this life. But are they truly present at all? It is not, Are you completely emptied of self, but is it your sincere desire and earnest prayer to be so? It is not do you “mourn” as deeply as you ought to over indwelling sin and its activities, but have you felt at all “the plague” of your own heart? (1 Kings 8:38). It is not is your meekness all that can be desired, but is there unmistakable proof that the root of it has actually been communicated to your soul? There is a growth: “first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.” But that which has no existence can have no growth. Has the “seed” (1 Peter 1:23) of grace been planted in your heart? That is the point which each of us is called upon to determine—not to assume, or take for granted, but to make “sure” (2 Peter 1:10). And this is done when we faithfully examine our hearts to discover whether or not there is in them those spiritual graces to which the promises of God are addressed.

While Gospel assurance is the opposite of carnal presumption and of unbelieving doubt, yet it is far from being opposed to thorough self-examination. But, alas, so many have been taught, and by men highly reputed for their orthodoxy, that if it is not actually wrong, it is highly injurious to a Christian to look within. There is a balance of truth to be observed here, as everywhere. That one might become too introspective is readily granted, but that a Christian is never to search his own heart, test his faith, scrutinize his motives, and make sure that he has the “root of the matter” within him (Job 19:28), is contradicted by many plain Scriptures. Regeneration is a work which God performs within us (Phil. 1:6), and as eternal destiny hinges on the same, it behooves every serious soul to take the utmost pains and ascertain whether or not this miracle of grace has been wrought within him. When Paul stood in doubt of the state of the Galatians, he said, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (4:19). So, too, to the Colossians he wrote, “Christ in you the hope of glory” (1:27).

“For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in (or “by”) God” (John 3:20, 21). Here is one of the vital differences between the unregenerate and the regenerate, the unbelieving and the believing. Unbelief is far more than an error of judgment, or speculative mistake into which an honest mind may fall; it proceeds from heart-enmity against God. The natural man, while left to himself, hates the searching light of God (v. 19), fearful lest it should disquiet the conscience, expose the fallacy of his presumptuous confidence, and shatter his false peace. But it is the very reverse with him who has been given “an honest and good heart.” He who acts sincerely and conscientiously, desiring to know and do the whole will of God without reserve, welcomes the light.

The genuine Christian believes what Scripture says concerning the natural heart, namely, that it is “deceitful above all things” (Jer. 17:9), and the surest proof that he does believe this solemn fact is that he is deeply concerned lest “a deceitful heart has turned him aside” (Isa. 44:20), and caused him to believe that all is well with his soul, when in reality he is yet “in the gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity.” He believes what God’s Word says about Satan, the great deluder, and trembles lest, after all, the Devil has beguiled him with a false peace. Such a possibility, such a likelihood occasions him much exercise of soul. Like David of old (and every other genuine saint), he “communes with his own heart” (Psa. 4:4), and “his spirit makes diligent search” (Psa. 77:6). He turns to the light of Holy Writ, anxious to have his character and conduct scrutinized by the same, desiring to have his deeds made manifest as to whether they proceed from selflove or real love to God.

It is not that we are here seeking to foster any confidence in self, rather do we desire to promote real confidence toward God. It is one thing to make sure that I love God, and it is quite another for me to find satisfaction in that love. The self-examination which the Scriptures enjoin (in 1 Cor. 11:28, for example), is not for the purpose of finding something within to make me more acceptable to God, nor as a ground of my justification before Him; but is with the object of discovering whether Christ is being formed within me.

There are two extremes to be guarded against: such an undue occupation with the work of the spirit within, that the heart is taken right off from the work of Christ for His people; and, such a one-sided emphasis upon the imputed righteousness of Christ, that the righteousness imparted by the Spirit is ignored or disparaged. It is impossible that the Third Person of the Trinity should take up His abode within a soul, without effecting a radical change within him: and it is this which I need to make sure of. It is the Spirit’s work within the heart which is the only infallible proof of salvation.

It is perfectly true that as I look within and seek to faithfully examine my heart in the light of Scripture, that the work of the Spirit is not all I shall discover there. No, indeed. Much corruption still remains. The genuine Christian finds clear evidence of two natures, two contrary principles at work within him. This is brought out plainly, not only in Romans 7 and Galatians 5:17, but strikingly, too, in the Song of Solomon: “What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies” (6:13). Hence it is that in her present state, the Bride says, “I am black, but comely. O ye daughters of Jerusalem; as the tents of Kedar, and the curtains of Solomon” (1:5). And again, “I sleep, but my heart waketh” (5:2)—strange language to the natural man, but quite intelligible to the spiritual. And therefore is it also that the renewed soul so often finds suited to his case the prayer of Mark 9:24. “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.”

It is because the real Christian finds within himself so much that is conflicting that it is difficult for him to be sure of his actual state. And therefore does he cry, “Examine me, O LORD; and prove me; try my reins and my heart” (Psa. 26:2). They who are filled with a carnal assurance, a fleshly confidence, a vain presumption, feel no need for asking the Lord to “prove” them. So completely has Satan deceived them, that they imagine it would be an act of unbelief so to do. Poor souls, they “call evil good, and good evil”; they put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isa. 5:20). One of the surest marks of regeneration is that the soul frequently cries, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa. 139:23, 24).

Perhaps some of our readers are still ready to say, “I do not see that there needs to be so much difficulty in ascertaining whether one is in a lost or saved condition: I am resting upon John 5:24, and that is sufficient for me.” But allow us to point out, dear friend, that John 5:24 is not a promise which Christ gave to an individual disciple, but instead, a doctrinal declaration which He made in the hearing of a mixed multitude. If the objector replies, “I believe that verse does contain a promise, and I am going to hold fast to it,” then may we lovingly ask, Are you sure that it belongs to you? That John 5:24 contains a precious promise, we gladly acknowledge, but to whom is it made? Let us examine it: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

That promise is given to a definitely defined character, namely, “He that heareth My word.” Now, dear reader, can it be truthfully said that you are one that “heareth” His Word? Are you sure? Do not be misled by the mere sound of words. The reference here is not to the hearing of the outward ear, but to the response of the heart. In the days that He sojourned on earth, there were many of whom the Lord Jesus had to say that “hearing (with the outward ear), they hear not” with the heart (Matt. 13:13). So it is still. To “hear” spiritually, to “hear” savingly, is to heed (Matt. 18:15), is to obey (Matt. 17:5; John 10:27; Heb. 3:7). Ah, Are you obedient? Have you searched the Scriptures diligently in order to discover His commandments? And that, not to satisfy an idle curiosity, but desiring to put them into practice? Do you love His commandments? Are you actually doing them? Not once or twice, but regularly, as the main tenor of your life—for note it is not “hear,” but “hearing.”

Does someone object?: “All of this is getting away from the simplicity of Christ: you are taking us from the Word and seeking to get us occupied with ourselves.” Well, does not Scripture say, “Take heed unto thyself?” (1 Tim. 4:16)? But it may be answered, “There cannot be any certainty while we are occupied with our wretched selves. I prefer to abide by the written Word.” To this we have no objection at all: what we are here pressing is the vital necessity of making sure that the portions of the Word you cite or are resting upon, fairly and squarely belong to you. The reader may refer me to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31) and ask, Is not that plain enough? But have you ever noted, dear friend, to whom the Apostles addressed those words, and all the attendant circumstances?

It was neither to a promiscuous crowd, nor to a careless and unconcerned soul, that the Apostles said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Rather was it to an awakened, deeply exercised, penitent soul—who had taken his place in the dust, and in deepest anguish cried, “What must I do to be saved?” However, what is the use you are making of Acts 16:31? You answer, “This: those words are divinely simple, I believe in Christ, and therefore I am saved; God says so, and the Devil cannot shake me.” Possibly he is not at all anxious to; he may be well content for you to retain a carnal confidence. But observe, dear friend, the Apostles did not tell the stricken jailer to “believe on Jesus” nor “believe in Christ”; but to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

What does it mean to savingly “believe”? Let us give a brief reply. John 1:12 makes it clear that to “believe” is to “receive,” to receive “Christ Jesus the Lord” (Col. 2:6). Christ is the Saviour of none until He is welcomed as LORD. The immediate context shows plainly the particular character in which Christ is there viewed: “He came unto His own” (John 1:11); He was their rightful Owner, because their Lord. But “His own received Him not”; no, they declared, “We will not have this Man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). Ah, dear friend, this is searching. Have you received “The Lord Jesus Christ”? We do not ask, “Are you resting on His finished work,” but have you bowed to His scepter and owned His authority in a practical way? Have you disowned your own sinful lordship? If not, you certainly have not “believed on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and therefore the promise of Acts 16: 31 does not belong to you.

“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). This is just as much a part of God’s Word as is Acts 16:31. Why do we not hear it quoted as frequently!? And how can anyone know that he is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ? Only by discovering within him the fruits of His regenerating and sanctifying grace. Not that either these “fruits” or the “good works” of the Christian are in any way or to any degree meritorious. No, no—but as the evidence of his Divine sonship.

Introduction

By way of introduction and in order to acquaint the reader with the particular angle or viewpoint from which we now approach our present theme, let it be pointed out that changing conditions in Christendom call for an ever-varying emphasis on different aspects of Divine Truth. Did space allow, and were the writer fully equipped for such a task, it would be both interesting and instructive to give in detail the history of the preaching of Assurance throughout this dispensation. Instead, we can barely outline it. At different periods the true servants of God have had to face widely different situations, and meet errors of varied character. This has called for a campaign of offense and defense adapted to the exegencies of many situations. The weapons suited to one conflict were quite useless for another; fresh ones needing to be constantly drawn from the armoury of Scripture.

At the close of that lengthy period known as “the dark ages,” (though throughout it God never left Himself without a clear witness), when the Lord caused a good of light to break forth upon Christendom, the Reformers were faced by the hoary errors of Romanism, among which was her insistence that none could be positively assured of his Salvation till the hour of death was reached. This caused Luther and his contemporaries to deliver a positive message, seeking to stimulate confidence toward God and the laying hold of His sure promises. Yet it has to be acknowledged that there were times when their zeal carried them too far, leading to a position which could not be successfully defended from the Scriptures. Many of the Reformers insisted that assurance was an essential element in saving faith itself, and that unless a person knew he was “accepted in the Beloved,” he was yet in his sins. Thus, in the revolt from Romanism, the Protestant pendulum swung too far to the opposite side.

In the great mercy of God the balance of Truth was restored in the days of the Puritans. The principal doctrine which Luther and his fellows had emphasized so forcibly was justification by faith alone. But at the close of the 16th Century and in the early part of the 17th, such men as Perkins, Gattaker, Rollock, etc., made prominent the collateral doctrine of sanctification by the Spirit. For the next 50 years the Church on earth was blest with many men “mighty in the Scriptures,” deeply taught of God, enabled by Him to maintain a well-rounded ministry. Such men as Goodwin, Owen, Charnock, Flavel. Sibbes, etc., though living in troublous times and suffering fierce persecution, taught the Word more helpfully (in our judgment) and were more used of God than any since the days of the Apostles to the present hour.

The ministry of the Puritans was an exceedingly searching one. While magnifying the free grace of God in no uncertain terms; while teaching plainly that the satisfaction of Christ alone gave title to Heaven; while emphatically repudiating all creature-merits—they nevertheless insisted that a supernatural and transforming work of the Spirit in the heart and life of the believer was indispensable to fit him for Heaven. Professors were rigidly tested, and the results and fruits of faith were demanded before its presence was admitted. Self-examination was frequently insisted upon, and full details given as to how one might ascertain that he was a “new creature in Christ Jesus.” Christians were constantly urged to “make their calling and election sure” by ascertaining that they had clear evidence of the same. While conditions were far from being perfect, yet there is good reason to conclude that more deluded souls were undeceived and more hypocrites exposed than at any other period since the 1st Century A. D.

The 18th Century witnessed a sad declension and departure from the faith. Worldly prosperity brought in spiritual deterioration. As the Puritan leaders died off, none were raised up to fill their places. Arminianism spread rapidly, followed by Deism (Unitarianism) and other fatal errors. Worldliness engulfed the churches, and lawlessness and wickedness were rampant without. The Gospel-trumpet was almost silent, and the remnant of God’s people dwindled down to an insignificant and helpless handful. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Again, the light of God shone forth powerfully in the darkness: Whitefield, Romaine, Gill, Hervey, and others being raised up by God to revive His saints and convert many sinners to Christ. The main emphasis of their preaching and teaching was upon the sovereign grace of God as exhibited in the Everlasting Covenant, the certain efficacy of Christ’s atonement unto all for whom it was made, and the work of the Spirit in regeneration.

Under the God-given revivals of the latter part of the 18th Century the great doctrine of the Christian faith occupied the most prominent place. In order that the balance of truth might be preserved during the next two or three generations, it became necessary for the servants of God to emphasize the experimental side of things. Intellectual orthodoxy qualifies none for Heaven: there must be a moral and spiritual transformation, a miracle of grace wrought within the soul which begins at regeneration and is carried on by sanctification. During that period doctrinal exposition receded more and more into the background, and the practical application of the Word to the heart and life was the characteristic feature in orthodox circles. This called for serious self-examination, and that, in many cases, resulted in doubting and despondency. Where a due balance is not preserved by preachers and teachers between the objective and subjective sides of the truth—where the latter preponderates, either a species of mysticism or lack of assurance ensues.

The second half of the 18th Century found many circles of professing Christians on the borders of the Slough of Despond. In many companies the full assurance of salvation was looked upon as a species of fanaticism, or as carnal presumption. Unduly occupied with themselves, ill-instructed upon the “two natures” in the Christian, thousands of poor souls regarded doubts and fears, sighs and groans, as the highest evidence of a regenerate state—but those being mixed with worldly and fleshly lusts, the subjects were afraid to affirm they were children of God. To meet this situation many ill-trained evangelists and teachers sought to direct attention to Christ and His “finished work,” and to get their hearers’ confidence placed upon the bare Word of God. While one evil was corrected, another was committed: while the letter of Scripture was honoured, the work of the Spirit was (unwittingly) dishonoured. Supposing they had a remedy which was sure to work in all cases alike, a superficial work resulted, the aftermath of which we are now reaping. Thousands of souls who give no evidence of being born again are quite confident that Christ has saved them.

From the brief outline presented above, it will be seen that the pendulum has swung from one side to the other. Man is a creature of extremes, and nothing but the grace of God can enable any of us to steer a middle path. A careful study of the course of religious history also reveals the fact that the servants of God have been obliged, from time to time, to vary their note of emphasis. This is the one meaning of that expression, “And be established in the present truth” (2 Peter 1:2), namely, that particular aspect or line of truth which is most needful at any given time. Instead of gaining ground, the Puritans lost it had they merely echoed what the Reformers had taught. It was not that Owen contradicted Luther, rather did he supplement him. Where particular stress has been laid on the counsels of sovereign grace and the imputed righteousness of Christ, this needs to be followed by attention being drawn to the work of the Spirit within the saints. In like manner, where much ministry has been given on the Christian’s state, there is a need for a clear exposition of his standing before God.

It is truly deplorable that so few have recognized the need for applying the principle that has just been mentioned. So many, having a zeal which is not tempered by knowledge, suppose that because some honoured servant of God in the past was granted much success through his dwelling so largely upon one particular line of truth, that they will have equal success provided they imitate him. But circumstances alter cases. The different states through which the professing Church passes call for different ministry. There is such a thing as “a word spoken in due season” (Prov. 15:23): O that it may please God to open the eyes of many to see what is most “seasonable” for the degenerate times in which our lot is cast, and grant them spiritual discernment to recognize that even many portions of Divine Truth may prove highly injurious to souls if given them out of season.

We recognize this fact easily enough in connection with material things—why are we so slow to do so when it concerns spiritual things? Meats and nuts are nutritious, but who would think of feeding them to an infant? So, too, sickness of body calls for a change of diet. The same is true of the soul. To make this clearer, let us select one or two extreme cases. The truth of eternal punishment should be faithfully preached by every servant of God, but would a broken-hearted woman who had just lost her husband or child be a suitable audience? The glory and bliss of the heavenly state is a precious theme, but would it be fitting to present it unto a professing Christian who was intoxicated? The eternal security of the saints is clearly revealed in Holy Writ, but does that justify me pressing it on the attention of a backslidden child of God?

Our introduction is proving to be a lengthy one, yet we deem it necessary to pave the way for what follows. The servant of God is facing today a dreadfully serious and solemn situation. Much that is dearest of all to his heart he has largely to be silent upon. If he is to faithfully deal with souls, he must address himself to the condition they are in. Unless he is much upon his guard, unless he constantly seeks wisdom and guidance from above he is likely to make bad matters worse. On every side are people full of assurance, certain that they are journeying to Heaven; yet their daily lives show plainly that they are deceived, and that their assurance is only a fleshly one. Thousands are, to use their own words, “resting on John 3:16,” or 5:24, and have not the slightest doubt they will spend eternity with Christ. Nevertheless, it is the bounden duty of every real servant of God to tell the great majority of them that they are woefully deluded by Satan. O that it may please God to give us the ear and serious attention of some of them.

Some time ago we read of an incident which, as nearly an we recall, was as follows. Nearly 100 years hence, conditions in England were similar to what they have recently been in this country. Banks were failing, and people were panic-stricken. One man who had lost confidence in the banks, drew out all his money in five-pound notes, and then got a friend to change them into gold. Conditions grew worse, other banks failed, and some of this man’s friends told him they had lost their all. With much confidence he informed them that he had drawn out his money, had changed it into gold, and that this was secretly hidden where no one would find it, so that he was perfectly safe. A little later, when needing to buy some things, he went to his secret hoard and took out five golden sovereigns. He went from one shop to another, but none would accept them—they were bad. Thoroughly alarmed, he went to his hidden money, only to find that it was all counterfeit coin!

Now dear reader, you, too, may be quite sure that your faith in Christ is true “gold,” and yet, after all, be mistaken. The human heart is dreadfully deceitful (Jer. 17:9). God’s Word plainly warns us that “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness” (Prov. 30:12). Do you ask (O that you may, in deep earnestness and sincerity), How can I be sure that my faith is a genuine and saving one? The answer is, Test it. Make certain that it is the, “faith of God’s elect” (Titus 1:1). Ascertain whether or not your faith is accompanied with those fruits which are inseparable from a God-given and Spirit-wrought faith.

Probably many are ready to say, There is no need for me to be put to any such trouble; I know that my faith is a saving one, for I am resting on the finished work of Christ. But dear friend, it is foolish to talk like that. God Himself bids His people to make their “calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). Is that a needless exhortation? O pit not your vain confidence against Divine wisdom. It is Satan who is striving so hard to keep many from this very task, lest they discover that their house is built on sand. There is hope for one who discovers his illusion, but there is none for those who go on believing the Devil’s lie, and rest content with the very real but false peace which he gives to so many of his poor victims.

God Himself has supplied us with tests, and we are mad if we do not avail ourselves of them, and honestly measure ourselves by them. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe (more intelligently) on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13). The Holy Spirit Himself moved one of His servants to write a whole Epistle to instruct as how we might know whether or not we have eternal life. Does that look as though the question may be determined and settled as easily as so many present-day preachers and writers represent it? If nothing more than a firm persuasion of the truth of John 3:16 or 5:24 be needed to assure me of my salvation, then why did God give a whole Epistle to instruct us on this subject?

Let the really concerned soul read slowly and thoughtfully through this first Epistle of John, and let him duly observe that not once in its five chapters are we told, “We know that we have passed from death unto life because we are resting on the finished work of Christ.” The total absence of such a statement ought, surely, to convince us that something must be radically wrong with so much of the popular teaching of the day on this subject. But not only is there no such declaration made in this Epistle, the very first passage which contains the familiar “we know” is quite the reverse of what is now being so widely advocated as the ground of Christian assurance. “And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3). Is not that plain enough? A godly life is the first proof that I am a child of God.

But let us observe the solemn declaration that immediately follows. “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). Do these words anger you? We trust not: they are God’s, not ours. Do you refuse to read any more of this article? That would be a bad sign—an honest heart does not fear the light. A sincere soul is willing to be searched by the Truth. If you are unable to endure now the feeble probing of one of His servants, how will it fare in a soon-coming day when the Lord Himself shall search you through and through? O dear friend, give your poor soul a fair chance, be willing to ascertain whether your faith is real wheat, or only chaff. If it proves to be the latter, there is still time for you to humble yourself before God and cry unto Him to give you saving faith. But in that Day it will be too late!

“He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). How plain and pointed is that language! How awful its clear intimation! Do you not see, dear reader, this verse plainly implies that there are those who claim to know Christ, and yet are liars? The father of lies has deceived them, and he is doing everything in his power to keep them from being undeceived. That is why the unregenerate reader finds this article so unpalatable, and wishes to turn from it. O resist this inclination, we beseech you. God has given us this very verse by which we may measure ourselves, and discover whether or not our “assurance of salvation” will stand the test of His Holy Word. Then act not like the silly ostrich, which buries his head in the sand, rather than face his danger.

Let us quote one more verse from this first “we know” passage in John’s Epistle: “But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him” (1 John 2:5). This stands in sharp contrast from the preceding verse. The Apostle was here moved to set before us some clear Scriptural evidences of spiritual faith and love, within constitute the vital difference between sheep and goats. In verse 4 it is the empty professor who says, “I know Christ as my personal Saviour.” He has a theoretical, but not a vital knowledge of Him. He boasts that he is resting on Christ’s finished work, and is confident that he is saved: but keeps not His commandments. He is still a self-pleaser. Like Solomon’s sluggard, he is “wiser in his own conceits than seven men that can render a reason” (Prov. 26:16). He talks boldly, but walks carelessly.

In verse 5 it is the genuine Christian who is in view. He does not say, “I know Him,” instead, he proves it. The Apostle is not here presenting Christ as the immediate Object of faith, but is describing him who has savingly fled to the Lord for refuge, and this, by the effects produced. In him Christ’s Word is everything: his food, his constant meditation, his chart. He “keeps” it in memory, in heart, in action. Christ’s “commandments” occupy his thoughts and prayers as much as do His promises. That Word working in him subdues his carnal desires, feeds his graces, and draws them into real exercise and action. That Word has such a place in his heart and mind that he cannot but give proof of the same in his talk and walk. In this way the “love of God is perfected”: the Family likeness is plainly stamped upon him. All can see to which “father” he belongs—contrast John 8:44.

“Whoso keepeth His Word . . . hereby (in this way) know we that we are in Him.” Keep His Word perfectly? No. But actually, characteristically, in deep desire and honest effort to do so? Yes. Regeneration is that miracle of Divine grace wrought in the soul which enlists the affections Godwards—which brings the human will into subjection to the Divine—and which produces a real and radical change in the life. That change is from worldliness to godliness, from disobedience to obedience. At the new birth the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and that love is manifested in a dominating longing and sincere purpose to please in all things the One who has plucked me as a brand from the burning. There is a greater difference between the genuine Christian and the deceived professing Christian than there is between a living man and a corpse. None need remain in doubt if they will honestly measure themselves by the Holy Word of God.

There is only space left for us to consider one other Scripture in this opening article, namely, the Parable of the Sower. Why did the Lord Jesus give us that parable? Why, but to stir me up to serious inquiry and diligent examination so as to discover which kind of a “hearer” I am. In that parable, Christ likened those who hear the Word unto various sorts of ground upon which seeds fall. He divided them into four different classes. Three out of the four brought no fruit to perfection. That is exceedingly solemn and searching. In one case the Devil catches away the good seed out of the heart (Luke 8:12). In another case, they “for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). In another case, they are “choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14). Are you, my reader, described in one of these? Do not ignore this question. We beg you: face it honestly, and make sure which of the various soils represent your heart.

But there are some “good ground” hearers. And how are they to be identified? What did the infallible Son of God say of them? How did He describe them? Did He say, “that on the good ground are they who rest on the Word of God and doubt not His promises: are thoroughly persuaded they are saved, and yet go on living the same kind of life as previously”? No. He did not. Instead, He declared, “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). Ah, dear readers, the test is fruit: not knowledge, not boasting, not orthodoxy, not joy, but FRUIT: and such “fruit” as mere nature cannot produce. It is the fruit of the Vine, namely, likeness to Christ, being conformed to His Image. May the Holy Spirit search each one of us.

There are several massive problems today in the American evangelical church, some overt and some flying under the radar.  I think much of it stems from the increasing decay of the faith of the evangelical church in the Scriptures as being the Word of God (verbum dei).  Criticisms leveled against the Bible from skeptics and liberal Protestantism have left many people in mainstream Christianity doubting whether they can trust the Bible, if they even know what it says.

Most of these problems have been and are continuing to be addressed by the conservative, modern day reformers of the church, so they need not be brought up here.  However, there is one specific issue I’ve run into personally and which, the more I think about it, the more I feel a need to address it.  Actually, the more I think about it, the less it makes sense and the more diabolic our current state of affairs becomes.

The problem is this: we have mainstream, Biblically aware, evangelical Christians voting for Barack Obama.  I’m sure at this point several of you reading this (or at least, people I wish were reading this, so I’ll just pretend you are) have at least raised an eyebrow, and most likely are scowling at the monitor.  Yes, like I said, a huge problem in the mainstream Christian church is that Christians are voting for and supporting Barack Obama, the President Elect.  Of course, now I have to tell you why I think this is a problem (before you send me disgruntled emails or perhaps some angry faces on AIM):

Why is this a problem?  Do you realize that, as one person put it, this is going to be the most anti-life administration ever?  Mainstream, evangelical Christianity, becoming increasingly liberal thanks to the efforts of leaders like Rick Warren, has supported a politician who in an unambiguous fashion has clearly shown us just how little he esteems unborn human life.

I’m well aware of how trivialized abortion is in the moral debates of the day.  Instead of confronting the issue, most pro-life/choice apathetics (or maybe even some who feel a tiny bit of moral conviction on the isuse) focus on other reasons which, in their minds, make it the right choice to support a man such as Obama.  For instance, they like Obama’s economic policy, or perhaps his stance on gun saftey, or maybe his plan for the war on terrorism.  And since these platforms are more substantial and relevant to them (after all, it’s not as if we can be aborted ourselves), they weigh them more in their political decisions than abortion.

Well, last I checked, human life and the preservation thereof was much more important than an economic policy.  Firearms?  You should read the statistics the FBI puts out on how much safer cities are where the average citizen can own a gun.  The war?  Granted we’ve had some failures there, but when a guy is able to throw his shoes at a leader and not disappear suddenly in the night never to be heard from again, I call that a success for democracy and freedom.  Just you think about what would’ve happened to that guy and his family under the previous regime.

Regardless, the Obama supporter’s case is non-applicable prima facie.  Abortion outweighs any of these issues to the point where if a candidate has his stance right on abortion and all other platforms are flawed, he is still the right choice.  Why can I say this with such assurance?  Well, ask yourself this question: what do you think, of the most popular political platforms, matters most to God?  I think the obvious answer is abortion, but if you’re unsure, then ask yourself the following question: how do you think Jesus would vote on abortion?  If the answer is not abundantly clear, I suggest you go read your Bible until you figure it out.

Abortion is wrong because it is murder.  Pro-choicers argue that it’s not really murder because you’re not really killing a human being; you’re killing a fetus.  Well, these people obviously haven’t read Genesis: God makes it clear that all men are created in the image of God.  What is abortion?  Killing someone made in God’s image.  If you would debate this point, you must realize that your only option is to divorce God’s image from unborn babies at a certain time in their development…and to even attempt to do so is folly.  It is God’s image because it is human, and from conception until death and posthumous decay, it never ceases to be God’s image.  In Genesis 9:6, God proclaims to Noah that he will require blood for blood because when a person murders another person, he has murdered the image of God.  Women who abort their babies incur this same penalty, and those who support their “right” to their abortion support nothing less than murder.  This should bother your conscience severely if you are a Christian.

Do we not have many verses which speak to this issue?  God reminds us over and over that He is at work from the moment of conception:

Psalm 139: 13-14 – For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Job 31:15 – “Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?

Do you realize that Jeremiah was known by God before he was even formed?  And yet, Christians give their unashamed support to those who kill babies likewise known by God.  Perhaps it would be wise for you (or us, here, at some point) to do a study of just what the Bible means when it says “known by God.”  God’s knowledge of a person is an intensely intimate thing–recall the words spoken by the Lord in His sermon on anxiety.  Recall God’s relationship with Jacob.

God does not simply not know the babies killed in abortions.  He knows them better than they would ever know themselves if given a chance to live.  And yet, Christians stomach (and support, apparently) over a million of these individual creations of God a year being violently obliterated.

Are you aware that in the US alone there have been over 1.2 million abortions each year for the last decade or more?  Do you know what that amounts to in abortions per day? We’re talking over 3,300 babies aborted a day.  3,300 humans–the veritable image of God–murdered every day.  And guess what: we just elected a man whose administration will only increase they numbers.  Abortion is so trivialized it’s scary.  Have a look at some more facts: http://www.abort73.com/HTML/II-A-abortion_statistics.html

I mentioned Rick Warren above, and his stance on this issue is worth assessing because his church (and churches like it) are becoming more and more the standard of the evangelical Christianity we see in America today.  As you’re probably aware, Rick Warren has agreed to give the ceremonial prayer at Obama’s swearing in.  This has stirred a bit of indignation (rightfully so) among many members of the evangelical community.  What you probably don’t know, however, is that support for Obama is not something new to the Warren ministry.  He and Obama go back a few years–and Warren has been a loyal comrade all the way.  It’s too bad seeing a leader of mainstream Christianity literally bear-hug the leader of the pro-choice camp isn’t as shocking to some of you as it should be.  Of course, Rick has been questioned as to his stance on abortion, and this is what he had to say: “I’m just not rabid about it.”

As one website pointed out:

Merriam Webster Online defines “rabid ” as “going to extreme lengths in expressing or pursuing a feeling, interest, or opinion.” When Pastor Warren says he’s “just not rabid ” about abortion he is in essence saying he is not hot, not cold but kind of lukewarm about abortion. In Revelation 3:13-22, Jesus says, “I know your deeds …. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ” Is God “lukewarm ” over child sacrifice or is He rabid?

The website makes a feasible connection between child sacrifice and abortion, but without working through his whole train of thought, let’s look at just a few verses that, though they focus on the specific sin of child sacrifice, should show just how rabid God is about the lives of babies:

In Ezekiel 16:20-21, 35-36, 43, He says, among other things, that His own people “… have enraged me … ” with child sacrifice.

In Psalm 106:37-42, He says, among other things, that because of their child sacrifice “… Jehovah’s anger burned against his people and he abhorred them. That is why he let the heathen nations crush them. “

In Jeremiah 7:24-26, 30-31, He says, among other things, “… and they burn to death their little sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods — a deed so horrible I’ve never even thought of it …. “

In Jeremiah 19:3-5, 7-9, 11, God says, among other things, that because of child sacrifice, “… will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended.”

These people killed their babies and God’s anger burned against them.  The website continues:

It is pretty easy to take God’s temperature here — and He is not lukewarm. He is hot. White-hot.

In Isaiah 59:2-3, He says, “…[B]ut your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood …. “

In Jeremiah 7:16, He says, “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. “

In Jeremiah 11:14, He says, “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call me in the time of their trouble. “

In Jeremiah 14:11-12, He says, “… ‘Do not pray for the welfare of this people. Though they fast, I will not hear their cry ….’ “

In Jeremiah 15:1, the prophet says, “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight ….’ “

God sounds rabid about child sacrifice. Very rabid. In Matthew 24:12, Jesus told us that we could expect the end times when “the love of most grows cold.” Saddleback [Rick Warren's church]‘s love for the unborn may not have grown “cold” but it has certainly cooled and is now no better than “lukewarm.”

God cares.  And God’s people have now elected a man about whom it has been noted:

Senator Obama twice refused to support a ban against partial-birth abortion as a state legislator. He even blocked consideration of the “Born Alive Infants Protection Act. ” He also refused to support a parental notice requirement as a predicate to abortions for minor children and twice refused to support a ban on public funding for abortion. This guy is as bad as it gets on the most important moral issue of our time — and he brags about it.

And as if this weren’t enough, though it comes as no surprise, Mr. Obama does not believe in the Bible as the Word of God.  Consider, if you will, his following statement:

Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy?  Should we go with Leviticus which suggests that slavery is ok?

Obama makes his point clear: at least certain parts of Scripture are invalid, morally speaking, and apparently, some passages of Scripture support what most of us consider to be a moral wrong (slavery).  There are so many issues with Obama’s implied criticism, but they can be discussed at a later time.  The real issue is that Obama has called into question the validity of the Word of God, specifically of the Mosaic Law.  Now whose side would you think Christians would stand on when it comes to Jesus versus Barack Obama?  Jesus gave us full support to the Law, saying things like “I have not come to abolish but to fulfill the Law” (Matthew 5:17), or, “Not one iota will pass from the Law until all is fulfilled” (18), or, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail” (Luke 16:17), or, my favorite, “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).  Indeed, it was Christ’s opinion that the Law, Prophets, and Psalms (i.e., the Old Testament) consistently bore witness to His ministry (Luke 24:44).

Why on earth (or should I say, why in hell? for this is certainly hellish) are evangelical, Bible-believing Christians backing a man who claims to be “of the faith” but directly opposes Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior?  It would be one thing if Obama at least had his morals right and lived without this religious hypocrisy–then he would be just another politician and we’d have to make that choice without the influence of people like Rick Warren.  But what we have here is a wolf in sheeps clothes–very thin, revealing clothes, I might add.  We have a man who supports, and will now legislate in favor of, the murder of millions of babies a year, and a man who openly criticizes the revealed Word of God–parts specifically supported by the Son of God!  And yet, Christians display his bumper sticker proudly on their cars.

If the slavery issue interests you, start reading with the following and get back to me:

http://www.biblegateway.com/topical/topical_resource.php?source=1&tid=4350

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/02/02/feedback-bible-slavery

I wrote this post because some of my friends who may read it support Barack Obama, and I want them to consider, deeply and Biblically, how anti-Christian that is.  I hope those of you who voted for Obama are truly saved so that God has forgiven you your sins.  If you are not saved, or you think you’re saved but you’re not sure, it’s time to ask God to forgive you for this choice.  Every unborn child that is murdered by your consent (you voted in the administration that will make abortion more and more available and frequent) may very well be blood required of you by God if you do not seek His mercy.  We know that God requires blood for blood, and it is clear that Jesus loved children (Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16).  Ask God to forgive you for favoring a man who understands none of these truths, and do this in faith knowing that He is faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if we confess our sins (1 John 1:9).

Resource used above: http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/warren.html

On the whole, so far, reading this book has been edifying; I am no more convinced of Arminianism (or rather, against Calvinism since the book is really a polemic rather than apologetic) than before, but I have much more appreciation for Arminians.  Somewhat to my shame, I was one of those Calvinists (there are many of us on both sides really) who wrote off Arminianism as simply ignorant of Scripture and wholly concerned with humanism and philosophy.  But of the works I’ve encountered so far, Why I Am Not a Calvinist provides the most exegesis, and thus, is a worthwhile read for understanding the classical (Wesleyan, as well) Arminian position.

My primary concern, which I will reach after a few points, in this post is to address a specific analogy put forth by the authors to illustrate their view of man’s “total” depravity and God’s method of salvation; however, it is worth noting that, as is often the case with Arminianism defenders, the authors establish as their principle argument the idea that Calvinism does harm to the loving character of God.  This rhetoric is getting old–even to a three-year old Calvinist like myself.  It seems that all Arminian apologetics start with God’s universal salvific love as their basic premise, and thus they rule out a priori any idea that God does not love everyone to the extent that He wishes to save him/her (examples contra include Esau, Pharaoh, Judas–the son of perdition…–etc.)  I hope they will deal with texts like Acts 13:48 in which believers are described as being “appointed to eternal life.”  Once again I don’t understand how Arminians don’t give up the doctrine of eternal punishment and become Universalists.  If God has to appoint certain people to eternal life for them to obtain it (in Acts 13, Lydia’s belief is predicated on God’s appointing), and God wants to save everyone, then God surely has appointed everyone, and when God does this, according to Jesus, no one may be snatched from His hand.

I was also reading an article by John Macarthur earlier and ran across an intriguing truth: much of Arminian language (that is, within systematic Arminianism) borrows Calvinistic presuppositions.  Indeed, I ran across several examples while reading Why I Am Not a Calvinist.  The authors actually use the loaded term “atonement” when considering the nature of salvation–a word I thought was anathema to Arminianism.

I think it was R.C. Sproul who wrote that Arminians are barely Christian (still enough to be saved and considered brothers in Christ, mind you) because they do not really hold to the doctrine of Sola fide ([Salvation] by faith alone), which is, as I hope most of you are aware, a Biblical doctrine.  Until reading this book, I never saw how accurately his point is made.  Speaking on “atonement” and the sin of unbelief, the authors write:

But this Calvinist objection misunderstands what Arminians believe about the atonement.  We understand that the death of Jesus makes provision for the forgiveness of all sins, but it doesn’t enact that forgiveness until sinners surrender in faith to God.  This makes it entirely reasonable to state that Christ died for all types of sin, including the sin of unbelief, but that those who persist in unbelief have not received the pardon that is yet possible for them.

So, to the Arminian, faith is what ignites the process of salvation.  The real underlying issue here is the nature of atonement, but a superficial inconsistency one notes is that salvation (enacting the possible forgiveness) takes the action of man.  Thus, salvation is no longer by faith alone and not by works, but rather faith becomes a work.  God commands that everyone cease their unbelief and belief in Jesus (1 John 3:23).  There is nothing wrong with obeying God in this command, but the problem is that faith, and indeed, the entire salvation process, is a gift of God and leaves man no room to boast (Eph. 2:8).  So when Arminians suggest that sinners (can) simply obey God (a work of the Law), they leave little room for themselves to hoist the traditional Protestant banner.

As for the idea of atonement described here, let me first say that it ignores Hebrews 7-10 and the Old Testament context surrounding Christ’s sacrifice.  To put it briefly, for this is a topic to which volumes could be dedicated, the Hebrew concept of atonement was one of full restitution.  An animal was slain on the alter, its blood was spilled on the mercy seat, and God’s wrath was appeased.  Nowhere in the Old Testament (that I’m aware of) does God’s forgiveness of the sins of the Israelites depend on whether they accept some opportunity presented by the blood-offering.  Likewise, nowhere in the New Testament (of which I’m aware) does an author alter the concept of atonement to include this new predicate.  Indeed, there are numerous references to Christ’s “sacrificial lamb” status in which specific comparisons are drawn between His crucifixion and the slaying of the sacrificial animals in the Old Testament.

I don’t find the authors’ dealing with the following charge persuasive either.  As they say, Calvinists often charge Arminianism with inconsistency on the topic of the sin of unbelief.  We believe that if God has atoned for all the sins of all people, including the sin of unbelief, then God has no reason to damn anyone.  You read the conclusion of their defense above: the atonement was not definite but rather represented a possibility.  James R. White offers a fantastic rebuttal of the Arminian view of atonement in The Potter’s Freedom; I only bring up the point because it leads into the next idea in Why I Am Not a Calvinist.  The authors assert that God has made it possible for everyone to be saved, even those that have not specifically heard the Gospel or the name of Jesus.  I find this belief lacking in Biblical basis.  In Romans 10, Paul says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  But he devotes the next several lines to defining the ability to call: first, that people cannot call on someone in whom they do not believe; second, that they will not believe in Him whom they have not heard; and in conclusion, that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.  Scripture makes it clear that faith is the one and only necessary condition for salvation, but we have Arminians suggesting that God has made salvation possible for everyone, including people who have not heard the Gospel, and Paul suggesting that only those who have heard can believe and, therefore, can call upon God and be saved.

Of course, someone might argue that the very next verse (10:18) says that everyone has indeed heard.  But I don’t think this is a valid interpretation.  Notice that Paul asks if “they” have heard–who is they?  The Jews.  Not “everyone everywhere.”

Before I get to the promised critique of their analogy, I want to address a few more issues I see in the thinking of the authors.  There are several presuppositions exhibited in this book which require consideration.  For instance, the authors write, “God’s love for everyone guarantees that the Holy Spirit pursues everyone in every age…”  I’m not sure exactly why they take for granted the idea that God loves everyone (perhaps the oft-quoted verse, “God is love”?), but I question its validity given the numerous instances of God not loving everyone.  I’m sure they will address Romans 9 at some point, but it alone has two clear instances, in my mind, of God not loving everyone.  In fact, Scripture says, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”–apparently God hated Esau…–and gives us many examples of God purposely not saving someone or at the very least not showing love toward him or her.  Pharaoh, for instance, was hardened; Judas was predestined as the son of perdition (where is the love in that?).  Indeed, Jesus spoke in parables so that some people would not understand…

Does God only love people up until they die?  And then He sends them to hell because He loves them?  Or does He just stop loving them at death?

One of their prooftexts for the idea that God loves everyone is John 3:16, but a careful look at the verse in Greek (or even just in English) leaves one wondering why they appeal to this verse. Please allow me to quote a recent post for some insight:

Here is the Greek (transliterated) of John 3:16:

houtos gar egapesen ho theos ton kosmon, hoste ton huion ton monogene edoken, hina pas ho pisteuon eis auton me apoletai all exe zoen aionion.

It is interesting to note in passing that the first phrase of this verse–”For God so loved the world”–is actually “For thus God loved the world,” or in other words, “In this way God loved the world.”  Many Christians who have not dealt with the Greek text confuse the meaning of so (thus) with so (quantification).  John 3:16 does not say, explicitly, how much God loved the world but rather in what way His love manifested itself.

I found an article online which sums up the explicit meaning of John 3:16 succinctly.  (I transliterated the Greek references to match the Greek above.)

John 3:16, of course, is widely used by Arminians to prove that God does not elect people to salvation and that we all can choose to believe in Christ!

James White made a statement concerning Chuck Smith’s favourite words, “whosoever believeth.” It all has to do with the Greek in this case.

The phrase, “that whoever believes” is [hina pas ho pisteuon].

“[pisteuon]” is a present active first person masculine singular participle.

In this case the translation of hina pas ho pisteuon is as follows: in order that each believing one. Hence, the translation is as follows:

It is clear from looking at the Greek here, that the intention of John 3:16 is not some kind of universalism in which anyone that simply wants to, could walk into the Kingdom of God by choice. There simply is no universalism here. Instead, this verse rather makes it clear that only the believing ones will have eternal life!

On the one hand, it says that God so loved the world [this misconception is corrected above], but on the other hand a clear delimitation is positioned by this verse based on the believing ones. So, this verse precludes any universal ability in man and simply concentrates on those that do believe. It simply does not say how they came to their believing state!

The problem with the word whoever that appears in many translations here, is that it creates a false sense in the reader that it means to communicate to us a meaning of “all without distinction in a particular group.” People like Chuck Smith and Dave Hunt use this meaning of whoever when reading the term world in this verse. The fact is that the construct of the Greek simply does not allow that. It clearly makes a separation between world and the believing ones.

So, as we can see, John 3:16 cannot be used in any Universalistic sense, but rather in a particular sense. It is not the whoever that will be saved, but rather each believing one will be saved. Instead of a sense of the whoever that will be saved, it should rather be the only that will be saved. It is not a case of whoever that will be saved, but rather, only the believing ones will be saved. As a result, it is not whoever in the world that will be saved, but rather, only the believing ones in the world will be saved.

So does God love every single person and pursue every single person with salvific intent?  Perhaps, but John 3:16 does not lend itself to this idea.

And now for the promised analogy.  In seeking to compare Calvinism and Arminianism, the authors formulate a scenario and then provide the viewpoints of the scenario from both sides.  The sinner is, they hold, like a prisoner in a terrorist camp, completely incapacitated, drugged, and experiencing a sort of Stockholm Syndrome.  According to the Calvinist model, God invades the camp, rescues the prisoner, injects “faith” into his veins, and then the prisoner goes on trusting God.  Against this, the authors provide the Arminian view:

God steals into the prison and makes it to the bedside of the victim.  God injects a serum that begins to clear the prisoner’s mind of delusions and quell her hostile reactions…The prisoner remains mute as the Rescuer’s voice whispers, “Do you know where you are?  Let me tell you!  Do you know who you are?  Let me show you!”  And as the wooing begins, divine truth beings to dawn on the prisoner’s heart and mind; the Savior holds up a small mirror to show the prisoner her sunken eyes and frail body.  “Do you see what they’ve done to you, and do you see how you’re given yourself over to them?”  Even in the dim light, the prisoner’s weakened eyes are beginning to focus.  The Rescuer continues, “Do you know who I am, and that I want you for myself?”  Perhaps the prisoner makes no obvious advance but does not turn away.  The questions keep coming: “Can I show you pictures of who you once were and the wondrous plans I have for you in the years to come?”  The prisoner’s heartbeat quickens as the Savior presses on: “I know that part of you suspects that I have come to harm you.  But let me show you something–my hands, they’re a bit bloody.  I crawled through an awful tangle of barbed wire to get to you.”  Now here in this newly created sacred space, in this moment of new possibility, the Savior whispers, “I want to carry you out of here right now!  Give me your heart!  Trust me!”

This scenario…captures the richness of the Bible’s message: the glory of God’s original creation, the devastation of sin, God’s loving pursuit of helpless sinners and the nature of love as the free assent of persons.

This is, no doubt, quite touching and dramatic.  But it leaves me with a few questions: since when did sinners become victims?  Notice the diction.  As far as I’m aware, the only real “victims” in Scripture are the righteous men and women who suffer under the hand of sinners.  Jesus takes pity on sinners, but I don’t see anything in His words which gives the impression that He saw them as victims:

Mark 7:21“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

It is man who sins and destroys himself; the sinner is not a victim, or rather, not a victim of external circumstances.  Sinners have only themselves to blame for their predicaments.  So when God holds up a mirror to the sinner, one would expect the sinner to see more than a frail body and sunken eyes.  The sinner should see the horrible, wretched sin of his life.  Indeed, we would expect God to say something like, “Do you see your sin?  Repent and believe,” rather than, “See what they’ve done to you?”

It looks like the authors are borrowing more Calvinistic presuppositions, specifically to describe what Reformed theology refers to as regeneration.  Being born again is an instantaneous event; but here, the authors describe the process in stages and gradual changes (e.g., the prisoner’s eyes begin to focus, the heartbeat quickens, etc.).

We see them describe the interaction as “wooing.”  Until now I had never seen this term used in Arminian writing, though R.C. Sproul often talks about the concept.  The problem is, however, the Bible does not describe the process as wooing or enticement.  On the one hand, God commands sinners to repent and believe; on the other, since they cannot does this on their own, God gives them (as a gift) repentance and faith.  God drags sinners to Christ–God woos no one to Christ.  The only Scripture I need for support is John 6:44.

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

It is interesting to note, as I have many times on this website, that the word “draws” is literally “drags” in Greek.  What’s more, the word (helko) is never used in Scripture, with reference to men or inanimate objects, as enticement.  It is always a force applied to an object which takes no consideration for the objects will, and which the object does not resist of its own will.

“Can I show you pictures of who you once were and the wondrous plans I have for you in the years to come?”  Who the sinner was was a sinner… It is true that God’s original creation (including man) was “good.”  But given Original sin (perhaps the Arminian and Calvinist views of Original sin are too different), man is born given to sin (Cf. Psalm 51:5).  As for the wondrous plans, the two verses most cited for this idea are Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28.

Romans 8:28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Notice the context: God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, those who are called according to His purpose.  This could be everyone, perhaps, but what does Paul say next?  Here we run into the Golden Chain of Redemption once again.  Those whom God foreknew (we’ll get to foreknowledge at a later date), He predestined (again, later) to become conformed to the image of Christ.  Those He predestined He called; those He called He justified; and those justified, He glorified.  Romans 8 (really all of Romans) presents a problem for Arminianism since, if God is calling everyone, everyone must be saved.  Again, why aren’t Arminians just Universalists?  Everyone God calls is justified and glorified.  If we understand the Gospel message to say that everyone is called, then we necessarily conclude that everyone is likewise justified.  But Arminians–classical ones, at least–affirm the doctrine of hell…

And in Jeremiah, God is speaking to the Hebrews in the Babylonian Exile.  I would ask for more exegesis to justify applying a verse from this specific context to such a general “truth” such as “God has good plans for everyone.”  God obviously didn’t have plans to prosper or give a bright future to Esau, Pharaoh, Judas, etc.

“…God’s loving pursuit of helpless sinners and the nature of love as the free assent of persons.”  As we’ve noted from Romans 8 (also see, John 6), if God is really pursuing everyone, then God is calling everyone.  If God is calling everyone, then everyone will be saved.  All those whom God calls will be justified and glorified.  As far as their definition of love, I do not know what more to say other than to point out that it is a philosophical presupposition which, hopefully, they will expand upon later.  At this point they merely assert their conviction and presume that their argument meshes.

So now on to chapter three.  At least they have not said that sinners are seeking God… (Cf. Romans 3)

A. My problems with the “traditional method.”

1. This method compromises God himself by maintaining that his existence is only “possible” albeit “highly probable,” rather than ontologically and “rationally” necessary.

2. It compromises the counsel of God by not understanding it as the only all-inclusive, ultimate “cause” of whatsoever comes to pass.

3. It compromises the revelation of God by:

a. Compromising its necessity. It does so by not recognizing that even in Paradise man had to interpret the general (natural) revelation of God in terms of the covenantal obligations placed upon him by God through special revelation. Natural revelation, on the traditional view, can be understood “on its own.”

b. Compromising its clarity. Both the general and special revelation of God are said to be unclear to the point that man may say only that God’s existence is “probable.”

c. Compromising its sufficiency. It does this by allowing for an ultimate realm of “chance” out of which might come “facts” such as are wholly new for God and for man. Such “facts” would be uninterpreted and unexplainable in terms of the general or special revelation of God.

d. Compromising its authority. On the traditional position the Word of God’s sell-attesting characteristic, and there with its authority, is secondary to the authority of reason and experience. The Scriptures do not identify them selves, man identifies them and recognizes their “authority” only in terms of his own authority.

4. It compromises man’s creation as the image of God by thinking of man’s creation and knowledge as independent of the Being and knowledge of God. On the traditional approach man need not “think God’s thoughts after him.”

5. It compromises man’s covenantal relationship with God by not understanding Adam’s representative action as absolutely determinative of the future.

6. It compromises the sinfulness of mankind resulting from the sin of Adam by not understanding man’s ethical depravity as extending to the whole of his life, even to his thoughts and attitudes.

7. It compromises the grace of God by not understanding it as the necessary prerequisite for “renewal unto knowledge.” On the traditional view man can and must renew himself unto knowledge by the “right use of reason.”

B. My understanding of the relationship between Christian and non-Christian, philosophically speaking.

1. Both have presuppositions about the nature of reality:

a. The Christian presupposes the triune God and his redemptive plan for the universe as set forth once for all in Scripture.

b. The non-Christian presupposes a dialectic between “chance” and “regularity,” the former accounting for the origin of matter and life, the latter accounting for the current success of the scientific enterprise.

2. Neither can, as finite beings, by means of logic as such, say what reality must be or cannot be.

a. The Christian, therefore, attempts to understand his world through the observation and logical ordering of facts in self-conscious subjection to the plan of the self attesting Christ of Scripture.

b. The non-Christian, while attempting an enterprise similar to the Christian’s, attempts nevertheless to use “logic” to destroy the Christian position. On the one hand, appealing to the non- rationality of “matter,” he says that the chance- character of “facts” is conclusive evidence against the Christian position. Then, on the other hand, he maintains like Parmenides that the Christian story cannot possibly be true. Man must be autonomous, “logic” must be legislative as to the field of “possibility” and possibility must be above God.

3. Both claim that their position is “in accordance with the facts.”

a. The Christian claims this because he interprets the facts and his experience in the light of the revelation of the self-attesting Christ in Scripture. Both the uniformity and the diversity of facts have at their foundation the all-embracing plan of God.

b. The non-Christian claims this because he interprets the facts and his experience in the light of the autonomy of human personality, the ultimate “givenness” of the world and the amenability of matter to mind. There can be no fact that denies man’s autonomy or attests to the world’s and man’s divine origin.

4. Both claim that their position is “rational.”

a. The Christian does so by claiming not only that his position is self-consistent but that he can explain both the seemingly “inexplicable” amenability of fact to logic and the necessity and usefulness of rationality itself in terms of Scripture.

b. The non-Christian may or may not make this same claim. If he does, the Christian maintains that he cannot make it good. If the non-Christian attempts to account for the amenability of fact to logic in terms of the ultimate rationality of the cosmos, then he will be crippled when it comes to explaining the “evolution” of men and things. If he attempts to do so in terms of pure “chance” and ultimate “irrationality” as being the well out of which both rational man and a rationally amenable world sprang, then we shall point out that such an explanation is in fact no explanation at all and that it destroys predication.

C. My proposal, therefore, for a consistently Christian methodology of apologetics is this:

1. That we use the same principle in apologetics that we use in theology: the self-attesting, self-explanatory Christ of Scripture.

2. That we no longer make an appeal to “common notions” which Christian and non-Christian agree on, but to the “common ground” which they actually have because man and his world are what Scripture says they are.

3. That we appeal to man as man, God’s image. We do so only if we set the non-Christian principle of the rational autonomy of man against the Christian principle of the dependence of man’s knowledge on God’s knowledge as revealed in the person and by the Spirit of Christ.

4. That we claim, therefore, that Christianity alone is reason able for men to hold. It is wholly irrational to hold any other position than that of Christianity. Christianity alone does not slay reason on the altar of “chance.”

5. That we argue, therefore, by “presupposition.” The Christian, as did Tertullian, must contest the very principles of his opponent’s position. The only “proof” of the Christian position is that unless its truth is presupposed there is no possibility of “proving” anything at all. The actual state of affairs as preached by Christianity is the necessary foundation of “proof” itself.

6. That we preach with the understanding that the acceptance of the Christ of Scripture by sinners who, being alienated from God, sock to flee his face, comes about when the Holy Spirit, in the presence of inescapably clear evidence, opens their eyes so that they see things as they truly are.

7. That we present the message and evidence for the Christian position as clearly as possible, knowing that because man is what the Christian says he is, the non- Christian will be able to understand in an intellectual sense the issues involved. In so doing, we shall, to a large extent, be telling him what he “already knows” but seeks to suppress. This “reminding” process provides a fertile ground for the Holy Spirit, who in sovereign grace may grant the non-Christian repentance so that he may know him who is life eternal.

I hope that by this, “My Credo,” I have been able in a small way sincerely to thank all those who took the time to write for this birthday-book.

- C.V.T.