Some words in the Bible can be somewhat ambiguous. Usually it has more to do with the modern context of the word than the author’s use. Either way, we often end up with a problem reading the Bible today. What does this word mean in it’s context?

Sometimes the problem can be huge, and can send your theology in a completely wrong direction. As a matter of fact, some cults are built entirely on a few words being misunderstood to mean something they don’t.

Today we’ll concentrate on a word that makes a big difference. If it’s understood one way, God is completely reactionary to what human beings do; and the other way, makes God the proactive initiator of salvation based on nothing in man.

That word is “foreknow”.

Foreseen Faith

There is a theological system that hangs on a doctrine of foreseen faith. That is that before creation, God looked into the future and saw who would believe in Jesus. The ones whom He saw would believe are the ones He chose to save. This, according to the subscribers of the doctrine (we’ll call the doctrine “simple foreknowledge”), is what the Bible means when it talks about “the elect”. So election is not based on God’s sovereign unconditional choice, but election is a conditional reaction to God’s foreknowledge of future events.

I’m convinced this doctrine would not exist if it weren’t for two texts:

“To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:” -1 Peter 1:1-2

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” -Romans 8:29

In both of these texts the proponents of simple foreknowledge believe that “foreknowledge” and “foreknow” are actually shorthand for “foresee who would believe in Jesus”.

Defining Our Terms

Let’s look at the word foreknow. What does the word mean? Can it have multiple meaning? Is there a more obvious meaning in the contexts? Let’s do a little work (Though this study would be better done in the original Greek, I think the translated word is straightforward enough for those who don’t know Greek, like myself, to grasp the issues.)

Simply defined ‘fore’ means previous, and ‘know’ means have knowledge of. So the simplest definition we can conjur is ‘previously have knowledge of’. Good start.

Biblical data also shows us that ‘know’ can also have a few other connotations.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” -Jeremiah 1:5

Here the parallelism demonstrates “before I formed you in the womb” is to “before you were born” as “I knew you” is to “I consecrated you”. So we see that know can mean set aside, or consecrated.

“It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought…” -Hosea 13:5

Here the Bible uses ‘knew’ to speak of God’s providential care for Israel in the wilderness. Know can mean ‘care for’.

“I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” -Matthew 7:23

In this text Jesus certainly isn’t talking about bare knowledge, but some kind of intimate relational knowledge. It’s not that He didn’t know of the false professors that cast out demons in His name, it’s that he wasn’t their Savior by relationship. So know can also mean ‘intimate relationship’

The Bible uses this word often to portray sexual intercourse as well. “Adam knew Eve”(Genesis 4:1), “Cain knew his wife” (Genesis 4:17), “Elkanah knew Hannah his wife” (1 Samuel 1:19).

I’m comfortable collapsing all of these alternate definitions into a general concept of intimate, relational, love.

So here are the definitions we have to work with for foreknow:
1. have previous knowledge (simplest definition)
2. previously have intimate love for (more complex, but very Biblical)
3. previously see faith exercised in (not a definition of the word, but believed to be shorthand)

Working With Our Definitions

Since 1 Peter 1:1-2 simply states that election is based on foreknowledge, we’ll concentrate on Romans 8:29, since the text gives us an order, and a result. Whatever conclusion we arrive at will also apply to 1 Peter.

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” -Romans 8:29

Let’s replace the word foreknew with out definitions, and see how each one fares.

1. For those whom he [had previous knowledge of] he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…

Ok, so we have an omniscient God who can see all things, and all people. Good. The obvious problem is that that God had previous knowledge of everyone, and since there is no delineator to narrow it down, we’d be saying that all people are predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Unless we’re Universalists, this will not do. Next!

2. For those whom he [previously had intimate love for] he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…

Now we see a cohesive, if not offensive, thought. It would appear, as in Matthew 7:23 that God has an intimate love for a specific group of people, that he doesn’t share with all people (depart from me I never knew you). If this is the correct understanding it would gel very well with God’s election of Israel over against all other nations, and the New Testament talk of the Church being God’s “elect”. Look what Paul says about the same predestination in Ephesians:

“In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” -Ephesians 1:5

3. For those whom he [previously saw would believe in Jesus] he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…

Again, unlike the first definition, we have a mostly cohesive thought. The first problem is just the simple flow of the sentence. We’re coupling a completely passive verb (observing) with an active verb (predestining) and linking them with “also”. This is not the way cause and effect is communicated. We don’t say “those whom he observed, he also did something with”, we’d say “those whom he observed, he in turn did something with.”

Secondly we’re trying to force the idea of foreseen events (personal excercise of faith) into a context of foreknown people. It doesn’t say God would know what they would do (true as that may be), it says He knew them.

The much bigger problem is that the word “foreknow” simply can’t be defined by such a loaded definition. It would have to be proven with more Biblical data, that the author was implying something so in-depth as a foreseen decision, and uses a single word for brevity. But again, there is no other Biblical data to build this doctrine. The expanded definition is built, circularly, on the very texts that require the expanded definition to give the desired result. Until it can be proven that ‘foreknow’ should actually be understood as ‘foreknow who would have faith’, it makes no sense to understand it that way. The only reason anyone would do so is because of a tradition passed down to them by a theology needing the word to have such a definition.

Definition 2 is the only one that can be used meaningfully. Now let’s try this definition in the other text, 1 Peter 1:1-2.

“To those who are elect… according to the [previous love] of God the Father…”

Perfect. We see God actively electing a people based on the love He had before the foundation of the world. Sounds very similar to:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— …” -Ephesians 2:4-5

The Killer Text

I’ve demonstrated that only one definition of the word ‘foreknow’ can confidently be used in this context. Now you may ask if the actual word ‘foreknew’ is used in any other place in the new testament in a way that can support the definition I’ve concluded.

Paul, only 3 chapters later in Romans uses this exact same word in a way that makes it abundantly clear that this is the proper way to understand this word in context.

“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.” -Romans 11:1-2

Paul is not talking about foreseen faith. As a matter of fact he’s talking about national Israel who largely DO NOT believe. Paul is explaining that God has not turned His back on His fore-loved people.

Now, it should be noted that while this demonstrates the meaning of the word, it’s not being used in the same context. One group He’s fore-loved and elected as His chosen people under the old covenant (and has not abandoned them now). The other group He’s fore-loved and elected for salvation in Christ. Those “who are loved by God and called to be saints…” -Romans 1:7.

Romans 11:1-2 demonstrates that Paul does not use ‘foreknew’ as shorthand for ‘foreseen faith’, but that he is speaking of unconditional electing love. He is referring to a special kind of love that God does not have for all people. He is referring to a purposed choice God made before the creation of the world to love a people because of “nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls-” -Romans 9:11

Now with this amazing fore-love in mind, let’s see what God does with these people.

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” -Romans 8:29-30

God chose a people based solely on His good pleasure and love, then he guaranteed those people would never see the flames of Hell. All of salvation is the active work of the Lord, alone. Even His foreknowledge.

Balance and Mystery

There is much talk in today’s Church about being balanced. While this is a healthy idea, there are many ways to understand balance. Do we mean balance in terms of giving room to both sides of Biblical teachings, or are we recommending some idea of doctrinal agnosticism?

It’s nearly impossible to get into any kind of meaningful conversation about doctrine today without hearing something like, “People have been arguing about these things for centuries. Who are we to think we’ve figured it out.”. Is God mysterious?

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever…” -Deuteronomy 29:29

While appealing to mystery is necessary when we talk about God and His ways (The secret things belong to God.), we have to be careful not to pull the mystery card prematurely. We have to look at all that the Bible tells us about a topic, so we’re sure we understand what’s being said (The things that are reveled belong to us). Then, where the Bible stops, we stop and worship the God who is beyond our comprehension.

Human Responsibility and God’s Sovereignty – the Seeming Paradox

The issue at hand is the idea that while God is sovereign, meaning that he orchestrates all events in time for His purposes, man is also held accountable for what he does or doesn’t do. This should strike us as paradoxical.

If God is making everything happen, how are we still doing anything? Or conversely, if our choices are real, and subject to God’s judgement, how can God be orchestrating those choices and events? The Bible seems to simply present both of these ideas, says they’re true, but doesn’t tell us how exactly they work together. So we’re left with an appeal to the mysterious power of God.

Human Responsibility and God’s Sovereignty in Salvation – The Misunderstanding

This correct doctrinal paradox of responsibility and sovereignty seems to have flowed over into categories today, that it was never intended for. And it appears, for the sake of political correctness, mystery is being appealed to in areas that the Bible is not mysterious.

Today’s ‘autonomous free will’ oriented Church has taken historic orthodox language and misused it to help it’s own faulty theology. A misrepresentation of the conversation is the result.

Today we find preachers teaching that since the Bible teaches that we have to come to Christ to be saved, this means that man has a free will, but the Bible also teaches that God is in control… and this is mysterious. They’ll produce verses that indicate a universal gospel call, commanding all men to come, using them as proof texts to demonstrate free will.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” -Matthew 11:28

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve…” -Joshua 24:15

“…And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” -Revelation 22:17

So, there is undoubtedly a free offer to all men to come to Christ. And they go on to demonstrate that God is also in control of these things:

“…having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” -Ephesians 1:11

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” -Romans 8:29

Some will rest here, simply saying “Man has free will, and God is sovereign… we just have to deal with it.”(which is admirable, especially when we consider the more common alternative).

Usually at this point the ‘free will’ preacher will redefine predestination and election, and teach that God simply foreknew who would believe, and elected them based on their choice. Sadly, they don’t realize that they’ve actually left their original argument at this point, they’ve rejected mystery, removed God’s choice and set up man’s choice as the sole deciding factor. No more paradox… just an unbiblical doctrine of foreknown decisional salvation.

Human Responsibility and God’s Sovereignty in Salvation – All the Biblical Data

We’ve already established the parts that modern free will Christianity has right:

1. Christ has made a free offer to all men to be saved, and man must come to be saved.

2. God is in control (to varying degrees, depending on tradition), and he is working all things to the council of his will.

But we can’t simply rest here and attribute to point 1 the idea that man is free to choose, until we’ve weighed all the data. Is man free to accept or reject this offer? Jesus says no.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” -John 6:44

“…no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” -Matthew 11:27

Paul supports this idea of man’s inability to obey God and come to Christ:

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” -Romans 8:7-8

“…no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” -1 Corinthians 12:3

The Bible’s ACTUAL teaching is that yes, a free offer is made, but no one CAN come unless they’re first chosen, enabled, drawn, and enlightened to truth of the gospel. An inward change, by God, is necessary. And until that change occurs man is unable to come.

Is man responsible for the choice he makes concerning Jesus? Yes.

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” -John 3:18

Is man able to actually choose Christ, apart from the electing, regenerating grace of God? No.

“This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” -John 6:65

“…but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.” -John 10:26

Conclusion

We need to clarify terms that seem to have been cross. Human responsibility to believe (clearly taught in scripture) is not the same as human ABILITY to believe (strictly taught negatively in scripture). So as far as free will… we have none. We make choices, but our will is bound to our sinful nature.

The question of how God and man work together in salvation is not a paradox. ALL of salvation is God’s doing, as man is incapable of contributing. Every part of our responsibility being fulfilled is a gift from God to His people. Man and God DO NOT work together in salvation. Man is a passive recipient of God’s free gift, then man exercises the faith he’s been gifted.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” -Ephesians 2:8-9

The paradoxical discussion of mans’ responsibility and God’s sovereignty was never about ‘free-will’. it’s about how we can keep from being puppets, when God is the orchestrator of everything. How are we accountable, when God makes everything happen? When we correctly understand the argument we ask the obvious (Biblical) question:

“You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” -Romans 9:19

The question is profound… but the answer is heavy and glorious, and should press the unbiblical concept of free will in salvation out of us, as we’re humbled like the creatures we are.

“But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” -Romans 9:20-21

Here, my friends, is where we rest. In God’s right to do what He wants with what’s His. Mysterious as it all may be.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” -Ephesians 2:8-9

The idea that in order to become born again, we must first express faith in the gospel, is a popular one. Most Churches today teach that you must choose Jesus, then the Holy Spirit will come in and make some changes in you.

I would like to take a moment to think through this process logically, and see if it is a Biblical concept, or one that simply helps support certain traditions. I invite comments and further discussion, as I feel it’s an incredibly important topic.

Here are a few of the limitations of man in His natural, unregenerate state. Before we are born again:

• we can not submit to God, or do anything pleasing to Him.

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” -Romans 8:7-8

• the gospel is foolishness to us.

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing…” -1 Corinthians 1:18

• we do not seek for God

“no one understands; no one seeks for God.” -Romans 3:11

With these concepts in mind. Let’s think through what it would look like for a man to believe in Jesus for his salvation, before the Holy Spirit is indwelling that man.

The Scenario

There you are. A sinner, that suppresses the obvious truths of God around you (Romans 1:19-20). Someone comes to you and shares the gospel. They tell you a story about God becoming a man, and dying for anyone who will believe in Him, then coming back to life and ascending into Heaven. Unless you are some exception to the human race, you aren’t interested in seeking this God (Romans 3:11), and this story is sheer nonsense to you (1 Corinthians 1:18).

At the very most, you’ve received information about a religion. You need to make a decision between the Christian religion, the Jewish one, the Muslim one, the Buddhist one, and the secular worldview that everyone else believes. Your gospel-preaching friend shares some historic facts about Jesus, which are nice, but he’s obviously biased. There is no real supernatural help (other than any help God already gives to everyone equally) until you make your profession, so you’re on your own to weigh the facts. Now, let’s say your friend is a good salesman, and is rather persuasive.

Now he commands you to repent and believe the gospel. He’s asking you to do something very strange. You’ve heard what is no more than a fairy tale to you, and in reality, you don’t really believe it. You need to take an absolutely blind leap into darkness and place your trust in something that your mind is convinced is not actually there. You need to lie to yourself, to your kind friend who brought you the message, and indeed to Jesus Himself, and say you believe that Jesus died for you, and rose again.

So you accept the superstition and decide to try it. You recite what is really no more than a God-ordained magical incantation. THEN the Holy Spirit comes in. He basically turns the magical spell into a true statement, and now you REALLY believe Jesus because of your born again experience and all the other applied work of the Holy Spirit.

Is this really how we think it works? Is salvation initiated by a hokus-pokus prayer or confession that gets God to do something? Or is the order that the modern Church has come to embrace actually reversed? Is it actually God who opens your eyes first, followed by your true confession of faith?

What Does Scripture Have to Say About It?

“Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” -1 Corinthians 12:3

Scripture tells us that until we are indwelled with the Holy Sprit, it’s impossible for us to make a true confession of faith. We are not told to blindly profess a lie, but that once God has given us His Spirit, we, without exception say “Jesus is Lord”.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” -John 6:44

Again we see that we are incapable of coming to Jesus without God’s doing the work.

“Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” -John 3:3

Once again we see the absolute limitation. We “cannot see the kingdom of God”, until we are born again.

We are so spritiually deaf, blind and indeed dead (Ephesians 2:5) that we need to be brought to spiritual life BEFORE we are able to believe, and be saved.

“everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” -1 John 5:1

Even for a moment old believer, they have been “born of God” – past tense.

No Spritual Limbo

One easy misunderstanding that may come from this kind of language is that there is actually some amount of time that a person is regenerated, and hasn’t expressed faith in Christ yet – sort of in between stage. This is not the case.

Regeneration and the subsequent faith are instantaneous in time. Scripture never puts any time in between the two, because they are a package deal

Here’s a helpful way to think about it: Regeneration and faith are like a light switch and a light bulb. God is the one who proactively flips the switch on, and you, the bulb then produce the light of faith. So when I say ‘regeneration precedes faith’ I don’t mean in a temporal sense, but I mean that God makes you spiritually alive first… and a ’spiritually alive’ person necessarily has faith.

The Implications of a Right Understanding

Why does it matter which comes first? The answer is very simple. If we understand who produced the faith in us, then the right person gets the glory for it.

If YOU, in your spiritual sensitivity and wisdom, saw that this gospel business made sense, when all the rest of the world reject it, you deserve some commendation. At least in part, your whole time in Heaven is based on that smart decision you made to choose Jesus. Some of the glory God demands in salvation would go to you.

If, as the Bible tells us, GOD chose to have mercy on you, open your eyes to Him, and give you the gift of faith… then all the glory goes to it’s rightful place. Let’s not attempt to share in God’s glory. Let’s praise God for opening our eyes by grace alone, and not by our own doing or willing (Romans 9:15-16).

Let’s praise God for his Sovereign regenerating work, and not see it as a threat. Because without it, none of us would ever come to Him.

“And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”" -John 6:65

Matthew on the Fall and the New Birth

Baby Theology Part 2 from Les Lanphere on Vimeo.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” -Romans 8:35

The Christian life is a life of freedom and joy. We are told we can come confidently to the throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16). But when do we lose this privilege? Are there sins that can keep us from God? Can we walk away from the grace that has been delivered to us? How secure are we, anyway?

We’ll be spending a lot of time in the most comprehensive chapter in the Bible on the topic: Romans 8.

He Has Set Us Free

What, exactly, does the Bible mean when it says:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” -Romans 8:1-2

You see, we are utterly free from the law of – ‘If you sin, you will die’. God Himself, who is all knowing and all powerful, has pardoned us, and promised us eternal life. Now, no sin will ever be counted against us again. We still sin, but the counter has been reset to zero, and God took the batteries out.

We’re secure because God has forgiven us.

He Has Given Us the Spirit

Who do these insane promises apply to? Who are these people who are freed completely from condemnation? Is anyone who prayed a prayer free? Can we just sin and enjoy forgiveness, and not worry about serving God?

Let’s look again at 8:1.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” -Romans 8:1

Who is it that is “in Christ Jesus”?

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” -Romans 8:9

Only if you have the Spirit of Christ, do these promises apply to you. Which brings us, once again, to one of my all time favorite doctrines: regeneration. Regeneration is a work of the sovereign grace of God to change the heart, mind, and will of a sinner into that of a believer. It is the moment the Holy Spirit enters and takes up residence in the believer. Without this indwelling of the Spirit, we are incapable of believing.

“no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” -1 Corinthians 12:3

So follow me. If someone is not regenerate they do not have the Spirit, If someone does not have the Spirit they are not in Christ, and if someone is not in Christ they are not freed from the law of sin and death. While many may claim that they know Christ, some are deceived. Anyone can say they’re Christians, but only those who have the Holy Spirit belong to God.

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” -Romans 8:14

These people, who now love God and no longer have a heart that is rebellious, will never ultimately walk away from Him. Anyone who does walk away, proves they were never regenerate to begin with. We will have eternal life only “If indeed the Spirit of Christ dwells in us”.

We’re secure because God gave us His Spirit.

He has Planned It All

“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” -Romans 8:30

Please note two things about this chain of events: 1. They are all past tense. 2. Not one of them is a work of man.

In God’s mind the glorification (conformity to Christ’s image in eternity) of His elect people is already as complete as their predestining. As far as God is concerned, everyone who is in Christ is as good as in Heaven.

Secondly, since man didn’t predestine himself, call himself, or justify himself, to say we can stop God from the final step is just silly. Salvation is, in every way, of the Lord. There is nothing we accomplish, contribute, or decide that helps God save us. This is what grace means. Grace is God lavishing His love and mercy on people who, not only don’t deserve it, but never even wanted it.

We’re secure because God has planned it.

He Won’t Let Us Go

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39

If you can think of something that doesn’t fit in this list, you’ve found the loophole. Paul did us a pretty big favor with that last one. I certainly can’t think of anything that isn’t “in all creation”… besides God of course, and speaking of God:

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” -Romans 8:33

We’re secure because God won’t let anything take it away.

He Gave His Son

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” -Romans 8:3-4

Because we couldn’t obey, God has taken the punishment owed to believers and placed it PERFECTLY on his Son. He has, in effect, “condemned sin in the flesh”. And now the righteous requirements, the very perfect life that Christ lived, is fulfilled vicariously in us… those who walk in the Spirit. This is the finished work of the atonement.

Christ’s sacrifice removes every sin from every believer. His obedience gives us a perfect standing before God. And His resurrection guarantees that we will be raised to glory.

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” -Romans 8:11

Christ is not trying to save people. Christ has saved His people. And every person for whome Christ has died, WILL be in heaven. The promise of God to His elect is not a temporary conditional security.

We’re secure because Christ is a perfect Savior.

What happens when the importance of numbers outweighs the importance of truth?

More money? More power? Becoming famous? Whatever the reason, some Church leaders decide to pull the punches and turn their Church into a comfortable atmosphere for unbelievers. This is a dangerously slippery slope. I will attempt to make the case that once you begin down the road of growth for the sake of growth, there is no turning back.

The Scenario

Your average, well meaning Church gains some popularity. The leadership might start looking for patterns for what works and what doesn’t. They start noting makes people come and what turns others away. They might even start reading leadership books or studying marketing strategies. No doubt, in the beginning it feels innocent. When confronted with questions of their motives they are likely to answer, “We just want to reach this community for Christ. Let’s reach as many of the lost as possible.”

Soon, the call to make disciples through the body preaching the gospel, is replaced with a call from the pulpit to bring your unbelieving friends to Church. The focus begins to shift from feeding the flock to luring in new people. The purpose of the Church gathering gets redefined somewhere along the way. It is no longer a gathering of believers, but a repository for the lost to get saved. It may seem subtle, but the organization is no longer concerned with building up existing believers, but all the focus is on making new ones.

Either through trial and error, or through deliberate marketing, the language of the sermons begins to change. Talk of blood, sin, death, wrath, and repentance begins to fade away. The messages take on a flavor of advice. How to be a better husband, mother, employee or citizen are the topics that face the culture, and decidedly the issues the organization takes on. Some of the responsibilities of those serving begin to look like the tasks of a marketing team in a corporation. The original faithful flock begins to look around and notice something. The people that are filling the seats in are not Christians by any measure besides possibly claiming the name.

From pulpit to pews to outside Bible studies, doctrine and deep study are frowned upon. Jokes about going deep and talk of ‘dangerous doctrines’ begin to abound. The shallow teaching of the pulpit becomes the expected norm, anything outside it is labeled divisive. The organization takes a stand of neutrality on most topics to keep the numbers as high as possible, and to keep from offending the target market: unbelievers.

Before too long the subtle changes turn to blatant shifts. The management begins asking for money for future needs as they look forward to bigger buildings and bigger staff. In reality, they have no choice. The people who understand what it means to give money to the Kingdom are leaving. The growing audience of unbelievers doesn’t know what sacrificial giving means, so they must be convinced to donate. Promises of prosperity, through twisted Scripture, are the obvious next step. The poor donations of the ‘new converts’ and unbelievers just compounds the need for an even bigger audience to ask for contributions from.

The management and employees become committed to the growth, like stock holders in a corporation. The mentality becomes, ‘If the Church isn’t growing, it isn’t successful.’. At this point, there is no turning back.

Even if the higher ups planned to temporarily stave off the deep teaching until they had a large congregation, they’ll never be able to now. The true gospel hasn’t been preached in months or years, so the whole audience is unsaved and Biblical truth is alien to them. If the Pastor begins preaching the foolishness of Christ crucified at this point, the unsaved masses will turn away. They are trapped, unable to do the very thing that the unbelievers loved them for leaving out. The organization is big BECAUSE it wasn’t preaching the offense of the gospel, and now it never can.

Eventually the organization as a whole is entirely bankrupt of any meaningful truth about God. The audience has full bellies of entertainment and a sentimental God, and the sheep are starving to death. As uncompromising believers leave, they’re mocked on the way out. The mentality becomes unashamedly ‘us against them’.

The future of this “church” is inevitable. The purpose and direction will continue to conform to the unbelieving majority, because any real truth will push the audience away. The organization got what it wanted: numbers -a huge mass of nominal Christians.

Some leadership in churches like this may very well desire to turn things around, but against the overbearing stream, their concerns fall on deaf ears. (Note: If anyone thinks that ‘teaching through the Bible’ somehow intrinsically avoids this trend, don’t be fooled. Like anyone else, an expository teacher can teach whatever he wants. Biblical truths can be avoided, twisted, and mocked verse-by-verse, just as easily as by never opening the Bible at all.)

What Do We Do?

If you are in a Church like this, or you know of one that is falling into this hopeless pattern, pray to God for restoration. He is the only hope. The flesh will never repent of this greed, only through the Spirit can God wake this kind of Church up.

Let’s love our brothers who may have made mistakes. Let’s sympathize with their good intentions. Let’s point out their error in love, and call them to repentance in gentleness. With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” -Romans 10:17

It’s very often the question Christians immediately ask when election is explained to them: “If God is just going to choose people, why would you waste your time sharing the gospel?”. It’s understandable, especially in the american evangelical landscape. The idea that God isn’t in Heaven worrying that some people might not choose him, is startling. It sounds like you’re uprooting everything the average church teaches, including evangelism.

The truth is: God is allowing us to participate with Him, our loving Father, in His work of saving men. It’s an honor and a privilege… not just a duty.

The Means of Salvation

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” -Romans 1:16

You see, the gospel isn’t just information. We’re not simply telling someone what Jesus did, and hoping they accept it (although we are doing that). The gospel is very, very special. The words themselves have power. Through the working of the Holy Spirit, the message of Jesus is the power of God that saves men. It is, in fact, the ONLY way that God had ordained men to be saved.

So first of all, don’t misunderstand this: the Biblical teaching of election does not deny the absolute necessity for all men to hear the gospel. No man will be saved unless he calls upon the name of, and trusts in the work of, the Lord Jesus.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” -Acts 4:12

God has not only chosen a people to be saved, but has also chosen the means by which they will be saved, namely through the hearing, and receiving of the gospel. When the elect hear the gospel, the Holy Spirit regenerates their hearts, and they believe.

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” -Acts 13:48

Preaching to the Elect

So how do we know who the elect are? Why would we waste our time with the non-elect? Again, the average Christian already knows the answer, but has just never applied it in the correct context.

In Jesus’ parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-15), Jesus tells of a man that spreads seed all over the ground, on different soils, and only the seed that falls on the good soil grows to fruition. Jesus also explains the parable to His chosen disciples. The seed is the word of God (the gospel) being shared with all kinds of people. Some of the people don’t receive it at all because of the devil. Some get excited about it, then fizzle out as they move on. Others seem like they’re growing, but get choked out by the cares of the world. And finally, those whom Jesus calls the “good soil” receive, believe, and produce fruit.

Now, we see that the sower was not specifically searching out good soil, or being stingy with the seed. So, was he wasting the seed, or was he trusting that it would grow where it should?

This is what the kingdom of God is like. We are to share the gospel with everyone, and we just assume that they are all elect. We know that many will reject the gospel, but those whom God has prepared – the good soil – will receive it. So we preach confidently knowing that God will move on His people, and save them. Our job is to simply be obedient, and know that it isn’t our convincing that saves people.

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” -1 Corinthians 3:7

An Overly Semantic Calvinist?

Ok, so I’m saying that we should preach the gospel to everyone, but only some will believe. Isn’t that what the Christian who denies sovereign election teaches? Aren’t we saying the same thing, but from different perspectives? No. Here is where the theological rubber meets the road.

If you believe that the offer is simply made to all men, but God isn’t working to irresistibly save His chosen people, the catalyst to salvation then lies in your words. You must be convincing, you must be smooth, you must be a better salesman than the Buddhist, and Jehovah’s witness that your audience has heard philosophies from. And anything that isn’t chalked up directly to what the preacher says, is in the hands of the hearer. They must be spiritually sensitive, and innately willing to have faith like a child. When these two human traits (salesmanship and receptiveness) kiss, magic happens… right?

This is the gospel according to the flesh. The gospel of sinner’s prayers and decision cards. No matter how much lip service is offered up to the Holy Spirit working in these situations, He is discredited as unable to make you do anything against your will. Man is the deciding factor.

Worst of all, this kind of philosophy, mixed with a zeal to save lots of people, produces a bad gospel. As anyone who has preached the bloody Christ of scripture quickly learns:

“…the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing…” -1 Corinthians 1:18

When your main task becomes convincing someone to “make a decision for Jesus”, you have no choice but to remove the offense. You need to water down the sin, blood, wrath and Hell of scripture, or remove them completely. That kind of offensive talk has no place in the seeker-friendly gospel. When it’s about your words, and not strictly dependent on the Holy Spirit’s work in the sinner’s heart, the flesh will always compromise the message.

No, my friends, salvation is not a cooperation between lovable men and a lonely God that just wants you to choose Him. Salvation is of the Lord, and the Lord alone!

Necessity is Laid Upon Me

“For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” -1 Corinthians 9:16

We do not have a quota to meet, we are not doing God a favor, and God does not need us to save His people. He compels us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to preach His gospel, and save souls. The Saints are not only blessed with forgiveness, adoption, and eternal life, but we also are invited to participate in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom and save more men and women from their sins. It’s no easy task, but it is not a burden, as all of the heavy lifting is done by God. All he requires of you is your mouth. If you are His, you will naturally present it as part of your living sacrifice.

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season…” -2 Timothy 4:2

Christians, I encourage you to practice your gospel preaching. Be fully prepared to explain God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, Christ’s perfect life, substitutionary death, and resurrection from the grave. Let the hearer know that through faith in Christ they can be forgiven, and receive eternal life. Don’t water it down. And trust that ‘all who are appointed to eternal life will believe’. Not because of your words, or their obedience, but because of God’s grace, alone.

If there is, indeed, anyone who feels that they don’t need to work for God’s harvest, that is a clear sign that you are not one of God’s workers. And you need the very message you refuse to preach: Repent, and believe.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” -2 Corinthians 5:17

Christianity involves moral reform. As God works in our hearts, our attitude toward sin changes and we seem to “sin less” than we used to. This is one of the evidences of God working in a life. But don’t other religions offer the same kind of moral change? Doesn’t any religion make you a better, more moral person? What’s the difference between Buddhist morality and Christian repentance?

Repentance is a change of mind. It’s when the entire direction of a life is turned away from the selfish, worldy direction it naturally moves in, and the heart and mind does a 180 and turns to God. A person goes from unbelief to belief, he goes from hating God to loving God, and goes from loving sin to hating sin.

Can people change on their own? sure.

Behavior modification is a hard thing. Just ask anyone who’s tried to quit smoking or go on a diet. But if we really apply ourselves, and abstain from our desires, and create habits we can make changes in our lives. This can be true in a religious sense too. But that isn’t repentance.

The Buddhist meditates, and abstains, and works hard, and pushes themselves, and changes. They become more moral, or study harder, or get healthier based on their fleshly strength. Their still desire the things they give up, but they fight against those desires, until a habit is formed.

But the Bible says “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.” -John 6:63. Christian repentance is a work of the Spirit in us. God changes our desires, instead of us fighting against them (that’s not to say we don’t still have sinful desires, but God becomes our central desire). So through a supernatural work, the Christian turns, believes, trusts, and desires holiness.

Instead of the flesh fighting against a man’s will to change, the Holy Spirit is in the believer, fighting against our flesh for us. I’m tempted to say it’s easier than self-improvement. Perhaps more accurately: It’s no longer our work, but God’s. That’s Christianity.

“If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” -Colossians 2:20-23

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” -Romans 1:16

The problem of mankind is inescapable. We are rebellious sinners who do not desire to be reconciled with our Creator. We deserve wrath and Hell, and God is just to punish us.

God showed His loving mercy by sending His son to save us from our plight, and die for sinful men. But what does it all mean? What actually happened on the cross?

How does this apply to us?

The work of Christ, and the subsequent work of the Holy Spirit, solves every problem that keeps us from God. God’s agreement between Himself and mankind was this: If you obey me, I will bless you with life. If you don’t, I will punish you with death and wrath. Again this is the natural law we see everywhere, we get what we deserve, and God is just to fulfill His end of the bargain, but we only disobey, and are all running mad straight to Hell.

Imputed Righteousness

God became a man and fulfilled our end of the bargain for us, because we couldn’t. Where we were disobedient, He was obedient. Where we sinned, He was innocent. Where we hated and denied God, He loved and pointed to His Father. He did what was required of us to do. He was the spotless lamb God required.

Now the Father actually gives Christ’s righteousness to every person who believes in Him. A Christian is looked at by God as if he actually lived the perfect life that Christ lived. We know we’re sinners, but God looks at us as if we were Jesus. This giving of Jesus’ perfect status to believers is called “imputed righteousness”.

Substitutionary Death

The death of Jesus on the cross is where we see how much God loves His people. The crucifixion was a greater sacrifice than it might appear on the surface. He was actually receiving a punishment more torturous and humiliating than any man has ever received. The sovereign King of the universe was stripped, beaten, mocked, and destroyed by His subject. Worse, God Himself was allowing, even orchestrating, His own Son’s death. So what good came from this seemingly senseless and barbaric murder?

In the first post, I talked about God’s wrath toward sinners. God is angry with our sins and justice must and will be served for our crimes. We deserve to die, but Jesus died in the place of believers. The wrath God owed to us was being poured out completely on the Son, who laid His life down for us. Our sins were laid on Him, and those sins were completely paid for by His death. A believers sins are totally forgiven, past, present, and future because they were atoned for in Jesus. The work of Jesus on the cross completely satisfied God’s angry wrath toward believers. This satisfaction of God’s wrath is called “propitiation”.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” -Romans 5:8-9

How can I be saved?

All of the work mentioned so far is the work of God. Now You may wonder what we must do to obtain this work.

Here is what you need to understand. God saves, and God saves alone. Salvation is not conditional on your goodness or badness. God’s salvation can not fail. And there is not a single thing you can do to help God save you. We are justified solely by the free gift of the grace of God, through faith.

Turn your trust away from the things of this world. Money, power, sex, morality… none of these things can save you. Understand that your sin problem is inescapable and you will be judged. With that understanding of hopelessness in yourself, believe that the sacrificial death of Jesus is perfectly what God requires for you to be forgiven. And be united to His death through that faith.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” -Galatians 2:20

This is how we are justified before God: through faith.

Too Good to be True?

If you’re hearing what I’m saying properly, this thought should cross your mind: “So you’re saying that I’m guilty before God, but all I have to do is believe that Jesus died to satisfy God’s anger in my place, and I’ll be forgiven? There is nothing I have to do to contribute to my salvation? Then the rest of the sins I commit for the rest of my life are covered, and I go to Heaven?”.

That is exactly what I’m saying. It is a free gift, and demonstrates how rich in mercy God really is. Now the obvious next question is where things get interesting… I’ll let Paul ask it, as he confronted the very same question when He preached this message.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” -Romans 6:1-2

When we’re saved, we aren’t left in the condition we were found in. God changes His people through a miracle called regeneration. The heart is changed from loving the things of the world into a heart that loves the things of God. So yes, on some level we can go on doing whatever we want, but God changes our wants. God makes sure that the deepest desires of the believer’s soul are no longer sin. Don’t get me wrong, Christians still sin, and there will always be a struggle in the believer between the sinful flesh and our Godly spirit.

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” Romans 7:21-25

How Free are We?

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” -Romans 8:1-4

You see, the “law of sin and death” is what was making us guilty before God. Every sin was earning us more and more wrath, and we are more sinful than anyone realizes. The condemnation was poured out on the flesh of Christ, meeting the requirement of the “law of sin and death”. So now we, who are walking according to the Spirit (remember the regenerated believer), are set free from that downward spiral. So now we still sin, but there is no condemnation. We are deemed 100% not guilty, and the God who is in complete control, ensures we will be changed more and more into the image of Jesus.

God’s Promises to the Believer

The amazing accomplishment of Jesus on the cross has earned us a bounty of promises that only believers enjoy. Here are some of the best.

Adoption as Sons/Daughters

We were God’s enemies, due to our willing rebellion. God forgives us, changes our hearts, and brings us into His family, where we can never be cast out. By the Spirit, we then naturally refer to God as our loving Father.(Romans 8:15)

Sactification

God promises that through the internal work of the Holy Spirit and through correction, like a loving Father, He will continually conform us into the image of His perfect Son. While we’ll never achieve it in this life, we will strive toward it continually.(Ephesians 4:15)

Sovereign Favor

God promises to work all things for the good of His people. This means that no matter what’s going on around us, we can trust that God is in control and will carry us through to the very end. (Romans 8:28)

Eternal Security

Those whom God saves can never be lost again. God is the one who initiates, carries us through, and brings our salvation to completion. Nothing, in all of creation, can separate believers from the Love of Christ. (Romans 8:38-39)

Eternal Life

The ultimate destination of Christians is eternal life in Glorified bodies in the very presence of God. God welcomed redeemed sinners into communion with, and worship of Himself. We will forever look upon the amazing love that God had for us in Christ and worship God. This will be the fulfillment of the purpose of our creation, and will be the greatest joy we could ever experience.

Come to Him

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” -Matthew 11:28

I’m a web designer, so I sit in front of a computer all day. By God’s grace, I have headphones, and an unrelenting desire to learn about God.

These are my ten favorite resources that I’ve completed, or subscribed to, over the past year. They have changed my theology, my walk with God, and my life. Now, I hope you can be blessed by them as well. Most of the links are to subscribe via itunes. Let me know if you have any problems. Enjoy!

10. Fighting for the Faith

Chris Rosebrough | Format: Radio Program/Podcast | Subscribe

Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith is your local golden calf butcher. His Radio show, on Pirate Christian Radio, is an excercise in ‘comparing what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God’. Chris is a theologically sound, Christ-centric Lutheran that doesn’t let the American preacher get away with their heretical taching. Each episode includes a sermon review. Be it good, bad, or ugly, Chris lays the Scriptures over each sermon to see how they match up. If you have trouble picking out the disturbing issues in today’s preaching landscape, Fighting for the faith is a must follow.

But be warned: “Fighting for the Faith may cause you to become supremely dissatisfied with your Church.”

9. History of Christianity I & II from RTS

Dr. Frank A. James | Format: Lecture Audio | Subscribe

When I started to learn about the reformation, I was enthralled. Christian history is incredibly interesting, and certainly shapes your outlook on why we believe what we believe. This series, by Dr. Frank A. James, is beautifully taught. From the Acts Church to today, you’ll learn what went wrong, what went right, the heretics, and the heroes.. as well as (to my shock) the flaws of the heroes. Two thumbs up.

8. Renewing Your Mind

Dr. R.C. Sproul | Format: Radio Program/Podcast | Subscribe

R.C. Sproul is one of todays leading theologians. He is passionate, intelligent, and articulate. This resource is a fantastic way to sharpen your theological mind. If you’re ready to take it to the next level, catch up on Sproul.

7. Theological Foundations from RTS

Derek W.H. Thomas | Format: Lecture Audio | Subscribe

Derek W.H. Thomas fabulously presents reformed theology in a life changing way. He clearly teaches the doctrines of grace richly and adoringly. Reaching into the treasures of scripture and the trenches of history, we get a beautiful picture of what this Calvinism thing is really all about. A must listen for any Christian.

6. Doctrines of Grace series from GCA

Jim McClarty | Format: Lectures/Sermons | Listen Now

Jim McClarty, from Grace Christian Assembly, presents a great entry level understanding of the Doctrines of Grace. I enjoyed this series a lot. In fact, I learned an amazing lesson through it.

When my mom was going through some rough times, I sent her this series so she could get a better understanding of God. It has changed her spiritual life entirely. The lesson I learned: Theology effects your life dramatically. If you don’t know much of anything about reformed theology, this is your jam. The Doctrines of Grace can change your life.

5. White Horse Inn

Mike Horton & Friends | Format: Radio Program/Podcast | Subscribe

Mike Horton hosts this theological forum. The round table is populated by Lutherans, Baptists, and Presbyterians who want Christians to know what they believe, and why they believe it. Covering various topics, the gospel is pulled out of the pile of evangelical garbage, and buffed to a shine. Listen each week to get a Biblical perspective on our culture.

4. Christian Apologetics from RTS

Dr. John M. Frame | Format: Lecture Audio | Subscribe

Dr. John M. Frame brings us the reformed take on apologetics. You’ll learn that we can’t just toss more evidence onto the pile of truth every unbeliever already suppresses. We must know that the Christian world view is the only true one, and with that in mind we can confidently uncover the presuppositions of any other world view and demonstrate their insufficiency. Presuppositional apologetics is powerful. Let John Frame help you see the flaws in the philosophies of the world, and better understand the one true philosophy: the Bible.

3. Systematic Theology I, II & III from RTS

Dr. Douglas F. Kelly | Format: Lecture Audio | Subscribe

One of my favorite guys at RTS, Dr. Douglas F. Kelly, Does a beautiful job of representing the reformed tradition with his systematic theology courses. Each lesson builds on the last to give the listener a clear understanding of what the entire Bible teaches about our faith. As I’ve said before, theology changes everything, and a solid systematic theology makes everything click.

2. The Dividing Line

Dr. James White | Format: Radio Program/Podcast | Subscribe

James White is an intense Christian Apologist. On his show he covers Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islam, Atheism, Calvinism and everything in between. He is looked up to by many reformed folks as a mentor, as he unashamedly stands for sound doctrine with his battle cry, “The gospel is ours to proclaim, not to edit.”. James White will show you how to defend your faith in the face of a culture that is anti-Christian and theologically confused & apathetic. Listen up.

1. Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World from RTS

Tim Keller & Edmund Clowney | Format: Lecture Audio | Subscribe

Oh man! This series was such a blessing to me. The wisdom here is overflowing, and beautifully presented. The late Dr. Edmund Clowney is a treasure chest of Godly knowledge, and his friend Dr. Tim Keller is elequent and brings his cultural expertise to the table.

One of the best parts of this series is learning how to find Christ in all parts of scripture. Jesus is truly what the whole book is about, and being able to see Him everywhere, makes Bible study a whole new experience. I can’t recommend this resource enough. Don’t miss out on this wonderful blessing.