Theology 201 #4: Forfeiting Your Salvation

Jesus, in the parable of the sower, said, “Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away” (Luke 8:13).

Last month we considered how the Bible does not teach perseverance of the saints (once saved, always saved) as the Calvinists teach, but rather the Bible gives several promises assuring believers of their salvation. This month, I’d like us to consider three ways that a person can forfeit their salvation. Then next month we will consider three ways that we can know for a fact that we are saved.

The first way that a person can forfeit their salvation is through spiritual suicide. Spiritual suicide is a deliberate decision to stop believing in Christ and His saving work, thus renouncing the Christian faith. In Romans 8:35ff, the Apostle Paul lists several things that cannot separate us from the love of Christ but Paul never lists the individual believer themselves. We can make the decision to reject Christ after becoming saved (Heb. 6:4-8; 10:26-29).

Keith Drury said, “While God’s love is unconditional, my relationship with God is two-way. Love can be unilateral. A relationship, however, is bilateral. For instance, I could insist that nothing my wife could ever do would change my love—I love her unconditionally and irrevocably, yet a true relationship is two-way. What if she were to walk out on me, and run off with another man, totally rejecting me and everything I stood for? Would I still love her? Yes, I could love her, if my love were unconditional. But would we still have a relationship? That's another question.

A relationship is bilateral—"it takes two." Love can go one way, but a relationship is two-way. Relationships are ongoing dynamic sort of things which take two (at least partially) willing persons. Someone might argue that this immoral wife still had some legal standing with her husband, but most of us would admit that a pattern of continual and repeated purposeful acts of rebellion would end the two-way-ness of the relationship. My love might live on, but my marriage relationship would be dead. Relationships are not unilateral” (Christian Security, available from http://www.crivoice.org/security.html). Thus, with any relationship, one individual can make the freewill decision to walk away severing that relationship. 

The second way that a person can forfeit their salvation is through slow spiritual starvation. Jesus warns us of this danger. Sometimes, He says, the seed of the Word fell “on rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away” (Matt. 13:5-6). This represents “the man who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he falls away” (13:20-21).

Faith must constantly be nurtured and nourished and exercised to become full-grown (Matt. 13:5-6, 20-21; 2 Peter 2:10-11). To this end God has provided us with spiritual disciplines such as those in Acts 2:42: the apostles’ teaching (discipleship), fellowship (modeled in NT church through consistent weekly church life: both corporately and small groups); “breaking of bread,” (or consistent and faithful participation in worship as seen in the Lord’s Supper); and “prayer.” These are the means by which faith is nourished; to neglect them allows faith to weaken or even to die.

Faithful participation in the spiritual disciplines, such as those mentioned above: worship, discipleship, fellowship (and service and evangelism), is a necessary means of extending roots of faith beyond, around, and beneath the rocky places of life, enabling them to anchor and nourish the Christian life. If we are not careful to extend these roots, spiritual starvation is the result.

The third way that a person can forfeit their salvation is through the strangulation of sin. If a Christian allows sin in their life to continue and flourish without fighting against them, they will sooner or later choke the life out of their faith (Mt. 13:7, 22). This is not talking about a Christian sinning one time; this is about practicing sin on a continual basis (1 John 3:1-24).

There are many Christians who excuse their struggles with sin by appealing to the grace of God. Yes, praise God that His grace is there for when we do sin, and every Christian struggles with sin at times (1 John 1:8). However, this does not give us license to merely excuse our actions. Scripture admonishes us to not take sin lightly. If one continues to live a life controlled by their sinful desires, they will most certainly revert back into a state of spiritual death. This is what the Apostle Paul spoke of in Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Peter warns those who have “escaped the defilements of the world” of the danger of again becoming “entangled in them” and being “overcome” (2 Peter 2:20). Continuing to sin after becoming a Christian is like opening the fort and inviting the enemy inside (portions from Jack Cottrell, The Faith Once for All, p. 381-382).

Regardless of whether you feel like you have committed spiritual suicide, slow spiritual starvation, or the strangulation of sin, forgiveness and restoration are possible. The story of the Prodigal Son shows this (Luke 15:11-32) and so does the fate of those Jewish branches on the olive tree that were broken off because of unbelief (Rom. 11:20-23). 

Furthermore, a believer cannot lose his or her salvation as one might lose their glasses. But by willful rebellion, there is the possibility of falling away, of shipwrecking of one’s faith. Thus, our salvation is much like the following illustration. Picture a father crossing a busy highway with a small child by his side holding his hand quite firmly. The father has good judgment and he is capable of shielding the child from any calamity and protecting him from any outside force harming him as they make their way across the highway. The one eventuality the father cannot prevent is the child being willful and wrenching himself free from his grasp, running off, and being struck by a vehicle. This is an adequate parable of what Paul means in Romans 8 which speaks of nothing separating us from God’s love. God has a firm loving grip on the believer, and no outside force can separate the believer from God and God’s love.

The Good News, then, is that one cannot lose or misplace one’s salvation or simply wander away by accident. Indeed, only by an enormous willful effort could one throw it away. Such is the loving grasp God has on His children (portions from Ben Witherington III. Paul’s Romans, p. 235). God allows us the freewill choice to receive His offer of salvation, and He likewise, gives us the freewill choice to walk away from Him! Thus, may we choose to remain in Christ!

In His service,

Matt

Elder’s Corner: Make the Most of Your New Year!

In Mark 5:1-20 NLT, we find the account of a man who was possessed by numerous demons. “This man lived among the tombs and could not be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to control him. All day long and throughout the night, he would wander among the tombs and in the hills, screaming and hitting himself with stones.

When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw Him. He ran to meet Jesus and fell down before Him. He gave a terrible scream, shrieking, “Why are You bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God's sake don't torture me!” For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”

At this Jesus granted the demons’ request and sent them into a herd of pigs. Then the pigs ran down a steep hillside into a lake and drowned.

As Jesus was preparing to leave, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go, too. But Jesus said, “No, go home to your friends, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful He has been.” So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.”

This is a story about a man whose life changed dramatically because he met Jesus. I also notice from the scripture that God's enemy, the devil and his agents recognize and must submit to His authority. I also see that Jesus has power over all the afflictions that man might ever encounter. Then I notice that the man who was healed wanted to tell everyone the great things that Jesus had done for him.

I hope I make the most of the New Year by telling about the really important things in life, “What Jesus has done for me.” And I hope you do too!

—Alan

Your Life’s Story #7: Strengthening the Will to Live Right

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Phil. 2:13).

A person’s will can be a powerful thing! So what is your will to live? What causes you to get up in the morning, and/or stay up late at night? Ravi Zacharias said, “The will is a strong but fragile part of every human life, and it matters in the rich weaving of your tapestry that is in the making” (The Grand Weaver, p. 114).

My grandmother Boughan was a strong Christian woman, who got cancer; the doctors gave her 6 months to live yet she lived for 6 years. She was determined to live and be a difference maker; she had a reason for living and the will to help motivate her. Thus, she had a strong will to live right: that is in a way that pleases God.

Josiah was a king who did just that. His grandfather Manasseh was one of the most immoral kings that the Southern Kingdom of Judah ever had. Similarly, Josiah’s father Amon was immoral. However, Josiah became king at only 8 years old and he was one of the best kings that the nation ever had. What made the difference? Josiah did four things that can help strengthen our will to live.

First, Josiah began with the end in mind. He witnessed what his father and grandfather had been like as kings and how it had not gone well for either of them, so he decided to change things. 2 Kings 22:2 tells us that he refused to turn to the right or to the left. He had a laser focus on the end which he desired, and his desires were lined up with God’s desires.

Second, Josiah, admitted his mistakes and sought to change them. When he learned God’s Word concerning idols, he owned the mistake/sin and cleaned house, removing the idols that were present in his kingdom.

Third, Josiah always sought to grow. Stephen Covey said, “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Therefore, what is the destiny that you are going to reap based upon the thoughts that you are sowing? Is it pleasing to God?

And fourth, Josiah was determined to live his life for the Lord. “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did--with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25). Our enemy the Devil has a plan to lead us away from living for the Lord. Thus, we must likewise have a plan to overcome his attacks; that requires great determination.

Therefore, I encourage you this New Year to strengthen your will to live right. Begin with the end in mind. Admit your mistakes and seek to change them. Always seek to grow. And be determined to live for the Lord. 

In His service,

      Matt

Theology 201 #3: Pick the Brighter Tulip (Part F)

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).

A boy at the age of 9 years old accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. When the boy turns 18, he walks away from the faith that he has held for the last 9 years to a life of sin. Five years later he is found dead from a drug overdose. Will this man who loved Jesus Christ and served Him all the days of his youth go to heaven or hell? Ultimately this is God’s decision, but, what does the Bible say?

This brings us to the fifth point of dispute between Calvinism and Arminianism. As we have seen over the past several months, “Calvinism and Arminianism are two systems of theology that attempt to explain the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in the matter of salvation. Both systems can be summarized with five points” known as TULIP (for an overview of this topic please see http://eugenechristianchurch.blogspot.com/2018/05/theology-201-3-pick-brighter-tulip-part.html). This month we will examine the last point of disagreement: Perseverance of the Saints (Calvinism) vs. Promises to Saints (Arminianism). Often the Calvinistic side is referred to as “Once saved, always saved.” On the other hand, the Arminian side is thought to be teaching that a person can lose their salvation (although that terminology is very misleading). Really, at the heart of this debated point is simply this: does God promise eternal life to people who recant their decision to follow Christ?

There tends to be four arguments given that a person can never forfeit their salvation. However, the more that one studies these arguments and the Calvinist’s doctrine of perseverance of the saints in comparison with what Scripture has to say, more they realize it actually contradicts. It promises assurance, yet in reality, it actually delivers insecurity in one’s salvation.

The first argument given is “once in grace, always in grace.” The thought here is that if God has blessed you with saving grace then it is impossible to forfeit that. However, Paul’s response to this concept is to point to some members of the Galatian congregation that he knows “have fallen away from grace” (Gal. 5:4). Others explain it: I can only fall from a chair, if I am on a chair and I could only fall from grace, if I was in grace. Peter thinks of the conditionality of the covenants and cautions God’s people, “If you do these things, you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). If falling from grace is impossible, then why would Scripture give this warning? Therefore, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God” (Heb. 12:15).

The second argument given is “once a child, always a child.” The thought here is that if a person is a child of God, yes, they might have rebellious moments and seasons, yet they are still in the family. However, in the account of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), we see a clear picture of our relationship as Christians with our Heavenly Father. In this account, the loving father considered his son “dead,” meaning, the son was spiritually lost when he was away from home (Luke 15:24). The son had to return to the father (Luke 15:17-20), and the father had to restore him into the family (Luke 15:20-24). Therefore, the son, while away from the family was no longer considered to be a part of the family, as he was “dead,” aka, spiritually separated from the father.

The third argument given is “once in the book, always in the book.” The thought here is that if person’s name is recorded in the Book of Life, it can never be removed (Rev. 20:15; 21:27). However, the LORD told Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me I will blot out of My book” (Ex. 32:33). Jesus also stated that the promise of having one’s name written in the book of life is conditional. “He who overcomes…I will never blot out His name from the book of life (Rev. 3:5).

And the fourth argument given is “once in Christ, always in Christ.” However, John 15 speaks of Christians as branches in the vine and of God as the gardener, who, “cuts off every branch in Me (Jesus) that bears no fruit” (John 15:2). Jesus plainly states, “If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” (John 15:6). This is the same vocabulary that is used of one who is sentenced to Hell (Matt. 13:30, 41-42; 25:46; Mark 9:43; John 6:37; Rev. 14:18).

At this point many Calvinists will say that those who lost or forfeited their salvation were never truly saved in the first place. But let’s consider what Scripture says. In Hebrews 6:4-8, certain people are listed who possessed five characteristics of someone who has been saved, yet they have fallen away:

First, they were “Enlightened” (Heb. 6:4). According to Scripture, only genuine believers can see the light for “the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.” Thus, only believers are able to possess the knowledge and understanding of the Gospel (2 Cor. 4:4, 6; Matt. 13:19-21; Acts 26:18; Heb. 10:32).

Second, they “have tasted of the heavenly gift” (Heb. 6:4). The gift of salvation is only for genuine believers (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus gives this “heavenly gift” only to those who come and ask Him for it (John 4:10).

Third, they “have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit” (Heb. 6:4). Only believers receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 12:13; Titus 3:5).

Fourth, they “have tasted the good word of God” (Heb. 6:5). The Word of God is tasted only by genuine believers (Psalm 34:8; 119:101-103; Jer. 15:16; Eph. 6:17; 1 Pet. 2:2-3).

Fifth, they “have tasted the powers of the age to come” (Heb. 6:5). Only genuine believers experience this power which raises a person from spiritual death (Eph. 2:5; Col, 2:12-13), in anticipation of the future redemptive resurrection of the body.

Additionally, Jesus, in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23), gives a picture of people who have experienced genuine life receiving the Word of God. Yet in spite of this, Jesus tells us of some who did fall away (Matt. 13:20-22). Furthermore as Alger Fitch said, “It is difficult to understand why the Holy Spirit would give us 21 New Testament books to tell us how to abide faithfully in Christ and only the one book of Acts to tell us how to become Christians, if there were no possibility of falling. Why is there such a disproportionate ratio, if falling away is impossible?” (Pick The Brighter Tulip, p. 65.)

Therefore, at the outset, the once saved, always saved doctrine sounds very comforting. However, if we hold to it, even displaying characteristics of being a true believer (as listed above in Hebrews 6:4-8), we can never know for sure that we are indeed saved. Thus, the doctrine that was invented to give a person the sense of security actually offers none! 

Next month we will consider three ways that a person can forfeit their salvation, and how a person can know for a fact that they are saved according to the Bible. But for now, let’s briefly consider some of the promises that the Bible gives to those who are saved providing assurance of their salvation. Yet all of these promises are conditional based upon our freewill choice to remain in Christ.

·         “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you…” (1 Cor. 15:2).

·         “But now He (God) has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel” (Col. 1:22-23).

·         “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

·         “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

·         In John 10:27-28, Jesus talks about the people that God the Father has given to Him, and how “they will never perish; and no one will be able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” Yet who are these people? They are people who hear His voice and follow Him.

There are several other passages that speak of the promise of assurance of one’s salvation, yet they are conditional upon the person’s choice to be “in Christ” and to remain “in Him” (See John 15:2-7; Eph. 1:1-14). Thus, are you in Christ? Is He your Lord and Savior? Are you remaining in Him? If you are, God’s promises of eternal life will persevere you!

In His service,

Matt

Your Life’s Story #6: Spirituality Matters

“It is the most wonderful time of year.” The holidays can be that: spending time with those whom we love, vacation, and holiday cheer. Yet, is this all there is to Christmas being such a wonderful time of year? Is it just about family, food and exchanging gifts? I ask this because many are left empty at the end of the festivities, and others sink into depression due to absent family members.

 As one searches for the source of wonder, many turn to spirituality. Ravi Zacharias explains the significance of this reality: “First, we human beings are incurably religious. We long to worship and will even create our own objects to worship” (The Grand Weaver, pg. 95). Furthermore, Stanford University found that there is a positive relationship between religious inclination and one’s well-being. 56% of physicians believe spirituality influences health, and 80% of medical schools offer spiritual care courses. There is even a positive correlation between daily access to spiritual support and shorter hospital stays among cardiac patients. Additionally, religious or spiritual belief is a factor in overall mood elevation and reduction of depression (available from https://www.lifesharetech.com/spirituality-matters-with-age-part-1/).

But are the benefits of spirituality merely a placebo or false hope? That depends. You see, “It is imperative that we know whether the object we worship truly deserves our worship and actually has the characteristics we ascribe to it” (The Grand Weaver, pg. 95). Thus, while spirituality can have beneficial effects on our lives including making this season “the most wonderful time of the year,” one’s spirituality needs to be checked. What is the basis of our spirituality? As Ravi points out, “Spirituality does not give relevance to life; rather, truth gives relevance to spirituality. Your spirituality must be born of the truth and lived out in grace (The Grand Weaver, pg. 109). Yet what is truth? The Bible teaches that truth is embodied in a person whose birth we celebrate this time of year. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Yet, what if one chooses not to indulge themselves in the spiritual realm? Mortimer Adler, in an interview with Larry King pointed out that “there are more consequences for your life that follow from that one issue [God] than any other issue you can think of.”  More consequences for your life follow from what you believe or disbelieve about God. If you believe and trust in God, your beliefs, language, behavior, charitability, ethics, etc. all stem from it. You may not always live consistently with it, but your guilt and shame or fulfillment comes on how you think about God.

Therefore, is your spirituality grounded in false hope, or in the truth named Jesus? I encourage you to join us this Christmas season and discover or refresh how this Way, Truth and Life can bring wonder to your life the whole year through.

Merry Christmas,

      Matt

Your Life’s Story #5: Morality Matters

What once was black and white now has grayed lines, and blurry edges. I can hear you say, Matt, you’re over the hill and need to get your vision checked. Yes, you may be right. However, I am not speaking about my ability to see, but that of society’s ability to discern between right and wrong. You see, what once was very clear, has now developed some gray and blurry areas. For example, it was once believed that murder is wrong period. But 45 years ago, abortion (murder) was legalized, based on the definition of when human life begins. Thus, we can still wholeheartedly agree that murder is wrong, but some say that abortion is ok, others no.

How far will we allow the rules to be bent? In the past, slavery and atrocious acts to those individuals were accepted simply because they were considered sub-human. Likewise, Hitler convinced the German population that Jews and others sub-human to the degree that over 6 million were slaughtered. Hitler was angry, blamed the Jews for it and got away with murder. Literally.

The bottom line is that we are changing the rules for our benefit. But this change can bite. However, we may not realize the implications of this until we get bit. Several years ago when I worked as a foreman for a heating and cooling company, I was given the job of installing a gas fireplace in a new home. As an individual who has held a builder’s license, I quickly recognized that the fireplace chase was improperly built. There was about 4,000 lbs. of weight positioned directly above where I was to install the fireplace, and all of that weight was held by just a handful of nails. I recognized the gravity of the situation (pun intended). The builder was cutting corners to save time and money. It was situationally right for him, yet morally unethical. Would you have responded in the same way as the builder? Then again, what if you were on the other side of the coin? What if this was your house? Would you still say it was ok for the builder to cut corners?

Without a moral law-giving God, objective morality is not possible. Even atheist philosophers like J.L. Mackie have said that, “Moral properties were not likely to arise without a God to create them” (https://www.youtube. com/watch?=9txl6lA_z30).

While we may be ok with redefining basic moral issues like murder, rape, etc., when it becomes personal, things change. But at what point do we hit the point of no return? Instead of being lulled into the blurred edges and gray lines of subjective morality, I urge you to consider what Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” It is our responsibility to recognize when the objective black and white is becoming subjective gray and blurry and to take society to the eye doctor’s for a check-up.

In His service,

   Matt

Theology 201 #3: Pick the Brighter Tulip (Part E)

Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).

I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more things that I realize that I no longer have the ability to do what I used to be able to. At the same time, there are things that I have never been able to do. When thinking in spiritual terms, there are also some things that a person is never able to do for themselves: we cannot save ourselves. Salvation is only something that God can do, for it is impossible with man (Matt. 19:26). However, are we able to respond by ourselves? Or do we need God to forcefully draw us to Himself before we can be saved. This is a topic of dispute related to the Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate.

As we saw a few months ago, “Calvinism and Arminianism are two systems of theology that attempt to explain the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in the matter of salvation. Both systems can be summarized with five points” known as TULIP. This month we will examine the fourth point: Irresistible Grace (Calvinism) vs. Irrefutable Goodness (Arminianism). 

Irresistible grace refers to God supernaturally working through the Holy Spirit to draw people to Himself in such a way that will guarantee that they will respond in saving faith. This is sometimes known as “effectual calling” and “efficacious grace.” Simply put, irresistible grace refers to whatever God decrees to happen will inevitably come to pass, even the salvation of individuals (see https://www.gotquestions.org/irresistible-grace.html). This was John Calvin, the founder of Calvinism’s response as to why some people believe the Gospel and others do not.

Really, at the heart of this debate is the order of a person being born again (regeneration) and producing saving faith. Calvinist RC Sproul explains it in the following way. “Before a person can exercise saving faith, God must do something for them and in them, so that faith can be exercised.” Sproul also cited that the Greek word which gets translated as “draw” in John 6:44 refers to drawing water out of a well such as they would have done some 2,000 years ago. Thus, God’s drawing requires a mighty act of God on our hearts before we can be saved. He must draw us out before we can be saved (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loXh8PqrR3Y).

One of the most common passages that Calvinists point to is Ephesians 2:1. There Scripture teaches that prior to coming to Christ they are dead spiritually, and thus cannot respond. Therefore, God must enable them to respond, by bringing them to life and placing saving faith in them. However, are the dead not actually able to respond? While logically we would think that a dead person could not respond, we must examine how the Greek word that gets translated as dead is used elsewhere. In Luke 15:24 the father of the prodigal son said, “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.” Here the prodigal was called dead, referring to him living in rebellion. He was lost, yet able to return home on his own when he came to his senses. Thus, in this case it does not represent a total moral inability to respond.

“Likewise, in Romans 6:11, Paul also teaches the believers to count themselves “dead to sin.” A consistent Calvinist would have to interpret this to mean that believers are morally unable to sin when tempted. Of course, that is not the case. Paul is teaching that we are to separate ourselves from sin, in much the same way we were once separated by our sin from God. “Deadness” here connotes the idea of being separated, like the son was from his father, not the incapacitation of the will to respond to God’s appeal to be reconciled from our separation” (Soteriology 101, available from https://soteriology101.com/2018/04/13/born-dead/).

Another example comes from Revelation 3:1. There Jesus tells the church in Sardis, “...you are dead.” So in verse 2, Jesus tells the church, aka the people to “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die…” A careful examination of several other passages teach this idea as well, including the idea that God expects mankind to be able to respond by themselves. Not once in scripture does it teach that God is the one responsible for humbling us so that we would be “lifted up,” “raised up,” “exalted” or “made alive together with Him” (see Num. 21:8-9; Ps. 18:27; 147:6; Jer. 4:4; Ezek. 18:32; 33:11; Matt. 18:4; 23:12; Luke 18:14; John 6:40; 20:31; Rom. 7:9-10; 8:10; Eph. 1:13-14; Col. 2:11-13; James 1:14-15; 4:10; 1 Peter 1:5-6).

Even a careful examination of Lazarus’ death in John 11 reveals that the purpose for Jesus allowing him to die and then resurrecting him was to be a sign for those present that they may believe (John 11:14-15, 25-27, 40-42, 45). This proves that those who were present were able to have saving faith in Jesus by themselves to usher in God’s saving work on their hearts.

Scripture teaches that it was and is God’s will for all to be saved, and His invitation is given to all (Matt. 11:28; 23:37; John 12:32; Rom. 1:16; Titus 2:11; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). In this we see God’s irrefutable goodness going out to all people. Yet why is it that some people respond to the Gospel while others do not? Simply put, some freely choose to and others do not. Many resist God’s will by their own freewill choice (Neh. 9:30; Pro 1:22-27; Isa. 63:9-10; Acts 6:10; 7:51-55; Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19; Rev. 3:20). They desire their sins more than they desire the freedom from eternity in hell that the loving God continually offers to all people. (John 3:19-21; 12:43; Rom. 1:24-25). Meanwhile, others taste and see the Lord is good just as His Word says (Ps. 119:103; John 20:30-31; Acts 4:4; Rom. 10:17)

On a different note, the passages that Calvinists believe to be teaching irresistible grace, when examined in context, are actually teaching the opposite. A good example of this is John 5:21, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it.” Then down in verse 24, Jesus teaches who those are that He wishes and thereby receives eternal life. “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” And the passage that I began with in John 6 that speaks of no one coming to Jesus unless the Father draws them speaks of raising them up on the last day, aka, spending eternity in heaven (John 6:39-40, 44, 54). In other words, that passage is not speaking of the church age that we are currently in. So while we place our faith in Him, it is He who will lift us up on that Day.

Regardless of how people respond to God’s irrefutable goodness in offering salvation to all who will receive Him, it is amazing to consider His grace. In the meantime, “God’s grace has done for us what we could never have done for ourselves. We are saved by that grace. But it is not an irresistible grace…The covenant of grace demands two consenting parties—God and you. In His grace, God has covenanted to save any who are willing. Are you willing?” (Alger Fitch, Pick the Brighter Tulip, p. 58). 

In His service,

     Matt