Category Archives: Salvation

Jesus came to earth so we could have a relationship with him?

Posted by Dan C. on

That was the reason given in a book that was really popular (and still might be) when it was published a couple of years ago. I came across it because a small group of folks where I work who have a mid-week Bible study over lunch decided to read it and talk about it.

This post is not a critique of the book so it will go unnamed. This post is about the primary reason given for Christ’s coming – ‘so we could have a relationship with him’. It’s a wildly popular notion and if you presented it to the vast majority of today’s evangelical Christians you would get a hearty “Amen!’

But IS it the reason Christ came to earth? What does the Bible have to say about it?

First of all we can ask Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father. When he was probably undergoing some angst over marrying a woman already pregnant with a child not his, an angel appeared to him and told him that Mary’s pregnancy was a ‘God thing’ and that the child was to be named ‘Jesus’ because “he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21). No ‘relationship’ talk there.

Then we have the account of the first sermon preached when the church was birthed at Pentecost and an emboldened Peter preaching to a large crowd of Jews gathered in Jerusalem, telling them that the very Jesus they (the Jews) delivered up to be crucified was their long awaited Messiah, their savior! In face, we are told that although they had him crucified, it was God’s preordained plan that it would happen. (See Acts 2) No ‘relationship’ talk there either.

In fact, after more than a few readings through the Bible, I have yet to find any specific ‘relationship’ text given as a reason for Jesus’ coming to earth in the first place. While you can certainly assert that our relationship with God, and His Son, was a matter at stake in Christ’s coming (we are adopted into God’s family), the Bible tells us that everyone ever born has an ongoing relationship with Jesus from the moment of birth!

From the lips of Jesus:

“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, emphasis mine)

Tough words. ‘All those who are in a state of unbelief in Jesus would have to include everyone who has not yet come to a point of belief. They are condemned already.’

From the lips of the Apostle Paul to believers in Ephesus:

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience–among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Eph 2:1-3 emphasis mine)

More tough words!

Dear friends, we all have a relationship with Jesus. He is either our savior or our judge, right here, right now! If Jesus’ coming was about relationships, it was to change ours from condemnation to eternal life, from bound by the chains of sin to freedom in Christ!

What a tremendous thought for the 4th of July!

The author of the book would have been closer to the reason for Christ’s coming if he had stated it was about condemnation v. eternal life, or bondage v. freedom, but in my opinion he would have still missed the mark a bit.

Jesus came to pay the ‘death penalty’ required by a just God, His own Father, for our sin – for our freedom. Jesus drank the cup of His own Father’s holy wrath against our sin (Luke 22:42).

So yes, Jesus’ coming had a lot to do with our relationship with Him, but it wasn’t the primary reason he came to us. He came to bear the penalty for our sin, the guiltless One on behalf of the guilty, by the express predetermined will of His own Father!

And because Christ paid our penalty, if we believe in the name of the Son (John 3:18) we now have eternal life instead of condemnation, and instead of slavery and bondage to sin, freedom from its penalty and power while we yet life and one day from it’s very presence!

What a reason for celebration!

_________________

Food for thought on this 4th of July.

What is the Gospel?

Posted by Dan C. on

The following article is from Monergism, an online source.

The gospel is not behavior modification, becoming a better person or learning to become more moral. It is not taking the life of Jesus as a model way to live or transforming/redeeming the secular realm. It is not living highly communal lives with others and sharing generously in communities who practice the way of Jesus in local culture. These may all be good things but they are not to be confused with the gospel. They should accompany the gospel, and should not separated from the gospel and while God may use them to authenticate the gospel and make our proclamation of the gospel more fertile in hardened hearts yet they are not to be viewed as replacements for the gospel.

Did you notice the one characteristic of all of the above activities has nothing to do with what Christ has done for us, but all about what we do for him. The true gospel, rather, is news about what Christ the Saviour, has already done for us (in his life, death and resurrection) rather than instruction and advice about what you are to do for God. Christ’s accomplishment, not ours, is the essence of the gospel. Above all, the gospel of Christ brings good news, rather than instruction about our behavior. The gospel of not about what we do, but our acts inevitably spring up and overflow in thanksgiving due to what Christ has done for us.

In short, the Gospel is the life-altering news that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, lived a sinless life under the Law, died for sinners and rose again to reconcile them to himself, eternally victorious over every enemy that stood between God and man. Now, because of this redemptive work, there is nothing that separates those who believe from their Creator and all the benefits that He promises in him. D.A. Carson says the gospel centers "upon Jesus Christ and what God has done through him. The essential points of the gospel are Jesus Christ’s status as the Son of God, his genuine humanity, his death for our sins, his burial, resurrection, subsequent appearances, and future coming in judgment. That no one is justified but in the gracious work of Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection. It is not merely a recital of theological truths and historical events; rather, it relates these truths and events to situations of every individual believer."

But in order to fully understand what the Gospel is, it is important to understand why the Gospel is needed.

It is helpful to see the gospel in the context of human history starting with God’s creation of all things, man’s rebellion against the Creator, his subsequent fall into corruption and God’s redemption of that which was lost. Adam, the first man, had the capacity to do every good work the law required; which men, since the fall, have not. Having fallen headlong into sin, God cursed Adam with death (Gen 2:17, 3:19-22), and with the removal of His Spirit (1 Cor 2:14), a penalty he passed on to all his posterity. Man squandered his stewardship and put himself in the position of a moral debt he cannot repay. Now mankind’s spiritually bankrupt condition and fallen nature, which is beyond repair, render it necessary that if he is to be restored, the help will have to come from the outside. That redemption comes from God and comes in the form of the gospel. This gospel is not something man made up or a well-informed opinion, but is good news directly revealed from Almighty God regarding what He has done in Jesus Christ to rescue all those who have called on His name. Yes, it is a divine rescue, a complete deliverance … not advice, not a moral improvement program, nor a philosophy of life, since we need sovereign mercy, not assistance. The proud, or those who fail to see their moral impotence to save themselves, will reject this gospel. But this is GOOD NEWS to the poor and broken hearted, (the spiritual bankrupt who have lost all confidence in their own efforts) … So all you poor, broken sinners, abandon despair and banish your laments because of what God has done in His Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah to deliver His people from their sins.

I once heard it said that there are two religions in the world: 1) human attainment and 2) Divine accomplishment. Lets consider the first one; human attainment, which is the natural inclination of us all. In His Law, God calls us to perfect obedience to His holy commands, yet an honest assessment of ourselves will force us to acknowledge that we all fall woefully short of doing so, leaving no hope in ourselves. But in the Gospel, Jesus mercifully obeys the commands for us. Christ’s full obedience to all the prescriptions of the divine law…and His willing obedience in bearing all the sanctions imposed for our disobedience to that law is both the ground of God’s justification of sinners like us and makes available a perfect righteousness that is imputed or reckoned to those who put their trust in him. In other words, The gospel is not about any merit I have, but is based upon Jesus’ Person and merit alone. It is not what we have done for Jesus, but what Jesus has done for us (Rom 5:19, 2 Cor 5:21, Phil 2:8). Where Adam failed, Jesus prevailed. It is God’s promise to us, not our ability to keep our promise to Him. In the covenant rainbow sign with Noah, God says He "remembers" never to flood the world again, so likewise in the covenant in Christ’s blood, God "remembers" not to treat us as we justly deserve for our sins. The mystery of God has been made manifest in the Person and work of the Son, who, in his wrath absorbing sacrifice, frees the prisoners, gives sight to the blind, breaks loose the chains and changes hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. We were once taken captive to do Satan’s will and could not escape using our own resources, but Christ has set us free. Christ, in His cross work, does for us what we could not do for ourselves. He lived the perfect life that we should have lived and died the death we should have died, in order to free us so that we might then proclaim His excellencies, make known his gospel and spread justice and mercy to the poor.

Dr. Tim Keller once said "…the gospel is news about what God has already done for you, rather than instruction and advice about what you are to do for God… In other religions, God reveals to us how we can find or achieve salvation. In Christianity, God achieves salvation for us. The gospel brings news primarily, rather than instruction. " …the gospel is all about historic events, and thus it has a public character. "It identifies Christian faith as news that has significance for all people, indeed for the whole world, not merely as esoteric understanding or insight." [Brownson, p. 46] …if Jesus is not risen from the dead, Christianity does not "work". The gospel is that Jesus died and rose for us. If the historic events of his life did not happen, then Christianity does not "work" for the good news is that God has entered the human "now" (history) with the life of the world to come….the gospel is news about what God has done in history to save us, rather than advice about what we must do to reach God. The gospel is news that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection in history has achieved our salvation…Jesus does not just bring good news; he is the good news."

There is no salvation outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. So trust in Christ and not in your own righteousness. But some refuse the free gift of God because they trust in their own goodness. As the Puritan Thomas Watson once said:

[Some people think] …they are so good, that they scorn God’s offer of mercy. Indeed these are often in the worst condition: these are they who think they need no repentance (Luke 15:7). Their morality undoes them. They make a "savior" of it, and so on this rock they suffer shipwreck. Morality shoots short of heaven. It is only nature refined. A moral man is but old Adam dressed in fine clothes. The king’s image counterfeited and stamped upon brass will not go current. The moral person seems to have the image of God—but he is only brass metal, which will never pass for current. Morality is insufficient for salvation. Though the life is moralized, the lust may be unmortified. The heart may be full of pride and atheism. Under the fair leaves of a tree, there may be a worm. I am not saying, repent that you are moral—but that you are no more than moral. Satan entered into the house that had just been swept and garnished (Luke 11:26). This is the emblem of a moral man, who is swept by civility and garnished with common gifts—but is not washed by true repentance. The unclean spirit enters into such a one. If morality were sufficient to salvation, Christ need not have died. The moral man has a fair lamp—but it lacks the oil of grace."

Jesus is Lord and creator – the only rightful king of all creation … king of all things both seen and unseen. To those who worship the false idols of their hearts (any God-replacement) take heed … Jesus will soon be invading with His armies and will overthrow his enemies and all injustice with the breath of His mouth. But He is offering pardon in advance of His invasion to all those who receive Him (John 1:12, 13). Those who have joined themselves to Him now before He invades will be considered His ally and He will raise them up to be co-heirs with Christ as sons. The alternative is to be under the wrath of the king. We herald this announcement: that the True King is on the throne and he’ll be invading. The gospel is not merely an invitation it is a command to all those going their own ways. Will you heed the command? Jesus is Lord, repent and believe."(Bill Wilder) But because of the blindness sin has cast over us, Jesus says, no one can believe in Him unless the Father grants it through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:63-65). So those who, by the grace of God, trust in Jesus and His work can be assured, on the sure testimony of Scripture, that their sins are forgiven and have the promise of God: eternal life.

To Summarize:
Man was created to glorify God & Enjoy Him forever
"Worthy are you, our Lord and our God to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things." (Rev 4:11) "Do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31)

Man has failed to glorify God & is under His just condemnation
"For all have sinned…" (Rom 3:23) The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) "These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction" (2 Thes 1:9)

Jesus fully bore the wrath and suffered the punishment sinners deserve
Not wishing that sinners perish forever, God determined to save a people for Himself in the Eternal Son who became a man and lived the life we should have lived and died the death we justly deserve. God loves sinners and sent His Son to be the wrath absorbing sacrifice for their sin (1 John 4:10; John 6:37) he "…gave His life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45) & "rose again" from the dead (2 Cor 5:15) on their behalf.

All who, by the grace of God, turn to Jesus in submissive faith are forgiven
If you confess you are a sinner in need of Christ then God has begun to work in you a life-changing, eternally satisfying relationship with Himself! "Repent and believe the gospel (Mk 1:5) "In Your presence is fullness of Joy (Ps 16:11). So leave your self-righteousness, and your sins. Fly unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive his righteousness to be your covering, and his blood to be your atonement. If your trust is in Jesus alone for your salvation (that is, if you have no hope save for Christ’s mercy alone) then you can be assured that your sins are forgiven and He has granted you eternal life.

For Further Study
The Gospel is Historical by Tim Keller
The Gospel Of Jesus Christ by D.A. Carson – 1 Corinthians 15:1-19 (.pdf)
Is Jesus Really the Only Way? by John Hendryx
Difficult Questions, Certain Answers (.pdf) by Nathan Pitchford – A redemptive historical gospel tract
Is there More Than One Way to God? by John Hendryx
The Gospel: Offer or Command? by John Hendryx
Paul’s Definition of a Christian by John Hendryx
The Sum of Saving Knowledge Westminster Assembly Supplemental Document – A Brief Sum of Christian Doctrine, Contained in the Holy Scriptures, and Holden Forth in the Foresaid Confession of Faith and Catechisms; Together with the Practical Use Thereof
All of Grace by C.H. Spurgeon
The Everlasting Righteousness by Horatius Bonar
Monergism Copyright © 2009

The Bottom Line – "They will never perish!"

Posted by Dan C. on

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” – John 10:28 (ESV)

Why do I call ‘They will never perish’ a bottom line? I’m glad you asked. So here it is.

All ‘once saved, always saved’ arguments aside, no matter what form they take (including the ‘snatching v. jumping’ thing) Jesus said that those to whom he gives eternal life will never perish. (wake up in Hell).

The only question left is “When does Jesus give eternal life to us? Whenever that moment is, from that moment in time, whoever has ‘eternal’ life has absolutely no chance of dying on this earth and waking up in Hell.

So no matter what passages are trotted out to ‘prove’ a genuine believer (one who has been granted eternal life) might lose, forfeit, or somehow throw away their salvation (jump out of God’s hand), must mean something else.

So that’s another of the personal ‘bottom lines’ I keep tucked away. Not only is it extremely comforting, it can actually shorten discussions and end arguments! What a concept!

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” – Jesus

_________________

Food for thought on a Tuesday morning/

The Bottom Line – ‘Boasting Not Allowed’!

Posted by Dan C. on

“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.” – Eph 2:8-9 (Emphasis mine)

Why do I call ‘Boasting Not Allowed’ a bottom line? I’m glad you asked. So here it is:

If I contribute anything to my own salvation, I have ‘something’ to brag about. I mean anything. In other words, if something I do, all by my lonesome, with only the abilities I came into this world with, ‘determines’ whether or not I am saved, I have something to boast about, whether I do so or not.

Regardless of the ‘scenario’ you wrap around it, or what terms/labels we use to discuss the issues, that’s my personal bottom line.

While I still enjoy discussing the issues, including the ‘isms’ and the big words we like to use, this simple bottom line speaks volumes, for me at least.

______________________

Food for thought early on a Sunday morning. May you be greatly blessed on this Lord’s Day!

The Way of Salvation–J.C. Ryle

Posted by Dan C. on

Where must a man go for pardon? Where is forgiveness to be found? There is a way both sure and plain, and into that way I desire to guide every inquirers feet. That way is simply to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is to cast your soul with all its sins, unreservedly on Christ—to cease completely from any dependence on your own works or doings, either in whole or in part—and to rest on no other work but Christ’s work—no other righteousness but Christ’s righteousness, no other merit but Christ’s merit as your ground of hope. Take this course—and you are a pardoned soul.

Says Peter "All the prophets testify about Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins." (Acts 10:43). Says Paul at Antioch, "Through this Man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything." (Acts 13:38). "In Him," writes Paul to the Colossians, "we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:14).

The Lord Jesus Christ, in great love and compassion has made a full and complete satisfaction for sin, by suffering death in our place upon the cross. There He offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, and allowed the wrath of God which we deserved—to fall on His own head! For our sins, as our Substitute, He gave Himself, suffered, and died—the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty—that He might deliver us from the curse of a broken law, and provide a complete pardon for all who are willing to receive it. And by so doing, as Isaiah says—He has borne our sins. As John the Baptist says—He has taken away sin. As Paul says—He has purged our sins, and put away sin. As Daniel says—He has made an end of sin and finished transgression.

And now the Lord Jesus Christ is sealed and appointed by God the Father to be a Prince and a Savior, to give forgiveness of sins, to all who will have it. The keys of death and hell are put in His hand. The government of the gate of heaven is laid on His shoulder. He Himself is the door, and by Him all who enter in shall be saved. Christ, in one word, has purchased a full forgiveness, if we are only willing to receive it. He has done all, paid all, suffered all that was needful, to reconcile us to God. He has provided a garment of righteousness to clothe us. He has opened a fountain of living waters to cleanse us. He has removed every barrier between us and God the Father, taken every obstacle out of the way—and made a road by which the vilest may return to God. All things are now ready, and the sinner has only to believe and be saved, to eat and be satisfied, to ask and receive, to wash and be clean.

Faith, or simple trust is the only thing required, in order that you and I may be forgiven. That we will come by faith to Jesus as sinners with our sins—trust in Him—and forsaking all other hope, cleave only to Him—that is all and everything that God asks for. Let a man only do this, and he shall be saved. His iniquities shall be found completely pardoned, and his transgressions completely taken away!

Who, among all the readers of this paper, desires to be saved by Christ, and yet is not saved at present? Come, I beseech you! Come to Christ without delay. Though you have been a great sinner, COME! Though you have long resisted warnings, counsels, sermons, COME! Though you have sinned against light and knowledge, against a father’s advice and a mother’s tears, COME! Though you have plunged into every excess of wickedness, and lived without prayer, yet COME! The door is not shut, the fountain is not yet closed. Jesus Christ invites you. It is enough that you feel laboring and heavy-laden, and desire to be saved. COME! COME TO CHRIST WITHOUT DELAY! Come to Him by faith, and pour out your heart before Him in prayer. Tell Him the whole story of your life, and ask Him to receive you. Cry to Him as the penitent thief did, when He saw Him on the cross. Say to Him, "Lord save me also! Lord remember me!" COME! COME TO CHRIST!

Sinner, Save Thyself!

Posted by Dan C. on

If most of today’s evangelistic efforts were summarized into a succinct sentence, it might be the title of this post – “Sinner, save thyself!”

Before you think me off my rocker, hear me out. You might change your mind, as well as your approach to evangelism (if you are engaged in that noble endeavor).

I make my assertion based largely on the very vocabulary we use! If and when we get to the point when we feel comfortable inviting non-believers to the Cross of Christ we way things like:

“Would you like to ask/have you ‘asked Jesus into your heart?”

“Would you like to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior?”

“If you choose to follow Jesus. . . .”

“Do you feel Jesus knocking on the door of your heart? Why don’t you just open that door and let him in?”

I even heard a dear family friend once exclaim “I didn’t know it was that easy to save yourself!” when she was told that because she accepted Jesus she was saved. I believe this friend is indeed a Christian for several reasons, and at the same time I think that the exclamation is a quite logical response, given the circumstances of the conversation.

I also know that some of us (evangelicals) believe that it is an individual’s personal natural free will decision that actually determines salvation, although had Christ not gone to the Cross salvation would not be possible for anyone. In other words, God made it possible for us to find salvation, and we ‘close the deal’, so to speak. It is widely assumed we all have the same degree of ‘free will’ possessed by Adam and Eve before the Fall.

Without getting into any doctrinal issues around that assumption, it exists all across Christendom and colors the majority of today’s evangelistic efforts. We establish warm relationships (a good thing), begin discussing matters spiritual and when the moment has arrived for a decision, we make a statement or ask a question requiring the prospective believer to do something and he/she will be saved!

Now I am not saying that we don’t accept/receive/choose Christ. We are, after all, responsible to do so. However, such language is not found anywhere in evangelistic encounters in the New Testament. The language of the NT is merely to ‘repent and believe the gospel’ (See mark 1:15).

“God doesn’t challenge us to volunteer for Jesus, He commands all people everywhere to repent.” Jim Wilson, Moscow Idaho

I can think of several reasons why we don’t simple use NT evangelism as the model for our own efforts, but it’s not the intent of this post to air my personal opinion. I just wanted to get folks thinking. Are we in fact telling those to whom we witness to ‘save themselves’?

If that’s the case, then we are giving to many ‘a reason to boast’, are we not? And doesn’t that collide with. . .

“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.” – Eph 2:8-9

Food for thought . . .

Have a blessed day.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel.”

Posted by Dan C. on

“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)

Paul

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. . .  which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 
(2 Timothy 1:8, 12)

Paul

“For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
(Mark 8:38)

Jesus

Sanctification Defined

Posted by Dan C. on

"Sanctification is commonly regarded as a process of moral and spiritual transformation following conversion. In the New Testament, however, it primarily refers to God’s way of taking possession of us in Christ, setting us apart to belong to him and to fulfil his purpose for us. Sanctification certainly has present and ongoing effects, but when the verb ‘to sanctify’ (Gk. hagiazein) and the noun ‘sanctification’ (Gk. hagiasmos) are used, the emphasis is regularly on the saving work of God in Christ, applied to believers through the ministry of the Holy Spirit." -David Peterson.

Mighty to Save

Posted by Dan C. on

Courtesy of Truth For Life

“Who is this who comes from Edom,   in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,  he who is splendid in his apparel,   marching in the greatness of his strength? “

 “It is I, speaking in righteousness,
  mighty to save.”

(Isaiah 63:1 ESV)

By the words “to save” we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are multum in parvo [much in little]: indeed, here is all mercy in a word. Christ is not only “mighty to save” those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him. And this is not all the meaning, for the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. The life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by the Mighty God. The bush burns but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep His people holy after He has made them so, and to preserve them in His fear and love until He consummates their spiritual existence in heaven.

Christ’s power does not lie in making a believer and then leaving him to fend for himself; but He who begins the good work carries it on; He who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul prolongs the divine existence and strengthens it until it breaks every bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory. Believer, here is encouragement. Are you praying for some beloved one? Oh, do not give up praying, for Christ is “mighty to save.” You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm and rouse it to put forth its strength.

Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for His strength is sufficient for you. Whether to begin with others or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is “mighty to save,” the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you. What a thousand mercies that you have not found Him mighty to destroy!

The Power of Grace in the Sanctification of Believers

Posted by Dan C. on

I recently found more than a few comments to this blog awaiting approval (or not), most of which were from the same gentleman who took offense at what he judged my antinomian tendencies. Antinomianism, according to Webster is ‘ the doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral, and that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace.’

According to this delightful fellow, I apparently have some company in the ranks of very well known evangelicals who have also been accused of being antinomian heretics due to their focus on grace and it’s power. In fact, I had first met this fellow when I commented on another blog devoted to declaring the heresy of one of the aforementioned well known evangelicals. I had suggested that he might have misread the preacher/teacher in question and had apparently invited the long string of comments on this blog informing me of my heretical tendencies and near complete lack of knowledge concerning God’s sovereignty in the salvation of men. Most interesting was his use of what is perhaps the most significant passage in all of scripture concerning the believer’s sanctification, to prove his point:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)

In his anti-antinomian fervor my ‘mentor’ didn’t actually discuss the passage in it’s context and focused primarily on the phrase  “work out your own salvation”, as if the ‘heretics’ against which he railed completely ignored it. My friend’s ramblings aside, this might be a good moment to take a closer look at these verses and ask a few questions that might help us obtain a clearer picture of the teaching that Paul is providing his listeners:

In these two verses, what are the Paul’s instructions to the believer?

First of all, the ‘therefore’ refers back to Christ’s humble obedience to the Fafher’s will, even to the point of death on a cross. We are instructed to likewise attain humble obedience (therefore) and given the ‘how’. We are instructed by Paul to work ‘out our salvation”. The believer already has both salvation and the assurance of it for all eternity, because he/she has believed and trusted in the Son for the forgiveness of sin. (See John 3:16-18) And indeed, ‘work out’ is the expression used in several major translations, and the phrase that at times gives us trouble if we ignore what immediately follows in the text. A closer look at the original Greek will give us a fuller understanding of what Paul was saying:

What does it mean to ‘work out’ the salvation which we already posses?

I offer for your consideration the following perspectives:

Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest translates verse 12:

“Wherefore, my beloved ones, as you always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, carry to its ultimate conclusion [likeness to the Lord Jesus] your own salvation with a wholesome, serious caution and trembling.” (Eerdmans)

Scottish minister and Professor of Divinity at Glagcow Univrsity William Barclay:

“So then, my beloved, just as at all times you obeyed not only as in my presence, but much more, as things now are, in my absence, carry to its perfect conclusion the work of your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God, who, that he may carry out his own good pleasure, brings to effect in you both the initial willing and the effective action.” (Westminster Press)

The New Living Translation NLT:

“Dearest friends, you were always so careful to follow my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away you must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” (NLT – Tyndale House)

The Amplified Bible:

“Therefore my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). (Amplified Bible – Lockman)

Noteworthy theologian Martyn-Lloyd Jones  offers this:

“So that is the essential meaning of salvation, and what Paul’s appeal tells them to do is to work out that salvation. And working out means perfecting, bringing to pass, leading to a full result, or finishing something which has already been commenced.”

It does not mean that we are to labor, solely by our own human efforts, to be pleasing to God, for scripture tells us that all of our righteousness is like a filthy rag, still tainted by sin (Isaiah 64, see also Psalm 14 & Romans 3).

It does mean that we are to yield to ‘God who works in us’, and do so humbly (with fear and trembling); knowing that is is GOD at work by the power of His indwelling Spirit.

How exactly does God work within us?

John Owen provides us an excellent answer to this question:

“God works in converted men a will to that which is spiritually good; which is to be understood, not of the formation of the natural faculty of the will; or of the preservation of it, and its natural liberty; or of the general motion of it to natural objects; nor of his influence on it in a providential way; but of the making of it good, and causing a willingness in it to that which is spiritually good. Men have no will naturally to come to Christ, or to have him to reign over them; they have no desire, nor hungerings and thirstings after his righteousness and salvation; wherever there are any such inclinations and desires, they are wrought in men by God; who works upon the stubborn and inflexible will, and, without any force to it, makes the soul willing to be saved by Christ, and submit to his righteousness, and do his will; he sweetly and powerfully draws it with the cords of love to himself, and to his Son, and so influences it by his grace and spirit, and which he continues, that it freely wills everything spiritually good, and for the glory of God: and he works in them also to “do”; for there is sometimes in believers a will, when there wants a power of doing.”

God works within the believer to give him/her the two things most necessary for the task of ‘working out’ our salvation; the desire and the power to do that which pleases Him. The ‘working out’ or our salvation is simply God working in us, resulting in our sanctification.

Why does God so work in the life of every believer?

I believe God works in believers’ lives for the same reason He determined to have a remnant out of lost and dying humanity as a people for Himself:

“He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”  (Ephesians 1:5-6 ESV)

All that God does in the life of of the believer is first and foremost “according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace”, not for our personal satisfaction (our best life now).

Perhaps my ‘mentor’ will return to read this post and discover that to focus on God’s grace does not make one an ‘antinomian heretic’, but instead leads to a Christian life in which good works are empowered more  by God’s grace than sin tainted human effort.

I freely admit that I don’t know how pure my ‘working out’ is on any given day. I’m a sinner saved by grace challenged to simply walk in humble submission and obedience to God as I read and study His word and yield to His working in me.

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