Colt posted:
"So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy...So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills." (Romans 9:16, 18 - ESV)
Sing F Lau
This is absolutely true, BUT with regard to our ETERNAL SALVATION only. Our eternal salvation is wholly and solely monergistic - no human activity is involved, such a preaching and believing, etc. Preaching and believing are effects and manifestations of the ETERNAL salvation that has been bestowed by God's free and sovereign grace.
When it comes to our temporal salvation, it is wholly synergistic, conditioned upon our obedient responses to God's will for us His children.
Colt
what do you mean by "temporal" salvation?
Sing F Lau
I am glad you asked. I asked the same question some years ago, and the Lord was pleased to show me some wonderful things that helped me rightly divide the word of truth.
There is a salvation that has been completely accomplished for the elect, and applied to each elect personally at God's appointed and approved time when God called each one out of the state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation. And God himself will consummate that salvation with glorification. All these entirely by God's work of grace alone, entirely without human aid or cooperation. This is eternal salvation... FREELY accomplished, freely applied, and freely consummated, all by divine acts alone, apart from human activities.
There is a salvation that God's children must work out for themselves... beginning at believing the truth of their eternal salvation that God has accomplished in Jesus Christ on the cross, and wrought in them personally at effectual calling. This believing DID NOT save them from divine wrath due to their sins; it saves from from lies and errors and falsehood. By walking soberly, godly, and righteously, God's children don't save themselves from eternal miseries, BUT save themselves from this perverse and crook generation, and all the consequences of sin in this life. Every sin has eternal and temporal consequences.
God's works in Christ saved us from the eternal consequences of our sins. That's eternal salvation, delivering God's children from the eternal consequences of their sins.
Our obedience to God's will will save us from the temporal consequences of our sins here in this life. That's temporal salvation - it pertains to our salvation/deliverance in this life only.
Apostle Peter told the Jews (devout and God-fearing Jews!) on the day of Pentecost to SAVE THEMSELVES, NOT from eternal hell, but from that perverse generation. Their believing will save them from being destroyed together with the wicked Jews by the Romans armies that was prophesied were coming upon Jerusalem... happened in AD 70.
Anything that requires man's response has to do with his temporal salvation. It is only someone whom the Lord God has bestowed eternal salvation that is able to respond to God's command to act spiritually, like hearing, believing and repenting and obeying... and knowing and growing. Those dead in trespasses and sins can't respond to God's command to act spiritually.
An article may answer your question more adequately.
I will post a link later.
Sing F Lau
Believing is most certainly an active act involving human mind AND will.
Preaching the gospel is ALSO most certainly an active exertion of human effort to reach the minds of others.
But these and much others activities of men are RULED OUT COMPLETELY in THE salvation spoken of in the passage, i.e. ETERNAL salvation.
In other passages, salvation is closely conditioned upon both preaching and hearing the gospel, and believing and obeying.
There is no contradiction between the two set of passages in the Scriptures.
The former speaks of the eternal salvation by God's free grace alone in Christ alone. 'Free' means free; and 'grace' means grace; many will adulterate the free-ness and graciousness of ETERNAL salvation by ADDING something, somewhere, along the way. Each man is an arminian to the core.
The later speaks of the temporal salvation that God's children are commanded to work out for themselves by the grace of God enabling them.
Failure to distinguish the TWO distinct and different salvation causes so much confusions, inconsistencies, and contradictions, in Arminianism, and no less in Calvinism!
Sing F Lau
Here's an article that you may find helpful.
Zion’s Advocate-May 15, 1858
Time Salvation
To the readers of Zion’s Advocate.
DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS.-It seemed good to me at this time to address a short epistle of love to you to stir up your pure winds by way of remembrance, that you stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. Relieving that much of our spiritual enjoyment in this life depends upon our conformity to the admonitions and precepts of Christ and the apostles; that there is a Time Salvation to be enjoyed in obedience only. The humble and faithful child of grace that devotes itself to the duties laid down in the New Testament will be more spiritually minded than the careless negligent one; to such the cross will be easier and the burden lighter, he or she will have the answer of a good conscience and peace of mind, enjoy fellowship with Christ and his people, and be able in a good degree to resist the temptations of the devil, and to mortify their own fleshly lust. While we live in a careless indifferent state, we are sure to grow carnally minded, which will be succeeded by blindness, coldness, indifference and darkness, which will give the enemy the advantage of us, and we pierced through with many sorrows, lose sight of our acceptance with God, and perhaps the fellowship of the saints, and become as salt that has lost its savor. How important then that we watch and pray, take up our cross daily and follow Jesus through evil and good report; be careful to maintain good works at all times and in every place, that we watch ourselves with constant guards. Then would our light so shine that others seeing our good works would glorify our father, which is in heaven.
Dear brethren and sisters let us take the admonition of St Paul to the Philippians “Work out your own salvation with fear and with trembling, for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” This is not God’s salvation that saves souls from death. God’s salvation was wrought by our Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Calvary, and by his holy spirit wrought in his people in the work of regeneration, and is that which worketh in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure and which qualifies us for working out our own salvation with fear and with trembling. As before hinted, our own salvation here mentioned is a time salvation, and we must work it out or go without it. God has only in the gospel, commanded his people to do that which they can do by his “working in them the will and to do,” and if we do it not then we may expect the rod with many stripes. But if we work it out, we honor God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and save ourselves from the evils that we are subject to, and that are incident upon a wayward life. This is a delightful work when we are in the right frame of mind for it, and to be in the right frame we must go to work (not to the law but to the gospel) and in performing our duty, our minds become spiritualized enough for another and so on throughout the whole.
One great duty is prayer, both secret and family prayer, another is giving attendance at prayer meetings, especially monthly meetings, but no light excuse keeps us away from meetings. Another duty is attending to the ordinances in due season, another is cultivating love with the brethren and watching over them for good (not for evil) and especially watching over ourselves, endeavoring to shun every appearance of evil. I do not believe that by anything we can do, will alter our relation with God as parent and children. But by obedience, we draw nigh to God, and he draws nigh to us with an approving smile. While the disobedient child lives under his frowns and the sore chastisements of his righteous and just rod.
In conclusion, dear brethren and sisters, permit me to say what I understand close walking with God is, simply taking Bible directions; therein we honor God and realize the benefits ourselves.- Finally read the scriptures, which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
M. HODGES.
Fountain Head, Tenn., March 11, 1858.
