New and Old - the unbridgeable difference.
What is the role of faith in your salvation?
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10201138322875669
Dec 11, 2013
A new school calvinist quoted another:
"If salvation is of grace, as the Scriptures so clearly teach, it cannot be of works, whether actual or foreseen. There is no merit in believing, for faith itself is a gift of God. God gives His people an inward working of the Spirit in order that they may believe, and faith is only the act of receiving the proffered gift. It is, then, only the instrumental cause, and not the meritorious cause, of salvation. What God loves in us is not our own merits, but His own gift; for His unmerited grace precedes our meritorious works. Grace is not merely bestowed when we pray for it, but grace itself causes us to pray for its continuance and increase."
The new calvinist he quoted says... "it is, then, only the instrumental cause, and not the meritorious cause, of salvation...."
An old baptist (John Gill) said this of faith,
"Faith is not the cause, but an effect of justification; it is not the cause of it in any sense; it is not the moving cause, that is the free grace of God; "Being justified freely by his grace", (Rom. 3:24) nor the efficient cause of it; "It is God that justifies", (Rom. 8:33) nor the meritorious cause, as some express it; or the matter of it, that is the obedience and blood of Christ, (Rom. 5:9, 19) or the righteousness of Christ, consisting of his active and passive obedience; nor even the instrumental cause... it is not in any class of causes whatever; but it is the effect of justification..."
So, one new school calvinist says:
"... faith is only the instrumental cause of salvation..."
And an old school baptist said,
"... faith is not the cause of it in any sense... nor EVEN the instrumental cause... it is not in any class of causes whatever; BUT it is the effect of justification..."
See the unbridgeable difference?
Faith is the effect of the salvation bestowed freely. An effect of salvation CANNOT be in any sense be a cause of the salvation in any way!!!
An effect of the salvation bestowed freely CANNOT be in any sense in any class of causes whatsoever for the same salvation.
Faith is indeed an instrumental cause of temporal salvation, which is very different from the eternal salvation ALREADY bestowed freely by God's grace alone when an elect was dead in trespasses and sins.
New school calvinists like are either ignorant or incapable of distinguishing eternal salvation bestowed by God's free grace, and the temporal salvation conditioned upon the obedience of God's children to their Father's will. This is why they come up with the monstrous idea of faith as the instrumental cause of eternal salvation.
Let it be repeated:
"Faith is not the cause, but an effect of justification; it is not the cause of it in any sense:
- It is not the moving cause, that is the free grace of God; "Being justified freely by his grace", (Rom. 3:24)
- Nor the efficient cause of it; "It is God that justifies", (Rom. 8:33)
- Nor the meritorious cause, as some express it; or the matter of it, that is the obedience and blood of Christ, (Rom. 5:9, 19) or the righteousness of Christ, consisting of his active and passive obedience;
- Nor even the instrumental cause... it is not in any class of causes whatever; but it is the effect of justification..."
Faith is NOT the cause of justification in any sense: all possibilities are painstaking EXCLUDED: whether moving cause, efficient cause, meritorious cause, or the popular instrumental cause!!!
See some exchanges on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10201138322875669
"If salvation is of grace, as the Scriptures so clearly teach, it cannot be of works, whether actual or foreseen. There is no merit in believing, for faith itself is a gift of God. God gives His people an inward working of the Spirit in order that they may believe, and faith is only the act of receiving the proffered gift. It is, then, only the instrumental cause, and not the meritorious cause, of salvation. What God loves in us is not our own merits, but His own gift; for His unmerited grace precedes our meritorious works. Grace is not merely bestowed when we pray for it, but grace itself causes us to pray for its continuance and increase."
The new calvinist he quoted says... "it is, then, only the instrumental cause, and not the meritorious cause, of salvation...."
An old baptist (John Gill) said this of faith,
"Faith is not the cause, but an effect of justification; it is not the cause of it in any sense; it is not the moving cause, that is the free grace of God; "Being justified freely by his grace", (Rom. 3:24) nor the efficient cause of it; "It is God that justifies", (Rom. 8:33) nor the meritorious cause, as some express it; or the matter of it, that is the obedience and blood of Christ, (Rom. 5:9, 19) or the righteousness of Christ, consisting of his active and passive obedience; nor even the instrumental cause... it is not in any class of causes whatever; but it is the effect of justification..."
So, one new school calvinist says:
"... faith is only the instrumental cause of salvation..."
And an old school baptist said,
"... faith is not the cause of it in any sense... nor EVEN the instrumental cause... it is not in any class of causes whatever; BUT it is the effect of justification..."
See the unbridgeable difference?
Faith is the effect of the salvation bestowed freely. An effect of salvation CANNOT be in any sense be a cause of the salvation in any way!!!
An effect of the salvation bestowed freely CANNOT be in any sense in any class of causes whatsoever for the same salvation.
Faith is indeed an instrumental cause of temporal salvation, which is very different from the eternal salvation ALREADY bestowed freely by God's grace alone when an elect was dead in trespasses and sins.
New school calvinists like are either ignorant or incapable of distinguishing eternal salvation bestowed by God's free grace, and the temporal salvation conditioned upon the obedience of God's children to their Father's will. This is why they come up with the monstrous idea of faith as the instrumental cause of eternal salvation.
Let it be repeated:
"Faith is not the cause, but an effect of justification; it is not the cause of it in any sense:
- It is not the moving cause, that is the free grace of God; "Being justified freely by his grace", (Rom. 3:24)
- Nor the efficient cause of it; "It is God that justifies", (Rom. 8:33)
- Nor the meritorious cause, as some express it; or the matter of it, that is the obedience and blood of Christ, (Rom. 5:9, 19) or the righteousness of Christ, consisting of his active and passive obedience;
- Nor even the instrumental cause... it is not in any class of causes whatever; but it is the effect of justification..."
Faith is NOT the cause of justification in any sense: all possibilities are painstaking EXCLUDED: whether moving cause, efficient cause, meritorious cause, or the popular instrumental cause!!!
See some exchanges on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10201138322875669
