The faith of God's elect vs. the fables of man's converts

The faith of God's elect vs. the fables of man's converts

Titus 1

1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour.

4 To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Our midweek Wednesday evening bible-study started on the pastoral epistle of Paul to Titus.

So much gospel truth packed into the opening salutation!

Make sure it is the faith of God's elect that you have embraced, the faith once delivered unto the saints.

Note the common faith here and the common salvation in Jude 1:3

"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

Some simple questions for your consideration.

Feel free to ask yours.

1. What is the relationship between Paul's servanthood and apostleship, and the faith of God's elect?

2. Unto whom is the faith of God's elect relevant or intended? See 2Tim 2:10

3. Unto whom did God promise eternal life?

4. Did God keep that promise to all whom the promise was made?

5. What did God do to keep/fulfil His promise of eternal life?

6. Those promised with the eternal life, how does the eternal life become their personal possession?

7. Did they meet any condition to possess the promised eternal life?

8. Does God OFFER eternal life? If He does, to whom does He make the offer?

9. What will you think of that offer?

(2Ti 2:10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.)

A Papal Fable and A Protestant Fiction

Boy, here is the good news,

God so loved, through His Son Jesus Christ,

 that He FREELY and SOVEREIGNLY gives eternal life

 to those dead in trespasses and sins;

whosoever believes has eternal life.

Faith is an effect of salvation, 

not the means to secure salvation.

Satan, the father of lies, replaced

a superstitious Roman Catholic fable with

a nonsensical Protestant fiction
How subtle!

Salvation is by the FAITH of Christ alone, i.e. His faithfulness that secured the righteousness by His perfect and sinless life of obedience, and the forgiveness of sins by His sacrificial death. That's the basis of salvation.

How did the salvation secured by Christ come to sinners? It is freely by the grace of God alone, i.e. it is FREELY bestowed upon a sinner when he is still dead in trespasses and sins, when he is completely incapable of faith but in enmity against God. This happens when God effectually calls a sinner out of his native state of sin and death unto the state of righteousness and eternal life in Christ Jesus.

How are the blessings of that salvation, which have been freely bestowed, experienced by the recipients? It is through believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. A man's faith in Jesus Christ certifies, evidences, demonstrates, justifies that he has been freely saved by God.

Only a SAVED man is capable of believing the truth of his salvation.

Eating certifies and demonstrates the presence of life; EVEN SO, believing is an evidence of the prior bestowal of salvation in Jesus Christ, FREELY by God grace.

Salvation is by Jesus Christ alone

It is freely applied by God to sinners by grace alone, without them meeting any condition, for they are incapable of meeting any. 

And this salvation already freely bestowed is experienced by believing in Jesus Christ, not by keeping any ceremonial laws or works of righteousness.

Our believing in Jesus Christ and works of righteousness give evidence that we are children of God in Jesus Christ.

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May the Lord save us from the subtle lie of the devil. Amen.

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A well-intentioned but impotent god

Too many Christians sincerely believe in a well-intentioned but impotent God; an error rightly pointed out by Mr Pink in the meme. The implication of such fable is the height of blasphemy, as Pink indicated.

This is the simple truth of the Bible:

- God purposed eternal salvation for His elect;

- Christ accomplished the same for those given to Him;

- The Spirit of God and Christ freely and sovereignly applies the same to each individual elect personally at God's appointed and approved time when they are still dead in trespasses and sins, in enmity and rebellion against God, in their native state of sin and condemnation.

There are perfect and complete harmony and unity of purpose among the three Persons of the Trinity.

Divine and sovereign grace alone guarantees that the purposed and accomplished eternal salvation be sure to each and every elect.

Those to whom God has freely bestowed eternal salvation are then called, through the divinely appointed gospel ministry, to believe the truth of their salvation by the free and sovereign activities of God in saving them.

In believing the truth of their salvation by God's free and sovereign grace, they save themselves from errors, fables, and superstitions. The gospel ministry that proclaims the grace of God teaches them to live soberly, righteously, and godly - saving God's children from the ravages of sins and unrighteousness in this present life. God holds His children responsible to will and to do His good pleasure for them as His children. 

Too many are addicted to the sound of saving grace but are ignorant of the sense of saving grace.

Titus 2

11¶For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Amen, and amen.

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A note on Mr. Missing's numerous comments:
He basically fails to make the distinction between what a man is in his native state of sin and death and what the same man can do after the divine grace has worked in him, freely and sovereignly by God.

The former is completely incapable of any spiritual activities, being spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. Until and unless the grace of God intervenes, he lies in an active enmity against God, unable to do anything to bring himself to God. "Except a man be born again, he CANNOT..." is a statement with no exception. This involved his sonship; he is completely passive in his new birth by God.

The latter has been born of God, and as a child of God and with the Spirit of adoption dwelling in him, he is commanded to know and obey the will of the Father for him. This is discipleship, and he is actively involved in working out his own salvation. Much of his points are in this realm. 

Mr. Missing, failing to distinguish the vast difference between the two, is opposing a strawman of his own imagination. 

The angels that sinned...

Can you catch me? I love to be roasted!
Nothing is better than a roasted piglet.

The angels that sinned...

2Pet 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.

Jude 6 "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

Please assist me in rightly dividing these two passages.

I assume that these two passages are intimately related; both deal with the angels and their judgment; the first passage states the angels that sinned; the second describes the nature of the sin committed by those angels involved.

To facilitate some study, let me ask some questions. Please feel free to ask your own. Please answer these questions that are directly related to the two passages of the Scriptures.

But first, a few things to take note of to save us from saying ideas that are self-evidently contradictions:

1. The reason that Satan and his angels were initially cast out of heaven to the earth (Rev 12:9) is different from these angels that sinned and were "cast down to hell... reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." 2Pet 2:4, Jude 6.
- The two are distinct and completely different events. Many flippantly confound the two!

2. Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven because of pride, and the angels that did not keep their first estate but left their own habitation are different and distinct matters.  

- The former is the result of rebellion; the latter is a failure to remain in their appointed estate, their own habitation, the sin of trespassing into another habitation NOT their own. The two events are distinct; don't confound or equate them

3. Both Peter and Jude were matter-of-factly speaking of a historical event, an event that their Jewish recipients knew and understood. They needed no further elaboration. But today, very few have any clue!

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Some questions on 2Pet 2:4-5

1. Who were the angels that were involved in this particular sin?
    (i.e. were they the same as those that were cast out of heaven, or were they some of the angels that had already been cast out of heaven with Satan?

2. What was the sin committed by the angels involved?

3. When did the sin happen?

4. Is it recorded in the Scriptures? If so, where?

5. Why did Peter and Jude take for granted that their Jewish recipients knew what they were talking about?

6. God spared not the angels that sinned (v4) and God spared not the old world (v5), are the two events related; if so, how? (2Pet 2).
- Please note, verses 4-5 are one sentence, divided by a semicolon. 

7. Those angels that sinned, where are they now?

8. What was the intention/scheme of the angels that sinned; what did they want to accomplish? Were they successful? Why?

Questions on Jude 6

1. Who were the angels involved here?  (i.e. were they the same as those that were cast out of heaven, or were they some of the angels that had already been cast out of heaven with Satan?

2. What was the first estate of the angels mentioned?

3. What was the native (their own) habitation of these angels?

4. When did those angels that kept not their first estate leave their own habitation?

5. What happened when they left their own habitation? 

- What was their new habitation having left their own habitation?

6. Where, in the Scriptures, is this leaving their own habitation and trespassing into another habitation recorded if is it indeed recorded at all?

7. What did the angels purpose to accomplish when they trespassed into a habitation not their own? What was their intention? 

8. Where did Jude get his information about those angels that kept not their first estate but left their own habitation?

9. Were ALL fallen angels (Satan and all his hosts that were cast out of heaven to the earth) involved in leaving their own habitation? See Q1.

10. Were ALL fallen angels reserved by God in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day? Why?

These are simple questions directly related to the two passages. They should make you think!
I would like to know your thoughts. Meanwhile, I will slaughter and roast the piglet and brew some blue tea, ready for a good study.

Keep busy, put on the brain before we start opening our mouths. And please note, the only thing I'm interested in is rightly dividing the word of truth. And that begins with and requires some plain answers to the questions on those two passages above.

"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." 2Cor 11:14

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