Things New and Old

Ancient truths revealed in the Scriptures are often forgotten, disbelieved or distorted, and therefore lost in the passage of time. Such ancient truths when rediscovered and relearned are 'new' additions to the treasury of ancient truths.

Christ showed many new things to the disciples, things prophesied by the prophets of old but hijacked and perverted by the elders and their traditions, but which Christ reclaimed and returned to His people.

Many things taught by the Apostles of Christ have been perverted or substituted over the centuries. Such fundamental doctrines like salvation by grace and justification have been hijacked and perverted and repudiated by sincere Christians. These doctrines need to be reclaimed and restored to God's people.

There are things both new and old here. "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things"
2Ti 2:7.

Monday, June 3, 2019

"Conversion and regeneration are co-extensive" - a popular fable




Here is a popular statement that finds great currency among the reformed people, as well as those they consider 'arminians' -
"There are no regenerated people walking around who are not yet converted." - that is, conversion and regeneration are co-extensive. This is the idea of the gospel regenerationists. 

Is there any truth with this bold statement? Cast your mite, copper or gold!

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I will cast my first grain of rice. Just mull and chew over it, BUT please don't get choked over this hard grain of unpolished rice.
This may sound very strange to you, but mull and chew over it slowly.
It is precisely that there are regenerated people walking around who are NOT yet converted that need to be converted that the gospel ministry was instituted for such purpose.

There were the regenerated devout God-fearing Jews, who traveled long distances from "out of every nation under heaven" to Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival that needed to be converted, and were converted under Peter's preaching.

There was the regenerated Ethiopian eunuch moving about on his rolls-royce chariot that needed to be converted, who came to worship God in Jerusalem, and was reading the Scriptures with thirst and hunger, and needed to be converted, and was converted by the ministry of Phillip.

There was the regenerated Italian Cornelius that needed to be converted. He was a devout and God fearing man, and was a man of prayer to boot, and he was walking about an unconverted man, and was working works of righteousness. And God sent Peter to minister the gospel to him to have him converted.

The gospel ministry is the means divinely instituted to MAKE DISCIPLES of God's children, whom He, by His free and sovereign grace and will, has directly and immediately begotten by His own Spirit. (John 1:13).

As I said, it may sound strange to you... but mull and chew on it. It is a HARD grain of rice... not sand. I won't give you sand to chew and mull over!

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Here is another grain of hard unpolished rice:
Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, whom he described as 'saints' and 'beloved of God.'
"To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."
The Apostle expressed great desire, urgency and indebtedness to preach the gospel to them!

"I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." Rom 1:14-15
Why so? Could it be that these 'saints' and 'beloved of God' have not heard the gospel before?

Supposing these 'saints' and beloved of God' have heard the gospel and were converted, then why such great desire, urgency and indebtedness to preach the gospel to them? Was Paul being presumptuous, or misguided?

Remember, Apostle Paul is not one that would build on another man's labor. He declared solemnly, "Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation" Rom 15:20."
From these words, we can take it to mean that Rome was not a place 'where Christ was named' when he wrote to them. That explains the great desire, urgency and indebtedness to preach the gospel in Rome ALSO.

Did you notice this simple fact? They have not heard the gospel, and they need to hear the gospel.... BUT - BUT - BUT they are already 'saints and beloved of God' even though they have not heard the gospel, and Apostle Paul was in great urgency to bring the gospel to them ALSO, to convert these 'saints and beloved of God' to the gospel truth, i.e. to make them into disciples of Jesus Christ.
These were God's children, WALKING ABOUT, needing to be converted by the gospel ministry!

Just mull and chew over this grain of unpolished rice... but please don't get choked over it.

Dallas
None whatsoever! The wind bloweth where it listeth. More rice brother, more rice. AMEN to ALL that you have written!

Dallas
I had this thought recently from Rom. 1:14-15; if these be saints and beloved of God, how is it Paul speaks to them that he is ready to preach the gospel to them who are Rome also? No doubt his desire is toward feeding the sheep and that it never crossed his mind that he was making sheep!

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How are they saints?
They are saints because they have BEEN SET APART from their state of sin and death, in which they were in by nature, to that of righteousness and eternal life, by God's free grace at effectual calling. To that of righteousness by God's free and gracious work of justification, freely applying Christ's righteousness to the condemned, and to that of eternal life through the Spirit's free and gracious work of regeneration.

They were made saints, i.e. DEFINITIVELY sanctified, once for all from their state of sin and death to that of righteousness and eternal life once for all, by the free and sovereign act of God. All these are INDEPENDENT of the gospel ministry.
These DEFINITIVELY sanctified saints need the gospel ministry to for farther sanctification - "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" - to make them PRACTICAL saints.