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, May 4, 2020

Eternal salvation & temporal salvation

(Mount Hood reflected in Trillium Lake, Oregon, US)
P/s The majestic mountain and its near-perfect reflection are STILL distinct.

(If you don't understand the distinction between the eternal salvation and temporal salvation, then you HAVE NOT understood salvation by grace yet.)

Eternal salvation & temporal salvation
illustrated by 2Tim 1:9 and 1Tim 4:16

Please read the two passages below very carefully.
- “…God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” 2Tim 1:9

“Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” 1Tim 4:15-16

In the first passage, God has both saved and called us, and this work is “…not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

In the second passage, Timothy is urged to take certain actions in his ministry, and to teach certain things faithfully, and continually. By these precise activities on his part Timothy is assured that he shall both save himself and those who hear (and presumably believe and follow) his teaching ministry.

Do we have two distinct salvations under consideration, one wholly and freely by God’s sovereign purpose and grace, and the other through the human activities of godly preaching, and our obedience to it?

Or do we have one salvation, thus a hopeless confusion as to who the real saviour is?

One interpretation leaves these two passages hopelessly contradicting each other, while the other interpretation harmonizes them fully.

2 Tim 1:9 speaks of the salvation:
- ALREADY happened by God's free grace.
- NOT conditioned on anything in us, of us, by us.
- ACCORDING to God's own purpose and grace in Christ Jesus, through Christ's life, death and resurrection alone,
- THROUGH God's effectual call of us out of our native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation, i.e. through the justification applied personally, regeneration to new life and adoption into God’s family.
- Eternal salvation is the work of the ETERNAL God alone, bestowed upon each elect personally when they are still in their native state of sin and death.

1 Tim 4:16 speaks of a salvation:
- That has NOT YET happened, but SHALL happen.
- CONDITIONED upon the obedience of God's children.
- THAT a child of God must labor to attain for himself.
- THAT a child of God can attain for others through his ministry (e.g James 5:19-20).
- Temporal salvation is experienced by God’s children as they do the will of God their Father.

Failure to distinguish these two distinct salvations is the root cause of the confusion and errors on the Bible's teaching of salvation. Even the Calvinists are pretty messed up here!

Eternal salvation is wholly monergistic, with the man completely passive.
Temporal salvation is synergistic, God's children responding to the will of God their Father. The salvation that involves any activities of man is the temporal salvation attained by the activities of God's children.

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