Things New and Old: Justified by your faith, Quickened by your breath

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.

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Justified by your faith, Quickened by your breath

Believe and be justified by God,

Breathe and be quickened to life

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10215203203928905
December 9, 2019

If a condemned man is justified by his faith alone; then,
A dead man is quickened by his breath alone.

Got it?

A. No, I haven't. I fear you lack common sense, i.e. you are stupid.

B. I'm sorry but why do you say that I'm stupid?

A. You lack common sense because you say a dead man can possibly breathe in order to be made alive. Breathing is an activity of the living; the dead can't breathe; to say otherwise is just plain stupidity.

B. Indeed, indeed. I'm so glad you could see my stupidity. Thank you for pointing out such basic common sense truth. Do you see the same stupidity with the statement on the justification of a condemned man by his believing alone?

A. Huh? What do you mean? How is the justification of a condemned man by his faith alone be stupid? That is believed by multitudes upon multitudes, how can it be stupid? Are you stupid?

B. No, you are saying the Bible is. The Bible repeatedly say it is "the just - i.e. the justified ones - who shall live by faith." This simple statement about the justified ones - that such shall live by faith - has been twisted and perverted into a statement about how the condemned can be justified, i.e. by his faith.

A. That's specious! Justification by faith alone is a glorious doctrine of the 16th-century reformation; it can't possibly be wrong since it is loved and repeated by renowned theologians. It sounds so right even though the Scriptures do say somewheres that a condemned man is justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

B. So, even though you acknowledged that the Scriptures say that a condemned man is justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, you have no issue with the popular belief that a condemned man is justified by his faith alone? And you think a man not yet justified by God, i.e. still in his native state of condemnation and death, is able to believe in order to be justified by God?

A. Well, I'll stick to the reformation doctrine of sola fidei, a condemned man is justified by faith alone. I'm a reformed man.

B. You will believe that even though a condemned man is incapable of believing?

What were you before you were reformed? By what or whom were you reformed?

A. Huh? What do you mean?

B. O, never mind. You are reformed.