Effectual calling - misunderstood, twisted, and perverted

 

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/1656364844467
March 30, 2011

What is effectual calling?

This is what the old school baptists summarized it.

"1. Those whom God hath predestined unto life, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call,(1) by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ;..."   1689.10.1
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Sing F Lau
Please note very carefully... it is the calling of an elect out of his NATIVE STATE of sin and death to that SPIRITUAL STATE of grace and salvation.

Sing F Lau
Effectual call to a state of grace and salvation is, by the powerful and sovereign will of the Triune God (God, Word, and Spirit), without any assistance or cooperation of man.

It is an act of God, separate and distinct from and prior to the gospel call... which is a call out of the state of ignorance and unbelief to a state of knowledge of the truth and faith.

The former is the calling of the dead in trespasses and sins.

The latter is the calling of God's children to faith in Christ.

And what transpires in the effectual call is carefully stated...

"... (2) enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God;(3) taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh:(4) renewing their wills, and by His almighty power determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ;(5) yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.(6)".

Two SPECIFIC THINGS are mentioned here:
Firstly: what is done to the object:
- Enlightening the MIND...
- Replacing the HEART...
- Renewing their WILLS...

Second: the good determined for the object:
- by His almighty power, therefore ALWAYS effectual... 101% success rate
- that which is good is ETERNAL SALVATION bound up in the person and works of Jesus Christ. Each is effectually UNITE to Christ, the fount and spring of their eternal redemption.
- The 'drawing' spoken of here is WITHOUT the gospel means. It is the effectual drawing of the elect still dead in trespasses and sins to Christ... to a state of grace and salvation.
- In this sense, the effectual drawing/calling is IRRESISTIBLE GRACE. How can a dead man possibly resist the free act of the almighty God to raise him from his state of sin and death?

Sing F Lau
The chapter on Effectual Call has four paragraphs.
The four paragraphs can be summarized like this:
Para 1: The definition of the effectual call
Para 2: The effectually called who have the gospel call
Para 3: The effectually called who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the gospel.
Para 4: Those who are not effectually called

Para 1 spells out what the effectual call is: God's work of bringing a man out of his native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation... man being completely passive in that he contributes NOTHING... in fact, he was very active in enmity against God when God effectually called him.

Para 2 spells out the fact of those effectually called who do have the GOSPEL CALL... and states the relationship between the effectual call and the gospel call, THAT IS... the effectual call ENABLES a man to answer to the gospel call. That DOES NOT imply that every effectually called man will respond positively to the gospel call, neither that every effectually called man will have the gospel preached to him.

- The fact stated is simply the one ENABLING the other, one making the other possible... nothing more.

Para 3 spells out those effectually called who do not have the gospel called... and this paragraph EMBRACES a far wider group than the reformed folks would want to admit: they limit it to ONLY those who died in infancy and mentally challenged adults. But the phrase, "SO ALSO all other elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word" most certainly include God's sentient children (effectually called to grace and salvation) in remote places... they are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word.

However, the gospel regenerationists must reject and deny this simple fact.

Para 4 tells us that WITHOUT the effectual call of God... no amount of outward religion can eternally save anyone, 'save' in the SAME - SAME - SAME sense that the effectual calling of God saves.

With this outline of the chapter, we will now proceed to the next paragraph.

Sing F Lau
A common and popular error concerning the effectual call needs to be stated here. Many RBs, being gospel regenerationists, understand the effectual call as God's act of blessing their gospel preaching, making it effectual in bringing the dead to eternal life, and conversion to the truth.

Whether they like it or not, such an idea explicitly implies that without their preaching ministry, there would be no effectual call... i.e. the eternal salvation of God's elect is intimately bound up with their activities! They unashamedly conditioned the eternal salvation of God upon their preaching activity.

They are adamantly not contented to accept that their preaching ministry is to feed and nourish the lambs and sheep of God. They insist that they have an indispensable role in bringing lambs and sheep into being!

Sing F Lau
Paragraph 2 reads "This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, nor from any power or agency in the creature,(7) being wholly passive therein, being dead in sins and trespasses, until being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit;(8) he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it, and that by no less power than that which raised up Christ from the dead.(9)"

This effectual call is further defined... because of man's inclination to pervert and twist the gracious nature of it.

The effectual call is POSITIVELY:
- of God's free and special grace alone... THUS excluding even the gospel ministry of the gospel regenerationists! "Alone' means 'alone,' it does not mean 'alone PLUS.' Elementary, sir!
- being quickened, from the state of death, to eternal life. No one can do any good to the dead but the Life-giver Himself, and ALONE, without the deluded gospel regenerationists' aid.
- being renewed... saving graces are worked in the effectually called. Without these saving graces worked in the heart by the indwelling Spirit, the quickened would still be quite impotent... made alive but still without strength nor power.

The effectual call is NEGATIVELY:
- NOT from anything at all foreseen in man...
- NOT from any power or agency in the creature...
- Man being WHOLLY passive in the effectual call...
- Man being dead in sins and trespasses and sin...

What more needs to be said!
NOTE the word 'thereby.' It is an adverb, and means "by that means; as a result of." By the means of effectual calling, or as a result of the effectual calling, a man is enabled towards something.

That means the effectual call is completely apart from the gospel call... finished and accomplished... thereby enabling something else distinct and separate from the effectual call!

Sing F Lau
Sorry, there is one VITAL issue overlooked in paragraph 1.. the phrase, "by His Word and Spirit" - God's agents of effectual call.

So many new school Calvinists glibly take 'His Word' as referring to their preaching ministry of the word or the written Scriptures. But that does violence to the whole paragraph and chapter.

The preached word (gospel proclaimed) blessed to the conversion of the already regenerated elect is vastly different from God’s Word (Christ), and Spirit who are the active Divine Agents in the effectual calling the dead unto eternal life.

We must not confuse the two. The word ‘word’ (whether with an upper or a lower case ‘w’) SOUNDS exactly the same in each case, but the CONTEXT and the SENSE are entirely different.

A biblical distinction is the essence of sound theology. The Framers were clear. Therefore ‘His Word’ can’t possibly mean ‘gospel preaching’ in a context of effectual calling unto eternal life and salvation.

The gospel is not an instrument used in begetting eternal life in the elect. It is instrumental only in the conversion of those whom God has effectually called unto eternal life. It is instrumental in the gospel call to faith in Jesus Christ. But it is a massive theological blunder to think that Christ, the Word of God, is not active in the work of the new creation in effectual calling.

Bill Taylor
@Sing "The preached word (gospel proclaimed) blessed to the conversion of the already regenerated elect is vastly different from God’s Word (Christ) and Spirit who are the active Divine Agents in the effectual calling the dead unto eternal life." AMEN and AMEN!

Sing F Lau
"... effectually to call... out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ..."

To effectually call a man out of his native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation REQUIRES... REQUIRES... REQUIRES these Divine activities:

- justification: (the righteousness of Christ freely applied to him personally. The righteousness was ALREADY imputed to him when Christ died at the cross. That is the legal justification. What is legal is made personal at effectual call. The state of sin is the state of condemnation... and this must be dealt with by justification.

- regeneration: the state of death must be dealt with. With the righteousness, applied, the Holy Spirit has divine warrant to regenerate. Sin brought death and condemnation. Righteousness applied brings justification and life.
(Please note: the effectual call and regeneration are NOT, NOT, NOT synonymous; the latter is a subset of the former. This is another popular error!)

- adoption into the family of God and given the right to all the privileges that belong to God's child. The Spirit of adoption is given to dwell in him, working all the saving graces.

Without justification AND regeneration AND adoption, there can be no effectual calling out of the state of sin and death to that state grace and salvation.

A state of grace and salvation necessarily REQUIRES justification applied personally, regeneration, and adoption... anything less, there can be no grace and salvation.

Sing F Lau
"Those whom God hath predestined unto life...."
These and these ALONE are the objects of the effectual call.

God purposed eternal redemption for them, and Christ accomplished the eternal redemption for the same people and the Triune God applies it to individuals among those predestinated unto life.

"... and He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call..."
The timing of the effectual call to grace and salvation of an elect is SOLELY the prerogative of God... some are effectually called while in the womb, others on their death bed... some in their childhood, others in the adulthood, some in their prime of life, others when withered...

It is solely God's prerogative alone... not even the most eloquent preacher can hurry God!

Preachers who rush God and apply all sort of gimmicks and psychology and manipulation and up making disciples of those still DEAD trespasses and sins... are playing god. 

Sing F Lau
"... effectually to call... out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ..."
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ONCE effectually called to grace and salvation, a man is PERFECTLY, COMPLETELY, and WHOLLY fitted for eternal glory. Nothing further is needed for glorification at all.

Eternal salvation is by GRACE ALONE plus NOTHING.
Eternal salvation DOES NOT need any man's aid, effort, contribution.
Eternal salvation is NOT God's grace PLUS man's work to make it effectual... it is made effectual by the almighty power of God when His elect was in a state of sin and death. By His almighty power, He DETERMINES them to that which is good.

God, "by His almighty power determining them to that which is good" declares the old school baptists! The almighty power of God is all that is needed to determine them to that which is good (eternal redemption in Christ Jesus)... no need of any aid or assistance from man. SHAME to those who insist otherwise!

But God is not only interested in the eternal salvation of His chosen people. He also desires their WELL-BEING as they journey through this world to enter into the blessedness of their eternal inheritance.

God is mindful of the well-being of His children. He appointed the gospel ministry towards that end. He delegated this work to the church, commanding her to FEED the lambs and sheep of Christ, to make disciples of them, to gather them into NT churches, to teach them, "that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:12-13.

Michael G. Morrow
Seems like those old school Baptists believed God used his word in their effectual calling..you reckon they just kinda looked at a Bible lying on a shelf and felt called? BTW...please give biblical examples of people being "called" in the womb...called...not anything else just effectually called so that they did not need to be called by God in the time of their lives. Thanks

Sing F Lau
Sir Morrow, gave them many times but you won't have them!! <LOL>

You may want to prove that the old school Baptists believed God used his word in their effectual calling!

And don't mistake "His Word" in para 1 as the MINISTRY of the word in the outward call stated in para 3.

Effectual call is calling out of the state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ; the eternal Life-giving Logos is the divine Agent in that work.

Sing F Lau
In para 1, the old school baptists said this:
"... by His almighty power determining them to that which is good” (original wording)

A new school baptist updated that statement into this:
“... by His almighty power, causes them to desire and pursue that which is good” (Dr. Master’s revision).

Are the two statements saying the same thing?
What does the former say?
What does the latter say?

Is '... God determining them to that which is good..." the same as '... God causes them to desire and pursue that which is good...'?

Are you thinking???

How truth is often so subtly perverted by men reverenced by others!

First Adam vs. last Adam

First Adam vs. Last Adam
Sin > Condemnation of death;
Righteousness> Justification of life.

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10208732888335059
29 March 2017

First Adam vs. last Adam

All men in Adam vs. all men in Christ

Offence (transgression of God's laws) vs. righteousness (obedience to God's laws)
Condemnation vs. justification

EVEN SO...
Calvinists and their cousin Arminians vs. the Scriptures

Romans 5:18
Therefore as by the offence of one (pause here!) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (pause here!) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Sin > condemnation (of death)
The sin of Adam was imputed to ALL MEN represented by him in the garden; the legally imputed sin is applied to each one personally at their conception into being.

A man did NOTHING for the sin of Adam to be IMPUTED to him; he did NOTHING for the sin to be APPLIED to him at his conception. His sins reveal and evidence his state in sin. Understand?

EVEN SO... EVEN SO...

Righteousness > justification of life

The righteousness of second Adam was imputed to ALL MEN represented by Him on the cross; the legally imputed righteousness is applied to each one personally at their effectual call at God's appointed time, calling them out their native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ.

- A man did NOTHING for the righteousness of Christ to be IMPUTED to him; he did NOTHING for the righteousness of Christ to be APPLIED to him at his effectual call. His righteous acts (e.g believing, enabled by the grace of faith worked in him by the indwelling Spirit) reveal his state of justification. Understand?

Double talk of forked tongues

Injuns say pale face speak with forked tongue!

 

Double talk
March 26, 2012
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/1182086067794

Ephesians 2
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

1. It is VERY POPULAR to understand the pronoun 'that' in verse 8 as referring to the antecedent 'faith'. However, this can't possibly be because 'that' is a neuter pronoun, and 'faith' is a feminine noun. 'That' refers back to the specific thing called 'salvation-by-grace-through-faith'! And this thing 'it' is the gift of God. The gift is NOT 'faith'.

2. It is very popular to understand the pronoun 'that' in verse 8 as referring to the antecedent 'faith', and that this faith refers to man's act of believing. This view spawned the synergistic fable that though salvation is by God's free grace alone, yet it is made effectual only through man's activity of believing.

3. It is very popular to say that salvation is by God's grace ALONE from one side of the mouth. It s EQUALLY POPULAR to insist from the other side of the SAME mouth that man's activity of believing is ALSO involved in that same salvation. I wonder what is their idea of 'grace alone? Do they say 'clone' or 'alone'? ALAS! man, by nature, is a synergist to the core!

4. If salvation by God's free grace ALONE involves man's act of believing TOO, then verse 9 - i.e. 'not of works, lest any man should boast' - is completely repudiated! If man's act of believing is ALSO involved in the salvation by God's free grace ALONE, then 'that' most certainly involves man's work.

5. And the man who believes in order to make the salvation by grace alone effectual to himself can most certainly boast because his work of believing appropriated that salvation.

Christ himself declares that believing in Him is a WORK required by God.

John 6: 28 "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."

This is THE WORK of God... i.e. the work God requires of His CHILDREN (i.e. the elect that has been regenerated).

If by this point you are not yet bursting with the objection, 'through whose faith, then?' then you are not even thinking. You don't need to read further!
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Sing F Lau
'Saved by grace through faith' - whose faith? What is that faith?
https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2008/01/saved-by-grace-through-faith-whose.html

Sing F Lau
That gift, which is salvation by God's grace through Christ's faith EMBRACES the free gracious divine acts of justification, regeneration, adoption of an elect (who is by nature in the state of condemnation and death) , WITH the gift of the Spirit of adoption to dwell within a child of God.

Sing F Lau
If by grace, then it EXCLUDES all human participation.
Eternal salvation EXCLUDES all human participation.
God ALONE purposed eternal salvation for His elect.
Christ ALONE accomplished that eternal salvation for the same.
God, through the Spirit of Christ, applies that eternal salvation to an elect who is dead in trespasses and sins, effectually calling him out of his native stare of condemnation and death. Once eternal salvation is applied freely and sovereignly by God's grace, a man is fit for eternal glory. Nothing more is needed.

Temporal salvation, i.e. that which relates to the temporal well-being of God's children in the life here and now REQUIRES active and conscious human participation. This is the proper sphere of 'human responsibility.' God holds His children responsible for their temporal salvation.

To the Philippians saints, Paul said, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling..."

To Timothy, He said, "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."

PJ Walters
(Sarcasm alert) But that's not fair! I didn't get to choose!

Sing F Lau
But every man did get to choose... and he freely and willingly chose LIE and DEATH! <LOL>

Jackson Walsh
The answer to all questions is in verse 7: That in the AGES TO COME he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. This is all in time that we are "saved" through faith. Yet it is God's grace that makes this possible by saving eternally. You can't have timely without eternal, but you can have eternal without timely.

Mphathe Nemabubuni
Is God alone who draw sinners to be saved by Christ, by believing, yet we have to know that everyone who believes in Christ is by grace, and the Holy Spirit is God at work in us from the first time we believe until our Lord Christ Jesus come back for His church.

If in any way you believed in Christ, isn't yourself who manage to believe is God who let you believe in His Son Christ Jesus. Is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.

Charles Page
Injuns say pale face speak with forked tongue! New fangled baptist preachers speak with forked tongue! They say the unregenerate are l-o-s-t and need to be talked into coming to Christ!

Sing F Lau
So Jackson Walsh, is 'saved by grace through faith' speaking of eternal salvation, or eternal salvation and temporal salvation in the same breath? Is there room for your idea of "this is all in time that we are "saved" through faith'?
Whose faith is involved in 'saved by grace through faith'?

Sing F Lau
Mphathe Nemabubuni, if words have meaning, you are a classic example of DOUBLE TALK!

You said, "it Is God alone who draw sinners to be saved by Christ, by believing."

Let me ask, is God's act of drawing sinners to be saved by Christ CONDITIONED on sinners' believing?

Or is the sinners believing an effect of God ALREADY DRAWN sinners to be saved by Chris?

In your understanding, you are saved by God's grace through YOUR WORK OF BELIEVING in Christ Jesus.

See what I mean - men are synergistic to the core!

Jackson Walsh
Bro. Sing, I feel that it is speaking of both.

Sing F Lau
You can now demonstrate that Eph 2:8-9 is speaking of both. Thanks.

Jackson Walsh
I already did. It's in verse 7, explaining how Christ will shew his riches in the AGES TO COME. For by grace are ye saved (eternal) through faith (timely)

Sing F Lau
Thanks. Jackson. So you understand 'faith' as man's TIMELY act of believing?

Jackson Walsh
Cognitively, yes.

Jackson Walsh
Good observation Bro. Sing

Sing F Lau
May I suggest to you that 'by grace through faith' is referring to the faith of Christ Jesus as per Rom 2:21-24

'By grace' speaks of the manner eternal salvation is bestowed,
'through faith' the basis of that eternal salvation.

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

The righteousness of God, even the righteousness of God's provision, is by the faith Jesus Christ, i.e. Christ's faithfulness of rendering perfect obedience to the laws of God.

This righteousness by the faith of Christ is the ground of eternal salvation... i.e. saved by grace through Christ's faith.

No, man's faith play NIL role in his eternal salvation.

Another gospel which is no gospel!

This gAspel sounds so good to so many,
but it is ANOTHER gospel

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/4650330931748
March 26, 2013 

This gAspel sounds so good to so many, but it is ANOTHER gospel, which is no gospel at all. It is very bad news, injurious and cruel, humiliating and insulting to sinners who are dead in trespasses and sins.  

Some who call themselves Reformed Baptists in Malaysia preach this same gAspel too!

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Sing F Lau
Let us call that another gospel gAspel... it emits poisonous gas!

The "good news" of this gAspel is as "obnoxious" as offering life to the dead man if he would only accept the offer of life!!! Some think it is a great kindness to do so!!!

Why would a man be SO BLOODY* cruel and wicked, as to injure, insult and humiliate and mock a dead man by offering him life on condition that he accepts the offer??? Yet so many think it is great kindness of them to do so!!! Can you imagine a man rocking a casket, calling out to the dead man in it to accept his offer of life by just winking his eye?

*[bloody - adjective; informal chiefly Brit. used to express shock.]

Why would a preacher of such a gAspel HATE and REJECT the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that God Himself sovereignly and freely regenerates the dead in trespasses and sins, bestows them with eternal life... and calls them to believe the truth of what He has done for them??? Why?

Why are such men so hateful of the gospel of God? Why would they want to substitute the good news of God with something that is so cruel, that insults, mocks, and humiliate the helplessly dead sinners?

Also, this so-called gAspel gives no hope whatsoever to those who have no ABILITY to hear the gospel and those who have no OPPORTUNITY to hear the gospel! Such are ALL DAMNED... and are damned because those DAMNED preachers fail to bring the gospel to them! In this gAspel, God has respect for men - those who have the ability to hear, and those who have the opportunity to hear, and those who choose to believe are the ones who God will save!!! God has respect for such!!!

Such a gAspel conditions the salvation of God's people on the works of the preachers. No preaching, no hearing; no hearing, no salvation. PERIOD! The preachers become INDISPENSABLE in this EVIL and WICKED scheme! Even God becomes dependent upon them! BLASPHEMY of the highest order, stinking to the heavens! But such an idea of indispensability sure makes the preachers of such gAspel feel very IMPORTANT!!!

Maybe they just hate the biblical fact that sinners are helpless and in enmity against God! And they also hate that Christ DID FINISH everything needed for the redemption of His people, and the Holy Spirit freely applies it to each elect personally, leaving NOTHING for them to do to contribute the eternal salvation of God's elect!

They do HATE God's free grace because it put men in his right and proper place!!!

Sing F Lau
1. God sends His preachers:
- (but many send themselves... and they preach ANOTHER gospel, like the Larry Dela Crude!)
- So that His CHILDREN, the elect whom God has regenerated) out there may hear the gospel of their glorious salvation by Jesus Christ.

2. The gospel is preached
- The gospel is good news of what God has done and saved a people in Jesus Christ, calling such to believe what is already true.
- The gospel is not what God will do if dead sinners will do something. The gospel is good news, not a good offer.
- Believing the truth saves a child of God from lies and superstitions and enables him to experience the love and fellowship of God, assurance, peace, comfort, hope, etc.

3. The gospel is the good news of what God HAS DONE to save His chosen people. The gospel is NOT spirit NOR life.
- The gospel is SPIRITUAL truth, and only those with spiritual life is able to believe. The gospel declares the eternal life that has been secured by the works of Jesus Christ, and is bestowed freely to dead sinners, and such are called to believe the TRUTH, what is already true.

4. The gospel DOES NOT BRING faith...
- Dela Crude believes his preaching brings along the faith to the dead, and the dead uses that faith to believe, and in believing the dead is given eternal life! Poisonous lies!!!
- The preaching of the gospel DRAWS OUT faith from the heart of a child of God. The grace of faith works in the heart by the indwelling Spirit is drawn out by the preaching of the gospel, and that manifests itself in believing the truth of the gospel!

5. The Holy Spirit DOES NOT move with the gospel.
- This is the same stupidity as saying that the wind moves with the farmer! BODOH betul, dela Crude!!!
- Tooooooo crude even to a man on the street!!!
- The Holy Spirit moves independently and sovereign...

6. The sinner hears the gospel....
- The sinner dead in trespasses and sins does not hear nor discern the gospel. It is FOOLISHNESS to him; he scorned it.
- The children of God hear the gospel. Life precedes the activities of that life. Christ himself declared that, "Except a man be born again, he CANNOT...." Dela Crude insists and imagines otherwise!

Those are 6 of the 12 points of lies.

Joey Candelaria
Larry Dela Cruz is the messenger according to no.1, and he is the messenger of another jesus to deliver another gospel.

Dusty Phillips
That man promoted blatant heresy! He has no understanding of the scriptures.

Sing F Lau
de Crude wrote:
Jn 1:12 they received Christ first and given the right to be born again. Verse 13 new birth is the will and act of God to those who receive the Son.

[sing: that is, so receive the son first, and then born again.]

I replied:
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
- "them that BELIEVE" - PRESENT active participle, acting like verbal noun, i.e the believing ones.
- these "WERE born" - AORIST passive indicative, a punctiliar action in the PAST.

If a man WON'T admit that the PAST tense "were born" MUST precede the PRESENT tense "them that believe" he is like an idiot who says that he posts the letter today and it arrived yesterday!!! <LOOOOOL> Larry de Crude!!!

When a man CANNOT agree but rejects and repudiates an obvious truth like "life MUST precede the activities of that life" his mind is too perverse and twisted to understand the plain sense of the Holy Scriptures.

Spiritual life must precede the spiritual activities is a truth a child can understand but a man like de Crude is too wise to receive it!!!

de Crude reiterated his point:
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. RECEIVING came first before new birth.

Sing F Lau
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
==========

There are a few distinct verb actions in these two verses
- "received him"
- "to them GAVE he..."
- "them that believe" (verbal noun, the believing ones)
- "were born..."

The Scriptures is very clear that by nature the elect of God are dead in trespasses and sins. They too were conceived and born in sin, like the rest of the Adam's race.

What is the greatest and immediate need of those dead in trespasses and sins? They need to be brought to spiritual life. And that is by the direct and immediate divine act of regeneration by the Spirit of God, the new birth from above, born of God, given eternal life by Christ.

The BLIND teachers would say otherwise. Preach to the spiritually dead, exhort and demand them to perform some spiritual activities, plead and cajole them to respond to the great offer of eternal life...

They don't really believe the spiritual deadness of sinners.

They don't really believe when Christ repeated, "Except a man be born again, he CANNOT..." They are convinced those dead in trespasses and sins CAN... Shameless liars, and blind!

So, new birth must precede any spiritual acts. The gift of spiritual life must precede all the spiritual activities mentioned. The gift of spiritual life in the new birth ENABLES the performance of spiritual activities like believing and receiving. Life precedes the activities of that life... so simple yet great 'theologians' curse and reject that obvious fact as a lie.

Believing and receiving Jesus as the Christ of God secures for them the power from God, i.e. the divine right to call themselves the sons of God. Believing in Jesus Christ give them the BRAGGING RIGHT - the POWER to claim that they are the children of God. Power speaks of authority and right. Receiving Jesus as Christ bestows them such power; it evidences that they have been born of God AND have the power to claim such!

So, the order of those distinct action verbs in John 1:12-13 is this:

Were born of God >>> them that believe/received him >>> God gave them the POWER...

Please note that to be BORN of God and to be given the power to become children of God are COMPLETELY different and distinct matters. But careless students of God's word DON'T know how to rightly divide them!

Charles Page
Amazing that there are scriptures to prove the 12 things that have to be done to be saved! If it is biblical then it must be undeniable!

Sing F Lau
7. God opens the heart of His children to understand the truth of their salvation.

But God DOES NOT open the heart of the dead!
God DOES NOT perform an autopsy on the DEAD. God DOES NOT waste a move like that. Opening the heart of the dead does absolutely no good to the dead!!!

God regenerates and quickens the dead, and makes them His children.

He opens their hearts - to enable them to perceive and understand spiritual truth concerning their salvation by Christ.

PJ Walters
When a man cannot do something, he cannot do it.

Jane Yue
I wonder what those people who preach the false gospel say about these two verses: "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." - Matthew 13: 10-11 (KJB)

Sounds like they totally ignored it.

The battle of that great day of God Almighty.

That great day of God Almighty

March 26, 2015 |
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10203943961174873

The battle of that great day of God Almighty.
What is the battle spoken of?
Has it occurred? When?
And what is "that great day of God Almighty"?

Rev 16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
=======
Comments

Michael Lim
Referring to Roman Catholicism?

Sing F Lau
Read the question, Michael!
The BATTLE!

Michael Lim
if looking at verse 13 and verse 14, it seems to be a symbolic. i dont think the battle has started yet since verse 13 and verse 14 is happening now. i am not sure how it relates to verse 12 though.

this battle is to be in the future (date unknown yet)

Mark Thomas
The siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Yes. 69-70 AD.

Craig Kennedy
Yes, I agree warmly Mark.

Michael Lim
Err, but how ad70 related to deceiving miracles and drying up of river Euphrates?

Sing F Lau
Michael, a good question deserves a good reply.

Read Mat 24:24-25
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before.

Michael Lim
Err, how about drying up river Euphrates in v12? Should we take this literally or symbolically?

Mark Thomas
Hard to tell Br. Michael. Lots of strange things happened geologically at that time period. Like the eruption of Vesuvius and the burial of Pompey in deadly volcanic ash in 69 AD.

Mark Thomas
Earthquakes in the USA once caused the Mississippi River to run backwards for a day. Strange things can happen.

Michael Lim
Ah yes, a lot of disasters happen during ad70. Due to these disasters, ppl thought it is happening in the last days.

Mark Thomas
It was the last throes of the Levitical priesthood. The end of the Jewish world under the dead letter of the law of Moses. Old things were folded up and put away. A new and living way had already begun.

Michael Lim
I guess drying up the river Euphrates should be in historical records. Maybe Jospehus wrote it down, u think?

Joe Chin
If Euphrates river were dried up, then who were the kings of the East? Would it make any sense? I have looked up Euphrates river, stretching from north Turkey, through Syria and all the down to modern day Kuwait. Were there any kings of the East during 70AD?

Michael Lim
It says ways of the kings of the east are prepared..but what r they preparing for?

Matthew Carl Eastland
The easiest way to understand the prophetic language of Revelation, especially when grand statements like these are made is to look at other similar biblical passages (I Cor 2:13).

My favorite for this kind of thing is Isaiah 13. The trick to this pass… See More

Charles Page
What of the princes who gather the Kings of the earth to do battle?

Sing F Lau
Matthew, the greatness of that event was indicated thus by the Lord in these words, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."

Sing F Lau
What of the princes who gather the Kings of the earth to do battle?
++++++++++++++++++

Rev 16
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

=========
"He gathered them" - the pronoun "he" refers the the nearest antecedent, i.e. the Lord who said, "Behold, I come as a thief..." The Lord of Hosts - God Almighty - gathered the kings of the earth and of the whole world to execute His judgment.

He gathered them to a place called Armageddon - "the hill or city of Megiddo" - famous in the OT as the place "for two great disasters, the deaths of Saul and Josiah. Hence in Revelation a place of great slaughter, the scene of a terrible retribution upon the wicked."

The slaughter and destruction of wicked Israel was at hand when John wrote Revelation.

The Lord Jesus gave an indication of the magnitude of the tribulation:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Charles Page
You can say that again!!!

Sing F Lau
What's "that"?

The Great Exchange - Double Imputation

The Great Exchange TOOK place at the Cross, 
not when you believe the gospel.
The LORD God the Judge executed the Great Exchange
- the Double Imputation

#single_imputation
#double_imputation
#TheGreatExchange

The doctrine of imputation is at the heart of the gospel;
No imputation, no salvation; period.

A few brief notes on the subject:

The word “impute” is a legal and accounting term; it means “to credit to one’s account.” Imputation is the legal act of God the Judge alone.

1. There was a single-imputation in the Garden of Eden
- Adam’s sin was imputed to every single human of the whole human race represented by him; he was appointed as the representative head by the LORD God the Creator.
- The imputation of Adam’s sin brought the condemnation and death and alienation upon the whole human race, EVEN THOUGH none represented by Adam has personal existence yet, except the woman of whom Adam said, “bones of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”

Rom 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
- how was the sin of one man (Adam) related to “all have sinned”? He was appointed the representative head.
- how was the sin of one man (Adam) related to “so death passed upon all men”? His sin was IMPUTED to all represented by him.

Rom 5:18 KJV
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
- how did the offence of one bring judgment upon all men to condemnation? Adam represented the whole human race; his one offence in the garden of Eden was imputed to all posterity

1Co 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
- How in Adam all represented by him die? His sin was imputed to all represented by him, i.e. the whole human race.

2. There was a double-imputation on the Cross of Calvary
- Please note well, the double imputation took place at the cross; the misguided reformed people believe it takes place when a sinner believes in Jesus Christ; when he gives Christ his sins.
- “There WAS” – a past complete legal action executed by the LORD God alone; you did nothing; you did not have personal existence yet even though your name has been in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the world.
- Christ’s righteousness was imputed by the LORD God the Judge to all represented by Christ, and all the sins of all those represented by Him were imputed to Him. Christ’s life of perfect obedience to all the laws of God secured the righteousness needed for the justification of His people, to reverse the condemnation brought about by the imputation of Adam’s sin (this is called “original sin”) and their own actual sins.
- Christ bore the curse of and suffered fully for all the sins of all His people that were perfectly and completely imputed to Him by LORD God. No, no, no, it was not you who give your sins to Christ; you did nothing, absolutely nothing in this GREAT EXCHANGE; you were not even around yet! It was all by the free and sovereign act of the LORD God for all those whom He had given to His Son to redeem.
- This Great Exchange has secured and accomplished the LEGAL justification of God’s elect; the legal justification of all God’s elect took place at the cross by the one legal act of God in imputing the righteousness of Christ to them and imputing all their sins to Christ.
- This is the LEGAL justification, justification accomplished.

2Cor 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
- The LORD God has made Christ Jesus to be sin for us: "has made" is present perfect, a past completed action with the effect of that action remaining true to the present moment.

3. An elect that is LEGALLY justified is not yet PERSONALLY justified until it is vitally applied to that elect personally; they are NOT, NOT, NOT the same.
- The legal imputation of righteousness to you does not need your personal existence; the personal application of righteousness to you requires your personal existence; without it, the righteousness of Christ cannot be applied to you personally. What has been legally imputed has to be applied to an elect personally.
- The righteousness that was LEGALLY IMPUTED to all the elect (a class action) at the cross event is PERSONALLY APPLIED to each elect at his effectual calling out of his native state of sin, death, and alienation to that state of righteousness (justification), eternal life (regeneration), and sonship (adoption).  This is the VITAL justification - justification applied.
- The effectual call is the free and sovereign act of God alone in bestowing the eternal salvation tha Jesus Christ the Redeemer has secured and accomplished for His people.

The effectually called elect is bestowed with the Spirit of adoption; this Spirit of adoption works in him all the saving graces, including faith; this saving grace of faith enables a child of God to believe the gospel of his salvation. Believing the gospel of his salvation by the righteousness and blood of Jesus Christ, his faith justifies/demonstrates/vindicates that he has been feely justified by God. This is PRACTICAL justification - justification experience.

The above truths have been beautifully summarized by the Old School Baptists in the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, 1689.11.4

"God did from all eternity decree to justify all the elect,11 and Christ did in the fullness of time die for their sins, and rise again for their justification;12 nevertheless, they are not justified personally, until the Holy Spirit in time does actually apply Christ to them.13"

i. God decreed the justification of all the elect before the foundation of the world. This is the ETERNAL justification - a term often misunderstood as though it says that the elect are already justified personally in eternity. So, to avoid that confusion, I use Decretal justification, i.e justification decreed in eternity.

ii. Christ Jesus secured the legal justification of all the elect at his death and resurrection. They are LEGALLY justified; this is the LEGAL justification.

iii. Though LEGALLY justified, they are not justified PERSONALLY until the Holy Spirit in time does actually apply Christ to each of them personally – this happens at the effectual calling. This is the VITAL justification.

iv. The effectual calling makes believing in Jesus Christ possible, leading to PRACTICAL salvation; justification by faith is practical/experiential justification.

It's the genius of the Baptist's Framers to add that most significant word *personally* in the 1689 COF; it's not in the WCF.

May the LORD God bless you to know these things, and to cherish them.

Ignorance of these vital gospel truths is bad, but representing them wrongly is even worse.  May the LORD save us from this evil. Amen.

Job 42 KJV
7 ¶ And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

Irrational and Contradictory

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10218480925709901
#irrational_contradictory
#onlyism_soundbyte_only
#protestant_deformation

"The Protestant Reformation" is administered by some Reformed Baptists. What ails these Protestants and the Reformed folks?

THE ONLY METHOD
"Our justification... solely by the sovereign grace of God and not dependent on any action or condition man provides."

THE ONLY MEANS
"Our justification before God is by faith in Christ alone, and not by works."
What ails these Protestant Reformed folks? They pride themselves as rational superiors to their Arminian cousins. The statement on the only means clearly contradicts the one on the only method; the statement on the only method plainly excludes what is stated as the only means.

IF the justification of a condemned man is indeed:
- solely by the sovereign grace of God,
- and not dependent on any action or condition man provides,

THEN the justification of a condemned man by faith is excluded! Believing in Christ is an action performed and provided by a man. (The ability to believe, however, is worked within a child of God - an elect whom God has effectually called out of his native state of death and condemnation to grace and salvation in Jesus Christ - by the Spirit of God, together with other saving graces.)

To say "our justification before God is by faith in Christ alone" is the same as saying "our justification before God is by an action or condition man provides."

Protestant Reformed onlyism says this,

"Our justification before God is by faith in Christ alone, and not by works."

Jesus Christ Himself says that believing in Him is a work that God requires of His children (the elect whom God has effectually called out of his native state of death and condemnation to grace and salvation in Jesus Christ).

John 6:28 "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Old School Baptists say this:
"Our justification before God by His free and sovereign grace is experienced by the work of believing in Christ alone, and not by works." ("by works"- in the biblical context - is by observing the ceremonial laws of the old covenant).

Both works of faith and righteousness evidence the justified state of a man; they demonstrate the justification by God's free and sovereign grace that has taken place; this is evidential justification.

James 2:24 "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" - both the works of righteousness and faith vindicate/demonstrate the justified state of a man.

Thou art blessed if thou knowest the vast difference.

Be saved from the impressive soundbyte of onlyism.