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| The river was there first... and the bridge is built over it later! Can anything be plainer? |
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/1182086067794
March
28, 2012
1Cor
1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
The
gospel ministry comes to two distinct groups of people.
One
group is designated as 'them that perish' (present participle, i.e. the
perishing ones, a verbal noun). To this
group, the glorious gospel - the good news that declares God's power in saving
condemned sinners - is perceived as foolishness.
The
other is described as 'us which are saved' (present participle, i.e. the saved
ones, a verbal noun). To this group, the glorious gospel - the good news that
declares God's power in saving condemned sinners - is perceived as what it is,
the message declaring the power of God is saving them!
God HAS SAVED them (applied eternal salvation to them, i.e. effectually called them out of their native state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation) independent of, and prior and apart from the gospel ministry.
This passage repudiates the common fable of gospel regeneration, i.e. that the gospel ministry comes to those that are perishing, and through the preaching, and hearing of the gospel, the Holy Spirit regenerates those that are still dead in trespasses and sins, to enable them to believe the gospel in order to be saved.
The gospel comes to those that ARE SAVED, the SAVED ONES. Can anything be
plainer? Only them that ARE SAVED are able to perceive the gospel for what it
is, a message declaring the power of God in having saved His chosen ones.
The gospel is NOT the power of God; the gospel is the message declaring the power of God in saving His people. So many can't even distinguish the two!!!
The river was there first... and the bridge is built over it later! Can
anything be plainer?
Jesus
is the power of God in salvation. The gospel is the good news that declares
that power.
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
==============
Dan
Hya
In
a nutshell here is the situation: popular religion says the wicked (those who
are not of God) must seek God in order to be saved, but Scripture says,
"The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God
(Psalm 10:4).
(From Eld. Harris' post)
Sing
F Lau
Ro
3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. --
that's the condition of a man by nature, if they are not saved by God's free
and sovereign grace first!!!
Bryan
Choo
Does
this mean we are picked by God to be Christians much as the Jews were a
favoured race? And if that is true, is free will completely out of the picture?
PJ
Walters
1
Corinthians 1:20 "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the
disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Sing
F Lau
Bryan
Choo Hsien Yang, welcome here. I pray the Lord will help you to see the good
green grass to nourish your inquisitive mind. I like your good questions
already.
Q. Does this mean we are picked by God to be Christians much as the Jews were a favoured race?
Along the way, you will learn that precision, or rightly dividing the word of truth, is the essence of sound theology.
The
Scriptures declares plainly that He elected and predestinated, before the
foundation of the world, certain particular and specific people out of the
fallen race of Adam to salvation and eternal glory. The rest he left them to
their just destiny.
Those
whom God elected and predestinated unto eternal glory, He effectually called
them, individually, out of their native state of sin and death to that of grace
and salvation, thus making them perfectly and completely fit for eternal glory.
That effectual call by God's free and sovereign grace, WITHOUT any human aid or
cooperation, turns a condemned dead rebel into a justified living son.
A son and a Christian are quite distinct terms. A son is the result of the divine work of regeneration. A Christian is a son of God (an elect who is regenerated already) who has been brought to faith in Jesus Christ.
The former is wholly monergistic, i.e. completely by God's free and sovereign grace. Man is completely passive.
The latter requires human instrumentality of preaching the gospel, and the human activity of hearing, understanding, believing the truth of the gospel, and resting in Christ... making a son of God a Christian.
All
Christians are necessarily God's children because only God's children have the
eternal/spiritual life to perform those spiritual activities. But not all God's children
are Christians.
That's just a partial answer to your first question.
The election of individuals to eternal glory and the election of the Jewish race for the outworking of His redemptive purpose is quite distinct.
Sing
F Lau
Q2.
And if that is true, is free will completely out of the picture?
======
This
is an interesting subject. I will tell you what I do believe on the subject.
God created man in His image, a moral and rational creature that is capable of relating to his Creator.
Free will is part and parcel of the very constitution of man. A creature without free will ceases to be a man. A man before the fall has free will and a man after the fall has free will. All his acts are never coerced by a force outside him, and he is wholly responsible for his actions. A man without a free will cannot be held accountable for his action... that is, God's moral government over man collapses. Man's free will is the foundation and basis of God's moral government over man.
Man's free will is determined by his nature. Before the fall, a man's free will is free to choose to obey God or disobey God. BUT ALAS, he chose to disobey God and chose to believe the lie of Satan. Even in the fall, man's free will can only freely choose sin and death... because that is all his fallen nature is capable of choosing.
For
example, a fish has free will. His 'fishy' will freely choose to live in any
part of the watery world. That's all his 'fishy' will is capable of choosing.
His fully free 'fishy' will is utterly incapable of choosing to live outside of
water. Such is contrary to his 'fishy' will.
Sinners have free will.... they freely choose to rebel against God; they freely will in enmity against God... their free will will never bring him to God... because their free will is hostile and in enmity against God. His free will freely choose to remain in and love sins. No man is ever coerced by some external force to sin against his conscience... He sins freely. Man's free will freely and voluntarily keep him in his condemned state.
In God's effectual call unto grace and salvation, regeneration brings a new nature to a child of God. He is commanded to choose to do that which is pleasing to God. His new nature has the capability of choosing that which is good... and God holds children responsible. So, free will still operate in God's children; their free will is now directed by their new nature of grace.
Free
will is part and parcel of man's very constitution as a man!
When
so say that man has no free will, they actually mean that man in his native
state of sin and death has no capability to choose God. Of course, incapability
to choose God is not the same as having no free will. Incapability to choose
God is having a free will that is incapable of choosing God... even though they
freely will choose to sin and rebel against God very freely.
I hope I scratch your question a bit.
Robert
Cook Sr.
Brother
Lau a faithful explanation to Bryan Choo Hsien Yang very careful and complete
not overwhelming
