September
25, 2010
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/pfbid021wBsQYXXWV47z6YL4JnjCTc9C4zYyGZG26YmxnqBPxd88WkwT6xEm7EUhEERMbBVl
An
elect in his native state is under condemnation and death.
What
is the first thing God does when He applies the redemption that Christ has
secured for all His people?
The 'effectual
call' is the first divine act in the application of redemption. But what is
effectual calling?
Effectual
calling is God calling an elect out of the state of sin and death to that of
grace and salvation by Jesus Christ.
Sing
F Lau
The effectual call is God calling an elect out of the state of sin and death to that of grace
and salvation by Jesus Christ. This is what the theologians termed Definitive
Sanctification: a definitive separation from the state of sin and death to that of grace
and salvation, that is decisive, perfect and complete, once and for all.
To
call a man out of the state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation
would require these divine acts, in this number and LOGICAL [sic] order:
-
justification of life by God's free grace (removal of the condemnation,
righteousness applied personally)
-
regeneration (eternal life bestowed, removal of spiritual death)
-
adoption into God's family (removal of alienation).
-
Bestowal of the Spirit of adoption to dwell within a child of God. (As a result
of all these gracious acts in the effectual call, his elect is now as fit for
heaven and eternal glory as many.)
Nothing
else is needed for his ETERNAL salvation. All these are by the free grace of
God... without the elect meeting any condition, for he simply can't meet any.
But
many things are needed for his well-being as a child of God here on earth.
That's where the ministry of the gospel is crucial for the well-being of God's
children.
THEN
and ONLY THEN, a man is capable of believing!
Faith
cometh by hearing...
And in believing, his faith justifies him as one whom God has justified freely by His grace, regenerated freely by His grace, adopted freely by His grace, and indwelt by the Spirit of God.
Sing
F Lau
18
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to CONDEMNATION
[OF DEATH]; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men
unto JUSTIFICATION OF LIFE.
19
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous.
Sin
brought the condemnation of death.
Righteousness
alone secures justification of life
There
is a justification that is by God's free grace, PRIOR to any ability to
believe. God justifies the ungodly, condemned sinner, and such is incapable
of believing.
And
there is a justification by the believing act of a child of God. Believing
justifies a child of God.
The former is forensic; the latter is evidential/experiential.
Failing
to distinguish them is the root of much confusion.
A biblical distinction is the essence of sound theology.
May
the Lord give you understanding.
But
if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
Sing
F Lau
But
many Calvinists understand the effectual call as the gospel call made effectual
unto the CONVERSION of a sinner, the preaching of the gospel is blessed and
used to regenerate someone dead in trespasses and sin, and enable him to
believe... and in believing he is justified by God!
That is another subtle PERVERSION and TWISTING of the gospel truth.
Jerry
Chapin
Brother
Sing, Since Calvinists claim the TULIP, don't they contradict the first letter
on the pole? T = total Depravity. If one is totally depraved, doesn't that mean
they have no facilities as far as spiritual things go?
Scripture
says, "But the NATURAL man receiveth NOT the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he KNOW [understand] them
because they are spiritually discerned." [1 Cor. 2:14]
The NATURAL man is DEAD in trespasses and in sins. If DEAD to Spiritual things, then how are they able to respond to the gospel call to receive life???
Michael
G. Morrow
London
Baptist Confession 1644
"That
Christ Jesus by his death did bring forth salvation and reconciliation only for
the81 elect, which were those which82 God the Father gave him; and that the
Gospel which is to be preached to all men as the ground of faith, is, that83
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the ever blessed God, filled with the
perfection of all heavenly and spiritual excellencies, and that salvation is
only and alone to be had through the believing in his Name and
that salvation is only and alone to be had through the believing in his Name.
That Faith is the84 gift of God wrought in the hearts of the elect by the Spirit of God, whereby they come to see, know, and believe the truth of85 the Scriptures, and not only so, but the excellency of them above all other writings and things in the world, as they hold forth the glory of God in his attributes, the excellency of Christ in his nature and offices, and the power of the fullness of the Spirit in its workings and operations; and thereupon are enabled to cast the weight of their souls upon this truth thus believed.
That faith is ordinarily87 begot by the preaching of the Gospel, or word of Christ, without respect to88 any power or capacity in the creature, but it is wholly89 passive, being dead in sins and trespasses, doth believe, and is converted by no less power,90 than that which raised Christ from the dead."
Dear brethren...I am afraid we look at something from our own perspective and forget that godly men disagree on many things. I believe the 1644 confession on these matters and the fact that they said "ordinarily" in the passage above doesn't bother me in the least. What does bother me is when men try to act like they have a corner on what the "old" Baptist taught. Love you all.
Sing
F Lau
Brother
Morrow, I
agree completely with what you have quoted from 1644.
What
bothers me is when "new" baptists like you fail to distinguish what
the "old" baptists did state so clearly.
The
eternal salvation bestowed upon an elect by God's free grace and the salvation
that is obtained by a child of God through his acts of believing are TWO
fundamentally distinct and separate salvation.
DO
YOU UNDERSTAND the last paragraph. If not, please ask, and I will explain. I
believe this is the greatest hurdle, and if you can understand this basic
truth, then lots of confusion can be avoided.
The
eternal salvation by God's free grace in Jesus Christ MUST BE RIGHTLY DIVIDED
from the temporal salvation by the believing acts of God's children.
Because
so many "new" baptists fail to distinguish these two distinct aspects
of salvation, they IGNORANTLY and IRRATIONALLY insist that believing is a prerequisite for their eternal salvation. That is mixing grace and work
together!
Believing
is work! Read 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.
I
have always asked... and nobody cares to answer.
How
does God save, and from what does He save His people from?
How
does the believing act (of a child of God) save him, and save him from what?
Sing
F Lau
Richy,
faith is an EFFECT of salvation already bestowed; it is one of the graces
worked in the heart by the indwelling Spirit of God.
That
saving grace is manifested, drawn forth or BEGOTTEN through the gospel
ministry. "Faith cometh by hearing." That faith worked in the heart
by the Spirit is drawn forth through the preaching of the gospel.
All
sane men will affirm that an effect of a Cause cannot possibly be at the same
time the instrument to attain that same Cause!
That
is just NONSENSE, rotten nonsense... but so many love such nonsense.
Might as well tell a dead man that if he breathes, he shall receive life.
Sing
F Lau
Many
do believe the sinner's prayer precedes new birth. There are just not here to
rave and foam! <lol>
I
love the rhyme of "cents... sense" and "bloat... gloat."
That's
an apt observation.
