September 21, 2023
#orderofsalvation
Romans 8:30 KJT
Moreover, whom he did
predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified:
and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
#salvation_purposed
#salvation_accomplished
#salvation_applied
(#salvation_experienced)
#salvation_consummated
God sovereignly purposed the eternal salvation of His elect in eternity;
Christ sovereignly
accomplished the eternal salvation of all the elect on the cross.
The eternal salvation purposed
and accomplished is sovereignly applied to each elect personally in the
effectual calling of each elect out of his native state of sin and death to
that state of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ.
To call an elect out of his
native state of sin and death to that state of grace and salvation in Jesus
Christ, these divine activities must take place, in this number and logical
order:
- justification by God's grace
to deal with the condemnation (justification reverses the condemnation due to
sins;)
- regeneration by the Spirit
of God to deal with the spiritual deadness due to sins (regeneration quickens
the dead with eternal life;)
- adoption by the Father into
the divine family to deal with the alienation due to sins. Adoption is always
accompanied by the bestowal of the Spirit to dwell in the adopted.
These divine activities -
three in number, and in that logical number - are necessary to bring an elect
out of his native state of sin and death to that state of grace and salvation in
Jesus Christ.
This divine call is always
effectual; it always accomplishes its purpose and end - WITHOUT any aid on the
part of man whatsoever.
The effect is immutable; once effectually called by
God, one remains immutably called. Nothing further is needed on his part for
his glorification. The effectually called are perfectly fit for eternal glory.
Nothing further is required; they have been saved by grace alone. The divine
effectual call deals with their *BEING* as the children of God.
1 John 3:1 KJV — "Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him
not."
God is not just interested in
making His elect fit for heaven; He wants them to be informed and useful in their
brief lives here on earth. To this end, the gospel ministry was ordained to
call out His effectually called children and gather them into local churches
under the Headship of Jesus Christ. This is DISCIPLESHIP; this requires the
active part of the effectually called to work out their own salvation with fear
and trembling; they are responsible for their spiritual *WELLBEING* as they
journey through this world.
Meditate on these things.
They will get you beyond and
above the reformed shibboleths.
[9/14, 9:42 PM] Sing Lau:
Concerning sanctification:
There are what the theologians
termed "definitive sanctification" and "practical
sanctification."
The effectual call
definitively, once for all and immutably sets an elect apart from condemnation,
death, and alienation to that of grace and eternal salvation in Jesus Christ.
The definitive sanctification
is wholly by divine activities alone; it makes practical sanctification in His
children possible. The gospel ministry is the divinely appointed means for the
practical ongoing sanctification of His children here on earth.
[9/14, 9.48 PM]
SDC inquirer - Leongsy
Positional sanctification and
progressive sanctification
9/14, 10.02 PM]
Sing Lau:
Positional is a good term, it
deals with the objective standing or status of a person.
Progressive is an unfortunate
term: it implies linear progress, which is rarely true. So many of God's
children make shipwrecks of their faith, with no progress whatsoever. Because
of this "progressive" understanding, the reformed people will write
off God's children as not being God's children because they failed to make the
progress expected... that the fruitless hearers cannot possibly be the children
of God...
[9/14, 10.04 PM]
SDC inquirer:
So u don't agree that those
who are fruitless are not saved?
9/15, 1 9.22 PM]
Sing Lau:
Do remember a few things:
i. The parable describes
something about the kingdom of God - how
the people in the kingdom of God hear the preached word. The parable is about
the good and poor discipleship of God's children concerning the hearing of
God's word.
- The 4 types of hearers are
all God's children, those already saved by God.
ii. Common sense tells us that
fruitfulness is expected of those who are spiritually alive, i.e. those whom
God HAS SAVED by His grace in Jesus Christ.
- Only those lacking common
sense expect fruitfulness from spiritually dead hearers.
- living plants that are
fruitless is a sad reality. Only foolish people complain about the
fruitlessness of a dead plant.
iii. Fruit-bearing requires great
effort from God's children; they must work out their own salvation with fear
and trembling.
- they have been saved with
eternal salvation in Jesus Christ; His work has redeemed them from the eternal
lake of fire.
- they must labour to save
themselves from ignorance, ungodliness, fruitlessness, etc., relating to their
spiritual WELLBEING.
Divine activities ALONE
secured the eternal salvation for God's elect; God holds His children (the
elect to whom eternal salvation has been applied) responsible for using the means He has
provided for their *temporal salvation*
- their spiritual well-being and usefulness while He lends them breath
in their brief life on earth.
