https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10210323413377191
November 2, 2017
Salvation
by grace alone -
God
purposed it,
Christ
secured it,
Spirit applies it, and
Faith manifests it.
That's grace - pure and simple
Koh
Han Seow
What
is the role of the believer in this process?
Sing
F Lau
Short
answer:
The
role of the believer is to BELIEVE the truth of his salvation by God's free
grace, and live his redeemed life befitting the gospel, to glorify his God and
Saviour.
Now,
a little longer answer:
That's
a billion $ question, an excellent question. A correct answer indicates an
adequate understanding of salvation by grace alone.
1.
God purposed eternal salvation for His elect before the foundation of the
world; before time began, when none have personal existence, even though they
already existed in the mind of God because each of their names was already
written in the Lamb's book of life.
-
No role for the believer here, ZILCH.
2.
Christ executed that purpose and secured the eternal salvation through His
perfect life of obedience to all of God's law (securing the needed
righteousness) and His substitutionary death (thus meeting the penalty of sins
due) for the same people.
-
NO role for the believer here, ZILCH.
3.
The Spirit of God applies the same eternal salvation to each individual elect
at God's appointed and approved time. When this eternal salvation is applied to
an elect, the elect is his native state of sin and death, conceived in sin, born
in sin. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. Eternal salvation is FREELY
APPLIED to the elect, eternal salvation is made their possession personally
when
-
spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, Eph 2:1
-
under the just condemnation of death, Rom 8
-
in their native state of enmity against God Rom 8:7
-
In such condition, he plays NO role towards his salvation.
-
It is freely and sovereignly applied to him.
-
NO role for the believer here; dead man has no life to play any role.
What
happens when eternal salvation is applied to an elect personally?
-
the righteousness of Christ is accounted as him personally, his JUSTIFICATION
by God's grace takes place... Rom 3:24. Justification reverses the condemnation
he was under.
-
the personal justification provides the divine warrant for regeneration. Sins
bring condemnation and death; righteousness secures justification and life.
Rom 5:18. Regeneration imparts spiritual and eternal life.
-
the justified and regenerated is ADOPTED into the family of God, and given the
Spirit of adoption to dwell within him, the earnest of our eternal inheritance,
Eph 1:14.
-
These three divine activities occur in that logical order but simultaneously in
time.
4.
Having been born again, having been made a child of God, he is summoned to
believe the truth of his salvation by God's free grace.
-
Under the gospel dispensation, God has ordained the gospel ministry for the
means to call His children to believe the truth concerning their salvation by
God's free grace in Jesus Christ, and freely applied to them by His Spirit.
-
The beneficiary of eternal salvation by God's free and sovereign grace are
called to live godly, righteously and soberly...
-
Here, a child of God has a ROLE; he is commanded and is held responsible by His
Father and Saviour.
Titus
2
11
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
May
the Lord bless you.
Koh
Han Seow
Thank
you for giving me short and long answers.
What was the process for the elect
before Christ’s death on the cross?
Sing
F Lau
Good
question, you are thinking!
The
process is exactly the same whether before or after Christ's death on the
cross. Before the cross, the benefits of salvation through Christ are applied to
each elect PROSPECTIVELY; after the cross, the same benefits of salvation are
applied to each elect RETROSPECTIVELY.
Before
the foundation of the world, the three Persons of the Triune God, in the
covenant of redemption, covenanted to redeem a people, with each Person
performing distinct works in perfect harmony to secure the full and complete
salvation of the elect.
The
covenant of redemption guaranteed the execution and securement of what is
purposed. God has faith in the appointed Redeemer to execute and accomplish the
purposed redemption. So, even before the redemption was actually executed on
the cross, God was just to apply and bestow the blessings of that
redemption... PROSPECTIVELY, on credit, if you like, based on what the
Redeemer shall accomplish.
In
the little village we grew up in, my late father used to be away for work for
months. He left us a booklet to get all the groceries from the grocery store
on credit. When Dad return, he would take the book to the store and settle all
the debt.
Koh
Han Seow
Very
good example. We got our supplies based on the good names of our late fathers.
Thank you!
Aurelio
Paycao
Amen
