“Fourth, he [Lloyd-Jones] is concerned that the public invitation implies that sinners have an inherent power to come to Christ, which they do not. He argues against ‘self-conversion,’ noting that those dead in trespasses and sins are unable to respond to the invitation (1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 2:1).
Lloyd-Jones fails to mention that GOD USES THE PREACHED WORD TO ‘GRANT’ REPENTANCE AND FAITH (Acts 5:30-31; 11:18; Rom. 10:17). THAT WHICH IS NORMALLY IMPOSSIBLE BECOMES POSSIBLE THROUGH THE SUPERNATURAL POWER OF GOD. As Leighton Ford reminds us:
‘If anyone feels that he cannot give an invitation for a sinner to come to Christ, because of man’s inability, let him remember that Jesus invited a man whose hand was paralyzed to do what he could not do! “...Stretch out your hand...” Jesus commanded (Matthew 12:13), and the man obeyed the command and did what he would not do! Let him remember also that Jesus told a dead man to do something he could not do---to live! “...Lazarus, come forth,” He commanded (John 11:43), and Lazarus obeyed the voice of Jesus and did what he could not do” (R. Alan Streett, “The Public Invitation and Calvinism,” from “Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism.” Nashville: B&H, 2010, page 248).
In my last post, I attacked James White’s view of total depravity, where he says that God must regenerate a person before he or she professes faith in Christ. To make his case, he quoted John 6:43-44, where Jesus says that no one can come to faith unless the Spirit draws him. White used this to argue regeneration preceding faith; however, I made the case that John 6 argues the need of the Spirit in the process, that the Spirit must initiate the God-human relationship. However, this doesn’t eliminate man’s responsibility to come to Christ (as shown in Acts 7:51).
White’s argument of regeneration preceding faith actually makes God’s sovereignty trump human responsibility...or, something unthinkable is created--- God must change our nature before we can have “responsibility.” If this is the case, though, then why does Genesis show us God punishing humanity because of their unbelief with regard to Noah’s message of a worldwide flood??? White argues that human responsibility only comes through regeneration; but this can’t be true! If White is right, then Cain’s deeds are the result of his depravity...and God had no right to punish him, whatsoever! You cannot take away responsibility before regeneration and then make someone responsible for the deeds they do. If a person cannot come to faith until regeneration, then it’s God’s responsibility for the lost souls in the world. Those who never come to Christ have no responsibility for living their lives in unbelief. And all this craziness is based on the fact that for White, regeneration precedes faith.
Of the passages quoted by R. Alan Streett, I’m only gonna deal with one verse: Acts 11:18---
“When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has ALSO GRANTED to the Gentiles repentance to life’” (Acts 11:18, NKJV).
In the context of Acts 11, Peter is explaining to the Jews at Jerusalem why he was seen associating with the uncircumcised Gentiles. In verse 17, Peter asks,
“If therefore God GAVE THEM THE SAME GIFT as He gave us WHEN WE BELIEVED ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, who was I that I could withstand God?”
Notice that the gift being spoken of here is the Holy Spirit, mentioned in verses 15 and 16.
So we see that when they believed on the Lord, they then received the Spirit. They did not receive the Spirit BEFORE they believed; NO---they received the Spirit AFTER BELIEVING. The word in the Greek for “when we believed” is “pisteusasin.” The word “pisteusasin” is an aorist verb, and an aorist verb is one that shows past action. So, when a person is granted the Holy Spirit, that person has already believed: repentance and belief PRECEDE regeneration by the Spirit, not FOLLOW it.
And R. Alan Streett was trying to make the same point about Martin Lloyd-Jones in the above quote. Jones believes that man cannot even make one step in professing faith in Christ because he is “dead in trespasses and sins.” The problem with Lloyd-Jones’s analysis is that he forgets some seemingly little words that make all the difference in the world: “in trespasses and sins.” This is the LOCATION of the “deadness”: in our sins! We are dead in sins, but we are not physically dead---and, as a result, there are many things we are capable of doing! Calvinists also commit a serious blunder when they quote Ephesians 1:4---
“just as He chose us IN HIM before the foundation of the world. That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love...” (Eph. 1:4, NKJV)
Calvinists often focus upon the words “He chose us”; but they overlook the words “in Him.” The words “in Him” are extremely important. If they never existed in the verse, then God would just choose those He wanted. And when Calvinists advocate unconditional election, they strip Ephesians 1:4 of its power and rob God’s people of proper understanding of the Scriptures. If God chose believers “in Him,” then that means that Christ is the “realm” or “sphere” in which God chooses people.
Therefore, God chooses BELIEVERS, those who confess and believe on the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10:9; Jn. 3:16). Notice that the “in Him” language used in Ephesians 1:4 is the same language used in John 3:16. Those who believe IN CHRIST are the ones who are given eternal life. And believing in Christ is the condition for eternal life, as John 3:16 demonstrates. So there are conditions to be fulfilled in order for a person to receive eternal life (such exegesis, though, undermines the Calvinist advocacy of “unconditional election”).
God must grant repentance, for without it, man cannot and will not believe. However, the fact that God gives it explains why God can require man to exercise it. God gives repentance, and man exercises his God-given faith by believing on the name of the Lord Jesus. Such is the message of the Scriptures.
Showing posts with label John 3:16 Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John 3:16 Conference. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Noble Arminian
“Strong Calvinism cornered the market on monergism as entailing irresistible grace, but Cross’s model offers an account of monergism and resistible grace. In doing so, it overcomes many of the concerns traditionally ascribed to synergism. If the only contribution humans make in salvation is negative, then this contribution can hardly be considered an act worthy of praise--- in fact, it hinders God’s activity to bring humans to a right relationship with Him. Instead, believers receive no personal credit, for in and through the work of God, the persons come to repentance and faith” (Dr. Jeremy A. Evans, “Reflections on Determinism and Human Freedom,” from “Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism” by David L. Allen and Steve W. Lemke, editors. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010, page 261).
I know the title of the post (“The Noble Arminian”) will probably get some weird expressions from my readers. You’re probably thinking right now, “Okay, she’s biased towards Classical Arminianism, and that’s bad enough...but now, she’s gotta brag about the Classical Arminian on her blog?” The truth is, however, that I am not bragging at all. I titled the post what I did because I wanna deal with a key issue in the Calvinist-Arminian debate: the idea that “faith is a virtue” (so titled by Dr. Ken Keathley in his “Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach,” page 124).
Classical Arminians are convinced that man must repent and believe the gospel in order to be saved. Well, according to Calvinist argumentation, if a person must believed to be saved, he is more “noble” than the person who refuses to believe. In their minds, the one who believes is “more virtuous” than another, and faith then becomes a virtue.
Look at Dr. Jeremy Evans’ quote above: according to the salvation models Richard Cross proposes, Cross advocates a model where salvation is monergistic and resistible.
What is “monergism”? Dr. Ken Keathley explains:
“Monergism (‘mono’---‘one’; ‘ergon’---‘work’) is a term that means God is the only worker in salvation” (Dr. Ken Keathley, “Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach.” Nashville: Broadman and Holman Academic, 2010, page 103).
Keathley provides a footnote at the bottom of the page, providing us with further detail about monergism:
“Monergism is the view that God’s grace alone is the efficient cause of our salvation; that salvation is the work of God from beginning to end. Synergism argues that our cooperation is also necessary” (“Salvation and Sovereignty,” page 103).
Notice Evans’ response regarding synergism? “If the only contribution humans make in salvation is negative, then this contribution can hardly be considered an act worthy of praise.”
Believers desire greatly to give God His due in our salvation. I don’t think that most believers desire to take away God’s glory for their salvation in their theologies. However, I think Calvinist belief at times tends to downplay God’s expectations of man. And this is one of those times. Why is it that faith is considered an act of virtue---when it is really ONLY A GIFT from God? After all, let’s look at what Paul wrote about faith:
“For by grace you have been saved THROUGH FAITH, and THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the gift of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV).
Paul himself said that “that,” being “grace and faith” (salvation), is “not of works.” What more do we need to read? We believed, and even our faith (paired with God’s grace) was NONE of ours, but given to us as a gift by God. How then, can faith be a “virtue”?
Ephesians 2:8 tells us that our salvation is “not of ourselves,” which means that salvation is the Lord’s. Verse 9 states that salvation is “not of works,” which means that we didn’t “merit” salvation.
I looked up the word “virtue” in The Oxford American Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus, and this was the definition supplied:
“moral excellence; goodness. Good quality...honor, righteousness, nobility, CREDIT, MERIT, ADVANTAGE, asset” [“The Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus.” New York: Berkeley Books, July 2001, page 942 (“virtue”)].
So to be virtuous is to have “moral excellence” or “goodness.” And yet, Paul tells us that there is no moral goodness within ourselves:
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE HAVE DONE, but according to His mercy He saved us...”(Titus 3:4-5, NKJV)
And, prior to this, Paul stripped himself of any moral excellence:
“For I know that in me (that is, IN MY FLESH) NOTHING GOOD DWELLS; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find” (Romans 7:18).
As can be seen here, Paul shows us that there is no good in the human flesh. So, the only good that we can do is that which we perform by way of the Spirit who works within us. For the unbeliever, it is the Spirit of grace who convicts them of sin and bestows upon them the gifts of grace and faith, that they can even desire to make one move towards God. God’s goodness to man gives credit to God, NOT to us. So, just because I believe and someone else does not is not a reason for me to boast or say, “I am more noble” than them. Why? because, as Ephesians 2 says, “salvation is not of myself.” Salvation is the gift of God; and not of my works, in order that I should not boast. I couldn’t save myself; if I could, I wouldn’t have needed grace and faith from God to begin with (which is a Pelagian notion, that the will doesn’t need the grace of God or faith to believe...but can generate its own resources to come to salvation). But because God supplied everything I needed, and all I could do was “confess and believe” (Romans 10:9), then I cannot boast or glory in myself.
A good biblical passage will make the case. The passage comes from Luke 17:
“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?
Does he thank that servant because HE DID THE THINGS THAT WERE COMMANDED HIM? I THINK NOT.
So likewise you, WHEN YOU HAVE DONE ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH YOU ARE COMMANDED, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. WE HAVE DONE WHAT WAS OUR DUTY TO DO’” (Luke 17:5-10, NKJV).
The disciples wanted their faith increased, thinking that they needed “more faith,” a greater quantity of faith, in order to do great things. But Jesus’ answer surprised them: they didn’t need MORE faith; they just needed FAITH ITSELF! Even if their faith was “the faith of a mustard seed,” a small, tiny faith, as faith, it would still remove the mulberry tree and cast it into the ocean.
The Lord Jesus then tells the parable of the master and the servant: after the servant has done what he was supposed to do, the master doesn’t commend him...but instead, gives him more work to do.
Jesus was telling the disciples this to make it clear that the issue of “increased faith” was wrong on two accounts: first, because they thought the greatness of faith was its QUANTITY instead of its QUALITY; and second, because they thought it would lead to greater reward and merit in the kingdom. However, Jesus disappointed them: no matter how great a faith and how much their faith accomplished, in the end, the credit didn’t go to them---they only believed BECAUSE THEY WERE COMMANDED TO DO SO.
Only when we understand that to believe (to have faith) is to obey (Rom. 1:5 refers to “the obedience of faith”), do we understand that faith is a duty. We are charged to “confess and believe” in Jesus (Rom. 10:9), so exercising our God-given faith does not make us more virtuous than the unbeliever. Why? because to believe is to “obey” the Lord Jesus. To believe on His name is what we are commanded (required) to do. It is our duty...and duties (obligations) are not rewarded (for they are not merit).
With that being said, let me state that I don’t believe synergism poses problems at all in theology. I think that believers have to stop getting hung up over man believing (and making man’s belief out to be a work, a merit). The Scriptures tell us that man’s belief is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8-9), and because of it, we cannot boast. If the Scriptures tell me that “no boasting is allowed,” and I intend to submit to Scripture, then I am charged to obey Scripture in everything...even this.
I know the title of the post (“The Noble Arminian”) will probably get some weird expressions from my readers. You’re probably thinking right now, “Okay, she’s biased towards Classical Arminianism, and that’s bad enough...but now, she’s gotta brag about the Classical Arminian on her blog?” The truth is, however, that I am not bragging at all. I titled the post what I did because I wanna deal with a key issue in the Calvinist-Arminian debate: the idea that “faith is a virtue” (so titled by Dr. Ken Keathley in his “Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach,” page 124).
Classical Arminians are convinced that man must repent and believe the gospel in order to be saved. Well, according to Calvinist argumentation, if a person must believed to be saved, he is more “noble” than the person who refuses to believe. In their minds, the one who believes is “more virtuous” than another, and faith then becomes a virtue.
Look at Dr. Jeremy Evans’ quote above: according to the salvation models Richard Cross proposes, Cross advocates a model where salvation is monergistic and resistible.
What is “monergism”? Dr. Ken Keathley explains:
“Monergism (‘mono’---‘one’; ‘ergon’---‘work’) is a term that means God is the only worker in salvation” (Dr. Ken Keathley, “Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach.” Nashville: Broadman and Holman Academic, 2010, page 103).
Keathley provides a footnote at the bottom of the page, providing us with further detail about monergism:
“Monergism is the view that God’s grace alone is the efficient cause of our salvation; that salvation is the work of God from beginning to end. Synergism argues that our cooperation is also necessary” (“Salvation and Sovereignty,” page 103).
Notice Evans’ response regarding synergism? “If the only contribution humans make in salvation is negative, then this contribution can hardly be considered an act worthy of praise.”
Believers desire greatly to give God His due in our salvation. I don’t think that most believers desire to take away God’s glory for their salvation in their theologies. However, I think Calvinist belief at times tends to downplay God’s expectations of man. And this is one of those times. Why is it that faith is considered an act of virtue---when it is really ONLY A GIFT from God? After all, let’s look at what Paul wrote about faith:
“For by grace you have been saved THROUGH FAITH, and THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the gift of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV).
Paul himself said that “that,” being “grace and faith” (salvation), is “not of works.” What more do we need to read? We believed, and even our faith (paired with God’s grace) was NONE of ours, but given to us as a gift by God. How then, can faith be a “virtue”?
Ephesians 2:8 tells us that our salvation is “not of ourselves,” which means that salvation is the Lord’s. Verse 9 states that salvation is “not of works,” which means that we didn’t “merit” salvation.
I looked up the word “virtue” in The Oxford American Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus, and this was the definition supplied:
“moral excellence; goodness. Good quality...honor, righteousness, nobility, CREDIT, MERIT, ADVANTAGE, asset” [“The Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus.” New York: Berkeley Books, July 2001, page 942 (“virtue”)].
So to be virtuous is to have “moral excellence” or “goodness.” And yet, Paul tells us that there is no moral goodness within ourselves:
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE HAVE DONE, but according to His mercy He saved us...”(Titus 3:4-5, NKJV)
And, prior to this, Paul stripped himself of any moral excellence:
“For I know that in me (that is, IN MY FLESH) NOTHING GOOD DWELLS; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find” (Romans 7:18).
As can be seen here, Paul shows us that there is no good in the human flesh. So, the only good that we can do is that which we perform by way of the Spirit who works within us. For the unbeliever, it is the Spirit of grace who convicts them of sin and bestows upon them the gifts of grace and faith, that they can even desire to make one move towards God. God’s goodness to man gives credit to God, NOT to us. So, just because I believe and someone else does not is not a reason for me to boast or say, “I am more noble” than them. Why? because, as Ephesians 2 says, “salvation is not of myself.” Salvation is the gift of God; and not of my works, in order that I should not boast. I couldn’t save myself; if I could, I wouldn’t have needed grace and faith from God to begin with (which is a Pelagian notion, that the will doesn’t need the grace of God or faith to believe...but can generate its own resources to come to salvation). But because God supplied everything I needed, and all I could do was “confess and believe” (Romans 10:9), then I cannot boast or glory in myself.
A good biblical passage will make the case. The passage comes from Luke 17:
“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?
Does he thank that servant because HE DID THE THINGS THAT WERE COMMANDED HIM? I THINK NOT.
So likewise you, WHEN YOU HAVE DONE ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH YOU ARE COMMANDED, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. WE HAVE DONE WHAT WAS OUR DUTY TO DO’” (Luke 17:5-10, NKJV).
The disciples wanted their faith increased, thinking that they needed “more faith,” a greater quantity of faith, in order to do great things. But Jesus’ answer surprised them: they didn’t need MORE faith; they just needed FAITH ITSELF! Even if their faith was “the faith of a mustard seed,” a small, tiny faith, as faith, it would still remove the mulberry tree and cast it into the ocean.
The Lord Jesus then tells the parable of the master and the servant: after the servant has done what he was supposed to do, the master doesn’t commend him...but instead, gives him more work to do.
Jesus was telling the disciples this to make it clear that the issue of “increased faith” was wrong on two accounts: first, because they thought the greatness of faith was its QUANTITY instead of its QUALITY; and second, because they thought it would lead to greater reward and merit in the kingdom. However, Jesus disappointed them: no matter how great a faith and how much their faith accomplished, in the end, the credit didn’t go to them---they only believed BECAUSE THEY WERE COMMANDED TO DO SO.
Only when we understand that to believe (to have faith) is to obey (Rom. 1:5 refers to “the obedience of faith”), do we understand that faith is a duty. We are charged to “confess and believe” in Jesus (Rom. 10:9), so exercising our God-given faith does not make us more virtuous than the unbeliever. Why? because to believe is to “obey” the Lord Jesus. To believe on His name is what we are commanded (required) to do. It is our duty...and duties (obligations) are not rewarded (for they are not merit).
With that being said, let me state that I don’t believe synergism poses problems at all in theology. I think that believers have to stop getting hung up over man believing (and making man’s belief out to be a work, a merit). The Scriptures tell us that man’s belief is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8-9), and because of it, we cannot boast. If the Scriptures tell me that “no boasting is allowed,” and I intend to submit to Scripture, then I am charged to obey Scripture in everything...even this.
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