Posted on 02/01/2002 5:26:40 AM PST by CCWoody
All men are by nature the children of wrath, and are under the power of darkness. In this state men are not the subjects of Christ's kingdom and have no fitness for heaven. From this terrible state they are unable to deliver themselves. (I John 5:19; Romans 5:6) Out of this state they must be supernaturally called.(I Peter 2:9; Colossians 1:13) This divine "call" or work of grace is called in Scriptures as: REGENERATION (Titus 3:5); TRANSFORMATION (II Cor.3:18); THE NEW BIRTH, ILLUMINATION (II Cor. 4:6); SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION (John 5:24). This inward call is attended with justification and adoption and conversion,(which includes faith and repentance). (Romans 8:30; Eph. 1:5; Eph.2:1-10) Thus leading us to the EFFECTS OF REGENERATION.
Jesus in John 3:8 tells us of this matter, speaking of the blowing of the wind. Man is unable to originate, order or regulate the wind. Man knows very little of the cause which controls the wind, yet the presence of the wind is unmistakable; and its EFFECTS are plainly evidenced, "SO IS EVERY ONE THAT IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT." BUT THE TRANSFORMING RESULTS BECOME PLAIN.
The illumination of the understanding Gen. 1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Then:" the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Next: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," and God said: "Let there be light."
So it is when God begins to restore fallen man: "For God who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (II Cor. 4:6)
This Divine illumination is not by dreams, visions, or mere feelings, but the revelation of things to his mind and soul which have been all along in sacred Scriptures. Now the blessed Holy Spirit removes the blindfold from his eyes and opens his heart to receive the written Word. (Acts 16:14) Then He begins to powerfully apply to the mind and conscience some portion of it. The result is that the one renewed is able to say, "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." (John 9:25)
To be more particular, The sinner is now enlightened in the knowledge of his own terrible condition. He may earlier have known many Bible facts, even doctrinal statements, received much instruction; BUT NOW, the solemn declarations of God's Word concerning his fallen state are brought home in piercing power to him. He no longer justifies himself by comparison with his fellow man, he measures himself by the law of God. He is now terribly convicted by his own uncleanness and wickedness before a thrice holy God. ( Isaiah 1:6; 64:6)
By this new spiritual light which God communicates in REGENERATION he now sees that the "wages" he has earned by sin deserve eternal death. That he has placed himself under the awful wrath of God. He now realizes that he has lived his whole life in utter independence of God, having no regard for His glory, what pleased and displeased a holy God. He is thus brought to cry out "WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?"
He now understands truly the awful malignity of sin, as being not only contrary to the whole law of God, but contrary to the true nature of God Himself. He is convinced of the absolute impossibility of contributing anything to obtain his own deliverance. He no longer has any confidence in himself; he has been brought to the end of himself. As Paul wrote "He is without Christ and without hope in this world." (Eph.2)
Thus his mouth is stopped and he confesses himself GUILTY BEFORE GOD, and justly liable to His awful vengeance, both because of the plague of his own heart and his numerous transgressions.
HE NOW SEES THE SUITABILITY OF CHRIST
By means of this illumination the renewed soul, under the Holy Spirit through the Word, now perceives (comprehends) how WELL SUITED Christ Jesus is to his poor wretched condition. The only hope he clings to is the prospect of obtaining deliverance from the "wrath to come" through the vicarious life and death of the Lord Jesus (i.e. Jesus Christ lived for and died right in the very place of a people). This keeps his soul from being overwhelmed with grief and from sinking into complete despondency because of the SIGHT of his sins.
As the Holy Spirit (through the Word) presents to him the infinite merits of Christ's obedience and righteousness, His tender compassion for repentant sinners, His great power to save, desires to share in that work now possess his heart. He is now resolved to look for salvation in no other. (person, working, or church) Under the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, the soul is drawn by such words as these: "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." or "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out,"and he is led to apply to Him for pardon, cleansing, peace, righteousness, strength.
REPENTANCE
Other acts besides turning to Christ, such as REPENTANCE, which is a godly sorrow for sin, a hating of sin as sin, and an earnest desire to forsake and be completely delivered from its pollution. In the light of God, the renewed soul now perceives the utter vanity of the world, and the worthlessness of those former worthless toys and perishing trifles which the godless strive so hard to acquire. He has been awakened from the dream-sleep of death, and things are now seen in their true nature. Time is precious, not to be frittered away. God in His awesome Majesty is an object of godly fear and reverence. His holy law is accepted as just and good. All of these perceptions (new sight, or new way of seeing what the Word has stated) and actions are included in that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. In some these actions are more vigorous than in others, and consequently, are more seen by the man himself. But the fruits of them are visible to others in external acts.
THE WILL FREED FROM BONDAGE
By nature,(the state into which all men are born), the will of man is free in only one direction: AWAY FROM GOD. Sin has enslaved the will, therefore, do we need to be "made free" (John 8:36). The two states are contrasted in Romans 6: "free from righteousness" v20 and "free from sin" v 18, when we have been made alive unto God. At the new birth the will is liberated from the "bondage of corruption" (Rom. 8:21 cf II Peter 2:19), and rendered conformable to the will of God (Psalm 119:97). In our unregenerate state the will was naturally rebellious, and its language was, "Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?" (Exodus 5:2) But the Father promised the Son, "Thy people shall BE WILLING in the day of thy power" (Ps.110:3), and this is accomplished when God "worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil 2:13; Heb.13:21)
"A new heart, a new spirit...I will take out your stony heart...and I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes." (Heb.8:10; Ezek.36:26-27) The regenerated freely consent to and gladly choose to walk in subjection to Christ, being anxious now to obey Him in all things, even though imperfectly. His authority is his only rule, His love the constraining power: "If a man love me, he WILL KEEP my words." (John 14:23)
The will is so emancipated from the power of sin to be enabled to answer the Divine Command.
ELEVATION OF THE HEART
Rightly does the Lord claim first place as Creator, Owner, and Redeemer. "My son give Me thine heart" (Prov.23:26) expresses God's claim. They "first gave their own selves to the Lord" (II Cor.8:5) is the response of the regenerate. For before they were born anew, by natural birth they are "lovers of their own selves" and "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God" (II Tim.3:2,4). When a sinner is renewed, his affections are taken off his idols and fixed on his Lord (I Thess. 1:9). Hence it is written "with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness" (Rom.10:10).And hence, also it is written, "If any man LOVE NOT the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed" (I Cor.16:22).
In Deut. 30:6 we read: "And the Lord God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to LOVE the Lord thy God WITH ALL THY HEART." This is the renewing of the heart, severing its love from all illicit objects. None can truly love God supremely till this miracle of grace has been worked in him. Then, and only then, is it that the affections are refined and directed to their proper objects, He who once was despised by the soul, is now the "altogether lovely" One. He who was hated (John 15:18) is now loved above all others. "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee." is now their joyous confession.
The love of God is now become the governing principle of their life. (II Cor.5:13) What before was drudgery is now a delight. The approval of His Saviour is now his concern. Gratitude moves his will to glad obedience. Then his heart goes out to members of Christ's family, no matter their nationality, social position, or church connections: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren" (I John 3:14).
"A NEW HEART ALSO WILL I GIVE YOU..."
A CHANGE OF CONDUCT
A tree is known by its fruits. Faith is evidenced by works. The principle of holiness manifests itself in a godly walk. "If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him" (I John 2:29). The deep longing of every child of God is to please his heavenly Father in all things, and though this longing is never fully realized in this life-"NOT as though I had ALREADY attained, either were already perfect" (Phil.3:12)- nevertheless he continues "reaching forth unto those things which are before."
A change will take place in the conduct of the most oral unconverted man as soon as he is born from above. Not only will he be far less eager in his pursuit of the world, more careful in his selections of companions, but he now realizes that the holy eye of God is ever upon him, marking not only his actions, but weighing his motives. He now bears the sacred name of Christ, and his deepest concern is to be kept from everything which would bring a reproach upon it. His aim is to let his light so shine before men that they may see his good works and glorify his Father which is in heaven. That which gives him concern and distress is not the sneers and taunts of the ungodly, but that he fails to measure up to the standard God has set before him, and that conformity to it after which he so yearns. BUT ought not the Christian to "grow in grace"? Yes, indeed. Yet it must be emphatically said that growing in grace most certainly does not mean an increasing satisfaction with myself. No, it is the very opposite. The more I walk in the light of God, the more plainly I see the vileness within me. The only relief from this distressing discovery and the only peace for the renewed heart is to look away from self to Christ and His perfect work for us. Faith empties of all self-complacency and gives an exalted estimate of God in Christ.
OCCUPIED WITH CHRIST
A growth in grace is defined, in great part, by the words that immediately follow: "...and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18). It is the GROWING realization of the perfect suitability of Christ to a poor sinner, the deepening conviction of His fitness to be the Saviour of such a vile wretch as the Spirit shows me I am. It is the apprehension of how much I need His precious blood to cleans me, His righteousness to clothe me, His arm to support me, His advocacy to answer me on high, His grace to deliver me from all my enemies, both inward and outward.
The more the heart is occupied with Christ, the more the mind is stayed on Him by trusting in Him (just camped right there, JCS) (Isaiah 26:3), the more will faith, hope, love, patience, meekness, and all spiritual graces be strengthened and drawn forth into exercise and action to the glory of God. The MANIFESTATION of growth in grace and in the knowledge of Christ is another thing. The actual process of growing is not perceptible either in the natural or in the spiritual sphere; but the results of it are, mainly so to others. The chief EVIDENCES of spiritual growth in the Christian are a deepening hatred of sin and a higher value put on spiritual things, a yearning after them, and a fuller recognition of our deep need and dependency on God to supply it.
"The Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Ps.84:11). Grace and glory are not to be separated. Grace is glory begun. Glory is grace elevated to its perfection in the eternal state. In I John 3:2, we are told that we shall be like Him, reason? "WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS." The immediate vision of the Lord of glory will be a transforming one, the bright reflections of God's purity and holiness cast upon the glorified will make them perfectly holy and blessed. BUT there is to be a resemblance of that here in the lives of His people. And too comes from BEHOLDING HIM. (II Cor.3:18)
"But we all...beholding...the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
(Excerpts from A.W. Pink on Regeneration and the new birth)
Time for another Matthew 11 PING.
Mom, this scripture was a struggle for you, wasn't it? You gave it an honest effort, and I know your sincerity from past threads. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
30 Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, `Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.
One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!" 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter
Mom, no matter what else, we can say that Cornelius' behavior occurred BEFORE he became a Christian. It occurred AFTER Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. In the same way as it was necessary for Jews to believe, it was also necessary for Cornelius to believe. On the day of Pentecost, the convicted Jews said to Peter, "What should we do?" Peter told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and they'd receive the remission of sins. If they had to do so, then so did Cornelius.
We can also UNEQUIVOCALLY say that God was pleased by Cornelius' praying and giving gifts to the poor. This ties in perfectly with the Book of James in which James says,
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[5] and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
James is pointing out that there was a MISINTERPRETATION of "works righteousness" and "faith alone" that was going around.
Works that demonstrate faith in God are pleasing to God, are possible in a pre-Salvation human, and are indicative of faith in God; something that God will never frown upon. In fact, as in the case of Cornelius, those works were acceptable to God.
Man has the same free will which God has. But the Jesuits refused to understand the limitations inherent in the free will possessed by a holy God or by unholy sinners.
God WILL NOT embrace the Lie. Unregenerate sinners WILL NOT embrace the Truth.
Why is this? It's because the will is merely the volitional expression of the nature. Nothing more, nothing less. Because he is pervasively unholy, an unregenerate sinner will not repent and believe the gospel. This refusal is an incapacity, and this incapacity is a refusal. The "will not" therefore amounts to a "can not."
Notice that the same thing could be said concerning God. He cannot lie. It's not that He cannot form the words of lies but that He will not lie. And yet the Bible says this amounts to a reality in which He cannot lie. So to say that He is free to lie but won't lie would be patently stupid.
The earlier Scholastic theologians such as Bernard of Clairvaux had understood this stuff, just as Augustine had, but the Jesuits ignored their own best theologians!
The point here is that an unregenerate sinner does not have the "free will" which the Jesuits postulated. The unregenerate sinner has true free will--i.e., he is not a robot--but the Jesuit model is PHONY. The Jesuits refused to face the fact of what the will IS.
Unfortunately, it is this PHONY free will which fallen sinners stupidly think they have. The Reformers tirelessly attacked THAT ERRONEOUS IDEA of free will.
The Lord Jesus does the same thing in John 8. He is talking in that passage to lost professing Christians!
This is pretty serious stuff, folks. A lot of "believers" in Jesus are children of the devil. They are stuck in the Lie of Eden, and they think it's the gospel.
God sits in the heavens and laughs, of course (Psalm 2:4). And we Calvinists laugh with Him.
Mom, I'm afraid your Wesleyan Pastor is avoiding scripture that clearly says, "those whom he foreknew he presdestined.." God HAS seen the group that will believe in Him and He HAS decided that they will be with Him.
In my opinion, your pastor is not accepting the word "predestined" because of what he believes to be the calvinist baggage accompanying it.
If God knows who all the Gold Medal Winners at this Olympics are, that doesn't mean he has fed them steroids so they win and the others lose. Just because He knows doesn't mean He causes.
The temple sacrifices all occurred before Christ too, and they were pleasing to God as they were obedient to his command. Cornelius was obediedient as far as the revelation of God was to him. The Grace of God was necessary for him to seek any further.
I note you have failed to address the clear scripture that man were born again BEFORE they repented and sought God. Again I point out Samuel, Isaiah, Paul. All of which had a moment of grace BEFORE they were used of God. I think you have answered it your self brother
On the day of Pentecost, the convicted Jews said to Peter, "What should we do?" Peter told them to repent
They were convicted by the grace of God before they could repent. They were blind before that,only the grace of God can reveal our sin to us. (That is a very reform position I believe) just like everyone of us.X. The blind can not see their sin, the deaf can not hear the gospel, the dead can not ask God what they should do.
Ps not a gang alert ..just wanting to make sure I have presented it correctly :>)
Ok, I accept this definition of free choice in the narrow sense of all those who have an opportunity to hear the gospel. For we know that not everybody is evangelized. We could ask difficult questions for you to answer in this regard, but we shall focus only upon those who actually hear the gospel; i.e. have the right to decide.
The question then becomes apart from the regenerative power of God does a man have the "money" to decide for a new car? He can clearly see the new cars as he goes by, but does he ever reach into his pocket and pull out his wad and say I want it?:
Romans 7:18 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.Man is presented in the Bible as absolutely spiritually bankrupt. He does not have money. He does not car shop because he does not want to car shop. Until God regenerates him (i.e. gives him money) man will never want to buy.
Romans 8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 3:10-11 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God."Car shopping is exactly like the wedding. The Master invites and nobody wants to come. The Master invites again; they kill the messengers. The car's sit, and nobody buys! Everybody decided, we like our "hell-mobile!" You can keep your "J-car!"
Moreover, your definition as you have expressed before is that man is not spiritually bankrupt; i.e. he has money. Therefore, according to you, Free choice means that everybody in America has the right to decide if they want a car or not and the money to buy. You point us to Romans 2.
And many would say that obedience was when righteousness was imputed to him . God knew how Abraham would respond as He had predestined it. But it was a moment that was necessary for Abraham..it was his " Yes Lord"
God aranges His plan around man!?! Do you really think that man is the center of the universe?
To that, I would say that this is actually the Calvinist's position.
We Calvinists are a lot more calm in our thinking than MEGoody realizes. So, I will stipulate my agreement with Goody on this point as a way of proving that Goody doesn't understand what we are talking about.
Adam's purpose as man was to be a partner with God in Creation, but he fell and came short of the glory of God. Unfortunately Brigham Young or someone like him, got confused and proclaimed Adam as God. Very strange theology, and in WM's defense, as the theology coming out of Utah can change with the snowfall, he also is confused, depending on which book he's reading at the moment.
Are you saying that you are more spiritual than a person who says no; that you are better than they are?
Or, are you saying that the Lord was pleased to love you more by saturating your life with the gospel message?
Here's an interesting scripture for you from the book of Acts. The setting is in the home of Cornelius, the Centurion. The event occurs BEFORE Cornelius has accepted Christ.
A Calvinist always maintains that regeneration preceeds faith:
Acts 10:15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common."God cleaned Cornelius and now God is sending someone to carry the gospel message. God finishes what He starts!
Consider this from Acts:
Acts 13:48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.BTW, do you like your selection of "draft choices" on this thread?
Hey, I went for years as a godless church-goer. Then I spent years after that as a really carnal Christian. At the time God was pleased to let me continue as nit-wit knowing that I would be run from the highway on my motorcycle by a violent man. Then, and only then, did I start to really grow up. And I wear the broken bone in my back as a reminder.
Psalm 42:10 As with a breaking of my bones, My enemies reproach me, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"Some of us are more stiff-necked than others and some of us think that stiff-neckedness is an olympic event.
Ps not a gang alert ..just wanting to make sure I have presented it correctly :>)
Mom, it's not the people of the gang....I like all of them with who I'm conversed....it's the quantity of WRITING and the TIME involved in responding to each and every one.
Mom, when has any Wesleyan said that God doesn't enlighten each of us prior to our conversion. That's what I've been arguing for weeks now. The Bible calls Jesus the light that "lightens EVERY MAN who comes into the world." Now, unless you're a universalist, then that can only mean that Jesus brings all to an understanding at least once in their life so they can exercise free choice.
Now, your whole Cornelius argument is moot if I understand you correctly. Correct me where I'm misunderstanding you. You say that the Jews were sacrificing to God prior to Jesus and that covered them after Jesus' sacrifice....am I getting that right. If I am, it's probably the first time I've ever heard ANYONE suggest such a thing. You connect Cornelius to them and say that he was covered by that old system, too, so then you're saying he didn't have to respond to Jesus after the resurrection for God to find him acceptable?
Try it again in even more simple language for even a dummy like me to understand. LOL.
I would prefer to say that there is no "balance" in the correct understanding of the sovereignty of God. There are merely multiple issues in the cascade of the theology.
The word "balance" suggests that two different ideas are being pitted against each other. This is the wrong approach, since the doctrine of man's responsible free agency is subsumed under the high doctrine of predestination.
Spurgeon pointed out this fact to a lady who asked "How can you reconcile predestination and human responsibility?"
He answered by pointing out that her very question betrayed a misunderstanding of the overall issues in the sovereignty of God. He said that her question is like asking how we can reconcile a man and a woman who are madly in love with each other.
His point is that they don't need to be reconciled. They fit together beautifully. By the same token, balance is not really at issue in the picture of predestination and free agency.
Now X I would sure like to see the doctrine on this
Now, unless you're a universalist, then that can only mean that Jesus brings all to an understanding at least once in their life so they can exercise free choice.
So you would have a special infusion of God's grace one time in each life that is powerful enough to cause repentance and conversion..but not so strong that man can will to refuse it??
Remember Agrippa and Paul? Agrippa clearly heard, Paul even told him that he knew that Agrippa believed the prophets. Paul told him the story of Jesus but Agrippa wanted to await a more convenient time.
Then he turned back to the business at hand with Festus.
As far a ONE TIME is concerned, the OT records God as saying, "my Spirit will not always strive..." That leads one to believe that the Spirit strives more than once.
Given that the children of believers are in a special "set aside" category with God, one can biblically claim that the Spirit works on them more than on children of unbelievers.
Remember Agrippa and Paul? Agrippa clearly heard, Paul even told him that he knew that Agrippa believed the prophets. Paul told him the story of Jesus but Agrippa wanted to await a more convenient time.
I'm saying that I made a better choice when I said "yes" than when I said "no." And I think those who say "yes" to Christ are making a better choice than those who say "no." Don't you think so, too? Then he turned back to the business at hand with Festus.
As far a ONE TIME is concerned, the OT records God as saying, "my Spirit will not always strive..." That leads one to believe that the Spirit strives more than once.
Given that the children of believers are in a special "set aside" category with God, one can biblically claim that the Spirit works on them more than on children of unbelievers.
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