Clear and righteous questions like this one reaffirm the Reformed faith for me.
The answer is self-evident. Praise God, Christ has atoned for my sins of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
All that He has ordained comes to pass.
Nothing but the BLOOD of JESUS.
***Has He not also atoned for any failure to obey what He has commanded? ~ Frumanchu***
***The answer is self-evident. ~ Dr. Eckleburg***
I'm not so sure that the answer is self-evident, but I am sure that the Bible has clearly declared to us that the Propitiation of God's wrath against my sin is not dependent in any way upon my obedience the gospel commands any more than the Propitiation of God's wrath against the sin of the saints before the first coming of our Lord was dependent upon their obedience to the Law. Otherwise, man has meritoriously earned his salvation through his obedience to either the Law of faith or the Law in stone. And, if man has earned his salvation, then it is no more by grace, but a wage earned. God owe's man for his obedience.
So, I'm not going to rest upon any kind of works based salvation, whether to the Law in stone or through some kind of a wierd man invented new Law gospel.
My salvation is not dependent upon my obedience. My salvation is dependent upon the sure mercies of the Lord. And this is why David was able to cry: "Haue mercie vpon me, O Lord, for I am weake." David, the man after God's own heart was painfully aware that it was to God alone he cried. There was no room for trusting in his obedience. He knew his only hope was to cast himself wholly upon his Lord: "Hide thy face from my sinnes, and put away all mine iniquities. Create in mee a cleane heart, O God, and renue a right spirit within me."
As should we. And, this is why we Baptists sing...
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
In the service of the Lord,
Christian.
BTW, welcome my friend, Colin. I've finally convinced him that it would be fun to debate each other on this forum.
"Clear and righteous questions like this one reaffirm the Reformed faith for me."
Well, I'm not so sure that it reaffirms the Reformed faith, but it does affirm that that the Lord's Atonement is not an incomplete one. At the end of the ages, the Lord appeared an put away sin. That includes the sin of disobedience. So, why should that sin hinder a man any more with his salvation than any other sin for which the Lord made atonement.
BTW, my Reformed brother Christian, I have noticed that no one attempted to respond to your example of David. Evidently, the works based salvationists don't want to consider the possibility that God was just lucky that David repented before he died so that the man after God's own heart didn't have to get thrown into torment.
I do know that you think that my own non-Reformed views are essentially a works based salvation, but I can assure you that accepting the free gift of God is not a work, but mere thankfulness of the free mercy of God.
Colin.