November 16, 2005

• Do you hate the Apostle John?

  
  

  Andrew C. Bain Sydney, Australia
  
  15th November 2005

  
  A most hated and despised doctrine is that SAVING FAITH IS A BARE BELIEF OF THE BARE TRUTH. Nothing more, nothing less.

  1 John 5:9 If we receive the
  witness of men, the witness of God is greater; because this is the
  witness of God which He has witnessed about His Son:

  ~~Notice that it is the WITNESS or testimony ABOUT the Son that matters.
  John doesn’t mention anything about “having a personal relationship”
  with the Son. Neither does he say believers have “committed themselves”
  to the Son. He does not point to these as the GROUNDS or EVIDENCE for them knowing they are saved.

  This is a most important topic. How do believers know they are justified by Christ’s work? After all, He didn’t
  die for everyone, so how do they know their sins were atoned for?

  John’s point
  is that believers have RECEIVED the RECORD (SET
  OF FACTS) about Jesus Christ. And if someone believes the facts then this
  is sufficient EVIDENCE to themselves that they are saved. On the other
  hand, if someone does not believe the gospel, they are lost.

  10 ¶ The one believing in the Son of God has the witness in himself. The one not believing God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God has witnessed concerning His Son.

  ~~Believers commit all sorts of sins, but they do not call God a liar.
  To doubt the record of Christ shows that a person is an unbeliever.
  After all, if they were saved, they would have “the witness” in
  themselves.

  11 And this is the witness: that God gave us everlasting life, and this life is in His Son.

  ~~Obviously someone who doubts their salvation does not know they have
  everlasting life. They do not believe the witness. What is the witness?
  God will save all believers by the work of the Son.

  12 The one having the Son has life. The one not having the Son of God does not have life.

  ~~By “having the Son” John means “abiding in the doctrine of Christ”
  (see his second epistle verse 9). All believers INTELLECTUALLY and
  JUDICIALLY
  have the Son. They have “the mind of Christ.” Furthermore, they have
  His imputed righteousness in their accounts. What I mean by “imputed
  righteousness”, is this — Christ obeyed the Law in their place, so
  they have a PERFECT
  RIGHTEOUSNESS in their “bank account” (so to speak).

  20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given to us an understanding that we may know the true One, and we are in the true One, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and the life everlasting.

  ~~There are some doctrines that EVERY believer knows (even someone who has just been converted.)

  Here is the Apostle’s list:

  1) Believers know that Christ has come and FINISHED THE WORK FOR
  SALVATION FOR ALL HIS PEOPLE — that is, they know that 2000 years ago “God [was] manifest in the flesh”,
  “made of a woman” “made under the Law” “to redeem those under the Law”
  “made sin” “who knew no sin” “made a curse” “to save His people from
  their sins”.

  2) Believers know that saving faith is understanding the gospel. Anyone who hates doctrine is not saved. “HE HAS GIVEN US AN UNDERSTANDING“.
  Anyone who thinks saving faith is MORE than understanding and knowledge
  does not stand in the faith of the Apostles. They never treated faith
  as anything more than “evidence”, the “substance”, “belief”,
  “understanding”, “knowledge” of things not seen (the things of God).

  3) Believers have full assurance of salvation. “WE ARE IN THE TRUE
  ONE”. To doubt the Apostle’s words would be to call God a liar. Anyone
  who doubts they are justified are not justified. The Apostle John knew
  he was saved, and 1 Peter 1 says that ALL believers have EQUALLY
  PRECIOUS faith as the Apostle. Thus, if your assurance is not equal to
  the Apostles (i.e. without doubt) then you are an unbeliever. “He that
  doubts … is damned,” and “he that wavers … [will not] receive
  anything from the Lord.”

  4) What is “life everlasting”?
  Most people that come in the name of Christianity today do not agree
  with the Apostle John’s definition. “And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given to us an understanding that we may know the true One, and we are in the true One, in His Son Jesus Christ.” By implication, John is saying here that life
  everlasting is NOT about good works, NOT about committing yourself to
  God, NOT about “asking Jesus into your heart” etc etc.

  John’s three points are

  a) The Messiah has come and fulfilled all righteousness

  b) All believers know these facts to be true, and their knowledge is a gift from God

  c) And if we have this bare belief of the bare truth, we are Elect.

  I’d like to write a bit more about point (c). John is saying that the
  ONLY evidence a person can have that they are saved is the
  UNDERSTANDING and KNOWLEDGE of the gospel. In other words, believers do
  not “find out” they are saved by their works, love, commitments,
  prayers etc. Instead, it is a BARE BELIEF OF THE BARE TRUTH that proves
  to the believer they are justified by Christ’s righteousness. All love
  and good works are FRUITS of their assurance. They “love him, because
  He first loved” them. The grounds for their love towards God is knowing
  that He has saved them by Christ’s blood and righteousness.

  And what about Christ’s righteousness? By righteousness, I mean PERFECT
  OBEDIENCE TO THE ETERNAL LAW OF GOD. Christ NEVER sinned. He obeyed
  every jot and tittle of the Law to EARN a righteousness for His people.
  When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He was
  threatened, He did not threaten. He humbled Himself and BECAME A
  SERVANT OF THE LAW OF GOD. And by doing so, He perfectly loved God and
  His neighbor.

  This means that in order to an Elect sinner to get to heaven, they need
  to do absolutely NOTHING. “IT IS FINISHED”. The work is done. This is
  why the Word says that believers REST from their works, and are no
  longer under the Law as a curse. Of course, believers are COMMANDED to
  obey ALL God’s statutes (10 Commandments, NT precepts etc.). However,
  their obedience is OUT OF THANKS for what Christ has ALREADY finished.
  They obey out of love for God, and NOT to get God’s love. He loved them
  with an everlasting love, and only fellowships with them because of
  Christ’s PERFECT work that he performed in their place. He was made a
  sacrifice for their sins, and the Father’s wrath was poured out on Him
  in their place. This is why there is “no condemnation in Christ” for
  believers.

  Now, here are some passages from the Psalms that describe Jesus
  Christ’s absolute perfection. Indeed, we are to “Watch the perfect and
  behold the upright one; for the end of that man is peace.” (Psalm 37:37).

  Christ said in the Psalms — “It is God who girds me with strength and gives my way to be perfect “

  “I will behave myself
  wisely in a perfect way”

  “I will set no wicked thing before my eyes; I have hated the work of those who turn aside.”

  “I will not know evil.”

  “Jehovah will perfect His work in me”

  ~~Christ’s work was perfect! He knew no evil, He never lusted, but He
  hated all evil. He walked in all the statutes of God’s Law FOR THE
  ELECT, that they might be perfect, too, with His righteousness in their
  accounts.

  Of course, it does not end here. Christ also suffered the wrath,
  indignation, curse, etc. of God the Father on a cross in place of elect sinners. Here are some
  Psalms describing the anguish and suffering He went through to purge
  His people’s sins.

  ” I suffer Your terrors.”

  “Your fierce wrath goes over me; Your terrors have cut me off. They
  surrounded me like waters all the day; they have come together around
  me.”

  “My heart throbs; my power forsakes me! … I became mute and still; from good I was silent, and my pain was stirred. … “

  ~~How clear is the PERFECT HUMANITY of Christ in these passages. He was
  TRULY HUMAN in that He COULD SUFFER and DID suffer for the sins of all God’s chosen people (the sheep). And He suffered for my
  sins and the sins of ALL the Elect. “For He made the One who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

  More info: http://www.Godnoliar.com
  

  • 10:56 pm
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