March 11, 2006
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ASSURANCE OR SANTIFICATION: WHICH COMES FIRST?
Joshua from SC writes, ===”I’m certainly a reformed baptist that will NOT teach that you must look
at your works. I dunno where you’re reading from, but last I read in
Scripture it’s by GRACE. I’m sure if you talk to a true Reformed
Baptist they’ll hold to the 5 Solas as well. Isn’t one of them Sola
Gratia? SOLELY GRACE.”===
My reponse: The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith teaches assurance by works. And so do all the American revisions.Chapter 18 section 4 says that by “love of Christ and the brethren,
that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty out of which, by the
operation of the Spirit … assurance may in due time be revived, and
by the which, in the meantime, they are preserved from utter despair. “
The 1689 Confession says assurance is to be based on good works!! The good works are to be loving Christ and the brethren.Jonathan from SC wrote me, ===”faith without works is dead faith. works without faith are dead works. we are saved by faith alone. but faith is not alone.”===
My reponse: Yes, faith is NOT alone. Belief in the gospel ALWAYS gives a believer FULL ASSURANCE of salvation. And anyone who KNOWS without doubt that they are justified by Christ’s work WILL love God. It is IMPOSSIBLE for a man to know that He is Elect and hate God. To know that God choose ME and reprobated billions of others makes me VERY GRATEFUL INDEED! Thus, thinking God has done me a eternal favor I HATE sin (transgressing God’s commands).
Jonathan, the issue is NOT whether or not Christians love God by striving to keep His commandments.
In reality, you disagree with me because I think that ALL believers have full assurance of salvation BEFORE they do their first good work. Allow me to summarise:
BIBLICAL UNBIBLICAL
1) Justification 1) Justification
2) Assurance 2) Good works
3) Good works 3) AssuranceProving that Assurance PRECEDES good works is very easy. Turn to any page of the New Testament and you will find God telling believers to obey Him because He redeemed them. Now this must mean that the basis for all a man’s good works is the knowledge that Christ has redeemed him.
“KNOWING THAT not with incorruptible things … WERE YOU REDEEMED … pass the time of your sojourning in fear.” 1 Pet 1:18
Peter doesn’t tell believers to be sanctified in order to find out they are redeemed. To Christians, Peter states: YOU KNOW THAT YOU WERE REDEEMED.
Peter says believers KNOW they are redeemed. And because they are fully persuaded of their justification they pass the time fearing (in awe of) God.
“AS YOU RECEIVED CHRIST Jesus the Lord, WALK in Him,” Col 2:6
Which comes first — assurance or santification? Paul says assurance.
Writing to the NT Christians he ASSUMES they know they are saved. In this passage, Paul assumes the Colossians know they had received the doctrine of Christ. They had received Christ by receiving the TRUTH. Paul says that they were also to walk in the TRUTH. You believe the truth — You’ve received Christ/The Truth — NOW, walk in the Truth/Christ.
” For your SIN SHALL NOT LORD IT over you, for YOU ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW, but under grace.” Rom 6:14
All who assent to the truth are not under the curse of the Law. Christ has been punished for their disobedience to it. He also obeyed it perfectly and the Father imputes that obedience to the assenter’s account.
Paul assumes the Romans knew they were not under the curse of the Law. Sin shall not torment you, for you are not under the curse of the Law! Christ has redeemed you from the Law!
“do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom YOU WERE SEALED to the day of redemption.”
Believers do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit because they know they are sealed by Him.
Presbyterians and
Reformed Baptists teach that Christians should look at their works in
order to know whether or not they are saved. They assume that someone
can do good works prior to having the knowledge of their salvation.
Their order is 1) do good works and 2) find out you are saved.But
how can someone even begin to love God if they don’t know He loves
them? Can someone even pray “Our Father” and cry “Abba, Father” unless
they know He is their father? Or can you walk “worthy as a child of
God” if you don’t know you are a child of God?Read the book of
Acts. Converts were IMMEDIATELY assured of their salvation. They based
their evidence of salvation on their belief in the truth, not on their
works. Then they loved God AFTER they believed, and knew they were
saved. “We love Him because He first loved us.” Believers love God
BECAUSE they know they are justified from all things.
Comments (11)
faith without works is dead faith. works without faith are dead works. we are saved by faith alone. but faith is not alone.
I’m certainly a reformed baptist that will NOT teach that you must look at your works. I dunno where you’re reading from, but last I read in Scripture it’s by GRACE. I’m sure if you talk to a true Reformed Baptist they’ll hold to the 5 Solas as well. Isn’t one of them Sola Gratia? SOLELY GRACE.
do i know you?
I noticed you subscribed. I noticed your a Calvinist. im an Arminian (did you see the paper i wrote up a few posts back?)
question #1 In your opinion, God chose you and the other elect before anyone was born, correct?
#2 assuming you are a five point calvinist, you believe in total depravity, correct?
#3 If God CHOSE you, does that not imply his decision is based on something?
If there are two, truely, fully fallen creatures, each with no good in him…What makes God choose one over the other? There can be no merit in either for his favor to fall upon one. It has to be completely and utterly random.
I for one, refuse to believe in a God who will “roll the dice” so to speak, with the fate of me, and every other human on the earth.
ludacris, i say. ludacris.
please prove me wrong.
in response to the beginning of your March 07 post…where did you get THAT from??? God paying the price for everyones sin, does NOT mean everyone embraces that. You can pay the price for someones lunch, but they can refuse to eat it. same thing here, Arminians believe we have to accept his sacrificial act.
you either didnt research, or dont care about the accuracy of your statements, so long as they make a strong point.
“Presbyterians and Reformed Baptists teach that Christians should look at their works in order to know whether or not they are saved. They assume that someone can do good works prior to having the knowledge of their salvation. Their order is 1) do good works and 2) find out you are saved.”
While I will agree that Presbyterians and Reformed Baptists would say that works are a fruit of salvation, I think you would be hard-pressed to find credible evidence which states that works are where we get “assurance” of salvation. I don’t think one can precede the other — they are inextricably intertwined. As we are sanctified, we grow in good works, and as we are growing in good works we simultaneously know that is God’s method of sanctifying us. Perhaps someone could do good works before knowing that one is saved… but I don’t think that a person with a true Reformed mindset would say that the good works in and of themselves are how one KNOWS that one is saved.
Unfortunately enough, some reformed writers have stated that, and I actually remember an elder at an old church of mine saying that. I don’t think all reformed writers believed that though.
Why people care about what those ‘reformed’ people think … God didn’t gave Bible to those chosen some … He gave you the wisdom and knowledge. He want a personal relaionship with you and want to talk to you in person. Come on people!
Why care about what the reformed people think? Because there would be no protestant churches without them! I’m not reformed, but I do respect their work for what it is. However, I do think they have remnants of catholicism in their writings and some of their views on the covenant and the end times.
I know lots of Arminians who have assurance of their faith, as well as fruits of the spirit — but it seems you think they’ll burn in hell for their views on predestination. If this is the case, how can you be assured by assurance of faith?
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