1 Corinthians 2:14 declares that unbelievers are unable know the Gospel and that it is foolishness to them.

Let’s test the Westminster Confession’s teaching by 1 Corinthians 2:14  (and while we’re at it, let’s look at the 1689 London Baptist Confession too — they’re exactly the same on the chapter on assurance).

Would a self-righteous natural man have any problems with the following…

II. …  infallible assurance of faith, [is] founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation,  the INWARD EVIDENCE OF THOSE GRACES unto which these promises are made, [and] the testimony of the Spirit of adoption

III. True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken … by falling into some special sin … yet are they never utterly destitute of that seed of God, and life of faith, that LOVE OF CHRIST and the brethren, that SINCERITY OF HEART and CONSCIENCE OF DUTY, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may in due time be revived. (All quotes in this article from Chapter 18).

So it’s your sincerity and obedience that determine whether or not you have assurance. As long as you don’t fall into “special sins” (by the way, did the Pope invent that phrase?)  you won’t lose your assurance. Oh sorry, don’t forget to have a sincere heart and be conscience of your duty too. God won’t bestow the reward of assurance upon you unless you’re sincere!

Again, what would a self-righteous natural man think of this teaching? Would it be foolishness to him? Hardly.

So the WCF/LBC says — “This certainty [of salvation] is … founded upon … the inward evidence of those graces … [that is] … sincerity of heart and conscience of duty”

The WCF/LBC say that the more humble you are, the more assured you can be of your salvation. And the more sincere you are, the more evidence you have that you are saved. Thus, the WCF gospel is a message of what God will become to you if you become humble enough. God will become your Savior (you will know you are saved by Him), if you reach a certain level in holiness. But God will be your enemy (you will NOT have the blessing of knowing He has saved you), if you fail to maintain a certain level of morality. “This certainty [of salvation] is … founded upon … the inward evidence of those graces … [that is] … sincerity of heart and conscience of duty” (All quotes in this article from Chapter 18).

The WCF is saying that those who are more righteous, will be more certain of their salvation. It’s teaching that you must first establish a righteousness of your own, before you can be sure that Christ’s righteousness is yours.  Now, this leaves another group of people. What about those who aren’t as righteous as authors of the WCF? These people “may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as, by negligence in preserving of it; by falling into some special sin, which wounds the conscience”. So less righteous people lose their assurance. Indeed, if only the had been a little more righteous, then they could have had “the certainty [of salvation] is … founded upon … the inward evidence of those graces  … [that is] … sincerity of heart and conscience of duty”.

This is the Presbyterian / Reformed Baptist gospel. Their gospel declares what God can be to you, if you attain a certain level of righteousness. He will become your Savior (you will know that you’re saved) and you can have “certainty” of salvation if you possess a certain amount of  “inward evidence of those graces … [that is] … sincerity of heart and conscience of duty.”

The WCF teaches that you must first establish a righteousness of your own, before you can be sure that Christ’s righteousness is yours.  You have to be a Pharisee, I suppose, before God will bless you with assurance.

However, if you act in “negligence in preserving of it [or] by fall into some special sin” then God will not be your Savior. No way. If you are not first good enough in your heart, then God cannot be your Savior (If you commit some special sin, then you cannot know you are saved, according to the WCF … Excuse me?? Special sins?? Are there mortal and venial sins too??).

So you must keep yourself from falling into any “special sins” otherwise God will not be your Savior.

If you are the chief of sinners, a wretched man or if your righteousness is filthy rags, then there is no way in the world God will be your Savior (says the WCF). God can only become your Savior when you attain to a certain level of morality (like the Pharisees did I suppose).   “the certainty [of salvation] is … founded upon … the inward evidence of those graces  … [that is] … sincerity of heart and conscience of duty”.

And then and only then — after you have established your own righteousness — can you be certain of your salvation. After you have “sincerity of heart and conscience of duty” — at that point, God can be your Savior. It is “sincerity of heart and conscience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, assurance may in due time be revived”. I repeat.

Now, ask yourself…

Is it just a coincidence that people who say works are necessary for assurance, have doubts about their salvation? They make their humility/sincerity and love the evidence to their own consciences that they are saved. And since their humility etc will fluctuate from day to day — their “evidence” of salvation shall fluctuate daily too. And as there sincerity goes up and down, so will their assurance.

Clearly, if we need to possess humility/sincerity in order to be assured, then our level of peace will be linked to our level of humility/sincerity.

Tim Vassy (UGA), on this point, actually admitted that the WCF view destroys assurance. He pointed out that if our assurance is based on our works, then that will cause us to doubt (we’ll wonder if we’ve done enough works). He wrote me,

“A man is forced to examine himself to see whether he is living the life of faith that he claims he should. He must examine himself inwardly to see if the Holy Spirit has truly changed him. It is only NATURAL to human experience that perhaps some DOUBT MIGHT BE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS.”

I ask Tim and everyone — do believers derive comfort from something other than the Gospel? Surely it is leading men away from the light of Christ’s work and to looking into the darkness of their hearts if you tell them that some quality IN them will prove to them they are saved.

You are using your works as your evidence of salvation to your own conscience. This is blatantly putting all your hope in something IN you and drawing your eyes away from the finished work of Christ.

And since when did the Holy Spirit witness to our spirits that we are humble enough? When did he start using the corrupt works of a man to comfort the man that he is saved? Does the Bible actually teach that the Spirit would use the sin-tainted works of us to convince us we are saved?

Clearly, the Holy Spirit witness to Christ’s work ALONE. He only uses the Finished Work of the Creator and not the works of the creature, as the ground of assurance in a believer’s conscience.

And when the Comforter comes … that One will witness CONCERNING ME. (John 15:26) “But when that One comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will GUIDE YOU into all TRUTH, for He will NOT SPEAK from HIMSELF, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will ANNOUNCE the coming things to you. That One will GLORIFY ME, for He will receive from Mine and will announce to you.” (John 16:13-14)

The fact is that the Holy Spirit NEVER uses a believer’s humility/sincerity to assure the believer he is saved. This would be like saying that the evidence to a man he is saved is his own human righteousness. Ask yourself. Are you looking at your own human righteousness as  the proof to your consciences that you are saved? Are you using a filthy-rag-righteousness to give you some hope that you actually have the Divine Righteousness imputed to you as well (Christ’s Righteousness on us. Are you being comforted solely by Christ’s Righteousness, or is it your sincerity/humility that is the ground of your hope?

And when the Comforter comes … that One will witness CONCERNING ME. (John 15:26)

The Spirit does NOT turn men from the glory of the Creator, to worship the creature. He doesn’t turn men to look at their own righteousness

It’s no wonder that natural men DO receive the gospel of the WCF. At the beginning of this article I noted that 1 Corinthians 2:14 declares that unbelievers are unable know the Gospel and that it is foolishness to them. And I challenged you to test the Westminster Confession’s teaching by 1 Cor 2:14. This verse says that the Gospel is foolishness to natural man. Now, is the WCF teaching that assurance is based on your works is foolishness to natural man? No! It’s perfectly OK with him to believe that God will help those that help themselves (that God will reward you will some assurance, after you become humble/sincere enough). This gospel is NOT foolishness to natural man. In everyday life, man by nature experiences a world of conditionalism (where he constantly must fulfill the requirements of others in order to gain approval). So he’s used to the idea of doing something first, before receiving a favor in return. Thus, plenty of unbelievers will have no problem at all with the WCF when it says that you must first establish a righteousness of your own, before you can be sure that Christ’s righteousness is yours. In everyday life, it’s fair and reasonable that you’ve “at least got to have a go first” before you go asking for help.

That’s the Gospel of natural men. But what about the Gospel from above, that natural man can’t understand? Let’s talk about that.

“But when that One comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will GUIDE YOU into all TRUTH, for He will NOT SPEAK from HIMSELF, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will ANNOUNCE the coming things to you. That One will GLORIFY ME, for He will receive from Mine and will announce to you.” (John 16:13-14)

Now, imagine a man turning up to a Presbyterian / Reformed Baptist Bible Study. The topic of the evening is “How do we know we’re saved”. It comes his turn to answer the question, and the man explains the one reason he knows he is a believer — by his belief. He says “I have been guided into the truth. The truth of Christ has been announced/manifested in my conscience, and I see that He alone is glorified in salvation. According to John 16, the Holy Spirit does NOT speak of His own works, He speaks only of Christ’s work. This means that NOTHING done IN me can assure me of my salvation. The Holy Spirit will not witness/testify to me about how I am sufficiently humble and sincere. No. He will not use my humility to comfort me, nor my sincerity to assure me that I am saved. That would be the Spirit speaking of Himself (the work he does in men). But since he testifies of Christ ALONE, and his sole function is to give men understanding — that means I must have been converted since I understand the True Gospel. And that’s something no natural man can do.”

Is this man presumptuous? Is having “peace and joy in believing” (Rom 15:13), presuming too much? Natural man certainly thinks so! I can imagine the responses at that Bible study, “Hey! Anyone can understand the truth — reprobates know the truth deep down and still go to hell!” “You better be careful! God requires a lot more of you than just understanding the truth! You got to actually do something before you can know you’re saved [in other words, establish a righteousness of your own, before you can know that you have Christ's]“.

Oh my, didn’t Christ lead the disciples astray then! He told them that faith is simply understanding the Gospel is true.

“The disciples said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables? And answering, He said to them, Because it has been given to you to KNOW the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to those. Because of this, I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, NOR DO THEY UNDERSTAND. And the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled on them, which says, “In hearing you will hear and in NO WAY UNDERSTAND, and seeing you will see YET IN NO WAY PERCEIVE”  For the heart of this people has grown fat, and they heard heavily with the ears, and they have closed their eyes, that they not see with the eyes, or hear with the ears, and UNDERSTAND with the heart, and be converted, and I heal them.” But your eyes are blessed because they see; and your ears because they hear.” (Matthew 13:10-16)

Come on guys, how is this presumptuous? The man who understands the Gospel is true, and thus concludes, “To me it has been given to KNOW the mysteries of the kingdom”. Is he presumptuous? No. It’s the person who establishes a righteousness of their own and then says “Aha! Clearly, I must be saved! Look at me! I’m humble and sincere, so God must love me!” Isn’t the man who says, my ” certainty of salvation is founded upon the inward evidence of those graces … that is … sincerity of heart and conscience of duty”.

Here’s something that irritates me, and I am wondering if it annoys you too.

I
mean all those books by the Puritans where they spend pages and pages
describing what it is like to be under the operations of the Holy
Spirit. Now, aren’t these Puritan writers implying that a man can be
under the operation of the Holy Spirit and not even know it? If not,
then why did Jonathan Edwards for example, spend 500 pages trying to
explain what true “spiritual experiences” are? Isn’t he implying that
the Holy Spirit cannot make a man know he is saved ? For example, if in
everyday life, someone wrote a book called “How to know you have
experienced childbirth”, they would be implying that childbirth is
something that can happen to you without you knowing it. So when
Edwards writes “how to know you have truly been converted”, isn’t he
implying that the Holy Spirit can’t properly cause that change of mind
to be obvious to the believer?

It seems Edwards in “Religious
Affections” has done the equivalent of writing a book about “How to
know you are standing in the light of the sun”. Because the only
operation of the Holy Spirit is to enlighten the mind. That is, to
furnish it with understanding of the words of God that are already
written.

“Because it is God who said, “Out of darkness Light
shall shine,” who shone in our hearts to give the brightness of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor 4:6)

Could
it be — that the reason Edwards spends 500 pages trying to describe
“how to know if you’re saved” is because he made faith dark and
mystical. You know how he says “faith is more than belief” and “faith
is more than intellectually understanding and believing the Gospel”.
Well, since he makes faith complex and mystical, no wonder it took him
500 pages to explain “how to know you’re having true spiritual
experiences from faith, and not experiences from a counterfeit”.

Since
he denied that conversion is simply a change of mind from falsehood to
truth, it took him 500 pages to explain how in the world you can know
you are converted. Because having the truth in you is useless (Edwards
says that you can have the truth in you but still go to hell), Edwards
is forced to explain how men should use their love/humility etc as
evidences of salvation. (Because the truth cannot be an evidence of
salvation, since unbelievers already have it according to Edwards, that
only leaves humility/love etc as evidences of salvation).

And
thus Edwards must show how we can be sure our love and humility is
genuine and not counterfeit. Since the Pharisees/Jews were sincere and
zealous, and yet lost (Rom 10:3), Edwards was posed with a dilemma. How
can the believer be sure that his sincerity and zealousness is not
counterfeit like the Jews was?

Can you ever be sure?

See how making sincerity/humility/love the “evidence” to a man that he is saved would cause the man to doubt?

On
the other hand, if you say that faith is simply “receiving the
testimony of God” (John 3:33), then you CANNOT doubt your salvation.
Because its impossible to believe the infallible testimony, and not
realize you’re a believer!

How often do you hear this …

My response: Hmmm…. Thanks for your comments guys. But the Bible defines a believer as someone with same assurance and confidence as the Apostles (2 Pet 1:1).

NASB:
Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who
have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of
our God and Savior, Jesus Christ

KJV: Simon Peter, a servant and
an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious
faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ:

Now, Doubting Calvinists say that believers today can
doubt their salvation. Yet, the Bible says believers have the same
assurance as the Apostles.

No offence, but this puts you guys in a sort of dilemma =) A catch-22.

Either you have to say…

1) We can doubt our salvation even though we have the faith of the Apostles. Because the Apostles also doubted their salvation.
…or…
2) We can doubt our salvation even though the Apostles did not. Because we don’t have the faith of the Apostles.

Point
1) goes against the whole New Testament, as the Apostles never doubted
their salvation. (Show me where the Apostles doubted! The disciples did
.. but that was before the Resurrection … see http://Godnoliar.com/john_the_baptist.htm ) The Aposltes NEVER doubted! You will not find a single example!

And Point 2) contradicts 2 Pet 1:1 which says believers have the faith of the Apostles.

OK! Hope that made sense…

I
wonder… do you guys say that 1) the Apostles doubted their salvation
and thus we can? Or, are you conceding that you think believers today
do NOT have the faith of the Apostles (since the Apostles did not
doubt, but “believers” today do)

OK… hope to hear your response to that! =)

Now, I want to point out a comment made by someone that I totally agree with. They wrote me,

My
comment: OK!! So we agree that Holy Spirit assures believers the Gospel
is true. And since the Gospel says “everyone believing is justified”,
the moment the Spirit convicts you of the Gospel, you are infallibly
assured of your salvation. You simply can’t believe the Gospel without
realizing you are justified, can you? Because God has eternally joined
together belief with justification =)

And there are some verses
of Scripture screaming out on this point. John 4:14 says that
“believers never thirst” because they have a “well of water springing
up in them unto everlasting life”. So the work of the Spirit is to
annihilate doubting so that believers never thirst for justification.

Maybe
you could also look at Hebrews 11:3. “By faith we understand the worlds
were framed by the Word of God.” So, it’s a man’s belief in the Gospel,
that proves to Him God exists. There’s no way we could know there is a
Just God and Savior who created the worlds, unless we understand
Christ’s person and work.

Now, a man’s belief in the Gospel not
only proves to the man that God exists. Paul also said we are to have
“peace and joy in believing” (Romans 15:13). So belief in the Gospel is
the way a man knows he is saved. (The way he has peace, joy and
assurance).

This means that understanding Gospel not only proves
1) that God exists, it also proves to me I am saved. So the evidence to
me that the Bible is the Word of God is the same evidence to me that
I’m saved. That is, the proof the Bible is the word of God is the
authority of God stamped in the Gospel. But the Gospel in me is also
the proof I am saved, so you I can’t call in question my salvation
without calling in question God’s authority itself !

Can you see
why John says “the one not believing God has called Him a liar” (1 Jn
5:10) ? Indeed, “this is the testimony — God has given US [believers]
everlasting life”. So anyone who doubts they are saved, doubts the
testimony, and calls God a liar.

Sobering stuff indeed!

Calvin was certainly Biblical when he said…

Indeed, that’s the “full” definition of faith (it’s how the Bible defines faith). The Bible says faith is understanding and certainty about the Gospel. It NEVER says that faith is certainty and *doubting* about the Gospel.

Yet Calvin and his followers actually do define faith as certainty and doubting !

He wrote,

Calvin admitted that “FIRM and SURE knowledge of the divine favor TOWARD US” is “scarcely consistent” with the experiences of most “believers”.

Logically it follows that most “believers” are in fact, unbelievers. Because if the Bible defines faith as a “FIRM and SURE knowledge of the divine favor TOWARD US”, then people who doubt their salvation must be unbelievers. They do NOT have a firm and sure knowledge of divine favor, do they?

Yet Calvin rejects logic and exhibits irrationalism.

Instead of concluding that 1) since faith is certainty, people who doubt do not have faith, he concluded that 2) because “believers” have been known to doubt, therefore faith is both certainty and doubting.

He wrote,

What?! Certainty mingled with doubt ?! You can be certain about the Gospel, yet doubt it?

Haha! Next thing they’ll tell us you can believe the Gospel and not believe it at the same time! But let’s hear the Scripture…

“For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, being driven by wind and being tossed; for DO NOT let that man SUPPOSE HE WILL RECEIVE ANYTHING from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in ALL his ways.” (Jam 1:6-8)

James says that someone who doubts is unstable about everything! Certain about NOTHING! Yet Calvin says “certainty is mingled with doubt”. This is ridiculous. And what I cannot understand, is how Calvin could also write,

He was commenting on 2 Corinthians 13:5, which says… “Know this not of your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you indeed be reprobates.” So Calvin said that all are reprobates who doubt their salvation. But wait a second  … “certainty is mingled with doubt”, right? So Paul must also condemn all those certain about their salvation (according to Calvin). Since, certainty always contains doubt, and Paul condemns doubters, then those with certainty about their salvation, must be condemned (according to Calvin).

See where Calvin’s confusion ends! In more and more confusion. The Scripture, on the other hand, has eternally separated doubt and certainty as opposite (as opposite as light and darkness).

“For truly I say to you,
If you have faith as a grain of mustard, you will say to this mountain,
Move from here to there! And it will move. And nothing shall be
impossible to you.” (Matt 17:20)

Therefore, the believer with the least amount of understanding (the absolute minimum) still has no doubts about what he knows and understands about his salvation. I can offer you one final decisive proof. The Apostle Peter only wrote to those who had the same faith as himself. So all believers have the same confidence and assurance the apostles had. Peter wrote, “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those that have obtained like precious faith with us” (2 Pet 1:1)

So if you cannot confess the same assurance the Apostles had, you do not have the “like precious faith”. Ask yourself. Can you say…

“… I am not ashamed, for I KNOW whom I have believed, and I AM PERSUADED that He is able to guard MY DEPOSIT until that Day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

“For the rest, the crown of righteousness is laid up FOR ME, which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me in that Day, and not only to
me, but also to all the ones loving His appearance.” (2 Timothy 4:8)

“For TO ME to live is Christ, and to die is gain. … For I am pressed together by the two: having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better … ” (Phil 1:21,23)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He according to His great mercy having regenerated US to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead …” (1 Pet 1:3)

“WE ARE OF GOD; the one knowing God hears us. Whoever is not of God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:6)

References
{1} Bk3, Ch2, Sec7 http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/calvin/bk3ch02.html#seven.htm

{2} Bk3, Ch2, Sec17 http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/calvin/bk3ch02.html#seventeen.htm

{3} Bk3, Ch2, Sec18 http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/calvin/bk3ch02.html#eighteen.htm

{4} http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/comment3/comm_vol40/htm/xix.ii.htm

AGNOSTIC: So you think I’m in a dangerous situation, do you?

DOUBTING CALVINIST: Yes, I do. And I’m praying that God will bring you out of it.

Agnostic:
OK, I admit that I know nothing about what is going to happen to me
after death. I may be happy. I may be miserable. I may be neither.
Indeed, to me it’s all a matter of doubt and uncertainty.

Doubting Calvinist: I pity you from the bottom of my heart.

Agnostic:
Of course, you must have a comfortable state of mind. You must be
triumphing in the hope of the glory that awaits you when you leave this
world.

Doubting Calvinist: Well … I think I have a good hope through grace … I do hope I shall be happy after death.

Agnostic:
Wait a second! It sounds like you are saying that you are not actually
confident respecting your destination after death. Do you mean to say
that you are not absolutely certain of being happy after death? It
seems that you have some doubts about your eternity!

Doubting
Calvinist: Well… I think that I have a well grounded hope. It seems
the Spirit has worked in me. But I can’t be presumptuous. It’s not
humble for a Christian to speak presumptuously about being elect.

Agnostic.
Can you please talk straight? Are you certain that you shall be happy
after death? Or are there some doubts in your mind?

Doubting
Calvinist: Well … I can’t say that I am absolutely certain. All I can
say is that if I persevere I will get to heaven.

Agnostic.
Then let us be friends! Or should i say “brother skeptics”! Why should
you and I quarrel about our views? From what you have just said, it’s
clear that there is barely a difference between our positions. It’s
really only semantics. I’m without religion and confess that I am
uncertain about my future. And you with your religion are also
uncertain about your future. We’re both uncertain about our future. Surely, if we are
both skeptical about our futures after death, we don’t have much to
disagree about!

(There is no difference between a Doubting Calvinist and an Agnostic)

Everything an unbeliever does is sinful, right? (Heb 11:6).

An
unbeliever’s “prayers”, “seeking”, “repentance” and “turning from sin”
– all these things are sin (Rom 10:14). In fact, all their feelings of
“remorse”, “regret”, “guilt”, “sorrow” must be sin. Any attempt to be
“humble” or “sincerely turn from sin”, is in fact sin. Because all the
unbeliever’s works are works of unbelief. If they try to be sincerely
“seeking salvation”, it’s because they don’t think Christ was sincere
enough. By “seeking faith in order to be saved”, an unbeliever shows
they think they are capable to “finishing off” what Christ “failed” to
do.

Scary, huh? Especially when you hear ministers (not of
Christ) telling unbelievers to pray. Because everything an unbeliever
does is sin, that means that praying will only serve to increase the
unbeliever’s sin (condemnation). In fact, every attempt by an
unbeliever to “stop sinning” only increases their condemnation.

Take
for example an unbeliever called John. Now, imagine a preacher told
John to “seek after faith” in order to be saved. And suppose John
follows the preacher’s advice and tries hard to stop sinning, he prays,
sings hymns, tries to be convicted by preaching, seeks to be around
church members. But remember, he’s doing all these things “in order to
be saved”.

In other words, the preacher has lead John to
believe salvation by works. Every work John does of “seeking salvation”
is actually an attempt to make himself better than other men (as if
just being better than other corrupt people is enough to make the
perfect God of the Bible pleased with you !).

In summary
1)
regarding unbelievers — all their “seeking”, all attempts to “stop
sinning”, to “prayer” and all feelings of “remorse” — all these things
are sin (Heb 11:6, Rom 14:23).

2) in fact, any attempt by an
unbeliever to “seek salvation” will only increase the damnation of an
unbeliever. For example, any attempt by an unbeliever to “humble”
himself and “seek faith” shows that this unbeliever thinks Christ’s
work was incomplete and insufficient. By thinking that humility is a
requirement for salvation, the unbeliever is showing he thinks
something is required of him ON TOP of the work of Christ. He might as
well say “Christ died in vain”.

3) popular preachers who tell
unbelievers to “become humble” and “seek faith”, are saying that Christ
didn’t do enough, and men need to add to the work of Christ in order to
be saved.

“whatever is not of faith is sin.” (Rom 14:23)

“without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11:6)

EXTRA — Discussion with Tad (a Calvinist from GA).

My response:

G’day Tad!

Thanks for your msg.

I assume we both agree
that an unbeliever’s prayer is sin? “Those in the flesh cannot please
God” (Rom 8:8). Prayers of unbelievers do not please God, because
unbelievers always pray “to the god of this world … who rules in
their hearts … their father is the devil” (John 8:44 etc).

So
when an unbeliever prays, he’s praying to the devil. If he prays “for
faith”, his prayer (by definition) is a work of unbelief. If he “seeks
to become spiritual”, then it logically follows that his seeking is a
lust of the flesh (since he admits he is not of the Spirit when he
“seeks” to become spiritual).

So you are telling unbelievers to
sin, right? Because an unbeliever’s pray = sin. In fact, you’re telling
unbelievers to pray to the devil. “The Gentiles sacrifice to devils”.
(1 Cor 10:20). In other words, when an unbeliever prays, he is always
praying to a devil (a god of his own mind).

The apostles on the other hand told men to pray “with faith, not
wavering” (James 1). They told men TO BELIEVE and commanded unbelievers
to obey the whole Law WITH FAITH. They did NOT tell men to “pray for
faith”, since a prayer for faith, must always (by definition) be a
prayer of unbelief.

You will never find them telling men *how*
to become a believer or how to be converted. That would be as
ridiculous as telling an animal how to become a believer! (Unbelievers
are “brute beasts”, Jude 1:10)

Oh… I forgot something.

Tad – Do you think prayer is a requirement in order to be saved?

If
no, then why do you tell unbelievers to pray BEFORE salvation? If
prayer is NOT required for salvation, then why should they bother?

I suspect you think prayer is a requirement for salvation….(That’s why you tell unbelievers to do it, in order to be saved)

A
preacher gets up in the pulpit and reads the parable of the sowers. He
reflects upon the context of this passage and he also talks about the
Jewish agricultural customs in Christ’s day. Then based on his
grammatical-historical analysis, the preacher concludes by listing what
he think the “soils” and “seed” might represent.

Did you notice something? The preacher never looked at Christ’s infallible interpretation of the parable.

And
what would you think of this preacher? Most people would accuse him of
“exalting himself above Christ”. This is true — the preacher is
ignoring Christ’s interpretation, and exalting his own methods and
ideas above Christ’s.

Now, think about the Psalms.

Why is it OK for preachers to interpret the PSALMS (without looking at Christ and the Apostle’s interpretation of the Psalms)?

Christ
and the Apostles applied at least 30 Psalms to Christ. So isn’t your
preacher “exalting himself above Christ” when he says a Psalm is
describing DAVID, when Christ said the Psalm was describing HIMSELF
ALONE?

Introducing…

The Psalms Challenge

“to prove that none of the Psalms are about David’s personal experiences”

http://psalms.pbwiki.com

P1

P2

P4

P6

P8

P9

P15

P16

P18

P19

P22

P24

P26

P27

P30

P31

P32

P34

P35

P38

P40

P41

P45

P47

P49

P51

P52

P55

P63

P65

P68

P69

P75

P78

P83

P88

P89

P91

P97

P102

P104

P106

P110

P112

P113

P117

P118

P119

P129

P132

P144

CS Lewis said the imprecatory Psalms are “diabolical”, “petty”, “vulgar”, “terrible” and “contemptible”.

 

 

He quoted Psalm 23:2, “You shall prepare a table for me against them that trouble me” and commented that –

“The poet’s enjoyment of his present prosperity would not be complete unless those horrid enemies (who used to look down their noses at him) were watching it all and hating it. THIS MAY NOT BE SO DIABOLICAL AS THE PASSAGES I HAVE QUOTED ABOVE; but the PETTINESS AND VULGARITY OF IT, especially in such surroundings, ARE HARD TO ENDURE. One way of dealing with these TERRIBLE or (dare we say?) COMTEMPTIBLE PSALMS is simply to leave them alone. But unfortunately the bad parts will not “come away clean”; they may, as we have noticed, be intertwined with the most exquisite things. {Reflections on the Psalms, 1961, p24}

My comment: Lewis assumed that the imprecatory Psalms are David’s own personal cursings. And thus, Lewis thought that the imprecatory Psalms were “diabolical”, “terrible” and “contemptible”. After all, the Scripture forbids men to curse. And since the imprecatory Psalms contain cursing, Lewis concluded that these Psalms are “un-Christian”.

Now, cursing is forbidden in the Scripture. Christ said WE can’t curse.

“Bless those cursing you and pray for those insulting you.” (Luke 6:28)
“But I say to you, Love your enemies; bless those cursing you, do well to those hating you; and pray for those abusing and persecuting you,” (Matt 5:44)

Sadly, Lewis did not see the other option (the imprecatory Psalms are actually Christ cursing his enemies, the reprobate)

Christ says, “But these HOSTILE to me, those not desiring me to reign over them, bring them here and EXECUTE THEM BEFORE ME.” (Luke 19:27)

And now read and see Christ in Psalm 83 when he says, “Let them be ashamed and afraid for ever; yea, let them be confounded and PERISH.” (Psa 83:17)

Also – notice the similarity between Psalm 69 and Christ speaking in Revelation 1.

“Blot them out from the Book of Life; yea, let them not be written with the righteous.” (Psa 69:28)

I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; … And I HAVE THE KEYS TO HELL, AND OF DEATH. (Rev 1:17-18)

Sadly, Lewis was blind to the close connection between Christ and the Psalms. And thus — thinking the imprecatory Psalms are David cusing other men — Lewis  said that the imprecatory Psalms are “terrible” and had been “hideously distorted by the human instrument”. He wrote,

“… At the outset I felt sure, and I feel sure still, that we must either try to explain them away or to yield for one moment to the idea that, because it comes in the Bible, all this vindictive hatred must somehow be good and pious. We must face both facts squarely. THE HATRED IS THERE — FESTERING, GLOATING, UNDISGUISED — AND WE SHOULD BE WICKED IF WE IN ANY WAY CONDONED OR APPROVED IT, or (worse still) used it to justify similar passions in ourselves. … For we can still see, in the worst of their maledictions, how these old poets were, in a sense, near to God. THOUGH HIDEOUSLY DISTORTED BY THE HUMAN INSTRUMENT something of the Divine voice can be heard in these passages … It even contains a streak of sanity … the ferocious parts of the Psalms serve as a reminder that there is in the world such a thing as wickedness … In that way, however DANGEROUS HUMAN DISTORTION MAY BE, HIS WORD sounds through these passages too. But can we, besides learning from these TERRIBLE PSALMS, also use them in our devotional life? I believe we can. {Reflections on the Psalms, 1961, p33}

But is it really David judging men in the Psalms? Or is it Christ? Notice in these four verses below, that Christ DOES JUDGE and DOES CURSE reprobates.

“For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, The one who HEARS MY WORD, and believes the One who has sent Me, has everlasting life, and DOES NOT COME INTO JUDGMENT, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24)

“Then He will also say to those on His left, Go away from Me, cursed ones, into the everlasting fire having been prepared for the Devil and his angels.” (Matt 25:41)

“And He will say, I tell you I do not know you, from where you are. “Stand back from Me all workers of unrighteousness!” (Luke 13:27)

Now, obviously Christ – who is speaking in Luke 13 – also spoke in Psalm 6.

“Depart from me, all workers of iniquity, for Jehovah has heard the voice of my weeping.” (Psa 6:8)

So the imprecatory Psalms are spoken by Christ, NOT David. This is the only way to reconcile that 1) Scripture prohibits men to curse and 2) the Psalms are full of cursings.

Sadly, Lewis never new saw the solution to the problem (of how the psalms can be filled with cursing, but cusing be banned) He saw this as“fatal confusion” and wrote,

“We need therefore by no means assume that the Psalmists are deceived or lying when they assert that, as against their particular enemies at some particular moment, they are completely in the right. THEIR VOICES while they say so may GRATE HARSHLY ON OUR EAR and suggest they are unamiable people. But of course the fatal confusion between being in the right and being righteous soon falls upon them. In Psalm 7, from which I have already quoted, we see the transition. In verses 3 to 5 the poet is merely in the right; by verse 8 he is saying “give sentence with me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the innocency that is in me.” There is also in many Psalms a STILL MORE FATAL CONFUSION — that between the desire for justice and the desire for revenge. These important topics will have to be treated separately. The self-righteous Psalms can be dealt with only at a much later stage; the vindictive Psalms, the cursing, we may turn to at once. It is these that have made the Psalter a closed book to many modern church-goers. Vicars, not unnaturally, are afraid to set before their congregations poems to full of passion to which OUR LORD’S TEACHING ALLOWS NO QUARTER. Yet there must be some Christian use to be made of them; if, at least, we still believe (as I do) that all Holy SCRIPTURE IS IN SOME SENSE — though not all parts of it in the same sense — the word of God.”  {Reflections on the Psalms, 1961, p22}

My comment: Lewis was consistent in his dislike for the apparently contradictory personalities of the Psalmists. He says that there is a “fatal confusion … between the desire for justice and the desire for revenge.”

But we avoid calling the Bible “confused”, when we recognise that Christ CAN and DID curse the reprobate in the Psalms.

“For we know Him who has said, “VENGEANCE BELONGS TO ME; I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” (Heb 10:30)

“And you should not fear the ones killing the body, but not being able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him being able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.” (Matt 10:28)

CONCLUSION

Lewis’ view that the imprecatory Psalms describe David’s cursing, caused Lewis to label these Psalms as “diabolical”, “petty”, “vulgar”, “terrible” and “contemptible”. It seemed “Un-Christian” for David to be cursing the children of other men to hell. In fact, Lewis considered this “fatal confusion”.

On the other hand, it is logical and consistent to say that the Psalms are about Christ alone. He CAN and WILL judge and curse the reprobate at Judgment Day, and this is described in the Psalms. “Kiss the Son lest he be angry” and curse you (Psalm 2).

More on this – http://psalms.pbwiki.com

John Piper: Do You Agree with him?

JP says that unbelievers must maintain a certain level of morality to preserve their “potential” of being saved,

 “When Is Saving Repentance Impossible? … there is a spiritual condition that makes repentance and salvation impossible … there is a situation where repentance and pressing on to maturity is impossible … The prospect exists that you and I who believe we are chosen and called and justified might slide into a slow process of indifference and hardening and eventually fall away and reject Christ and put him to an open shame. We may actually come to a point where there is no return, because we have been forsaken utterly by God … Oh, how it should put you on an urgent pursuit of mercy this morning!” {1}

Piper says that all unbelievers have the “potential” to be saved. However, if the unbeliever does not maintain some level of morality, then the unbeliever forfeits their ““potential”” to be saved. In other words, the only unbelievers that can be saved are the ones who have maintained a certain level of morality.

For example, if an unbeliever joins a church but then slides into a “slow process of indifference”, then they forfeit their “potential” to be saved. And if a person is not in an “urgent pursuit of mercy”, then they forfeit their “potential” to be saved. Piper would say that: God put the image of God in them – they had their “potential” – but they didn’t try to use the light they had in them.

Notice in the quote below – Piper talks about the “potential” for all unbelievers to be saved, as long as they maintain a certain level of morality –

“… we should feel a desire for the salvation of the unbelieving because they were made in the image of God and THEIR POTENTIAL TO LIVE FOR HIS GLORY IS THERE AS LONG AS THEY LIVE ON EARTH. It is a far greater tragedy when a person dies without Christ than when a dog dies without Christ. When a person dies without Christ, THE POTENTIAL of the image of God is gone forever. All the glory that could have been will never be. If they had only believed, they could have shone like the sun in the kingdom of God. And while they live, they may yet believe. And O how we should desire it! THAT THE IMAGE OF GOD MIGHT SHINE TO HIS GLORY!” {2}

So unbelievers have “the potential” to be saved – “they were made in the image of God and their potential to live for his glory is there as long as they live on earth”.

Indeed, an unbeliever having the image of God = the potential for that unbeliever to be saved (according to JP). That means that if all unbelievers did NOT have the image of God in them, then they could NOT all have the potential to be saved. However, since all unbelievers are in the image of God (according to Piper), he thinks that they all have the potential to be saved. Of course, they can only be saved if they maintain a certain level of morality. (If they fall below a certain level of morality, Piper says the unbeliever reaches a “spiritual condition that makes repentance and salvation impossible).

For example, Piper tells his congregation that if they commit certain sins, they will lose the opportunity of ever being saved.

“.. there is a hardening against God that goes over the line and can no longer repent.  … There are “sins,” “encumbrances” and “single meals” that we need to be renounce. I invite you to take a moment and seek God’s insight into what they are in your life. Write them on the leaflet of the worship folder, commit yourself to this renunciation, pray for God’s grace in a time of need, and symbolically drop them in the receptacle on your way out. … THE COMMANDS OF GOD ARE NOT GIVEN TO US SO THAT WE MIGHT GET GOD TO ACT FOR US. They are given to us so that we might trust that – even in our hardest times – God is already at work for us to accomplish the very things he commands us to do. I am designing to bring about your holiness in all your pain . . .” {3}

My comment: I suppose if they had not written on the “leaflet of the worship folder … and symbolically dropped them in the receptacle”, they would have been taking a step towards “the spiritual condition that makes salvation and repentance impossible.”  The act that kept them from the state where “repentance is impossible” is their abstinence from certain sins.

Clearly, this is salvation by works. The book of Romans says the Law was designed that “offence (sin) might abound”. And because sin abounded, that meant that Christ could come and obey the Law for his people – “by the obedience of One shall many be justified” (Rom 5:19).  So Christ imputes this righteousness to hiss people (and that’s the purpose of the Law – to condemn the elect, that Christ might do everything necessary to save them, without them lifting their finger).

But Piper turns the Law into a scheme whereby unbelievers who abstain from certain sins still have “the potential to be saved”. Whilst other unbelievers – who maintain a lower level of morality – reach a “spiritual condition that makes salvation and repentance impossible”. So, according to Piper, there are two groups of unbelievers – 1) those that still have the potential to be saved because they maintain a certain level of morality and 2) those that have lost “the potential” to be saved, because they feel below a certain level of morality.

Now, for the first group – the group that still have the potential to be saved – conversion for them, is when their “potential” is completed. Indeed, Piper says that unbelievers are already a bit “like God”, so conversion is “coming to yourself” (realising the “god” in you, I suppose?). Perhaps Piper’s next catchphrase will be “conversion is when you become a little more like God”.  He says,

“When you are alienated from God you are always alienated from yourself. … You were made by God in the image of God for God. These are the three main things about your identity as a human being; YOU ARE made by God, LIKE GOD, for God. Therefore CONVERSION IS “COMING TO YOURSELF” as well as coming to God.”{4}

ANOTHER IMPLICATION: Piper’s whole idea – that unbelievers already know God “deep down” even without the Bible – has serious implications. Because if God communicates with unbelievers outside of the Bible, wouldn’t God also do extra-biblical revelation with believers?

If Piper is right (and God puts his “voice” in unbelievers’ consciences), then wouldn’t God lead believers extra-biblically too? Yes, according to Piper, who writes,

“Right now I am praying for a friend who grew up in a Christian home …  but is now repudiating his faith and is actively pursuing the lust of the … I don’t know if this is temporary or not. I am still hopeful that it is temporary and so I am interceding for him. There may come a time, however, when the SPIRIT WILL DIRECT ME to use that energy in praying for someone else.” {5}

What ever happened to “Sola Scriptura”? You know, the teaching that the Holy Spirit does NOT communicate outside the Bible? How can someone say the Holy Spirit “directs them” outside the words of Scripture?

Surely, it is not a coincidence – Piper says that God communicates with unbelievers by means other than the Bible (apparently, God puts his “voice” in their conscience). And then Piper also says that God with “direct” him when to change his prayer schedule. So Piper holds the views that God communicates extra-biblically with 1) believers and 2) unbelievers. The two views stand or fall together.

It’s sad. Because Piper says that God’s truth is in both believers and unbelievers – he also says that the truth in the believer cannot give the believer comfort that he is saved. Indeed, the truth is a common, useless thing, according to Piper. (I say “useless”, because Piper says you can have the truth in you, and still not believe. Unbelievers can “suppress” the truth in them, according to Piper. In other words, God’s truth can be overpowered by the will of man, JP implies.)

And since the truth is a common, useless thing in Piper’s teaching, this forces him to make humility and love, the grounds of assurance of salvation. The truth cannot be the grounds of assurance of salvation, since unbelievers already have it in them. Therefore the assurance of salvation must be based on your humility and love.

Piper writes,
==== “The evidence that the Holy Spirit presents to our own spirits and to the community is first of all the EVIDENCE OF LOVE. The Spirit puts within us a HUMBLE HEART of love and so gives EVIDENCE of his presence and power…. === {6}

=== Assurance will diminish in the presence of concealed sin…We must often wait patiently for the return of assurance.” === {7}

Is it any wonder that Piper’s assurance is “diminished” when he sins grievously?

Notice from the quote above that he is basing his assurance on his humility and love. It’s his “humble heart” that proves to him he is saved. This means that when he sins grievously — for example, showing a lack of humility — his “proof” has disappeared, and he loses his assurance. In other words, Piper has made his assurance dependent on his works, and will have doubts about his salvation whenever he realises how far his works fall short of God’s Law.

There is a major problem with basing our assurance on our works. If we have to base our assurance on our works, the more we come to understand the Bible, the less assurance we will have. How ironic!! Because the more we understand the demands of God’s law, the more we will see how far short we fall of it. And if we are basing our assurance on our works, we will LOSE OUR ASSURANCE as we see more and more how much our works fail to meet the requirements of the Law.

Don’t get me wrong. It is true that all believers experience love and humility. However, these are not the basis of assurance. In fact, believer obeys God of THANKS and gratitude. They obey because they already know God saved them! And HOW do they know he has saved them? Because they believe the facts of the Gospel. Indeed, if belief is sufficient proof we are saved, and believers are sealed at all times as believers, then we will never doubt our salvation. The belief in the Gospel will always prove to us we are saved.

Or was Paul wrong when he said in Colossians 2:2 that they should be COMFORTED because they UNDERSTOOD? Aren’t we to base the evidence our salvation on our belief of the truth? The Apostle also said to the Roman believers, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace IN BELIEVING” Rom 15:13. Why did the Romans have peace and joy? How did they know they were saved? What evidence proved to them, they were saved? It was their belief of the truth!! They were to have their peace and joy “IN BELIEVING”. Paul says NOTHING about finding their peace and joy in their good works.  And to the Hebrews, he said, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance OF FAITH, our hearts having been sprinkled from an evil conscience” Heb 10:22. Why were Hebrews to draw near to God? Was it because they looked at their works? No!!! The reason they knew they were saved was by their BELIEF. They were assured because of their FAITH.

We are at a crossroads. Shall we follow Piper down a road that destroys assurance of salvation? He is teaching that…

1) The lost can believe the Gospel
2) Belief in the Gospel cannot prove to us we are saved
3) So we must base the evidence of salvation on our works

Now, is it any coincidence that Piper has doubted his salvation in the past?

On the other hand, there is an alternative view to Piper which says

1) The lost possess no knowledge of God (they hear but do not believe)
2) Therefore, belief of the truth proves to the believer he is saved
3) Thus, the believer loves God out of thanks and gratitude, knowing even before he does his good works, that God has saved him.

This is the only view that guarantees the assurance of salvation that the Bible says all believers have. The Scripture says that believers are “not being moved away from the hope” and are “holding fast the boldness”. In fact they have assurance “from the beginning to the end”. Their belief proves to them at all times that they are saved.

“But Christ as Son over His house, whose house we are, IF TRULY WE HOLD FAST THE BOLDNESS and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” Heb 3:6. “For we have become partakers of Christ, if truly we hold the BEGINNING OF THE ASSURANCE FIRM TO THE END” Heb 3:14  “he reconciled [you] … if indeed you continue in the faith GROUNDED and SETTLED and not being moved away from the HOPE of the gospel” (Col 1:21-23)

And John 3:33 says that people who receive the testimony of God have “set to their seal that God is true”.

So if belief is sufficient proof we are saved, and believers are sealed at all times as believers, then we will never doubt our salvation. The belief in the Gospel will always prove to us we are saved.

Remember, the unregenerate possess no knowledge of God (they hear but do not believe), so if you believe the Gospel, it is IMPOSSIBLE for you be a lost person.

Isaiah 1:3 and Jeremiah 8:7 says that animals have more recognition of their environment, than the unregenerate do about God. Deep down, the unregenerate do NOT believe in the True God. They say in their hearts, “there is no God”, that is, they do not believe in the Just God and Savior. Also, the Galatians were “not knowing God” but after their conversion were “knowing God”. Can a man go from knowing nothing about God at one point in time — then when he realises who the True God is — can he doubt he has been converted? Surely, you could never doubt you have been converted, after having such a radical change of mind !

Can somebody standing in broad sunlight doubt they are in the light? 2 Corinthians 4:6 says the light of Christ shines into the believer’s heart. So a believer can never doubt his salvation, since you cannot be in the light and not know it. Doesn’t Hebrews 3:4-14 say that all believers “HOLD FAST THE BOLDNESS and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end” and that they “hold the BEGINNING OF THE ASSURANCE FIRM TO THE END” ?

If you cannot perceive Christ in your mind, you are not saved (2 Cor 13:5). After all, believers never thirst for everlasting life (John 4:14). Think about it. If a believer doubted their salvation, they would be thirsting for salvation. But Christ said believers NEVER thirst, so believers never doubt their salvation. Moreover, all believers have EQUALLY PRECIOUS FAITH WITH THE APOSTLES (2 Pet 1:1). Since the Apostles never doubted, neither will believers today. Anyone who doubts is “unstable in ALL his ways”, and “cannot expect anything from God” (Jam 1:6-8). If you doubt God’s promise you are calling God a liar (1 John 5:10).

CONCLUSION

We need a clear definition of what faith is. To say that faith in Christ is having the words of the Gospel abiding and believed in your mind is easy to understand.   Again such a definition makes it easy for believer to know that they have faith. They simply examine whether or not they believe the facts of the Gospel. (By the way the Bible does define faith this way in Hebrews 11:3 faith is simply assurance / a conviction, in 1 John 5:10 it is receiving the testimony of God, in John 3:33 it is being certain what God says is true, in John 17:3 it is having the knowledge of God and Christ, in 2 John 9 it is having the doctrine of Christ, in John 8:32 it is having the knowledge of the truth, in 1 John 5:20 it is hearing and believing the Gospel)

If we held to this view, we would always be infallibly assured of our salvation. Because we would think “I believe the words of Christ, therefore I am hearing Christ, and I am a believer.”

Our belief in the facts of the Gospel would prove to us we are saved! And we would never doubt we are saved, because since we believe at all times, the proof would always be there.

Note — For the definition of the Gospel — http://Godnoliar.com/gospel.htm

And — Does 1 John teach assurance by works — http://Godnoliar.com/1john.htm

Check out the Psalms Project too — http://psalms.pbwiki.com

References

{1} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1996/971_When_Is_Saving_Repentance_Impossible/
{2} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1986/473_My_Hearts_Desire_That_They_Might_Be_Saved/
{3} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1996/970_Let_Us_Press_On_To_Maturity/
{4} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1995/921_Coming_to_Yourself_and_Coming_to_The_Father/
{5} http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1985/494_Our_Father_Hears_Us/
{6} www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1985/488_Test_the_Spirits_to_See_Whether_They_are_of_God/
{7} www.desiringgod.org/…/TasteAndSee/ByDate/
1999/1134_Helping_People_Have_the_Assurance_of_Salvation/