The Certainty of Salvation

I think one of the most interesting ways of studying church history this by focusing our attention on the people we think immediately of the role was played by this Augustinian monk from Wittenberg, Martin Luther and you don't get more of a real person in Martin Luther to understand. Luther have to understand this enormous burden of guilt on him in the monastery. He would say you asked me do I love God, love God. Sometimes I hate, and it wasn't until he realized the power of the gospel the righteousness that God demands is not a righteousness that I produce that is alien to me and that alien righteousness comes to me solely and exclusively because of what Christ has done the legacy of Luther, edited by RC Sproul and Stephen J.

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The evangelists will say come forward make a decision for Christ and you will be born again.

Whereas Jesus says that unless your firstborn again, you'll never come that it's rebirth. That is the necessary condition for ever having the ability to come in John chapter 15 Jesus says you did not choose me, but I chose you. The common explanation of salvation today is the we must choose to follow Christ. So which is it does God sovereignly make that centers alive were we make the choice ourselves. We continue our study of predestination today as will discover the common methods of modern evangelism are entirely inadequate in the 17th century controversy arose over doctrines related to the concept of predestination and a group of people who were members of the Dutch Reformed Church who were called rim Armstrong's because they protested or remonstrated against the reformed doctrine of predestination created this controversy that was finally settled at the Synod of Dordrecht but out of that controversy came what is known as the five points of Calvinism, because the five points of contention among the theologians of that day were summarized later on by the famous acrostic tulip and I'm not going to get into the five points here today but just remind you of the five points abbreviated by the letters TULIP and maybe I'll play tiny Tim here for a little while and to go through the tulips, but but I'm concerned about. For the moment is the you in tulip, which stands for Latin conditional election again what was in view here was the controversy that we've been talking about in this series on the debate between the classic Augustinian view of predestination and the Presley in view of predestination and again I'll define that the pressing view of predestination is that view that says that God looks down through the corridor of time and knows in advance who will positively respond to the gospel and embrace Christ and on the basis of that advanced knowledge God then chooses those whom he knows will respond to the gospel for salvation. In other words, God only collects those who meet the condition for salvation, namely faith, so that view of election could be called conditional election, as distinguished from the historic Augustinian view which is unconditional. That is, that God without foreseeing any particular conditions that are met by us sovereignly and eternally chooses us unto salvation. That doesn't mean that there aren't any conditions for salvation. There are conditions you have to have faith in order to be justified but unconditional election means that God unconditionally chooses to provide or create within the elect. The faith that meets the necessary condition for salvation not heard to metaphors by prominent evangelists who want to steer a careful course between two dangerous concepts. They don't want to teach that man saves himself, nor do they want to say that salvation is totally of God. They want to avoid those two poles in their thinking, and so the two images are metaphors that I've heard frequently are these first of all that is said by the evangelists that God does 99% of the work in salvation but we have to do that 1% which 1% is absolutely decisive for our salvation, and the two metaphors that are used are these. One is that of a drowning person, the person can't swim pennies in over his head and he is ignoring under for the third time and even his head is submerged below the waves and the only thing that is still left above the surface of the water is his hand and he cannot possibly save himself from drowning unless God throws him a life preserver and God throws that life preserver exactly where the man needs to have it thrown right up against his hand. So God has done everything that God can do to save that drowning man but at the last second, that man must either grab a hold of the life preserver or let it pass by. He must take his fingers and grip it or he will sink to the bottom of the sea, but man still has this power for moral strength left within himself to either grab hold or not gravel.

The other metaphor that I've heard use frequently is out of a dying person who has an incurable disease, a fatal disease and is in its last stages, and the person is almost comatose.

There in the bed and God comes into the room with high medicine, which is the only possible medicine to save this man from dying and God pours the medicine on the spoon and reaches the spoon to the dying man's lips and all the person has to do is open their lips and receive this medicine that will restore them to fullness of health, but that person has the power to either keep their lips clenched tightly shut or open their mouth to receive the medicine and again the idea is God does 99% with his grace, and without that grace, there is no hope of salvation, but that one percent that is left to man's ability is the pivotal and decisive factor. Now the reason why I say this differs dramatically from the classical Augustinian view and one of the reasons why Augustine taught that election or predestination is unconditional is because prior to treating the doctrine of predestination. Augustine was very much concerned with studying the biblical view of the fall of man and probing the depths of that fall, to what degree have we been corrupted in our human nature, and Augustine came to the conclusion that the fall of mankind is so great that even though we still are able to make choices. Nevertheless, all of our choices proceed from a heart that is gripped in bondage to sin so that we are in a state of moral inability from the idea that Augustine taught was this that the center has no inclination or desire within his heart for the things of God unless God first changes his soul changes the disposition of his heart through the supernatural work of regeneration in the course. Augustine also taught that all of those whom the Holy Spirit regenerates come to faith, and that this regeneration affects what it was designed to affect and unless a person is regenerate. They if left to themselves will never incline themselves to the things of God.

And so if the center is destitute of regeneration that center will never willingly embrace Christ. And so the whole point of God's work of regeneration is that God not only designs the ends of salvation, but he also ordains the means to bring about salvation in people's lives that God sovereignly determines to click into spiritual life those whom he has chosen, and all who are so quickened, the faith that is again God supplies the condition that is necessary for the center to respond now. I've often use this simple illustration with people. As I mentioned in passing, recently when we get through all of the abstractions of debate about election. I'll say to a person you are a believer and you know people who are your friends who are not believers, and I want to know simply why it is that you have responded positively to the gospel and your friends have not, what did you do to fulfill this 1%. Why did you open your lips to receive the medicine. Why did you grab the life preserver. I just had a conversation recently with a fellow along these same lines before the full answer the questions I asked him this I said didn't you respond to the gospel because you were more righteous than your friends who have not nano that was in it I said was it because you were more intelligent than your friends who said no course of the said yes that I were to say where did you get the intelligence but he began to feel the weight of those questions and he realized what I was driving at. And he's just sort of danced around a little bit and finally said well I just understood my need better than the other people possible.

Why did you understand your need is it because you're more humble than that other person.

Finally he he finally said yes and I symbolism that her virtue and he finally said yes and in the bottom line. This fellow really did believe that he had done something righteous that his friends had not. He had made the right response. The righteous response and where his other friends had given and unrighteous response addressable then I guess you have something of which to boast, which boasting, however, the New Testament clearly excludes the New Testament teaches that the work of salvation is utterly gracious and that it is accomplished by the sovereign grace of God. Now one of the most controversial text about this.

We looked at in passing earlier on in another series that I will return your attention to it where we read in the sixth chapter of the book of St. John. Jesus makes this comment he said no man can come to me unless it is given to him by the father and I labored this text before and I want to do it again and let's tear apart no man.

He begins by saying, and what we have here in this phraseology is what we call in the science of logic, a proposition that is defined as a universal negative proposition.

It says something negative about all people, so no man that's an absolute, universal, no person, and then the next word is the most crucial word can come. Jesus doesn't say that no man does, no man will come.

He says no man can come now. The word can you recall is a word that describes not permission, but ability. Remember when you were in school. When you raise your hand and said to the teacher teacher can I sharpen my pencil and every teacher in America answers that question the same way. I'm sure that you can. The question is may you and the teachers labor to explain to us the difference between the words may and can may his permission can has to do with ability and so here in this text. Jesus says there's something that nobody has the power or the ability to do what is it no man can come to the scene with the pressing view when we really analyze it deeply and carefully comes down to. In most cases is an abbreviated aborted view of the fall, it still looks at fallen man as having what I call an island of righteousness left in his soul, which island of righteousness can be exerted and can manifest the ability to calm to Christ without being regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Again, the evangelists will say come forward receive Christ choose Christ make a decision for Christ and you will be born again.

Whereas Jesus says that unless your firstborn again, you'll never come that it's rebirth. That is the necessary condition. The prerequisite for ever having the ability to come. Jesus says no man can come to me unless it is given to him by the father and we see this again in the second chapter of Ephesians in the first verse of Ephesians chapter 2 where Paul writes these words and you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the year, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others but God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in sin and trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And in verse eight for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. This is the chapter that immediately follows Paul's introduction of the concept of predestination in chapter 1, and now he's laboring the point that God quickens people how they are still dead spiritually while they are still dead in sin and trespasses. That's why I'm not happy with the metaphors that I hear so often in evangelism. The idea of the drowning man that drowning man, no matter how desperate his situation is as he's about the same for the third time and only his fingers are above the ways is still alive. That's not the metaphor of Scripture, the metaphor Scripture is that that man is already drowned. He is at the bottom of the ocean. He's stone cold dead and what I read in the New Testament is that God the Holy Spirit dives to the bottom of the sea.

That dead person from the bottom of the sea and breeze into that man life so that he awakens and then can grab any life preserver. That's handy and likewise the dying man in the hospital who has to open his mouth to receive the medicine if you took that medicine to the coroner's office to the morgue and offered that medicine to a corpse that would be an exercise in futility. No corpse can open its mouth to receive the healing medicine in the biblical view is that that person is not just desperately ill critically ill. He has eight and only God can make him alive. See my problem with the foreknowledge of pressing view of election is this is that it has God looking down through the corridor of history at dead people who respond in spiritual life and I asked this question. If God looked at people who were dead in sin and looked as long as he wanted to how many would he find responding positively to the gospel he would have no one to elect no one to predestinate because he would see all of them perishing in their unbelief. Jesus said to Nicodemus unless a man is born of the spirit can even see the kingdom of God, let alone enter the kingdom of God.

Again we turn your attention to chapter 6 of John's Gospel, where in verse 61 we read this when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples complained, he said to them, does this offend you. What then if you see the Son of Man ascendant where he was before. It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing than verse 65. Therefore I have said to no one can come to me unless it is been granted to him by my father Luther in his debate with Erasmus excited this text were Jesus as he had said to Nicodemus that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and fallen people who are unregenerate are only in the flesh. And Jesus says the flesh profits nothing. Luther said that nothing is not a little something it is not a 1% the grace of our salvation is hundred percent God's all the more reason that we should look upon her salvation with humility and gratitude.

What a powerful message from Dr. RC Sproul on this important doctrine of election. This is our focus all week here on Renewing Your Mind and is RC said today.

This is one of those issues that is cause a great deal of controversy in the church.

Therefore it's important for us to understand the biblical roots of this doctrine. This series is a helpful place to begin.

You can request all 10 messages on four CDs. Just give a donation of any amount to ligature ministries and will be glad to send it your way. Thanksgiving is tomorrow so many of our team members are away for the upcoming holiday weekend. Our telephones are closed but though you can still make a request online by going to Renewing Your Mind.org. The doctrine of election, requires us to think biblically. If you like to continue your study of this doctrine.

Let me recommend litigators monthly magazine table talk every issue contains articles by trusted pastors and theologians plus daily guided Bible studies were offering a three month trial subscription. If you've never subscribed before you can find out more at tri-table talk.com before we go today. RC has a final thought for us on the doctrine of predestination. I've often said if the Bible never mentioned the word predestination were never mentioned the word election. I think we would be driven to conclude that concept simply from the London references that we find in the Scriptures about the state of our moral condition. Apart from saving grace apart from regeneration and I think the biggest obstacle that we have the biggest hurdle that we have to get over before we are ready to assign the fullness of grace to our salvation is that hurdle of thinking that we really do have an island of righteousness left in our soul unaffected by the fall, unpolluted by sin, so that were not really dead in sin and trespasses were only sick in sin and trespasses, but we still have the capacity to revive ourselves. Once we hear the gospel. I don't think we understand the sinfulness of sin or the graciousness of grace and that's what we have to understand if were ever going to be able to get over these hurdles.

We will continue our study tomorrow, and I were going to focus on a question that inevitably comes up. It is a concept called double predestination. If God elects some to salvation is that mean he elects everyone else to damnation.

We hope you'll join us tomorrow is RC answers the question here on Renewing Your Mind