“A man is not saved because he believes in Christ; he believes in Christ because he is saved.”
- Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Philadelphia, PA: P&R Publishing, 1965), 101.
Taken from http://firstimportance.org/
Friends, that is Hyper Calvinism! That is Hardshellism! Such a doctrine is harmful to evangelism. To preach this stuff gives "Calvinism" a bad name.
7 comments:
"A man is saved because he believes in Christ; he is saved because he believes in Christ."
Friend, that is rank Arminianism or Amyraldism! That is good for altar calls and decisional regeneration. To preach that stuff gives Christianity a bad name!
Charles
Dear Watching:
Where is that verse that says men believe because they are already saved?
God bless,
Stephen
Stephen
I feel honored that a master of theology would inquire of me. If by "saved" you mean glorification then scripture is plain that belief precedes salvation. If you mean the ongoing work of sanctification then clearly belief precedes the accomplishment of holy living in sanctification.
If by "saved" you mean regeneration/sanctification then clearly the new birth precedes belief. Otherwise how could belief exist in a dead state of trespasses and sin? Eph 2:1 An awakening precedes sitting together with other believers. Eph 2:6
In John 3:3 The new birth precedes seeing and entering the kingdom.
In Acts 2:37,38 Being born again, pricked in heart, preceded repentance and baptism. If belief preceded the new birth then being "saved" would be the result of repentance and baptism. Clearly repentance and baptism is the result of being saved.
In Rom 8:28-34 salvation originates in the mind of God and not the mind of man. There is no work of righteousness on man's part that initiates the new birth. One moment you are dead and lifeless and the next you are alive repenting of your sin and well on the way to receiving remission of sins in the name of Jesus.
How in the world could Arminians get the ideal of belief preceding regeneration?
Dear WH:
Can we do without the sarcasm?
No actual salvation takes place before faith. Election yes. Preparations and drawings, yes. But, regeneration is not a completed work till the heart has gone from unbelief to belief.
You are Pelagianism in your second paragraph. Do you not believe God commands all men to believe? Do you not also believe that none have that power? Well, why is it any different for him to command the dead to hear?
If you look at the context of Ephesians chapters one and two, you will see that Paul is describing the conversion experience of the Ephesians. He does not say they were regenerated in order to be converted but identifies their conversion as the very coming to life. Again, read the context.
About John 3: 3, I will save addressing that because it is a passage I will be looking at in my next chapter on "Hardshell Proof Texts" (to be published in the next couple days). But, certainly we must be first regenerated in order to "see" and "enter" the kingdom, but this does not equate to saying, "one must be regenerated in order to be converted."
I will also be addressing your Hyperist views on the Acts passage. It is the view I heard regularly while with the Hardshells. This will also be in an upcoming chapter. But, you are wrong to think these convicted sinners were born again before they believed and repented.
Who denies that salvation originates in the mind of God, or that only he can initiate or complete salvation? Don't fight "straw men."
In your definition of the spriritual "life" given in "regeneration," you exclude repentance and pardon of sins! Good Lord! A regenerated spiritually alive unbeliever who is still in sin!
Brother, belief is a vital component OF regeneration, not something distinct from it!
Your "regenerated" man has an unbelieving and impenitent heart, if it is something not a part of the new life.
God bless,
Stephen
Just out of couriosity, who are the hypers that you are concerned about? How are the hardshells, since they are very few in number, a threat to Christianity? What impact have they had to the lack of evangelism...or proper evangelism?
I told my SBC pastor that I had a preference to John Ryland Sr over William Carey. (he had praised Carey's labors for 7 years without a convert in last Sunday's sermon) I went forward afterwards and ask "have you ever wondered how many souls Ryland baptized in that seven year period?" His answer was, "who is Ryland?" I explained to him that Carey had erred in not listening to Ryland and went out to India without the Holy Spirit. It took him seven years to stumble on the right means to win the heathern. The Holy Spirit could have helped him in the first few days. But since Carey didn't depend on the Spirit we will never know.
The look on his face and his laughter at me indicated that he had never encountered a hyper.
In my foolish boldness I told him I evangelized more than he does. He knew that to be true.
He shook my hand and said we are still friends!
Dear WH:
If you can't see the answer to your question from all my writings, then I can't help you.
Anyone who divorces faith from the new birth is a Hyper Calvinist.
The Hardshells are simply more "hyper" than others.
God bless
Stephen
"Anyone who divorces faith from the new birth is a Hyper Calvinist."
Stephen, where did that come from?
Who divorces faith from the new birth? obviously this is a one-sided blog and only what you approve of is posted, but is it fair to make a statement like that? I am certain that my comment will not be posted... your blog.
I could ask who divorces grace from the new birth?
Who substitutes blood atonement for works in the new birth?
I can't speak for the "hypers", if there are any, which I don't think exist. I am not sure If I am one or not but for certain I have not divorced faith from the new birth just because I insist that regeneration precedes faith.
Faith is a gift from God and without it it is impossible to be born again. I'm born to believe. I don't believe inorder to be born.
Post a Comment