Subject: What exactly must a person to be saved? |
Bible Note: "Read about the teaching of what is called election. Then you will see the truth." As anyone who has been on this Forum for any length of time, I adhere to the Reformation teaching on election. And the antinomianism you are espousing ain't it. Let me quote a few things that those who hold to election have written: "Question 76: What is repentance unto life? Answer: Repentance unto life is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby, out of the sight and sense, not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, and upon the apprehension of God's mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, he so grieves for and hates his sins, as that he turns from them all to God, purposing and endeavoring constantly to walk with him in all the ways of new obedience." --Westminster Larger Catechism "If the Bible be true, it is certain that unless we are 'sanctified,' we shall not be saved. There are three things which, according to the Bible, are absolutely necessary to the salvation of every man and woman in Christendom. These three are, justification, regeneration, and sanctification. All three meet in every child of God: he is both born again, and justified, and sanctified. He that lacks any one of these three things is not a true Christian in the sight of God, and dying in that condition will not be found in heaven and glorified in the last day. "It is a subject which is peculiarly seasonable in the present day [which for the author was the latter 19th century]. Strange doctrines have risen up of late upon the whole subject of sanctification. Some appear to confound it with justification. Others fritter it away to nothing, under the pretence of zeal for free grace, and practically neglect it altogether. Others are so much afraid of "works" being made a part of justification, that they can hardly find any place at all for "works" in their religion...In a day like this, a calm examination of the subject, as a great leading doctrine of the Gospel, may be of great use to our souls." --J.C. Ryle, _Holiness_ 'If there be a man that can misuse the dignity of grace which Christ has given him, and pervert that into an argument for licentiousness, he is not to be found among us. He must be something less than man, fallen though man be, who would infer, from the fact that he has become a Son of God by God's free grace, that therefore he ought to live like a son of the devil; or, who should say, "Because God has ordained me to be holy, therefore I will be unholy." That were the strangest, oddest, most perverted, most abominable reasoning that ever could be used. I do not believe there is a creature living that could be capable of using it.' --Charles Spurgeon "God wants us to walk in obedience, not in victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self. This may seem to be merely splitting hairs over semantics, but there is a subtle, self-centered attitude at the root of many of our difficulties with sin. Until we face this attitude and deal with it, we will not consistently walk in holiness." --Jerry Bridges, _The Pursuit of Holiness_ "The test of whether our faith is the kind of faith that justifies is whether it is the kind of faith that sanctifies." --John Piper So which one of the people above, all well-known believers in the doctrine of election, agrees with your anti-works theology? None, because it is incompatible. We were chosen for more than just a trip to heaven; we were chosen to glorify God in obedience to him. Read Hebrews 11 and try telling me that faith and works have nothing to do with each other. --Joe! |