8/06/2022 Wednesday
BIBLE BASICS
Review of Salvation Introduction
What does the word “Salvation” actually mean?
Deliverance
What is the Gospel?
The Good News that Christ died, was buried and rose again to save us.
Name a false hope of salvation.
10 Commandments, good, religious, baptised, confirmed, sincere, love
What are the three essential elements of receiving salvation?
Conviction, Repentance, Conversion
What is “repentance”?
A change of mind and heart
What is “conversion”?
Turning to God
Salvation & Election
What is a biblical understanding of election?
God’s Sovereignty
▰ God is sovereign.
▻ This means He is superior to all other beings.
▻ As Creator of all, He may do as He pleases.
▻ He knows all things and is unlimited in power.
▰ Sometimes we cannot grasp all that God does.
Election
▰ The Bible speaks of God’s elect. The word elect means picked out or chosen. God chose a people for Himself.
▰ The Bible also clearly speaks of man’s responsibility. God created man with the ability to choose right or wrong. Man must choose to believe the
Gospel or face God’s vengeance (2Th 1:8). “Whosoever will” may come to God for salvation (Rom 10:13).
▰ Because God’s election and man’s responsibility appear to conflict, election is a difficult topic and Christians differ on its nature.
Calvinism
▰ On the one hand, there are a growing number of Christians who place an extreme emphasis on God’s sovereign election and reject man’s
responsibility.
▰ They call themselves Calvinists because, years ago, a man named John Calvin popularised this idea.
▰ They believe that God picked individuals to go to heaven and left the others to go to hell.
▰ To be fair, we must admit that not all Calvinists believe all the points of Calvinism, but we find none of their beliefs to be wholly biblical.
T.U.L.I.P. describes Calvinist beliefs
▰ T = Total Depravity (Man is totally corrupted by sin to the point that he cannot even choose repent and believe. He has no personal choice.)
▰ U = Unconditional Election (God chose individuals to go to heaven and left the others to go to hell. Man has no choice.)
▰ L = Limited Atonement (Christ only died for those whom God elected.)
▰ I = Irresistible Grace (The elect cannot reject God’s saving grace.)
▰ P = Perseverance of the Saints (The elect person is eternally secure. However, he must persevere as a godly saint until death to be sure he is truly elect.)
Arminianism
▰ Those who hold an extreme opposite position on election call themselves Arminians. They emphasise human effort.
▰ They believe that God created man with the ability to accept or reject God’s salvation. They believe God chose the elect based on His
foreknowledge of who would believe. Jesus died for everyone and offers salvation to everyone by faith.
▰ However, Arminians also believe that Christians can lose their salvation if they fail to live right.
Biblical Balance
▰ We, like many others, believe God picked a people for Himself made up of all who by repentant faith are converted to Christ (Act 3:19).
▰ Harry Ironside put it this way, “There is nothing fatalistic [predetermined] or arbitrary [random] about election as taught in the Scriptures. The
gospel is to be preached to all, and all who believe it may be assured that they are numbered among the elect.” Ironside, Harry, Commentary on 1Pe 1:2
Biblical Balance
▰ We believe that God created man with the ability to accept or reject God’s salvation, but we oppose the Arminian’s teaching that a true believer can
lose his salvation by doing wrong or falling from grace. We are saved by grace and kept eternally secure by grace (1Pe 1:5).
▰ We also reject the Calvinist’s T.U.L.I.P. as unbiblical. We do not believe that in eternity past God predestined [pre-determined] some individuals to
go to heaven and others to go to hell. As we will see, one cannot accept any of the points of T.U.L.I.P. without twisting what the Bible literally
states.
Here is why we reject T.U.L.I.P.
▰ Bible truth on Total Depravity
▰ Sin has totally corrupted all people, but all people still have the ability to choose to believe, repent, and place their faith in Christ for salvation. If
this was not true, God would not command repentance. (Acts 3:19) “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when
the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” (cf., Luke 13:34)
Here is why we reject T.U.L.I.P.
▰ Bible truth on Unconditional Election
▰ God did not elect some for heaven and some for hell, but chose all who come to Him by repentant faith in Christ. (1 Timothy 2:4) “Who will have all
men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Peter 3:9) “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (cf., John 3:16)
Here is why we reject T.U.L.I.P.
▰ Bible truth on Limited Atonement
▰ Christ did not just die for an elect few. He died for every human ever born, (1 Timothy 2:6) “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due
time.” (1 John 2:2) “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Here is why we reject T.U.L.I.P.
▰ Bible truth on Irresistible Grace
▰ God’s grace can be resisted. God is not willing that any perish, but individuals must choose to believe the Gospel or be damned. (Matthew 23:37)
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (2 Thessalonians 1:8) “In flaming fire taking vengeance on
them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Here is why we reject T.U.L.I.P.
▰ Bible truth on Perseverance of the Saints
▰ True Christians cannot lose eternal life. This eternal security is based on God’s promises not on man’s performance. (John 10:28) “And I give unto
them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” True Christians will bear fruit, but not all the same
amount. (Matthew 13:8) “But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” One can
have no assurance of salvation if his election is based on his works. Based on God’s promises, believers are secure (Php 1:6).
The Biblical Balance
▰ The Bible clearly presents both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. Humans are not fully able to understand how these two agree.
In our attempt to understand, we must not ignore or twist the clear teaching of scriptures.
▰ In Romans 9-10, election speaks of the nation of Israel, not of individuals.
The Biblical Balance
“Our difficulty with the wonderful doctrine of election arises because none of us knows what it is like to be God. He knows, and has always known, the
end from the beginning… The doctrine of our election in Christ is a necessary doctrine (as it addresses philosophical questions men would necessarily
have about our salvation), an encouraging doctrine (for believers, and not exclusive for people who are not yet believers), and a scriptural doctrine
(absolutely true, and to be accepted even if not fully understood).” Dr Richard Flanders
Review of Election
What does it mean that God is sovereign?
He answers to no one. He is over all.
Describe human responsibility
God created man to make responsible choices.
What is an Arminian?
Opposite Calvinism, can lose salvation.
List the points of Calvinism: TULIP
Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, Perseverance
Let’s Get Practical
▰ How can we explain verses on election that appear to contradict verses on human responsibility.
▰ A good book refuting Calvinism is “What Love Is This?” by Dave Hunt