America's most popular preacher says salvation is by man's free will; God says salvation is by grace. He says salvation is by God doing his part, and me doing my part. The Scripture says, "it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy (Rom. 9:16)." Dr. Graham says God wants to save everybody, but can't actually save anybody for fear of violating man's free will. God declares:
Here's the Truth. There's no stopping Almighty God when He has chosen a sinner and predestinated to save him through the Lord Jesus Christ, “according as he has chosen us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the Beloved [Son]” (Eph 1:4-6).
God is going to save sinners He has chosen in Jesus Christ because the Blood of His dear Son has atoned for our sins. We owed God our eternal souls for every transgression and the Son of God stepped in and paid it all. And, having died for us, not only did He put sins away, but He EARNED every blessing the elect shall eternally experience, “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they which are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance”, and again, “He takes away the first [covenant of works and death], that he may establish the second covenant [of life and peace] (Heb 9:15; Heb 10:9). There is nothing that can be added to Christ's blood and we dare not take anything away. Faith is the evidence that God hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the works began (II Tim. 1:9; Heb 11:1). No, God didn't owe us salvation; He gave us salvation… not because of what we've willed, done, felt, or thought, but because of everything Jesus willed, did, felt, and thought in His holy life and death on the cross.
Sadly, to some I know the differences seem petty, but I cannot worship at the same altar as free will religion. They have an altar at the front of the stadium or in the front of the church where they deal with their god. They walk the isle and make up their mind to "allow" Jesus into their heart by repeating some man's prayer. No! No! No! Free will religion though subtly crafted to appear from heaven is the work of devils and NOT the Gospel. It denies God His glory in salvation and gives a portion to the thoughts, feelings, and decisions of sinners. Yet, salvation is not giving God permission; it is the miracle of the new birth. Salvation is not repeating some facts about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Salvation is receiving the Risen Enthroned Lord as the Absolute Authority over your life – in both spirit (by faith), and in truth (by the word, according to the scriptures). It is God who intervenes to break sinner's hearts and cast us off the vain throne of our imagination, or we'd all go right on to hell. He teaches us that Christ cannot share His saving glory with anyone because His free, sovereign, redeeming, electing, and transforming love is far too precious (I Pet. 2:6-10).
You, poor sinner, need to do more than make a decision to “let jesus be your personal savior“. You need God's mercy. You need to do more than change your lifestyle; you need the Lord Jesus Christ to come and transform you into a new creation. Listen to me carefully. Christ wouldn't have died on the cross if there was one good thing that you and I could do, or one step that we could take towards God (Rom. 3:10-12; Gal 2:21). In order for you to take that first step towards holiness there'd have to be holiness in you. Yet, "...the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10)". Herein lies your only hope. Not that you have something to give God, but that God sent His Son into this perishing world to save lost, hopeless, helpless, sin loving, God hating, rebels against His holy law. Christ delivers you from your captivity to sin and opens your eyes to see the Truth. Christ heals the heart that's been broken by the guilt and burden of every evil way. Christ takes those who know they can't keep God's law and gives them the power of faith, whereby we please God and overcome the world (1 John 5:4). Christ comes to the needy sinner who calls upon His name with the conquering force sufficient to overthrow our pride and disobedience. He plants over us the victorious banner of His love – full well knowing the only power that can break our hard hearts and turn our fear into rejoicing is the mighty knowledge of His grace (Song 2:4; Heb 9:14).
This is the teaching of the Scripture. This is the message of Grace. Christ has done it all, all to Him I owe! I know the proud and self-righteous are angered by the sound of grace. I know the indifferent will block out the urgent necessity of salvation from coming judgment with procrastination and vain reasoning. Ah, but I also know Christ delivers souls through the Truth, "because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:13)." I command you in God’s name to leave behind every lie that you’ve heard, every false way, and BELIEVE on the Lord for who He is, trusting Him to save you by His grace, and you will be saved. He won’t deny anyone who wants to be saved His way, by His power and love.
"I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion (Rom. 9:15)."
Here's the Truth. There's no stopping Almighty God when He has chosen a sinner and predestinated to save him through the Lord Jesus Christ, “according as he has chosen us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the Beloved [Son]” (Eph 1:4-6).
God is going to save sinners He has chosen in Jesus Christ because the Blood of His dear Son has atoned for our sins. We owed God our eternal souls for every transgression and the Son of God stepped in and paid it all. And, having died for us, not only did He put sins away, but He EARNED every blessing the elect shall eternally experience, “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they which are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance”, and again, “He takes away the first [covenant of works and death], that he may establish the second covenant [of life and peace] (Heb 9:15; Heb 10:9). There is nothing that can be added to Christ's blood and we dare not take anything away. Faith is the evidence that God hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the works began (II Tim. 1:9; Heb 11:1). No, God didn't owe us salvation; He gave us salvation… not because of what we've willed, done, felt, or thought, but because of everything Jesus willed, did, felt, and thought in His holy life and death on the cross.
Sadly, to some I know the differences seem petty, but I cannot worship at the same altar as free will religion. They have an altar at the front of the stadium or in the front of the church where they deal with their god. They walk the isle and make up their mind to "allow" Jesus into their heart by repeating some man's prayer. No! No! No! Free will religion though subtly crafted to appear from heaven is the work of devils and NOT the Gospel. It denies God His glory in salvation and gives a portion to the thoughts, feelings, and decisions of sinners. Yet, salvation is not giving God permission; it is the miracle of the new birth. Salvation is not repeating some facts about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Salvation is receiving the Risen Enthroned Lord as the Absolute Authority over your life – in both spirit (by faith), and in truth (by the word, according to the scriptures). It is God who intervenes to break sinner's hearts and cast us off the vain throne of our imagination, or we'd all go right on to hell. He teaches us that Christ cannot share His saving glory with anyone because His free, sovereign, redeeming, electing, and transforming love is far too precious (I Pet. 2:6-10).
You, poor sinner, need to do more than make a decision to “let jesus be your personal savior“. You need God's mercy. You need to do more than change your lifestyle; you need the Lord Jesus Christ to come and transform you into a new creation. Listen to me carefully. Christ wouldn't have died on the cross if there was one good thing that you and I could do, or one step that we could take towards God (Rom. 3:10-12; Gal 2:21). In order for you to take that first step towards holiness there'd have to be holiness in you. Yet, "...the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10)". Herein lies your only hope. Not that you have something to give God, but that God sent His Son into this perishing world to save lost, hopeless, helpless, sin loving, God hating, rebels against His holy law. Christ delivers you from your captivity to sin and opens your eyes to see the Truth. Christ heals the heart that's been broken by the guilt and burden of every evil way. Christ takes those who know they can't keep God's law and gives them the power of faith, whereby we please God and overcome the world (1 John 5:4). Christ comes to the needy sinner who calls upon His name with the conquering force sufficient to overthrow our pride and disobedience. He plants over us the victorious banner of His love – full well knowing the only power that can break our hard hearts and turn our fear into rejoicing is the mighty knowledge of His grace (Song 2:4; Heb 9:14).
This is the teaching of the Scripture. This is the message of Grace. Christ has done it all, all to Him I owe! I know the proud and self-righteous are angered by the sound of grace. I know the indifferent will block out the urgent necessity of salvation from coming judgment with procrastination and vain reasoning. Ah, but I also know Christ delivers souls through the Truth, "because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:13)." I command you in God’s name to leave behind every lie that you’ve heard, every false way, and BELIEVE on the Lord for who He is, trusting Him to save you by His grace, and you will be saved. He won’t deny anyone who wants to be saved His way, by His power and love.
No comments:
Post a Comment